I was going to die. Actually die.
“So, Ava and Cade will be here any minute,” Kai broke in, knowing I needed a moment. He already knew me so well, even with only a little over a week of us being together. His observant mind boded very well for our relationship, the way he read me and understood my moods. We wouldn’t have worked out otherwise. Weaving his fingers with mine, he squeezed my hand. “Then we can go get dinner.”
“Sounds good.” Mr. Hart clapped Kai on the shoulder and gave me a warm smile.
While they waited for the rest of their family to show up, I excused myself to the bathroom. I said I was going to freshen up, but really I just stood there, staring at myself in the mirror. My hair was in a twisty side braid. I’d gone without makeup simply because I didn’t have the urge to do it. The sheer yellow button-up shirt I’d chosen made my eyes pop and did a pretty good job of concealing my giant bump. It was my eyes I stared at though, urging myself to chill out, to pull up my big girl panties and embrace his family for the two days they were to be there.
But it was family. The only family I knew had pillaged my life, had destroyed every dream, every inkling of self I had within me.
How can I embrace any form of family when I can’t even face thinking about my own?
A knock on the door made me jump. “Let me in, Kate,” Kai called through the door.
Everything in me told me not to let him in, to just hole up in the bathroom until they all left. But I couldn’t be that cowardly.
I only unlocked it, but he took that as invitation enough to step inside and shut the door. Gaze raking from my face all the way to my toes, he leaned against the counter with his arms crossed over his chest.
“You wanna stay here while we go out?” he asked. There was no anger or guilt behind it. He would honestly allow me an out, probably because he didn’t want another meltdown, but also because he cared about me being comfortable.
But those big girl panties were on. I could get through a dinner and a breakfast with them. Barely. “No, I’ll go,” I told him, wrapping my arms around my belly. “They didn’t have to get all of that for the babies, though.”
Eyes shifting back and forth, his lips twitched. “Yeah. But they are their first grandkids. They’d do the same if either of the girls were having a kid. They’re just showing us their support.”
It made sense. But that didn’t mean I liked it. “They could just be supportive, without all the gifts.”
“Then it wouldn’t be them.” He shrugged. That explained where he got his generosity from, which was slightly irritating. It was a learned habit.
He pushed off the counter, standing within inches of me. He was doing that thing where he took up the entire room, stealing the air from it. It wasn’t fair. Along with all the other changes my body was going through, he had no idea what my hormones had been doing to me in that past week. Something had shifted to the point of me constantly wanting him. Constantly. It was on my mind most of the day. Of course, I would never tell him as much, especially since we were sleeping in the same bed now. He didn’t need to know what was on my mind while we were doing so.
When he cupped my face, the heat of his hands lit up my entire body, drawing a sigh from my lips. He was still in worry mode, afraid I was going to flip out on him again. Which I might do later, when my hormones weren’t begging me to do other things.
“Just don’t freak out on me again. Okay? It’s been a really good week. They’re only going to be here a couple days.”
That whole week, we hadn’t really kissed or done anything physical. We were getting to know each other like we were starting from square one. It was amazing having an actual relationship, but in that moment, standing there in the bathroom, I wanted more. “Sure,” I huffed, moving closer to him—as much as my belly would allow, anyway. “Would you kiss me?” I demanded without even meaning to, sounding way too breathless. I couldn’t care, couldn’t even think twice about the request.
His head jerked sideways. “What?”
“Kiss me,” I repeated, running my hands up his sides.
He blinked slowly, shaking his head as if trying to dislodge something. But I didn’t want it dislodged just then. “I-I—”
I cut him off with my mouth as I ran my hands through his hair. After some coercing with my tongue and lips, he finally let go, humming against my mouth, making my bones vibrate. His beard he was allowing to grow scraped against my chin. Every sensation firing through me sparked and crackled along with all the emotions I’d felt moments before. The anger and insecurities only egged me on. I wanted him to burn them away with his mouth and his hands that were roaming my body, as if he were as hungry as I. They lit a trail down my sides, over my hips, and then he grabbed my bottom, squeezing as he trailed hungry kisses down my jaw and neck. My belly was a little in the way, but he didn’t seem to mind it much.
“Fuck, Kate.” His ragged breathing dragged through my muddied brain. Then he bit my jaw, making me gasp. “What are you doing
