33. Chapter 33
Chapter 33
Weston
I tried to fly through Carter’s bedtime routine with Caroline, but the entire process took way longer than usual. I don’t know if she was purposely trying to draw it out to get under my skin, or if she genuinely had that many questions about changing a diaper, but it was nearly impossible to stay focused when she looks like she crawled out of some sort of kinky wet dream.
Fortunately, Carter was just as exhausted by her stalling as I was. He didn’t even make it to the letter O in the book Worth sent over before he passed out in her arms.
We carefully placed him into his crib, and I couldn’t help but notice how Caroline lingered for a moment, brushing his hair back from his forehead like she wanted to remember this moment for some reason.
“That was unexpected,” I whisper, quietly closing the door to his bedroom behind us.
Caroline’s lips curl into a teasing smile. “Yeah. Who knew there was a whole alphabet book dedicated to the state of Texas.”
Her boots click against the hardwood floors as she heads for the stairs, and the faint scent of her sweet perfume lingers in the air.
I resist the urge to say something more intimate, saving it for when we don’t have to whisper.
“Want a glass of wine?” I ask as we head for the kitchen. “Or are you heading back now that you’ve gotten to talk to the world’s first baby astronaut?”
It’s a leading question, but I’m genuinely curious.
When she showed up at my door earlier, I was simply so happy to see her that I didn’t consider why she might be here instead of the Halloween party. I can’t put my finger on it, but as she tugged on Carter’s pajamas and gently hummed to him, it felt like something had changed. Like she wasn’t just here for the night—she was here for good.
“Hmmmm,” Caroline murmurs a little too seductively. “I guess I could. But there’s a problem . . . there’s someone else that I wanted to talk to first.”
I spin around and lean against the island. “Who’s that?”
Caroline walks toward me, swaying her hips seductively.
“Just this surgeon,” she replies casually as she wraps her arms around my neck. “He made me an offer, and I wanted to see if it still stands.”
I study her intently, trying to figure out if she’s talking about what I think she’s talking about.
God, I fucking hope so.
“Did he?” I ask, cocking my brow. “If he’s a surgeon, I’m sure he’s a very busy man. Why don’t you remind him what that offer was?”
Caroline bites her glossy red lower lip like she’s just as into this role-play conversation as I am. “Well, I’m paraphrasing here. But I think that he said he would wait for me until I was finally ready to give him a real chance.”
I reach up to cup her face affectionately, savoring the way she leans into my touch. “And are you?”
My question is filled with trepidation because her response could change everything . . . I want it to change everything between us. Because I’d wait forever to call Caroline Winters mine. But I hope that I don’t have to.
She takes a deep breath, her eyes softening as she stares at me.
“I need more too, Wes,” she whispers with a tentative nod.
“Thank. Fucking. God.”
I don’t wait for a response before I press my mouth to hers, showing her how much this means to me—showing her how it feels to finally let go.
Caroline parts her lips, allowing me to dive deeper as our kiss goes from silky and sensual to frantic and desperate, like we’re making up for lost time.
My hand runs down her spine as our tongues collide and tangle, speaking without needing to say anything at all.
Her breath catches as I tug her flush against my chest, letting her feel what she does to me—the way my body needs her just as much as my soul does.
“Wes,” she whispers against my lips as her fingers tangle through my hair. “Thank you for leaving the porch light on.”
I want to keep kissing her, to keep tasting her and savoring every little thing she gives me. But this moment shouldn’t be about urgency, so I force myself to pull back and look at her.
“There’s no need to thank me.” I stroke the soft line of her jaw with my thumb. “I made you a promise, did I not?”
Caroline's lips curve into a small, grateful smile. “You did. But I want you to know how much I appreciate your patience.”
I nod confidently, acting like there weren’t days when doubt took over and made me wonder if we might always be on two different wavelengths.
“What changed your mind?” I ask, even though the answer doesn’t matter.
The only thing that matters is that I have her now. And I’m never letting her go.
She purses her lips, like she’s trying to find the right words. “I think my fear of being without you became bigger than my fear of not being what you and Carter need.”
Her admission feels like the final piece in the puzzle of our relationship. I’ve never been able to shake the need to protect her, to keep her safe from anything that might hurt her. But now I realize she was doing the same thing—trying to protect me from what she thought she couldn’t give me. All this time, she’s been holding herself back because she couldn’t see what I do.
“You are the only thing we need, princess.”
I press her head against my chest, holding her as tight as I can.
Caroline exhales quietly, her breath warm against my neck. For a moment neither one of us speaks as we simmer in silence filled with relief and deep understanding. It feels like this is the shift that we’ve both been waiting for—the one where everything finally falls into place.
Eventually she chuckles, breaking the tension just like I’ve come to expect from her. “When you texted me the picture of Carter, I felt so guilty for not seeing him in his costume that I ran out of Morgan’s house before I could even change out of this ridiculous costume she bought for me.”
I laugh softly, brushing my lips against the top of her head. “Ridiculous isn’t the word I’d use . . . more like sexy as fuck.”
I need to remember to thank our petite friend for the purchase, and also ask her for the link so that I can purchase many more just like it. Sheer grit and willpower are the only things that have allowed me to focus for the past hour because the way the thin fabric hugs her skin and shows off her curves is entrancing.
My hands trail down her back, coming to rest on the barely-covered flesh of her round ass.
“This stays on when I fuck you for the first time, got it?” I murmur into her ear.
Caroline’s breath catches but she rears back, batting her dark eyelashes innocently. “Don’t you mean when I fuck you for the first time?”