Chapter Thirty Three
SOPHIE
“How about… Marjorie, if it’s a girl?” I ask after swallowing a mouth full of pizza.
“Do you want our baby to be born an old lady?” Carter laughs as he tosses a napkin at me. His black hair is sexily tousled from our lounging, his broad shoulders laying back against the fluffy pillows of the bed.
We’re back in the hotel room for the evening, sitting on the bed with a pizza box between us as we go through possible baby names. The evening has been lighthearted, the impending threat of Carter’s dad tucked away in a little box until we want to face reality again.
I got comfortable as soon as I arrived, hopping in the shower to rinse off my day of work and emerging in only one of his t-shirts, the hem falling around mid-thigh.
“I think it’s cute,” I pout, but then realize I know of at least two old ladies named Marjorie. “Do you have any better names up your sleeve?”
“Hmmm…” He places a finger on his chin in faux thought. “I’ve always liked the name Hunter for a boy. And for a girl… Jessica.”
My nose wrinkles. “Nuh uh. One of the girls that always fawned over you during high school hockey games was named Jessica. I like Hunter though.”
“Was she the one with blonde hair and braces?” He looks at me quizzically.
“No, she had brown hair and always had it in two buns on top of her head. She tried to make her own jersey with your name on it.” I scowl. It was just a t-shirt that she had used fabric markers to put his name and number on the back.
He bursts out a laugh. “You were so patient. If any guy looked at you for too long, I saw red. How did you not shank a bitch repeatedly?”
“I knew you were mine.” A small smile appears on his face. “I was the only one you wanted, I knew that. Let the other girls look, you made it clear to everyone that you belonged to me.” He never looked twice at the ones who would dress provocatively to get his attention. And when we were next to each other, he always had an arm around me or found other small ways to touch me and stake his claim.
“Belong,” he says, looking at me with that grin on his face.
“What?” I blink, jarred from my thoughts of the past.
“You said that I belonged to you. Past tense. I still belong to you, Angel. I’m all yours. ”
My heart stutters in my chest. This is still new… kind of. Sure we were together for years back then. But we only admitted that we still love each other when he got back from training camp. This is different from love in high school. Back then, we had no real grasp on what true, hard commitment looked like. Now, everything means more.
“I know.” I smile, my heart full of love for the man next to me. “But I’m still not naming our baby Jessica.”
He barks a laugh, and offers an alternative. “How about Hazel?”
“Love it. Let’s make a list.” I pull out my phone and start a list on the notes app. We spitball names back and forth, only putting ones we both agree on. Then I have a thought.
“Carter…” I trail off, still looking down at my phone. “What do you think about Vivianne? If it’s a girl.” My bottom lip gets caught under my teeth, and I meet his eyes.
They shine with warmth, and he looks at me in awe. “You would be willing to name our baby after my mom?”
“I love your mom. And she’s been through so much, and came out stronger on the other side. She’s a survivor, and she raised the love of my life, turning him into the sweet, kind, loyal man he is. What better way to honor her?” Carter told me all about the retreat that his mom went on and how she’s practically a different person now, and all about the children’s books she’s been writing.
“I think,” Carter leans over, placing a gentle kiss on my lips, “that you’re the most amazing woman I’ve ever met, and she would be over the moon if we did that.”
I smile against his lips. “I love you.”
“I love you too, Angel.” He pulls back and tucks a strand of hair behind my ear. “Are you feeling okay? Nauseous or anything? Tired?”
His concern is so sweet, but I can already tell I’m going to feel smothered before long if he keeps it up. “I’m fine, mother hen,” I tease.
“I’m not being a mother hen,” he protests. “You were on your feet at the shop, and then you had to pick up Jordan…”
“Being on my feet won’t be an issue for too much longer. It might please you to know…” I trail off, not sure how to say it. I haven’t told anyone else this yet, but since Abbie and I talked about it the day I found out I’m pregnant, I’ve been thinking about putting my future career plans into action. “I’ve been thinking about our conversation that night at the lake, and I’m going to do something that I want to do. I’m going to open my own small accounting firm in town.”
His face lights up with a smile brighter than any one that I’ve seen from him today. “Sophie! That’s great!”
I can’t help my smile at his happiness for me. “Yeah?”
“Fuck yeah!” He does a little arm pump that makes me giggle. “God, I’m so fucking proud of you. You’re amazing, you know that? Do you need help finding an office space? Or like, shit, an assistant or something? Anything you need, I’m here. We’ll make it happen.”
“You’ve always known how to push me to be my best. And I think this is how I do that. Kerry loves the flower shop, and it’s time I hire a few more girls and make her the manager. Who knows, maybe my parents will even let her buy it if she wants.” A shrug leaves me. The flower shop, while I’ve had a good time working there for the most part, was never my dream. At least with Kerry, I know it’ll be in good hands. “I’m not sure what the timeline on that would look like though or what your schedule will look like.”
“Practices will start in September, and the baby will most likely be born sometime in March, right?” I nod my head in answer to his question. I haven’t had my first doctor's appointment yet, but the online calculator estimated somewhere around March 22nd. “So, the season will still be going on, but I’ll have to let the team manager and coach know that a contract change will have to be made because there’s no way in hell I'm missing the birth of my child. I can ask for no away games after you hit thirty five weeks.”
My brow furrows. “But Carter, this is your dream , and if you do that, you’ll get significantly less play time?—”
“You are, and have always been, more important to me than hockey,” he says sternly, moving the pizza box to the side table and then bringing me closer to his side.
Snuggling in closer to him, my fingers dance lazily across his chest, drawing a little shudder out. “Did you ever imagine that we would be like this again?” I ask quietly.
“I’m pretty sure I always wanted to end up back here, with you,” he murmurs before pressing a kiss to my hair. “I would avoid thinking of a future outside of hockey because when I did, I imagined how our life might have been different if Dad hadn’t ruined everything. That just filled me with so much regret and sadness, I didn’t want to dwell on it.”
Shit, I’d done the same thing over the past nine years. Buried myself in work and did everything for everyone because if I stopped to take a breath and think about what I truly wanted, it would have included Carter.
Never did I imagine that it would be a possibility again.
Before I can say anything, Carter’s phone rings.He picks it up, checking the caller ID. “I think it’s the police station.” He answers, and I can’t hear the other side of the conversation, but Carter tenses slightly before relaxing again. He listens intently, and at the end of the call says, “Yes, sir. I can do that. I’ll see you then.”
“What’s going on?” I pull back and prop myself on my elbow looking at him.
“It was Detective Peterson. They have a plan for me to help bring down Dad.”
My heart stutters. It’s really happening. Once this is done, we won’t have to worry about him ever again, and we can live our lives in peace.
“They’ll put a protective detail on Mom at the house. They want me to call him and say I have the $500k and pick a location to meet,” he says, his gaze studying me for my reaction. I keep a straight face even though the thought of him walking into a metaphorical wolves’ den to face his father has my stomach in knots. “I’ll wear a wire, and see if I can goad him into some sort of confession. Then, Detective Peterson’s team will move in and arrest him regardless. One way or another, Soph, two days from now, things will be over with him for good.”
My heart hammers in my chest and my bottom lip tucks between my teeth. Isn’t there another way? Carter should never have to deal with his dad again, with what he’s put him through. Not to mention the danger he could possibly be in…
“Soph?” Carter asks, reaching over with this thumb to release my lip and run his thumb over the sensitive skin. “You okay?”
Swallowing, I nod. “I wish you didn’t have to do this. We’re finally together, no more misunderstandings between us. I hate the idea of you facing him again… who knows what he could do if he gets even more desperate?” A sigh escapes me and I run a hand over his cheek. “But I understand. I don’t like it one bit, but if this is what we have to do…”
His eyes shine with understanding as he leans towards me. “I just got you back, Angel. No way in hell is my old man going to tear us apart again.”
With that, his lips capture mine in a slow, deliberate kiss. I sit up, leaning into his touch. I grip his arm as his hand comes up to cup my cheek tenderly. Gently, still kissing me, he pulls me onto his lap so I’m straddling him while he sits up against the pillows. The kiss is almost chaste at first, but then his hands run down my back before reaching my ass. “No underwear, Angel?”
“Thought they might get in the way.” I say breathily, my hands gripping his arms. The next second, his tongue seeks entrance into my mouth, and I let him in greedily, basking in the feeling of being in his embrace again.
There’s a tenderness between us that wasn’t there before. Or perhaps it was, but hidden beneath the layers of defense I had put up to keep our relationship casual. One hand moves from my ass to my front as he gently caresses the thin material over my sensitive breasts. A small moan escapes into his mouth, and he swallows it hungrily, reaching under my shirt to run his rough hands over my quickly pebbling flesh.
Holy ever-loving shit. This is the first time we’ve been intimate in a little over two months, and it’s like every sensation is heightened.
His lips move from mine and down across my jaw, leaving open mouth kisses as he goes. He takes his time as he massages my breast, suckling and licking his way down the column of my throat until he reaches my collar bone. The sensation is divine, his gentle but erotic touch making me forget about how sore they’ve been lately. “I’ve missed you so much,” he murmurs into my skin. “Every day I thought of you and wished I could take you into my arms.”
Lifting the hem of my shirt, he moves to pull it off me and then takes my sensitive nipple into his mouth. His hot tongue swirls around, and my head falls back in bliss. “I must have read your texts at least twenty times,” I admit on a gasp. “I should have answered you, I just?—”
“I know, Soph,” he cuts me off, reaching his hand to the back of my neck to pull my face toward him in a sweet kiss. “You needed time to think. As much as I hated to give it to you at the time, I understood.”
His blue eyes shine with warmth as he pulls away, gently pushing my hair behind my ear. “I love you.” My voice shakes with emotion as my fingers thread through his hair. “So damn much.”
This time, when our lips meet, there’s a desperation there. Not for the way our bodies are physically together, but for the connection we’d been lacking the last nine years. Even when we were sleeping together before, there was never any promise of a future behind it. Now, I pour every ounce of love and devotion into this one kiss.
He moans into my mouth, one of his arms snaking around my middle and the other reaching down between us.
His fingers find my pussy, and he hums in appreciation when he feels that I’m already soaking and ready for him. Spreading my wetness around my clit, he rubs small circles that light my body on fire.
“Oh, fuck! Carter!” I can’t stop the cry that escapes as euphoria washes over me, shamelessly riding his hand until I come down from my high. My head drops onto his chest as he removes his arm from between us, my gasping breaths filling the air between us.
His shirt is soft against my cheek, but I hate the barrier separating us.
My hands move from his arms to the hem of the offending fabric, sliding my fingers underneath and running them over his lower stomach in a way I know makes his toes curl. He shivers, and I bite back a grin, lifting his shirt to reveal the hard planes of muscle underneath.
He really is a masterpiece.
After helping me remove his shirt completely, I move off him, staying on the bed, and watch as he shimmies his sweatpants down until his magnificent cock springs free. I look down, licking my lips at the sight of it, but Carter has other ideas.
Sitting up away from the pillows, he lifts me by my hips, settling my entrance right over his erection. His icy blue gaze never leaves mine, lowering me onto his throbbing length. We both groan, my hands settling on his shoulders to steady myself.
And then he’s moving.
I may be on top, but Carter is definitely the one still in control as he fucks up into me, firmly gripping my hips. He stares into my eyes as he thrusts upwards, each time he bottoms out sending waves of pleasure throughout my body. Physically, we’re obviously as close as we can possibly be. But, it’s so much more than that. His very soul connects to mine through our eyes, the steadfast devotion he feels for me clear as day behind his pools of blue.
“Fuck, I love you,” he says before pulling my mouth to him. His lips and tongue move with mine like two pieces of a puzzle fitting together. Like he wants to claim me, consume me whole.
I would let him.
My hands roam the muscles of his chest, his mountainous shoulders, and his strong back as we move together. Fire pools low in my belly as I feel another orgasm rising within me, this one more of a slow growing tidal wave than the whirlwind of pleasure the first one was. One of his hands moves from my hips back to my clit and his touch shoots a jolt of electricity straight to my core, launching me over the edge.
My scream of pleasure is swallowed by his mouth, and before I can register what’s happening, he’s flipped us over so he hovers over me, still seated inside my pulsing heat.
Moving on top of me, he hikes one of my knees over his arm as he pushes all the way in, again and again, reaching deeper than he has this entire time. Each thrust sends an electric jolt through my over-sensitive body, and my fingernails claw at his back as the sensation nearly overwhelms me.
“Sophie, Sophie, Sophie,” he mutters against my lips like a prayer as his hips stutter. He finds his release and sends me over the edge one final time.
Instead of collapsing on top of me, he falls to his side, flipping me to my side to face him, and holding me close. We catch our breaths together, a sweaty heap of limbs tangled together in the best way.
When he gets up, pulling me with him, I don’t question it. He leads me to the bathroom, and turns the shower on to scalding, just how I like it. After he’s washed every inch of me and dried me off, he pulls me back to bed, wrapping himself around me. We drift off together like this, keeping each other close, the beating of his heart in my ear the sweetest sound I’ve ever heard.