Chapter Thirty-Seven
ISOBEL
Minneapolis
Christmas had come and gone the next week, with both Adrian and I spending the holidays with his family. I’d FaceTime’d my parents and my sisters on Christmas Day, but judging from the looks they’d given my ever-expanding midsection the entire call, I knew they still weren’t thrilled with my decisions. I honestly didn’t have the energy to give a fuck anymore. If they wanted to screw up the opportunity to be in my daughter’s life from the beginning, I wouldn’t stop them.
Pops had been teary eyed when he saw how big I’d gotten, and I hoped he’d continue to have good days so he could remember meeting his great-granddaughter in a few months.
Adrian’s mother had been excited enough for everyone, politely asking to touch my belly before she cradled it in her hands and cooed at her granddaughter. It was one of the few times I was in the same room as Adrian and he wasn’t touching me in some way.
When we watched television in the evenings, his hand was on my belly, or he was lying with his head in my lap whispering things to her I couldn’t hear. I wanted to be annoyed that he was constantly touching me, but it was fricking adorable.
Other people touching me hadn’t been so welcomed. I wasn’t sure why people thought they had the right to touch pregnant women without their permission, but I’d held my tongue more than I’d have liked to over the last month.
I was days from being 36-weeks pregnant, and while Sloane had been amazing about letting me do a lot of my work remotely from my office instead of going to the other branches, I was just uncomfortable. Traveling was exhausting, but Dr. Reeves saw no reason I couldn’t make one last trip over Valentine’s Day for Chase and Evan’s wedding. Adrian wasn’t thrilled with the idea, but I just wanted to do something that made me feel normal right now.
My morning sickness had turned into terrible heartburn, and I was convinced the baby would come out with hair down her back at this rate. The only question that wouldn’t be answered until she graced us with her presence was if she’d get my fairer Scandinavian locks or Adrian’s dark hair. But for all we knew, we might end up with a ginger since Adrian’s Irish roots run deep.
Groaning, I tried to shift my hips toward the side of the bed to push myself upright, but there was no way I was getting up by myself.
“You alright, babe?” Adrian asked, his voice groggy as he placed his hand in the middle of my back.
“I need to pee.” My voice was a broken whisper as I tried again to push myself up from the mattress. “Can you help me?”
“Of course.” He didn’t hesitate, scooting closer so he could sit up behind me and help maneuver me into a sitting position on the edge of the bed.
“You sure you’re feeling alright? Do you need me to get you some water?”
“Just need to sit for a minute.” My side ached from the pressure of my belly, and I winced as I reached my arms above my head with a yawn. I was enormous, and I still had a month to go. The doctor kept insisting that it was a good thing and meant she was growing, but I was tired of being an incubator. Being thirty-eight and pregnant was not for the faint of heart .
“Do I need to help you to the bathroom?”
“I’m okay.” Sighing, I closed my eyes and tried to conjure the energy to stand. Adrian was constantly trying to anticipate what I needed, and I loved he was being such a huge part of this journey, but I felt like such a burden. At least I hadn’t been placed on bed rest, or I would have completely fallen apart. “You can go back to sleep. I know it’s early.”
Huffing, I pushed my hands against the mattress, slowly rising to my feet. Blood rushed to my head, and I braced my hand on the bottom of my belly as I regained my equilibrium. I’d been getting vertigo when I stood up for days, but my blood pressure was still normal. My doctor had made me travel with both portable blood pressure and sugar monitors. Since I was technically still at moderate risk, I hadn’t complained.
After doing my business, I washed my hands and stared at myself in the hotel bathroom mirror. Despite my exhaustion, now that I wasn’t throwing up all the time, I looked more like myself. My hair was thick and shiny, my eyes looked tired, but my cheeks had filled back out.
“You alright?” Adrian asked, appearing behind me and leaning against the door frame. Since I’d traveled so much over the last seven months, he’d spent our time apart in the gym, and I hated him a little bit for looking even more fit than he’d been when everything started between us.
Physical intimacy had been difficult the last few weeks, but Adrian had taken it all in stride, taking the edge off by going down on me instead of pushing for sex. The surge of hormones that’d made me insatiable only weeks ago were overrun by my physical discomfort.
“Just trying to muster up the energy to shower and figure out how to shave my legs.”
He chuckled, stepping in close and placing his hand on my belly before he leaned in to kiss my neck. I shivered, goosebumps cropping up along my back. As his lips became more insistent, our daughter made her presence known, happily rolling and kicking her father’s hand. “Want me to do it?”
“Do what?” I asked, leaning back into his warm embrace.
“Shave you.”
My eyes met his in the mirror, and my breath stuttered at the naked desire I saw. While I felt the least sexy I’d felt in my entire life, the way he looked at me gave me butterflies. “You’d do that?”
“Do you really have to ask that, Is? I’ve spent the last six months trying to make sure you’re comfortable and have everything you need. Why wouldn’t I shave your legs?”
“Okay,” I whispered, leaning forward to grab my razor out of my toiletries bag and pressing it into his hand. “I forgot my shaving gel, but...”
“I’ll use mine. Then you can smell like me. Shower first?”
Nodding, I let him undress me, then he took his clothes off. My heart beat faster as I watched him lean into the shower to turn on the water. He held out his hand, helping me step over the threshold of the glass door, and into the warm spray of the water.
I didn’t even have to ask for help. Adrian pulled my shampoo off the shelf and massaged it into my scalp before he turned to me and ran his fingers through my hair to rinse it clean.
By the time he was done, I was more relaxed, my earlier discomfort fading away.
“Ready?” he asked, reaching around me to turn off the water after he’d cleaned himself.
“You sure you still want to do this?”
He chuckled, grasping my chin in his hand and tilting my head toward him. “You’re going to have to let me take care of you one of these days without thinking I don’t want to be doing it.” His other hand cupped the side of my belly. “If you hadn’t noticed, I’m a bit obsessed with you.”
“Not sure I understand why,” I sighed, closing my eyes to escape his intense stare.
“Because you’re fucking amazing. You still love me even when I’m being an asshole, and you look insanely sexy with my baby growing inside you.”
“Agree to disagree with that last one.”
“Yes, we fuckin’ will,” he said, shifting his hand to grasp mine and pull it toward him. Placing it on his cock, he groaned quietly, and I felt my cheeks heat when I felt how hard he was. “If I didn’t think you were sexy as fuck, I wouldn’t be hard as a fuckin’ rock right now.”
My hand closed around his length, pulling up and eliciting a hiss from him, but he stalled my movements, moving it away. “Don’t you want me to...” I trailed off as he pushed the shower door open and grabbed a towel off the nearby shelf.
“You’re not distracting me from what we should be doing right now. If we have time after, then you can touch my cock all you want. Right now, I’m going to get on my knees and take care of you.” As he noticed my smirk, he shook his head. “Shaving first. Making you scream later.”
He helped dry me off, wrapping a towel around my shoulders before he reached out to grab one for himself. I felt like I had a ticket to a private peep show as I unabashedly watched him dry off, his hard cock disappearing as he finally wrapped the towel around his waist.
Reaching up, I tucked a wet curl of his hair back, my fingers lingering on the side of his face. “Thank you for loving me so much.”
He nodded, leaning in, but stopping millimeters before his lips met mine. His voice was a whisper, but his words brought tears to my eyes. “It’s effortless, babe. I’m the one who should be thankful you’ve let me into your heart. I love you so much, Is.”
Adrian kissed me gently and leaned back, helping me step out of the shower ahead of him before he grabbed two more plush towels from the shelf. He laid one on the floor in front of the counter and placed the other on the edge of the waist height vanity .
“Up we go,” he said with a smile, reaching down to cup the back of my thighs before he hoisted me, and settled me onto the towel at the edge of the countertop.
“You’re going to throw your back out lifting me,” I joked, but he narrowed his eyes, clearly not liking the way I talked about myself. It was hard not to feel self-conscious when I weighed twenty pounds more than I used to.
“I could fuck you standing up right now and not break a sweat, so don’t worry about me hurting myself by lifting you up to the counter. Now sit back and be a good girl while I cover you in creamy white stuff.”
Laughing, I listened, propping myself up with my arms braced against the counter behind me. Adrian pulled a small bottle of shaving cream from his toiletry kit and squirted a generous amount in his hand before smoothing it onto the lower portion of my leg.
His tongue peeked out of the corner of his mouth as he gently stroked the razor upward, the blade gently rasping against my skin as he worked. I watched transfixed as he carefully shaved my calf, briefly stopping every few strokes to swish the razor in a small cup of water next to him and wipe the razor on the towel next to him before continuing.
When he was done with the first section, he moved to the sink, rinsing my razor more thoroughly under a stream of water, refilling his cup before he dropped back down and moved to the next part. My body was humming as he carefully shaved my thighs, his large hands bracing me on the edge of the counter as he stood between my knees. My belly almost touched his when he stepped in further to gently glide the razor over my outer thighs.
He leaned in, his soft lips brushing my earlobe. “Are your legs the only thing you want me to shave?”
“I...” I trailed off as his large hand settled high on my thigh, his thumb brushing the sensitive skin I hadn’t been able to reach with a razor in months .
“I’ll be gentle,” he whispered, his lips moving to caress the skin beneath my ear. “And when I’m done, I’ll make sure to get you nice and clean.”
“Mmm,” I hummed, feeling way more turned on than I should at him asking to shave my pussy.
“And then when I’ve wiped away all the cream, I’ll lick you until you’re screaming my name.”
“Fuck.”
“That too if you want it,” he chuckled, pulling away. My mouth was dry as I watched him wet a washcloth with warm water before he brought it between my legs, slowly running the damp cloth over every inch of my skin.
Adrian’s eyes never left mine as he covered his fingers in shaving cream. “Lean back a bit, babe. Want to make sure I get every...little...spot covered with it.”
He could cover every little spot of whatever he wanted down there. I burned from the inside out as his gentle fingers spread the cream, jumping as he grazed my clit. “Oh, God.”
“Just relax. I’ll take care of you. Close your eyes.” His voice was a low murmur as he gently held the razor to my skin, making careful swipes, and humming as he went. Leaning back, I rested my head on the mirror, my arms aching as I held myself up. “Almost done. You’re being such a good girl, holding still for me. Such a pretty, pink pussy.”
When he’d finished, he dropped the razor in the sink, not bothering to rinse it. I was drowsy, drunk with pleasure and anticipation as he wet the washcloth again, wiping between my legs, cleaning every inch of my newly shaved skin before he covered it with my lotion. It’d been months since I was bare, and judging by the hungry look as he watched me, he was enjoying every second of this.
“Still with me?” he asked, licking his lips and stepping as close as he could get with my belly in the way. He leaned over me, his lips inches from mine. “Tell me how much you want it. Are you as desperate for me to touch you as I am? ”
“Yes,” I moaned as his fingertips traced between my legs, gently caressing my clit.
“Do you want my mouth on you?”
Nodding, I tried to sit up, but struggled with my arms shaking.
“Let’s go to the bed so you’re more comfortable.” While I knew he was eager to make good on his promises, he also didn’t want me to be uncomfortable.
I wrapped my arms around his neck, and he lifted me, effortlessly carrying me to the other room and sitting me on the end of the bed. He reached past me and pulled the pillows forward, propping me up so I didn’t have to lay flat on my back since it was hard to breathe that way.
“Mmm,” he whispered, dipping his fingers between my legs. This part had always been one of my favorites, watching him play with me, but my belly blocked my view. “You’re so fuckin’ wet, babe. I think you needed this.”
He continued murmuring words of appreciation as he crouched down, his head disappearing from sight. “Oh, fuck,” I moaned when his tongue pressed into my clit, curling slightly before he wrapped his lips around me and sucked.
His large hands grasped my thighs, forcing my legs wider as he devoured me, groaning loudly. It didn’t take long for my orgasm to build. Warm pulses of ecstasy ran through my veins as I threw my head back and gasped while he never stopped licking.
“Fuck,” he groaned, sliding his fingers inside me while I pulsed around them, making my hips squirm. “What I wouldn’t give to be inside you right now.”
“Yes,” I moaned, reaching down and grasping the hair on the side of his head. “I need it. I want you inside me.”
His eyes widened in surprise, a grin pulling at his lips when he realized I was serious.
“You want this cock?” He stood, reaching down to unfasten the towel at his waist and letting it drop to the floor. Without hesitation, he wrapped his hand around his length, pumping as he looked down at me. “Tell me how much.”
“Please,” I whimpered, my eyes transfixed by the movement of his hand.
“How much, Isobel?”
“So much. Please, just fuck me.”
“Lean back, babe,” he urged me to lean back against the stack of pillows, pulling my hips to the edge of the bed. He watched me as he bent his knees, lining up and playfully smacking the head of his dick on my clit.
Moaning, my head fell back, and I arched toward him while he pushed inside, the intrusion welcome after so many weeks apart.
“Fuckin’ hell, you’re so fuckin’ tight,” he groaned, pulling back and smoothly thrusting forward with gentle movements. His chest flexed as he held me still, his fingertips digging into the outside of my thighs while he tried to hold himself back.
“Make me come,” I whimpered, trying to reach down to touch myself, but my belly was in the way.
“Fuck, yes.” The sounds that came out of his mouth were almost feral as he fucked me, slowly picking up the pace, but still being careful with me. “God, I’m going to fuckin’ come. Please, please...”
His thumb rubbed my clit as our moans filled the air around us, building into a crescendo that had me gripping the comforter beneath me while I pulsed around him. “Come in me,” I moaned as he stared at me, watching my every expression as I came. “Fill me with it. I want to feel it. Please. Mark me.”
He growled loudly, pulling me toward him as his hips faltered, his mouth dropping open and his neck flexing as he came, his hard cock pulsing inside me.
Adrian panted while he stared at me, his thumbs stroking the outside of my thighs as he carefully slipped out. He wiggled his eyebrows and shot me a satisfied smile before he disappeared into the bathroom, coming back with a warm washcloth. I hummed as he wiped me clean, enjoying the drowsy feeling lingering in my body .
Baby girl must have enjoyed the rush of endorphins as she gently wiggled inside me, turning before she settled down. Adrian watched as the skin on my belly shifted, placing his hand where it looked like her feet might be. “I know we’ve still got a little way to go, but I can’t wait to meet her.”
“Me too,” I sniffled, tears pricking in the corners of my eyes as he gently caressed my skin. I was ready to start the next chapter of our lives, even if I knew it’d be challenging.