Chapter 34 #2
“You did this?” My voice is barely above a whisper.
She shrugs one shoulder. “You built it with him when you were nine, and he said you told him it was to be shared someday.” Her voice gentles. “Figured maybe you might wanna share it with me…” She pats her belly once. “With us.”
My throat burns, and I slowly step back toward her. And when I reach her, when I finally get close enough to touch her face, to cup her jaw and brush my thumb over her cheek, I whisper it.
“You keep doing this, Havoc.”
Her brow lifts. “Doing what?”
“Putting me back together.”
The silence breaks with my husky sob, and my arms pull her in tight as I bury my face in her neck, every breath jagged and raw.
Her hands are in my hair, running down my back, then under my shirt, holding me together as I fall apart.
I don’t know how long we stand there, wrapped in each other beneath the lights, but when I speak again, it’s as pure as the first time I told her.
“I love you.”
“I know.” She smiles, then pulls back enough to meet my eyes. “I love you, too.”
“I know.”
We don’t go inside right away; we drift to the edge of the grass and stand beneath the treehouse, the lights casting soft halos across the boards and ivy. We talk about Harry. And her dad. About grief that doesn’t go away, instead learning to live in the quiet.
And how love doesn’t disappear when someone does, it just changes shape.
We talk about our daughter, and I press my palm gently over her belly.
“She’s gonna grow up climbing that treehouse,” I murmur. “Getting splinters and scraped knees, thinking it’s the safest place in the world.”
Carina’s quiet for a beat, then she turns toward me, one hand sliding up my chest.
“She’s going to grow up knowing what it feels like to be protected and loved without having to earn it,” she says softly.
My throat tightens.
“She’s going to know that because of you,” Carina continues, her thumb brushing just under my collarbone. “Because you’ll be the safest place in the world for her, Reid. Just like you’re mine.”
“That’s not a one-sided thing,” I reply. “You’re my safe place, too. Have been for a while now.”
“For a while,” she repeats with a smile, her fingers tightening in my shirt.
I shake my head once, thumb sliding along her jaw. “For good.”
Her breath stutters. “Forever, huh?”
I cup the back of her neck, holding her there, needing her to understand.
“Forever’s not something I throw around lightly, Havoc. But if you’re in it, I’m not going anywhere.”
I lean my forehead against hers, breathing her in, letting it all spill through me. Harry, the house, the weight of my future, and everything I’m standing in now.
“God, I fucking love you.”
She sighs softly, leaning in to kiss me. “Ditto.”
The house is dim and warm and familiar when we head inside, and when we reach the bedroom, I don’t rush her.
I kiss her reverently, down her throat, over her collarbone, pressing my lips to the curve of her belly.
Then I undress her carefully, until she’s bare beneath me in the dark. I drop to my knees and taste her first, stroking my tongue through her until she’s shaking, her hips lifting off the bed and begging for more.
When she reaches for me, I pull her back to my chest and settle behind her, lifting her thigh wide over mine.
She’s soft and soaked and so fucking ready. I stroke my cock through her pussy twice, and then push in gently, groaning at the heat of her.
Her head tilts back into the curve of my shoulder as I bury myself in deep.
“God, baby,” I rumble against her throat. “You feel fucking unreal around me.”
She moans, and I feel it shudder through her neck, where my mouth is pressed. Her body clenches around me as I start to move, dragging out each stroke long enough to make her gasp.
One arm wraps around her middle, hand splayed wide over the swell of her bump. The other slides down, fingers finding her clit in the dark.
She jolts against me, breath stuttering. “Reid—”
“Stay right there,” I whisper, teeth grazing the curve of her neck. “I’ve got you.”
I circle her clit, coaxing her open while I fuck her deep. Every thrust is paced to make her feel everything, to remind her she’s mine.
She writhes, her hips rolling, her hand clutching my forearm tighter.
“That’s it,” I breathe. “You feel that? How wet you are for me?”
She moans again, desperate now. “Don’t stop. Please—fuck, don’t stop—”
“You don’t tell me to stop.” My hot breath fans against her skin. “You tell me when you wanna come.”
Her body tightens around me harder, my fingers swirling faster over her clit.
“Reid—oh fuck—I need—”
“I know,” I rasp, in love with the way she presses into me for more. “You’re right there, I can feel it. So fucking tight for me.”
“Please,” she begs, nails digging into my forearm. “Please make me come—fuck, I’m so close—”
“Oh, you wanna come?” I growl, losing it right with her. “Say it.”
“Yes—please, I wanna come—”
“Good,” I murmur, giving her clit a wet slap. “Then fucking come, baby. Show me how much you want this cock.”
Her whole body snaps tight, a broken cry ripping from her throat as she comes hard, pussy fluttering around me, and thighs shaking.
“Fuck—that’s it,” I groan, thrusting through it, chasing my own edge. “My filthy girl, making a mess all over me. Christ, I love you.”
I keep fucking her as she shakes in my arms, and she shudders again when I slam in deep and stay there, spilling into her with a long whimper against her neck.
When we finally fall still, she’s still wrapped in my arms. I press a kiss to the top of her shoulder and trail one hand back to her belly, where she covers it with her own.
And just before sleep takes me, with her heartbeat echoing against my ribs, she murmurs into the dark.
“Welcome home.”
I exhale slowly, my other hand smoothing down her spine as I press a kiss to the crown of her head and let the words settle.
“Home's right here, Havoc,” I whisper. “Wrapped in my arms.”
Her fingers tighten slightly on my hand before she threads them through mine, and I feel it—the quiet hum of peace that only exists with her.