Chapter 26
After the upset with Mr. Heart and my parents’ admonishment for not telling them about his behavior before, they invited us back to their house after getting our desserts to go. I look longingly out the front window at James’s house across the street, more than ready to get him home alone so we can talk about what he revealed so nonchalantly back at the restaurant. I tried broaching the subject in the car, but he squeezed my hand and mumbled, “Later.”
After a quick introduction to my sisters, Bailey and Autumn, and my baby brother, Brady, Mom shoos the girls off to their room and puts Brady to sleep in his nursery. It’s past Grayson’s and Lainey’s bedtime, too, and I’m grateful that I’ll soon have the excuse we need to leave.
Dad settles into his brown leather recliner in the living room—the one no one is allowed to sit in, or so he says, since all he does is grumble when he finds one of us curled up in it. I smile as he tucks Lainey into his side with a board book.
The conversation turns to what James does for work. My smile falters when Dad asks him point blank what his salary is and what kinds of debts he has. Since Dad is in finance and can be just as nosy as Mom, I shouldn’t be surprised that he’s interested in James’s personal finances. But damn, this is the first time they’re officially meeting, and why in the world does he want or need to know?
To his credit, James doesn’t balk at Dad’s line of questioning. I know he does well for himself, but I’ve never pried or given any kind of impression that money has anything to do with why I want to be with him, as his sister, Alice, had disgustingly implied.
I send Mom a pleading look to steer the conversation away, but she just raises an eyebrow and fixes her attention on James. With that having failed, I cut James off before he can answer, completely mortified.
“Daddy, I love you, but couldn’t this conversation have waited until, I don’t know, never?”
Dad doesn’t look the least bit put out by my question. “Absolutely not. If you’re going to be together, then I need to know that you and my granddaughter will be taken care of.”
“Daddy, seriously. It’s the twenty-first century. Women aren’t relegated to being barefoot and pregnant in the kitchen. You know how important it is to me that I go to college and get a good job afterward to support us. James’s finances are irrelevant.”
“Call me old-fashioned, honey, but I think it’s important that a man be able to take care of his wife and kids.”
“Wife?” I squeak out the word. What the hell? “How did we jump from first introductions to finances to talking about marriage and traditional gender roles?”
Dad ignores my interruption. “Your mother is more than capable of supporting herself if she wants to go back to work, but it’s important to me that she knows she doesn’t have to, even if something were to happen to me. I want you to have the same kind of security. Now, your college fund will take care of your tuition and housing for the next four years, if not more, but with two kids to support”—he gestures to Lainey nodding off against his shoulder and Grayson yawning on my lap—“you and James are already starting off your relationship at a different stage than most. The stakes are higher, and there are greater financial pressures. And from what your mother has told me about your sleeping habits”—at this, his gaze darkens a bit on James—“there might be more in the near future to support, am I right?”
“Oh, dear god.” I’m sure my cheeks are blazing red, and Mom narrows her eyes in suspicion. “We’re not…”
“You sure about that?” Mom asks, calling my bluff and dipping her eyes to where James has had his hand resting on my jean-clad upper thigh since we sat down on the couch to have this conversation. James’s face pales, and he swallows audibly under their critical gazes.
“Mom…” I plead with her again, but she dismisses it by leaning back against the couch with her legs crossed and her foot swinging, which I know means she’s getting worked up.
She raises an eyebrow. “What if you get into Texas Tech and move away at the end of summer? I know you have savings to pay for Lainey’s childcare while you’re in class, but that’s not going to last forever, especially if you have doctor visits and hospital bills to pay for if you have another baby—”
“I’m not—”
Mom holds up her hand to stop me. “Then you’ll have a newborn and double the childcare expenses. Since you won’t be working for James once you move, you’ll eventually have to get a new job.”
“But I’m not—”
“Yet,” she stresses. “But there’s always a chance, even if you’re being careful. You know that. So, if you do get pregnant, how will that work? Is James going to step up? Send you money so you don’t have to work while recovering from giving birth and caring for a newborn and a toddler while also trying to keep up with school full-time? Can he even afford to step up?”
“Oh sweet Jesus, this is not how I thought this night was going to go.” I drag my palm down my face and turn to James for help, but his face is drawn tight, and my breath stutters as my blood freezes in my veins. We haven’t talked about my plans for college yet, not beyond the fact that I will be going somewhere after I graduate, and I can tell he’s unhappy about being taken off guard. “James…”
Dad clears his throat. “This is what I mean. Look, I know you two are serious about each other. But you have to think of the bigger picture, think of your futures—the kid’s futures, too, and have these conversations before you get in any deeper.” He sighs and gestures to James. “We can dig into your finances later, just the two of us, once you and Shayla have talked.” He checks his watch, and I know we’re approaching when my parents usually turn in for the night. “But answer me this before you go—do you have the inclination and ability to care for my daughter and granddaughter?”
Some of the ice thaws when James looks him square in the eye and says, “I do, and I plan to. Always.”
Dad cracks a smile, and Mom reaches over to pat Dad’s hand. “Well, we’ll settle for that for now. But let’s make an appointment for you to come into my office soon to get into the nitty-gritty.”
James agrees, though I would never expect him to. Mom doesn’t protest when I pack an overnight bag for me and Lainey, then follow James across the street to his house.
My breath turns choppy as panic starts to edge its way in as we do our nightly routine with the babies and put them to bed in their nursery. Never in my wildest imagination did I expect this night to turn out so heavy-hearted, and there are some things I have to fess up to now.
I anxiously tiptoe into James’s bedroom, where he’s waiting for me, seated on the edge of the bed facing the door. He’s already changed into red pajama bottoms, and without his T-shirt on, I’m momentarily distracted by his tight abs.
James clears his throat, and my gaze snaps to his handsome, guarded face. His brows are dipped down, and his lips are pressed together in a hard line.
I hang by the doorway, too scared to move any closer. I’m not worried about my physical safety, of course, because I know James would never hurt me. But I am afraid of how this night might end.
What if he gets so mad about what I’ve been hiding or is so offended by Dad’s questions that he puts the brakes on our relationship? Devastated would be an understatement.
“Angel, come here.” He holds his hand out and motions for me to come closer.
I take a hesitant step toward him. “Please don’t be mad.”
James motions again, and when I’m close enough, he grips my hips and pulls me to stand between his legs. He rubs his hands up and down my sides, draws me a little closer, and says, “I’m not mad, angel. I’m upset that you’ve been keeping something this big from me. I thought we were in this together.”
“We are,” I cry.
“Then why didn’t you tell me you applied to Texas Tech? That’s not a school you can commute to from here, and it fucking terrified me hearing I might be blindsided by you up and moving to Lubbock when I didn’t even know that school was on your radar.”
“I’m sorry,” I whisper as a tear falls from the corner of my eye. James pulls me down sideways onto his lap. “I didn’t tell you about applying because I only did it on impulse right before their extended deadline ended after you started teaching me how to code. I just wanted to see if I was good enough to get into their computer science program.”
“You will, angel, I know you will. You’re so smart, and you’ve worked hard to keep your grades up despite all the bullshit you’ve put up with from Tyler and Mr. Heart and all the other assholes you go to school with. And you picked up coding lightning quick—way faster than when I first started. They would be lucky to have you.”
I scoot up his lap and slide my hand through the back of his hair, pulling on it gently to tip his head back. I need to look him right in the eye when I say this next part. “The thought of moving away from you, of not sleeping next to you every night, of not seeing and holding Grayson every day makes me sick to my stomach. That’s why I didn’t tell you I applied—because it doesn’t matter if I get in or not.”
At that confession, his expression takes on a hard edge, and I have to suck in a deep breath to calm my racing heart. “Texas Tech is a great school, and I won’t let you pass on this opportunity. You’re going to be accepted, and you’re going to take it.”
“No, I’m not.”
“You don’t want me to be mad? Then don’t fight me on this. You’re going to Texas Tech, and I—”
“I won’t leave you and Grayson! The community college downtown has a good starter program, and it’s an easy commute from here. We’ll figure out something after my two years are up.”
“Angel,” he growls, and in a flash, he has me on my back in the middle of the bed. He tilts my head up with a hand under my chin, and I’m frozen in place by the determined look in his eyes. “Let. Me. Finish. You’re going, and we’re going with you.”
“What?” Now, my heart is racing for a whole different reason.
“I don’t know why you have it in your beautiful head that I wouldn’t follow you wherever you go. That I would just let you go and walk out of my life. Maybe because what we have is still new, and we haven’t said ‘I love you’ to each other yet, but you have to know that what we have is too important for me to let anything separate us. And I would never hold you back or let you risk your future.” James sweeps me away with a hungry kiss but breaks it off way too soon. “I’m calling my realtor in the morning, and we’re going to start looking for houses near campus.”
“You’d do that for me?” I ask with a shuddery breath, palming his cheeks as I look deep into his gorgeous blue eyes that shine with adoration and so much more. God, this man really loves me if he’s willing to uproot his whole life to follow me to school. But…“Wait, what about Martin and Isaiah and your game nights? I know those are important to you, too.”
“Angel, you haven’t been listening to me, have you?” He nudges my knees apart and lowers himself on top of me. “I’d do absolutely anything in this world for you—anything,” he stresses. “I can game with them online until we move back—if you want to move back after school, that is. And since I work remotely, I can do my job from literally anywhere. Even if I couldn’t, I’d find another job. I have savings to keep us afloat in the meantime, should that happen.”
“James, you don’t have to…What my dad said about supporting us—”
He cuts me off with a quick kiss and drops his forehead to mine. “I agree with him. It’s important to me, too, that you know I will always take care of our family and that the only thing you need to focus on is school. I have the means to support us, and that’s exactly what I’m going to do.” He cups my face and leans back. “I love you, Shayla. My heart is close to bursting all the time with all the love I have for you, for our little family.”
“I love you, too, James. You and Grayson and Lainey…you’re all I think about. I hope you know that I would do anything for you. It’s not all on you or one-sided. I want to be able to take care of you and Grayson in whatever way I can.”
“You already do,” James says with a slight rasp to his voice. “You have been since the moment you showed up at my door and held Grayson for the first time.”
And then he kisses me. Devours me. I don’t hesitate to slip my tongue between his soft lips, deepening the kiss until I’m completely overwhelmed by his taste and scent. He leans back on his heels and pulls me up to sit, slowly strips me of my top and bra, then lays me back down.
His hands are warm and gentle as he slides them up and down my body and stops to tweak my nipples. His eyes turn heated when my chest rises and falls faster as pleasure and anticipation rocket through my veins. I moan when he licks his lips and lowers himself over me to suckle at my breast, then the other in quick succession.
“I love you, I love you,” he chants as he licks and sucks his way down my torso, tracing a few of my stretch marks with his tongue, then down to nip the waistband of my jeans. He pops the button and slowly peels them off along with my panties, then stands and yanks me by my hips to the edge of the bed, rougher than I expected.
I gasp and automatically spread my legs for him. His pajama pants are tented by his long, thick cock, and I sit up so I can push them down to free it.
“I love you,” I whisper as I grip his steely cock and pump my hand up and down his shaft, ready to confess to something else I’ve hidden from him. “That first night at the hotel when you came on me, and I freaked out because I thought some might have gotten inside me? It wasn’t because I was scared of getting pregnant. I was scared you would leave me if I did. That’s the real reason. I knew I’d fallen too deep too soon already and was scared you’d think I trapped you. But then you grinned, and I didn’t know what to make of that. I was so confused about everything.”
“Angel,” he moans low and deep, his dick twitching and swelling in my palm as I work it up and down faster, spreading the copious amounts of pre-cum leaking from his tip. He cups my face, and my breath catches at the desire that blows his pupils wide. “I grinned because I was hoping some of it did,” he says with his own confession. “You wouldn’t have trapped me. I would have trapped you,” he whispers darkly.
I suck in a deep breath right before he slants his lips over mine and thrusts his tongue in my mouth. He presses his hips so close against the apex of my thighs that I have to drop my hand. I fall back on the bed when he slides his erection between my pussy lips, his passage eased by my slick arousal.
“Do you know how hard it is for me to do the right thing and pull out every time I’m with you? Do you know that I dream of sinking my cock inside you”—he notches the head of his dick at my entrance and slowly pushes in—“and filling you up with my cum over and over again? That I dream of your belly growing round with my baby? Of keeping you full of my babies, one after the other?”
I slide my hands to his lower back and pull with as much force as I can so that he’ll bottom out inside me the way I love. “Oh god, I shouldn’t want that. Not now.”
“But you do, don’t you?” He snaps his hips back and surges forward again. I cry out and hook my ankles around his waist. “You want my cum. You can’t wait to get pregnant again, even though you’re still so young. That’s why you beg me for more and more bare-back strokes, and you pout when I pull out and put a condom on. It’s why, out of a twenty-four pack, we’ve only semi-successfully used four.” He nips my earlobe and drops his voice. “It’s why you’ve pretended not to notice every time I spurt off at least once inside your angel pussy before pulling out to finish on your belly.”
“Oh god! I-I—”
He snaps his hips back and forth with sharp, deliciously deep thrusts. “Admit it. Admit you love it when we’re risky. Love it when I cum in you when I’m not supposed to because you want to get pregnant with my baby.”
He slams inside me, and I scream, “Oh fuck! Yes, I l-love it. I love you!” I cry out in pleasure and at the way his eyes and nostrils flare with my admission.
James practically roars my name and yanks his cock out. I gasp at the loss, then in delight when he flips me onto my stomach so that I’m bent over the side of the bed. I scream and bite the comforter when he thrusts into me from behind.
“You want my cum? Want a full load deep inside you?” I scream again, my toes curling as he drives into me repeatedly, electric sparks zipping up and down my spine. “Then work for it. Show me how much you want it.”
I’ve never seen this side of James before. So dominating and animalistic. Sex has always been good—freaking euphoric—with him. But this…mounting me and demanding that I work for his cum, it trips some kind of wire in my brain.
I arch my back as much as I can and roll my hips back to meet each thrust. “I want it. I always want it.”
“I know you do. I’ve always known, though I’ve tried to be good. But I don’t have to be good anymore, do I?”
“No!”
“I get to be bad. Fill you up. Trap you with my baby.”
I gasp and tuck my hips to prevent him from sinking in as easily, then look over my shoulder at him. I’m frightened by my own feelings and the consequences if we follow through with our desires. I mean, we were just talking about me going away to college, about our future, and—
“We can’t, though. I want it so much,” I whine. “But not until after I’m done with school.”
My heart beats double-time when James growls, yanks me off the edge, and bodily tosses me on my stomach in the middle of the bed. Before I can draw my next breath, he’s on me—in me.
His grip on me is punishingly tight, and I’m going to have fingertip bruises in the morning when he hikes my hips up and yanks my ass back to meet his pelvis. He drapes himself over my back, forcing my chest and shoulders flat on the bed, then grabs my wrists to pin my hands to the mattress. I’m completely at his mercy and forced to take every savage thrust.
“How am I supposed to wait four years before putting my baby in you?”
“Oh god, I don’t know!”
He nips my ear, and his voice takes on a goading edge, tempting me. “By the time you graduate, we could have two more babies.”
The pressure that had been building in my core reaches its breaking point, and my pussy clenches and releases as waves of ecstasy light up every nerve ending in my body. I scream his name and roll my hips, riding those waves as I cum around his cock.
He doesn’t stop, not even for a moment, continuing to fuck me through my orgasm, so much so that the pressure rebuilds right on the heels of my first release.
“Oh fuck, I’m gonna cum. You’re so damn tight and soaking wet.” He licks the shell of my ear as he increases the speed of his thrusts, not pulling out as far this time. “Tell me what you want me to do, angel. Cum in your pussy or on your ass?”
“I…I…”
His voice softens a fraction as his hips slow. “You and I are forever, angel. I’ll always support you and care for our family so you can go to school and do whatever else you need to do to feel secure. Tell me. Do I cum in you and pray for a baby, or do I pull out and spill on your ass? Tell me!”
I don’t know where I get the strength from when I push up off the bed, surprising him enough to force him on his back. I spin and straddle his hips, sinking his cock inside me as fast as possible. I brace my hands on his firm pecs and bounce wildly on his cock, my own animalistic desires rising within me.
“Forever?” I question, though I already know the answer with every fiber of my being.
His large hands are right back on my hips where they belong, helping me to bounce harder and faster. “Forever,” he growls. He slides a hand between us to roll my clit, and my whole body clenches with my impending orgasm that’s going to blow the first one out of the water.
“James, oh god, James! I’m gonna cum! I want you to cum in me,” I scream.
“Fuck, yes. Angel!”
Suddenly, he flips us again, so I’m on my back with my knees pressed to my shoulders. James pounds my pussy mercilessly, and when my climax barrels into me like a freight train, he slams into me once more, burying himself to the hilt as he spills inside me with his release.
“I love you so much, I love you,” he chants. The thought that his sperm is working its way deeper into my body makes my inner walls clench impossibly tight around his shaft, trying to draw out more of his cum. I want it all.
“I love you, James,” I cry out when he collapses on top of me, nearly knocking the breath from my lungs.
He rolls us onto his back with his dick still inside me as we catch our breaths. When my body finally relaxes, and my orgasm has fully receded, I half-expect myself to start freaking out. To regret what I begged him to do. Instead, I find myself nuzzling the crook of his shoulder like a kitten rubbing against its owner.
“I love you,” he whispers as he combs back my sweaty hair from my face and tilts his so he can kiss me. We spend a long time kissing, pulling away to whisper against each other’s lips about how much we love each other and what our future will look like as we grow our family.
After his cock has softened and we’ve cleaned up, James drags me back to bed but doesn’t climb in with me. He steps in and out of his closet with his hand behind his back and then climbs on top of me instead of sliding in beside me. I spread my legs to make room for his hips and groan, already so sore from the way he just fucked me into oblivion.
“Again?”
He chuckles and shakes his head. “Not yet.”
I’m both mentally disappointed and physically relieved. I don’t think I could take any more love-making so soon.
He kisses me, then draws back, pulls me up to a sitting position, and presents me with what he has been hiding behind his back. It’s a little blue box, and I gasp, happy tears already spilling down my cheeks when he lifts the lid. My whole body tingles at what I see.
“I was going to wait until after you graduated. Take the four of us on vacation and propose to you somewhere romantic, but I can’t wait any longer. Marry me, angel. I know you might be scared that we’re moving at a hundred miles an hour again, but I’m so in love with you, and time won’t change that. Nothing would make me happier than to be your husband and to give you and Lainey my last name. To be yours forever, angel, if you’ll have me.”
I’m already nodding my head before he’s done with his speech. “Yes! A thousand yeses, James.” I cup his cheeks and pull him down for a kiss. “I love you so much. Yes, I’ll marry you.”
He slips the gorgeous diamond solitaire onto my left ring finger, and I knock him down onto his back. James grunts when I climb on top of him as I did a half hour ago and sink my full weight onto his cock despite how sore I am.
I love the way my hand looks, splayed on his chest with his ring sparkling on my finger as I rock my hips until he spills inside me again. When I cum, completely wrung out and deeply satisfied, I lay flat on top of him and fall asleep with another yes on my lips.
I love my life.