Chapter 19
19
ONE YEAR LATER
C hloe lay on her back and stared at the ceiling of her and Dominic’s bedroom. Dominic had gotten up early, as usual, to take a run around the lake. It had been the sound of pots and pans banging together and the smell of frying bacon that had woken her, that had her smiling and stretching, feeling deliciously sore in all the right places.
The sound of the clock counting down beside her had been overly obnoxious when they’d first bought it, but now she found it calming, like a metronome relaxing her further.
She wanted to go to him, but to be honest, Chloe had no intention of moving, not when she was nice and sore from last night, from what Dominic had done to her. When the noise from downstairs stopped, she lifted herself up and braced her upper body on her elbows. She could hear the sound of Dominic coming closer, the heavy footfalls of him coming to her as he ascended the stairs. And even now, a year later, her heart pounded rapidly and butterflies took residence in her belly.
And then the bedroom door swung open, and she couldn’t help but smile at the sight of Dominic standing on the other side. He wore a pair of worn sweats and a plain white tee, his muscles pronounced under the worn material. His hair was still damp from his recent shower, and the shirt clung to his broad shoulders.
They’d come to the realization that they needed each other, that although a relationship between the two of them wasn’t “conventional,” there was no getting around the fact that a person couldn’t help who they loved.
And when her family found out about them, shit had hit the fan, in every way that could be imagined. There had been the silent treatment from both corners, but Chloe knew that in the end if she lost her family because of the person she fell in love with, then that wasn’t the family she wanted in her life.
And that had been hard, a grief weighing down on her. She’d cried a lot, with Dominic there to hold her, to tell her he loved her and everything would be okay. And she knew it would be.
But then time passed, and things were smoothed over. The truth was revealed, how Clara had betrayed Dominic, how their relationship had been done for a while, how things didn’t happen until after the fact with Chloe and him. She knew it was hard for her parents to accept this, to come to terms with it, but the only thing that mattered was that they tried. For her. For them. And that’s all she could ask for at this stage of the game.
Smiling at him, Chloe stretched, and the sheet slipped down her chest to reveal her breasts. Her life was busy, what with her internship at the local hospital, with falling in love with Dominic each and every day, and going through the motions of life in general. But she wouldn’t change it. This was what she’d always wanted.
Dominic stepped into the room, a slow smile growing across his face. “Hey, baby. Morning.”
And there were those butterflies in her belly. Every time she looked at him it was the same reaction, the same intense feelings. She glanced up at him when he stopped by the side of the bed. She dipped her gaze down to the silver tray he held.
Breakfast in bed.
She grinned up at him, just a small tilt of her lips that she hoped showed him she was interested in just a little more than breakfast. And she was. The arousal raged inside of her instantly.
Chloe lifted her arms above her head and hoped the sight of her nude breasts could entice him to join her, to say screw the breakfast.
“The bed is kind of cold without you.” Chloe dropped her gaze down to his pants, the sight of the material already tented telling her that he might look calm and collected, but his body spoke volumes.
“Not hungry?” he asked in his deep, husky voice, a slight growl laced within those words.
“Oh, I’m hungry, but not for toast and eggs.” She lifted her hand and ran the tip of her fingers along his hard-on, the massive, thick bulge having her even wetter than she was when he had first come in the room.
He growled low before setting the tray on the bedside table. “You’re insatiable.” He grinned and went for his pants, shoving them off so his dick sprang free.
“Only for you,” she purred, her nipples tingling, her clit throbbing.
His shirt was next to go.
Chloe couldn’t help but stare at his cock, at how long and thick he was, the head slightly bigger than the shaft, a dot of pre-cum lining the slit at the tip.
“Watch it, little girl. You’re playing with fire.” Dominic slid his hand across her collarbone, and Chloe felt her pussy clench. Just that one gentle touch and she was ready to go.
“Maybe I want to get burned.”
He made another deep sound in his throat. Dominic slipped into bed beside her, and his body heat surrounded her. He smelled like the soap from his shower, like wildlife and a fresh spring breeze. She couldn’t help but close her eyes and make a small noise in the back of her throat.
“You like that, baby girl?” he said softly, his mouth by her ear.
All she could do was nod.
He continued to move his hand along her collarbone, then went lower, down her breasts and over her swelled belly. Their baby was due in November. A little girl.
Dominic moved down the bed and slid the sheet completely off of her, exposing her rounded abdomen. In that moment, this wasn’t sexual. This was sweet and gentle, loving and perfect.
He kissed her belly softly, murmuring words she couldn’t quite hear. She slipped her hands through his dark hair, gently tugging at the strands. He looked up, his big hand covering her stomach, his skin warm.
“I love you,” he whispered and rose up to kiss her.
She wrapped her arms around his shoulders, urging him up the bed, and pressed her lips to his. “I love you, too.” They kissed for several long moments before he broke the kiss and trailed his lips along her cheek and to her forehead. “Did I tell you what a wonderful father you’ll be?”
“Not as wonderful as you’ll be as a mother,” he said softly, kissing her temple and pulling her against him.
He moved his mouth back down to hers, ran his tongue over her bottom lip, and she opened for him. Chloe didn’t need to keep telling him how much she loved him.
She’d show him.
Right now. Right here. And every day from here on out.
They were sated as they lay beside each other, both breathing heavily in pleasure.
He’d fucked his woman good and completely.
He was the reason she was exhausted … the reason she’d come three times.
This rush of energy, this adrenaline boost moved through him because he knew he’d given his girl—his wife—all of that and more.
He breathed hard, his chest rising and falling, his body heating, his heart racing. Glancing over at Chloe, he saw her smile, satisfied smile.
His.
Mine.
Reaching out, Dominic placed his hand on her rounded belly, closing his eyes and feeling happiness move through him.
His baby was in there.
God, I love her, so fucking much it hurts.
He slid his hand up and cupped her face, moving closer so he could kiss her. She was the reason he lived, why he breathed.
Without Chloe, Dominic was nothing, and he’d prove that to her every single day for the rest of his life.
“I love you,” he said again, wanting to scream it at the top of his lungs, let everyone know he finally had the woman he was supposed to have.
Their circumstances might have been fucked up, to say the least, but at least things had worked out the way they were supposed to. And although he knew he was looked at disapprovingly by her family, despite how they acted around her, Dominic didn’t give two shits about that. As long as Chloe was happy that’s all he cared about.
“I love you, too,” she whispered, the sleepy tone in her voice having him smile. She curled against him, and he wrapped his arm around her slender body.
Every day he let this reality sink in. He’d been in a dark place in his life at one point, but it had been Chloe there to pull him out, to make him whole once more.
She was his best friend, his soul mate, the future mother of his children … his everything.
She was his everything.
For her, Dominic would do anything, level the world just so she had a clear path.
And that’s how it would always be.