Chapter 27
Chapter Twenty-Seven
Violet
I want to show you what I did for the woman I’m in love with.
Evander loved me. So damn much.
I hadn’t ruined us. Evander understood. He got me, and I’d never had that before. Now I had him.
He led me to the closed guest room door. He kept his hand wrapped around mine as he tipped his forehead toward the doorknob. “Open it.”
The curiosity inside me grew. What had he been doing with this room?
I put my hand on the cool knob, twisted, and pushed the door open. His hold tightened on me.
I took in the room. My soft gasp echoed between us.
This was no longer a guest room. He’d moved the bed and dressers out. He’d painted. He’d even replaced the blinds. None of it in the way I had feared. This wasn’t going to be an office or a craft room.
The walls were the softest yellow. The blinds were now room darkening and a comforting gray that paired well with the paint color and tied the room in with the rest of the house. On the walls were…
“Oh my god.” I wandered inside, towing him behind me.
Instead of animal drawings, the walls were decorated with hexagonal structures that had little H s and O s coming off them. One of them tickled my brain, and I studied the drawing. Two different sugars linked with a bond depicted as a sharp zigzag. No…
“Lactose?” A maniacal giggle burst out of me. Next to the chemical structure was a colorful canvas with the words “Be a proton in life.” Positive signs were scattered around the letters.
My gaze jumped over the sturdy crib, a five-drawer dresser already anchored to the wall, and a changing table, all matching. A plush glider rocker sat across from the crib. All of the furniture was very familiar.
This was the same set I had admired when I had been with Alder to get the cheap items for the rental. I did a small spin, and my attention landed on the end table.
A choking sound left me. Tears flooded my eyes. The end table with the welding that reminded me of the chemical structure for acetylene.
Evander had designed a nursery straight from my imagination. All because he paid attention. To me.
How did he know I had pinpointed that piece out of everything?
“Evander,” I whispered. “This is amazing.”
“You like it?”
I spun to him, letting go of his hand to grip his shoulder. “ I love it.” I put my palm on his cheek. “I can’t believe you did all this.”
“Ever since I saw you at the bar that night, I knew you were special. I was too damn afraid to admit how much.”
The initial connection between us was undeniable. So strong that neither of us had the courage to believe it. Except that we had, or we wouldn’t be together right now. “I thought no guy could be that good in bed and then be a decent guy. When you opened the door that day, I just assumed that, yep, everything was too good to be true. I thought I’d just fool myself again.” I rested my head on his chest. “Only I almost fooled myself out of the best thing that ever happened to me.”
His strong arms came around me. “I wasn’t going to let you do that. I was ready to take a million pictures of the sunset or find more kittens to rescue.”
I smiled and listened to his steady heartbeat as I looked at as much of the room as I could see. “How did you know? All this? It’s perfect.”
“Hattie told Liam about someone admiring his end table, and he figured it was you. There are not many people running around complimenting furniture on its chemical structure. I asked her what else you had liked, and she was happy to help. The furniture set had sold, so Hattie had to track down another set and get it shipped.”
I pulled back. “You did all that?”
“I wanted to get what you liked.”
My gaze landed on the furniture I had thought was so far out of my budget I had forgotten all about it. “That’s what you had in the back of your truck when you gave me a ride to my car?”
“Yes, and that ride was an excuse to get closer to you. I didn’t want you to know what I was doing until I was ready to talk to you. That’s why I was keeping my calls and texts private. I didn’t want to pressure you.”
The man absolutely humbled me. “All I did was crochet you a blanket.”
“You made me a blanket?”
“It’s the one you brought from the rental, but I was too afraid to give it to you. Wait here.” I untangled from him and went to his bedroom. I returned to the stunning nursery with the blanket and handed it to him.
His brows drew together, and he ran a hand over it. “Other than a quilt from Mom, no one’s ever made me anything.”
He said it in a reverent way that made me feel like he really treasured my gift. “I’ll make you another.”
“You don’t have to unless you want to. I’ll take anything you give me.” He tugged me to him, crushing the blanket between us. “But, Violet, I’ll move heaven and earth for Bud. But I’ll never leave heaven or earth without you. I’m gonna be right here, buying you yarn, telling you to come outside for sunsets, and watching you cuddle cats and our baby on the porch.”
“Oh, Evander.” Everything inside of me melted. I was utterly smitten and deeply in love. Small thumps hit the inside of my belly and kept going. I smiled and took the blanket from him and draped it over the edge of the crib. Then I grabbed his hands to rest them on my belly.
Tiny thumps resonated through me and into him. Astonishment lit his eyes. “Is that…”
“Bud’s saying hi.”
He lowered himself to his knees and touched his forehead between our hands. The bumps lessened until they stopped. He gazed up at me. “I want to spend my life with you, Violet Duke. I can wait for a decent proposal, but I have to let you know.”
His life. My life. Our life. I feathered my fingers over his head. “These last few months, with what little of you I allowed myself to have, have been the best of my life. I’m tired of waking up every day and not seeing you.”
“I want to see you in my bed every goddamn day. I hated having to leave every time we were together. I love you, wildflower.” Love welled in his gaze, along with heat, tenderness and affection.
I’d had what I wanted all this time. “I was single at the brewery because I saw Lily and Eliot, and I had to get away. I wanted a guy to look at me that way, and I never thought it’d happen. I didn’t even believe it when she said you already did.” I’d wasted weeks. No more. “I love you so much.”
He rose, that exact look in his eyes aimed directly at me.
He kissed me. Salt still lingered on his lips from my tears, but he was nothing but hot and sweet. I licked out my tongue to meet his and gripped the back of his neck. Carefully, he moved until he was between my legs. Even with my stomach between us, this position was perfect.
“Tell me,” he growled against my lips, “how far can we go?”
With him? “I hope all the way.”
Evande r
I held the world in my arms. Violet fucking loved me. Her reaction to the nursery was more than I could’ve hoped for. More than that, she’d been thrilled about it after trusting me. “I’ll be careful.”
She sucked on my bottom lip. “Not too careful.”
Fuck, this woman. I picked her up with an arm around her back and one under her legs.
She yelped, then laughed and clutched my shoulders. “I can’t believe you can do that.”
“Believe it. I’ll be doing this when I’m ninety.” I’d never been more sure of anything. I gingerly maneuvered through my bedroom door.
I laid her down and spotted her phone on the nightstand. I grabbed it, handing it to her. “Pull that thread of Vasectomy Willis and Rebound Wife.”
She frowned but did as I asked. I snatched the phone and leaned close to her, putting our heads together. Her hands fluttered to her belly, smoothing the material of her shirt over the mound, showing how obviously pregnant she was.
“Smile and say, ‘We’re expecting,’” I said.
She laughed. “Won’t that make me as petty as them?”
“Abso-fucking-lutely. I don’t want that asshole ex of yours to think he’s bothered you for one second.” I chose video and hit record.
A sly grin graced her face. In unison, we shouted, “We’re expecting!”
I clicked and sent the image showing us smiling and in bed. Once that was done, I didn’t waste time. I’d been waiting for her for too long.
“I can’t believe you did that,” she said. “I love it.”
Anything for her. Dragging her black leggings down, I made sure to get the underwear too. “This dress has been driving me crazy all day.”
“Like the way you told off Chad did to me?”
“I should’ve done it from the beginning.” I grabbed a pillow to put behind her. “Now lean back and spread those legs, Violet. I’m a hungry man.” She clamped her lower lip between her teeth, but she did as I asked. “You’re soaked for me, aren’t you, wildflower?”
Her knees trembled. Perfect.
I draped myself over the bed and dove between her lush thighs.
“Ev—” she groaned and arched into me.
Her body was slightly different at this far along in the pregnancy, and I loved every part of it. I hated that I missed so much. Never again. I would make sure that she always wanted me close to her.
Violet was arching off the bed within seconds. I didn’t even have a chance to push a finger into her tight pussy.
“It’s never been this fast before—oh! Evander!” Her knees fell open, and she rocked into my tongue over and over. “Yes, yes, yes!”
There it was. My answer. She was mine.
I could keep lapping at her, get her off again, but I’d been without too long. I rose enough to rip my fly open and free my erection. Since I wasn’t wasting time for this first round, I notched myself and slowly pushed in, staying on my knees to keep pressure off her stomach.
This had to be as good for her as it was for me. She clamped her legs around me. When I was fully seated, I paused. The first time I’d been in her, she’d rocked my world. This time, she’d given me the damn universe .
She adjusted with me and groaned. “So full. I missed this.”
I pulled out and took my time thrusting back in. “Fuck, Violet. We’re not leaving this bed for the rest of the day.” I fell forward, catching myself with an arm, my hand planted by her head.
I rested a finger on her clit.
“I can’t come again. That first time was too strong…ungh.” Her eyelids fluttered. “You always prove me wrong.”
“You did it first. I’ll always be trying to catch up.” I increased my rhythm.
“Those chemistry decorations? Those are going to get you laid for a long time.” She unhooked her legs and hitched them to the side. The bed rocked with my thrusts. “So fucking good.”
The best. My desire would explode or implode if I didn’t come soon, but I needed more time, just a little more of us together. Connected. “I’ll paint this whole house full of chemistry equations to get you under me.”
She gripped my shoulders and held on for the ride. “You got me under you long before that.”
My balls tightened. I couldn’t hang on. “Come for me, wildflower.”
Her walls clenched around me so fucking tight I barely held on until she cried my name. Then I let go, kicking my hips and shaking until I spent everything inside of her. This time, she was mine. I wasn’t leaving, thinking I’d never see her again. I wasn’t trying to act as if we were nothing but an “expecting parents with benefits” situation. Violet Duke was mine.
She held on to me, her chest heaving, her stomach brushing mine. I pulled out of her and rolled behind her, curling her into my front. I was still dressed, but I didn’t want to leave her long enough to take my jeans and shirt off. Not yet.
“Mm.” She snuggled into me, her ass wiggling against my still-hard dick. “I think I could sleep now. I tried to earlier, but I just tossed and turned.”
“In that case, wait here.” I got up and stuffed my obnoxious hard-on back into my jeans. I went into the bathroom and returned with a damp, warm washcloth.
I handed it to her, and while she cleaned up, I changed into sweats. Then I got her under the covers and wrapped myself behind her again. This moment was more perfect than I could’ve imagined. “Get some rest.”
“You seem to be saying that a lot lately.”
“I like seeing you in my bed, and that beautiful mind of yours is keeping you awake.”
“I was so worried after I saw the pictures of the nursery equipment.” She yawned.
I pressed a kiss into her hair and draped an arm over her abdomen. “Dad thinks he can cut off the damaged parts and repurpose it.” My parents were excited and wanted to help. Instead of thinking the worst, I liked seeing their enthusiasm. I appreciated it and them.
“That’s sweet of him, but we don’t need it now.”
“Then I’ll tell him to go ahead and do it for their place after the baby comes. It’ll keep him from trying to fix the fence on his own.”
She traced lazy circles over the back of my hand. “What are you going to do?”
“I’m going to marry you, we’re going to get this house, and I’ll grow goddamn pumpkins until I take over for Dad. I already talked to Stetson, and he brought up the idea of separating the ranches into individual businesses first. It’s a lot for him to oversee.”
“You’re okay being a farmer and rancher?”
“I don’t care what I am as long as I’m with you.” I splayed my hand over the swell of her stomach. “But just so you don’t worry, yes, I’m more than okay with it.”
“I love you,” she murmured. A heartbeat later, her breathing evened, and she went limp.
“You’re my world. You’re my beautiful wildflower.”