Chapter 21
Arianna
“I just don’t understand why I couldn’t get them now,” Dean whines as he opens the trunk.
Biting my tongue, I try to keep a straight face. “Maybe because by the time you saw them, you already had an entire cart full of toys she won’t be able to play with for another year.”
If I had ever thought that I was a shopaholic, Dean is whatever a level up from that is.
We only went to one store, and by the time we were ready to check out, we had accumulated two carts full of necessities, toys, and clothes, plus a stacked flat of furniture.
When he saw a pink and purple dinosaur set on the way out, I suggested he add it to the registry instead.
Which is what he’s still upset about.
“Hate to break it to you, babe, but I don’t think they would have fit in here.” Shaking my head, I place my hands on my hips and face the trunk.
It felt like I was directing a game of Tetris when it came to loading things up.
Between Dean and the employee who offered to help lift the baby furniture, it took almost ten minutes to get it all in perfectly.
Looking at it all now that it’s ready to be brought in, I can’t help but wonder what Dean would have done if I wasn’t there to rein him in.
“It could have fit,” Dean grumbles, but the look on his face tells me he knows I’m right.
“Absolutely not. I’m pretty sure we couldn’t have fit a stuffed animal if we tried.”
Stepping forward, I start loading my arms up with some of the lighter bags, already knowing that he’d prefer it if I didn’t lift things that are heavier.
Normally, I’d go out of my way to prove a point that I am perfectly capable of carrying things that weigh more than twenty pounds.
However, if I’m being completely honest with myself, I don’t feel the need to prove anything to Dean.
He knows that I’m more than able to do whatever I tell him I can.
And right now, after shopping for hours and being on my feet all morning, if he wants to pick up more of the work, I am not going to say no. And with him, I don’t even feel guilty for it.
While Dean starts loading up both his arms, I head to unlock the front door and laugh when a cute black nose poking through the cracked open door greets me.
“Back up, baby girl,” I tell Cora, who immediately listens.
The training course that Dean enrolled her in was intense and honestly the best thing ever.
She was already a well-behaved puppy, but now she’s sharper than a tack.
She follows close by, nose investigating what I’m bringing in when I set my bags beside the couch in my living room.
There is definitely going to need to be an inventory done of all this stuff, and everything that can be needs to be washed, so there’s no point bringing it upstairs.
“Come on, girl, I’ll let you outside before helping Dean with the rest.” Her ears perk forward at the word outside and she leaves her investigation of the new things to bound through my house toward the back door.
Since we found out the gender last week, Dean and Cora have been here every single day and night.
It’s been nice having them here. Without even noticing, they’ve started filling in spaces of my home that I didn’t even know were lacking.
With dog toys or Dean’s toothbrush beside mine.
Dean’s hockey gear has made itself at home in my barely touched garage. And now stuff for the baby.
The thought of all of us molding together so effortlessly makes me smile.
Once Cora is happily roaming the fenced in yard, I head back out front to see what else I can get. I expect to run into Dean by the front door so I can tell him where to put things, only to find him still at the trunk. He’s facing away now, looking down the street with a frown.
“Everything okay?” I ask, following his gaze but not finding anything important.
“I could have sworn I saw…” He shakes his head, straightening his shoulders and flashing a goofy grin. “Nothing.”
“Okay…” I twist to watch him as he walks around me toward the house before I remember what I was supposed to tell him. “You can put those next to the couch.”
When I finally turn to the car again, it looks much emptier than I expected. Dean really took the silent challenge of getting everything inside in as few trips as possible seriously. I’m grabbing a box of diapers and some of the bags of onesies by the time he returns.
“I probably should have asked my dad to come by so you had help with the furniture.”
Except, I hadn’t planned on buying a crib, a dresser, a bookcase, and a gliding chair today.
“Already taken care of. One of the guys will be over later tonight to help.” He winks, stacking two boxes of wipes with some other things. “Guys are easily bribed with pizza.”
My mouth salivates at the thought of pizza, and I nod. “So am I.”
It takes us two more trips to bring in everything but the furniture. We both drop heavily onto the couch, heaving sighs of relief. I glance at the mountain of baby stuff and shrug.
“Yeah, sorting through that is definitely a project for tomorrow. Or this weekend.”
Dean nods, finally looking around while rubbing his chin. “Where’s Cora?”
I point to the open screen door just as she starts barking. “Telling the squirrels to go fuck off.”
He turns to me, eyes dropping to the exposed skin of my baby bump since I’d been too lazy to pull my shirt down once we sat.
His palm finds my stomach, the warmth of his skin sending a thrill down my spine.
One single touch from this man and he effectively scrambles my thoughts until all I can focus on is how to get him naked.
Pregnancy hormones are insane. One minute, you’re craving a specific food so bad that you’ll cry if you can’t have it, and the next, you’re desperate to be fucked into oblivion from one simple touch.
Which is something Dean is all too happy and willing to help with.
He pushes my shirt up, revealing more of the bump before he bends forward and starts showering my skin with kisses. When he reaches as far as he can without lying on top of me, I’m squirming and practically panting.
“Dean,” I murmur. “I need…”
His fingers push beneath the hem of my shorts, only to tease along my waist.
Not in the mood for a torturously slow pace, I shove Dean away by the shoulder, moving with him until I’m straddling his lap. His hands grip my hips tightly, steadying me from grinding over his crotch.
Peering down at him through hazy eyes, I brace my hands on his shoulders.
“If you try to take things slow right now, I will leave you hanging while my toy gets me off.”
“Fucking hell,” he groans, raising a brow at me in challenge. “That is a tempting thought and something we will be circling back to later. Right now, though…”
He lifts me off him effortlessly, helping me stand long enough to unbutton my shorts and remove them with my underwear in one easy tug.
I kick them off to the side while he leans back, raising his hips to take off his shorts and boxers.
His already hard cock springs free and my thighs clench at the sight, anticipation coiling tightly.
“Now who’s taking their time with things?” Dean taunts, wrapping his fist around his dick and slowly pumping his hand up and down.
It’s a tempting sight, Dean sprawled out, holding his length as if he’s offering it to me on a silver platter. I almost want to drop to my knees and savor every taste or sound I could draw from him.
Like I said, though, I don’t want slow right now. There will be time for having my way with him later.
I move to straddle his lap once more, kneeling with his thighs trapped beneath me.
He’s forced to stop stroking himself when I continue to lower myself, and the head of his cock rests against my entrance.
We both groan at the contact, him moving on instinct as he rubs himself against me, coating himself in my arousal.
After a few more passes, my patience snaps.
Giving him no warning, I wait until he’s lined back up and drop onto him, taking as much of his length in one movement as possible since his hand is still at the base.
“Holy shit, Freckles. Maybe warn a guy before making him see stars.” Dean pants and I grin, pushing back up on my knees until only an inch or two of him remains.
He moves quickly, releasing his cock to hold on to my waist as I slide back down, taking all of him this time.
“Fuck no.” I moan, gripping his shoulders while dropping my head back. There are no thoughts as I find my pace. The only thing on my mind is the white-hot need to come.
His fingers dig into my hips, and when he sits up to capture one of my nipples in his mouth, my rhythm stutters. He bites down carefully, causing a burst of pleasure to pool before his tongue lashes out to soothe the sting.
“Dean.” His name is a plea, though I have no idea what I’m asking for.
He understands, though. Repeating the movement while releasing his hold so deft fingers can find my clit. How he manages to sync up the patterns of his tongue with his fingers is a mystery to me, one I’m grateful for as he pushes me back slightly, changing the angle as I slide back down his cock.
There’s no holding back the sounds that leave my lips. It’s perfectly overwhelming. The new spot his dick hits on each thrust. His mouth on my breasts. His fingers dragging me to the edge while I frantically ride him.
He perfects his timing, pinching my clit between his fingers at the same time his teeth clamp down on my nipple, all as I lower myself. And when he does it for a second time, there’s no warning. My orgasm slams through me, shocking us both as I come.
“That’s it, baby, choke my dick. Fuck, you feel so good falling apart on me.”