Chapter 16
MICAH
By the time we made it home from the stadium, the adrenaline was still working its way through my system.
I’d taken hits all night—my ribs were sore, my ankle was tight, and my neck was stiff.
But nothing got to me, not really. The whole game, I knew she was up there.
Cheering for me, wearing my name, and sitting with the other women, who knew exactly what it meant to belong to someone like me.
Now, I was the one watching. Leaning against the kitchen doorway, still in my dress pants and button-down shirt—the dress code Lennox insisted on when arriving or leaving the stadium on game days.
I hadn’t even put away my gear bag; it was still by the door.
My whole focus was on the woman in front of me.
She was barefoot, her hair down in soft waves, wearing a pair of tiny sleep shorts and one of my long-sleeved shirts that hit mid-thigh. The hem fluttered as she moved, her hips swaying while she pulled something out of the fridge.
“I made you something.” She glanced back at me with that little smile that did dangerous things to my chest.
I pushed off the doorframe and walked over, stopping behind her as she set a small glass dish on the counter.
“It’s chocolate mousse layered with peanut butter cream and pretzel crumble on top.” She bit her bottom lip, like she wasn’t sure if I’d like it.
My mouth was already watering, but not for the dessert.
Still, I took the spoon she handed me and reached around her to scoop a bite. It melted on my tongue. Rich. Decadent. Fucking perfection. But not as perfect as the heat radiating against my chest from the back of her body.
“Holy shit, Rylin. That’s incredible.” I set the spoon down and moved in even closer, one hand finding her waist, the other curling around the curve of her hip. I leaned down and brushed my mouth over the shell of her ear. “But I bet it’s gonna taste even better when I’m licking it off your pussy.”
Her breath hitched, and a little whimper fell from her lips.
She didn’t have a chance to reply before I turned her to face me, gripped her ass, and lifted her onto the counter.
Her knees fell apart instinctively, and my body filled the space between them.
I kissed her like I was starving. Like I hadn’t had her in the middle of the night and again this morning. Deep and possessive.
Her taste was as succulent as her dessert. One of my hands slid up her shirt, grazing the soft skin of her ribs and the curve of her breast.
And right there, with her breath fanning hot against my cheek and her nails sinking into my shoulders, I couldn’t hold it back another second. “I’m so fucking in love with you, Rylin.”
She froze for half a second, like her brain needed to catch up to her heart. But then her lips softened, and she met my gaze intensely. “I love you too, Micah.”
That was everything. I kissed her again, slower this time, pouring everything I felt into it. Then I pulled back and gave her a crooked smile. “Now you can’t argue. You’re moving in.”
She laughed, tugging at the front of my shirt. “Pretty sure you already took care of that. I’ve got more stuff in your apartment than mine.”
“Still not official.” I let my hand slide to her bare thigh. “But it will be.”
Her smile lit up her whole face. It was the look that decided it for me. I wasn’t waiting another fucking day. I kissed her one more time and then lifted her off the counter.
“Where are we going?” she asked, breathless, laughing as I carried her down the hall.
“Bedroom.”
Her arms looped around my neck. “So bossy.”
I kicked the door open, crossed to the bed, and set her down gently on the edge. “Stay there.”
She tilted her head. “Micah?”
I stalked to my dresser and opened the drawer where I’d hidden the little box and closed my fist around it. My heart pounded harder than it had during the final quarter of our toughest game. When I turned back around, she was still seated, watching me with amused curiosity.
“I’ll kneel if you want me to.” I walked toward her. “I’ll make a long mushy speech. But the one thing I’m not going to do is ask.”
Holding out my hand, I slowly uncurled my fingers to reveal a little robin’s egg blue box.
She popped up to her feet and clasped her hands together in front of her. “Micah—”
“We’re getting married.” My voice was low and steady, immovable. “You said you love me. You’re mine. That’s all there is to it.”
Before I could even flip the lid open, she shouted, “Yes!”
My mouth curved into a wide grin, and I opened the box anyway, just to watch her eyes get big and shiny. The ring had a large, brilliant diamond in a sleek platinum setting. Simple. Elegant. Timeless. Like her.
I slid it onto her finger and pulled her into a kiss, one hand fisting her hair, the other wrapping around her hip.
When we broke apart, she was breathless and a little dazed, but she looked up at me with a teasing glint, although there was anxiety too. “Okay…I have one condition for officially moving in.”
I frowned. “You already said yes.”
She laughed and swatted my chest. “Fine. Then it’s a condition for marrying you.”
“You already said yes to that, too,” I growled, pulling her tight against me, thinking about all the spankings she was earning herself.
“Micah.”
I narrowed my eyes, a clear warning in them that sent a shiver down her spine. “Are you trying to renegotiate, baby?”
She cleared her throat and shook her head, as if to dispel the fog of lust closing in around her. Then, with an exasperated smile, she blurted, “We need to turn one of the bedrooms into a nursery.”
Everything went still. Even my heart stopped for a beat. When it punched back to life, it pounded so hard it felt like it was breaking through my ribs.
“What?” I whispered, my mouth slowly curving into a grin.
She studied me closely, as if she were trying to decide whether my smile was real or for show. “I’m pregnant.”
I let out a bark of laughter, then a roar of joy as I grabbed her waist and lifted her straight off the floor, spinning her in a wide circle.
“You’re pregnant!” I shouted. “You’re having my baby!”
She clutched at my shoulders, her eyes wide and face draining of all color—except green. “Micah! Put me down! I’m gonna be sick!”
Shit!
I set her down fast and waited for direction as she stood still for a minute. Then she sighed and dropped her shoulders in relief. “Okay. I’m good.”
Giving her a wink, I dropped to my knees and pressed both hands to her hips before leaning in close to her stomach. My mouth barely brushed the soft cotton of my shirt she was wearing as I spoke.
“Hey, kid. It’s your dad,” I murmured in a low voice. “Your mom has already made me the happiest man alive, but you make it even more complete.”
Looking up at Rylin’s face with a cheeky smirk, I remembered the sexy-ass dessert she’d made for me and added, “If you could make her crave peanut butter and chocolate every day for the next nine months, I’ll buy you a car.”
The heat in my eyes made it clear that I was thinking about licking it off her gorgeous, pregnant body.
Rylin laughed, but there was an answering burn in her gaze. I stood, scooped her into my arms again, and carried her straight to our bed.
“We need to celebrate,” I rasped.
I’d forgotten to grab the sweet treat she’d made for me, but I was too far gone to stop now. I’d go back for it before round two.
Our clothes came off at record speed. Her shirt went up and over her head, shorts kicked off, bra unhooked, and panties tossed somewhere behind me.
The buttons on my shirt weren’t cooperating fast enough, so I impatiently ripped it open and dropped it to the floor before shucking my pants and boxers.
Then I laid her on the bed and climbed on, pulling her underneath me.
Her skin was soft and hot, her eyes darker than I’d ever seen them, and those luscious lips were swollen from our kisses. I ran my fingers over her curves, down her belly, to the place where our baby was growing, and my breath got caught in my throat.
“Micah,” she whispered, arching into my hand.
I kissed her as though I’d never have another chance while I slid inside her with one slow, claiming thrust.
She gasped and clawed at my shoulders, wrapping her legs around my waist and tilting her pelvis to take more of me. “That’s it, baby. Take me all the way in. Fuck, I love your tight little pussy.”
I took her slow and deep, savoring every second as the passion built.
When we finally came together, her body trembled under mine, and I gritted her name with my face buried in her neck, holding her tightly as if she might float away.
Eventually, I made good on my promise and licked the chocolate mousse and peanut butter cream off her lips, tits, and belly, and finished it off by eating it from her pussy.
“Damn, baby,” I groaned as I crawled up and flipped her onto her stomach so I could thrust in from behind. “I didn’t think you could get any sweeter.”
This time, it was fast and wild, the animal inside me practically beating his chest smugly as he yelled that he’d bred his mate.
Afterward, we curled up, skin damp, limbs tangled, and her head on my chest. I was half asleep when I murmured, “You know, it’s pretty fucking sexy knowing you’re carrying my kid.”
She let out a sleepy laugh and snuggled in a little closer.
“I might have to knock you up again the second this one’s out,” I mused, thoughtfully. The idea was fueled by the image of her beneath me, naked with a round bump in her belly and gasping for breath as she climaxed.
Her laugh faded as my cock swelled under the leg she’d thrown across my lower body. I cracked one eye open, saw her wide stare, and smirked. “Dead serious, baby.”
Before she could form a reply, I rolled on top of her again, guiding myself into her slick heat, and growling, “But for now, we’ll just get in some more practice.”