Chapter 11 #3
“I’ll get you whatever you need, and we’ll continue to count our blessings, because we are so very, very lucky.”
“I know that. I honestly do. I don’t want you to think I’m not grateful.”
“I know you are, babe. Anyone would be overwhelmed by this news.”
“Let’s not tell anyone for a while, okay? By the time they find out, it won’t be like we literally got pregnant one second after Mac was born.”
“You got it,” Mac said, laughing as he gathered her into his embrace. “Whatever you want.”
“I’m never having sex with you and your super sperm again.”
“Yes, you are.”
“Never again.”
“You know how much I love a good challenge.” Cupping her cheek, he said, “Kiss me.”
“No, that’s probably enough to get me pregnant again.”
“The good news is that can’t happen for the next eight months or so. We can have all the fun we want in the meantime.”
“After that, no more.”
“Kiss me.”
“Mac…”
“Hmm?” He was busy kissing her neck and working his way to her lips.
“Do you promise you’ll love me even if I never again look the way I did when we met?”
He raised his head and looked down to find her caramel eyes gazing up at him with wild vulnerability.
“I promise I will love you no matter what. I like you better with some curves. You were too thin when we met, too worried about everything and not properly taking care of yourself because you were too busy caring for Thomas. I love every inch of you. I love every curve, every valley, every hollow and every bit of smooth, silky skin. There will never come a time when I don’t love you or want to make love to you more than I want anything else in my entire life. ”
Maddie sighed and wrapped her arms around him as he settled on top of her. “I’m sorry to be this way. It’s the old insecurities coming back to haunt me.”
“You can be insecure any time you need to be, and I’ll be happy to put your mind at ease.”
“Even after all this time, sometimes I still can’t believe…”
His lips skimmed over hers in the lightest possible caress. “What can’t you believe?”
“That you picked me.”
“You crashed into me. You didn’t give me much choice.”
She smiled at his familiar reply, as he’d hoped she would. “You crashed into me.”
“Semantics,” he said, pushing her nightgown up and pressing his cock against the heat between her legs. They had the who-crashed-into-whom “argument” frequently, and it never got old to think about the day they met. “And if you’ll recall, I loved you when you were bruised and bloody and scabby.”
“Yes, you did.” She ran her fingers through his hair, making him tremble with need.
“I’ve loved you and wanted you and needed you every day since.
I always will, Madeline. No matter what.
” He pushed into her, desperate to show her how much he loved her in every way he possibly could.
Though he understood where the insecurities came from, it pained him to know she still suffered from them.
If he could, he would use the power of his love for her to wipe away everything that had ever hurt her and replace those memories with the joy she had brought to his life.
She clung to him and met his every deep thrust with a welcoming lift of her hips.
“I can still remember every detail of our first week together,” he whispered, his lips brushing against her ear and making her shiver.
“Right down to the bar that poked me in the back on that awful pull-out sofa bed. I remember feeding orange sweet potatoes to Thomas and our first kiss when you were dreaming and the first time we made love and how I had to get Janey to buy us more condoms.”
Maddie laughed and then gasped when he drove into her again.
“That was the best week of my entire life, and every week since then has been even better. And it’s all because of you.”
“I love you, Mac. So much. I never want you to think—”
He kissed her with deep, coaxing strokes of his tongue. “I know exactly why this happens every now and then. I get it, babe. Any time you need to be reminded of how I feel about you, you just let me know. I’m always happy to tell you.”
With her hands on his face, she compelled him to meet her gaze. “I remember everything about that week, too. From the first second you forced your way into my life to the way you took care of me and Thomas and covered my shifts at the hotel and made me feel safe for the first time in my life.”
Her words took his desire for her from slow burn to open flame. He reached down to where they were joined to caress her until she exploded, her inner muscles clamping down on his cock, taking him with her until they were gasping and clinging to each other in the aftermath.
“So much for keeping my distance from you and your super sperm,” she said dryly.
“Don’t do that. Don’t ever do that.”
“As if I could.”
“Today was a huge shock to both of us, but it’s going to be okay. Tell me you know that.”
“I do know it. Thank you for always doing what you do to talk me off the cliff.”
“I need you right here with me, not out on a cliff worrying yourself sick.”
“Love you, Mac.”
“Love you more, Madeline. Close your eyes and get some sleep. I’m right here, and I’m never letting go.”