29. Allie #2
I spread my palm over my stomach, and Archer tracks that too before his eyes snap to mine. “You’re unbelievably beautiful, Allie. Always have been. But now…” He rubs a hand over his jaw, shaking his head, as if all language is lost to him.
“Now what?” I whisper.
He licks his lips, sucking in a sharp inhale as his eyes drift to my chest—lower.
“Now, I’m fucking unhinged. I look at your body, and I know I did that to you, and it makes me feral.
” He steps forward, hand trembling as it falls to my stomach, sliding upward, dangerously close to the underside of my breast. The tips of his fingers tickle my skin there, setting a blaze within me, but he strays back down, stroking the skin of my rounded belly.
“I’m possessive over this. Over all of it.
” His eyes snap to mine. “All of you. I don’t think this baby being born is going to make that go away.
I think I need to be the only man who will ever do this to you.
I need to be the only man who gets to know you like this. ”
His voice rushes over every inch of my heated skin, and when I search his eyes for an ounce of hesitation, a twitch of uncertainty, I find nothing but pure, raw passion in his sapphire gaze.
I search my brain for a response, but nothing comes to my tongue. What I really want to do with my tongue is run it across his flesh, feel his all over mine. I want him to touch me far deeper than just my belly, I want to fit him inside me—that place in my body where only he has ever been.
Somehow, I find myself unable to voice those needs, though.
Archer leans closer, pressing his lips against my jaw before he moves around me, bending over the tub and turning on the faucet. He runs his hand beneath the water before nodding to himself and standing back up.
As the tub fills, he lights the half-dozen candles he carried into the bathroom with him earlier. I only watch, dumbfounded, as he lines the edge of the tub with them before turning off the water.
“Go ahead and get in. It shouldn’t be too hot for the baby. I need to grab something from the kitchen.”
He darts out of the bathroom, and I’m not sure what to think as I watch him leave, but turning back to the low-lit tub and the warm, inviting water, I decide not to question things and step over the ledge.
I hold onto it as I slowly sink down. It’s much less warm than I typically prefer my baths, but I remember Dr. Abbey mentioning water that’s too hot could be harmful to the baby.
Archer returns a moment later, pausing as he takes in the sight of me submerged.
My belly and my breasts are all that remain above the water line.
Holding a bag of Epsom salts in one hand, he turns off the light with the other, the room now flickering with only the warmth of the candles.
Archer opens the bag and adds two cups of salt.
“Supposed to help with constipation,” he says, sitting on the ledge. “Can I brush your hair?”
“Yeah,” I whisper. “I’d like that.” I nod toward the shelves above the toilet. “There is a spray bottle, my detangling oil, and brush on the top shelf there.”
He stands, grabbing the three items before returning to his previous position.
I sit forward as he scoops the hair off the nape of my neck and pulls it back over, fingers caressing my skin with a tender touch.
He sprays my hair, dampening it just enough to loosen my tight curls before he runs the oil through my strands.
As he begins gently pulling the brush through my hair, he whispers, “When I found out you’d kept the pregnancy from me for so long, that you’d come all the way to Texas and then left without telling me about it…
It broke my heart, Allie.” The memory of that hurt rakes down my skin, guilt filling the tears his words leave upon my flesh.
“Not only because you hid it—I understand that now. But because I can’t help but fear that somewhere, deep inside of you, you were unsure if this is what you wanted. Unsure if I was what you wanted. Us.”
“Archer, I…” I sit up, turning to look at him, watching the longer strands of my hair slip through his grasp with the movement of my head. “I do want this, with you. Only you. I’ve made that clear.”
He nods, candlelight flickering across his fierce blue eyes. “I know that now.” Those beautiful eyes drift to my belly as he reaches out, placing his hand at the center of it. “I’m sorry I doubted us.”
We’re both quiet for a moment, watching him caress my growing bump.
“There is a beating heart right here, beneath my palm,” he whispers.
“A heart that’s half of me, and half of you.
We share that now—an entire heart. An entire soul.
A life.” I lift my gaze to his, finding those soul-deep sapphires piercing through me once again.
“That’s all I’ve ever wanted, Allie. Only with you. ”
I nod, thick emotion pricking my throat as I nuzzle my cheek against his massive arm. “I know.”
“From the moment I saw you like this for the first time, the swell of my child inside you, I realized that the proudest thing I’ll ever be, the honor of my life, won’t be football or quarterback or MVP.
It’ll be becoming the father of our daughter, and I’ll never be capable of showing my gratitude to you for giving me that, Allie, but it’s only one of the million reasons why I’ll care for and carry you until the end of time.
” He cups my face with his free hand. “As for why I love you? You give me new reasons every single day, and our daughter is one that I’m most thankful for, but she’s far from the only lovable thing about you to me.
I’m sorry I haven’t made that clearer these past weeks, but I promise you that my sole purpose moving forward is to show you exactly what you are to me, Allie Cat. ”
I lean into his palm, eyes falling closed as the sentiment is absorbed by my atoms. I allow his love to soak into my skin, to wrap me in warmth, in belonging.
That sensation of returning home, of breathing after being underwater, of discovering what you realize you’ve long been searching for, it blankets me from the tips of my toes to my fluttering eyelashes as I blink away tears.
I open my mouth to tell him I love him when a rapid burst of flurries erupts in my stomach. Stronger, more rapid and fervent than they have ever been before. When Archer gasps, hand going rigid over my abdomen, I know he felt it too.
“Was that… Is she…” His eyes flash to mine, flaring with awe. “Is she kicking?”
“I think she is.” I laugh, rough with emotion. “I think she heard you. I think she’s letting you know that… That we love you too.”
Archer drops to his knees, gently moving candles out of the way so he can lean over the tub. He drops his mouth to my stomach, pressing his lips to the swell. “Hi, sweet girl.”
Tears line my eyes as I run my fingers through his soft, dark hair.
The scene in front of me is a dichotomy of rugged and delicate.
The strength of this man—hard lines, cut muscle.
Toweringly tall and menacingly broad, he gazes at my body—our daughter within it—with soft eyes, holding me with tender touch.
On his knees, he cradles my belly, whispering promises and adornment into my skin.
It’s beautiful and raw and all-consuming, the love radiating through us in this moment. An image I’ll hold with me forever, one I’ll look back at on the hardest days.
Until another sensation kicks up in my stomach—something much less bubbly and romantic. More urgent. Unfortunate.
“Oh.” I shudder. “It’s happening.”
Archer scrambles back, eyes widening with panic. “The baby?”
“No.”
“Oh.” He sighs, clutching his chest, before his gaze flares once more. “Oh.” He nods, rising to his feet as he reaches out to me. “All right, let’s get you up then.”
I let him help me out of the bath before he grabs my fluffy robe and holds it out. I push my arms through it, and as he wraps it around me I say, “You have to like…leave for a while.”
His head snaps down, peering at me with a bemused smile. “Didn’t you just ask me if I’m going to be there to watch you give birth? I’m going to see all the things happening in your body, Amor.”
“Well, that’s not happening today. So I need you to go sit outside or something.”
He tosses his head back with bright laughter before dipping down, aligning his lips with mine.
He’s about to kiss me, and I’m certain I’ve never longed for anything more in my entire life.
I know I’ve kissed Archer Ramos a million times before, but it feels as if our relationship has transcended to a new height tonight, and this kiss is almost like our first.
Which means it’s absolutely not happening right now.
I place my hand against his chest. “You can’t kiss me yet. Not… Not considering the current circumstances.”
Archer laughs again, breath hot against my mouth. “Okay, Amor. You better make that next kiss worth the wait, then,” he whispers. “I’ll go over to the big house and say hi to my aunt and uncle. Text me when you’re ready for me to come home.”
“Will do,” I breathe, before pressing against him, ushering him to the door.
Just as I turn to waddle away, he calls out from the doorway, “I love you so goddamn much, Allie Mae.”