Chapter 39
Chapter thirty-nine
Eighteen Weeks
Eight months ago, I met a closed-off grump who could barely look me in the eyes, let alone grunt more than a few words at me.
How that same guy is now the person I come home to every night is beyond me.
The same guy who gets up early to make my breakfast, who refills the water beside my bed when he comes home at three a.m. after a shift, who tells me multiple times a day how much he loves me.
And let’s not forget the one I’m having a baby with.
I practically skip across the driveway as I make my way over to the back door. The garden beds look tidy, and the smell of fresh soil fills the air. One of the sections looks like they have some new seedlings, and it makes me smile as I wonder what that man of mine has been up to today.
It’s been a month since I moved into his huge house.
I’ve learnt Gage likes things clean and orderly.
I like everything to have a place, but I also love colours, patterns, and trinkets.
He rolled his lips when I added three cushions and a throw blanket to his bed, injecting the plain dark cover with my own whimsical touch.
I would have changed his bed cover too, but I only had queen bedding and he has a super king.
It didn’t matter, though, because the next day, I came home from work to a white bed cover similar to the one I used to have, and all my cushions stacked back on top, exactly the way I had put them.
The door leading into the kitchen is unlocked, and as soon as I step inside, my mouth waters. There’s a giant pot sitting on the stove. I lift the lid, finding it full of what looks like a chicken and vegetable soup.
The kitchen is completely tidy, and the rest of the room is quiet. I drop my handbag on the end of the counter, intent on finding Gage, but he steps through the front hallway, wiping his hands against his jeans.
“Hi.” There’s no hiding the beaming smile that always fills my face the second I see him.
His eyes light up as they take me in, first my face and then the bump that started to pop over the last few weeks.
Most of the exhaustion has passed now, and I’m thankful my experience has been relatively easy.
There’s not a moment of this pregnancy that I want to take for granted, and certainly not the man I’m navigating it with.
Gage steps into me, hands cupping my cheeks to pull my lips to his in a deep, searing kiss.
It makes my toes curl, and my belly kick, although that could be our little Baby Buttercup.
A week ago, I felt their first movement.
It was like your heart skipping a beat, or butterflies in your stomach.
All those wonderful little signs that life gives you that say, Hey, this is one of the moments you want to remember.
“Hi, Buttercup.” Gage presses another kiss to my lips before he drops down to his knees, rubbing his large palms over the swell of my stomach. “Hi, my little BB.”
He looks up at me from his spot. “Size of a pomegranate today.”
I nod, and he leaves a kiss on my stomach, then another before he stands upright again.
“Dinner is ready whenever you want it, but I have something for you first.”
He takes my hand and leads me to our bedroom while I follow behind him, laughing.
“You already do so much for me.”
He looks over his shoulder with a smirk. “Not possible.”
We reach the door, and Gage stops, turning around to reach for both my hands. “Close your eyes.”
I purse my lips, raising an eyebrow as I look him up and down with suspicion. The tender look on his face forces me to give in, the ease with which I can trust him turning my muscles pliant.
He slowly pulls me with him, my shuffling steps dragging against the carpet, scared I might trip, but I know he’d always catch me.
“Can I open them?”
“No. Not yet.” Even though Gage has billions, it’s the little things he does that have the most value.
He’s always making sure I’m fed, whether it’s cooking for me, sending food to the office or bringing it himself.
It’s nice to be taken care of, and I like knowing that I’m the only one who gets this side of him.
We stop, and there’s the groaning of door hinges, then the feeling of Gage moving around me. His spicy scent surrounds me, as does the warmth of his mere presence.
His stubble brushes against my neck as he whispers in my ear. “Now.”
I open my eyes, finding myself standing in the middle of the bathroom.
The giant tub is full of purple-tinged water, wisps of steam unfurling as they rise to join the flicker of hundreds of candles that are scattered around the room.
Short, tall, skinny, and thick candles are lined up along the windowsill, filling the benchtop and clustered around the floor.
The whole room smells like lavender and bergamot.
I turn around, laying my palms on Gage’s chest. “What’s all this?”
He shrugs. “Just thought you might like to unwind after work. I have to be at the bar in a few hours.” He picks up a loose curl, twirling it around his finger before laying it over my shoulder, then leaves his hand against my bicep, running his thumb over my arm.
“Wanted you to know that I think of you, even when you’re not here. ”
I grab onto his forearm as I balance on one foot tugging off a boot, then switch to the other side.
One at a time, I pull the straps of my dress off my shoulders and let it fall to the ground, leaving me in tights and a T-shirt.
Gage’s eyes roam over my body as I remove the rest of my clothes.
My yellow cotton underwear is trimmed in lace, and my breasts feel full and heavy where they sit in a matching bralette.
Eighteen weeks in, and I’m already all about comfort over sexiness, but with the way Gage looks at me, I may as well be standing here naked. His jaw clenches as his eyes slowly move from my face to my shoulders. My breasts, my bump, and all the way to my toes.
“Do you have time to join me?” Seduction lies thick in my words as I pull the bralette over my head.
I hear Gage’s gulp as my breasts spill free, and I slowly step backward towards the bath.
He clears his throat. “It was more for you to relax in.”
“Oh, but I would be so much more relaxed if you joined me.” I hook my fingers into the waistband of my underwear and guide them down my legs. Stepping out of them, I turn to the bath, then look over my shoulder. “Please, Grim.”
His hands fly to his belt, and he starts to undress. I step into the water, at a perfectly warm temperature, and lower down as I watch him finish. Within seconds, he’s walking toward me, his dick already half hard, and it has me biting my lip with pride that I have that effect on him.
“Move up, baby.” Gage points his chin to the other end of the bath, and I scoot forward so he can step in behind me.
Once he’s seated, I push back, settling against his chest. Gage’s hands wind around me as his head rests against the side of mine.
He gently rubs up and down my legs and over my belly.
His touch and the warm water would have me ready to sleep if it weren’t for the thick, hard length pressing into my back, which makes me feel quite the opposite.
“What else did you get up to today, apart from cooking dinner, running me a bath, and making me feel like the luckiest girl in the world?”
He chuckles and presses a kiss to my temple. “Met with Lee Connors this morning and saw the progress at Smoke and Barrel.”
“He sent me some photos this morning,” I say. “I uploaded them to your social media sites. Did I tell you membership is at forty-eight per cent already?”
“Really? We’re still, what, four months from opening?”
I nod. “Yep. Caleb and I were talking about getting Dylan up again for another event. Maybe a pop-up bar at Hallucinogens. Lex was really excited about it.”
“You amaze me,” he whispers in my ear before pressing a single kiss just behind it. I smile as I lift my arms and run my hands behind his neck, humming as he continues.
“Did you do some gardening? I thought I saw some new stuff out there.”
“Mmhmm,” he hums as he continues to dot kisses against my heated skin. “Planted some new seedlings. Buttercups.”
I turn my head slightly to look at him. “You planted buttercups?”
“I had a few gardening supplies to get, and they were on a display table by the back door as a staff pick. There was no way I could pass them up.”
I sink back against his chest with a smile. “I honestly wish people could see how sweet you are. But, at the same time, I like that it’s all for me.”
“I think I’ve been saving it all just for you,” he murmurs, then reaches behind him, returning with a jug.
“What’s that for?”
He lowers it into the water, then puts his free hand under my chin, helping to tip my head back.
“I wasn’t sure if you’d want to wash your hair, so I put your stuff here just in case, but now I want to do it for you.” He pauses right before tipping the water over me. “Is that okay?”
“That would be nice, thank you.”
Water cascades down my hair and back. Gage fills the jug again, making sure my hair is wet all over before picking up my shampoo and squeezing some into the palm of his hand.
He coats the strands before bringing his fingers to my scalp, massaging in firm, slow strokes.
My eyes roll back in my head as I groan. “That feels so good.”
His fingers freeze, and I feel his cock twitch against my back.
“I’m glad,” he says, voice rough, like dragging through gravel, before he continues the soothing motion. The longer he goes, the more aware I become of our wet and naked bodies pressed against each other, and suddenly, the water feels steaming hot.