by Kate Benson
“What is it, honey?” she asks, her sweet and playful expression quickly morphing into one of concern. “Are you in pain?” she continues, making me shake my head fiercely. “Are you alright?”
“Yeah, I’m okay,” I manage, setting my paints to the side and wiping my eyes on the sleeve of the shirt I’d stolen from Dash’s side of the closet. “I just miss you.”
“Aww. I miss you, too, honey,” she promises, swallowing her own emotion. “I’ll be back before you know it.”
“Whatever,” I wave her off. “You’re probably going to meet some insanely rich African King and start a new family.”
“Oh, hush. You’re such a shit,” she insists with a giggle. “Stop that crying and let me see my grandbabies.”
“Okay,” I nod, wiping the remnants of my tears away before I push away the oversized shirt to reveal the now figure hugging cami I’m wearing beneath it. When I stand, exposing the ever-growing bump, I can’t help but grin at the gasp that leaves her lips. “Oh, Evie,” she breathes, taking her own turn to tear up. “My baby’s babies.”
“I’m pretty sure most of this is tacos,” I joke, making her laugh again. “I’ve gained fourteen pounds already.”
“Looks like it’s all in your belly.”
“You’re only saying that because you can’t see my ass right now,” I roll my eyes as I return to the chair. “You still liking it there?”
“Yes,” she says immediately, the dreamy look in her eyes as she glances out her window doing something to my heart. “The only things I love more than Morocco are back home in Texas,” she winks. “Speaking of,” she continues, gesturing toward me. “It looks like it’s starting to get pretty windy out there,” she remarks as my hair begins to whip in the wind. “I’ve got to call your brother and you should get inside before it starts to rain.”
“Yeah, I guess I probably should,” I sigh, glancing toward the canvas I’d been working on and then back at her. “Wanna see?”
“Always,” she promises, her smile broadening when I lift the small piece and turn it toward the camera. She takes her time in looking at the still simple design, which I love, before she releases a gentle sigh of pride. “Beautiful. Just like its creator,” she gushes sweetly, making me smile as I thank her. “How is Dash? How’s the new job?”
“Good, he’s just really tired,” I sigh. “He’s gotten in late the last three nights and has two more long shifts before he gets a day off. That’s another reason I decided to work here today instead of the studio,” I explain. “I feel like I’ve barely seen him.”
“That just means he’s keeping his promise,” she assures me, pulling a prideful nod from me now. “Go on and get inside before you get soaked. I love you.”
“I love you, too, Mom,” I promise, each of us blowing a kiss toward our monitors before we end the call.
I collect Vinnie along with my supplies and quickly move inside, temporarily setting my paints inside the corner of what will be the nursery. I wash up quietly, eager to change my clothes into something not dripping with paint. His low, sleeping breaths pull my eyes to his and I can’t help but stop to drink him in. The way his dark hair falls over his brow, his broad chest rising and falling in the darkness with each breath ... it draws me to him effortlessly.
I take a step closer, grateful when he shifts slightly and the blanket moves lower, revealing more of his tattooed arms and chest.
Who knew Dash would turn out to be such a good guy? Who knew less than a year into our relationship, we’d be living together, about to be parents and shockingly happy?
Not this girl, that’s for sure.
Yet, it’s exactly where we are. As my eyes greedily sweep over his body, the wave of emotion moving through me shifts once more into something closer to desperation.
I know I should let him sleep, let him rest before his shift at the bar tonight. I’ve been waking him for sex far more often than I should, but between my feelings and my hormones, I’m climbing into the bed before I can stop myself. I straddle his waist, the feel of him beneath me making me heady as I slide down and wrap my lips around his tip. It pulls a groan from us both, his fingers threading into my hair as I take him into my mouth.
“What’s wrong, baby?” he starts, his voice drunk with sleep.
“Nothing,” I shake my head, pushing the remnants of the covers away from us.
“You never suck my dick unless you’re on my shit list, Evie,” he argues, yet makes no effort to dissuade me as I swirl my tongue around him. “What did you do?”
“Nothing,” I insist, gripping his base. “Just hush and be pretty.”
The words pull a breathy chuckle from his chest that fades as I dip my head lower, taking him into my mouth deeper. I lick and suck furiously, the low moan that leaves him as I hollow my cheeks out and slide up increasing my need instantly. I whimper around his shaft, the vibration pulling a string of profanity from his lips as he buries his hand deeper into my long, blonde strands, gripping tight. He’s close, his rapid breaths making it obvious. I can’t wait to taste his pleasure on my tongue, but the gentle tug he gives my hair promises he has other ideas.
“Come here,” he orders through a pant, pulling me up. “I want your pussy.”
I reluctantly release his cock from my mouth and move up the length of his body, gripping his base once more as I straddle him and gasp as I feel him slide inside me, deliciously stretching me.
“Fuck, baby,” he groans, leaning back against his pillows and taking me in. “You look so good riding me,” he manages, his fingers tugging at the edge of the fresh top I’d changed into. “Take this off, pussycat.”
The simple and familiar request is something I’d normally do without hesitation. Today, however, I’m feeling more self-conscious than ever. He notices as I bite my lip and slow my movements.
“Don’t be like that with me,” he commands sweetly, shaking his head and using the pad of his thumb to gently release my lower lip from between my teeth. “You’re gorgeous, Evie.”
His words help to calm me and with a deep internal breath, I pull the cotton over my head. I hate this new, very unexpected symptom that has recently reared its ugly head. While I can’t say I’ve never had any qualms about my body, none of them have ever had me feeling like I have been lately. However, once I’m completely bare, Dash releases a low hum of appreciation and rests his palm on my side, his fingers squeezing my flesh as he takes me in.
“That’s it, baby,” he hums, moving his hips and effectively taking away my nerves, replacing them with something else altogether. “There’s my girl.”
“Oh, my God,” I rasp, my hands gripping his abs as I settle onto his shaft.
I’ve never been this horny in my entire life.
My hips move of their own accord, the rhythm that comes with my rise and fall over him pulling a low, heady mewl from his parted lips. His palms move to my thighs, gripping my skin possessively as his hips thrust in time with mine. The sensation takes control of me, my head falling forward for a moment before it slowly rolls back, my rapid thoughts eventually tapering down to one as my heavy gaze finds his.
“Fuck,” he mouths, the delicious profanity slipping out making me that much more desperate.
My hands move higher, settling on his chest and I use him as leverage to drop against him with more force, taking him deeper.
“Harder,” I beg, my voice broken slightly with need. “Take me harder, Dash.”
“You want it rough, baby?” he asks, pulling a low groan and incessant nod for me. “You got it, pussycat.”
Before I can respond with more than a whimper, his hands release me only to move my grip from his chest to the headboard. His silent command keeps me there as one hand moves to my waist, the other firmly settling seductively against the base of my throat.
“Don’t move, pussycat,” he orders against my lips.
In the next breath, he slips out of me, the loss coursing through my frame immediately before I feel his bo
dy slide low, settling me on his face.
His lips move over me, his hands gripping my ass cheeks hard as he begins to ravish me with his tongue. His face and my thighs are sopping wet as one hand flies to his hair, gripping it hard. His grip on me keeps me in place until he controls my movements, swiveling my hips above him to lick and suck me ruthlessly.
I’ve lost control of my thoughts, my words. By the time I’ve hit my peak and come back down, he’s rising behind me, my breathing ragged.
“I told you not to move, baby,” he rasps, his palm falling hard against my ass cheek. “Hands where I can see ‘em.”
Once I’m in position, he shoves back into me and I release another loud moan of pleasure, further spurring us both on. Yet the moment his hand reaches for my throat a second time, pulling me into a seated position on his cock, my mind goes blank. I reach for him, my hands desperate to touch him, but he won’t allow it. Instead, he keeps one hand resting over my throat, the other hooked around my elbows, confining me as he drives into me ruthlessly.
“Is this what you needed, princess?” he husks, his hot breath washing over me in waves.
“Yes!” I wail, the spark I’d been feeling when I first gazed at him sparking into a full-fledged inferno at his dominant touch.
“Hmm…” he hums, his tongue sliding over my jawline, sending a jolt through my spine. My pussy begins to quake around him, each of his thrusts pulling a low huff from me. “You ready to come for me again, sugar?”
“Uh huh,” I nod dumbly, pulling a low, growl-like chuckle from his chest as my center floods once more, dripping over his shaft. “Oh, my God!”
The feel of his hot breath running over my flesh as he groans behind me sends me further into insanity. My eyes begin to tear and his tongue darts out, running up the side of my cheek to swipe it away and it’s my breaking point. I fall … plummet … completely. His name springs from my lips more desperately than I’d been when I climbed into this bed.
By the time I finish, my limbs are jelly. He drives into my now useless frame, taking the little that’s left of me and claiming it as his own. His grip tightens on me finally and with a final thrust, he fills me with a low string of expletives that make me moan weakly though my heavy breaths.
“Damn, baby,” he finally husks as he presses his lips to my hair, lowering behind me into a seating position and taking me with him. “Good morning.”
“Sorry I woke you,” I lie, and he lifts his forehead from its place on my shoulder.
“Yeah, I bet you’re real torn up about it,” he chuckles behind me, giving my thigh a gentle squeeze.
“Well, it’s nice to be nice,” I shrug, making him laugh louder this time.
“What time is it?” he yawns.
“Noon, I think.”
“Ugh…” he groans, his hand on my belly coming to a slow stop as I lift from him, making a beeline toward the bathroom. “I’m definitely going back to sleep if it’s noon. I’m fucking exhausted.”
“You definitely should,” I agree as I return to our bedroom. “I haven’t even done that much today and I’m thinking a nap is in order.”
“Cool,” he yawns once more, settling beneath the covers and lifting them for me to slide in beside him. “Get in here, pussycat.”
“Don’t you have to pee?” I ask, taking in his unkempt morning sex hair and fighting the hormones inside me again already.
“Nah, baby,” he shakes his head, gesturing for me to lie down beside him and so I do. “My dick’s still too hard to piss straight. It ain’t worth the cleanup, sugar.”
“Boys are weird,” I muse with a soft smile, settling in against his broad frame, savoring in the feel of him wrapping his arm around me and pulling me closer. He kisses the side of my head once more and sticks his tongue in my ear, making me squirm against his laughing chest as he holds me captive in his grip. “Stop it, you freak!”
“Quit talking shit,” he teases, both of us relaxing instantly. “Take your pretty ass to sleep.”
“Fine,” I sigh. “Love you.”
“I love you, too, monster,” he replies, the pad of his thumb brushing over my skin as he mirrors my yawn.
His hand moves from its usual place cupping my breast beneath my t-shirt and settles to its new favorite spot on my belly. I can’t help the gentle sigh of content that moves through me.
This path, our little potatoes, the relationship we’ve found ourselves in after it all is nowhere near where I thought I’d be after college. I certainly never thought I’d have any of this with him. Yet, with each passing day, regardless of our past, I’m simply blown away by the amount of love I have inside me for this man.
This may have not been part of my plan, but that doesn’t matter anymore. I can’t see myself being anywhere in the world that isn’t right beside Dash Hunter.
This isn’t the first time I’ve felt these emotions coursing through me, but it’s certainly the loudest they’ve ever been. At nearly half-way through this very unexpected pregnancy, to say my hormones are on full blast would be the understatement of the century. However, as easy as he’s made these last few months, it’s hard to keep the words filling my heart inside my chest.
In the past, silence is the route I’d have taken. I would have bottled these feelings, these intense emotions up forever and never shared them with a soul. The realization that this man, my previous nemesis, has helped me grow into the girl I am now? The girl who not only can’t hold those feelings in, but also can’t wait to share them with the tattooed arms wrapping around my small frame isn’t lost on me. The very person I’d once loathed has somehow transformed me into the woman I always wished to be.
How do you stay silent about something so powerful?
How do you still your very soul?
In this moment, I don’t want to know.
So, I could stay silent. If we’re being honest here, he’s so tired, he might prefer I did, but I can’t. Not this time. I can’t let another moment pass without telling him what it means that this crazy adventure I’ve found myself on is happening with him.
“I hope you know how much you mean to me,” I begin quietly, one of my hands falling to cover his. “I know this wasn’t what we planned, like… ever,” I smirk. “I know running away would have been the easy choice. For a lot of guys, it would have been the only choice, but you’ve never wavered,” I sigh, pressing my lips to the arm I’m resting against. “You’ve been so supportive and amazing and as sweet as your personality will allow,” I tease, giving his hand an affectionate squeeze. “And I know you’re going to make an amazing father, Dash, because you’re already showing me, already showing us, just how safe we are with you,” I continue, swallowing the lump in my throat as I fight the inevitable tears. “For so long, especially in the beginning, I was terrified to be vulnerable, to be myself. I never felt I was enough, never believed I was worthy of the kind of love I’ve always dreamed of having for myself someday. And then one night … one bizarre, alcohol-induced experience with someone who’d been there all along, the last person I ever expected to feel anything for … Everything shifted,” I manage, my voice breaking slightly with emotion. “You’ve changed me so deeply. I didn’t think it was possible to love someone like this, put so much trust into another person. Despite our past, I couldn’t be happier to be experiencing this with anyone else,” I admit with a gentle sob. “I know you’re tired, flat-out exhausted in ways I’m not sure either of us can fully appreciate, but I couldn’t let another moment pass without telling you how I feel. I’m so insanely in love with you, Dash Hunter, that it steals my breath. You steal my breath,” I admit. “There are an unequivocal number of unknowns on the other side of this. No matter what comes our way, I need you to know from this moment on, I’m yours and yours alone,” I sigh, nuzzling into him easily. “I am completely taken, forever fallen.”
I press my lips to his bicep once more, drying my tears with the tiny corner of comforter his large frame has left me with. As I await his re
ply, nerves uncharacteristically course through me in low waves.
When nothing comes for a moment, I can’t help but smile small to myself.
I’ve stunned him, I think. He’s so moved, so emotionally touched with the gifts my words have bestowed upon his soul that he’s actually been rendered speechless.
I bet Kate Middleton does this sort of thing to Prince William all the time.
I give his hand another pat and press my lips to his skin once more. It’s important that I do my best to help support and nurture him through his emotional breakthrough. I’m about to speak, but he cuts me off, so moved, his words are intelligible.
OMG. Mama Oprah’s gonna shit.
“What, baby?”
Another low sound leaves his broad chest and I can’t help the way my head shifts swiftly, my eyes narrowed in judgement as they find his snapped tight above me.
“Are you shitting me?” I whisper harshly. “I pour my freaking heart out to you and you’re asleep?”
His full lips falling open slightly before another long, low groan leaves him only adds further insult.
“Yeah, goodnight to you, too,” I grumble under my breath, shaking my head as I tug my pillow two inches away from him and burrow into it. “I take every word back, by the way,” I hiss low, yanking the covers from him and using them to warm my now instantly frozen heart. “Asshole.”
Seventeen
dash
“Hey baby,” I yawn, making my way into the kitchen, my fingers eager to touch her skin as I press my lips to her temple from behind. “How’s my girl?”
“Hey,” she replies, her lips curving up slightly on either side as she glances up at me. “I’m fine.”
She shifts on her feet, facing me more fully and I lean in to take her kiss. I can’t help my surprise when she turns away, giving me her cheek instead before she slips by me and moves toward the living room.
