“When we’re ready to try, it has to be communicated.”
I nodded. “Agreed.”
“Only then will I remove my birth control.”
It wasn’t until that moment that I realized she never answered my question.
“Has that been our lifesaver all this time?”
Smiling, she responded, “Yes. Of course.”
“I feel like shit for not asking again.”
“By now I’d be swollen and off my feet.” She giggled like a school girl.
I brought her closer. I couldn’t stomach the distance though she was still near.
“Yes, my baby. Yes, you would be.”
I kissed her lips, leaving with traces of her lip gloss.
“I’m so in love with you,” I confessed. “You feel so much like home.”
“I am. Rest in me. Reset with me. Build with me. Bond with me. Just don’t break me.”
I shook my head. “I won’t. I won’t. As long as I’m breathing, your heart will remain intact.”
“I love you.”
“I love you.”
“I have a confession,” she revealed.
“Talk to me.”
“I’m Clarke to my core.”
“Understood.”
“How do we marry the two? My home and yours?”
“I’m not asking you to give up your world to join mine. I want us both to be part of each other’s. You know where to find me, my baby, when your pussy is purring and your heart is heavy. When everything becomes too much, I know where to find you. I also know how to put you on a plane and get you straight to me. We don’t have to complicate it.
“Neither do we have to model our relationship after anyone’s before ours. We make our own rules. We create our own dynamic. Different homes. Different cities. Different states. It doesn’t matter. As long as you’re mine and I’m yours.”
She patted my chest, running her hand along my abs.
“Are you real, sir?”
Chuckling, she lowered her hand to my bulge.
“Yes. Yes. You’re definitely real.”
“I’m real. So are we. I’m not tripping on shit. I know where home is. It’s wherever you are. Whether Clarke or Berkeley, I’m coming home, my baby. Every fucking chance I get.”
Black trucks lined the driveway. I buttoned the jacket of my suit, squaring my shoulders. Royce’s hand gravitated toward mine. They were cold to the touch. Mentally, I noted her need for leather gloves in the upcoming weeks. The weather was breaking. The chill was upon us.
The door swung open. A chocolate, unbelievably gorgeous woman appeared with a child on her hip. Without question, I quickly determined her position in the family.
