I arched an inquisitive brow. “Are you asking or demanding?”
“Both.” There was no shame in his voice. “Please. Don’t make me get on my knees, because you know damn well I will.”
I trailed a finger over his jawline, moving to his cheekbone. He was entrancing like this, freshly fucked and sated.
“As much as I’d love to see that, we can save it for another time.” I paused, my gaze darting between his eyes. What he was asking was genuine. Beckham didn’thave a dishonest bone in his body. “I’d give you a million chances, Beck.”
Relief sagged his shoulders, a corner of his mouth lifting. “It’s a good thing I’ll only ever need two.”
I tilted my head. “Oh, is that right?”
“Yep.” He scooped me up, my legs wrapping around him like they were made to be there, despite my belly getting in the way. “I don’t plan on ever letting you go again.”
28
BECKHAM
There was no concept of time while I held Parker in my arms. In the bath, in bed, on the couch. Wherever she and I were, if we were connected, the world could end and I’d still be lost in her.
But feeling lost wasn’t the way I’d ever describe how she made me feel. Parker was the sense of home I’d missed on the road, and I’d found it wasn’t rodeo that made me homesick. It was not being with her that elicited that feeling. After we slept together, I made a vow to never let that happen again.
One week ago today, Parker and I succumbed to the torture of suppressing our feelings and let each other in. A thirty-ton boulder had been lifted from my shoulders, and now all I carried was the weight of loving her. And soon, that’d include the privilege of loving that baby boy, too.
I’d covered every inch of her body in suds that night,both of us turning to wrinkled prunes while I cherished every second of her.
We continued on with our routines of working, making dinner together most nights, and touching one another every chance we could, but in reality, both of our worlds had changed.
She had an appointment to check on the baby the other day, and everything was as perfect as it could be. But I still worried. I kept an eye on her at the shop. Made sure she wasn’t balancing on step stools or lifting heavy boxes. While Parker was sometimes stubborn and demanded to do things on her own—like bear the weight of this child by herself—she was letting me fill the gaps with little to no complaints.
That also might have been in part due to the things I made her promise while my tongue was lapping between her legs.
I emerged from the hallway after taking a long, cold shower, talking myself into leaving her for an afternoon. I did this every other Sunday, so nothing was really different other than the fact that I wanted to cuddle up next to her and binge-watchTwilightfor the hundredth time.
The sound of my keys clanging together had her neck twisting so she could look over the back of the couch at me.
“I’m going out,” I told her. “I’ll be back in a few hours if you need anything.”
She stared at me, so many thoughts flittingbehind those eyes. When I finally moved to grab my wallet, she spoke up.
“Can I go with?”
The question had me pausing with my hand poised over my wallet. I braced my palms on the counter, staring at an old chip in the laminate countertop. I hadn’t expected her to ask, which was stupid of me. Of course, Parker would want to know what I was up to. We were more than roommates with a past now. Titles weren’t established, but secrets were secrets, and I wouldn’t have them between us.
“Sure.”
Less than fifteen minutes later, she was dressed and in the passenger seat of my truck. She’d eyed the casserole dish and the container beside it multiple times, but hadn’t asked any questions.
As I drove, the knowledge of her curiosity had my thumbs dragging on the leather of the steering wheel. Finally, I said, “It’s shepherd’s pie.”
Her brows rose in a mannerism mimicking a nod, but still she stayed silent.
“And those are mashed potatoes,” I stated, nudging my head in the direction of the Tupperware.
More seconds of silence passed, and it felt like I might crawl out of my skin. It wasn’t Parker creating that feeling, though. It was more so my nerves itching at me from the inside out.
Parker’s hands were folded neatly on her lap, her entire body barely moving, like she thought I was a foal on the verge of bolting. “And they’re for…?”
“A friend.” It was all I could say right now without causing further confusion. The sad truth was, I had a lot of sad shit to tell her.
