I leaned forward, kissing Kinsley as I slid over her body, nudging at her entrance. Our tastes tangled on our tongues, and it only made me more desperate for her. Kinsley was readyfor me, but I took it slow, remembering her tightness from our first time together. But the reality was so much better than my memories, and, as I slid into her heat, I couldn’t hold back any longer.
When I bottomed out inside her, her inner walls clamped around me. The muscles of my neck strained as I tried to hold back from fucking her too roughly, but Kinsley’s nails cut into my ass, dragging me closer to her. “Don’t hold back from me, Jace.” Her eyes met mine, and it was as if she saw deep into my soul, like she took the shredded and frayed parts of me and knitted them back together with her gentle touch. “I missed you.”
“I missed you more.”
With that, I leaned back onto my haunches, dragging Kinsley with me. Each slam of my hips cemented our bond, tying us together a little more. Each touch, each taste, each thrust bound me to this woman, and I had no intention of ever letting her go. As my spine tingled and my thrusts became more erratic, I reached down, circling Kinsley’s clit until she was practically panting my name. Her nails dug into my skin as she found her release, forcing me to follow her right after. I screamed out her name, not giving a single fuck who might have heard us. Shit, I should’ve opened the window, letting the entire city know who owned me.
As our orgasms died down, I stayed inside Kinsley, not wanting to part with her yet. My cum leaked out of her, and I gave a couple of shallow thrusts, wanting to keep it deep inside. One day, we’d get rid of that implant, and I’d give her everything, every day, until I got to see her stomach swell with another one of my babies. And this time, I’d be there for every appointment, every milestone.
Kinsley reached up, tracing a line across my cheek. “You’re incredible, hotshot.”
I turned and pressed a kiss to her palm. “Don’t get soft on me now, mama. Need you to keep my ego in check. And if you keep looking at me like that, I’m never going to let you out of this bed.”
THIRTY-THREE
The next morning, the early morning sun woke me, streaming through the pale blue curtains onto the pillows. I shifted to check the time, but an arm banded around my middle, tugging me into a hard chest. “Not yet,” Jace grumbled against my hair, pulling me even closer to him. “Little longer.”
I twisted in his arms, smiling as I took in his unkempt hair and closed eyes. Pressing a kiss to his neck, I held him close. “Would have thought you had enough of me last night.”
“No such thing.” Jace dragged his eyes open. When he spotted the rising sun, he frowned. “What time is it?”
“Not sure. Someone grabbed me before I found my phone.” When I squirmed, Jace released me and curled back onto his stomach to stretch his arms underneath the pillow. When I reached over to grab my phone, text messages from Chelsea with pictures of Anna attached filled the screen.
CHELSEA
All good with little miss! Hope you guys are having a blast.
Also, you owe me, because Mark is getting all kinds of ideas about kids now lol
Rolling my eyes, I placed the phone back on the nightstand. I’d call a little later; for now, I wanted to enjoy the lazy morning with Jace. But before I curled back into his side, his phone vibrated next to mine. I grabbed it to hand to him right as it cut off, joining the dozens of missed calls. Frowning, I nudged him with my elbow. “Hey, Jace? Someone is trying to get a hold of you.”
“Who?” He grimaced as he took the phone from my hand, skimming through the messages. Tossing the phone onto the other nightstand, he lay back down on the bed, but a new tension radiated from his body.
“Everything okay?”
“Yeah,” he groaned. “It’s just my dad. He does this after every game. He wants to go over each play and dissect how I could have performed better.”
“What? You had a great game last night.”
“He doesn’t care,” Jace answered. “For him, there’s always room for improvement. Even if I had the best game in the league's history, the asshole would still find something to pick apart.”
I pulled the sheet over my bare chest as I turned to face Jace. Gone was the bliss from earlier; instead, his features had shifted to granite. Hardness filled his blue eyes, turning them almost molten gray. Shifting, I straddled him, running my fingers through his messy hair. “Is he still your agent?”
“Fuck no,” Jace bit out, but as his hands found my hips, they were gentle. Even with the anger coursing through him, he treated me with care. “I fired him once I got sober. He was so pissed when I got treatment—wanted me to keep it a secret from the league. But I’d already told enough lies, and I knew if I kepthiding my addiction, I’d fall back into it. He didn’t understand, so I fired him.” He scoffed. “Thought it might give us a shot at a normal father-son relationship. I was pretty fucking wrong about that.”
“What happened?”
“Baseball was the only thing that connected us. At least before I joined the league, he always was on my side, trying to push me to be the best player possible. But now…” His blue eyes met mine, and my heart cracked at the vulnerability in them. “It’s like he enjoys seeing me fail. Like if I can’t do this without him, then he wins. And even though that should be enough to cut him off, I can’t seem to do it. I’m the fucking idiot who keeps taking his calls.”
“Hey,” I said, pressing my fingers into his chest. “You’re not an idiot for wanting a relationship with your dad.”
“Maybe not, but I am if I keep expecting him to change. He’s always been about baseball first, everything else second, including his family.” His hands squeezed my hips. “I don’t want to be that guy, Kins. I can’t do that to Anna, but I’m afraid...” His breath caught. “That obsession—that need to be the best? It’s in my blood. And if I hurt her that way?—”
“You won’t,” I said, clinging to him. “Jace, you’re not your dad. You’ve turned your life upside down for us, and Anna’s going to grow up so loved by you.”
“And you?” he asked, his hands shaking against my skin. “Could you see yourself falling in love with me?”
I was already halfway there. In the past month, Jace had crawled under my skin, showing me what it would be like to let people in more, as if my bruised heart was waiting for him to come back and prove love was worth the risk. But the more logical voice in the back of mind screamed that it was too soon, that we were still learning to navigate this new relationship.
