“If you pull out, I’ll scream.”
Holy fuck.
I take a deep breath and pray to God that I don’t get hard again.
“Baby girl, nothing could pry me away.” I kiss her softly and settle in beside her, keeping one hand on her chest to track her heart. My other hand rests against her belly, so I can continue to count her kicks throughout the night, but with how warm and fuzzy I’m feeling, I’m not sure I’ll count many.
“I could get used to this relaxing thing,” she huffs humorously. I smirk against her hair and nuzzle my nose in it.
“I could, too.” We both melt into the mattress, and I stay sheathed inside her, just like she wants. Her warmth seeps into my entire body, making me feel weightless. She betterunderstand the monster she’s creating, because I’m not sure I’ll ever be able to sleep without being inside her again.
But at least I’m a monster she adores.
“Thank you for loving me…” I whisper out, unable to help it. She turns her head just slightly enough to meet my gaze, and a soft, sweet grin curls at the corner of her lips.
“What is it you said? Loving you is like breathing?”
I smile back at her and bury my face in her hair, willing to suffocate on her while I sleep. I don’t know what else is in store for us, but I know that I already feel a hell of a lot better. She’s actually going to rest. She’s going to let me handle the gory details while she focuses on her health. If I know she’s okay, then I’m going to be okay as well. My work is going to be much easier knowing that she’s safe, comfortable, and happy.
We may not be out of the woods yet, but the sailing is only going to get much smoother from here.
Chapter 30
Ashia
Five Days Later
‘Say You’ll Haunt Me’ – Stone Sour
“Alright, bitch. Are you ready to go?” Serena stands in the kitchen with one hand on her hip as she puts her weight into it, giving me her normal feistiness. I finally give in and tell her we can go shopping, and this is what I get—attitude and urgency. Despite her antsy mindset, I feel really good today. Damien and I have continued our…nightly ritual…that we started last week, and something about him beingthatclose is extremely comforting. Plus, I had almost forgotten how much stress an orgasm can relieve.
Elizabeth stops playing with Daisy and looks over to Serena, caught off guard by her language, and I silently thank God that Ididn’t say any of that out loud. I cut my eyes at Serena, though, because she wasn’t careful enough.
“Ser…” I berate her for cursing in front of a child. She pulls her lips back, showing her teeth in a soft cringe as she realizes her mistake. “Damien should be done with his virtual call any minute. Then we can all go.”
“I still don’t understand why I can’t buy anything for the nursery yet.” She bobs her head and continues to bark up that tree—metaphorically, of course.
“Because Damien isn’t done with it. He has a whole plan, remember?”
Her eyebrows shoot up and her mouth makes that exaggerated ‘o’ shape.
“Oh, I remember.” She smirks and turns around to grab her purse. It’s one of those know-it-all grins that tells me she knows something I don’t. Does she know what he’s doing? I’ve avoided an entire room in our house athisrequest, but my best friend knows?
“Care to share?” I lift a brow of my own.
“Nope. I was sworn to secrecy.” She winks at me and turns towards the office when the door opens. Damien walks out, looking more agitated than he did when he went in, and I hate the worry that brews in my stomach. He walks up to me with clenched fists, so I instinctively reach out for them.
“What’s wrong?” Thankfully, he doesn’t put up a fight and laces his fingers with mine. His warmth hits me immediately, and I lean into him naturally.
“Dr. Von thinks I should use this opportunity to let you go out on your own,” he seethes through gritted teeth. My eyes widen in shock. “Apparently I need to learn that the entire world isnotout to kill you.”
“It took an award-winning therapist to figure that out?” Serena snips, and I cut my eyes to her. She just shrugs like it’s no big deal. So, I put my attention back on Damien.
“I’m sure it’ll be fine. Dr. Von’s right.”
“I don’t know about them going with you anymore.” I know he’s talking about Victoria and Elizabeth. While I know he doesn’t mean that in an insulting way, I glance over at Elizabeth, just to make sure she didn’t hear him.
“Damien, we can’t keep that little girl locked up in the house. I’m sure it’ll be okay. I’ll have Daisy, we’re going to be in a very public place, and we’ll come back before our appointment. You still want to go, right?”
