Page 68 of Pretend it’s Forever

Then Sophia was in my arms. “I know you said you were scared. But Carson? I’m always scared.” She pulled back, staring at my face. “I’m scared that I’m not being a good enough mother. That I won’t be enough. I’m scared that I’ll lose what I have, and he’ll take more. I’m scared that I’m not present enough for my family. Because you know the Cages have their drama, and sometimes I feel like I can’t focus on theirs when I’m breaking within mine. But Carson? I was so scared that I would never see you again, and then I was afraid that I would never tell you how I felt.”

I ran my thumb over her bottom lip, my chest tightening. “How do you feel?”

“I love you. I love you so much, and it scares me. Because you keep showing me parts of yourself when you don’t mean to. You bared yourself to me, and it just proves how scared I am.”

“You have nothing to be afraid of, Sophia. I promise I will do all in my power to show you that.”

“So what does this mean?” she asked.

I let out a rough laugh. “I have no fucking clue. I’ve never been here before. But I love you, and I want to prove that to you. And frankly, I just want to hold you.”

“Don’t think you’re going to be walking out of this house tonight,” she warned. “Because I thought you were dead, and I’m going to need a moment to break down about that.”

I held her close, my grip tightening to the point of near pain. “All I thought of was you in the end,” I whispered.

And when she cried against my chest, I kissed the top of her head. “Don’t almost die again, okay? I’m still getting used to this whole love thing. Because I realized I didn’t love him before. But you? I would shatter the earth itself with what I feel for you.”

My knees nearly gave out, and perhaps I would be the one to swoon, so I held her close and sighed. “Those little girls mean the world to me too, you know.”

“And there I go,” Sophia said, before she sobbed harder, and I just held her, each of us swaying in the other’s arms.

I’d nearly died, and the world thought I had for those mere moments. But no matter what, I would prove to whatever gods were looking down and to the woman in my arms, that I was worthy of this second chance.

Even though I knew that this was only the beginning. Because I was missing something. I knew it.

That meant I would have to prove to Sophia I was worth it. And to whoever else may be fighting against what we could be.

Chapter Fifteen

SOPHIA

A hand slid up my thigh, and I rolled into his arms.

I was getting far too used to waking up in this man’s hold, and yet part of me had pushed those thoughts away. Even before we had almost lost everything, I hadn’t realized that I’d wanted this with such an intensity that it would nearly break me.

“You’re awake,” a deep voice murmured against my ear before Carson began to nibble up my neck.

I moaned into him, twisting so I faced him fully, one leg wrapped around his hip. When his cock slid between my legs, I arched.

“Good morning,” I said softly. “I feel like I should brush my teeth.”

His hand squeezed my hip and he shook his head slightly. “My cock is sliding against that warm, soft, wet cunt of yours. If you roll away to go brush your teeth, I will not be responsible for my actions.”

My lips twitched, but I understood.

“Well, if you’re sure,” I teased. And then his lips were on mine, and nothing else mattered.

Soft morning light slid through the blinds, and I knew our alarms would go off soon. We would have to face reality and everything that came with it, but for now, we were in this moment, just the two of us. I reached between us and gripped the base of him, and he groaned.

“You’re going to kill me.”

“I just might if you’re not inside me.”

“And here I was thinking I would wake you up, licking between your legs, and yet, you changed the game.”

I blushed, wondering how long it would take me to get used to the way he spoke about things, but in the end, it was all I could do not to shake near him. I positioned him at my entrance and when the tip of his cock slowly, oh so slowly, entered me, I sucked in a breath, loving the way that he stretched me.

Because Carson knew exactly what to do with that thick cock of his, and even thinking the words made me blush. I had never been like this with any other man, but as Carson held me, as he made love to me, no other man mattered. And they never would.