Page 17 of Contentious

By the time she realized he wasn’t worth her time or attention, she was pregnant with Ty. She still wasn’t sure how that’d happened when she’d been careful to use birth control every time, but she had no regrets about her magical son, who was the best part of her entire life. Marlon had taken off shortly after Ty’s birth, promising to be back when he got his shit together. That’d never happened, and his spotty involvement with Ty had caused her son heartache that Cresley would never forgive.

Julian had assured her that they had more than enough evidence to bury him and keep him far, far away from her and Ty permanently. She was looking forward to that day in court as well as the one in which she’d no doubt have to answer again for why she’d punched the father of her child in the face and had zero regrets about having done so.

She shut off the iPad and the light. She had to get Ty up for school in the morning, so she needed to get what sleep she could.

But sleep proved elusive as she kept reliving that kiss, the sizzling connection and Carson’s stunned expression afterward. He was so freaking sexy, and she wanted him fiercely. She had since the day he’d intervened in the altercation with Marlon and taken Ty for ice cream while she dealt with the police. He’d made what might’ve been a terrible day for her and Ty into a day they both still thought about.

Maybe he’d be up for a no-strings-attached fling.

It’d been a minute since she’d had sex, as the club had lost its luster after Hayden and Flynn settled into domestic tranquility. Being there with them had been safe for her because she’d known for certain they would always protect her—and her reputation. There was no way she could hook up with some random guy at a sex club and hope he wouldn’t talk about having gone a round with Cresley Dane. No, thank you. While she still stopped in for a drink every now and then, she’d been celibate for years because casual hookups were not usually possible for her. The risk of someone telling tales out of school afterward wasn’t worth it.

The more she thought about enticing Carson into a harmless fling, the more she liked the idea. She understood his reasons for wanting to stay unattached, but there was nothing saying they couldn’t have a little fun together before they went their separate ways.

Thinking about his dazed expression after their kiss and the thought of proposing a fling to him had her falling asleep with a smile on her face.

* * *

Julian was still getting used to waking up every day with Isla’s sweet softness pressed against him, her arm around him, her head resting on his chest and her leg wedged between his as if she couldn’t get close enough to him.

That was fine with him.

He, who’d hated sleeping with anyone his entire life, now couldn’t imagine spending a single night without her in his arms. Every morning brought a fresh reminder of his new reality. For the first time in twenty years, he was in love and had never been happier. Not even the new crisis with his family could take away the unmitigated joy that came from being close to her. Normally, his first thoughts were about the day ahead, clients, cases, court, rinse and repeat. Since he’d fallen for Isla, work was rarely his first thought anymore. It wasn’t even his hundredth thought.

As her soft hair brushed against his face, he tightened his hold on her and smoothed a hand down her silky soft back to cup her ass. He was obsessed with everything about her, to the point he had trouble concentrating on anything else.

That could become a problem if he wasn’t careful. His work was too intense and detailed-oriented to let himself become so distracted that he couldn’t properly care for his many clients. But he didn’t need to think about them for a couple of hours yet.

Her hand slid down his chest to encircle his suddenly hard cock. All thoughts of work and family crises were obliterated when she began to stroke him.

“Morning,” she whispered.

He turned toward her and arranged her so she was under him. “Mmm.”

As he pushed into her for the third time since they’d arrived in the hotel room, she raised her hands to his face and gazed at him with a look of wonder. “How is this real? How are you real?”

“I was just wondering the same thing about you.” He buried his face in her neck and nuzzled her soft skin as he lost himself in her the way he did every single time they were together this way.

She responded to him as if she’d been born to love him and only him—and vice versa. He, who’d thought terms like soul mate were idiotic, had become a believer in the concept because of her. Making love to her was the most perfect thing he’d ever experienced, and all he’d want for the rest of his life was more of the way she made him feel.

They moved together as if they’d spent a lifetime loving each other rather than a couple of weeks.

Julian pushed himself up on his arms so he could see her sweet face when she came.

She grasped his arms and held on as he picked up the pace and tried to hold off, waiting for her, always thinking of her. How was it possible that his every happiness, his every chance at a truly meaningful life, was now dependent upon her? The one thing he’d always said he’d never let happen had taken him by storm and changed him forever.

Isla arched into him, raising her hips to meet his deep thrust and nearly finishing him off. “Julian…”

“I’m here, love. I’m right here.”

She came with a sharp cry of pleasure that took him with her into pure bliss. That was the only way to describe it. When he collapsed on top of her, her arms tightened around him, making him feel like he was finally home after a long journey.

He wasn’t so far gone he couldn’t that acknowledge such thoughts, a few short weeks ago, would’ve made him laugh at the sheer preposterousness.

But now he got it. He understood why people did whatever it took to preserve and protect this rare feeling of utter completion.

“How’re you feeling this morning?” she asked as she caressed his back.

“Blissed out, baby.”