"I . . . " He gulped and shook his head. "I'm sorry. I just . . . it slipped out." He closed his eyes briefly before flashing me a regretful cringe. "It won't happen again. I swear."
I shook my head. "No, it was fine. It was wonderful, actually. I've missed it." Scooting closer to him, I ran my fingers over his face, across his lip rings and down the tattoo of tree roots on his neckâroots because he'd always wanted a family and a place to belong.
Knowing I was his roots and his place to belong, I felt complete.
"I didn't realize the night that I learned about Tinker Bell how much of an honor it is to be her. Because I didn't understand it wouldn't just be a dream come true for you; it's a dream come true for me too. You have given me things I never even knew I needed or wanted, but they've ended up being the most precious things I've ever had. My job, this family . . . " I gestured toward the crib. "A love that completes me. All of this is because of you. Honestly, I can only think of one more thing I need from you, and my life will be perfect."
When my hand trailed down his naked chest, paused over his heart tattoo, and then continued lower, he caught my wrist gently.
"If we actually do this tonight, I'm going to stop paying you for being the nanny. Because that would just be weird. You'd be more like a . . . "
When he couldn't seem to come up with an appropriate term, I grinned. "More like a stay-at-home wife?"
His eyes flared. "Would that freak you out?"
It would probably freak Reese out if she knew about it. She'd say I was crazy, we were moving too fast, I needed to slow down and think about this. But I already knew it was the perfect solution for us.
"I am absolutely not freaked out at all. Now . . . " I caught the top of his pajama pants and began to peel them down. "Can we move on toward the main entertainment of the evening, or are you going to hold out on me forever?"
He blew out a breath and shuddered when I pulled his hard, swollen flesh into my palm. His eyes fell shut as he growled his appreciation.
"Are you absolutely positive you want to do this?" he asked, his voice tense, his restraint nearly shattered.
I flickered with sudden uncertainly, but only because his continued resistance bothered me. "Only if you're okay with having a girl who grew up being molested by her dad."
He sucked in a sharp breath and rolled toward me, dislodging my grip from him. "That has nothing to do with this. You are not dirty, Tink. Not at all. He's the filthy one. I'm just afraid you're trying to rush this to prove something you totally do not have to prove."
I smiled at his adamant proclamation, even more certain than ever about what I wanted from him. Curling my hands around his shoulders, I leaned in to kiss my favorite tattoo. "You just called me Tink." Lifting my face to whisper in his ear, I said, "Do it again." Then I licked his nipple ring before catching it between my teeth.
"Damn it," he growled, rolling me onto my back and hovering over me. Then he rasped, "Tinker Bell," in an achy soft voice as he cupped my cheek and gazed into my eyes. "My Tinker Bell. My soul mate."
He kissed me, closed-mouthed, his lips gentle and perfect. Then he rocked his erection against my thigh, and things got even better.
He peeled my shirt up; I peeled his pants down. He cupped my weighted breasts through my maternity bra, and I shuddered under his intense attention.
"Fuck me, I want to suck on them so bad." He swirled an index finger around my nipple, and though I could barely feel it through all the padding, they still hardened. "When the kids are done with them, they're going to be mine. You got that? I'm going to spend an entire day with my mouth on nothing but these beauties."
I whimpered and arched my back, wanting his mouth on them now. "Stop teasing and put your mouth on something before I combust
"Mmm. Bossy. I like it." He leaned in to nibble at my ribcage, just under my bra line.
I grabbed his thick hair. "You're still teasing."
"And you're still bossing." Glancing up at me, he winked. "Relax, Tink. I got this." After flashing me a mischievous grin, he peeled off my panties and buried his face between my legs, but he inhaled a deep breath, smelling me, before he actually started to lick.
At the first touch of his tongue, I arched my back, gasping from the shock of pleasure. I couldn't tell what he was doing different, but it felt better than ever. I grabbed onto a handful of sheets under me. He spread my legs apart, making room for himself. Then he licked a little lower. My eyes flared with surprise as my core tightened with naughty, greedy pleasure. But then he moved up again, before I could come. His tongue flickered over my clit, and something unexpected and hard nudged it as he pushed a finger deep inside me. I began to quiver and moan, already that close.
He covered my mouth with his hand right before those clit-teasing fingers abandoned my aching channel. "Shh," he warned. "We never did move the crib. If you wake them up again tonight, we'll never make it to the best part."
I didn't like that. I wanted to verbalize how good this felt, loudly. Unable to control myself, I bit his finger.
With a curse, he yanked his bitten digit away from my teeth and deserted my pussy to climb his way up my body. "Damn it, woman. If you're going to be a biter, I guess I'll have to mute you some other way. Wrap your teeth around this." He kissed me long and hard, his tongue muffling whatever noises I made next as it spiked deep.
When I felt a clink of metal, I yanked back. "Wha . . . ?"
He wiggled his eyebrows and stuck out his tongue to show me his newest piercing. "Surprise. Got it the day after you said something."
Oh, mother of God. I grabbed two handfuls of his face and yanked him back to me, playing with his tongue ring until he had to pull back and cool off, panting hard and eyeing me as if he couldn't believe I was really there.