“Aye!” Owen bursts into a raucous bout of laughter, and as the music around us changes to something more upbeat, Cara spins around and tugs at my arm.
“Dance with me!”
It’s the perfect excuse to duck away from Owen, and Cara slides her hand down to interlock our fingers, tugging me with her onto the dancefloor. The crowd parts, and Cara turns to me, sliding her arms around my shoulders. I clasp her waist, drawing her closer to me and my eyes close briefly as her body lines up perfectly with my own.
“I dislike dancing,” I comment and she chuckles, her breath softly brushing past my ear as she tucks against me.
“More than you dislike hearing baby talk from Owen?” she asks.
I open my eyes. “That I actually don’t mind too much.”
“Really?” Her body tenses slightly as surprise moves through her.
“It’s expected of us,” I reply, “is it not something you want?”
“I didn’t at first.” We sway together, and she rests a little more of her weight against me. “Back when my father told me I was to be wed off to you, the thought of bearing an heir with youscaredme so much I would force myself to not even think about it.”
“And now?”
“Now… I’ve seen you with Emilia. Things between us are getting better. It doesn’t scare me much anymore.” Cara pulls back, bending slightly at the waist as she leans away to look me in the eyes. “What about you?”
“Children are expected,” I reply carefully.
She’s warmed to the idea of children so soon. Having little ones running around is something I’ve felt the pull for over many years, but it’s never been something within reach.
“And?” She prompts gently.
“I’ve desired a child for some years,” I confess, my voice kept low.
The prospect of children with Cara. My heart flutters, and I lean in, catching her pretty red lips with my own and kissing her hard. She squeaks against me and thin fingers sweep up into my hair, curling around a few strands and tugging.
“Besides,” she teases as we break apart, “you’ve neveronceused protection. I can’t imagine it’ll be long before I’m pregnant.”
Laughter bubbles up so suddenly then that I can’t stop it, and I press a flurry of light kisses to her lips as my arms encircle her waist, drawing her even closer. She tilts into me, teeth snagging lightly on my lower lip as we break apart and her hands settle against my cheeks. Dark eyes study me intently as I tease a hand down her thigh and underneath the skirt of her dress, causing those dark eyes to shoot wide and her cheeks to burst like cherries.
“Killian!” she hisses as my fingertips drag along her panties.
“Practice makes perfect,” I purr low, catching another kiss before the song ends and the crowd surges around us. I pull my hand away, and Cara drives a pointy elbow into my ribs with a smirk before tugging me towards the bar.
If I can evenwaitthat long.
36
CARA
“Surprise!” Kimmy and Sadie’s combined squeals when I reach the bar cause a flinching roll to travel through my body and my eyes part wide as I catch sight of my two best friends.
“Sadie! Kimmy!Oh my God!” I squeal and dart towards them both, flinging my arms around their necks and pulling us into a group hug. This is the last place I expected to see them, especially as this is a semi-formal family event.
“What are you doing here?!”
“Killian invited us,” Sadie grins as we part.
“He said it was a family affair, but he’d make an exception for us!” Kimmy presses a firm kiss to my cheek and as I pull away, I catch her wiggling her long manicured fingers over my shoulder.
I can’t believe this!
I turn back to Killian, who stopped a few feet away upon hearing their squeals, and there’s a light curl gracing his lips. My heart leaps and I skip back over to him, grinning, and catch his forearm with one hand, his cheek with the other.