The kiss deepens and my fingers tangle in her hair, pulling her harder, closer, tighter. As much as I want to undress her on the couch, there are two teenagers just a room away.
I pull back and Cali whimpers in protest. I don’t want her thinking that the kiss is done and that I regret any of it. In a matter of seconds, I lift her into my arms, carrying her to my bedroom.
“I can walk,” she says, and squeals, smacking my arm playfully.
“You mean you haven’t tripped over your feet this week?”
She sticks out her tongue at me, and I lean in, trying to capture it. Our tongues duel and as I place her on the bed, I climb atop her, straddling her hips.
Cali moans, grinding her hips into mine.
“Slow down,Sweetheart,” I say. “We’ve got all night.”
My fingers graze the hem of her shirt, and I pull it up and over, helping her undress. As soon as it’s discarded, I pounce on her, my mouth trailing a path of warm kisses down her chest as I guide my hands behind her back, unclasping her bra.
She emits a soft sigh when the material slides away and my lips devour her breast. With one nipple in my mouth, sucking and kissing her flesh, my other hand caresses her velvety skin.
Her fingers tug my shirt up and over my head, and it gets momentarily tangled before I release my lips from her breast, lifting off her long enough to discard my shirt and then my pants with it.
My boxers and her panties are the only article of clothing we both wear. And I fully intend on ridding her of her undergarment. My lips move back over her stomach and her fingers tangle in my hair as I whisper my soft apologies.
“I’m so sorry that I blamed you for what happened.” I don’t want to fight with her ever again.
“Me too,” she whispers, reaching down and pulling me back to her face. “I wanted to apologize. I tried, but I should have kept trying.”
“I was stubborn. I don’t think anything you said would have gotten through this thick skull.” I point at my head.
“You’re not wrong.” Cali leans forward, biting on my bottom lip, tugging it between her teeth with a wicked grin.
I growl at her as she releases her grip on my lip. “Damn, girl, did you just bite me?”
She raises an eyebrow. “You did block my number,Mountain Grump.” The smirk on her face tugs at my heart. I want to be the one who makes her happy, every day, for the rest of my life. Will she give me that pleasure and let me be there for her and our child?
“And I’ve learned from my mistakes. I apologize,” I say.
“Good. I would hope so.” There’s a sassiness to her. The same snarkiness that revealed itself when we first met downstairs in the gift shop.
My lips fall back down her body, kissing a wayward trail down south, and I pause over her navel, realizing with an enormity what is growing inside of her.
Our child.
“No matter what, Cali, I’ll be there for you and for our baby.” I need her to know I’m not abandoning her or letting our differences get in the way of what’s happening.
“And if I’m not pregnant and the test is wrong?” Her bright-blue eyes stare up at me. “What happens then?”
“I’ll never stop caring about you,” I say. I’m not ready to confess my feelings are deeper than just caring about her. The L word feels too heavy right now, and I hope she’s not expecting it.
And though it feels like we have a mountain to climb, we’ll do it together. We don’t have to race, there’s no finish line.
EPILOGUE
Cali
40 Weeks Pregnant
I swear I’m going to kill Logan for making me the size of a balloon, and not the type with helium that you see at birthday parties. No, I’m the size of a hot-air balloon about ready to pop at any moment.
That moment is now.