Which I told her. Ish. “You have no idea.”
The teasing look dropped from her face and was replaced by awe. “That’s what I’d say about you, too. I love you, Carter.”
I couldn’t hold back. With my hand around the back of her head, I kissed her, pouring all the emotion I could into the kiss. There was no way for me to find the right words for them all, so I could only hope this would suffice and tell her for me.
Given that none of the dogs were making the noises they did when Mi-mi was awake and knowing that June slept with plugs in her ears in case they did, I walked us over to the wall and pressed Naomi up against it.
“We can’t do this here,” she gasped before kissing me again.
We sure as shit could, and we were going to.
With the hand that wasn’t wrapped around her waist, I urged her to wrap her legs around my waist, before trailing my fingers up her thigh until I got to the hot, damp fabric of her panties. Pushing them aside, I swept my fingers between her folds, groaning when I felt the wetness waiting for me.
It was as simple as pulling my cock out of my shorts and pushing the fabric of Naomi’s underwear to the side, and then I was inside her, my length engulfed by a silky inferno.
This time, I didn’t measure my thrusts. I took her fast and hard, needing the connection to punctuate what we’d just shared. This woman was my life and my future, and until that moment, I hadn’t genuinely known that she felt the same way about me.
So, with each thrust into Naomi as I kissed her, I did my best to show her how I was feeling.
Out of control. Overwhelmed. Safe. In love.
I felt complete.
And when she exploded around me, pulling my orgasm to the surface, I came knowing I had my world in my hands. Given the moment, it’d be inappropriate to bring Shanti into it, too, but I knew she was safe and sound in the house of the woman who’d caught me when I’d fallen all those years ago.
Yeah, I felt complete.
I still needed to take it slowly, but I’d start the rest of our lives together by giving Shanti and Naomi a Christmas they’d never forget. I’d also work on making it so our lives were joined even more, so long as Naomi was okay with us moving in together. Then, next year, we’d become a family legally.
I didn’t just want some with them, I wanted it all.
Finally.
NINETEEN
Naomi
My life had turned upside down in a matter of hours. One minute, it’d been Carter and me in a relationship, and the next, we were saying we loved each other.
After that, it felt like something else had transpired between us on the porch—which I still could not believe. I’d had sex on Mi-mi’s porch.
The reality of what we’d done had made it a struggle to make eye contact with her yesterday morning, but she didn’t know what’d happened, so I’d had to drop my problems about it and shake it off. After that, we’d spent a day together, Shanti playing with Melba and Toast, while the adults discussed my potential half-brother, Jeremy.
And then the call had come. They’d needed us back in Piersville.
The only consolation had been that the two women were coming to spend Christmas with us. Mi-mi was dropping her issues with Texas for the festive period—it was a Christmas miracle. Carter had been so shocked by the news that he’d asked her to repeat it four times. Even June had looked surprised. The woman really must dislike the state for some reason.
Separating Shanti from Melba and Toast had been heartbreaking. With tears streaming down her face and the dogs whining as we closed the door to the truck, I’d felt like the biggest asshole taking her away from them. I could only hope that promising all three of them we’d visit regularly would soften the blow. Still, there was no way of erasing the memory of watching Melba chasing with her wheels spinning quickly after the truck until Carter had stopped and shut the gate, trapping her on Mi-mi’s property.
Now we were home. It still felt like home, but there was no ignoring the tension that had greeted us.
Carter had dropped us at my house, and then he’d headed straight into P.V.P.D. to catch up with whatever they needed him for. The fact I was at my home instead of his led me to think they believed they’d gotten rid of whatever threat there was. It didn’t mean I wasn’t going to make sure I was armed with a baseball bat, though. Just in case.
In the time we’d been away, the baby fry had grown. We’d lost some, but the ones who’d survived were thriving and looked like tiny Mollies instead of little blobs. Reid had found a couple of newborns and had put them in the original nurseries we’d bought, so Shanti had new ones to look after, too.