“Yes.”
I wait a split second for her to add something about changing plans. When she doesn’t, my hands go to her ribcage and twist her to straddle me.
“You’re not going to Vegas.”
“As long as it’s safe, I am.”
“Bull fucking shit!” My voice is louder than intended, but she gets my point. “You’re not going across the damn country, especially now.”
“Here we go.” She scoots back on my thighs and cups my jaw. “Miller, listen to me. They warned me about this but didn’t think it would come so soon. We need to set some things straight.”
“Warned?”
“You’ll experience a lot of emotional changes and mood swings. There are things out of your control, but you must go with it.” She repeats verbatim what my mom told her earlier.
“Those are your instructions, not mine.”
“They apply to you. Because you will not turn into a maniacal beast for the next thirty weeks.”
“It’s not maniacal if I’m taking care of my wife.”
“I’m not going to break, nor am I going to do anything risky. If Stephanie stays on track with a trip to Vegas, I’ll be by her side and be safe.”
“Not going to happen.” I make a mental note to call Todd. “Peirce will agree.”
“We’ll see.” The glint in her eye tells me I’m in for a fight unless Todd can persuade his fiancée to drop this. These women won’t give in.
“Princess, not going to fight over this.”
“No, we’re not. And we’re also not going to fight that this week, I’m thinking about going back to work.”
I jerk, not expecting her to drop this bomb. “Now?”
“Yes, you knew this was coming.”
“But now? With a baby?” She’s right, I knew she was getting antsy, but today changed things.
“Pregnant women work, Miller. The beauty of it is I’m able to make my own choices. It would be a shame not to get into my new office soon. I think I’m ready to put out some feelers.”
“Baby, you want to work again, I’ll support you. But fuck me if you’re going back to twelve-hour days.”
“Contract or part-time for the time being. Something lighter and less stressful.”
“I can get on board with that.”
She leans in, bringing her lips to mine. “Baby mania is about to implode in our world. Get ready.”
“Bring it on.”
She smiles before kissing me lightly. “I had my catnap. Think you wanna do that skinny-dipping thing with your baby mama?”
My body twists, bracing before my weight hits her. “I think I want to have my baby mama in our bed right now.”
She slings her leg around my hip, scrubbing her nails along my jaw. “Maybe tomorrow night.”
“We’ll call your doctor tomorrow and ask if it’s safe.”
“To swim? Of course it’s safe.”
“Swimming with you naked will lead to me fucking you in our pool.”
She presses her hips up, grinding purposefully. “You know this baby could very well have been conceived in a pool.”
I groan, bucking against her, and remembering that morning vividly. The image of her seated fully on my cock as she floated before me. The sun and water reflecting off her skin as I pounded into her. I’d been an animal, but she’d taken every brutal thrust, her body flying out of the water when she came, taking me over the edge with her.
The hunger building in her eyes tells me she remembers the same.
“We’ll be kick-ass parents.”
“Yes, I think so, too.”
•—•—•—•—•
My phone beeps from the nightstand, and I carefully scoot out from under Ashlyn, grabbing it on the way to the kitchen. There’s no need to read the text to know who it’s from.
“You good?” Pierce answers mid-ring.
“Better than good.” Devin’s little giggle flows through the line. “He’s up?”
“It’s unusual, but too much excitement at your place today has him wired. I sent Darby to bed a little while ago. Knew you’d be up. Remember the adrenaline rush that comes with the first night of confirmation.”
“Yeah, it’s unreal.”
“Only gets better, brother. Told you this before, but your life is truly beginning again.”
“Can’t fucking wait.”
“Happy for you, Miller. Never in a million fucking years saw this coming until the day we drove up to that house.”
“Fate has a way of stepping in.”
“Have you been listening to Mom again?”
I chuckle, shaking my head. “That was all Dad.”
We stay silent for a few seconds, then I answer the unspoken question. “I’m calling Todd tomorrow. He’s going to nix this Vegas shit.”