Rookie (Seattle Sharks 4)

She continued to stroke the puppy-soft fur, smiling up at me. “Thank you,” she said, then chuckled.

“What’s so funny?”

“We’re always on the same page,” she said.

I tilted my head as she stood up, holding the puppy with one arm. I shifted off my knees, claiming the seat she’d just vacated.

She came back, setting a black box the size of an envelope in my lap. “I got you a present, too.”

“Why?” I asked, grinning up at her.

“Why’d you get me this perfect thing?” she asked.

“Because I love you. Because I can.”

She nodded like that explained everything.

I fingered the lid of the box as she set the puppy on the floor. I furrowed my brow at that, but glanced inside the box and immediately froze.

“Chloe?” My voice choked as my entire world shifted on its axis.

More tears slipped over her smiling cheeks.

“Chloe?” I bolted off the couch, the plastic stick in my hand—one word on the tiny digital screen.

Pregnant.

I wrapped my arms around her, hefting her to my level.

Now I knew why she set the puppy down.

I would’ve crushed it in my need to hold her.

“What do you think, daddy?” she asked, never losing my eyes.

I kissed her furiously, hungrily, gratefully.

“God, what did I do to deserve you?” I asked, my heart swelling too big for my body.

“You’ve always been mine,” she said, kissing me back.

“And you’re mine,” I said.

She nodded, slipping her hand between us, grabbing mine and setting it on her still-flat tummy.

“And now . . . this is ours.”

I released her and dropped to my knees, my eyes level with her stomach.

“Hi, baby.” I planted a kiss to her tummy then pressed my ear against it.

She fingered the strands of my hair. “You know how you always say your heart beats for mine?”

“It does,” I said.

She tugged my hair gently so I would look up at her. Her cell phone was between her fingers. “Want to hear your baby’s?”

I pressed my lips together, emotion clogging my throat.

My world—Chloe . . . it had just expanded beyond my comprehension.

And I knew there wasn’t another soul on the planet that I would rather experience this with.

I took the cell phone from her hand, and she retrieved the puppy, cuddling it against her neck.

My thumb hovered over the play button, my eyes glittering.

I hit the screen, holding the speaker to my ear.

The sweetest thudding, whooshing sound filled my ears.

I listened, over and over, in shock and happiness and terror.

And after I’d finally set the phone down, I sank onto the chaise, my legs failing me.

Chloe let the puppy run and roll at our feet as she straddled my lap, kissing me sweetly.

“Happy?” she asked.

“More than you’ll ever know.” I ran my hands over her thighs, up her sides, and across her tummy. “I love you,” I said, the words strained from how much I held back, knowing if I let go it would be an explosion big enough to shake the world.

Another kiss, and a not so subtle shift over my hips as she lightly rocked against me. “I love you,” she sighed against my lips.

Instantly, I wanted her.

Wanted to devour her.

Consume her.

Worship her.

I claimed her mouth, spinning her gently so her back was now against the chaise. I hooked my fingers in her short shorts, but a tiny yelping stopped me.

We both laughed, breaking our kiss.

I nipped at her bottom lip.

“Later,” I promised, raising off of her to retrieve the puppy, figuring she needed to go outside. “What should we name her?”

A devious smile lit up her eyes as she pressed her lips together, standing from the chair to pet the puppy in my arms.

“I know exactly what her name is.”

I tilted my head. “You do, do you?”

“Mmhmm,” she mumbled, then reached up on her tiptoes and grazed her teeth over the shell of my ear.

A low groan rumbled from my chest.

“Rookie,” she whispered, her breath shooting chills over my skin.

She took the puppy from my arms and padded barefoot through the room, swishing her hips as she went.

“Wicked, cruel woman,” I teased, sinking back onto the chaise.

She’d left her cell phone.

For me.

I scooped it up, listening to that heartbeat once again.

My heart beats for yours.

And it always will.

The End