Skater (Seattle Sharks 6)

“That’s amazing!” I high-fived her.

“Mark the moment?” She asked, and I nodded, grabbing my cell and squeezing my cheek against hers. We took a quick selfie and then she was off to the pool again, splashing Lettie and Bailey while she was at it.

I pocketed my cell, and my eyes widened as Connor knelt to place his cold hands on my bare thighs, my shorts hiking as I jolted from the chill.

“Why don’t you throw on your bikini and get in there?” He asked.

“Because I was chatting with the girls,” I said.

Connor eyed the now empty table, Faith and Pepper and even Hudson gone.

“Or I was,” I amended.

He stroked his thumb in lazy circles on my thigh, each pass making my heart race. “Maybe the pool is a disappointment for you now,” he said. “If we’re not alone in it.”

A brazen blush crept over my skin, my mind drifting back to the first night we’d slept together. The pool, the cold stone at my back, all of it rushing me until I was breathless.

“Is this party over yet?” I whispered, and he pressed his forehead to mine.

“Say the word, and I’ll make sure it is.”

“You’d do that to your friends?” I laughed.

“Hell yes.”

“We have time,” I said. “Patience. Tonight will be one for the books.”

His dark eyes flared, and he wetted his lips. “How?” He asked, always wanting the details.

“I have a surprise for you.” It was an effort not to shout the news at the top of my lungs.

“I want it now,” he growled. “I hate surprises.”

“Says the man who surprised me with a puppy.” I laughed. “You’ll love this one.”

“How can you be so sure?” He smirked.

I glanced behind him, where Hannah laughed and played with Lettie. Then back to him, smoothing my hands over his until I drew them to my stomach.

“I just do.”

For a few moments, he simply held me where I’d guided his hands, smiling at me in easy happiness. Then, realization clicked, and his eyes flew wide as they darted from my hands to my face and back again.

“Really?” He whispered.

“Really, really.”

He sank fully to his knees, quite a sight for such a large man, and put his head in my lap, his ear replacing where his hands had just been.

I fingered the strands of his wet hair, biting my li

p to keep from crying.

And when he looked up at me, there were tears in his eyes.

“Well, damn,” I said, laughing.

“What?” He swallowed hard.

“Now I owe Pepper twenty-bucks.”

He blinked hard, the smile on his face brighter than I’d ever seen.

“You can explain that later,” he said, before standing and hauling me against him. His lips crushed mine in a way that screamed he’d forgotten we were hosting most of our friends and family. In a way that had me forgetting everything outside the taste of him in my mouth, the feel of his arms around me, the way his body pressed against mine.

“I love you,” he said, finally breaking the kiss.

“I love you,” I answered, lightly nipping his lip. “You think Hannah will be excited?” I asked, expressing the one fear I had with this intimate moment with him. I wanted her to know we loved her equally and as much as we would her new brother or sister.

“She’ll be over the moon,” Connor said. “That girl was born to be a sister,” he said, closing his eyes and pressing his forehead against mine. “I never thought she’d get the chance. With Jessica…” he sighed. “Thank you,” he said.

“For what?” I asked.

“For giving me the world.”

I grinned, kissing him quickly. “Thank you for fighting for it.”

The End