Mine To Keep (Love By Design 7)

“Remington.” He pulled back, looking into my face seriously. “You spent how many months cooking a little person and how many hours bringing him into the world?” I didn’t answer because I assumed the question was a rhetorical one; after all, he’d been there for the experience. “I’d never seen anyone braver, stronger, more beautiful than you in that moment.”

His hands kept touching me, and the physical connection was soothing, right.

“The last part you were prepared to do all by yourself and so courageously. That’s my favorite part of you, the prettiest part.”

I cleared my throat. “What part?”

“The part where you give yourself wholeheartedly. I love that about you.” He cleared his throat and amended, “I love you, Remington.” He leaned his head into mine, and we breathed the same breath, shared the same air, and I relaxed into his hold, trusting him completely with my heart. I loved him too.

I peeked up at him and said with my eyes, since my mouth wasn’t ready, how much I loved him in return.

I didn’t have to question my sense of self with Evan. He let me be and I wasn’t caught up with impressing him, or rushing to do things to please him because he wanted me to. Our attraction took on the speed of a slow sunrise in winter, just cresting the mountain top, but definitely rising to the middle of the sky to warm everything it touched and melt the harsh snow away to an early, tentative spring. My nerves were taking over, and I knew he was waiting for an answer of some sort.

“Umm.” My decision was muffled, humming against his lips as we met somewhere in the middle, soft touching soft. Tasting the moment for what it was, a fresh beginning shared between the two of us.

We stayed like that for a moment before I let my mouth open hesitantly. He deepened the kiss, eliciting a moan from me. My core felt like a molten volcano waiting to bubble over. I didn’t think I could verbalize my want for this man. The one who watched me sleep and held my son, letting me think he didn’t know about my crappy kitchen skills.

“That’s not an answer, sweet girl.” He nipped at my bottom lip, and I aimed for his top one. Playfully, we went back and forth in a game of wills. Him asking and me non-committal because that’s all I knew. Evan coaxed me to make decisions, and I let go, sinking in to him. The ties to my past anchor were cut and lost in the tide of soul-heavy feelings I had for this man. He was my steadfast, my rock on the shore, and the beacon to my lighthouse, keeping me safe in the storm.

“Evan, I’ve never…” My hands rested on his shoulders itching to reach up into his short hair and rub the soft stubble, pulling him down to me. I didn’t know how to ask for what I wanted; clearly I didn’t when words failed me.

“No?” He inched back, an indiscernible expression on his face.

I rolled my eyes. “I mean, I have done other stuff, but this is different.” Obviously, I’d had sex. I had a baby, but this was intimate and close. It was new and terrifying because what if I was just Evan’s flavor of the week? I didn’t think I was at the core, but I couldn’t handle rejection a second time.

“Hmm,” was the only answer he gave me as he looked into my eyes and pulled me into the living room. Thank God I had shaved my legs earlier while my little man was down for his nap. It was amazing what I could accomplish in a two-hour block of time when he slept soundly.

I thought for sure he’d pounce on me, have his way and then leave me, but he didn’t. He sat me down and reached for the remote baffling me, again.

28

Evan

“What movie do you want to watch?” she said as I walked into the living room, halting any movement except to put more popcorn in my mouth. I watched the free show of Remi bent over inspecting my shelves of cop-related action movies. In this, I was unfailingly predictable.

My attempt to kiss and seduce her in the hallway leading to my bedroom wasn’t a complete failure, just a segue. She needed a different level of coaxing, something normal and organic. Movie make-out time while contrived was somethi

ng people her age did, and I figured we only had a limited amount of time with a sleeping infant closing in on the end of naptime.

My shelves had the entire Die Hard collection, and anything Tom Clancy related along with my love of all things Star Wars. Blowing shit up was my thing.

I tried to be as quiet as a church mouse, pausing my popcorn-crunching and seeing how long I could stand there while she moved from left to right on her toes. Rounded cheeks still full from her pregnancy weight greeted me, and it was a damn good thing I had a popcorn bowl to hide my hard dick.

“I’m game for anything.” Literally. My encouragement didn’t get me anywhere, and she took her time perusing the DVDs. Her fingers paused on one and then moved to the next like she was trying to figure which one I wanted to watch. Nope. She was going to have to figure this one out on her own. I didn’t care what we watched because as soon as the movie went on, I was going to dim the lights, wait the appropriate time for intro credits to roll and then I would snuggle her body closer and…

She glanced over her shoulder again, biting her lip to look at me, and it felt like a sucker punch to my gut.

“Well, I don’t see any romantic comedies with Jennifer Lopez in them.” Her lips quirked in a smile, and I knew she was teasing me about my movies. I supposed getting a streaming service was next on my to do list.

I put the popcorn down. “Does she have a gun in them?” There was no hope for my erection, discussing movies theoretically.

“Maybe in Gigli?” She shrugged. I’d never heard of this movie. If it wasn’t a throwback Bruce Willis, Wesley Snipes, or a Harrison Ford movie with the occasional Jason Statham thrown in, chances were I had no idea what she was talking about.

“Yeah, probably not. I’m more of a Jason Statham type anyway.” Remi giggled sounds like bells tinkling, and if the guys knew I was thinking about rainbows and unicorn happy endings with this girl, they would ride me till the day I died. But Jason Statham I could do.

“Okay, how about The Transporter? An oldie but a goodie?”

I could fall for this girl so hard. Correction, I had already fallen, but the task ahead of me was to get her to trust me enough to let me be her soft place when she fell.