My heart jackhammers against my rib cage, and my pulse vibrates in my neck. Are his words coincidental, or does he know something? “I know that. And I love you the same way. You have given me everything, Reeve, and I have never regretted my decision to marry you. I love what we’ve created together, this wonderful life we share, and I would do anything to protect our family. I hope you know that.” It’s slightly risky saying this, but I need to get those words out.
“I know.” He kisses me, and I’m surprised at the intensity of his kiss as his mouth works against mine. When he breaks our lip-lock, he rests his forehead against mine. “You’re my world, Vivien. Nothing matters more to me than you, Easton, and Lainey.”
Unspoken words hover in the air between us, and I’m grateful when the waitress arrives with our food. If Reeve had asked me again what was wrong, I think this time I would’ve told him.
I hope I get the results in a couple of days so I can finally talk to my husband and tell him what’s been going on.
Reeve’s cell rings in the car on our way home, but he quickly silences the incoming call, switching off his phone so as not to disturb our sleeping son.
When we get home, Reeve carries Easton to his bedroom, leaving me to undress him and tuck him into bed.
After settling E, I pad into our master suite carrying my shoes and stifling a yawn.
“Do you want me to run you a bath?” Reeve asks, buttoning up a new shirt.
I shake my head. “Going someplace?” I inquire, dropping my shoes on the floor.
“I need to head out to meet Edwin. He wants to discuss potential options for announcing the new baby.”
“And he needs to do that at eight on a Wednesday night?” My brows climb to my hairline. “We have weeks until our daughter is born.”
“You know my publicist. He’s organized in the extreme. He has a few potential magazine offers.”
I reach around my back, my fingers struggling to touch the zipper. “I hate that we have to do this.” And I’m not sure we’ll want to commit to anything with the impending bomb I could be dropping.
“Here, let me.” Reeve tucks his shirt into his pants, striding toward me. Brushing my hair aside, he presses a kiss to my shoulder before lowering my zipper. “I know it’s a pain, but it’s better if we control the situation. Giving official interviews and exclusive photos keeps the fans happy and ensures we’re not giving the paps the ultimate scoop. I feel safer knowing we’re managing them instead of the other way around.”
I know if we feed the media regularly, we can manage them, to an extent, so what Reeve is saying makes sense. If we share exclusive news, in a manner that’s controlled by us, it leaves less of a window of opportunity for the gossipmongers to make up shit too. It’s hard to create bullshit when you’re confronted with the evidence of the love we share and our joy at expanding our family.
Except this time is different. For reasons my husband isn’t aware of yet.
More guilt darkens my soul.
“What time will you be home?” I ask, stepping out of my dress.
Reeve’s hands gravitate toward my bare belly. “I won’t be too late.” Bending down, he kisses my stomach before straightening up and lifting his lips to my mouth. His kiss is as urgent as earlier, and when he slides his tongue into my mouth, devouring me with possessive need, I don’t protest, meeting him thrust for thrust.
Reeve unclasps my bra, tugging it away before cupping my fuller breasts as he continues to worship my lips. I groan into his mouth, and heat pools in my core. “Fuck it.” He trails a line of kisses along my jawline, down my neck, and onto my chest. “He can wait a while longer.” His mouth closes over my nipple, and I arch into him, whimpering as a jolt of desire ripples through my body. Reeve backs me up to the bed, and I fall flat on the mattress, automatically spreading my legs.
Reeve rips my panties down my legs before shucking out of his clothes. When his hot mouth lands on my pussy, I almost explode on the spot. He fucks me with his tongue and his fingers, and it doesn’t take long for me to reach a sensual peak. Reeve knows my pregnant body, inside and out, so it’s no surprise.
We crawl up the bed, and I press a reverential kiss against the ink on his chest. My fingers trace gently over the heart with my name. Just underneath it, to the left, is a smaller heart with the initials EL. Reeve has already stated he’ll be adding LL as soon as our daughter makes her arrival. If we end up having as many kids as he wants, he’s going to run out of space to ink their initials. “I love you,” I whisper, kissing his lips quickly as he helps reposition me on my side.
“Right back at ya, Mrs. Lancaster,” he whispers, as he carefully eases into me from behind. “I love you more than words can say.” He dots soft kisses along my back as he moves his cock in and out of my pussy, while cradling my belly, and it feels so damn good. Warm breath tickles my skin as he presses his mouth to my ear. “Can you come again?”
I giggle, angling my head back as he picks up his pace, thrusting into me more urgently. I peck his lips. “Don’t you know your wife?” I quirk a brow, offering him a teasing grin.
Reeve stares deeply into my eyes, tenderly kissing my lips as his hand moves to my clit. “Ready?” He rubs two fingers against my sensitive bundle of nerves as he slams in and out of me with greater need.
So many emotions swirl inside me as I nod, clinging to my husband, drinking everything in. The feel of him flush against my hot skin. The comfort of his body wrapped around mine. The pleasurable sensations he invokes in my body as he pivots his hips, driving deeper and deeper inside me. The almost pained expression on his gorgeous face as he stares at me while stroking my clit, bringing me to new heights. I shatter around his cock, my inner walls tightening and pulsing, and he throws back his head, grunting my name as he deposits his seed inside me.
Sighing in contentment, I melt into the bed, holding my husband to me in the aftermath of our lovemaking, never wanting to let him go. I nap in his arms, blinking my eyes open when he tucks me carefully under the covers. “Love you,” I murmur, reaching for him. I cup his face, and he plants a kiss on my palm.
“Rest, my love.”
I drift in and out of sleep while Reeve gets dressed. “Sleep, sweetheart. I’ll be back later.” He kisses me sweetly, and I smile at him before my heavy eyelids shutter. I’m descending into heavenly darkness when his mouth brushes my ear. “It’s all been for you, Viv,” he whispers. “Everything I’ve done was for you. Please let it not have been in vain.”
5
VIVIEN
Stretching my arm across the bed, I frown when my hand finds nothing but cold sheets. Rubbing the sleep from my eyes, I haul myself upright, glancing at the time on my cell. It’s four a.m., and Reeve isn’t in bed. Trying not to panic, I swipe through my call log, but there are no messages or missed calls from my husband. He has never not come home before, and he said he wouldn’t be late. If something popped up, he would have contacted me, knowing I’d worry. Acid crawls up my throat as panic twists my stomach into knots.
What if something has happened to him?
I press his number on my cell, biting the inside of my mouth as I listen to it ring. Pick up, Reeve! Goddamn it! I try a few more times, before climbing awkwardly out of bed, working hard to stop my growing hysteria from reaching coronary-inducing proportions.