My heart fucking squeezes when I get to the doorway to see her folding the pile of clothes she’s gone through a million times now but can’t get enough of. She’s so fucking beautiful doing it too. It’s moments like these I love and live for. It’s her that I love and live for. Every fucking moment with her softens my heart and heals me day by day.
Her long blonde hair is piled high on top of her head with little strands falling over her glowing face as she goes to reach for another item of clothing. She stops and smiles when she notices me leaning against the doorframe, watching her like I always do when I find her here. “What are you doing awake, gorgeous? It’s early.”
I uncross my arms and step into the room, grabbing her by the hips to pull her against me. The warmth of her body instantly melts my heart. I swear I can’t get enough of this woman. Each day we’re together, I love her more and more. My love for her is so strong that it fucking hurts my chest sometimes. “Looking for my fucking wife. Again.”
Her smile widens as she reaches up to wrap her arms around my neck and pull me in close. From the way she’s looking at me, it’s clear her love for me runs as deeply as mine does for her. Good. Because she’s stuck with me now, and I make sure to remind her of that as often as possible. “Miss me already, Husband? I’m not going anywhere that’s not in the same home as you. Ever. That’s a promise. You’re stuck with me,” she teases, before I can say the very same line.
Wrapping my hands into the back of her hair, I lean in to brush my lips over hers. She really has no idea just how much I love her. No words will ever be enough to describe it. But I sure as hell plan to spend the rest of my life showing her. “I always fucking miss you and you know it.”
I grab the pink onesie out of her hand that’s still hanging over my shoulder, and drape it over the crib railing. “I miss her too.” I place my hand on her swollen belly. She’s eight months along. The day I found out she was carrying my child was the best day of my life, outside of her agreeing to marry my demanding asshole self. “You know I don’t like waking up without my girls close to me. I can’t handle that shit, Cami. I need you close to me so I can protect my girls.”
“From what?” She laughs, while playing with the bottom of my hair, her green eyes studying mine. “From this big, beautiful house that you helped build for our family? There’s no safer place in the world for us than here with you, my husband. The best one I could ever ask for. I love you so damn much it hurts, Jensen.” Her eyes close when I brush my lips over hers. “I truly do, and I don’t know what I’d do without you. You do so much for us,” she whispers. “You’re going to be a great father, Jensen. The best in the world, and I can’t wait for us to meet our baby girl.”
I tilt her chin up and suck her bottom lip into my mouth, gently nibbling it before releasing it. “Fuck, I love it when you say that, baby. Say it again,” I push, needing to hear it from her, because her thoughts and opinion mean more to me than anyone else’s.
“You’re going to be a great father,” she repeats. “But you’ve been so great with Benny I already knew that. There’s never been a doubt in my mind. You’re going to put all other fathers to shame with the way you love us.”
“Thank you,” I whisper against her lips, my heart feeling full. It always does because of her. My wife, the woman I’m going to spend the rest of my life loving and taking care of. She’s proven to me that I’m husband material after all. Always fucking have been. I just needed the right woman to come along and break down my walls. “Now come back to bed. We have a houseful of people to entertain in less than...” I look at the clock to check the time. “Six hours. Come lay down, so I can take care of my wife.”
She nods. “I think I can handle that.” She runs her hands over my bare chest and lets out a sexy little growl. “You really need to stop working out every day. Do you have any idea how hard it is to look at you and not want you every second of the day?”
I nod and bite my bottom lip, my eyes devouring my beautiful wife. “Trust me, I know the feeling. Too bad I’m too much to handle in bed.”
She slaps my chest and laughs. “Still so damn cocky. I was crazy to think that’d ever go away.”
“Did you want it to?” I ask, looking her in the eyes.
“Never,” she admits. “It’s who you are and I wouldn’t change it for the world. I love you exactly the way you are. Your cockiness is part of the man I fell in love with. A huge part,” she adds. “A very huge part.”
“Say huge again,” I tease, before nibbling her shoulder and placing kisses over it. “I love it when you describe me with words like huge.”
“Seriously, Jensen!”
She laughs and goes to walk away, but I grab her hips and move in close behind her, closing the distance between our bodies. “I need you to know something,” I whisper against her ear.
“What’s that?” she asks, quietly.
“You’re the most beautiful woman I’ve ever met, and you carrying my child is the most beautiful fucking thing in the world. You deserve everything I do for you and our baby. You’ve earned it all, baby.” I place a kiss on her neck. “I owe you the fucking world, and now I want to give it you.”
“You’re going to make me cry,” she whispers. “Are you trying to make me cry?”
I move around to look my wife in the eyes. “Never. My goal is to never make you cry. Not sad tears at least. Never sad tears. It’d hurt me too damn much.”
She grabs my face and kisses me hard on the lips, stealing my breath away. She’s the only person whose ever been able to.
The moment we crawl into bed, I make sure Cami is comfortable while I spend the next couple of hours rubbing her feet and any part of her body that will relax her. There’s no better part of my day than this, and that’s the damn truth.
* * *
THANKS TO JENSEN I’M COMPLETELY relaxed by the time our friends arrive for the cookout. He didn’t let me lift a finger even though I fought him over and over again, wanting to do something to help.
It’s probably a good thing I lost that battle, because it doesn’t take much to exhaust me these days. I’m four weeks from popping out our baby girl, and he makes sure to remind me of this every time I try to do anything, even the slightest straining of a hand muscle.
“Hey Cami!” Benny says excitedly the moment he and Lucas come through the sliding kitchen door to meet us outside. “Is it cool if I swim before we eat? I brought extra shorts.”
I smile and hug him back when he moves in for a hug. “Yeah. Of course, it is. Jensen spent all morning cleaning it for you.”
“Sweet!” He rushes off to change, leaving me standing in front of his uncle.
“Hey,” Lucas offers. “Want me to pick him up in a few hours or does Jensen want him for the night? It’s up to him now. Benny said he wants to stay.”
“He can stay,” Jensen says, coming from out of nowhere, pulling me close to him. “As long as it’s okay with you and his Grams you know Benny is always welcome here. That will never change.”
Lucas nods and runs a nervous hand through his hair. Him and Jensen have talked a few times since that night he stood up to him, but I wouldn’t consider them friends. I’m not sure it will ever get back to that point, but at least they’re civil now. That’s what’s best for Benny. “Okay, cool. I’ll pick him up around noon tomorrow. I’ll let him know on the way out.”
“Sounds good, man.” Jensen nods and Lucas turns to leave. “You can stay for the cookout if you want. As long as you don’t plan on being a giant dick, that is.”
Lucas turns back around and exhales. I can’t tell what his answer will be, but after a few seconds, he nods and walks to grab a beer from the cooler.
A small smile takes over Jensen’s face before he kisses me on the lips and goes back to manning the grill. Baby steps. It’s all about baby steps. It was the same way with Ben for a while, but eventually they became close like they were before things with Katherine happened.
Having Ben is
his life has been good for him. Same with having Peter. It took a few months for them to really warm up to each other—mostly because Jensen isn’t the easiest to get along with—but have become good friends, which is fantastic for Veronica and I.
“Hey, sweets!” Veronica squeaks, looking down at my humungous belly. “I’m excited to meet my niece soon, which you guys have still failed to give us a name for. Is today the day? Please tell me it is, because I’m going nuts. Plus, I have something to tell you, but you owe me first.”
Excitement takes over as I bring my eyes down to her little baby bump. “You found out the sex?!”
She nods her head. “Yup!”
The guys look our way, our loud squeaky voices most likely giving away what we’re talking about.
“Hey!” Jensen yells from in front of the grill. “No giving away secrets until after we eat. Got it?”
“Yours is so bossy,” Veronica mumbles. “He’s lucky he’s cute as hell.”
“Very lucky,” I add.
Waiting until everyone is done eating is torture, because I’ve been dying for weeks to tell everyone the name we chose. It took forever for us to come up with a name, but when we did, we both knew right away that it was the one.
“Spill it,” Peter yells, holding his beer up. “Veronica has been driving me crazy trying to guess. I need it to stop.”
Jensen laughs at Peter’s misery, which it something that happens often. Apparently, men get a kick out of their friend’s torture.
“Go ahead, baby. You deserve this moment.” My heart speeds up as Jensen pulls me into his arms and kisses me, before taking a moment to look me in the eyes. This man truly has no idea how much I love him. He’s the best husband in the world, and he’s proven that to me over and over again since the day we got married. “Tell them.”
Jensen keeps his arms around me as I focus my attention on our friends. I’m so excited I can barely stay still. After it being so hard to choose the perfect name, this moment feels incredible. “Okay. Here it goes… Our baby girl’s name is…”
“Tell us already!” Veronica yells. “I can’t take the torture!”
I laugh and roll my eyes at her. “Her name is Brooke Claire Blake.”
“Oh my God!” Veronica says, teary eyed. “She has my middle name. I think I’m going to cry.”
“Hell yeah. That’s a good name, brother.” Ben slaps Jensen on the back, before tilting his beer back and going back to his and Lucas’ conversation.
“I like it,” Benny adds from his spot at the picnic table, where he’s stuffing his face with dessert. “It starts with a B like mine, which makes it even cooler.”
Once everyone is over talking about Brooke’s name, everyone returns to swimming and playing games, but I’m going crazy, needing to know what my best friend is having.
“Okay,” I say excitedly. “It’s your turn, babe. Please tell me it’s a boy! You need to have a boy, so he can protect little Brooke from boys at school.”
Veronica laughs. “Oh, I’m sure Jensen will be there doing that, no matter what age Brooke is. He’s going to be one protective dad. I feel sorry for the boys that want to date Brooke when she grows up. Especially since…” She smiles really big. “We’re having a boy, so they’re definitely going to grow up and get married. Just sayin’.”
“I knew it!” I throw my arm around her neck and pull her in sideways for a hug. It’s the only way we can hug at the moment. “I told Jensen it was going to be a boy. I just had a feeling. I’ll be back!”
I turn around excitedly and get ready to yell Jensen’s name, but he’s standing right behind me, watching me with the most loving smile. “Shit, I love seeing you smile,” he says, pulling me to him. “And I heard. Peter just told me. But I’ll let you tell me again if it keeps you smiling like this.”
“It’s a boy,” I say, keeping my smile. “And it’s you that keeps me smiling like this. Always.”
“Mmm…” He growls against my lips, before kissing me. “I love to hear that.”
“I love you, Jensen,” I say wholeheartedly, my eyes locked on his beautiful blue ones. They’re the most beautiful eyes in the world and I hope like hell that our daughter gets them. “You’ve made me the happiest woman in the world. Saying yes to you when you got down on one knee was the best decision of my life. I hope you know that.”
It’s true. I love Jensen with every breath in my body. I never knew it was possible to love someone the way I love my husband and unborn child. They complete me. They make every day I’m breathing worthwhile.
“I do, but you better fucking believe I love hearing you say it.” He smiles against my lips. “Should we end the cookout early, so I can take you back to our bed? I want my wife so fucking bad right now.”
“Get a room!” Veronica yells.
“Yeah!” Benny adds, before cannonballing into the pool, splashing his uncle, who finally breaks a smile.
This is our life. This house. Our friends. Us. Our unborn baby girl. And I wouldn’t change any of it ever. My heart is full. It’s so full of love, laughter, and happiness, all because I had to have that rental property. Bursting through that door and demanding for Jensen to let me rent his property was a little crazy at the time—thanks to the wine—but it ended up being the beginning of the rest of my life.
THE END
Standalone Books
Wake Up Call
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Thrust
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Strung
Walk of Shame Series
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Hemy
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Get Off On the Pain
Something For The Pain
Alphachat Series (Co-written with Hilary Storm)
Pay For Play
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Damaged Locke
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First and foremost, I’d like to say a big thank you to all my loyal readers that have given me support over the past few years and have encouraged me to continue with my writing. Your words have inspired me to do what I enjoy and love. Each and every one of you mean a lot to me and I wouldn’t be where I am if it weren’t for your support and kind words.
Also, all of my beta readers that have taken the time to read my book and give me pointers throughout this process. Thank you all so much.
Thank you all of the wonderful book bloggers that have taken the time to support my book and help spread the word. You all do so much for us authors and it is greatly appreciated. I have met so many friends on the way and you guys are never forgotten. You guys rock. Thank you!
Victoria Ashley grew up in Rockford, IL and has had a passion for reading for as long as she can remember. After finding a reading app where it allowed readers to upload their own stories, she gave it a shot and writing became her passion.
She lives for a good romance book with tattooed bad boys that are just highly misunderstood. When she's not reading or writing about bad boys, you can find her watching her favorite shows.
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