“Fuck,” Ford breathed out as the dress slipped over my hips and gathered in a pool of material at my feet. The black lace panties I’d put on underneath it had been just in case—and this, right now, was that just in case. “You’re even more beautiful than I remember.”
He started to stand, but I shook my head and stepped forward. I placed my palm on his chest, feeling his heart thump against my palm. Taking control wasn’t something I yearned to do, but I craved to do it now. I was a different woman to who I had been back when we’d been staying in my college apartment. I’d been to hell and back, and I’d come out on the other side to Ford. So I needed to show him who I was now. I needed to show him how he made me feel.
I crouched down, my gaze not leaving his, and then undid the rest of the buttons on his shirt. It opened fully, and he yanked his arms out of the sleeves, leaving him bare-chested—a sight I’d never get tired of. I ran the tip of my finger between his pecs, over his abs, and down to the button on his slacks. Licking my lips at the thought of him, I popped open the button and then undid the zipper.
“Jesus Christ, Belle,” he murmured, running his hand over the side of my face. “I’ll fucking blow before you’ve even touched me at this rate.”
Nerves rolled around my stomach at his words, and I gripped the waistband of his slacks and pulled. He understood my silent command and lifted his ass off the mattress. His cock sprung free, and I stared at it for a second.
A small bead of pre-cum gathered on the head, so I dipped down and swiped it away with my tongue. His cock twitched at the contact, and I grinned. He liked it, but so did I. I flicked my gaze up to his face, and his hooded eyes met mine as I opened my mouth and took him in completely. His hand moved to my head, gripping my hair, and I swirled my tongue around the base of him and then bobbed my head back up.
“Holy shit,” he gritted out. “Fuck, that feels so good.”
His words had me tensing my legs, needing to find my only relief, but it wasn’t about me right then. It was all about him. I placed my hands on his muscular thighs, and he twitched at the touch of my palms. I didn’t stop my ministrations as I moved my head up and down once more. I could have done it forever, but apparently, Ford was done with me driving him to the edge because he gripped me under my arms and lifted me up into a standing position.
“I can’t take much more,” he told me, his voice rough and deep. He trailed his palm between my breasts, his thumb lightly scraping over my nipple, and I gasped at the soft touch. It was so gentle and so erotic, all at the same time. My legs wobbled as he continued down until he was between my legs. “I need to touch you so bad,” he murmured, not moving his attention away from me as he ripped the lace off my body, baring me to him.
My body wanted to close my eyes, but I craved to watch him as he touched me, so I kept them trained on him, not willing to miss the opportunity. He ran his finger through my slit and circled around my clit, roaring the small flame into a fire I couldn’t control. I placed my hands on his shoulders to steady myself, every fiber of my being wanting to climb onto his lap, but his other hand against my hip held me in place.
I gritted my teeth and tensed my fingers into his velvet soft skin as he ramped up the pace, and I was so close. So very close. And just as I was about to dive off the cliff and into euphoria, he stopped.
My breaths sawed in and out of me, sweat beading against my skin. “Ford…”
He wrapped his arms around my waist and lowered me onto his lap. My legs automatically parted, and his cock sat at my entrance, waiting for me to push down onto it. I stared into his eyes, placed my hands on either side of his face, and slowly, oh so slowly, lowered down onto him. I knew I shouldn’t have because the doctor had told me I needed to wait six weeks until I could have sex again. But I just couldn’t wait. Not when it came to Ford.
His cock pushed against my walls and pulsated when I lowered all the way down. He didn’t let go of me, just held me tighter, one hand in the middle of my back, and one hand hooked over my shoulder.
We were chest to chest. Heart to heart. Soul to soul.
And then he said those magical three words. Eight letters which made my whole world tilt on its axis.
“I love you,” he whispered, his lips centimeters from mine. His stare was unbreakable, his hazel eyes swirling with the truth. “I love you, Baby Belle.”
“I love you too,” I croaked out, placing a soft kiss against his lips. “I love you so much.”
He pressed his forehead against mine, and for a moment, we sat there, connected in ways nobody could comprehend. Physically. Emotionally. Spiritually. And I knew that I could live the rest of my life only hearing those words from him once, but I hoped he’d say them to me every day.
Chapter Thirty-One
FORD
I blinked my eyes open and slammed them shut again as I came face to face with the bright sun as it shone through the window. I rolled over and slowly opened them back up, reaching to the other side of the bed, but it was empty. Warmth still emanated from the sheets, and I grinned. Belle had slept in my arms the entire night, and I’d watched her sleep for most of it.
I couldn’t believe my luck at having her with me, but more than that, I couldn’t believe what we’d done last night. I never planned to bring her back here. All I’d wanted was to take her for dinner and talk about things, but I should have known better. We weren’t the kind of people who talked around things. We felt, more than we probably should have, which made for less of the bullshit and more of the truth.
We could have pussyfooted around it longer than we needed to, but we’d already lost time. Time neither of us could get back. So I’d taken a chance. I’d leaped at her like a tiger with its prey. But she’d responded back just as fiercely, and I couldn’t wipe the grin off my face at the memory.
I sat up and scrubbed my hand over my face, trying to wake myself up fully. The bathroom door was wide open with no signs of Belle, so I pushed out of bed and pulled a pair of sweats low on my hips. I had no idea what time it was, as I walked across my bedroom, no idea how long we had until we had to go and pick Leo up, but I craved more alone time with her. I was being selfish, but I didn’t care.
The bedroom door creaked as I opened it, and I headed down the hallway past two doorways. One was another bathroom, and the other was the nursery. That door was ajar, so I peeked inside, and what I found was the most beautiful thing in the world. I pushed the door open more, careful not to make any noise, and leaned against the doorframe.
Belle stood in the middle of the room, her attention focused on the crib and then the letters L-E-O in blocks of painted wood on the wall above it. The walls were a combination of blue, green, and yellow, the perfect mix for our baby boy. I’d planned to wait until he was born before I’d painted it, but as he’d come earlier than we’d expected, it meant I could finish it sooner.
“Did you build this yourself?” she asked, pointing at the crib, but she wasn’t looking at me. All of her attention was focused on the bedding I’d put inside it. The room was completely finished, complete with a rocking chair in the corner, just like I’d imagined.
“I did,” I croaked out, not able to resist moving closer. My footsteps were slow and measured, and I halted a step behind her, waiting to see what her reaction was.
“I love it.” Her voice was soft, almost as if she was in awe of the room. “I love the lion on the L too.” I glanced up at the blocks of letters and the painted image of a lion. I’d found them online, and I had to buy them.
“Me too,” I murmured, moving my hands onto her arms. I skimmed my palm down her bare skin and grinned at the sight of my shirt on her. It swallowed her, coming to just under her knees. “I was going to show you later.” Nerves rolled through me at her seeing the room before I’d been ready. I’d had a whole speech planned out, but it was too soon for that. Right?
“We never spoke about what would happen after I had the baby,” she said slowly. Her back was still to me, so I had no
idea what the expression on her face was. Was she sad? Happy? Apprehensive? It took all of my willpower not to spin her around so I could see.
“We didn’t,” I acknowledged, my voice rough.
The silence swirled around us, so many unsaid things hanging in the air, but I wasn’t sure how to approach it. When it came to my work, I made a decision and stuck by it, but when it came to Belle, I was scared. Scared she wouldn’t want the same things I did. Scared she’d walk away.
But last night…
Last night she’d told me she loved me, just like I had with her. That meant more than anything, and I realized with clarity that now was as good a time as any. I could wait. I could wait her out and keep living day to day, but I didn’t want to. The truth was, I wanted her here with me. I wanted her here with Leo. I wanted us to be a family.
But did she want the same thing?
“I…” I swallowed and gripped her arms in my hands, needing to center myself. “I know what I want,” I ventured. Her body tensed, and I wondered what she was thinking. I needed to see her face, so I spun her around. Her eyes were downcast, her hands joined in front of her, and I could practically feel the nerves rolling off of her in waves.
“What…” She lifted her head, her blue-eyed gaze meeting mine. “What do you want?”
I tilted my head to the side, trying to take my time, but it was harder than I’d imagined. I’d never been good at filling up a sentence with words I didn’t need, so I got right to the point. “I want you.” Pulling in a breath, I moved my hands to the side of her neck. “And Leo. I want you both.” Her eyes flashed, and she opened her mouth, but I didn’t give her the chance to answer. I had to say it now, or I was afraid I never would. “Here. With me.”
Her mouth opened again, and I waited for her to answer me, but she was in shock, her features stuck on pause. She was processing, I knew that, but it was the longest minute of my life, until she asked, “What are you saying, Ford?”
I cleared my throat and pushed my fingers into her hair. “I’m saying…no…I’m asking.” I bent at my knees, so my face was level with hers. “Move in with me?”
She blinked.
And then she blinked again.
I could tell the wheels were turning in her head, but I didn’t want her to overthink it. I wanted her to listen to her gut, but I couldn’t say that without it coming off as pushy, so I waited. Waited for her answer, waited for her to form her words. And finally…
“But so soon? We only had our first date last night.”
I chuckled and pressed closer to her, loving the way her body fit perfectly against mine. We were two jigsaw pieces, destined to live interlocked, our picture not whole unless we were together. “I’ve learned many things over the last year. I learned I loved you. I learned I can’t live without you. But most of all, I learned that when it comes to you, Baby Belle, nothing is soon enough. I’ll throw you over my shoulder and kidnap you if I have to because I’m not sure I can spend another night without you by my side.”
“Ford…”
“Move in with me, Belle. Let’s be a family.”
A lone tear trickled down her cheek, and I was afraid I’d been too forward, too fast, but when she whispered, “Okay,” I knew I hadn’t.
“Okay?” I asked, afraid I’d imagined her saying it.
She lifted up onto her tiptoes and pressed closer to me, her lips centimeters from mine. “Yes, Ford. We’ll move in with you.” She jerked forward but stopped at the last second. “You’re gonna have to help me tell Mom and Dad, though.”
My stomach dropped, but as she placed her lips against mine, the feeling vanished altogether. Nothing would stop me from having Belle at my side, in my bed, and sharing my home with me, not even her overprotective dad. I envisioned a battle ahead, but the battle would be worth it so we could win the war.
BELLE
“So let me get this straight,” Asher started, stretching his legs out on my bed as I dressed Leo. “You went on a first date, and he asked you to move in with you?”
I rolled my eyes, sick of hearing the same thing over and over again. It had been two days since I’d stayed at Ford’s, and we’d figured out what we were, and where we were going from here, and I’d been flying high since then. At least, I was until my mom tried to tell me I couldn’t move out. She’d forgotten I was a twenty-one-year-old adult somewhere along the line, but once I’d reminded her, she gave in. Well, if storming out of the room and not talking to me since yesterday morning was her giving in, then yeah, she gave in.
Ford had told me to let her be and to give her time, so I’d listened to him, and watched my dad as he narrowed his eyes at Ford before following after Mom. I had no doubt he’d say something to Ford when I wasn’t around. Dad had an opinion on everything, so there was no way he’d keep quiet about this.
“Yes, Asher.” I clipped the snaps closed on Leo’s onesie. “He asked me to move in with him. But what you’re all forgetting is we’ve kind of been together for nearly a year now.”
Asher pushed his hand through his dark-brown hair. “Yeah, but—”
“Also.” I picked Leo up and smiled at him. “I present you with exhibit A.” I raised a brow and looked at Asher. “The baby we made together.”
Asher snorted. “That’s a pretty solid argument.” He reached for Leo, and I handed him over. “I suppose we can’t put up a defense against that.”
I shook my head and stood, reaching for my brand-new jeans. I’d given up on the idea of fitting into my old ones, so the only option was new clothing. “You’d be correct.” A knock on the front door had my stomach dipping and my eyes widening. “That’s him.”
“Jeez, Belle. You’re acting like a lovesick teenager.” I stuck my tongue out at Asher and shooed him off my bed. “Get out so I can get changed. Otherwise, we’ll be late for your fight.”
Asher grinned so wide he showed all of his white teeth. “I can’t wait for tonight.” He glanced down at Leo. “Uncle Asher is gonna kick some booty and take names.” He held Leo’s back against his chest so they were both facing me. “You’re gonna be in the front row, right, sis?”
“Yep.” I tried not to cringe at the idea of being in the front row. I hadn’t watched one of Asher’s MMA fights for a couple of years, and Mom had stopped going around that time too because she said they were too violent for her to watch. I understood what she meant, but I needed to be there for Asher, just like he had been there for me. From the moment I’d come home, he’d dropped everything so he could spend time with me. He’d made me feel like me again, and it seemed like an impossible task to thank him for that.
Asher left my bedroom, and a second later, I could hear Ford talking to Leo. Things were moving fast, I just wasn’t sure if it was too fast. I’d been in shock when Ford asked me to move in with him, but my gut had told me to say yes, and I’d learned to listen to my gut lately. Besides, it made no sense for me to be living at home, not if we’d be together, and especially not with Leo being so tiny. There were only so many times I could ask Mom if she could watch Leo at four in the morning so I could get a couple hours of sleep.
But what if we were getting ahead of ourselves? What if something happened and we didn’t work out? Living together was a whole different story, but as I sat on the edge of my bed, I realized we’d already kind of lived together in my college apartment. The only difference then was we’d been a secret. But now we were open and honest with everyone. Out in the open for everyone to see. It could only make things better, right?
Footsteps pounded on the stairs as I pulled my leggings off, and I rolled my eyes. It was probably Asher forgetting something. I’d never known anyone to forget things the way he did. If his head wasn’t attached to his body, he’d forget about it. I lifted my arms and pulled my T-shirt off, leaving me in my underwear, and just as I was about to pull my “TEAM ASHER” tank over my head, my bedroom door flung open.
I threw my arms over my chest, trying to conceal myself against the intrud
er. “What the—”
“Well, hey there,” a deep voice greeted, and I shook my head at it. I should have known it was him.
“What are you doing?” I asked, keeping my hand over my chest. He’d seen it all before, but the door was still partially open, and my mom was downstairs pacing the length of the house, something Asher said she’d taken to doing about eighteen months ago whenever he had a fight.
“Coming to say hi,” Ford said smoothly, closing the door behind him. He pushed his hands into the front pockets of his dark-blue jeans and leaned against the back of the door. My room was full of boxes half-packed, our move-in date set for next week, and he glanced over them all, then stared back at me.
“Hi.” I stood. “I’m getting dressed.”
Ford raised his brow, his gaze tracking the length of me, and goose bumps spread over my skin. “I’d prefer to watch you get undressed.”
“Ford!” I widened my eyes at him. “My mom is downstairs.”
His lips quirked on one side as he pushed off the door and sauntered toward me. Each of his movements were calculated, but I couldn’t deny it was getting me hot and bothered. His height wasn’t intimidating. If anything, it made me want him even more. It made me feel tiny in comparison to him, and I knew it would take little effort on his part to fling me in the air and catch me.
“Just think,” he whispered, coming to a stop a couple of feet in front of me. “This time next week, you’ll be in our house, and we can do whatever we want, whenever we want.” His words spoke to me in ways he couldn’t even imagine. “I can’t wait to have you in my bed again.” He pulled one of his hands out of his front pocket and slowly trailed his finger up my arm and over my collarbone. I shivered from his touch, a small gasp leaving my mouth. We’d gone so long without touching each other, but now I never wanted it to stop. “It’s lonely without you.”
Bonded Duet: Ford & Belle: Torn Bond & Tied Bond (Easton Family Duet Boxsets Book 3) Page 37