Persuading Perfection

by TC Matson

  “She said hell no. Right, Z?” I joke.

  She’s a giggle fit as she holds up her hand, showing off the rock of a diamond.

  Teasing, I groan to the ceiling. “You’ve hypnotized her, haven’t you?”

  He kisses her hard. “She’s been hypnotized alright.”

  “What? By your little dick?” I quip and the guys burst out in laughter.

  Jade’s beaming when I peer at her. Her eyes are shining. Her smile is wide. She’s beautiful as ever, glowing from her pregnancy, and maybe from the happy news. I wink at her. That’s my next step—convince her to be my wife and seal the deal for good.

  Jade

  Four more weeks and this crazy kicking baby will be in my arms and not making my ribs his personal punching bag. Life’s been great lately. After Max and Zach had their talk, they’ve been back at being themselves, although it took Max a little while to handle seeing us together “all lovey dovey and shit” as he says. I’m just glad to see them back intact.

  The day after Max came to Zach’s, Mom and Dad came. It was intense and you needed a bull dozer to plow through the thickness in the air. After checking in on me, my dad excused himself with Zach in tow behind him. They were in Zach’s office for almost an hour before reemerging. Zach looked like he had been through the wringer and Dad was the mangler. And then I caught the look Dad gave Mom and the tic of Zach’s lips behind their backs.

  Dad spent another twenty minutes handing my ass to me for the thoughtless decision, and when he finished, he sat beside me, pulled me into a hug, and told me he loved me.

  No one will tell me what was said between the two. Dad said it was a much needed conversation between two men—one who cherishes the ground I walk on and one who loves me more than life. Deducing which one is who can go either way.

  I find Zach sitting on the couch shirtless and in a pair of sweatpants with the coffee table pulled close and papers scattered across it. This is his normal—always working. He’s been busy as hell since landing the McCarthy job. It’s consuming him.

  He’s so focused on what he’s working on that he doesn’t hear me pad down the stairs.

  “You’re working early.”

  He jumps, startled. His scruffy handsome face shifts and he smiles. “Ethan called. Mr. Wertz has requested a slight change. I didn’t wake you, did I?”

  I run my fingers through his hair and down his cheek. “The empty bed did.”

  He frowns. “Sorry.” Something exciting, something mischievous flashes in his eyes and it tumbles into my stomach. “What do you think about making the room closest to mine Caleb’s?”

  My brows furrow. “I thought we decided on a bassinet beside the bed while we’re here.”

  He shakes his head. “That’s when he’s born. But as he grows, we’ll need some privacy.”

  I agree by bobbing my head from shoulder to shoulder.

  “We’re going shopping later. Take a look and tell me what I’ll need.”

  “Okay. After breakfast. He’s hungry.”

  Zach kisses my stomach and nods back to his work. “Give me a few and I’ll be done.”

  Lucky Charms. A sugary mess of nothing good for you but so damn good you don’t care. After devouring a bowl, I rinse it out and head up the stairs to take a look. Part of me wonders how we’re going to do this parenting thing from two homes. I feel bad that he’ll not get a lot of time with Caleb during the week, but then again, if I’m not here, he’s often at my place for hours before coming home.

  I push open the door and it sucks the air out of me. The room…it’s…it’s a complete nursery. The walls have been painted with medium and light gray stripes and teal curtains. Above the cherry crib is “Caleb Nicolas” in script font with a bold C on top of it. On the same wall holds two picture frames matching the curtains—one with the title “Dream Big” and containing a blueprint, and the other a larger replica of the photo of me on Zach’s shoulders, titled “Happiness.”

  Tears—happy, astonished—stream down my cheeks as I look around. I feel his eyes and spin around toward Zach. His shoulder is propped up against the door frame, his arms over his chest, his ankles crossed as he watches me with a smile.

  “When did you…” My voice quivers. “Why didn’t you…” I choke on my babble and cry.

  “Chasing you around, I had a lot of time on my hands. You weren’t always here and I wasn’t going out, so I piddled.”

  I wipe my tears. “It’s so perfect. So beautiful.”

  He shoves off the door and pans the room. “It’s all your ideas with a few of my own.”

  “I love it,” I tell him.

  Wrapping his arms around me, he peers down. “Move in with me. Let me fall asleep with you in my arms and wake up to the tangle of sheets you create. I’ll be able to help with Caleb…”

  “I…”

  “Would love to,” he finishes my sentence with a sexy smirk. “Your home is here as is Caleb’s.”

  “I…” I start, but he drags his lips across mine and then kisses me.

  “Need me to hit my knees?”

  “It won’t change my answer,” I tell him.

  He deflates. “Baby, I—”

  “Yes,” I put him out of his agony. “I’d love to move in with you.”

  A grin shatters his face and he cups the back of my head, kissing me hard.

  Zach

  Jade waddles to the fridge and pulls it open, grabbing a bottle of water. I watch her open it, fumble to get a slice of lemon into the small opening, and then place the lid back. She shakes it, opens it, and takes a sip. I can’t keep my eyes off her, nor my hands.

  She doesn’t believe me when I tell her she’s hot and as she continues to grow, she’s only gotten hotter. I could write her love poetry, whisper against her skin how much I think she’s gorgeous as I make love to her, but she thinks I’m lying. The primal attraction to her…I’m addicted to her. It’s like she’s brand new to me and I’m incredibly infatuated with her.

  I step behind her and slide my hands over her belly. “You’re so amazingly sexy,” I say against her ear. “I’m a lucky bastard.”

  She blows a breath in disbelief. “You need glasses.”

  Pushing her head to the side with mine, I nibble her neck. “A blind man could see your beauty.”

  She leans back into me, resting her head against my chest. “I think you’re full of shit.”

  I shake my head. “With each passing day, you become more of a thing of worship.”

  She turns to face me, looking up with the sweetest eyes. “I’m miserable.”

  I offer a small smile. “I know.” I kiss her nose. “Not much longer.” I brush my lips against hers, teasingly. “Let me take you upstairs so I can love and admire and appreciate every inch of you.”

  I suck her bottom lip and squeeze her ass.

  “You’re making it hard to argue,” she says.

  “You’ve made me hard since the moment you stepped into the kitchen.”

  She runs heavy hands up my chest and laces her fingers behind my neck. Her head is tilted as she looks at me with desire, submerged in love. “Why so far away? The couch is closer.”

  My brow jumps high. Excitement rides over my body. Her being in the mood has been shit or miss for the last month. When she’s on, she…is…on and has me coming like a teenager again. But when she’s in no mood for sex, I’ve learned not to even try and persuade her. She’s got a snap with her bark.

  I take to her mouth, our tongues battling together. Her breath picks up as she presses her tits into me. Her body becomes alive under my palms.

  She pulls away, grabbing my hand and leads us to toward the living room. She glances over her shoulder, biting her lip with the hunger darkening her gaze. I take an extra step to bring my body closer to hers, to claim her mouth, to feel more of her than just her damn hand in mine. Spinning her toward me, I flex my hips, showing her just how badly she turns me on. I take to her lips, hungry. A soft moan escapes her as she melts in
to me.

  Suddenly her body tenses. Her mouth drops open as a gasp bursts from her. She shoves me away, eyes wide, and the color in her face melts away.

  “I think…” Her voice quivers. She’s frozen still. “I think…” Something steals her words and if possible, her eyes grow even wider. “My water just broke.”

  My heart slaps my chest so hard, I swear it’s fucking bruised. “You sure?”

  She bites her lip and flicks her view to me. “Yeah…”

  “Everything’s ready to go. Are you?”

  She grabs my hand, tears welling up in her eyes. “I’m…I don’t want to do this.”

  It makes me chuckle. “Baby, you’re going to do great. But right now, I need to get you to the hospital because I have no fucking idea what the hell to do.”

  “We took classes for this,” she says as we start toward the door.

  “Forgive me for not hearing a damn thing that woman was talking about. I was too busy staring at your sexy ass.” I stop. “Wait. You have a thing in the bathroom. Pants and pads, right? I’ll be right back!”

  I leap up the stairs, two steps at a time, rushing to the bathroom. I should’ve paid attention to the teacher with the most annoying fucking voice ever, but I couldn’t. Jade looked beautiful and sexy as ever. All I could think about was when I could get out of there and worship her.

  I stumble back down the stairs, sliding on the heels of my feet as I bounce to the bottom and hand her the bag. “Got it.” I’m out of breath.

  I’m at her back as she walks into the bathroom, leaving the door open.

  “Do you need any help?” I ask.

  “I…I might. Can I bend over?”

  “I’m pretty sure that won’t cause him to pop out,” I say with a laugh moving toward her.

  She looks like my insides feel—petrified, excited, happy, and nervous.

  She changes and we’re out the door in no time. Her bag is in the car. The car seat is in the back seat. She’s in the front seat. I’m in the driver seat. I’ve got to call my dad and Max. Mentally I check off the things we’ve gone over.

  Watch out world, Caleb Calloway is en route!

  I’m sitting in the most uncomfortable chair in history feeling…numbly triumphant and exhausted. The room is dim. The chaos that was in here a short few hours ago has calmed. It’s quiet with the soft hum of the fluorescent light behind Jade’s bed buzzing.

  She’s resting on her side, her body rising and falling as she breathes. She’s peaceful, all her muscles finally allowed a break from the toil. In front of me is my entire world—Jade and Caleb. He’s swaddled beside her, nestling against her chest, sleeping right along with her.

  After six hours of labor and an hour of everyone coming in and congratulating us and cooing over my son, she was spent. I requested for her to get some rest. She did great. Once we got to the hospital, her motherly instincts kicked in, and she handled everything like a champ. I’ve never been more proud of her.

  Caleb entered the world at seven pounds, three ounces, and nineteen and a half inches long with a quick cry and a full head of hair.

  I was so inundated with every happy emotion known, I’m man enough to admit I cried…like a fucking baby when they placed him in my arms. Pride—my pride was bursting out of me.

  Her eyes flutter open and I grin. “Hey,” she whispers.

  I move to the side of the bed and smooth her hair. “Hey.” I grin.

  “He’s perfect,” she says looking to our sleeping son.

  With the back of my knuckles, I drift them over his cheek. He squirms and makes a face and it causes my chest to explode with another bout of happiness. “He is a Calloway.”

  Jade smiles up to me and I kiss her forehead. “Your parents went to grab something to eat. They said they’d be back in a few hours.” I glance up to the clock. “Which will probably be any moment now.”

  “Max?”

  “They dragged him out of here too.” My lips pull up. “He’s a proud and happy uncle.”

  “I love you,” she whispers.

  “Not nearly as much as I do you…both of you.” I kiss her lips. “Do you need anything?”

  She shakes her head and then kisses the side of Caleb’s head.

  We sit here in silence watching him sleep. He’s peaceful and tranquil. He’s perfect and healthy. He’s completed me in a sense he’ll never be able to fathom.

  My son…my little pride and joy.

  Zach

  Six months later…

  Jade whimpers when I shove her back against the wall, thrusting into her. Crushing my mouth to hers, I claim her moan, trying to keep her quiet. She bounces up the wall, the dim lights only illuminating the silhouette of her face. Her pussy’s tightening and she squeaks another moan.

  “Shhh…” I warn between my teeth feeling my orgasm about to unravel. “Fuck…” I growl, squeezing her ass as I pump into her. “I’ve got you,” I rasp quietly.

  “Zach…” she whimpers, rolling her eyes.

  Shudders travel through her and she clutches her legs around me. As she digs her nails into my shoulders, her mouth is open, her moans hanging in silence. I pound into her, driving upward and urging on the glorious sight of her losing it.

  A low, sultry mewl drives me over the edge and I plunge deeply into her, covering her mouth to keep her quiet. I clench my jaw so tightly, my teeth grind. Tremors quake our bodies and my damn legs feel like fucking Jell-O. I drop my head to her shoulder with my breath wild as hell.

  I suck in air, exhaling it out of my mouth to slow it down.

  Amused, I’m grinning like a fuck drunk idiot. “Just like old times?”

  She giggles under her breath. “We have to hurry. They’ll be looking for us.”

  I tuck my satiated dick back into my slacks and help her straighten her pastel pink bridesmaid dress. It’s the very damn reason why we’re in this little ass room. She looks stunning as hell—fuckable as ever. I couldn’t keep my mind off her and on Easton and Zoey.

  She smooths her hair and fans her face. “How do I look?”

  “Freshly fucked.”

  She levels me with a pointed stare. “We’re going to hell for this.”

  Cupping her face, I rock her with a hard kiss, my tongue plunging and tangling with hers. When I pull back, she’s panting. “Yeah? We’ll do a lot of fucking there too. You go out first. I’ll meet you in the corridor by the entrance.”

  Slowly, she pulls open the door and checks to see if anyone is around before slipping out. I re-tuck my shirt, straighten my jacket, run my hand through my hair, and head out of the room sauntering my ass to the reception.

  As I wait for Jade while she freshens up, my grin burns my cheeks, but I can’t stop it. Old times activities remind me how far we’ve come. We went from secret fuckers to parents openly dating and now she lives with me. My incredible family under one roof. Soon I’ll ask her to be my wife. Without hesitations, I know her answer, but I want to make it special, just as she is.

  She appears from the bathroom. I take her hand and kiss her cheek before striding into the banquet hall. Everyone is mingling as we make our way toward the bride and groom. Easton is the happiest I’ve ever seen him, his smile spreading from ear to ear and his eyes on his wife. And she is ravishing in her wedding dress, of course, just as elated.

  “Gummie!” Jade’s dad calls out with Susan behind him with my boy in her arms. “Honey, we’re going to go.”

  Jade takes Caleb from her mother and kisses his fat cheeks, crooning to him. These two have lit my world up. Life has a new meaning and love…well, that’s a damn new definition in of itself.

  “Of course,” Jade huffs as Caleb’s eyes latch to me. “I carry him for nine months, he beats me up from the inside out, destroys my boobs, wreaks havoc on my sleep, and he’s a daddy’s boy.”

  Her tease causes me to chuckle and I take him. “Be good, little dude. Remember those puppy dog eyes we talked about. Trust me. You’ll have them eating out of your hands
. You’re learning from a pro.”

  “Are you sure he’s no problem to keep for the night?” Jade asks.

  “He’ll be fine. We’ll be fine. Between being a new mother, Zach working, and you both not getting any sleep, you two need a break.”

  I kiss Caleb’s forehead and hand him back to Susan. Running my hands down Jade’s arms, I can feel the electricity between us, the sexual static sizzling through our skin. We had to wait six weeks before I could have sex with her again and then Caleb has this radar that senses when we’re trying to screw around. He could be out cold and hear me kiss Jade in the other room. My boy cock blocks me…a lot.

  “She’ll be fine,” I tell Susan. “I hid her phone so she won’t call you every fifteen minutes to check in. If you need anything, call me.”

  We say our goodbyes and I pull Jade onto the dance floor.

  She’s molded against me, her in my arms as we stare at each other. “You’re an amazing mother,” I tell her. “Beautiful. Sexy as hell.”

  Ah yes. One thing that’s changed since having Caleb is her blush. It turns me on.

  I place a kiss to her cheek. “I’m so ready to get home and hear you beg for me.”

  “What makes you think I’ll beg?”

  Wolfishly, I smirk. “Baby, I’ve got many plans.” I move my mouth to her ear. “I’ll start in the kitchen and just before you lose yourself, I’ll take you to the living room and start all over. Rinse and repeat until every room in the house remembers what your moan sounds like. Then maybe, just maybe, if you beg just loud enough, I’ll make love to you.”

  She sinks her teeth into her lip. “Zach, your dick is hard now talking about it. You think you’ll make it around the house?”

  Dropping my head back, I laugh. “I’m going to have a great time trying.”

  “I love you.” Her eyes hold so much affection for me.

  “I love you, Jade.”

  I never thought I’d be able to say those words openly, but after chasing her…I finally persuaded my perfection and she’s mine.