Total pages in book: 84
Estimated words: 81718 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 409(@200wpm)___ 327(@250wpm)___ 272(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 81718 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 409(@200wpm)___ 327(@250wpm)___ 272(@300wpm)
“Yeah, I think she will too,” she says, covering a yawn.
“You ready for bed?”
“Yes.”
“I’ll lock up.”
“Can you leave the light over the stove on for Brogan when she gets home?”
“Absolutely. Need anything?”
“Just you, Forrest.”
“You have me, baby. All of me.” I lean in for a kiss. One that was meant to be a quick peck, but she opens for me, and grips my shirt, pulling me closer. That’s all the encouragement I need to deepen the kiss. I don’t hide my hunger for her, and she gives it back to me tenfold.
Forcing myself to pull away, I rest my forehead against hers. “I’m seconds away from stripping you down, and I don’t want to risk the girls waking up and seeing that.” Standing to my full height, I take a step back.
Briar juts out her bottom lip. “Aw, Forty.” She crosses her arms over her chest.
“Our girls have taught you well, Momma. Off to bed.”
Her eyes widen, but a sweet smile is her reply.
I swat her ass and head to make sure the house is locked up, and to leave the light above the stove on for my future sister-in-law when she gets home later tonight.
In the bedroom, the lights are off, but that’s okay. I know my way around. I strip down to my boxer briefs, and slide into bed. Briar immediately snuggles up next to me.
“Did you mean it?” she finally asks, her voice small.
“I don’t say things I don’t mean, baby. But did I mean what?”
“You said our girls.”
“Are you mine?” I ask her.
“Yes.”
I smile into the darkness. There was no hesitation in her reply.
“They’re your daughters. You’re mine. They’re ours. You have to share with me, Briar. It’s only fair.”
She’s quiet, and I know she’s processing my words. “My therapist says it’s important to talk, to be open and honest. Can you tell me what that looks like for you? When you say they’re ours?”
“Are you ready?” I ask her.
“I—I don’t know.”
I nod. She’s not ready to hear it, but I know she’s getting there. She can take all the time she needs. In the meantime, I need to make her understand without freaking her out. “It means that I can see a future with the four of us. I can see me stepping up for them as their dad when you’re comfortable with that. I promise I won’t step over any boundaries that you give me, but you make me happy. Being a part of your lives, all three of you, is what was missing from mine. You chase away the lonely.”
I love you. I want you and the girls to move in with me, and I want to have more babies with you. That’s what I want to say, but that time will come. When she’s ready, I’ll have said the words so many times in my head that my confession will roll off my tongue with ease.
“They love you.”
My chest expands because I speak Briar, and I know she’s using the girls as a way to express what she’s feeling. Yes, the girls love me. I love them, too, but this whispered confession is more.
So much fucking more.
“I love them too.”
She lifts her head and through the light of the moon shining through the window, I watch as she leans in closer. Her lips find mine, and I let her set the pace. Slow and easy is what she gives me, and it’s what I’ll take.
“This is all new to me, Forrest. You’ve had ten years, and well, what feels like a lifetime's more experience than I have.”
“You’re forgetting one thing.”
“What’s that?” she asks.
I brush her hair back over her shoulder. “This is a first for me. I’ve never cared this much, Briar. I’ve never been this invested. Every touch with you feels like the first time.”
“I don’t know what I’m doing.”
“Baby, there is no right or wrong way. You do what feels good. What turns you on?”
“What turns you on?” she counters.
“You.”
“I’m being serious,” she says, swatting at my chest playfully.
I capture her hand in mine and slowly guide it over my abs until we reach my cock. I’m hard as stone. She gasps. “I’m yours, Briar. There isn’t a single thing you could do wrong when it comes to touching or exploring. You’re safe with me, always.”
“I’d like to try.”
“Good girl,” I husk. Lifting my arms, I lock them behind my head. “I’m all yours.”
“This is embarrassing, Forrest. I’m twenty-three, a mom of two.” Her voice is laced with what sounds like sadness and anger.
“Life has knocked you down, baby, but you’re getting back up. I hate what happened to you. If I could find him, I’d make him pay. I would, but there’s also a part of me that’s excited that I get to be here with you like this. I get to be the man you get all your firsts with. Forget the past. The only part we want to remember are those two beautiful girls sleeping down the hall. The rest of you is mine. It’s ours, and I’m all in.”