Page 139 of Rival Hearts

“I love you,” I gasped, and he kissed me, his tongue slipping into my mouth.

He began to move faster, thrusting his hips. The movements started slow and gentle, but they soon built in intensity and speed.

Alex held my hips, his hands cupping the curves of my ass. He thrust into me, and my breath caught in my throat. The pleasure was intense, and my orgasm began to build, making me feel dizzy.

His thumb found my clit, and the feeling of him rubbing circles around the sensitive nub while thrusting into me was more than I could handle. My whole body tensed, and I gripped his shoulders, crying out. My nails dug into his skin, and my vision went black.

“Come for me, Charlotte,” Alex said. “I’m almost there.”

His voice was rough, and his movements became more erratic, desperate. I clung to him, my orgasm rocking through me. He came seconds later, thrusting into me and letting out a groan as he spilled his seed inside me.

He collapsed on top of me, his weight pressing me into the mattress, and we came together. The world fell away, and it was me and him. There was nothing that could keep us apart anymore. Not our jobs, not Gabe, not the fact that I was pregnant. We were in this together, and I knew without a doubt that this was it.

This was our happily ever after.

Alex’s body shuddered as he came down from his orgasmic high, and my body felt warm and delicious in the aftermath of our sex.

I held him tight and kissed his hair. We stayed like that for a while, both breathing hard and covered in a light sheen of sweat.

He finally rolled over and lay next to me, reaching for me and pulling me close.

“You’re amazing,” he said. “We’re pretty good together.”

I nodded and curled up against his side, resting my head on his shoulder.

“We really are,” I agreed.

Everything was perfect. It was hard to imagine how this had happened. A short while ago, it had felt like everything was wrong and my world was ending, but now… I couldn’t believe how lucky I was to have found Alex.

And he felt the same about me.

I couldn’t wait for the rest of our lives together. I had a feeling this ride with him was going to be a good one.

EPILOGUE - CHARLOTTE

Eight Months Later

“Ican’t wait for this to be over,” I said, lowering myself onto Maya’s couch. “I’m ready to have my body back.”

I was nine months pregnant, and I felt the size of a whale. My ankles were swollen, and I couldn’t remember the last time I’d been able to touch my feet.

“It will be over soon,” Maya said, bringing me a glass of lemonade.

At least the food aversion and incredible nausea had gone after the first trimester. Now, it felt like I was eating everything I saw. “Your due date is soon, isn’t it?”

“It was supposed to be last week. I don’t know what this baby is doing in there, but it can’t keep holding out on me.”

Maya giggled. “It will be over soon,” she said again.

I hoped she was right. As much as I liked being pregnant, the last month had been rough. Despite all the difficulties I’d had at the start, the pregnancy had gone really well, and I could easily see myself doing this again. Not that I’d said it to anyone—we would deal with this baby first, and later we could talk about having more. But I knew Alex wanted more kids.

Things had changed so much over the last couple of months. It had gone from Alex being very worried about being a parent before I’d gotten pregnant, feeling like he could never be a good father, to him being so involved and invested. Now I wasn’t sure who was more excited about the baby coming—me, so that I could get my body back, or him so that he could be a dad already.

He’d really filled the shoes of dad-to-be in so many ways over the last couple of months. He was incredibly attentive, always making sure that I was okay, really spoiling me.

And his family was just as great about us expecting our baby. I wasn’t sure which of the Blackwoods were more excited about this—Alex or his parents.

“How are things with Alex’s company?” Maya asked when she sat down with a glass of lemonade for herself, too. “He’s very busy, isn’t he?”