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Sven

W hen Natalie had fallen asleep on the phone, Sven hadn’t been able to bring himself to end the call. When he woke up and she was still on his screen sleeping, he ached to be home so he could pull her into his arms and snuggle her. He was honest with her the night before, had never felt this way about anyone, and was really looking forward to exploring things with her.

They had just landed in Glendale, and he had his bag, making his way to his car.

“What are you up to tonight?” asked Murphy as he came up next to him, both making their way to the parking lot.

Sven had tried during this trip to be extra nice to Murphy since he had been such a giant douchebag to him in the escape room.

“I’m just planning on hanging out at home with Natalie and Winnie,” he said.

The contentment that statement brought settled deep inside of him. He wanted nothing more than to do just that.

“So, you and Natalie, huh?”

Sven nodded. “Yeah, we decided to see where it goes.”

“She’s a good girl,” Murphy said.

“She is.”

Sven didn’t like what Murphy was implying.

“Are you serious about her?”

Sven stopped and turned, cutting him down with a glare.

Murphy threw his hands up in the air in a defensive gesture. “I’m not encroaching, just checking in. I don’t want her to get hurt.”

He still didn’t like what Murphy was implying... but he could see where he was coming from.

Sven nodded. “I’m not going to hurt her.”

“Okay, see you Tuesday for practice,” he said as he gave him a bro nod and split ways to his own car.

As he pulled into his garage, he couldn’t wait to get in to see his girls, but he found he was feeling nervous. All of this was so new to him. He had barely gotten used to having Winnie, now he had Winnie and Natalie... or at least he was hoping he had Natalie.

He parked and got his bag out of the back and headed inside.

As he walked into the kitchen, he found Natalie and Winnie. Natalie was holding her out, swinging her around.

“Winnie-Bell, Winnie-Bell, ding-dong goes the Winnie-Bell,” she said as Winnie gave peals of joyful laughter.

The sight almost brought tears to his eyes. He could come home to this sight every day, and it would always be just this incredible.

He caught Winnie’s eye.

Her face lit up, and she instantly reached for him. “A-da-da-da,” she said, wiggling.

“Hi, sweet girl.” He took Winnie from Natalie’s arms before peppering her chubby little cheeks with kisses while she squealed. “Daddy missed you.”

Winnie reached up and squished his cheek while his eyes connected with Natalie. “Daddy missed you, too,” he said, wagging his eyebrow.

She just smiled and shook her head. He ached to go over and kiss her, but he found himself battling nerves. He had never felt this nervous about kissing a woman before, particularly one he had kissed, but here he was.

Natalie moved into the kitchen and got herself a Coke from the fridge.

“How was your flight?” she asked, trying to make small talk.

Maybe she was just as nervous as he was, but somehow, he doubted that.

“Good. Flying on the team jet is different than general flying.”

“Right.”

They eyed each other nervously. Why did it feel so awkward? Before he left, he had kissed her for a ridiculously long time. They had talked every night and really gotten to know each other. He really liked her... Maybe that’s why he was so nervous.

“Little missy and I just finished up lunch,” Natalie said, walking over and taking Winnie’s hand. “I was going to make a bottle and put her down in about twenty minutes.”

“I can do that.”

“Are you sure?”

“Yep,” he said, moving into the kitchen to make a bottle.

“Why don’t you go relax while Winnie and I get settled in, and I get her down for a nap.”

“Okay.”

Sven went over and made Winnie’s bottle. It gave him something to do to help him calm the nerves. Then he headed upstairs to get her settled.

“What do you think of Natalie?” he asked Winnie as she peacefully drank.

“Do you like her as much as I do? I mean, how could you not?”

He traced her round cheek as he watched her suck down her bottle. Everything felt more right than it ever had. His mind from wandered to what it would be like to have more kids. He wanted more kids, wanted kids with Natalie. Though he had no right to feel the sense of certainty he did, especially since he’d never done it before, but he could do it. All that was left to do was convince Natalie he could.

After Winnie had finished her bottle, she was sleepy in his arms but was still awake. Sven sang “My Girl” to her just like he always did as she finally drifted off. After a successful switch to the crib, Sven made his way downstairs to Natalie.

She was in the kitchen, emptying the dishwasher.

“Hi,” he said, feeling more composed around her.

She turned with a smile and quietly said, “Hi.”

He closed the space to her until he was close enough to smell her shampoo. “Can I hug you?”

She nodded, and he instantly pulled her into his arms. She came to him easily and rested her cheek on his chest as he held her close. He bent his head and got a full hit of the strawberry shampoo. His hold on her tightened, and he dipped his head to kiss her head. It was almost as if something clicked into place, and she turned her face up to him with a smile. He bent his head and pressed a gentle kiss to her lips.

She hummed and held him tighter.

That was it. His control was breaking. He bent and slid his hands under her ass before picking her up and setting her on the counter without breaking the kiss. She squealed and tried to pull away, but he chased the kiss, unable to break it just yet.

She put her hands on his chest and pushed away. Only then did he pull away, but he wanted her lips back on his more than he had any right to. But then she looked into his eyes that were not level with his, and he was lost. He wasn’t sure, but he was willing to wager he was falling in love with Natalie Roper.

Her soft hands came up and cupped his face. “You’re here,” she said before tracing her hands down to his chest.

He pressed another kiss to her lips. “I’m here.”

“It’s almost hard to believe... I don’t know if that makes sense.”

“I feel the same way... It’s weird, but, fuck... you’re so beautiful.” He pressed another kiss to her lips.

With that, Natalie was done holding back and kissed him again, running her hands all over his body. He was getting lost in the kiss as her finger began to toy with the bottom of his hoodie. Knowing how him not wearing a shirt affected her, he pulled back and pulled his hoodie and T-shirt over his head. Natalie inhaled sharply. He couldn’t help the cocky grin that crept across his face.

Natalie bit her lip as he ran her hands along his bare chest. Damn. Sven had no idea it could feel like this. He cupped her face and pressed another kiss to her lips as her hands explored his bare torso. His hands explored her body. He ached to learn her physically like had learned emotionally this week.

She gave a small moan and opened to him as her hand traced up his torso, chest, and neck before fisting into his hair. Then she turned up the heat on the kiss, and it made him weak in his fucking knees. Before he knew what was happening, he was pulling at the hem of her T-shirt. She willingly lifted her arms as he broke the kiss long enough to pull it up over her head. As he kissed her, his hand explored her soft curves.

He pulled back, needing to see her. He needed her.

“Fuck,” he groaned as he traced a hand down her neck between her breasts, taking her in. “God, you’re perfect.”

Then he pulled her off the counter and carried her over to the couch.

“Sven, what are you doing?” she squealed before wrapping her arms around his neck, holding on for dear life.

“We are moving this to the couch,” he said as he made his way into the living room.

“You can’t carry me!”

“I can’t? It sure seems like I can.”

Without wasting a moment, he started kissing her again. Only this time, he kissed down her neck and her chest and went between her breasts. His hands finally came to take a handful of her soft skin as she moaned and threw her head back. He traced the peak of her nipple under her bralette, but she would lose that soon. When he lowered his head to the mound and lightly bit the hard little bud, Natalie drew in another sharp breath.

“Sven,” she moaned.

That was it. She was losing this bra. He started pulling at it, and she immediately helped him, slipping it over her head. Before he knew it, her breasts were free and perfect, and his mouth was on them, and her hands were fisted in his hair. This was everything. It was ever more perfect that he had dreamed it would be.

He needed to get her off, to find out the sounds she made when he made her fall apart in his hand. Pulling back, he slowly slid his hand down her soft belly to the elastic waistband of her leggings.

“Is this okay?” he asked.

She nodded, and he pushed them down, sliding his hand in her pants. Next thing he knew, he was cupping her sex. Heat emanated from between her legs. Her underwear was damp, and he could only imagine how slick her sex would be when he touched it, but instead, he just ground his palm into her heat, feeling the dampness grow on her underwear as her breathing turned into needy little pants.

He couldn’t help himself anymore. He slid her underwear to the side, feeling her for the first time. She gasped as he slid two fingers inside of her.

She drew in a sharp intake of breath. “Fuck, Sven, yes,” she said as she started to move with him as he pumped his fingers slowly in and out.

She was perfect, just like he knew she would be.

She cupped his face and gave him a sloppy kiss as he worked her. He moved his hand slightly so his palm was rubbing her clit. Again, she threw her head back and moaned, and he latched his mouth onto her nipple and gave it a hard suck as he started rubbing her g-spot as the heel of his palm ground her clit.

“Oh, fuck, like that,” she panted.

He stayed just like that, working her until she broke and cried out pulsing around his hand. Those sounds would never get old.

When he pulled his hands from her pants, she sighed, finally looking at him. “That was just as good as I knew it was going to be.”

She leaned forward, kissed him, then moved to kneel before him.

Fuck. He couldn’t wait but then a buzzing in his pants snatched them from the perfect moment.

He reached into his pocket and silenced the ringer before tossing it on the couch next to him. He caught sight of the name and saw it was his lawyer. With an irritated groan, he said, “Hold that thought. It’s my lawyer, and he might have word on Winnie’s mom.”

Natalie nodded and sat back.

“Fuck,” Sven groaned out at the sight of Natalie. “If this wasn’t about Winnie, I would chuck this fucking thing in the pool. You know that, right?” he said as he cupped her cheek.

“You’re good. Don’t worry about it.”

He pressed a kiss to her lips.

“Hello.”

“Sven, I have some news for you.”

“Oh, yeah,” Sven said, sitting up straighter as Natalie stood and went to the kitchen to put her hoodie back on, which was a damn shame. “What’s going on?”

“I have a PI looking for some of the items she took, and we found them being sold online. We have a couple choices. We can call the police, or we can set up a sting with the PI. I recommend the police, but I know you are wanting to keep this under wraps, so it’s your call.”

Sven ran his hand through his hair. “I don’t know. I don’t really feel right involving the police when it comes to Winnie’s mom. I just need to have Winnie’s information and all that stuff. I don’t care about recouping any of the stuff she took from me. And I want her to sign over custody.”

“Okay, so I’ll talk to the PI and see what we can set up.”

“Thanks, I’ll be in touch.”

Sven laid his head back on the couch and took a deep breath. That was certainly a way to douse the perfect moment with cold water.