Page 37

CHAPTER 37

Matt

W hen we wake up in the morning, Zoey is completely wrapped around me. I’ve never woken up as content as I am right now. When she stirs, I kiss her nose, and she scrunches it, causing her eyes to squint. She looks adorable first thing in the morning.

“Morning, baby,” I murmur as I tuck her hair behind her ear, and she smiles.

Her eyes flutter open, and she whispers, “Good morning.”

She stretches, and when she’s done, I roll and hover over her. “So, breakfast and then we can go pack your things?” I ask, and her eyes widen.

“Pack my things?” she squeaks.

I nod. “You said you’d move in, which means we need to get you packed.”

Her laugh is one of disbelief. “You really want to do that today?”

“Yes. I want you in here as soon as possible. I don’t want you sleeping anywhere that isn’t this bed with me.”

“And if I say I want to wait a few weeks?”

I drop beside her and try to think of a way to convince her she shouldn’t wait. Her laughter pulls me from my thoughts, and when I look over at her, she’s beaming.

“You’re cute when you pout,” she says.

“Does that mean you’ll move in today?”

She laughs and shakes her head, but a contented sigh eventually leaves her. “Yeah, I’ll move in today.”

Excitement fills me as I roll back over her and start kissing my way down her body. She spreads her legs, giving me more room so I can settle between her thighs as my mouth continues making its way down her stomach. “Maybe we can practice the whole making babies thing first,” I say against her skin.

Her hand comes to my jaw, and I stop my movements and look up at her.

“Matt,” she breathes, and I tense. “I want to be married before we have more kids.”

I grin at her use of the word more, accepting Jayden as both of ours. “We can do that.”

She nods and bites her lip. “I’m not ready for marriage, though. I want to settle into a career. I want to build a home first.”

Nervousness is written all over her face, but I get where she’s coming from. Marriage and kids are not something to blindly jump into. I kiss back up her stomach until I’m hovering over her and kiss her cheek.

“You want marriage?” I ask, and she nods. “And kids?”

She nods again.

“Then we’re on the same page. I’ll go at whatever speed you want. All I care about is that we want the same things, and that you’re happy.” She nods, and I grin, my thoughts going back to what I was doing. “I would still like to practice the whole making babies until you’re ready.”

She rolls as much as she can between my arms that are caging her in and reaches into the nightstand, producing a condom. “Then let’s practice,” she says as she rips it open and rolls it down my hard cock. She cups my face, and something in her eyes has me not moving and just watching her. “Make love to me,” she whispers, like it’s a prayer.

I nod and kiss her slowly. My hand slowly exploring her body before I position myself at her entrance then slowly push inside her. I watch her face closely, making sure to capture every change. I always hoped I’d find someone I’d fall in love with and want to start a family with, but I never imagined I could feel as deeply for someone as I do Zoey.

She scratches at my back as I slowly move in and out of her, savouring every moment. I place gentle kisses on her skin as I whisper, “I love you,” over and over, and she whispers it back. I feel her building, and I’m right there with her. We’re so in sync right now, I can only hope we experience this over and over for the rest of our lives.

Her eyes shut as she squeezes them, and she silently convulses around me, pulling me over the edge with her.

I kiss her nose as she slowly opens her eyes. So much is held in those beautiful brown depths, and I’m the one who gets to spend their life exploring them.

“Shower then packing,” I say, and she nods. I help her up, and she follows me into the bathroom. As I lather her in soap I say, “Just think, this is the last shower you have to leave smelling like me.”

She smiles. “But what if I want to smell like you?”

“Then I guess you’ll have to spend a lot of time in my arms.”

She blushes, and her eyes shine. “I guess I will.”

Henry’s surprised to see me walk in his front door with Zoey, but he offers me his hand and I shake it, kissing Maggie on the cheek when she greets me.

“What brings you two here?” she asks, and I know it isn’t that we aren’t welcome, but rather that we’ve never been inside together.

Zoey rings her hands in front of her, her eyes bouncing between Henry and Maggie. “I’m actually here to pack my stuff.”

Maggie smiles widely as she hugs Zoey tight. Henry’s eyes are on me, though. When Zoey and Maggie separate, I wrap an arm around her middle and hold eye contact with Henry. “I love her. I’ll do everything I can to give her the life she deserves.”

He stares at me for a few seconds before he nods and looks back at Zo. “You’re always welcome here, Zo. This will always be a safe space for you.”

She nods and hugs her brother.

“I still expect you for Christmas Day,” he says as she pulls back.

She looks at me over her shoulder and smiles before looking back at Henry. “Can we bring Jayden?”

“Of course, you can,” Maggie says before Henry even has a chance to answer. “I still need to meet this adorable boy of yours.”

Zoey is glowing as she smiles back at her. “He is the most adorable thing. You’ll love him. Oh!” she exclaims as she reaches for her phone in her back pocket. “I have pictures.”

Her and Maggie bend over the counter and stare at her phone as they go through all the photos, and I follow Henry as he jerks his chin to the living room. We sit on the couch, and he clasps his hands in front of him as leans on his thighs.

“So, what are your plans?” he asks.

“I want to marry her one day. She wants to take our time and to get settled in her new career before we do that. I’ll do this on her timeline. We want the same things. I just want her. She is the one person who makes me feel like me and feel sane.”

His eyes move over my shoulder, and I know he’s looking at his wife. He’s got the same look Josh has when he looks at Liv, when Caleb looks at Bailey, and when Grayson looks at Hannah. That look of pure adoration where you’re not sure how you’d survive without the other person, and I know I have the same one when I look at Zoey.

Henry nods and claps me on the shoulder, and I take it as his sign of acceptance. “I never asked her to view Jayden as her own, that was all her, and it’s only made me fall for her more.”

When Zoey and Maggie are done looking at pictures, she comes and grabs me so we can start packing her room. She’s decided to just take some of it now and come back and slowly grab more. She’s packing a suitcase when I find a box hidden in her closet that I remember from when I helped her move months ago.

“Kept everything in the box?” I ask, and she looks at me over her shoulder to see what I’m talking about.

She shakes her head. “No, I pulled a few out. They’re in the nightstand drawer.”

I open the box to see what she chose to leave behind, and sitting right on top is that box I couldn’t help but stare at back then.

She sees me staring again and shakes her head. “It’s brand new.”

“I figured because it’s still in the box, but I’m curious as to why you bought it in the first place.”

“Because I enjoy using it on my partners.”

I nod as the thought of her using this on me fills my mind, and I’m fucking hard. She notices me adjusting myself in my pants and grins like a fool, stopping what she’s doing and stepping closer to me. Her fingers slowly crawling their way up my chest.

“Do you like that thought, Matthew? Are you picturing yourself lying on your back on the bed, legs spread as I slowly fill you with that silicone cock? You’d look so good letting me fill you like a good boy.”

“Fuck,” I moan. I toss it in her suitcase. “That’s coming with us.”

Her jaw drops slightly. “Seriously?”

I grip her jaw and stare into her eyes. “I’ll do whatever you want. You obviously want that, and I’m just your good boy, completely at your mercy.”

“God, how are you this fucking hot?” she whispers.

“Because I’m yours,” I whisper back and kiss her. I break the kiss before it can go too far. “I’m not fucking you at your brother’s. Let’s pack this stuff and go grab Jayden.”

She nods, and we quickly grab a few more things and take everything to the car. She hugs Maggie and Henry goodbye, and we head to my parents’ to get our boy.