Page 71 of Under Your Scars

Christian rests both of his hands on my hips as he leans against the railing. “How much time?”

My shoulders slump in defeat. “I can’t answer that. I don’t know. I can’t put a timeline on it.”

“You really want all those things? A family?”

The corners of my mouth quirk up at the way he hangs onto that declaration. “If that’s what you want.”

He doesn’t hesitate when he answers. “Yes. Yes, I want a family with you. I want you to have ten thousand of my babies.”

I laugh quietly. “Ten thousand seems like a lot.”

“Meet me at fifty?”

I raise my eyebrow. “How many guest rooms do you have in that mansion of yours?”

“Fifteen.”

“Let’s compromise at ten, then,” I suggest, even though that’s still a shit ton of kids and my poor vagina is cringing in horror at the thought. “We could always adopt, too.”

Christian laughs and kisses my knuckles like a knight greeting a princess. “I see Caroline’s gotten into your head.”

I huff playfully. “I know, I can’t help it. She’s adorable.” When Christian looks at me, I know he can see in my eyes exactly the thought that crossed my mind.

“Have you been thinking about what I said about fostering?"

I nod. “Yeah. I have.”

“And?”

I smile softly and cup his cheek. “I think you’ll make a wonderful father.”

His face lights up like fireworks in the night sky on Independence Day. He takes my face in his hands and kisses me passionately. “Caroline is going to be so happy.”

I raise an eyebrow. “How do you know you’re going to foster Caroline?”

He runs a finger along my bottom lip. “Because I’m Christian Reeves.”

I giggle softly. “Touché,” I whisper, then my face turns down with nerves. “You told me you believe in soulmates.”

“Because of you.”

“Then that means I’m destined to love you no matter what, even if it’s not right now.”

Christian’s shoulders slump, but he accepts it. If anyone deserves love, it’s him, and I’m so lucky that he trusts me enough to let his heart be vulnerable around me. I will never take that for granted.

For both of our sakes, Christian changes the subject. “Chef’s making breakfast. We’ll have a few hours to ourselves before the investors get here, and then we’ll have lunch and meetings with them for the rest of the day. Tonight, we’ll go to the island for dinner and then to a nightclub. Tomorrow we’ll have a grand tour of the island and brunch, and then the next day will be the most boring one. We’ll flesh out all the details of the deal and then go out to celebrate when we’re done.”

I wrap my arms around his neck and stretch like a cat before standing up straight again. “How much is this deal worth?” I ask in curiosity.

“Three hundred million.”

“Dollars?”

“No, chickens. Yes, dollars. Don’t give me that look. I don’t even consider deals unless there’s at least seven zeros at the end of it.”

“I do hope I get a bonus for being your most loyal assistant on this business trip, Mr. Reeves.”

Christian grabs my braid and tugs my head back, exposing my throat to him. He licks along the column of my neck and then whispers deliciously into my ear, “After I close this deal, I’m going to fuck you so hard they’ll be able to hear you screaming in Meridian City.”