Page 32 of Where the Roses Bloom (Gospels & Grimoires #1)

Willow

The timer on my phone ticked down in silence.

We sat on the edge of the tub, our thighs pressed together, both of us staring at the little white stick on the bathroom counter like it might bite.

Somewhere between giving the exorcist a tour of the house, lighting infinite sticks of incense, and feeding the whole family, we’d found the time to go out and get a pack of pregnancy tests…

…and now we were here.

Waiting.

I’d done this what felt like a thousand times before, but I’d never done it with someone who actually wanted a baby. With Carter, it had always been apprehensive, tests taken in secret—me, hoping a happy accident had happened, while he dreaded the prospect of starting a family with me.

Rhett, though?

He wanted this. Was hoping for it. And that almost made it worse.

“I hate this part,” I muttered, reaching up to rake a hand through my hair. “Never been a longer five minutes.”

Rhett wrapped his hand around mine, lacing our fingers together. “If it isn’t positive…we can just keep tryin’. I certainly don’t mind.”

I snorted, just slightly, but it broke the tension enough to breathe again. “I’m starting to think that’s your favorite part.”

His lips curved in a half-smile. “Can’t lie to you, rosebud.”

“You know you’re not supposed to seduce me while we’re waiting on a pregnancy test, right?”

“Who’s seducing?” he murmured, brushing his lips against my temple. “I’m just sittin’ with you…bein’ supportive.”

God—he really was though. I leaned into him, enjoying how a single touch from him made my nerves spark like the Fourth of July.

“Whatever it says,” he added, more seriously, “you’re mine. That doesn’t change. And soon…soon, we’re gonna be married. And we’ll keep tryin’ .”

I blinked hard, trying not to cry. Again. Damn hormones…or maybe it was just Rhett being so good . He always meant it when he said I was his, and not in a possessive way…in a proud way. In a way that said, I will happily claim this person as my kin, and I’m honored to be in her life.

I’d never been treated that way until him, not by my parents, not by friends…certainly not by Carter. I loved that this was what he was promising for life.

“I really want this,” I whispered.

“I know,” he said, brushing his thumb across the inside of my wrist. “Me too.”

The timer buzzed.

Neither of us moved…then Rhett looked at me and said, “Want me to check it?”

I shook. my head. “No. I’ve got it.”

I crossed to the counter and picked it up with careful fingers. Please be positive, please be positive…

I looked down at the result window .

Two lines.

Two very bold, very pink lines.

My breath caught.

My heart stopped.

Then kicked back to life like lightning in my chest.

“Rhett,” I whispered.

He stood, the tension clear in every line of his muscled form. “Yeah?”

I looked him in the eye, heart in my throat. “It’s positive.”

His eyes locked on mine, and for a heartbeat, he didn’t move.

Then he surged forward.

The test clattered gently back to the counter as he swept me into his arms, holding me so tight I could barely breathe—but I didn’t want to.

I just wanted to feel him. His chest pressed to mine, his hand sliding up into my hair, his mouth crashing down on mine in a kiss that was all heat and reverence and joy.

“You’re pregnant,” he said, like he couldn’t quite believe it.

“I’m pregnant,” I whispered back, tears welling in my eyes even as I laughed, overwhelmed.

He laughed too—just once, that breathless, stunned kind of laugh that came from deep in his chest—and then his hands were on me, everywhere, like he needed to worship the body that was now growing something we shared.

“You’re incredible, Willow,” he murmured into my neck. “Jesus…you’re incredible.”

I barely had time to respond before he kissed me again, rougher now, needy. His hands slid down to my hips, lifting me onto the counter like I weighed nothing. I was about to moan, but I caught myself, remembering that our house was still full of guests.

Because yeah…while this was fantastic, and I was so ex cited, we still had an exorcism to deal with—and the exorcist was staying in the guest room down the hall, while Silas slept downstairs on the couch.

I didn’t get the impression either of them wanted to be woken up to the sound of us making love.

“Rhett,” I whispered, threading my fingers through his hair. “We…we should try to be quiet.”

“I know,” he said, kissing my collarbone like it hurt him to stop. “I know. But goddamn, baby…you’re pregnant, and I need to fuckin’ touch you.”

I took his face in my hands, meeting his eyes. “Then you should probably take me to bed, huh?”

He didn’t answer with words.

He just reached for me—strong arms sliding under my thighs and back like I weighed nothing, like carrying me was the only thing his body was made for.

He lifted me off the counter and cradled me to his chest, eyes locked on mine the whole way.

My arms wrapped around his shoulders, breath catching as he started down the hallway.

It felt ceremonial, almost. Sacred.

Like he was walking me across some invisible threshold.

The house was still. Muffled sounds from the guest room told me June had gone to bed. Silas was probably already passed out on the couch downstairs, bless him. I held tighter to Rhett as he carried me through the doorway to our room, nudging the door shut behind him with his foot.

He set me down on the bed like I was something precious—like he was still stunned that I was real. That this was real.

Then he stood over me, quiet for a beat.

“You’re really gonna be the mother of my baby,” he whispered.

I nodded, tears pricking again—but this time they didn’t sting. They shimmered .

“And you’re gonna be the best damn father,” I whispered back.

Rhett made a sound—something between a laugh and a groan—and reached for the hem of my shirt.

“Then let me love you like it.”

I lifted my arms without a word, the cotton slipping over my skin as Rhett lifted my sweater over my head. His gaze didn’t drop, didn’t waver—not even to look at my body. He stayed close, getting closer, breath ghosting over my lips.

“You’re a fuckin’ miracle, Willow,” he breathed.

His tongue dragged along the seam of my lips and I opened to him, Rhett taking my mouth in a deep, devastating kiss. He lowered me down to the bed, hand sliding over my breast, fingers tightening possessively.

“Tell me if you need me to stop,” he rasped. “If anything feels different.”

“It does, but not in a bad way,” I rushed out. “Just…touch me, please.”

Rhett groaned, his hand hovering just above my stomach, peppering kisses down my throat. “You’re really…I can’t believe this is happening. It’s fast. It’s perfect. I’m not gonna let anything hurt you, baby.”

I arched as he kissed a trail down over my breasts, catching my nipple between his teeth, tugging gently. Rhett held my hips in his hands and kissed lower, lower, taking my shorts with him…

His mouth covered my pussy and my hands tangled in his hair, pulling hard. He rumbled in satisfaction from between my legs, licking, sucking, teasing.

“You like that, darlin’?”

My head tipped back against the pillows as Rhett’s mouth moved, every flick of his tongue threatening to drag a moan from my throat.

I could feel the happiness rolling off him, and I almost wondered if we would exorcise the house with this alone—with the joy of what we shared, of what was growing between us.

“Rhett,” I gasped.

“I’m here, baby,” he growled. “I’m right here…”

He gripped my hips tighter, keeping me open for him, his beard rasping against my thighs as he worked me with slow, aching precision.

“I’m…I’m gonna…” I moaned.

“Let go for me, rosebud,” he urged. “Come on.”

I pressed a fist to my mouth to muffle a scream of pleasure, trembling all over as he kissed me through my orgasm—but Rhett didn’t let me go.

Not until I was limp and shuddering beneath him…

and then he rose up, crawling over me, bracketing his hands at my shoulders.

I wasn’t even sure exactly when he’d gotten undressed, but I was glad he had…

because I didn’t think I could wait a second longer to have him inside me.

Rhett hovered over me, eyes wild, voice low and wrecked. “You don’t even know what you do to me.”

His hand skimmed down my side, then back up to cradle my jaw. He pressed his forehead to mine, intense, devoted. “You’re carryin’ my baby,” he whispered. “And all I can think about is getting closer. Like there’s not a deep enough way to love you.”

He kissed me hard, his voice fraying on a groan. “I need you, Willow. Not just to fuck—I need to hold you while I’m inside you. I need to feel you wrapped around me and know I put life there. That you trusted me with this. That you still do.”

One of his hands found my thigh, coaxing my leg up around his waist. He rolled his hips against me, slow and heavy, the drag of his cock making me gasp.

“You feel that?” he rasped against my mouth. “That’s how much I want you. How much I’m achin’ to fill you again, even with our baby already growin’ inside you.”

I whimpered, and his hand caught mine, fingers lacing tight.

“I’m gonna be good,” he said. “Keep it quiet. But I’m not gonna rush. You’re not just the love of my life anymore. You’re the mother of my child. You’re everything to me.”

He paused, breathless, eyes locked on mine, like he needed to say this part right.

“And I’m gonna make love to you like we can banish our demons tonight .”

Then he thrust inside me to the hilt.

My legs came up around his waist as he rolled his hips, my fingernails digging divots into his back. My body arched to meet him, every nerve ending lit like wildfire under my skin. He stayed still for a moment, buried deep, forehead pressed to mine.

“You okay?” he whispered, voice hoarse.

“Perfect,” I breathed. “Please don’t stop.”

He moved then—slow and steady, like he had all the time in the world to show me what I meant to him. What we were building together. Each stroke was a promise, each breath a thread pulling us tighter.

Rhett kissed my cheek, my jaw, my lips. “You feel like home,” he whispered. “Like I was always meant to end up right here.”

We rocked together in the stillness of the house, wrapped in blankets and breathless joy. Not rushed. Not hidden. Just us . Everything we were and everything we were becoming.

“Gonna…” he trailed off, laughing breathlessly into my neck. “Was gonna ask if I can come inside you, but I guess it’s too late for that.”

“There will always be a next time,” I teased .

He turned his head slightly to meet my eyes, thrusting slow. “So…” Thrust . “This is the first…not the only?”

I bit my lip. “If you play your cards right.”

He laughed, kissed me, thrust harder, faster?—

We came together, Rhett whispering my name, holding me tight. Seconds later, he was keeping me close and rolling us both to our side, his cock still inside me, softening but still feeling so, so good.

“Maybe we already scared off the ghost,” I whispered. “Maybe we won’t need this little potluck exorcism after all.”

Rhett huffed a laugh against my shoulder, his breath warm where it touched my skin. “I dunno, baby. June seemed pretty convinced we needed a crowd.”

“Mm,” I murmured, boneless and warm and wholly unconvinced we needed anything more than this. “I don’t think there’s anyone who wants to be in the room for this.”

He snorted. “You’d be surprised.”

We lay there for a while, tangled together, the kind of quiet between us that only came when every part of me felt seen—held. His hand drifted to my belly, resting there like it had a right to be.

Like it already knew this would be home.

“We really made a baby,” he said, soft wonder in his voice.

I nodded, sleepy and content. “We really did.”