Page 96 of Submission

I smile at him tiredly and then sigh, looking up at the ceiling, “I want to be a good mother, Hunter.”

“You will be.” The confidence in his voice makes me look at him.

“When I was young, if things got too out of hand at home and I had to get stitches, Veronica would bring me to the hospital where she worked and give me the stitches herself. They were so painful, and I had to get them so frequently that I became terrified of hospitals. She didn’t use anything to numb the skin, and if I cried or called any attention to myself, she would poke me with the needle. That’s my example of a mother.”

Hunter’s hand covers mine as he looks at me with gentle eyes. “They’re gone. All of them. Your family, those people who abused you, will never have the opportunity to hurt you again.”

I purse my lips, nodding, “Yeah.”

“I watch you work and interact with people at the Blue Whiskey every day, Megan, and they all adore you. You will be a good mother because you are a good person.”

“That might have been one of the sweetest things you've ever said to me, Hunter,” I say, my eyes tearing up.

Hunter uses a single finger to push aside a few locks of my hair and then peppers soft kisses on the side of my face, swallowing my tears.

“I can be sweet,” he jests.

“Hey, you never told me what you discussed earlier with the doctor.”

“Oh, I just asked him the basics.”

“Like what?”

“How much longer you have in here, and when it’s safe to make love again.”

“Seriously?”

“What?” He feigns ignorance.

“You asked my doctor about sex?”

“The moment I realized at the art show that I’d somehow lost you, and worse, that you’d been taken, I probably lost about three years of my life.”

“And so–”

“And so every moment together is precious.”

“We’re spending a moment together right now.”

“Let me rephrase that then. Every moment I spend inside of you isespeciallyprecious. I want to make sure we capitalize on those.”

He grazes his fingertips along one of my thighs, and my core instantly clenches like muscle memory.

“You’re unbelievable,” I say, crossing my legs at the ankles.

“Honesty is the cornerstone of our relationship,” he grins, noticing the change in my posture.

Then he bends down and gives me a brief kiss on my lips.

“I have to go home and check on Lena. I’ve dumped her way too much on Christian. I’ll be back in an hour or two. In the meantime, Lars will stay with you.”

“The threat is gone. Why are you forcing that poor man to babysit me?”

“You don’t get it, do you? I practically had to force Lars from camping out here 24-7. That old man has a soft spot for you, and you’d be hurting his feelings if you don’t allow him to sit by your bedside for a while.”

I realize there’s still a lot of ground to cover in this relationship. Living together. His friends. The club. And our new baby. But for once, I’m not afraid to explore it all with this man by my side.

“Tell him to bring a deck of cards.”

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