Page 35 of Nolan

"Bedroom," I manage to say between kisses. "If you're sure,"

"I've never been more sure of anything," she says, rising from the couch and pulling me with her.

We move quietly down the hall, pausing to check on Ashlynn. She's sleeping peacefully, her cheeks finally showing some color again. Annabelle's gaze is so tender as she looks at my daughter that my chest constricts with emotion.

In my bedroom, I close the door softly behind us, and suddenly I'm nervous. Annabelle must sense it because she steps close, running her hands up my chest.

"What is it?" she asks.

I take a deep breath. "It's been...a while for me."

Her eyebrows rise. "How long is 'a while'?"

The confession feels ridiculous, but I owe her honesty. "Since Ashlynn was conceived."

Her eyes widen. “Almost four years? Nolan, that's,"

"Pathetic?"

"I was going to say 'impressive,'" she laughs softly. "But why?"

I shrug, embarrassed. "At first, I was just overwhelmed with becoming a single father. And then... I don't know. No one felt right. No one was you."

Her expression softens, and she pulls me closer. "Well then," she whispers, her breath warm against my ear, "I promise to be gentle."

The teasing in her voice makes me laugh, breaking the tension. I capture her mouth again, walking her backward toward the bed.

We undress each other slowly, each new expanse of skin a revelation. When she's finally naked before me, I have to pause, just to look at her.

"You're so beautiful," I breathe, trailing my fingers down her side.

She blushes, drawing me down to the bed with her. "Show me," she challenges.

And I do. Despite my earlier nerves, my body remembers what to do. Somehow she's naked before I know it, and then I reach behind me, fisting my shirt while she goes to work on my jeans.

When we're both naked, we hit the bed, my body covering hers. Her small hand wraps around my cock, moving up and down as my mouth goes to her nipples, working them between my teeth.

"Fuck…"I groan when she runs the palm of her hand over the head of my dick. "That feels criminal."

"So does your mouth against my skin."

With two fingers I rub at her clit, before entering into her pussy. She presses up against me, throwing her head back. "God, Nolan. I don't want to wait."

"Neither do I," I say as I remove the fingers, and then put them in my mouth, licking them.

Her eyes heat. "It's just like you do when you've got icing on them."

Groaning loudly, I reach over and grab a condom. "I'll never look at icing the same way again."

"Neither will I," she laughs.

Together we get the condom on, and then I sink into her body. Both of us making noises as I begin moving. We move together as if we've done this a hundred times before, finding a rhythm that builds and crests like waves. Her body arches beneath mine, her breathing quick and shallow against my neck.

"I love you," she gasps as she comes apart in my arms, and those words push me over the edge, pleasure rushing through me with an intensity that leaves me shaking.

Afterward, we lie tangled together, her head on my chest, my fingers tracing patterns on her back. The silence between us is comfortable, peaceful.

"I never thought I could have this," I admit quietly. "After Ashlynn's mother left, I thought that was it for me. That I'd just be a dad, nothing else."

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