Page 76 of Embers in the Outfield

CHAPTER 33

River

It’s beena month since my injury, and I’m finally starting to feel like myself again.

Kennedy and I are unpacking my last box. She held off on accepting my offer that we live together because she said I was just feeling the effects of the adrenaline pumping through my system after my injury. It took literal begging for her to finally cave, and now we share space together.

The fact I’m living with her after years of needing to keep my distance just shows how life can change in an instant. I was already thinking about taking this next step before hurting myself, but when I was in that hospital bed, the first thing I thought of when I woke up was how short life truly is. If there are two people who understand that, it’s both Kennedy and myself.

“Hey, you never wear this for me.” Kennedy huffs as she pulls one more item from the box of my clothes.

I look at her, holding up my gray sweats.

“I think I could manage to put these back into the rotation. Why? You like sweats or something?” I look over, a little confused.

“Well, yeah, it’s like in all my romance books. If I have a boyfriend living with me who I can ogle at, it just makes it more fun,” she says, looking at the sweats one more time before putting them in the drawer.

“Hold up, you don’t ogle me all the time now?” I gasp.

“Not really. You’re not really that fun to look at that much.” She laughs then squeals as I start chasing her around the room—our room.

The moment I grab hold of her, I throw her onto the bed, where I follow suit and cage her between my forearms. I look down at her, both of us catching our breath, and I can’t hide how mesmerized I am by her.

This woman who started our first interaction with judgment and anger is now the one person I run to on my worst days. She’s the person I close my eyes and envision standing at the altar waiting for me. She’s the one I hope to one day put my hand over her belly and feel our baby kick.

“Where did you go?” She moves her hand to touch my cheek, her soft touch such a contrast to the hard edges she showed just months ago.

“In the future,” I say, smiling and letting my dimples I love pop and make her melt a little more with.

She moves her hand through my brown hair, the feel pushing me to close my eyes and relish how her touch sets fire to my soul.

“Mmhmm.” I can’t really form words, and I already feel myself getting turned on at the prospect of what we could do instead of continuing this unpacking mission we started with.

“And what did that future look like?” she asks, and I see her looking at me when I open my eyes, and I have no shame in telling her exactly where my mind is.

I reach down and kiss her nose. “I see you in a white dress walking toward me to become my wife.” I move my lips to her temple and drop a kiss there. “I see you holding a pregnancy testand telling me we’re going to be parents.” I move my lips to the other side to kiss the skin right below her earlobe, knowing it sets her off in the sexiest way.

“I see you standing in our kitchen, your belly swollen with the life we created together,” I finish off, causing her breath to hitch.

For someone who always kept such a shield up, Kennedy is more sensitive than I would have pegged her to be. Tears well in her eyes, and I take the opportunity to drop my lips to hers.

The moment we connect, it feels so much like the first time, full of passion and a bit of desperation to feel one another bare. My skin tingles as I move my body over hers, letting her feel what she does to me.

She moves her hips up to meet mine, and before we know it, we’re pulling our clothes off one another.

She moves me to lie on my back, pushing my pants off. Next she pulls at my shirt and lets her hands roam my upper body, and I’m relishing the feel of her fingertips moving along my skin. She sets every part of me on fire, and I reach over and cup her sex through her leggings. I need her naked, and I need to be inside her.

I move her sweater over her head, and I see she’s wearing a nearly sheer lacy bra, her nipples peaked under the soft fabric. I cup her breasts in my hands and move my thumbs over her nipples, eliciting a moan to drop from her lips.

“You need to catch up to me,” I say before I move her to lie down on the bed and pull her leggings and underwear off. She makes quick work of her bra, and I just watch as she lies there, naked and ready for me.

“I think you need a little warm-up, Skip,” I say as I lick my lips and move to my knees, throwing one of her legs over my shoulder, ready to devour what’s mine.

The moment I connect to her center, her hips push off the bed, as if she hasn’t felt my touch in years instead of the few hours it has been since I’ve been inside of her.

She moves her hands through my hair again, assisting in the movements of my head to catch her release. And it doesn’t take her long to get there. She starts to scream out my name, and I lap up her wetness as she lets out a few giggles while coming off her high.

I drop kisses along the inside of her thigh and make my way up her torso, nipping at her abdomen and then giving attention to both her breasts, tugging on her nipples to push her a little further.

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