Page 78 of The Model

She breathed in deep. “The same way you smell like the forest after a long plane ride.”

Silently I laughed. We were quite the pair. I knew Lexie loved how I smelled. She frequently wore my shirts the day after I wore them and was constantly bringing them up to her nose or was sniffing me. I wasn’t any better. When I smelled her, it took me back to our time in Hawaii and how fate had brought us together.

“Are you okay, now?” she mumbled. Almost half asleep, she was still worried about me.

“I’m fine, baby. Get some sleep, and I’ll be right here when you wake up.”

Lexie nuzzled my neck as her hand found mine. Bringing them up to my mouth, I kissed her knuckles before I rested them over my heart.

I wasn’t sure how long I’d been going over the day in my head, but I was almost asleep when I heard some shuffling by the door. Opening one eye, I squinted at the bright light coming from out in the hall. I blinked, and a nurse was standing at the foot of the bed. I thought for sure she was going to kick me out, but she only smiled. After she came over and checked on Lexie, she left as quietly as she came in.

“She only let you stay in bed with me because you’re so damn hot,” Lexie murmured.

“I don’t care what the reason is as long as they don’t take me away from you.”

Kissing my neck, I felt her hot breath seep into my skin as she spoke. “Don’t let them hear you say sweet things like that, or we’ll never get any privacy.”

“My words are only for you.” I dropped a kiss into her hair, wanting to feel her lips but didn’t want to shuffle her. “Love you, baby.”

“Love you, Dimples.”

Closing my eyes, I let out a contented breath.

Everything I ever needed was in that room with me.

29

Lexie

EPILGOUE

Three Years Later

The setting was picture perfect.The sun was dripping low at the horizon as I wrapped myself around my husband while he kept us afloat in our infinity pool that looked out onto the Pacific Ocean. We were having a much-needed date night since Ryder’s mom was in town for Kinsley’s birthday. She had our daughter for the night, and we were taking advantage since she refused to stay at our house. I loved her for it and put her up in a nice hotel so she could pamper herself when she wasn’t with us.

It’s not that I didn’t love my daughter because I did, but it was nice not to have to steal moments with the man I loved. We’d already gone out to dinner and walked along the beach hand in hand, and now we were doing what we loved. We were in the water, and Ryder’s tip was at my entrance.

He paused, cupping my cheek. “Shouldn’t we use a condom?”

I had a feeling Ryder knew what I wanted to tell him tonight, but he was forcing me to say it before I was ready. Tightening my arms around his neck, I caught his lips with mine. It was slow and deep, a kiss that told him how much I loved him. When I pulled back, our eyes locked, and I slowly sank down on his hard length.

A slow smirk spread across his sun-kissed face. “When were you going to tell me?”

“I was waiting for the perfect moment, and you ruined it, dimples.” With one hand on the back of his head, I slowly started to move up and down with a little grind on my clit at the end. Resting my forehead on his, our gazes locked.

One hand slipped to my waist, helping me move, and the other cupped my breast. When Ryder was inside of me, I was all need. There was nothing else in the world but us, intoxicated with one another even after all this time together. It was frenzied, erotic, and exquisite pleasure that drove us each time. I lost myself in him, and he found me each time, bringing me back, and making me whole.

Heat danced down my body as I rode him harder, bringing us closer to detonating together. Leaning down, I swept my tongue across his parted lips. Crushing his mouth to mine, Ryder consumed my every thought, my body, my breath, only stopping when we needed to breathe.

Licking along my collarbone, his rough voice nearly did me in. “I need to feel your sweet pussy pulse around my cock.” He ground his pelvis into my bundle of nerves. Picking up his tempo, Ryder hit me in just the right spot until I shattered in orgasmic bliss. It wasn’t long until he followed me over the edge and was left panting in the crook of my neck.

With his breath still heavy, Ryder’s arms tightened around me as he brought us out of the pool and walked us into our bedroom, leaving the door open so I could hear the waves crashing outside.

Resting his head on my stomach, Ryder placed a kiss just below my bellybutton. “I promise you I’m not going to miss this one’s birth.” Ryder still felt guilty about not being at the hospital when Kinsley was born, and I knew he’d move heaven and earth to be there this time.

Running my fingers through his sexily tousled hair, I smiled down at him. “I know you won’t, but how did you know I was pregnant? I only took the test after your mom picked up Kinsley.”

He angled his head so he could look up at me with one brow quirked up. “I know every inch of this body, and when these started to swell,” he gently cupped one breast, knowing they were sore and sensitive, “I knew. It wasn’t like it was a surprise. How long did you think it would take after you stopped taking your birth control?”

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