Page 94 of This Baby Business
My lips parted, and his tongue caressed mine, first tenderly then not so tenderly. The kiss went hot and wild. My fingers threaded through his hair, then my hands were everywhere I could manage to reach him. He walked us to the couch and plopped down with me straddling his lap.
“Levi.” I broke off the kiss, wondering whether or not this would be a good time to mention my other news.
“Yeah.” His lips got busy teasing my earlobe; his talented hands were busy under my sweater, softly caressing my stomach and settling at the small of my back.
No, I’d tell him tomorrow. Tomorrow I’d think of the perfect way to explain. And he’d understand. I knew he would. He’d have my back, no matter what.
“We can eat dinner later.”
“Much later.” His fingers drifted up and down my back and skimmed my skin. I shivered at his touch.
I pulled off my top, enjoying the way his eyes took in my shiny new demi bra. A good investment, judging by the approving glint in his gaze.
But there was one thing I would tell him tonight, and not hold back. He needed to know, and it might make it easier for him to understand all the rest. The strength I’d gained in the past few weeks had come partly from loving him. From allowing myself to fully open up my heart. From taking a risk simply because only he made that so…safe.
Hands on my behind, he lifted me and settled me on the couch. He pulled his shirt off, never taking his eyes off me. Then he knelt beside me and kissed from the throbbing pulse at my throat down to my shoulders, pulling the bra strap off with his teeth. His warm, wet openmouthed kisses continued in a line down my chest to my belly button. He licked there, making me moan and grind against him.
Words had never come easily for me. I’d fought for most of my life to understand the words on a page, to memorize them, to carry them in my heart. So when I wrote words down, when I said them out loud, they were particularly meaningful for me.
“I love you, Levi,” I said, knowing I meant it for the first time my life.
He glanced up at me with a smile that told me I’d just given him the world, then proceeded to drive me clear out of my ever-loving mind.
It was hours before either one of us thought about dinner, and by then all the takeout places were closed.
CHAPTER38
Levi
When Levi wokeearly the next morning, it was with a hope for the future he hadn’t thought he’d ever have again. Next to him, Carly’s legs and arms were a tangled mess with his. He no longer had any feeling in his left arm, but he didn’t much care.
Grace was awake in her crib but, by a small miracle, not crying. The monitor showed her simply babbling, grabbing on to the rails of her crib, and attempting to pull herself to a standing position. Well, crap,thatwas going to happen any day now.
This had happened, too. Love.
He’d fallen stinking in love. Like a silly teenager. That was the way Carly made him feel, too, like he’d do anything to have her. Steal a car, rob a liquor store, drive a minivan. He gently removed a numb arm from under a sound-asleep Carly. With his other hand, he let his fingers glide down her bare back. She didn’t move.
He let her sleep, knowing she’d get up when she smelled the coffee brewing and closer to the time he had to leave for the airport. Grace squealed in excitement when he opened the door to her bedroom and lifted her out of the crib.
“Hey, baby girl.” He changed her diaper and dressed her.
“Dada,” she said, and he felt sure this time she meant him.
He carried Grace into the laundry room to say good morning to Digger. The dog was still stuck on the idea that this little spot was his home. Once Levi had put his dog pillow in the living room, thinking he should join the family and stop being a hermit. With his small teeth, Digger had tugged it back in the laundry room.
“Arf!” Digger rolled over, showing off his soft underbelly, shameless when he wanted to be fed.
Levi fed Digger, let him outside to do his business, then headed to the kitchen with Grace. He was due at the airport a little later than normal this morning, so he planned to make Carly a big breakfast. After settling Grace in her high chair, he started the coffee brewing and found the bacon and eggs in the fridge. Once the bacon started sizzling in the pan, he knew Carly would come staggering out of his bedroom seconds later, hair sticking up in four directions.
Personally, he’d grown to love that look on her.
His phone buzzed with a text, and he reached for it. It didn’t take him long to realize he’d reached for Carly’s phone. Or maybe it took too long, because the text message from her father scrolled across the screen before he recognized his mistake.
Let me know the exact date you’re heading back to New York City. I’ll buy your airline ticket. I’m excited for you.
Levi stared at the words,not computing. When had she decided to leave for New York? Why hadn’t she told him? One more thing she’d kept from him, just as good as a lie. Last night she’d said she loved him, and unless she liked to throw that phrase around, she’d lied to his face. She couldn’t love him if she planned to leave.
She walked in the kitchen then, and he handed her the phone without a word. He went back to breakfast.
