Page 37 of Tight End
“I meant it when I said I’ve got you.” He brushed a soft kiss against my lips. “No one is ever going to come for you again without having to go through me first.”
I believed him.
15
RAIDEN
The waiting room was too bright. Or maybe it just felt that way because Marissa’s skin caught the light and reflected it at me like some kind of magic.
She sat beside me on the vinyl-covered bench, flipping through some pregnancy magazine with a half-curious, half-bored expression—only skimming the headlines, barely pretending to read.
But there wasn’t anything fake about how I was watching her, the same as I had every day since she moved in with me. Memorizing her all over again.
There was a new fullness to her face, soft and glowing, like her skin had soaked in sunlight. Her hair was pulled back in one of those messy knots she somehow made look sexy, and her leggings hugged every curve like they’d been painted on. Her hoodie hung from her frame—swamping her upper body—but the way she held it closed over her stomach told me exactly what she was thinking about.
The sweatshirt was one of mine. She’d pulled it on before we left the apartment, muttering something about comfort. I didn’t say a word. I just stood there and admired how fucking good shelooked in my clothes. And the caveman inside me beat his chest in smug satisfaction because it branded her as mine.
“Stop staring,” she murmured, not looking up from the magazine.
“It’s what I do,” I said matter-of-factly. I was only half joking since staring at her was one of my favorite pastimes.
Her lips curved into a smile she tried to hide as she flipped a page without reading a damn thing on it. “I look like a blob.”
“You look like you’re mine,” I disagreed. “And glowing.”
“I’m pregnant,” she shot back. “That’s just morning sickness.”
I leaned closer and dropped my voice. “Still the hottest thing I’ve ever seen.”
She gave a breathy laugh and rolled her eyes, but her cheeks flushed a little darker and her thighs squeezed together. That told me everything I needed to know, and damn if that didn’t tempt me to pull her into the nearest room and fuck her brains out.
Watching her ride me was hot as fuck because she had a slight swell to her stomach now. Not obvious to anyone else, but I could see it. A soft curve just beneath her navel. Proof. Physical evidence that I’d buried myself so deep in her body, I’d left a part of me behind.
I didn’t know how to say it in a way that wouldn’t sound over the top, but I loved this. The shift. The evolution. The fact that her body had already started changing because of me. Because we’d done this together.
I’d loved her before, even if I hadn’t said it out loud. But I was even more obsessed now.
They finally called her name, and I stood before she did, offering my hand. Her fingers slid into mine automatically, and my lips curved into a smile.
The nurse led us into a private exam room, and we did the usual routine. Weight check. Blood pressure. Questions about how she was feeling. I stayed close, not wanting to hover, but still being a steady presence. A fixed point she could reach for if she needed it.
When we were finally alone again, she hopped up on the exam table, her feet dangling in the air. I sat on the chair beside her, stretching my legs out and resting one boot on the floor, the other ankle crossed over my knee.
Her eyes darted around the room.
“Nervous?”
“No,” she lied.
I grinned and shook my head. “You’re a terrible liar, baby.”
She huffed. “Fine. A little.”
I reached out and wrapped my hand around hers, lacing our fingers together. Her skin was warm and soft beneath my palm.
“Everything is going to be fine,” I reassured. “And if there’s something wrong, we’ll deal with it. Together.”
She looked down at me, her eyes filled with uncertainty. “I know, but I can’t help it.”
