I grip his biceps. “Yeah, you are.”
My tone catches his attention and his eyes meet mine. “You’re seven months pregnant.”
“So?”
“So it’s too rough for seven months pregnant.”
“I’m pregnant, Scott. Not sick.”
“Jesus, Harlow, no. Once you’ve had the baby, I’ll fuck you like that all night long, but not now.”
I stare at him. “You’re not being serious?”
He returns my stare. “I’m being deadly fuckin’ serious.”
I push against him and step away. “Well, I’m being deadly fucking serious when I tell you I’m not happy about this.”
“We’ve got a problem then, because I’m not changing my mind.”
I love my husband, but sometimes he’s too stubborn for my liking. And when my body’s flooded with hormones like it is, I don’t play well with that stubbornness.
I open my mouth to tell him exactly what I think of him not changing his mind, but his phone rings. He looks at it and grimaces. “I have to take this.”
His apology is clear in his voice, but there’s no need. I know that Scott always puts me first, so if he says he has to take a call I know there’s no other option. I nod and he stabs at his phone before putting it to his ear and stepping away to talk.
I clean up the kitchen while he’s on the phone. When he comes back, I’m bent over the dishwasher, tetrising the hell out of the space available so I can fit all the dishes in.
Scott’s hand comes to my ass and as I straighten, he slips it around my waist and pulls me against him. “We need to begin that conversation again, sweetheart,” he murmurs against my ear. The gravel in his voice hits me everywhere it always does, shaking some of my frustration with him loose.
Turning to face him, I look up into his eyes. The love I find there melts my heart some more. God I love this man. “Why are you so gentle with me when I’m pregnant? Do you really think you’re going to hurt me?”
He smooths some hair off my face. “I don’t know if I’ll hurt you but it’s not something I’m willing to take a chance on. And I sure as fuck don’t want to take a chance on hurting our son.”
“You won’t hurt the baby, Scott. And if it hurts me, I’ll tell you and we’ll try something else.”
“Harlow, the way you’ve asked me to fuck youwillhurt you. I fuckin’ know that without even trying.” He uses the tone that tells me nothing can sway him with this decision. It’s the tone that usually pisses me off during an argument. However, it’s the way he then says, all Scott-Cole soft that completely does me in and makes me back down, “Baby, don’t ask me to do something my gut’s telling me not to do. You know I’ll never forgive myself if I hurt you.”
Placing my hand to his face, I bring my lips to his and kiss him. “Only you have the ability to push your way through my hormones and make me change my mind on things I didn’t thinkI’d ever change my mind on.” I kiss him again. “I don’t ever want to force you to do something you’re not comfortable with.”
Relief crosses his face and I wish I could take back everything I’ve said to him tonight. I truly dislike causing my husband concern. However, I know we needed to have this conversation in order for me to move past what I’ve been feeling. This is what I’m so grateful for with Scott: the way he’s always willing to have the hard conversations with me so we can communicate our needs and find a way to compromise.
“I love you, Harlow,” he says, his voice thick with emotion. Skimming his hands down over my thighs, he reaches for the hem of my dress so he can strip me of it. His eyes remain on mine, flaring with desire, as he growls, “I’m ready for you to talk dirty to me while I give you my tongue.”
My smile is sexy as I loop my hand around his neck. “I’m ready to fly, baby.”
Scott scoops me into his arms and carries me into our bedroom before making good on his promise to give me his tongue.
He doesn’t give me the kind of sex I thought I wanted, but he gives me his heart and soul, and that is everything to me. That is all I ever need.
7
SCOTT & HARLOW
SCOTT
This scene takes place in the same time frame that Gunnar’s book was set. Harlow gives birth to their son just after Gunnar & Chelsea get back together, and in this scene, she is 8 months pregnant.
Having kids had never been on my list of shit to do in life. Neither had getting married and settling down. Turned out I was made to do both, and the woman I’d chosen to do them with was making the journey sweet as fuck.
