Page 85 of Forever King

“Hey,” he says, surprised to see me. “What’s up?”

I giggle at how silly that sounds coming from him after all he told me earlier. “What’s up? Not much. Just a total change of our lives. How are you doing?”

He straightens himself on the couch and sighs. “Not sure. Are we going to be okay? Because that’s pretty much the thing that’s going to determine how I’m doing.”

As much as I have no idea what’s going to happen when it comes to Elias, I nod because I do love him. “I think we are.”

Kellen smiles broadly and gives me a kiss. “Thank you, Salem. You have no idea how worried I was that you’d walk out that door and never speak to me again.”

I shake my head at how silly that sounds. “Like I could just up and leave you. I’m crazy about you, Kellen. The two of us have made a life together. That’s not something I want to throw away.”

“You always said you didn’t want kids, and then I go and drop one in the middle of our lives,” he says, almost sounding sad.

I don’t want him to feel that way about his son. This is going to take a lot of getting used to, and I know I’m going to make mistakes. He will too. We love each other, though, so we’ll get through it, just like we got through some rough times in the beginning.

“Not wanting kids meant not giving birth to them. Elias is already here. That’s a completely different situation. I know it’s not going to be a walk in the park. We’ll be okay, though. We always have been, haven’t we? It’s not like it started all champagne and roses with us, right?”

A sheepish look crosses his face, and he hangs his head. “It’s always me throwing a wrench into things, isn’t it?”

Wrapping my arms around him, I give him a hug I know he needs. “Every couple has a troublemaker. You just happen to be my troublemaker.”

That makes him smile, although it’s clear he’s still worried about all of this. I know what he needs to take his mind off all this news, though.

I throw my leg over his and position myself on his lap. Smiling up at me, he says, “I was worried you’d never want to be like this again after all that’s happened.”

With a shake of my head, I answer, “No matter how upset I can get with you, I always love sex between us, honey. Why would I want that to end?”

Kellen looks down between us and sighs. “Because you’d want to punish me.”

He really can be so ridiculous sometimes.

I slide my finger under his chin and lift his head so he faces me. “That would also punish me, which seems like a stupid thing to do to myself. Anyway, I’m not into punishing people I love.”

He smiles, and this time it’s a big grin as I roll my hips over his cock that’s getting harder by the second. “I’m so happy you don’t hate me, Salem. I was worried you’d leave when I told you about Elias.”

With my hand, I unzip his pants and take out his cock. Stroking it, I say, “I love you too much to leave, honey. For the moment, though, I want us to just focus on this and how happy we make each other.”

Kellen pulls my down to kiss me hard, like he truly feared I’d leave and hearing I’m not thrills him. I lift my skirt and shimmy out of my underwear before sitting down on him to take every inch he has. It’s raw and probably not incredibly romantic to most people, but it’s what we need right now.

I want him to understand with all his heart that I love him as much as I ever have. Yes, this news about him having a child shocked me, but I made the decision right after finding out exactly who Kellen was all those years ago that I wanted to be in this for the long haul. I knew he wasn’t perfect, so I told myself when things happened, I’d have to decide if I could handle them or not.

He looks at me, and in his dark eyes, I see he understands I’m here no matter what. “I love you, Salem. You have no idea how it felt when I thought I’d lose you.”

I silence him with a long kiss as I begin to ride his cock. We’ll talk more about everything later. For now, the two of us need to show one another no matter what happens, we’re in this forever.

Our sex turns into something sweet and gentle, unlike usual, but it’s more meaningful because at some point today, both of us weren’t sure we’d ever be together like this again. A tenderness that had receded in the past few months returns, and when we come, it’s like we’re once again promising one another that we’ll always be there for each other.

I collapse onto him, and he wraps his arms around me, holding me tightly to him. “We’re going to be okay, aren’t we?” he asks.

My chest tightens at the fear I still hear in his voice, so I lift my head and kiss him softly. “We’re going to be better than okay, honey.”

When he exhales, it’s like he’s letting an entire day of worry leave him. I stroke his cheek and kiss him, loving how this feels.

Kellen has a son named Elias, and I’m technically going to be a stepmother. I never dreamed of this for us, but sometimes life throws you a curve ball. It’s going to be strange at first, and I’m sure I’ll make a lot of mistakes.

I’m not worried, though, because at the heart of everything, there’s love.

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