Page 135 of Everything But Mine

Eric doesn’t just love me; he has for a long time.

I smile and give him another kiss. “I think you need to teach me about side by side fucking.”

He smiles against my cheek. “Give me a few minutes, woman.”

I love him too.

CHAPTER FORTY-ONE

ERIC

Amanda says I’m nesting. This obsession I have with cleaning and checking everything’s packed in the hospital bag. And in the second hospital bag, because what if her water breaks at the grocery store? She’s asleep next to me now, belly rising and falling with her breath, and I’m counting how many swaddles we have to quiet the buzz under my skin.

Are we ready? We’re ready. There’s no way we’re ready.

Rain lashes against the third-floor windows hard enough to blur the city lights. Thunder rolls through the apartment a second later, low and heavy, followed by a flash of lightning. She’s thirty-eight weeks and two days. Her doctor is confident there are no signs of preeclampsia, and Amanda swears she feels fine. But my life’s never been this good, so I’m bracing for a hit.

She’s shifted onto her side, facing me, arm curled around the pregnancy pillow, hair a tangled halo with purple streaks. I reach out and touch the strands. The shape of her thighs and her red panties peek beneath this old T-shirt.

Amanda opens her eyes, sleepy and amused. “You’re thinking too loud,” she murmurs.

I smile. “Am I?”

She kicks the pillow out and molds herself to me. I place a hand on her belly, and the baby rolls beneath my palm.

“Come here,” she says.

I lean over and kiss her. Amanda parts her mouth and meets my tongue with hers, and she buries her hand in my hair.

“Oh, here, here?” I smirk, pressing a kiss to her shoulder, then lower. “You sure you’re not too⁠—?”

“Eric.” She rolls onto her back and makes room between her legs. “I want you.”

I kiss down her jaw and take off her shirt. While I lap her breasts, she takes off my underwear, and I hook my thumbs into hers and slide them down her thighs, leaving her naked.

When she grips my cock and strokes it, thumb sweeping at the precum and rubbing it against my head, I moan into her kiss. We touch each other with intention every time, even when we’re rushed and impatient. We savor each other with the effort and dedication of years of wanting, finally manifesting every time we’re together.

On my knees, I slide my fingers down her slit. She braces on her elbows so she can watch my fingers disappear into her, thumb stroking her clit. After I put a pillow under her hips, she wraps her legs around me and pulls me forward, my cock pressing straight into her core.

It’s surreal. Amanda moaning my name, asking me to move faster, harder. She raises her hips so my cock goes deeper inside her. I dig my fingers into her hips, thighs slapping against her ass. She shoots her hand out to touch the center of the tattoo I got for her. When she rubs her thumbs against my nipple, my cock swells, and pressure builds on my spine.

“Come with me,” I whisper. “Open your eyes and come with me.”

We come looking into each other’s eyes. It’s a promise between us: no one touches me but her, and I touch no one. Same goes for her. I lick my thumb and rub her clit, applying pressure, right as my cock finds its deepest place inside her.

She screams my name, but doesn’t close her eyes. Her tipping over the edge brings me down with her, spilling inside her. My hips lose rhythm, her name on my lips.

Only after she comes down, do I close my eyes and kiss her lips. Then her belly. I head to the bathroom for a cloth to clean her. When I return, she’s smiling—a bit smug, and I imagine I’m the same. I bring the damp cloth between her legs and clean our mess. It thunders loudly, and just as I’m about to wipe her again, her belly goes tense for a few seconds—and then releases.

She goes still. “Wait.” She shoots out to keep my hand from her again

“What? Are you—” I swallow. “Everything okay?”

She blinks, then sits up. “I think… my water just broke.”

My brain stalls.

Her eyes go wide, while she feels the bed around her. “Eric…”