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I groaned, unable to pry my heavy eyelids open. There was a weight banded around my back, something hot and heavy that prevented me from hiding fully under the blankets. Rough fingertips danced along my spine, tangling in my hair, and warm, dry lips brushed over mine, coaxing me into wakefulness.
Humming, I slid my hands up the wall of Jax’s chest, keeping my eyes closed even as I sank into the sweet morning kiss. In one night, I could safely say that I’d kissed Jax Cartwright hundreds of times and it was not even close to enough.
He kissed me like he fucked me—with a tender desperation that made me feel like the most powerful woman in the world. Like he could never, ever get enough. Like something as simple as a kiss to start the day was the most important thing in the world.
His nose dragged along the edge of mine as he gathered me closer with the strength of his arms. The light brush of his tongue against the seam of my lips was a sweet demand for more, and with a sigh, I opened my mouth and gave it tohim.
My heart wanted to burst from the billowing sort of happiness that bled into every corner of the room, filling the house to the seams. Filling me to the seams along with it.
It almost felt unfair, that this was real, and after so many years of wanting more of this man, I seemed to be in possession of every single piece of him.
Jax gentled the kiss, and I followed his mouth as he pulled back, which made him laugh low in his chest.
“Time to get up,” he whispered against my lips.
“Noooo,” I groaned. “Time to stay in bed.”
To tempt him into exactly that, I slid my hand down between his legs and ran my palm against the front of his boxer briefs, where he was already hard and heavy. Even though I wassore, and my thighs wouldn’t work right for a few days, I wanted him. Again and again. Jax’s arms tightened around me, his hands immediately tilting my hips closer to him where we lay tangled up together on our sides.
“Work is overrated,” I told him, angling my chin for another deep kiss.
His tongue slid over mine, wet and hot, and the sound pulled from the back of his throat gave me goose bumps.
I wanted to kiss him forever.
Jax pulled back, resting his forehead against mine while my hand moved up and down, slow movements with a firm grip, just like he’d taught me, and his brow furrowed, his eyes pinched shut, like he couldn’t bring himself to stop me.
I didn’t want him to.
“Poppy,” he groaned, plucking my hand away from him, pressing a kiss to my palm. “Later.”
“Later is so far away,” I said with a pout.
He laughed quietly, giving me another lingering kiss that had me seeing stars.
We stayed tangled up in each other for a few more minutes, just kissing and whispering, trading easy touches and letting the embrace be the perfect start to the day.
When he pulled the sheet back and started easing his body down, I bit down on my bottom lip and wove my fingers through his hair while he dropped a kiss on each breast, then splayed his hands around each side of my belly.
“Good morning to you too,” he whispered.
My eyes pricked with helpless tears as I watched him greet the baby. There wasn’t much movement, but he pressed a kiss to the skin just above my slightly distended belly button.
“What can you feel right now?” he asked.
“Not much.” I propped my head on my hand, elbow braced on the bed as he traced over the taut skin. Faint stretch marks had already started along my lower belly, and he kissed those too. “Sometimes, the movements are little. Like a flutter. Sometimes I can feel them poke me, like an elbow or a foot. It’s the weirdest, coolest thing ever.”
His face was full of awe as he studied my stomach. “Incredible.” Jax’s eyes lifted to mine. “Can they hear me?”
“Not yet.” My fingers traced his brow, following the strong line of his nose. “I think that’s twenty-three weeks.”
“And you’re … how many?”
“Nineteen.” I smiled. “Almost halfway.”
Jax closed his eyes. “I missed so much.”
Heart aching, I tugged him back up so I could kiss him again, and when we pulled away, I made sure he was looking straight at me. “You did your best. So did I. That’s all either of us can expect from each other.”
