Fowler Sisters: Stealing Rose Part 30

Rose sighs and runs her hands along my shoulders, down my chest. "It feels good being back in your arms."

"Yeah." I swallow hard against the swell of emotion that threatens to take over me. I worried that I wouldn't get this second chance. That she was so willing to give it to me ... I can't get over how much I love her. How much I need her. "You're different, you know."

"I am?" She frowns. "How?"

I move down, my face in direct line with her b.r.e.a.s.t.s. "They're fuller," I murmur against her abundant flesh, just before I draw a hard nipple into my mouth and suck.

Her hands dive into my hair, holding me close.

"And your stomach." I slide down lower, nuzzling my cheek against the gentle swell of her belly. "It sticks out a little bit."

"It's always stuck out a little bit." She settles her hand on her stomach, almost as if she wants to hide it, but I swat her fingers away, blazing a trail of kisses across her skin.

"No, it didn't. But now it does." I breathe deep her fragrant skin, kissing her belly some more, letting my lips linger. "I can't wait until you really start to show."

"I'll be fat," she mumbles.

"You'll be gorgeous," I correct. "All big and full of my baby."

"So possessive," she whispers, but I know she likes it. The full-body s.h.i.+ver at my words is a dead giveaway.

I s.h.i.+ft lower still and brace my hands on the inside of her thighs, spreading her legs. "And here," I say, staring at her glistening pink flesh. "You taste different."

"I do not," she starts, then lets out a strangled sound when I lay my tongue flat against her folds and lick her from bottom to top.

"Yeah, you do," I whisper against her, darting out my tongue to tease and search, playing with her c.l.i.t, circling it again and again before I draw it into my mouth.

"G.o.d, Caden," she moans. "I missed your mouth so much."

Her confession makes me pull away from her so I can laugh. She's glowering at me, frustration etched all over her pretty features. I lean back in, my gaze never leaving hers as I flick her c.l.i.t with the tip of my tongue. "Well, I missed your sweet p.u.s.s.y, baby. More than you'll ever know."

"I missed those dirty words of yours, too," she whispers. Her legs tremble. Her body shakes. She tosses her head back, her eyes sliding closed as I slip a finger inside her body and work her c.l.i.t with my lips and tongue. She's coming in minutes, a gush of wetness flooding her p.u.s.s.y, and I lick her clean, marveling at how responsive she is.

And yes, how different she tastes.

I move back up her body, trailing kisses along the way, until I'm sliding inside of her, pus.h.i.+ng all the way in until I feel like I could touch every part of her. "Am I too deep?" I ask just before I kiss her.

She breaks the kiss first, panting against my lips. "No. You feel amazing."

I agree and I would have said something, but she does some little trick with her hips, s.h.i.+fting beneath me and sending my c.o.c.k even deeper, and I groan, the sound feeling as if it's being ripped from my chest. She wraps her arms around me, her legs going around my hips, her mouth at my ear as she begins to chant dirty, loving things that drive me crazy.

"Don't stop," she whispers. "Deeper, Caden. Please. I need you. I love you. I love your c.o.c.k. Your hands. f.u.c.k me, Caden. Make me yours."

She doesn't let up and her words drive me on. I increase my speed, f.u.c.king her relentlessly until I feel that magical moment where her inner walls twitch and clench rhythmically around my c.o.c.k and she's coming. I'm coming too, with a shout, spilling everything I've got inside of her welcoming body as I strain against her.

f.u.c.k. We've already done this three times. It's like I can't get enough.

Pulling out of her, I collapse on my side, careful not to crush her. I pull her into me, holding her close, my hand smoothing over her belly again and again, marveling that a tiny little life is growing inside of her. That we created that life.

Together.

"Caden?"

"Yeah?" I'm drawing little circles on her skin, my eyes drifting closed.

"How do you know Cash? Through your mom?" She pauses. "They make a cute couple. He seems to really care about her."

"You think so, huh?" I haven't been around them since they started seeing each other. It's so weird, like my two worlds colliding ... again. But this time, in a good way. "They've only been seeing each other for a couple of months. He's kept an eye on her since they both live in Miami, and Cash has said more than once that he was interested in her. He finally made his move, I guess."

"Your mom is very sweet," she says softly. "You look like her."

"It's weird that you two met the way you did." I shake my head, marveling at the chance. "Small world, right?"

"Yes. I can't wait to meet her formally." She lifts her head to stare at me. "I want her to be a part of our baby's life. She's going to be a grandma, after all."

"She'll want to be a part of the baby's life. I know she will," I say. "She'll be excited. Probably turn into the overbearing, spoil-the-child-rotten grandma."

"That sounds nice." Rose snuggles closer. "How about Cash?"

Oh yeah. She asked how I know him. "He's part of my ... old life. He's sort of a con man."

"Really?" She doesn't sound fazed in the least, thank G.o.d. "Hmm."

"You're not going to hold it against him, are you? He's the one who helped me find my job. He's wanted me to go straight for years, but I kept blowing him off. Until I met you. Then I knew ..."

She lifts her head to look at me again. "You knew what?"

"That I would do anything to keep you safe and keep you with me. And in order to do that, I needed to find a legitimate job."

"So you gave it up for me." Her voice is so soft I almost can't hear her. "Though I hope you also did it for yourself."

"I did, baby. I did it for us." I press my hand against her belly as I press a kiss to her lips. "All three of us," I murmur against her lips.

She smiles and I feel her tears slide down her face. I lick one, the salty taste dissolving on my tongue. "Now you're killing me with all those romantic words, Caden."

"I mean every one of them. I love you." I kiss her again, this time deeper, with plenty of tongue. "I love you so much."

"I love you too." She tilts her head back, so I kiss her neck. "You're going to make an honest woman out of me, right?"

I chuckle against her throat, then nip her skin. "Absolutely. I want everyone to know you belong to me. Because you do, you know."

"I know." She breathes deep and holds me close as I rain kisses along the tops of her b.r.e.a.s.t.s. "I definitely know."

Epilogue.

Rose.

"Push, baby."

I'm panting, trying to focus and breathe.

"Baby. Push."

He makes it sound so easy. Just push and whoops, out comes a baby. Well, it's not that easy. It's hard. f.u.c.king hard.

Oh, dear. Did I just say that out loud?

Cracking open my eyes, I find three faces looming above me. My doctor's, the nurse's, and my husband's. They're all watching me expectantly, the nurse looking bored, the doctor efficient, and my husband ...

Well, he looks anxious. Excited. And nervous.

"You ready, Ro?" Caden asks me carefully as he tugs on my leg, his hand beneath my knee so that I bend both of my legs, ready to push this stubborn baby out of my body once and for all. I've been in labor all day, but hard, getting-ready-to-push labor only in the last twenty minutes. My doctor says I'm doing well, that we're close, and I'm so ready to meet this child who's about to change my life.

"I'm ready," I say with a nod, my voice weak, my entire body tired. I can't wait for it to be over so I can get some rest. Though my mother-in-law warned me there will be no such thing as rest, as I'll be doing nothing but taking care of my baby around the clock these first few months.

Then she promptly promised to babysit anytime I need her to.

I adore Caden's mother and I love Cash, too, even though he's a little cheesy sometimes. He has a kind heart and he loves Caden's mom so much. He cares for Caden too; he's like a father figure to him.

My father has come around somewhat and is excited for the baby to come, though I don't think he's necessarily thrilled that I'm already married and having a child at such a young age. I'm the youngest and I even beat Violet to the altar. We didn't have a big wedding, though. Just a quick little jaunt to the courthouse with our family and a few friends accompanying us. We'll have a party later, a few months after the baby is born.

The contraction comes out of nowhere and with a groan I bend forward, pus.h.i.+ng with all my might, the doctor encouraging me, Caden holding my hand. I can feel the baby; I'm not surprised when I hear the doctor tell me he can see the head, and I fall back against the pillows, my chest heaving, sweat dripping down my face as I try to catch my breath.

"One more push, maybe two, and you'll have a baby," the doctor says.

"So much pressure," I murmur, making Caden laugh.

"You're doing so good, Ro," he tells me as he places a damp washcloth on my forehead. The cool fabric feels good on my heated skin and I close my eyes, concentrating on evening my breaths when another contraction comes, this one even stronger.

I press forward, pus.h.i.+ng hard, and then it feels as if the baby just spills right out of my body and into the doctor's hands. She begins to cry, the little gasping sound the most beautiful thing I've ever heard. "It's a girl," he says with a smile.

We already knew. We have a name picked out and everything. Caden kisses my lips, whispering that he loves me as the doctor asks him to cut the umbilical cord, and he does so, tears actually streaming down his face as he cradles his baby girl close, holding her in his arms.

"She looks just like you," he says as he brings her to me.

I carefully shove the hospital gown from my arms so my b.r.e.a.s.t.s are exposed and I take the baby from Caden, holding her close to my chest. The baby nuzzles her cheek against my flesh, her little lips working, and I turn her to face me just as her eyes peer open.

They're dark, the color indiscernible, and we stare at each other for long, quiet moments as the world continues rus.h.i.+ng around us. I touch her cheek, her lips, the tip of her nose. She's beautiful. Perfect. Her hair is dark, her cheeks round, and my heart fills to overflowing with love.

"Welcome to the world," I whisper as I press a kiss to her rosebud lips, Caden's hand coming down to gently caress her head. "Daisy."

Acknowledgments.

A big thank-you to my family for coming with me to England and Scotland last summer. For indulging me in my lifelong dream to see London-I'm so grateful I was able to go, because it inspired the plot of Rose's and Caden's story.

I want to thank my editor, Shauna Summers, and her a.s.sistant, Sarah Murphy, for their guidance with this book. Extra thanks, Shauna, for reading it while you were on sabbatical! I really appreciate all that you do.

Thank you to everyone at Bantam/Random House, including Gina Watchel, Sue Grimshaw, and Jin Yu. I must say thanks to my agent, Kimberly Whalen, for smoothing my ruffled feathers. And Katy Evans-I need our daily conversations and the way you virtually hold my hand through the good times and the bad. Oh, and Kati Rodriguez! You keep me straight, woman! I couldn't function without you.

Finally, thank you to all the readers, bloggers, reviewers, etc. out there. I couldn't do this job without you and I appreciate your support. You're all awesome.

Playlist Note.

What an eclectic mix! My musical taste is all over the place. Notice there's quite a bit of 80s music on this playlist and I blame my love for London (where much of this book is set) in the 80s, when I was a teen and madly in love with everything English (including Duran Duran).

Everybody Here Wants You by Jeff Buckley.

To Look At You by INXS.

Tessellate by Ellie Goulding Burning Desire by Lana Del Rey.

Pressed Against the Sky by Toadies.

So In Love by OMD.

The Only Star in Heaven by Frankie Goes to Hollywood Straight Lines by Silverchair.

Eyes Without a Face by Billy Idol.

I'm Not in Love by 10cc.

The Power of Love by Frankie Goes to Hollywood Keep Me In the Dark by Arcadia.

Cool Kids by Echosmith.

end.