Grinning, he said, “I can make a suggestion.”
“Ice?”
“I was thinking of something warmer. Maybe even hot.” Holding her gaze, he trailed a hand down her side to her hip, then in to her still-flat belly and down until he curled his hand over the hottest part of her.
With a sigh, she said, “You are so bad.”
“Yeah, but apparently you like me that way.”
“I love you—any way you want to be.”
Armie carefully turned her under him. Now that a week had passed, her arm was much better and the bruising on her face had faded enough that she could cover it with makeup.
Since they were fresh from the shower, he could make out each faint mark. Her hair fell back, showing the stitches that would come out tomorrow.
Steve, Keno and Boyd were being held without bail. They wouldn’t be a problem for Rissy or anyone else for a very long time. Far as Armie was concerned, they could all three rot.
Rather than dwell on that and how it made him feel, he’d rather concentrate on his future with Rissy.
She’d taken the pregnancy test and was, indeed, carrying his baby. His and Cannon’s kids would be very close in age.
And they both loved it.
“I need to set an appointment with the tattoo parlor.”
She smiled up at him. “For what now?”
“Gotta get the one on my back altered.”
Her lips parted and her eyes went wide. “Altered how?”
He’d never explained the significance of that particular tat, but it felt like a good time for spilling the truth. “You hold my heart now, so the thorns have to go.”
She blinked. “That was about me?”
“My whole life has been about you, Rissy. For so long, it seemed I could never have what I wanted most.”
“Me?”
“Yeah. Hell, I love you so much, you are my life.”
Her eyes went liquid.
He’d never get used to this weepier side of her, but she claimed it was the pregnancy and he believed her.
“I had a heart,” he told her, after kissing away her tears. “But it wasn’t free until you forced your way into my apartment and ignored my idiotic objections.”
“And I took off my pants.”
He smiled. “Yeah, that helped.” His hand covered her belly. “You started talking about sex—and spanking—and you destroyed my determination to leave you be.”
She softened. “I’m so glad I did.”
He cupped her face. “I never knew life could be this good.”
“I knew,” she bragged. “Why do you think I didn’t give up?”
Thank God she hadn’t. Ready to tease her, he said, “So since we’ll be living here in your house, can I bring over my big mirror? It’d look nice on the wall at the end of your bed.”
Rissy pushed him to his back and climbed over him. “No.” She took his mouth in a lusty kiss. “But the Velcro handcuffs are welcome.”