When I'm With You

His eyes dance. “He just pointed out a few things.”

He grunts when I shift and my head brushes against the bulge in his sweats, and he moves his arm away when I lift my body off the couch. I have to pause to pull the shirt I had changed into after our parents left down as it starts to ride up. His eyes follow my hands, and I just roll mine when he lets out a sound of complaint when my panties are covered up.

When I turn and climb into his lap, this time with my legs straddling his thick thighs, his muffled complaint turns into a noise of pleasure the second my lap settles against his.

“Let’s try that again,” I start, placing my hands on his shoulders as his hooded eyes darken. “What did my dad say to you about my call to him this morning?”

He shifts, his erection rubbing against me, and I have to fight back a moan.

“Nate?” I question when his attention strays to my now exposed again lace panties.

“Uh.” He clears his throat. “He might have said something about a ring not making an honest woman out of you.”

My jaw drops. “Focus, honey.”

He snaps his eyes up and his full lips tip up slightly. “I might have said something about not giving a shit because you were where you belonged, honest woman or not, and that I would make sure to rectify that before I put babies in you.”

“You didn’t!” I tease.

“Like I said, that might have happened.”

“You are a crazy man,” I joke.

“Not a surprise, Ember.” His lighthearted expression is full of unmasked happiness.

“I am surprised, however, that you didn’t get your ass kicked for talking about putting babies in me.”

He shrugs. “In all seriousness, he knows you’re happy and that I will do everything in my power to make sure you stay that way. He’s a smart man, baby, and he knows where you belong.”

“I guess I expected more of a show from him. He didn’t even blink an eye when I called to tell him to get my house on the market because I was officially moving in.”

Nate’s shoulders shake. “Oh, trust me, the show happened. It just happened long before I put my ring on your finger.”

“Want to explain that?”

“Not really. We had a few man-to-man chats. He’s known where this was headed for a while now. Hell, I’m pretty sure he knew well before we did.”

I study his face and think about his words. My dad has always been ten feet ahead of everything, so that’s not far off the mark.

“Ember,” Nate says, breaking through my thoughts, and I concentrate back on him. “He really is okay with it. All joking aside, he understands that it’s time to let you go. You’ve been on your own since you graduated and have accomplished more success at your age than some people ever will. He knows that you have one hell of a good head on your shoulders and nothing you do will ever be without the knowledge that it’s the right move for you.”

“Don’t make me cry,” I warn, sniffing a few times.

“It’s true. I’ve given him everything he needs to witness with his own eyes and hear with his own ears. He knows that we’re ready to start living our lives together.”

I drop my head, our foreheads touching, and breathe deeply through my nose.

“I’m still not going to waste any time making an honest woman out of you. Even with his acceptance of us—blessing given or not—I’m not going to risk him cutting off my dick for dragging my feet a second longer. We lost years, Ember, a fact I don’t have to remind you of, and now, this is our time.”

“If we have a shotgun wedding, people will think you knocked me up.”