“Cankles,” I whispered under my breath. “I have cankles.” My bottom lip dropped to a pout.

“The fuck are cankles?” he asked smiling at me like I was crazy. He slid his hands up to said cankles and continued his onslaught.

“Cankles are when your ankles and calves turn into one thing, there is no definition left; they are just that. Cankles,” I finished on a moan. “I’m thinking I need to be in the kitchen more often when you get home.” I felt him shift as the bulge in his pants inflated. I liked screwing with him, so I purposely groaned and threw my head back while biting down on my bottom lip to stop the smile from breaking over my face.

My eyes snapped open when my feet were pushed from his lap. He stood, adjusted himself and picked me up bridal style. I couldn’t help the snort that burst out when he strode with purpose up the stairs to what had become a shared bed.

Chapter Twenty

Trip

The next morning, I got up early and set to work on my plan. I called in favors from Mace and Scarlett, who had only just gotten back from their honeymoon, in hopes that I could surprise Teeny and show her I could be what she needed. Wracking my brain last night while I’d lain awake, I came up with a foolproof idea. I was going to convince her she didn’t need anyone else. I would be all she needed, not some fool who wanted a quick screw. Nobody was gonna touch her but me. I was going to be sweet. So sweet she’d get a damn toothache.

“Up, Sleeping Beauty,” I smiled tugging at the sheet wrapped around her still-naked, warm body. The smell of peaches and sex filled the air; with an adorable grumble, she shoved her head under the pillow and tried to ignore me.

“C’mon, Princess.” I pulled the pillow out of her vise-like grip and threw it to the ground. “You gotta get up.” I chuckled at the scowl she was throwing me and sat down on the side of the bed picking up the ginger ale and plain crackers I’d brought up. Ma told me they were good for the puking, so I had stocked the house full of both.

“I don’t like you right now,” she grumbled at me. A strange warmth hit me right in the chest. Even first thing in the morning, with bed hair and morning breath, she still looked fucking gorgeous.

“Quit being a brat and get up. I have the day off and we got shit to do.” I passed her the glass and a cracker. Instantly, her face softened. “You brought me stuff.” Her eyes started to mist up.

Shit, what’d I do now?

“I—well, Ma said and…shit, Princess, don’t go cryin’ on me,” I told her softly.

Sniffling, she took a sip of her drink and a bite of cracker. “I can’t help it. I just cry sometimes. It won’t stop and you did this.” She held up the cracker, dropped her head and mumbled, “It’s sweet, probably the sweetest thing anyone’s ever done for me.” The comment alone had my chest panging with guilt and something I couldn’t put my finger on. This woman deserved sweet and sweet she’d get. I could do sweet, or at least, I hoped I could.

She was a hot mess ninety-percent of the time. We had read up on all the pregnancy things, and the morning sickness was supposed to have stopped months ago, but Teeny being Teeny, had to do everything in her own time. She was still getting sick in the mornings. We had, however, managed to figure out that if she ate small amounts often, it would lessen her being sick, but the morning one was still baffling.

Three hours later—yes, three, because apparently it took three freakin’ hours to get one person dressed; this included a meltdown over not being able to reach her feet and some crap about hidden vaginas and furry mountain lions—we pulled up to the baby store, our first stop of the day. Jumping out, I rounded the truck and opened Teeny’s door offering my hand to help her down.

“Why are we here?” she asked, her eyes darting around with a mixture of excitement and awe.

“We need stuff for Junior.” Nudging her forward with a hand to her back, I passed the over-eager sales chicks and headed toward the back of the shop.

“Junior?” she asked quietly.

“Yep, that’s what I’m callin’ the kid now. He’s too big for midget.” Gesturing my head toward the huge shelves of baby carriers, I told her, “Pick one.”

She looked unsure, so I nudged her and repeated myself. “Pick one, Princess.”

With wide eyes, she whispered, “I can’t yet. I have to save more money first.” I simply rolled my eyes and gestured to the sales girl hovering off to the side of us. “Teen, I told you I’d help. This is me helpin’.” I turned toward the approaching woman effectively ending the conversation before she could argue.

“What can I help you with today?” Looking to her nametag, I turned on my charm “Kerri, I’d like to see the best carrier you have on the market please.” With a smile, she moved to the shelves. “This one here is—” Whatever she was about to say died on her lips as the carrier hit the ground.

“Trip! What are you doing?“ Teeny rushed forward grabbing my arm and apologized to the sales girl, “I’m so sorry. I don’t know what’s wrong with him.”

“I gotta make sure it’s a safe one,” I answered flipping the carrier the right way up before I buried my head in the padding. “Yep, this one’s soft. We will take this one, but I want a new one. This one’s been thrown around a bit.” Kerri, the sales girl, smiled and nodded. Turning to Teeny who had a shocked look on her face, I put it to her, “So, you wanna pick the stroller?” Unsurprisingly, she nodded and walked quickly toward the display.

“Kerri,” I called to the still smiling sales girl, “we might need a big-assed cart.” With a quick nod and a laugh, she rushed off to get one.

Walking up behind Teeny, I slipped my arms around her rounded waist. “Which one?” A tiny tinkling laugh escaped her lips as she pointed to the one she wanted.

“That’s not very manly,” I pointed out.

“How do you know it’s a boy? We might have a girl.” She turned in my arms slightly and looked up at my face.

My eyebrows drew together at the idea of a little girl. “My seed is strong, woman. It makes big healthy boys. With large penises.” Teeny snickered at me and patted my chest.

A girl? I couldn’t have a girl. Although…well…the thought hadn’t even occurred to me that a girl was even a possibility. “I don’t know anything about little girls,” I said sounding a little put out. Teeny being Teeny didn’t comfort me but laughed instead.

“Don’t worry, baby. I’m sure you’ll figure it out.” Before I could argue, the sales girl came back and loaded the stroller Teeny picked on the cart with the carrier.

“Will there be anything else?” Kerri asked snapping me out of my pondering.

“A sling thingy, like this.” I pulled a folded-up piece of paper from my back pocket and handed it over. Teeny looked at me like I’d just stepped out of the twilight zone. “I looked some stuff up and printed it off.”

Lifting up on tiptoes, she kissed my cheek and whispered, “Thank you.” I liked this side of Teen, all soft and cute.

Pulling up to the house with the truck full of baby stuff, my phone vibrated. A text from Mace confirmed everything was set. Thank God. He’d cut it close on the timing, but he always did like to mess with my head. Nerves racked me as we walked up to the front door and I slid the key in the lock.

“Come with me.” Grabbing her hand, I pulled her up the stairs with me and stopped in front of the white bedroom door. It had been a hell of job keeping her out of this room for the past few months. I’d had everything covered, and a shit load of boxes filling the room trying to push her off the scent. That and of course I kept the door locked. The boxes were just in case she’s decided to try to pick the lock. Pregnant women did crazy shit sometimes. I hadn’t known how to show her everything that I’d bought for our baby all those months ago. I hoped to fuck that I’d finally picked the right time.

“What are we—“ I shushed her question with a quick kiss, reached forward and pushed the door open. Her gasp broke the silence of the room. “What do you think?” I asked, worried she’d hate it.

She openly gaped at everything in front of her. Her voice turned thick as she said, “Oh, it’s gorgeous,” moving toward the mahogany crib. “You did this?”

A shot of pride had my chest swelling. She liked it. While she was occupied, I hurried myself and poured the non-alcoholic grape juice into two fancy-ass glasses. Thank God, my brother was a pussy and knew what to get; otherwise, we would have been drinking out of red plastic beer cups.

“I’m glad you like it,” I whispered coming up behind her a glass in each hand. Sweet, sweet, be sweet, I internally chanted.

“I thought you were hiding something weird like a stripper pole or a collection of women’s underwear in this room; the door was always locked.” I smiled at that, knowing it annoyed the hell out of her that I’d kept this room shut away.

“I can always install a stripper pole. I wouldn’t be opposed to seeing you on one,” I mumbled mentally scanning the house layout for the best place to install one and quickly deciding our bedroom would be the best place. I needed to make some calls and get that happening, nothing would be better than seeing Teen put on a show just for me. The idea alone sent a rush of blood to my dick.

Bringing my arms around her from behind, I passed her a glass and dropped a kiss on her neck; I loved how soft the skin was there. “Move in with me,” my lips gently brushing against her throat as I spoke.

Goosebumps broke out over her skin and she breathed out, “I’m not sure if you realized this but I’m kind of here already.”

“No, move in with me, move in with me. Not stay with me. Move in with me,” I clarified. I wasn’t sure where the idea had come from, but at some point, the idea of not having her here when we got home from work or waking up in the morning to an empty bed made my chest tight and my stomach burn.

“Why?” Of course, she has to ask that. I was convinced she secretly got a kick out of making me lay all my feelings out there.

“You’re gonna make me say it, aren’t you?” Her answering snort made me smile. She always did that adorable snort when she gave me shit, and it was just plain old cute. “Fine,” I mock grumbled snuggling my face deeper into her neck. “I want you in my bed to take care of morning wood.” So much for sweet, I thought before rephrasing. ”I want to wake up to your pretty face every day. I want to take care of you and Junior.” I wasn’t so good at this feelings stuff, but I had to get better because Teeny deserved the best.

“You really want me to move in?” she asked quietly with a wobble in her voice. My arm wrapped around her, I placed my hand on her stomach. “I want you both to move in with me.” The baby decided that was the perfect moment to make itself known and kicked. A lump formed in my throat as the emotions crashed down on me. I had never contemplated being a father, but right then, I couldn’t think of anything I’d rather be.