Page 150 of Heart Strings & Hotlines
My head thrashes side to side. I’m beginning to have a love/hate relationship with his newest game. The one where he teases and edges me to the brink of orgasm before pulling back, waiting for me to admit that loving each other and working together is better than I imagined it could be.
But I refuse to give him that much satisfaction. He’ll hold it over me for years.
A month into working with the Fitzgerald Group, I quickly realized I was in over my head, and I reluctantly admitted that I needed Thane to step in to handle the technical aspects of my company’s growth.
Thankfully for him, he never once gloated, but I have a feeling this is his form of payback for not trusting him from the beginning.
“Never.” The word hisses through my clenched teeth. This devilish man knows I’m right on the brink.
“Someday you will. Someday you’re going to admit that I was right and you were wrong, but not today. Today we have more important things to get to.”
Lowering his mouth, he bites down on my nipple, and my hips jerk through wave after wave of an orgasm he deftly drags out.
When the spasms slow to little tremors, I open my eyes. He’s staring at me with such fondness and adoration, my heart takes over the tremors that just vacated my overheated core. One of these days he’ll give me a heart attack, I’m almost certain of it.
“Hi,” he whispers through a magnificent smile.
“Hi.”
“In about three hours, we’re going to legally be a family. Are you ready for that?”
“I’ve never been more sure about anything in my entire life.”
His features are soft. He’s no longer hiding behind walls, at least not when it’s just the three of us. I’m not even sure he knew how much love and care he had to share.
“You are the most beautiful and kind woman I’ve ever met.” He presses a gentle and too-short kiss to my lips. “Stay there. I’ll get a towel.”
My body collapses onto the island, boneless, while I stare vacantly at the ceiling.
His warm palm presses into my belly, and I lift onto my forearms as he drags a warm cloth between my legs. I stopped fighting his need to take care of me months ago, since it appears to be his love language.
When he’s finished, he tosses the cloth into the hamper, steps between my legs, and stares at my belly.
“Everything okay?”
He blinks a few times, then nods. “I’ve never thought about being a parent. I was too scared they’d end up like me.”
I attempt to sit up, but he keeps his hand on my belly. “Thane, we would be so lucky to have children who are exactly like you. You’re amazing and generous. You’re kind and caring. Not to inflate your ego or anything, but you’re pretty fabulous all around.”
His smile doesn’t reach his eyes.
“Do you want kids?” I ask quietly. “I mean, more kids?” We haven’t really had this conversation, and honestly, it was never part of my life plan either. But the thought of kids with him makes that clock I didn’t know I had start ticking.
The tips of his fingers press into my lower abdomen. “I think I do,” he says. “Maybe one or two. Do you want kids?”
Knowing he isn’t opposed to it makes breathing a little easier. “Honestly, I never did. But I do like the idea of a little Thane running around. I’m not offering to host a basketball team, but I could manage one or two.”
He scans my face in the same way he reads his favorite book—he absorbs me into his orbit.
“One or two.” His face contorts as if he’s about to burst at the seams. “Like now? How much time do we require to plan for a baby? Do we need to visit a doctor first? Should we buy a crib or one of those swings, but one with a very high safety rating? When?—”
I place a single finger over his lips. “We have time. A baby takes time to make and even longer to bake. We should also give Kara some time alone with us. Plus, Heart Strings and Hotlines is exploding all over the globe. Before we bring a baby into the mix, we really should have a handle on the company’s plan for expansion.”
After weighing my options and listening to all the ways Thane could envision my company growing, I decided to incorporate. I named the company Heart Strings and Hotlines and didn’t give a shit what anyone thought about it. It’s now the parent company for three new startups—a matchmaking app, a corporate recruiting system, and of all things, a government-led tool for profiling serial killers.
Who knew?
Not me, but we also have plans for six more branches over the next eighteen months. As much as this is my baby, it’s become Thane’s passion, and his ideas are limitless.
