Page 96 of Loving You

Or maybe April would have an idea for the rest of the space, aside from what I’d surprised her with.

She slipped the blindfold off and blinked for a moment before her mouth fell open. “Wait, what?”

I grinned. “You can change anything you want, but I thought you might like a place to work from home that’s a little more conducive than the living room.”

She wandered further into the room and ran a hand along the surface of the white wood desk that sat in one corner. It had plenty of space for her to spread out her paperwork and calendars on either side, and while she loved the planner I’d given her, she hadn’t lost her tendency to sprawl papers all over the living room when she worked.

Bookshelves lined one wall near her desk, and the other featured sliding glass doors to the downstairs patio. Despite being a basement, the ceilings were twelve feet high, and with the doors, there was plenty of daylight to make it feel downright airy. Paired with the light walls and furniture, and little pops of brightness from the decor, it felt welcoming and pleasant.

“This is a finished basement! You never come down here. And you never even showed me this part of the house when I moved in.” She slid the sheer material of the drapes aside to gaze out into the yard. Her head whipped to me. “This wasn’t here. Was it? I’ve walked around the yard and that patio furniture wasn’t there.”

“No, it wasn’t. And you’re right, I never showed you the basement because while it was technically finished, it was empty. And unpainted. There’s a den area that is completely empty on the other side of the stairs, and there’s this room and a small half bath, and then storage. There wasn’t anything to see.”

“So, you decorated it? For me?” she asked, her face softening.

My heart glowed in my chest at that pleased expression, and I needed her close. Pulling her into my arms and pressing our bodies against each other, I nodded. “I know you’ve enjoyed not worrying about going to work and doing whatever the hell you want, as you should. But I also want you to be able to relax at home, and I thought maybe sometimes we could work at home together.”

I nodded to the other side of the room where another desk sat.

She took it in, then leaned up on her toes and kissed me. It probably would’ve been a soft, quick touch, but I angled my head and deepened it, licking into her sweet mouth. Too soon, she pulled back, biting her lip as she eyed me with lust and humor.

“So, youweretrying to seduce me, just with a desk and cute little couch and an office and this incredibly thoughtful gesture.”

I laughed. “Maybe so.” I kissed her hand before she pulled out of my grip to take a closer look at the little touches May had helped with—a few books and a large cylindrical vase full of, of course, pink tulips.

“I like the walls,” she said, admiring the dove gray that somehow made the room soft and comfortable rather than gloomy. May had been right about that, too. “You do realize we could’ve just turned the guest room into an office, right?”

“I thought we’d want to keep the bedrooms as they are for now. Maybe eventually transition them.”

She gave me her eyes. “To… another office?”

“To a nursery.”

Her lashes fluttered, but then she grinned. “Wow, Mr. Walker. You really do want it all with me, huh?”

I snagged her hand and reeled her into my space. “Yes. I do. Pretty soon we’ll have our engagement party and celebrate that milestone. Hopefully we’ll nail down our wedding date, too, and that’ll be one of the best days of my life. And after that, I’ll be savoring every minute with you. But I do want a family, love. I want to see you as a mother, and I want a chance to be a dad.”

Her lovely blue eyes had gotten shiny, and she attacked me in a hug. “I love it. Thank you. And yes, I like the idea of us working from home together. And I love the idea of seeing you as a dad.”

We kissed again, sentimentality and sweetness melting into something far more sensual, as so often happened with her.

“I also figured if we work from home, we can be very strategic with our lunch breaks.” I kissed my way down her neck and nipped at her shoulder before straightening and hugging her again. This constant tension between affection and outright animal attraction could be exhausting, but it kept things interesting, for sure.

She sighed, relaxing against me for a moment. “Sometimes you’re just…”

She trailed off, and I thought maybe she’d say something like amazing or whatever—I wasn’t about to ascribe compliments to myself, but I knew she loved me and that was enough for me. But then, in true April fashion, I felt her hands at my belt.

“I’m just… what?” I asked, already breathless with anticipation as she unzipped my fly and stroked me over my boxer briefs.

She leaned back and gave me a devilish grin, backing up toward the couch as she spoke. “Sometimes you’re so fucking sexy I can’t stand the thought of another second passing without you inside me.”

Shit.I should’ve gotten a bigger couch. I’d thought she could have a meeting and use the patio entrance if she wanted, but I hadn’t thought about how short the little sofa was until I’d seen her sprawled on it, ready and waiting for me to join her.

My stomach flipped, and my cock stiffened completely. I’d already been halfway there, and that little move cemented it. “Better not delay, then,” I said, my voice rough with desire.

Biting her lip, she gave me another come-hither look I was already obeying and said, “Better not.” But then her brow furrowed and she added, “Well, unless you really are hiding a creepy clown doll collection down here, in which case, we have a few things to discuss.”

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