Page 62 of Size Doesn't Matter

Allof him.

“Jack, I just….” She swallowed hard, then took a moment to simply breathe. She’d been in similar situations before with varying results. Never with a baby though, which made her even more hesitant to broach the subject at hand. But as she stared into Jack’s piercing gaze she knew she had to step up, knew she had to be brave and make the choice to not be submissive, to not be a brat, and to put voice to her very valid concerns.

No matter the end result of doing so.

She wouldn’t let herself—or her baby—be mistreated again.

“What is it, Soph?” His frown softened and he reached out for her. “What’s wrong?”

She took another step back. “Can we sit?”

“Of course,” Jack said, his tone cautious, but he took a seat, his narrowed gaze curious as he watched her take a seat at the opposite end of the couch.

Tucking one foot under her arse, Sophie dragged a cushion into her lap and held it to her chest like a decorative, foam-filled barrier. A piss-poor excuse for a shield against what may or may not be a revealing moment in their burgeoning relationship, but one that made her feel slightly more secure, just like a nice thick blanket pulled up to her chin was the perfect protection against the monsters who lived under her bed when she was a kid.

She took a deep breath. “I just need to know that you’re here with me, here for this. All of this.” When Jack’s frown deepened, she charged on, needing to be as open as possible and hoping he’d understand. “You said it yourself, you’re a gym junkie and a workaholic, and—”

“Sophie—”

“Please let me finish,” she said, refusing to drop her gaze, even though it went against every submissive bone in her body. “I need to get this out or I may never say what I have to.” Jack closed his mouth and a muscle ticked in his jaw, but he nodded and waited for her to speak. “I know you’re a busy man, Jack, an important man, and I know that sometimes the company will come first. Shit happens and as CEO it’s your job to fix it. I get that. But as the child of two workaholics, one gym junkie and one, well, regular junkie, I need to know you’ll put me and our kids first as much as humanly possible.”

She hugged the cushion tighter. “I’m already rich, so I couldn’t give less of a shit about your money and all the things it can do,” she said, gesturing at the freshly decorated room, “but I do care about you showing up for things. Showing up for us. Not just physically but mentally and emotionally too. I need to know that you’re all in with this, with us. Because I am, Jack. I am so here for this. All of this. With you.”

Her heartbeat raced and she clenched her jaw as she willed back the prickle of tears brewing behind her eyes. Jack’s continued silence as his eyes narrowed under a stern brow was unsettling, but she forced herself to stay in her seat and not flinch away, even as his beautiful blue gaze bored into hers as though he could see right down to her very soul.

When he finally spoke, she almost jumped out of her skin, the depth of emotion in his voice like a wave crashing over her, deep and dark and threatening to drown her. “Real question time,” Jack said, his voice like gravel, his hand gripping the back of the couch so tightly his knuckles blanched. “Would you still want to be with me if you weren’t pregnant?”

The unexpected question sent a surge of relief through Sophie, forcing her to release the breath she hadn’t realised she’d been holding and smashing through the dam keeping her tears at bay. It seemed she wasn’t the only one feeling insecure. Nodding, she answered eagerly, “Yes!”

Suddenly her lovely embroidered barrier was gone, the cushion discarded on the floor, and Jack was dragging her into his lap, wrapping her up in his strong arms and whispering gentle words of reassurance in her ear as she sobbed on his shoulder. “I’ve got you, baby. Hush now.”

Lifting her head from the crook of Jack’s neck, Sophie sniffed loudly. “I haven’t stopped thinking about you since we met,” she said, swiping her hands across her cheeks to stem the flow of waterworks. “Even when I was furious with you for not telling me the whole truth about your situation, I couldn’t get you out of my head. And I tried so hard to forget you, I really did, but then you sent me my favourite roses, and chocolates, andcheese,and the more I thought about you, the more I missed you. And the more I missed you….”

Jack stroked her hair away from her face, his perceptive gaze darting back and forth as he searched her own, humour evident in his velvety voice, “Yes? The more you missed me…?”

She half snorted, half laughed at his egotistical preening. “The more I missed you, the more I regretted walking out of that stupid hotel room. I wanted to call you. Talk to you. Hear your voice.”

“Oh?” His grin was slow and downright evil, but so damn sexy. “And what would you have said to me if youhadcalled?”

The last of her tears dried up as her confidence returned. Sliding one hand down Jack’s chest, she toyed with the button on his shorts and popped it open. “I would have said that I finally understood why Ethan never introduced us when we were dating. That he was right when he said you and I were much better suited to each other than he and I ever were.”

Slipping his hand to her nape, Jack pulled her closer and whispered across her lips, “I usually hate it when he’s right, but I’m willing to concede defeat and agree with him, just this once.” Then he kissed her quick and hard. “Now, tell me what you’d hoped to hear me say.”

The feel of Jack’s hand on her neck, the warmth of his palm pressed against her flesh, the strength of his fingers gripping her, anchoring her to him, aided the sense of calm that slipped through her bloodstream and flooded her brain with a natural high. Time slowed, her heart did too, and the last of her anxiety melted away as she moistened her lips and told him the truth. “I wanted to hear the command in your voice,” she said. “I wanted you to tell me you missed me as much as I missed you, that you were sorry, that you forgave me, that you still wanted me. That I was your girl. Your good girl.”

“You are my good girl, Sophie. And I did miss you. More than I thought possible.”

Sophie rested her head on Jack’s shoulder and snuggled against his chest, toyed with the buttons on his shirt. “I like the way I feel when I’m with you. Like I can just be myself and not some impossible version of myself that other people want me to be. And I know what I’m about to admit is quite possibly the least sexy thing I can say to a man, but when I’m with you, Jack, I feel… safe.”

Jack’s arms tightened around her and he pressed his lips against her hair. “As a dominant man, knowing my girl feels safe in my care is the best compliment you could give me. Thank you, angel.”

She smiled against his chest. “You’re welcome.”

“And like I said before, I never had a reason not to be a workaholic, but I do now. I’m all in, Soph. I am here for this, for us. For you.”

She lifted her head and met his gaze, matched his smile. “You are?”

“I am. And you know what else?”

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