Page 17 of Betting On Her

“I need to take a shower.” She doesn't look at me as she says it, but I’m following her step for step.

When she gets to the bedroom, I close the door behind us and lock it. In fact, I’ve locked every door she’s walked through to make sure she can’t so easily slip out. Maybe I could tie her to the bed tonight just in case.

I stand there numbly as she disappears into the bathroom, and then I hear the shower come on. I’ve never felt unwelcome in the bathroom with her before, and I’m not about to start. Yes, I fucked up, but what is happening right now is bigger than that.

Pulling off my shirt, I toss it with her bag and then strip off the rest of my clothes. By the time I get into the bathroom, the steam from the shower has filled the space, and she doesn’t see me right away. I stare at her as she closes her eyes and leans under the water to wash her hair.

There are moments in our marriage where I’ve thought it wasn’t possible to love her more than I already do. But as my eyes travel down her naked body, I realize that I was so wrong. She’s growing life inside of her: the heartbeats our love created.

When I open the shower door, she blinks at me but doesn’t look surprised. “Let me help you,” I say and take the shampoo out of her hands.

Wordlessly, she turns around and leans her head back like we’ve done this a thousand times. Maybe we have. When I begin to massage the shampoo into her scalp, she can’t help the little moan that slips free. I swallow hard and will my cock to behave as I focus on caring for my bride.

“I’m so sorry,” I say as I continue to lovingly wash her hair. “I love you, kitten.”

“I know.”

She doesn’t look at me as I rinse the shampoo and then use conditioner on it. She’s silent as I work out the tangles and then use the body wash to scrub her clean. Somehow I managed to stay focused on caring for her instead of thinking of all the ways I want to force her to forgive me.

Once she’s clean, she walks out of the shower without a backwards glance, and I sigh. This isn’t as bad as her running out on me, but clearly, this isn’t going to be an easy road.

Focusing on getting my own body clean after living in my car, I go through the motions as quickly as possible. Once I’m out of the shower, I hastily dry off and then grab a pair of boxer briefs. I see her in the bedroom putting on pajamas, and I decide bed is a good idea.

“Come on,” I tell her and take her by the hand.

“I’m going to sleep in the other room.” She tries to tug out of my hold, but I shake my head.

“No. You can go to bed angry, but you’ll do it in our bed. Understand?” I give her a hard look because this is one thing I won’t budge on.

“Sawyer—”

“Shut up and get in the goddamn bed before I put your ass there.” I’m so fucking tired and worried sick about her and the babies. “For the love of god don’t argue with me. Not until the both of us have had some sleep.”

“Fine.” She jerks her hand out of mine and practically stomps over to the bed.

She has to use the little step beside it to get in, so it kind of takes the steam out of her tantrum as she climbs in and sinks into the fluffy blankets. Part of me wants to laugh at how ridiculous she looks in the pile of pillows, but I know that probably won’t help her forgive me.

After I turn off the lights I climb into bed and reach for her. She pulls away from me and then pops my hand like it’s going to keep me from touching her. I shake my head and then practically throw my whole body over her and pull her tight against me.

“Let me go.” She struggles, but it’s no use because I’m too heavy. “I’ll sleep in here, but I’m not cuddling with you.”

“Shhh. Go to sleep,” I tell her while I ignore her wiggles and protests.

Eventually she stops fighting it, and not long after that, she falls into a peaceful sleep.

I stay awake for a long time after that because I need to feel her here with me. I knew before she left that she was my entire world, but having that become a reality was my personal hell on earth. I’ll do whatever it takes to make sure that never happens again.

Chapter Eleven

CHLOE

I stare at the ceiling, unable to sleep. When I crawled into bed and Sawyer pulled me close, I was out in seconds. Now I’m awake, but I have no idea what woke me up.

It might be the throb between my thighs, but I’m trying to ignore it. Sawyer’s big body is wrapped around me, and it’s so heavy and warm. The scent and feel of him is too much. Since he came into my life, I don’t think we’ve ever gone this long without being intimate in some way, and my body is not thrilled about it.

Normally I’d crawl on top of him so he could wake up and take it from there. Peeking over at him, I see he’s fast asleep with his arm across my stomach. He’s pressed up against me with his hand resting on my hip.

He hasn’t moved an inch all night, and his hold is tighter than normal. He’s scared I’m going to run, and he’s right to be. I want to but only because I don’t want to face this yet. I’m not ready to find out how deep this bet went. Did he do this with other women before me? Do I really even know Sawyer? My heart screams yes, but people always say you never truly know anyone.

---