Page 22 of Come Back To Me

His hand around my neck pushes me down, my fingers splaying on the sheets as my body bends. Trailing his fingers down my spine, my back arches before strong fingers then hold my hips.

He starts slow, moaning deep as he fills me. Then he pounds relentlessly, rocking the bed, wet slaps resounding around us until he’s close. “Fuck,” he hisses, and I feel him start to stiffen.

I start pushing back against him, arching my spine, giving more of myself to him. When I look over my shoulder, our eyes connect.

He reaches forward, grabbing me by the neck, pulling me upright. He holds my head against his shoulder, his fingers curling around my throat. Then he stills, slowly letting go, his lips parted against my neck as he comes.

He’s still breathing heavy, dotting kisses as his hands caress my skin, one of them stroking my bump. There’s a thump from deep inside me. “Shit!” he cries, withdrawing and jumping back on the bed still on his knees.

I gasp, turning my body towards him. Both my hands cradle my bump as I look at Dean. “Did you feel that?” I ask him hopefully.

“Feel it? Bloody thing scared the shit out of me!” He comes closer, placing both hands over mine. “Was that her? Did she kick?”

“Yes! That was it!”

My voice is wobbling, completely filled with excitement and love in this moment. I’ve been able to feel flutters and little knocks for a few weeks now, but he has always timed it wrong. Each time I’ve told him to place his hands on me, the baby stops kicking.

But not now.

My heart starts doubling in size as I watch Dean. His eyes are glued to my tummy so tight, it’s like he thinks if he blinks, he’ll miss it. “Come on, you can kick your old man again.” He looks up at me, embarrassed at how he’s talking to my bump.

He shouldn’t be. My heart’s filling with pride and love and… and now I’m crying.

Thump.

He’s smiling broadly as he shimmies his body to get more comfortable. He doesn’t look at me. His eyes are scanning mybump, his fingers pressing gently as if to encourage the baby to kick again.

He then presses his ear to my skin and waits. Thump, thump. “Oh, fuck this is fucking amazing,” he says.

My hand instinctively curls into his hair and I watch on.

There are no demons holding onto him in this moment. No shards of his past holding him close to the edge. This is the man I love, at peace, even if for only a moment. He’s not at war with himself, not overthinking or fighting for control. Right now, right here… he’s free.

And right now, watching him; seeing the man I love—the father of my child—smile in sheer happiness… I’ll make sure he never loses himself again.

Dean takes my hand in his as we sit in the waiting room at the hospital. We’ve barely spoken; nervously excited to see our baby again, neither of us really knows what to do or say.

He ended up working this morning with Travis, finishing up a paint job they’ve had on for the past few weeks. He looks tired, which makes sense considering he got home late and then unexpectedly had to go out, but he’s happy.

He lifts my hand and kisses the back of it.

I study him as he does. Tiny flecks of white paint dot the top of his hair and his cheeks. He looks handsome, but every part of me wants to lick the tip of my thumb and wipe them off. “You have paint here,” I say, tapping my finger on my face.

He looks at me and starts wiping his skin.

“No, higher… up a bit…oh just—” I lick my thumb and impatiently swipe at his cheek.

“Hey!” he argues, shocked by my old-fashioned mum move.

I smile and start moving my thumb closer to him again when a nurse calls my name. “Madison Reed?”

“Ha!” Dean swats my hand away in mid-air. We stand together, his hand at the small of my back as I walk forwards,following the nurse into the room.

With no windows in the room, a large machine with a surprisingly small monitor sits on one side of a large bed. “Come in, pop your bag on the chair and take a seat on the bed,” she tells me.

I smile, passing my bag to Dean, along with my coat.

He takes a seat in the chair on the other side as I sit and swing my legs up onto the bed. The head is slightly reclined, so I lean back, shuffling my bum to get comfier.

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