26. Tabby

TWENTY-SIX

TABBY

I woke to the familiar sound of Nate’s cell phone alarm, followed shortly by his groan as he slapped at it. Beside me, he shuffled around before flopping onto his back with a huff.

“Morning,” I mumbled, scooting closer to rest my head on his chest.

He grunted in reply, not quite ready for words, though his fingers did find my hair. I let him take his time waking up, tracing idle patterns across his bare stomach, enjoying the warmth of his skin.

The last few nights, George had been sleeping in his crib for a few hours. When we came to bed, I nursed him then put him next to me in the bassinet until he woke in the middle of the night. Nate would change his diaper, and I’d feed him a little before walking him down the hall to his crib, where he’d sleep for a good stretch of time. It was a nice way to ease us into moving him out of our room. Plus, I thought Nate and I were both sleeping better. Everyone was sleeping better.

But I especially loved the mornings before the baby woke up that I could spend with Nate. Sometimes we’d cuddle or just sleep, but this morning was different.

It was Nate’s thirty-fifth birthday.

And I had plans.

After a few minutes, he craned his neck to peer at the clock. “Shit, I gotta get up.”

I didn’t move. “You sure?” Stretching my arm across his torso, I set my chin on the back of my hand to watch as he dipped his chin, blinking at me. “You should sleep in. It’s your birthday.”

“I can’t miss my workout,” he said, even as he toyed with pieces of my hair, rubbing them between his thumb and forefinger. “Got a million things to do before the opening.”

The soft opening of his wine bar and bistro was only two days away, and he’d been stressing about every detail.

“But you deserve to relax a little bit today.” I skated my hand down his side to the elastic of his underwear and slipped my fingers inside. He inhaled sharply when I wrapped them around his cock. “Enjoy your present.”

His rumbling groan reverberated through his chest. “You’re my present.”

I shook my head and sat up, keeping my hand on his hardening length as I nipped and sucked on his throat, across his Adam’s apple to his ear. When I bit the lobe, Nate hissed, his back arching slightly.

“You know what I was thinking about? How I’d gotten spoiled. It was so nice waking up to an orgasm every day for months.” I drew my thumb along the tip of his cock, right over the slit. “I love being your princess, but I think it’s about time I remind you that you’re my prince.”

He tried to catch my mouth for a kiss, but I ducked away, crawling backward. Dragging my hands over his stomach, I pulled down his boxer briefs on the way, his shaft stiff and thick and straining toward me. I didn’t even take his underwear off, too impatient to put my mouth on him.

It had been weeks, months , and I missed this. Missed him .

I curled one hand around the base and the other around his balls, lightly tugging at them as I licked the drop of salty precome from the head before tracing the underside with the tip of my tongue. I stared up at him, making sure to keep eye contact when I took him fully in my mouth, only to pull back and swirl around the tip again.

He groaned, tunneling his fingers into my hair. “Fuck, princess, you know just what to do, don’t you?” He tightened his grip. “Make me come.”

I hummed around him, earning a spasm of his muscles, and he breathed out a laugh. “Yeah, you’ll make me come hard. Down your throat, hm? That my birthday present?”

He stroked my cheek and jaw, his eyes alight with lust and admiration, praising me with his hands and words. Mumbling curses and directions. Telling me how he’d missed fucking me. How he’d been desperate to touch me.

“I love you so much,” he said. “Being your partner and watching you become an amazing mom has made me fall in love with you so much more. Every day, I love you more and more, and you wake me up like this? You are everything.”

He fisted my hair, holding my head in place as he began to lift his hips, taking over the movement for me, his teeth gritted, and yet, he still went on. “Fuck, princess. I love you. I love you. Look at you. You’re so pretty like this. Your eyes all big and sleepy and glassy. Your mouth taking my cock. You were made for me. Fuck yeah.” He breathed harder, repeating it over and over. “Fuck yeah…”

And then he orgasmed with a moan, his head relaxing back to his pillow, his skin flushed, the vein along his throat throbbing. I swallowed, gagging a little, as he released shots of warm liquid at the back of my mouth, his cock jerking between my lips and against my tongue.

When he finished, I slowly dragged my mouth back up his softening length, following with my fist, until he was clean. Crawling back up his body, I found Nate utterly blissed out, a dopey smile on his face.

“Best birthday ever,” he declared and reached for me, his intent obvious when he slipped his hand up the tank top I wore. But before he could do anything else, George’s cry echoed down the hall and on the monitor.

“Frogger,” Nate whined. “You couldn’t give me fifteen more minutes?”

I stifled a laugh at his pitiful pout and hopped out of bed. By the time I fed and changed George, Nate had showered and dressed, so he took the baby downstairs, allowing me time to get ready for the day. We ate breakfast together and chatted, mostly about Genevieve, who was due soon, and what still had to be done at the bistro.

I’d always marveled at Nate’s ability to stay positive and be productive, but these last few weeks, he’d really exceeded anything I thought possible. I had a hard time getting anything accomplished some days, still so tired, but he was up every morning at six to work out and then out the door around nine to do whatever he needed to at Walt’s and the bistro before returning so I could go to campus and complete whatever schoolwork I had. Then after dinner, he was back out again after he helped with Frogger’s bath time. The man was incredible.

A juggler doing it all. Never letting any one of his responsibilities hit the floor.

But I could see it taking a toll on him.

Before he stood to leave, I hopped onto his lap, which signaled Lucy to leap up from her place in front of the back door. She assumed it was family hug time and pawed at my leg to pick her up, but she was definitely not invited in this embrace, and I shook her off before hooking my arms around Nate’s shoulders. “You sure you don’t want to play hooky with me and Frog?”

His hands rounded my ass. “I can’t.”

“But it’s your birthday.” I bumped the tip of his nose with mine. “And I want to relax with you. Play more.”

He started to shake his head, but George gurgled quietly in his bouncer as Lucy sat in front of him, the two good buddies.

“See?” I smiled at my little guy waving his arms. “Frogger wants you home too.”

Nate heaved a sigh at our son. “You’re supposed to be on my side, dude.”

“He wants to hang out with his daddy.”

I could see the war waging behind Nate’s eyes as he gazed at me, his lips pursed. I scratched at his beard, because that always got him. Like finding the spot that made a dog kick.

He tilted his head, catching my fingers in his mouth, playfully biting at them as he growled.

“Hey!” I giggled, and he let go, only to kiss me.

“I love your laugh.”

“So stay and make me laugh more.”

“I can’t. I really can’t. We have the final inspection this morning.”

I nodded, knowing I couldn’t keep him from that, so I gave him a lingering kiss that would hopefully bring him home early tonight before I stood up to clear the table. After Nate said his goodbye to George, he patted my butt and headed out.

I worked a bit on my graduation project while George spent some tummy time on the play mat, and we both napped after lunch. Even though I had returned to school, it wasn’t a full schedule, so I sometimes felt like I should be doing more, but both Shannon and Summer liked to remind me to enjoy my time with the baby because it would pass fast. In a few months, I’d be working full time, and I wouldn’t be able to sleep with him in my arms whenever I felt like it, so I took the advice of both of my mothers-in-law and didn’t worry about what I should be doing because it was right here. With George, being his mom.

Nate returned in time for me to pass off the baby, instruct him not to make dinner, and then drive to campus for my three o’clock class. On my way home, I picked up a couple orders of fish tacos, his favorite—apparently the Kozlowski siblings both had a thing for tacos—and a small cake.

I walked into the house to find Nate standing close to the television, Frog strapped to his chest as he explained the ins and outs of football.

“See? You see that? That’s called a blitz. That’s when the defense rushes the offense. That’s what I used to do. And that guy right there? He’s the best cornerback in the league.” He raised George’s hands, chanting. “E-A-G-L-E-S, Eagles!”

I cleared my throat, and Nate swung around in surprise. “Tabby cat.”

I held up the bag. “I got your favorite. Extra guac for the chips.”

He came straight to me, his hands on my face, kissing me. “You’re the best.”

“Picking up dinner is hardly a chore.” I leaned in to kiss George’s head. “I’ll get the plates. I would ask if you wanted a birthday beer, but since you’re going out?—”

“I’m not. Well, I mean, I am going out, but not to work.” When I quirked a brow, he said, “I’ll take that beer. And after dinner, I want to take you out. Show you something.”

Intrigued, I set the bag on the dining room table. “Where?”

“You’ll see.”

I shot him a look.

“Patience.”

“Funny you’re telling me to be patient.”

He winked in that annoyingly charming way of his and then turned back to the television in time to see something that made him clap a few times. I spread the food out on the dining room table and called him to sit down, taking George to place him in his bouncer.

After we finished the tacos, I lit the number candles on the small vanilla cake with sprinkles then sang “Happy Birthday,” punctuating it with a kiss. “Make a wish.”

He paused, gazing at the flickering candles for a moment before blowing them out. “What’d you wish for?”

“Can’t tell you that. It won’t come true,” he teased, but as I sliced into the cake, he placed his hand on my hip, finger hooking under the belt loop, admitting, “It was anal.”

I gasped, refusing to give in to a laugh, and walloped his shoulder. He caught my wrist, pulling me into him, his mouth smiling against my neck. “What else can I wish for? Everything I want, I have.”

I melted into him, angling my head so he had better access to my throat. “I guess we can talk about it.”

He perked up. “Really?”

I shrugged. “We won’t be doing it tonight, obviously. We haven’t even had regular P in V sex yet.”

He left an openmouthed kiss on the slope of my shoulder. “Mm-hmm. I’m ready when you are.”

He ground me down on his dick to emphasize his point.

Technically, I’d gotten the go-ahead two weeks ago, but I hadn’t felt very sexy, and I especially didn’t want to get naked in front of Nate. Then again, I’d really enjoyed this morning and would like to do more of that.

I placed the slice of cake on a plate, but Nate kept me in his lap, splitting it between us, feeding a piece to me and then to himself until we finished. He didn’t even give me time to clean up before he instructed me to put shoes on so we could go out. “Come on,” he said, pushing me out the door, with George in his car seat. “Quick trip.”

I played along, curious about where he could possibly be taking us on a random weeknight, but we didn’t end up going far. Only downtown, where he parked in the back of his bistro.

“What are you?—”

“You’ll see,” he said, smiling as he pocketed his keys to remove George’s car seat. He escorted me around the side of the building. “Close your eyes.”

When I did, he tucked my hand into the crook of his elbow, ushering me farther along. “Don’t open them,” he warned. “Here. Turn a little. Yeah. Like that. Now, don’t move.” I heard him step away from me, a door unlock and open, and then more footsteps after half a minute or so. “Did you open your eyes?”

“No.”

His breath fanned over my face. “Are you sure?”

“I swear.” I laughed. “I didn’t.”

“Okay.” He shifted behind me, his hands on my hips. “Now you can look.”

I opened my eyes to the sign above the thick green door, illuminating the night sky. There, in elegant script, were the words Tabby Cat . Though understated and subtle, the metal logo curved around to make what appeared to be the top outline of a cat, and the meaning of the gesture stole my breath. “You… That’s… You named it after me?”

He nodded, his beard rubbing against my temple. “Who else?”

My eyes and nose stung with emotion, but he didn’t let me stand there too long, taking my hand once again as he picked up the car seat from the sidewalk, escorting us inside.

The interior was even more stunning than I’d imagined from Nate’s enthusiastic descriptions. The ambiance was warm and inviting, with soft lighting that cast a golden glow over the polished wooden bar and the cozy bistro tables. The open kitchen gleamed with stainless-steel appliances, and the wine cellar, visible through a glass door, promised an impressive selection.

“Nate, it’s beautiful,” I whispered, feeling a surge of pride for the man who had worked so hard to make his dream a reality.

He watched me closely as I took it all in. “You’re my muse. Every bit of this place, it’s all for you.”

I spun in his arms, my eyes watering with unshed tears. “I don’t know what to say.”

He took a step closer, his hand gently cupping my cheek. “You don’t have to say anything. Just know that every part of my life, every piece of my heart, is yours.”

The intensity in his gaze made my breath hitch. He loved me, and it was written all over his face. I wanted to say it back, to give him the words he deserved, but deep-rooted fear held my tongue. Before, in the hospital, it was spur-of-the-moment. I was exhausted and overly emotional, allowing the words to come easily, but I was back to myself now. Back to fearing the loss of what I loved most. I knew it wasn’t true, but some part of me believed that if I told him how I felt, it would be taken away.

He would be taken away from me.

So I kept quiet and leaned into his touch, hoping he could feel the depth of my love for him.

We walked around the bistro with George’s car seat tucked under my arm, Nate pointing out all the little details he had painstakingly chosen—from the local artwork adorning the walls to the greenery that added a touch of life to the space.

By the time we settled back in the car, I was brimming with a mix of admiration and hunger for the man beside me. He had built that for me . He had taken my offhanded comment and made it real.

The drive home didn’t take long, but with the energy shift between us, it might as well have taken years. Dinner had been full of smiles and laughter, but the time for amusement was over. If there had been any question about if my body was ready before, there wasn’t now.

Already, I felt overcome with need, my skin warm, pulse hammering.

We settled George into his crib, and after ensuring he was sound asleep, we retreated to our room, the air thick with anticipation. Nate didn’t spare a moment, spinning me against the wall, his hands on my face and throat as he kissed me with as much vigor as the very first time.

Like he couldn’t get enough.

Like he’d never get enough.

He stopped only to lift my shirt over my head and then his own. I traced the lines of his tattoos and muscles, the pieces of the man I’d come to know as well as I knew myself.

He stood still, letting me explore and kiss for a few minutes, until he had enough. He picked me up easily, his lips back on mine as he deposited me on the bed to tug my leggings off, leaving me in my ugly nursing bra and cotton underwear. He stood at the foot of the mattress, his eyes roving over me. I tried not to squirm, knowing what he saw: stretch marks and squishy skin. But he didn’t care. In fact, he rubbed his hand over the bulge in his jeans.

“Don’t think I don’t want you,” he said, as if he could see into my brain. “I want you even more now. You know how amazing it’s been for me to watch you physically grow our baby. I knew you were strong, but seeing you give birth and recover from everything you went through, what you’re still going through. I have no words for how much I love you.”

He bent to unhook my bra and rid me of my panties, then stood back once again, admiring me for long moments. “Tabby,” he murmured, his voice a thick rumble. “You’re beautiful.”

He placed a reverent hand on my stomach, holding himself above me with his other arm, then slid his fingers down between my legs, where I was throbbing and already wet. He parted me with one finger, groaning.

“It’s been too long.” He brushed his lips over my jaw and neck as he pushed two fingers into me. I gasped, my hands curling around his forearm. “I’ll be gentle,” he rasped. “Don’t worry. I know what you need.”

Then he scooted back, baring my clit with his other hand, holding me open to the steady pleasure of his tongue as his fingers worked inside me. I writhed, not caring about what I looked like anymore, only focused on what he made me feel.

Beautiful.

Wanton.

Wild.

Heat built low in my belly and spread through my body, my nipples taut and painful. I reflexively gripped my breasts, full and heavy in my hands, needing to rid them of the pressure. And suddenly, I was coming, panting and moaning, liquid bliss oozing over me.

It wasn’t until Nate hissed a low curse, dragging his tongue over my nipple, that I realized I was leaking.

“Oh my god!”

“No, no,” he rushed, pushing my shoulders back down, his hands cupping my breasts. “Let me.” He licked the milk off my skin then sucked at each of my nipples in turn.

“Oh my god,” I moaned, this time less embarrassed and more turned on, which made me feel… I didn’t know how it made me feel. A little bit of shame.

Although the way Nate stared at me with hunger blazing in his eyes, I couldn’t feel that ashamed.

He loved it.

I knew because he kept muttering it. “I fucking love you. Fucking love this. Anything your body does or wants, I love.” He pushed my breasts together, licking down the valley he created, squeezing out even more milk. “I’ll worship these tits.”

And he did. For I didn’t know how long.

Until he made me come again, my hips lifting off the bed.

“Please, Nate,” I begged, desperate and needy, nails digging into his shoulders. “Fuck me, please. Please .”

“Okay, princess, okay,” he said with a taunting laugh. “You don’t need to beg.”

“You love to hear me beg.”

He licked his tongue into my mouth, positioning himself at my entrance. “That’s right. I love to hear you say my name.”

With one swift movement, he was inside me. I inhaled sharply at the sudden fullness, the exquisite sensation of being joined with him in the most intimate way possible. He rolled us over so that I was on top, straddling him, allowing me to set the pace and rhythm. Giving me time to become familiar to him again.

“Ride me,” he ordered, clamping his hands on my ass cheeks, urging me to move. I swiveled my hips, each movement hitting exactly where I needed, stoking the fire rapidly growing within me, and he nodded, spurring me on with soft words. Yes and that’s it and look at you . His hands roamed my body, cupping my breasts, teasing my nipples, tracing the curve of my hips. His eyes never left mine, and in their depths, I saw a reflection of my own desire, my own vulnerability.

Tension coiled in my core, the promise of a climax within reach. Nate sensed it too. He reached between us, his fingers finding my clit, circling it, applying the exact right amount of pressure. “Come for me, princess,” he said, voice ragged. “Let go.”

I did. The orgasm hit me like a wave, crashing over me, through me, leaving me shattered and whole all at once. Nate followed soon after, his body tensing beneath mine as he found his own release, his arms holding me tight against him.

As we lay there in the aftermath, our bodies still connected, I hoped he felt my love for him. I hoped he knew my heart belonged to him just as much as his belonged to me.

“Hey.” He jostled me, so I’d meet his gaze. When I did, his eyes searched my face, his lips parting like he was about to speak but never did.

I quirked my brow. “You okay?”

He closed his mouth, cleared his throat, and then kissed my head. “Yeah. I’m fine.”

I didn’t believe him, and I had a good guess at what he might have wanted, so I tried my best. “You’re the best thing to ever happen to me, you know that?”

He traced his fingertips over my forehead and down my cheek to my lips like he was trying to learn the shape of my words as I said them. “You and George, you’re all I’ve ever wanted.”

That eased some of the tension in his face, and he offered me a satisfied smile, sinking his fingers into my hair, exhaling a noisy, sleepy breath. He closed his eyes, and I placed my fingers over his pulse, feeling the beat of his heart matching my own.

With Nate, I had found my home. And that was worth more than any words could express. I closed my eyes, inhaling the scent of his skin, falling into an easy sleep.