Utah (Knights Corruption MC: Laredo #4)

Chapter 45

45

As the weeks blended into months, Utah and I fell into a comfortable rhythm, rotating whose place we stayed at. He’d go to the club during the day, and I’d spend my mornings at my new job, working with Kyla at Dr. Sanders’s office. Utah hadn’t loved the idea of me working for the guy, but he realized how important it was for me to earn my own money, to keep my independence. I agreed to compromise after the baby was born by staying home with him or her, although it wasn’t much of a concession because I wanted to spend as much time with the newest member of our family as I could. On two separate occasions, he mentioned expanding our family, but I reminded him he wasn’t the one who had to grow a human inside him. Would I like to have more kids in the future? I couldn’t say right now because I was still adapting to the surprise of this one.

Cuddling into Utah’s side, I released an audible sigh. We still had time before either of us had to be up, and it was during these early-morning hours when I appreciated the new journey we embarked on together.

Before the stress of daily life kicked in .

Before the opinions of others invaded, solicited and not.

Before the worries of the future took hold.

As I lay next to him in the silence of the morning, there were infinite possibilities for the upcoming months, years.

Tilting my head, I studied his face like I’d done countless times before, both when he was aware and when he wasn’t. He looked so peaceful, as if nothing could ever bother him again. But as soon as he opened his eyes, all the contentment would slip away. The threat of the cartel had disappeared, but he replaced that worry with fussing over me and the baby. There were times I’d catch him staring at me, like he was on edge, waiting for something catastrophic to happen. It was only when I touched him that he relaxed, albeit fractionally. When I’d talked to my mom about it, she’d told me it was a normal part of becoming a parent and that it’d only get worse once the little one was here. I prayed that wasn’t the case because the stress alone would send him to an early grave, and I didn’t want to navigate life without him.

“Are you staring at me again?” The corner of his mouth lifted, but he kept his eyes closed.

“No.”

“Liar.” Amusement laced through his voice, and it was a sound I’d never tire of hearing.

I snuggled closer, kissing his chest before inhaling the scent of his skin. “You smell like my bodywash.” The aroma of vanilla was heavenly, even more so since my nausea had finally subsided.

“I ran out of mine, but if I smell like you, I’m fine with it.” In one quick motion, he had me on my back, his eyes now open, his gaze predatory. “I’d be okay if we smelled like something else, though.” The wiggle of his brows made me laugh, as there was no mistaking what he implied.

I wrapped my legs around his waist and locked my ankles, my thighs falling open for him. As I gazed at him like I’d done a hundred times before, my blood sizzled beneath my skin. But my reaction wasn’t purely sexual. My love for him grew every day. Sometimes I believed it grew by the hour.

“Are you ready?” he asked, the smokiness of his voice lulling me into thoughts of what was to come. But first, there was something I needed to tell him.

“I am ready.”

“Me too.” He lined himself at my entrance, but I placed my hands on his hips to stop him.

“Not for that. Not yet.”

“What are you ready for, then?”

“For us to move in together.”

He tilted his head and narrowed his eyes. “Don’t play with me, Ria.” He steadied himself on his forearms, putting a small bit of distance between us. “You know how much I want this.”

“I do too. And thank you for giving me the time I needed to make sure I was ready.”

He hadn’t mentioned the topic of us living together since he told me to take all the time I needed before agreeing. That was two and a half months ago. I didn’t want to waste another minute living apart.

If I held a sliver of hesitation about forging ahead with our new plans, the enormous and contagious smile on his face erased that shred of doubt.

“I think we should celebrate.” He ran his fingers through my excitement before slowly pressing them inside. He swallowed my moan with his kiss, and for the next thirty-eight minutes, we had the best celebration to date.

“This is the last of it.” Knox carried a box of my books. “Where do you want these?”

“Over there with the other ones.” I pointed toward a corner of the living room. “Utah is building me a set of bookcases so I can have a reading nook.”

“You have enough of them.” My brother placed the box down and scratched the top of his head. “Have you read all these?”

“No.”

“Can’t you just get your books on a Kindle or something like that?”

“I’m surprised you know what that is. The only thing I’ve ever seen you read was the back of a cereal box.”

“Ha ha,” he faux laughed. “I’ve read plenty of stuff.”

“Like what?” Evie walked up behind him and brushed his shoulder with hers. “Porno mags?”

“Gross. Please don’t ever say that again.”

My sister and I laughed at his obvious discomfort. Anything at all to do with us and sex made him cringe, but I couldn’t blame him. The thought of him and Kyla… nope, couldn’t even think it.

To get my mind off all things my brother and his girlfriend, I turned my attention to Evie, who wore the biggest grin while reading something on her phone.

“Is that Ben?”

She swore she wasn’t ready to jump back into the dating world, so I was surprised when she told me she agreed to go out with him. Then one date turned into two, and so far, they’d been out six times, and she really liked him. None of us had met him yet, although I’d seen a picture. She gushed about his brown curls and his dimples, and I had to admit he was quite handsome. Not my type, but then again, no one compared to the large, bearded, tattooed man I loved.

“Yeah.” Her fingers flew over her screen. “He’s making me dinner tonight and asked what time I’d like to come over.” Her eyes landed on me. “Do you need me to help you unpack? ”

“No, don’t worry about it. There’s not that much. Go and enjoy yourself.”

“I don’t like him,” Knox blurted as he looked over her shoulder at her phone.

“You haven’t even met him,” Evie countered, shoving the device into her back pocket so he couldn’t read any more of her messages.

“Who doesn’t like who?” Utah walked through the front door and headed straight to me. I’d picked up a small box from on top of the counter and had it in my hands when he approached, the scowl on his face borderline amusing. “What did I tell you about moving anything?” He leaned in close to whisper in my ear so no one could hear him. “You’re gonna get punished for that later.” He kissed my cheek and removed the box from my hands. “Now, who doesn’t like who?”

“Knox doesn’t like Ben,” Evie answered.

“He’s your older brother. He’s not gonna like anyone you date. Shit, he barely likes me, and I’m the best guy he knows.”

“First off… true, but secondly, he’s right. I’m not gonna like anyone you go out with, especially after what’s his fuckin’ face.” His attention bounced between me and Evie. “No one is good enough for either of you. Remember that.”

I looked at Utah to see his reaction to my brother’s statement, but he didn’t appear bothered. In fact, he shrugged and nodded, essentially agreeing with him.

While Knox and Evie started talking about something else, I grabbed Utah’s hand and pulled him closer to ask him a question with a bit of privacy.

“Do you really think you’re not good enough for me?”

“I don’t think it, babe. I know it.” I parted my lips to protest, but he shook his head. “I may not be good enough for you, but I’m the closest to what you deserve, which is a man who will love and cherish you for the rest of his life. ”

Every time Utah spoke with an iota of sentiment, I was reminded of how far he’d come, not only with me, but in his own life. I didn’t think I could love him more, but for the millionth time, I was just proved wrong.

“Can I at least say we’re perfect for each other?”

“I can live with that.” He placed his hand on my protruding belly as he often did, only this time, he yanked his arm back as if he’d been shocked. “What was that?”

I’d first felt our baby kick three days ago when I entered my twentieth week, and when I’d told Utah about it, he was elated but also disappointed he missed it.

“That was the little bean kicking me.” I grimaced when the baby kicked once more, pressing against my rib cage. I reached for Utah’s hand and placed it on my belly. Nothing happened. I moved his hand around in a circle, feeling for movement. Then it happened once more, this time less painful.

“Oh my God.” His eyes widened, and his mouth fell open. “That’s amazing.” The smile on his face mirrored mine, and this was only another example of why I believed Utah would be an amazing father. He wanted to be there for every milestone, no matter how small.

“What’s going on?” Evie asked, peering around Knox.

“The baby’s kicking,” he answered, his elation written all over his handsome face.

“Can I feel?” she asked.

“In a minute.” I wanted to share this special moment with Utah as long as possible. After four more kicks, he leaned in to kiss me as he dropped his hand.

“Thank you.”

“For what?”

“For giving me a real family.”

The resonance of his words filled my heart, and I suddenly became overwhelmed with emotion .

“I don’t think it’s possible for me to love you more than I do right now,” I gushed.

A smile tugged at the corners of his mouth. “Challenge accepted.”