"Better now," he replied. Turning to find Maria at my side, he let go of my arm and found his way to her. They shared a hug comparable to the one he had just given me. The image of the two of them together made my heart fill with love.

That image gave me hope. It gave me a sense of family and completion.

We found two loveseats and turned them to face each other. Maria and Mikey took one, snuggling up close to one another. I took the one opposite them and put on my best game face.

Narrowing my eyes at Mikey and using one hand, I pointed to my eyes. Then spinning them around to point in his direction, I nodded my head. "I got my eyes on you, boy. You're going down. Having a pretty girl on your side doesn't intimidate me one bit."

He laughed and Maria smiled, winking at me.

It had only been five minutes into our game of battleship when Sadie came up to the back of the loveseat I was sitting on and leaned over a little too far.

Maria's eyes narrowed, and she scooted forward slightly.

"These teams look slightly uneven," she stated. "Mind if I join, Mikey?"

Yeah, it was a smooth move asking the kid. "Gavin is losing. I'm not sure there is any hope for him," he stated, and I shook my head. He was even able to get a laugh from Maria with that comment. "But if you want to waste your time, sure."

Sadie came around the side of the loveseat and sat down a little too close at my side. I was tremendously uncomfortable and just wanted to get this game over with. Sadie continued to lean in to get a closer look at my battleships displayed on my game board, when it was our turn.

At one point, she rested her breast against my arm and I shifted quickly. I found her continuing to smile at Maria, as if there was some hidden game she was winning. The entire thing was making me angry. I kept my cool for the sake of Mikey When the game was over, the victorious Maria and Mikey decided to go outside. I directed them to go ahead without me. There was something I needed to handle.

Maria looked at me with a confused expression. "What are you doing?" she asked.

"There is someone I need to set straight. Someone needs to know my heart belongs completely to you. I don't have room for games, baby." I leaned over, kissing her softly. "I won't let anyone make you feel uncomfortable."

"It's okay," she whispered.

"It's not, but it will be. All I need is five minutes." I kissed her forehead. Looking over at Mikey, I pointed to Maria. "You take care of my girl for me, little man. I'm trusting ya." I winked and he laughed. Grabbing Maria's arm, he pulled her outside.

I watched them until the door closed behind them. Taking in a deep breath, I turned back toward the main room.

Finding the person I was looking for was simple. Her face lit up when she saw me approaching. "Can we talk for a minute?" I asked.

She smiled and pointed toward a small room to the right. I followed behind, avoiding the fact that she was shaking her hips a little more than was natural.

She closed the door behind us, and I went to the opposite side of the room. There was something about the way she was looking at me that was making my skin crawl.

"What is it you need to talk to me about?" she asked.

"What game are you trying to play?" I asked. "And don't say you're not, because I'm not that gullible. I thought at first you were just a friendly person. I let the touch in the park slide." She took a step closer and I watched her carefully. I was a grown d.a.m.n man, and there was no way a 120 pound woman was gonna make me back down.

"I come here to see Mikey and only Mikey. I would appreciate the flirting, and unnecessary touching to stop." This time I took a step toward her. "I am very deeply in love with Maria. I have no intention of doing anything to jeopardize that. Please respect her. She deserves that."

I stepped around her and looked back one last time. "Mikey means the world to me, so let's not let this interfere. But if for some reason it does come between me and that boy out there, I will fight you on it."

I walked out into the garden area, where Maria and Mikey were in the middle of a game of horse. Standing off to the side, I watched as they laughed with one another. Maria was pretty d.a.m.n awful at shooting baskets. Mikey even tried to show her how to hold her hands. With each attempt, he only laughed harder.

"If we were playing a game of who missed the most baskets, you would be the champ," Mikey stated, and Maria wrinkled up her nose and stuck out her tongue at him.

She tried once more, and the ball bounced across the gra.s.s and rolled toward the fence. Mikey ran off to retrieve it, and I took the opportunity to sneak up on my girl.

I wrapped my arms around her and hugged her in close. "I still find you undeniably s.e.xy, even though you can't shoot for s.h.i.t."

"Ha ha, very funny, smart a.s.s," she whispered back. She shook her a.s.s from side to side, making me step back from her just barely. She turned in my arms and looked up at me. "What did you have to do?"

Looking down into her beautiful eyes, I grinned like a lovesick fool. I kissed the tip of her nose. "Just had to make sure Sadie knew how in love I am with a certain girl."

"A certain girl?" She raised an eyebrow.

"A woman, actually-a gorgeous, feisty woman," I clarified. "She makes my heart race." I winked.

Mikey came running back with the ball and I finished out the game of horse, while Maria cheered us on.

Chapter Twenty-Five.

Maria fell asleep on the way back from the boys' home. I turned to look over at her when I placed my truck in park. She must have been dreaming, because she would whimper or moan on occasion.

Her hair was fanned out over the back of the seat. Reaching out, I traced my finger along her lower lip, outlining the curve. Her lip twitched beneath my finger and I smiled.

Leaning in just a little closer, I brushed my lips over hers, attempting to bring her out of her sleepy state.

When that didn't work, I pressed a little harder and sucked on her lower lip.

"Mm," she moaned. I went in again, and she responded by biting mine in return.

She came at me with force, pushing back, crawling across my lap, and straddling me. She gripped my neck and placed her lips against mine, devouring me. Her hips began to rock, and I could feel myself growing hard beneath her.

I had only planned to wake her up, but she obviously had other things in mind. Attempting to hold her hips still, she pulled my hands away. Pulling at the bottom of her shirt, I lifted it up and over her head.

I palmed her breast in my hands, through her bra. The lacy material hid nothing, as her nipples grew hard. Leaning forward, I bit down on one, while pinching the other with my fingertips.

Her head fell back, and I lowered my hands to work her pants buckle loose.

Maria rose up off of my lap and pulled at her pants, one leg at a time. I wasted no time pulling off my shirt and sliding my pants down below my knees. When she climbed back onto my lap, all she wore were her panties, and I greedily raked my eyes over her body. She was so G.o.d d.a.m.ned gorgeous.

"You do know we could have moved inside for this." My voice was full of want and need.

"That takes all the fun out of it," she stated, as she began ma.s.saging my erection through my boxers. I was so hard that the head of my c.o.c.k was peeking out of the top.

"Do you have a condom in your wallet?" she asked.

I nodded my head. "Yeah, but we could go without."

Her eyes found mine and she looked shocked. "What?" Panic setting in, she said, "No. We can't."

She began to scramble off my lap and I gripped her thighs. "Hey, where are you going?"

"I think we need to go inside." She never waited for me to say anything more. Once her shirt was on, she gathered the rest of her clothes and walked to the front door. Pulling my pants back in place, I gathered my shirt and keys, following behind her.

Before I unlocked the door, I turned her around and pressed her against the door. "What just happened?"

"Nothing," she insisted.

"Tell me," I begged.

"I just don't want to get pregnant again. I can't," she whispered.

My heart hit rock f.u.c.king bottom. What an insensitive p.r.i.c.k. "Baby, I'm sorry. I wasn't thinking. I mean, I was...but I guess...s.h.i.t." I was stumbling all over the place. "Having a baby with you wouldn't be so bad." She was watching me like I had grown a third eye.

I unlocked the door and helped her in, leading her to the couch, where I took a seat next to her.

After taking a deep breath, I continued. "When I found out about the loss of our baby, I was crushed. I want kids, Mar. I do. When it was confirmed that Nicole's daughter wasn't mine, I felt relief. But with you, it was different."

I brushed the tear from her check and pulled her closer. "I sat around here for days after I left the hospital, picturing a little dark-haired angel running around. Even a little boy with blue eyes calling me Daddy." I couldn't stop a smile from breaking out over my face. "You have no idea how many times I've dreamt of you with a rounded belly, holding my child."

"Gavin, you are crazy," she declared with a matching smile.

"Well then, you better hold on because I am about to really blow your mind," I said. The look on her face was the greatest.

"Oh yeah, should I be prepared to run?" she responded, sliding away to the next cushion over.

I chuckled and crawled over her, pinning her to the couch with my body. "No, there will be no more running, from either one of us." Skimming my nose along the edge of hers, I looked into her beautiful eyes and went for it.

"I've been thinking, and I know what I want. I have seen it play out in my mind. I want it so bad I can almost taste it. I can promise you I will do whatever it takes to get it, too." I stated.

"What is it you want?" she asked.

I took a moment to take in every freckle on her cheeks, every curve of her face.

"I want you, completely. I want you to move in with me. One day I want to marry you and raise a family together." I paused for just a moment so it could sink it. "I also want to look into adopting Mikey."

I watched as her eyes filled with tears and she smiled up at me.

"You have such an amazing heart, Gavin. Why you hid who you truly are for so long still drives me crazy. All those times I thought you were destined to break my heart, but I was wrong. You are the one who was meant to heal it." She skimmed her thumb over my lower lip, and I kissed the tip.

"That gesture shows just how truly kind you are. It makes it impossible for me not to fall in love with you more than I already am." She fanned her fingertips over my jaw. "I love you so much it hurts."

"Is that a yes? Will you move in with me? Can we start taking the steps to becoming a family?" I asked with a hopeful voice. I had no idea what I would do if she said no. I was sure I would beg, or maybe tie her to the couch 'til she changed her mind. I needed her to say yes.

"Yes," she whispered. "The babies come later, though," she stated.

I smiled in agreement and kissed her. The first step to getting the life I wanted more than anything had just been taken.

I would allow some time for her to accept that I wanted babies, lots of babies. I wouldn't push, but I sure as h.e.l.l was gonna enjoy practicing.

I lowered my body over hers and took my time, kissing every spot that drove her crazy and caressing every curve of her beautiful body.

Chapter Twenty-Six.

A few days had pa.s.sed since I asked Maria to move in with me. She has been here every night, yet she still had not moved anything in. I could tell she was dragging her feet, so I let it go. It was like she thought I would change my mind or something.

I came home from work to find her curled up with her laptop on the couch. She was completely engrossed in what she was reading. She was biting down on the tip of her pen with complete focus on the screen before her.

I leaned over the back of the couch and kissed the top of her head. "What are you doing, baby?" I asked.

I had already read the top of the screen and my heart ached from the love I had for this woman. She was making notes on the adoption laws of Georgia. She had so many things scribbled down on the paper and several tabs open across the top of the computer screen. She continuously clicked from one to the other, making more notes along the way.

"I called your lawyer's office too. His secretary said he was in court all afternoon. I'm a.s.suming since y'all are friends, he'll end up callin' later." She still had not taken her eyes from the screen. She had on her reading gla.s.ses, and her hair was piled up on the top of her head in a messy bun.

I walked around the end of the couch and pulled her laptop from her hands. She began to protest, but I placed my finger over her lips to stop her, grinning as she narrowed her eyes at me. d.a.m.n, she was cute.

Taking her hands into mine, I pulled her from the couch. I let my hands slide down her arms, coming to rest on her waist. I began backing her down the hallway, and she remained quiet, licking her lips slowly. I may have groaned at the sight of her wet tongue.

"I think you need a little break from all your research. I'm dirty and I need you to wash my back." Reaching the bathroom, I began to undress her. "After that, I'm thinking I need to make love to you." She smiled up at me as I dropped my shirt to the floor.

It didn't go unnoticed that she let her gaze fall down to my chest and bit her lip.

"Then we're gonna get dressed and go over to your momma's house." She lifted an eyebrow, silently questioning me. "I'm not leaving your momma's until you pack up at least three boxes full of your things."

I backed her into the shower, under the falling water. "You're stalling, I've noticed, and I'm done waiting. I'm not changing my mind. I'm not backing down. It's time to start moving you in," I said.

She wrinkled her nose. "I wasn't stalling."

"Liar," I chuckled, and she laughed in return. "You were waiting to see if I was going to change my mind. I'm not, so we are moving some of your s.h.i.t." I raised my eyebrows, waiting for her to argue. When she didn't, I continued.

"I talked to Bud and Gemma already. They have no objections. In fact, Gemma told me she would run my a.s.s over with the tractor if I hurt ya." Maria leaned forward and giggled against my chest.

"I told her if I ever hurt you again, she had my permission to do just that." I looked down at her as she leaned back. "I love you, baby. I want you here for real, okay?"

"Okay," she whispered in reply.

After returning home from Maria's momma's, I got the call from my friend and lawyer, Trevor. It was just after nine, and Maria was currently in our room, changing for bed.

I watched through the open doorway while she slipped on a red silky thing. It barely covered her a.s.s, and I was reaching down to adjust myself through my jeans.