The Rose He Killed novel Chapter 181

Chapter165

Bella pov

Clam

He pulled back and thrust back in, setting a rhythm that was deep and steady but exactly what I needed. Every stroke dragged against that perfect spot inside me. My breasts bounced with each thrust, n*****s tight and aching. Caleb leaned down and sucked one into his mouth, teeth grazing just enough to make

me cry out.

“Yes-like that- don’t stop”

“You’re so fucking wet,” he groaned, hips snapping faster. “I can feel you dripping down my c**k. This is what you needed, isn’t it? My c**k filling you up while you’re carrying my baby.”

The words sent a fresh wave of heat through me. “Yes. Yours. Only yours.”

He reached between us and rubbed my clit in tight circles. “Come for me again, Bella. Let me feel you squeeze me.”

I shattered, back arching, walls pulsing around him. Caleb cursed, thrusts turning erratic as he chased his own release. “I’m close- where do you want it?”

“Inside,” I gasped. “Come inside me. Fill me up.”

He buried himself deep and came with a low groan, hips jerking as he spilled hot and thick inside me. The feeling of him pulsing, claiming me, sent another small aftershock through my body.

We stayed locked together, breathing hard. Caleb kissed me softly, then kissed the bump between us.

“I love you,” he whispered. “Both of you. Thank you for letting me in like this.”

I ran my fingers through his hair, heart still racing. “I love you too. And I’m not done with you tonight.”

He chuckled, low and warm. “Good. Because I’m nowhere near done with you.”

Later, after we had caught our breath and he had brought me water and a small bowl of the mango chutney I had been craving earlier, we lay tangled together. His hand rested protectively over my bump.

ľ “Was that too much?” he asked quietly, thumb stroking my skin.

“It was exactly enough,” I said, smiling against his chest. “I needed to feel wanted like that. Needed to feel us like that.”

He kissed my forehead. “You are wanted. Every single day. Every single way. Pregnant, not pregnant, doesn’t matter. I want you forever, Bella.”

I closed my eyes, let my guard down and finally felt safe enough to want him. For the first time, my longing didn’t feel like a burden-it felt like hope.

The hardest part to accept was the crying.

The next day when Maya came to see me I just couldn’t hold it in again. I’ve always been unshakable-l built an empire and faced down my father without ever losing my cool. I’m not a “crier.” But now, I’m

13

Chapter 165

Clam

breaking down over dog commercials and the wrong cereal. It’s not just the tears that scare me; it’s the humiliating realization that I’ve lost control over something so small.

“You’re hormonally normal,” Maya told me, firmly and without unnecessary sympathy, because she knew that was what I needed “You’re not losing yourself. Your body is doing something enormous and your emotions are along for the ride. This is completely normal.”

“I cried at a dog, Maya.”

“Bella.”

“It wasn’t even my dog.”

“You are growing a human being inside your body,” she said. “You are allowed to cry at a dog.” Then her voice softened, shifted into the version that belonged to my best friend rather than a doctor. “You don’t have to be the Iron Empress every single minute. Not with me, nor with Caleb, and not with yourself. That’s not weakness. That’s just being human.”

I sat with that in the quiet of the bedroom, afternoon light coming through the curtains, hands folded in my lap. “My baby is worth it,” I said, quietly, more to myself than to Maya.

“It is,” Maya agreed. “And so are you.”

Maya leaned back, crossing her legs as she watched me with a clinical yet amused gaze. “Since we’re being honest about symptoms, how is everything else? Sleep? Appetite? Physical… activity?”

I felt a heat crawl up my neck that had nothing to do with pregnancy glow. “If you’re asking if I’m still having sex, the answer is yes. Far more than I expected to.”

Maya didn’t even blink. “Good. It’s healthy.”

“It’s frustrating,” I countered, huffing a breath that caught in my throat. “I’m supposed to be the ‘Iron Empress’. I’m supposed to be untouchable and in control. But between the crying over cereal and this… this constant need, I feel like a stranger in my own skin. Blame my libido, I guess. It’s like my body has staged a coup against my brain.”

“Bella, stop fighting it,” Maya almost shouted.

“I wasn’t like this during Tom’s pregnancy,” I argued, my hands moving instinctively to my stomach. “With Tom, I was in survival mode. I was focused on the next paycheck, the next job, the next move. I was sharp, I was focused. I didn’t have time for hormones to turn me into a puddle of mush or… whatever this is.”

Maya sighed, a long, weary sound. “Please stop comparing Tom’s pregnancy to this one. You’re in a completely different world now. When you were carrying Tom, you were penniless and alone. Your cortisol levels were probably through the roof, masking everything else. Now? You’re safe. You’re successful. You have a partner who-despite his many, many past sins-is actually present.”

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