Between Us(Book 1)

Along For The Ride

Morgan

It had been almost two months since the miscarriage.

Her and Colin had slowly recovered and they were even closer than before. It wasn't football season anymore but Christmas was here and she was excited.

Though a Christmas without snow was really weird to have.

"It's December and there's not one snowball in sight." She mumbled to herself as she sat on the bed, looking out the window to the sunny sky. It was a clear day with clear skies and it was about 80 degrees outside.

Not Christmas weather at all.

She was supposed to be drafting things for her new line but all of a sudden inspiration had run away. Her mind was blank; not an outfit idea in sight.

She huffed out a breath, throwing her sketchbook to the side and flopping back. What to do?

Christmas is coming up, what the hell do I get the giant?

What do I give the man who has everything?

Do I even feel like Christmas shopping? What has he gotten me? Knowing him it's great and it's going to make my present look ridiculous. Well not this time.

It's our first Christmas as a married couple and I need to make it special.

Starting with decorations.

And persuasion.

She got up, sneaking out of the room to see he was still on the couch watching TV. She tip toed to her closet and shut the door quietly. Where the hell was that box?

She moved around before finding just what she was looking for: the red lace piece she was gifted.

She threw off her clothes before sliding it on. She looked at herself in the mirror, taking her hair out of the ponytail and shaking it out so it fell in waves around her face and down her back. She looked good.

She slid on the big t-shirt she had on before padding out to the living room.

He was sprawled over the couch: his long body taking up every ounce of space on the chair as his head rested on the arm rest. He was in his usual basketball shorts and sleeveless shirt, muscles out. He looked irresistable.

She moved to lay her body ontop of his, her head on his chest and her legs in the middle of his. One arm tucked itself between his body and the couch as the other hung over him and off of the couch.

"What are you watching?"

"Nothing in particular. Flipping..."

Good. Makes my job easier.

"We have to buy a Christmas tree."

"Hm." He answered, taking a deep breath, her body raising a bit then falling.

She felt his hand drag slowly up her leg, brushing up and down as they laid there.

"You need to shave." She reached up to brush her fingers against the scruff on his cheek.

"Probably."

So we're playing the one word game? Time to change tact.

She turned her face a bit so she could place a kiss to the part of his chest that was showing from his shirt. From there her kisses moved up his neck slowly before she got to his ear. She bit down on the lobe, feeling his hand pause at the bottom of the big shirt she was wearing.

Her hands moved down and under his shirt to grip at his sides.

"You're very quiet today..." she kissed along his jaw then his cheek.

"Am I?"

"Yes."

"Hm." He answered again and she mentally rolled her eyes.

She moved so she was perched on his stomach a bit, looking down at him. His eyes stayed on the screen, his srm going up to lay over the back of the couch.

"What's wrong baby?"

"Nothing."

"There's definitely something wrong. You've never been this quiet with me." He shrugged.

She reached down to cup his chin, turning his face so he was looking at her.

"What. Is. Wrong? Colin please tell me." He sighed, turning his head to look at the screen. He raised an arm to click a button on the remote.

"This is wrong..." He mumbled, nodding his head.

She turned to see a woman talking on the screen. She had dirty blonde hair, green eyes, a pointy nose and a small mouth. She was talking to the interviewer about something.

"Who is that?"

"My mother."

What?

"What are you talking about?"

"My birth mother. That's her. She's doing some kind of reveal all interview...about me." She frowned, staring at the woman before her eyes went back to him. They didn't necessarily look alike at all.

"Reveal all? I thought you were adopted only a couple of weeks after you were born?"

"I was. She's telling people how it all went down, making it seem like my parents are bad people."

"Really?"

His parents were anything but bad. She loved them. They had always been very accepting of her. Always laid back.

"Yeah. She's basically dragging my mom through the dirt. Making it seem like my mother told her she would never see me again. That my mom cut off the contact." Holy shit.

He was frowning deeply, his eyes never straying from the screen. She knew how much he cared for his mom, she was one of his favorite people. He'd always be extremely protective of her.

And the video was doing nothing but making him angrier by the minute: she could tell.

"Give me this." She muttered, grabbing the remote from his hand and clicking the TV off. She put it on the coffee table before looking back to him.

"Don't watch that anymore, you hear me? Colin," she turned his face toward her again. "It's not going to do anything but make you angrier than you already are."

"How can I not watch it anymore? It's everywhere."

"Ignore it. She's nobody if you don't want her to be. You have no obligations to her. Your real mother is the one who raised you."

"She still said something. She still did the interview."

"She wants you to react. Don't you see that? If you give her what she wants, which is your attention, she'll win."

He sighed, running a hand over his face.

"Fine, I'll ignore her."

"Thank you. She's not worth your time." She leaned down to kiss him, pulling away. They sat in silence for a bit, her giving him a chance to cool down a bit.

Maybe she should distract him. Get his mind off of things.

"My original intention was to come in here and seduce you into going Christmas shopping with me."

"Seduce me?" He smirked slightly, his hands holding her thighs.

"Yes."

"How?"

"This." she lifted the shirt up and off of her, revealing the red piece to him. His eyes lit up a bit as they trailed up and down her frame.

"It still might work...you look incredible. I like red on you."

"Do you, now?"

"Yeah. I like it a lot."

She grabbed his hands and moved them so they were at her sides. His thumbs rubbing at the lace a bit. She smirked down at him.

"I'm all yours."