Broken (Surrender Book 1)
Broken: Chapter 24

WE WERE UPSTAIRS IN the sunroom of Conner’s cabin. Cuddling on the couch, my back rested against his bare chest. My gaze focused on the picturesque view of the Pacific Ocean. Salty air and the sound of crashing waves drifted through the floor-to-ceiling windows. Our semi-nude bodies were still damp from our joint shower, and a cashmere blanket was haphazardly strewn over us.

Over the last four days, Conner had spoiled me senseless. A full staff, consisting of an award-winning chef, housekeeper, spa professionals, a yoga instructor, and even a violinist were housed on Conner’s adjoining servant quarters, to be available at our beck and call. Every morning, we were served breakfast in bed. My days were filled with posh pampering while Conner spent his days busy with work, morning jogs on the beach, or pumping iron in the upstairs gym. Every night, we made slow passionate love on 1500 thread count sheets. Our kinky sex was put on pause for the remainder of my pregnancy, but the toe-curling orgasms remained. Most nights after dinner, we would sit out on the upstairs deck in our fluffy robes and stare out at the moonlight reflecting off the ocean waves.

‘Sleepy?’ Conner’s deep voice reverberated through his chest.

‘A little,’ I mumbled, my eyelids drooping.

‘Get some sleep. I have some things to do downstairs, anyway.’ He kissed the top of my head, before rising from the couch and tucking the throw blanket around my body. He looked delicious in his low-slung pajama bottoms. Even through my sleepy haze, my eyes focused in on his rock-hard abs and traveled down to his sexy V muscle.

‘Don’t let me sleep the night away.’

‘I promise I won’t.’

I drifted off to sleep as soon as Conner left the room.

I woke up to the soft sounds of recorded music coming from downstairs. Rain thudded against the windows. The room was dark, save for the flameless tea light candles that flickered and were scattered in a trail on the floor, leading out of the room. Red rose petals surrounded their illumination. I rose from the couch in that unceremonious way that pregnant women do and arched my back in a stretch. Before following the lighted floral path, I made a pit stop to the master bath. After emptying my bladder, I dolled myself up for whatever awaited me downstairs.

I slipped my arms into a floor-length rose-colored silk robe, securing the ties above my protruding belly. I sauntered downstairs following the trail set before me. As I neared the bottom of the stairs, a pungent smell of something burning assaulted my nostrils. It was coming from the kitchen.

‘Fuck!’ Conner’s voice boomed, as I heard a loud clatter of metal followed immediately by running water.

I headed to the kitchen. Soft R&B tunes from my cell phone’s playlist crooned from the surround sound speakers. My eyes blurred with tears from the sight before me. A pristine white tablecloth was draped on the dining room table. Sterling silver stemware, dinnerware, and long-stemmed candles adorned it. Conner stood over the sink, a massive blanket of smoke surrounding him, as tap water sprayed into something sizzling. He had covered his bare chest with a long sleeve black henley, its sleeves bunched up to his forearms. He frantically fanned the smoke away from his face, his back muscles flexing with every movement.

He hadn’t noticed me yet. His attention was diverted to the stove where a pot of something began to boil over, its contents spilling onto the cooktop. He instinctively grabbed the pot handle, burning his hand in the process. ‘Ah, Damnit!’ he shouted.

I rushed over and removed the pot from the burner with an oven mitt. I turned off the stove then focused on him. ‘Let me see.’ I took hold of Conner’s wrist and hovered his hand over the running faucet of cold water.

‘Well, I royally fucked that up, didn’t I?’ He chuckled as he inspected the chaos around him.

‘Aww, babe. This is the most romantic thing you’ve ever done.’

‘Damn.’ He scrunched his face. ‘I really need to step my game up.’

‘You know what I mean. I never thought I’d see the day. You, cooking me a romantic meal.’ I couldn’t make out the charcoal crusted contents in the skillet which still sizzled in the sink. ‘I love the fact that you did all of this yourself.’ Tears welled in my eyes. Damn pregnancy hormones. One minute I was angry, the next, I was horny, and the next, I was over-emotional and crying.

He turned off the water and dried his hands with a nearby dishtowel. ‘I wanted tonight to be special.’

I wrapped my arms around his waist and tipped my head back to look up at him. ‘It is special. I’m sure there’s something we can salvage.’

‘I think I burned everything but the salad.’ He gestured over to the salad, which sat on the kitchen island. ‘I almost lost a finger slicing the cucumbers,’ he smirked, ‘but I managed to make it out unscathed.’

‘Perfect.’ I rubbed my hands together. ‘I’m starving. Let’s eat.’

∞∞∞

CONNER PILED OUR PLATES with salad and poured sparkling cider into our glasses. We had an unobstructed view of the ocean and the crescent-shaped moon. ‘I could never grow tired of this view,’ I sighed, taking in the mesmerizing scenery.

‘Well then, we’ll have to fly out whenever you want to see it.’

Oh, this man of mine.

During our meal, Conner seemed a bit anxious, as he nervously tapped his foot under the table. He ate his salad rather quickly and drank all his cider in a few gulps.

‘Everything alright?’

‘Yeah.’ I arched a brow at him. ‘How about we go outside? We can sit under the awning and watch the rain. There are blankets in the warmer.’

I beamed. ‘Sounds perfect. I love the smell of rain.’

‘Okay, cool.’ Conner stood up a bit abruptly, the legs of his chair scraping along the wood floor. Nervous energy emanated from him as he helped me out of my chair.

We stepped out onto the wraparound porch. It was chilly and rainy, so Conner draped a warm wool blanket around my shoulders and head, before swooping me up in his arms. ‘I can walk,’ I teased as I wrapped my arms around his neck.

‘I don’t want you to get your feet wet,’ he simply said as he carried me upstairs to the second story deck. The violent rain mercilessly beat down on Conner, fat droplets dripping down from his hair and onto his face. I wanted to lick every single raindrop away.

Once we reached the upstairs awning, he planted me on my feet. He turned on the heated lamps as I leaned up against the log railing, enjoying the view and the salty air. Conner replaced my blanket with another warm one and stood behind me, enveloping me in his arms. We stood like this for a while, taking in the midnight-blue raging sea.

I leaned my head back against his chest, enjoying the heat from his body and the strength of his arms. We had come such a long way in such a short amount of time. And we had a long way to go, and a lot of individual work to do, to become our whole, healthy selves. But I couldn’t imagine doing it with anyone else.

Conner’s lips grazed my ear, sending shivers down my spine. ‘Marry me, angel?’

I turned around as Conner lowered himself onto one knee. In his hand, he held an opened Tiffany Blue Box. A stunning round cut diamond ring on a platinum band nearly blinded me. Conner’s luminous green eyes expressed hope and a bit of worry. I nodded furiously. ‘Yes! Oh my God, yes!’ I managed to say pass the lump in my throat.

‘Thank fuck,’ he sighed as he slipped the ring on my finger. I held my left hand out to examine my ring, its carats weighty on my finger. Conner quickly rose to his feet and pressed his lips to mine. He cupped my jaw in his hands, his tongue greedily seeking mine in a breathless kiss that made my toes curl and sent electric bolts from my heart down to my sex. It was a desperate, burning kiss. After our mouths separated, we pressed our foreheads together. ‘How’d I get so lucky?’ he whispered, his voice a low timbre.

It seemed only fitting that the faint sounds of Chrisette Michele’s A Couple of Forevers began to play from the speakers inside. Conner and I stood there, as our lips gently skated across each other’s, our breath mingling in the fresh night air. ‘I can ask the same thing,’ I said before kissing him again.

‘I need to taste your pussy,’ Conner said against my mouth. Trailing kisses down my throat, he untied my robe. My body trembled with want as he backed me up to a nearby chair. ‘Sit down and spread your legs,’ he commanded, his voice sexy as sin. I did as I was told, my robe falling open, exposing my breasts, my expanded belly, and my panty-clad sex. ‘So beautiful,’ he said, as he lowered himself on his knees.

Conner pulled my panties down slowly, before trailing his tongue along the inside of my thigh until he reached my sweet spot. He flickered his tongue over my tiny bundle of nerves, before sliding it between my slick folds and lapping up my lust. I gripped him by the hair when he pulled my legs farther apart and thrust his tongue deep inside of me, stroking within my walls. It was game over for me when he used his tongue as a vibrator against my clit. Conner was a master at eating me, knowing the exact moment of when to suck hard, when to thrust, and when to ease up and apply gentle titillating pressure.

‘That’s right. Cum on my tongue,’ he growled, as I became undone under his skillful touch. ‘You taste so fucking good,’ he said before he added two long fingers to the mix. In and out, in and out. My entire body tingled as I desperately tried to come down from my high, not sure if I could take any more stimulation. My womb contracted as I screamed his name, the second orgasm crashing into me immediately after the first. He hummed his pleasure as I came on his tongue again, and he licked me dry. Completely spent, I readily relaxed in Conner’s arms as he scooped me up and carried me to our master suite, where I eagerly returned the favor.

∞∞∞

FROM THE NIGHT before, Conner and I sat out on the front porch swing, swathed in our white spa robes. Sheltered by the cabin’s awning, we looked out at the heavy storm and the swaying redwood trees around us. I breathed in the smell of fresh rain and wet wood.

Conner’s phone vibrated beside him, and after looking at the screen he said, ‘You need to call your parents and Fatima. Fatima wants to know if I burned the cabin down with my attempt to make dinner. I promised that you would call them after I proposed, but we were a bit preoccupied last night.’ He rested his hand across my stomach and leisurely rubbed it.

I narrowed my eyes but couldn’t help the grin forming on my face. ‘They knew?’

His expression softened as a faint smirk twitched on his lips. ‘I asked your father for your hand two weeks ago. And I bought the ring a week after we broke up. I told myself that if you ever gave me another chance, I would never let you go.’

I blinked back my tears as I cupped the side of his face with my left hand. My ring sparkled, speckles of light reflecting off the diamond. ‘Let’s have our wedding here, on the seaside cliff out back.’

‘Hell yes.’ Conner smiled the most honest, genuine smile I’d seen thus far. I beamed up at him, ridiculously happy. ‘The sooner, the better. This summer. I can’t wait to make you my wife.’

We laced our fingers together, and I snuggled into him. ‘Okay. Late summer.’ My cheeks hurt due to my wide grin. ‘I need time to snap my figure back.’

He playfully rolled his eyes. ‘Okay. And six months after that, we can work on having our next set of twins. Girls this time,’ he stated matter of factly.

My heart squeezed a little at that. ‘I’m totally down to have more kids. But, not right away. Let’s wait a year or two before we start working on the next set.’

‘Deal,’ he said, before kissing the tip of my nose and brushing his fingers along my freckles.

‘I guess we shouldn’t keep my family waiting any longer,’ I said. I nuzzled my mouth against the crook of his neck.

‘No time like the present.’ He rose from our bench swing, before taking my hand and helping me up.

I squealed as Conner unexpectedly and effortlessly swooped me up in his arms.

I wrapped my arms around his neck as he carried me inside. ‘I can’t get over the fact that you asked my dad for my hand in marriage.’

‘Just a formality. I was going to propose, even if he said no,’ Conner said nonchalantly. And I had no doubt he was telling the truth.

Once inside, Conner gently deposited me on top of the kitchen island next to a catered spread of breakfast foods. He stood between my opened legs and picked out a strawberry from a nearby fruit platter. ‘You’re mine,’ he said as he brought the strawberry up to my lips. ‘Nothing or no one will ever change that.’

He leaned over and nibbled a piece strawberry from my mouth, before kissing me tenderly. ‘Yours,’ I repeated as we rubbed noses.

‘Yours,’ he affirmed, gently cupping my face in his palms.

‘Mine,’ I claimed, as I pressed my lips to his. Yes, he was. All mine.

‘Ours,’ he said as he placed his two large hands on my belly. Caleb and Caden began to stretch their tiny limbs, causing my stomach to expand and flutter. Conner leaned down and kissed my belly twice.

‘I love you, Miss Novalee Dumont.’ His brilliant green eyes shone with tenderness.

‘And I love you, Mr. Conner Brathwaite.’