Unravel Me (Playing For Keeps, #3)

by Becka Mack

“I do it so they know there’s always someone out there that loves them, that’s rooting for them. That it might take some time, but they’re going to find their people. I do it for the Rosies.”

“He deserves this, you know. You. He deserves you. Someone who sees him for everything he is and doesn’t ask for anything more. Someone who loves his gentle heart and matches it with her own. Someone who looks at him the way you look at him.”

Daddy goes to hockey, but his love stays here.

“Are you kidding me? I found a giant roll of Bubble Wrap in the garage two days ago. When I asked Carter what it was for, he said it was for Ireland when she starts walking. I thought he was joking, but when I laughed, he said, ‘Our daughter’s safety is not a joke, Olivia.’” Cara gasps. “He called you by your full name?”

“We’re a family. We want you and Connor to be part of this family.”

“You really think you’re gonna marry me one day?” “Sure as shit do.” “What if I say no?” “You won’t.”

“No. Just sure about you and me.”

“It’s a floor bed,” Adam says. “The mattress sits on the floor, so Connor won’t hurt himself. He was scared of the playpen, so I thought he might like this.”

“What do I smell like?” I whisper as he brings one thumb to his mouth, sucking me off him, a sight that makes me absolutely feral.

“And Rosie? If I find you in my kitchen in the middle of the night again, I’m fucking you right there on that counter.”

“Spin for me.” The words are a quiet plea, and my heart slams against my chest when Rosie grins, lifting Connor in her arms and spinning in a slow circle, showing me my last name on her back. Fucking perfection.

“I’ve been doing a little light reading.” “Light reading?” She turns the book over in her hands. “Co-Parent, Not Stepparent: How to Throw Out the Labels and Support Your Partner So You Can Be the Best Co-Parent You Can Be.”

Stop it this is so cute

“How long have you had this?” I rub the back of my neck. “A little while. I wanted to be perfect for you and Connor if you ever gave me a second chance.”

“You’ve been annotating a book about how to be a good partner and stepfather?” “Yeah, I guess. Well, I mean, the book says one of the most important things is to scrap the stepparent label. You’re supposed to love the kid as if they’re your own. But that’s easy, because, hello, I already do love Connor like he’s my own.”

My hearttttt

But more than we need you, Adam, we want you.”

“Really? Because I’ve never wanted anything the way I want you and Connor, Rosie. Not a single thing, not even hockey. I want to be your partner, and I want to do all the things together. The adventurous things and the quiet, lazy things. I want to do all the happy things, and all the sad, hard things, too, as long as I’m doing them with you. I want to keep loving Connor exactly the way I do, like he’s mine, ours, because he fucking feels like it. That kid owns my heart, and there isn’t a day that goes by that I don’t hope one day Dada won’t just be a name he calls me because it’s a phase, but because I’m the man he can count on to be there for him all the damn time.”

The dark spot in the center of those dusty rose panties begs me to taste her, to dive my tongue inside her and lick her clean. And I plan to.

Because I feel you everywhere, Adam, even when you’re not here.”

“What are you afraid of, Rosie?” “Losing you,” she whispers. “Connor’s is the only love I’ve ever got to keep.” “You can keep mine. It belongs to you.” “Promise?” “Swear it.”

“I love you, Adam. For everything you are.” I close my eyes as her words seep into my skin, a warmth that spreads through me.

She’s choosing me. All of me.

“Loving you came so naturally, like all these years I’d been saving it just for you, and when you walked into my life, all I wanted to do was hand you my heart and tell you to take it. So kiss me, please, because I’m ready to give it all to you.”

I’ve waited too long for this, a partner to walk through life with, a love I haven’t had to earn but simply deserved. Because, fuck, we all deserve to be loved without condition.

He deserves

I just kept falling. That’s all I did, every damn day, fall further, harder, until there was nowhere left for me to go.”

You stayed, Rosie. And you chose me. Because of you, I know what it’s like to be seen, to have every single piece of me loved. I know because you do it every damn day, and fuck, Rosie, it feels so damn good.”

“That’s why I love you, Rosie. I love you, and I’ve been loving you for a long time.”

“You want me to imprint the shape of my cock in your tight, wet pussy, trouble?”

IMPRINT???

I’m gonna fuck you like I love you. But first…first I’m gonna fuck you like I should’ve last night on my kitchen counter.”

“You’re too big,” she cries, and I laugh. “Oh no, my poor ego.”

“My only goal in this life is making sure you spend the rest of your days knowing, without a doubt, how loved you and Connor are.”

“If I succeed, I’ll have lived this life right.”

“You are perfect for us, Adam.”

She unravels every string, and when she puts me back together again, I’m better than I was before. Whole, finally, and I don’t think I’ve ever been whole.

“But it’s not like Adam’s gonna let her go somewhere else. He’s pretty obsessed with her.”

“Am I really your dream?” he whispers against my lips. “Promise?” “Swear it.”

“Adam, baby. Not God. How many times do I have to tell you?” I steal her mouth, drowning her moans with my tongue, nipping along the edge of her jaw until I find her ear. “Or do you need me to fuck it into you?”

“My body is perfect.” “And who does it belong to?” “You,”

“And this pussy? Who’s fucking it? Who owns it?” “You, Adam. God, you.” “That’s my good fucking girl, Rosie.”

“You’re a fucking masterpiece, sweetheart. Made just for me, I swear to God.” I pull her head taut, bringing those eyes to mine. “I’m gonna worship this body for the rest of my life.”

Do I have a penchant for sex in semi-public places where someone could potentially catch us ever since Adam fucked me so hard my soul left my body in that changeroom last week? … Yes.

“It’s Adam to you, and when I’m inside you, God is also acceptable.”

“I thank your parents every day for setting you on our son’s path that day. For letting us hold onto you. And I thank you, Rosie, for making our family whole.”

It’s wild, isn’t it? How you can spend years searching for love, for acceptance, and right before you accept that it’s not for you, someone sweeps in and showers you in it. It’s like Adam took one look at my heart and said, “This is what you want? Let me give you more.” He didn’t just give me him; he gave me the family I’d been searching for all these years.

“I think Connor’s the luckiest kid in the world. He’s got the best mama.”

Oh fuck are you kidding me??? 😭

My gaze slides to Lily, and my heart patters against my chest as she helps Connor onto the couch, snuggles up with him and Deacon and Bev and the dogs. The perfect fit.

“You know what I was thinking?” “What?” “We have five bedrooms, and only two of them are being used.” My chest rises and falls quickly. “Yeah?” He looks at Lily, and when she grins at us, he grins too. “Yeah.”

Stop this is so cute

If home is a feeling, I feel it when I see that smile.

“He wanted to name him Dinosaur. I couldn’t say no.”

He takes my chin in his hand, tipping my face, dropping the sweetest lips to mine as another puzzle piece slowly clicks into place. “Welcome home, Rosie.”

“It’s better this way. In case you want me to go, I can leave fast.” Her pain wraps around my heart like an angry fist, squeezing. The same old feelings resurface, the reminder of years spent feeling unwanted, unworthy of love, slapping me in the face. It’s not better this way, and I would do anything for her to believe that.