by Ashley Kay
Panting, she whispers, “I’m going to come already.”
“Fuck. Baby, yes,” I husk out, thrusting up wildly and pressing my thumb onto her swollen clit, feeling her shatter apart around me. Screaming my name, Savy clings to my biceps, legs straddled tight around my waist, her pussy clenching me over and over again. Gripping her tangled hair, I pump up into her frantically before tensing and groaning out my intense release. Pulsing inside her, I empty myself completely.
Breathless, she lies on my chest, little mewls escaping her mouth as I shift under her still sensitive body. She lifts her head and stares into my eyes, pupils dilated, hair a mess and cheeks flushed. The now humid air in the small tent tantalizes us with sex and sweat mixed with damp dirt. It smells like victory to me.
“That was fantastic.”
I lean up, capturing her plump pink lips. “I fucking love you.” I speak over her mouth.
“I love fucking you too.”
Tilting my head, I let out a huge belly laugh. “You’re something else, Montana. For the record, I love fucking you too. Very much.”
Stroking my hair, she asks, “You think we’ll ever tire of each other? I mean, just in general? Will this last forever?”
“Get tired of each other right now? Hell no. But, like with every relationship, if two people want to make it work, they will put in the time and effort to make it work. It’s easy to love you. I don’t think I could ever grow tired of loving you or taking care of you.” I kiss the tip of her nose.
“Greyson was right.”
“What do you mean? I don’t really want to discuss my brother while I’m naked with you, so this better be good.”
Giggling, she pats my cheek. “He told me once that you love hard, and he’s right. I’ve never felt so loved by someone before. You make me feel safe and cherished.”
“I make you feel safe even though you were the one to kick ass and kill that bear?”
“Yes, you do. You make me safe in being who I really am and allowing me to fully be myself even if that means I show up and kick your butt at something. I could never do your job, you do it so well, and you let me do mine.”
She snuggles into my neck, stroking my chest with her finger. “I just want you to know how much you mean to me and how much it means that you love me despite not being able to give you a biological child. You don’t have to sugarcoat it, I know it’s hard to sacrifice something like that.”
“I won’t lie to you. I’d love to bring a little Savy, or heaven forbid a little Preston into the world, but like you said, there are many ways to have a family and I’m happy with that. You’re my family. I’ll support you in whichever way you want to start one because you’re stuck with me.”
“I’ll hold you to that, cowboy.”
“Perfect. Here’s your chance. I thought I heard a howl outside and I’m no expert, but that doesn’t sound good,” I say jokingly.
“I gotcha covered, babe, don’t worry,” she promises, yawning and dragging my arm over her waist.
We drift to sleep, the sounds of crickets and tree frogs as our lullaby.
Morning breaks and the early sun filters through the tent, casting a soft glow on Savy’s face. She’s snoring lightly, her long, wild hair splayed out on the pillow, a hand up by her face. Reaching over, I brush a stray hair back, gently, so as not to wake her.
How did my stubborn ass get so lucky?
Pulling on my pants and shirt, I quietly leave the tent and gather wood for a fire. After coaxing out a good flame, I sit back as the tent zipper sounds.
“Good morning, sunshine. How’d you sleep?”
“Like the logs, I was so tired.” She’s bent over at the waist, holding her stomach, her hair hanging low to the ground.
“You ok?”
“Ugh, I just feel nauseous. All that adrenaline yesterday is catching up to me. I’m also starving, ate very little yesterday, I was so worried about you.”
“Come here, sit down and rest a minute. We have oodles of time to do nothing out here,” I say.
She comes and sits down next to me on a stump. The fire is picking up and we can feel the warmth creeping up our toes. Taking the last sip of water from the bottle, she turns to me. “I radioed Grey. He should be here soon. They camped not too far out.”
“He’s not coming to ruin our fun, is he?” I ask drily.
She shoves my shoulder. “No, he has to tag the bear and let DNR know exactly where it is and all that. I’m sure he wants to make sure you’re alright too.”
“Yeah, more like make fun of me for getting myself lost.”
She loops her arm in mine and lays her head on my shoulder. “He’d never do that,” she crows.
“You don’t know my brother that well then,” I say, kissing her temple.
We hear rustling behind us and both turn to see the man of the hour stomping through the brush. He’s sweating and lifts a hand up to wave before wiping his forehead with his sleeve. “Hey!” he shouts. “Glad to see you both alive. Heard you had an exciting day yesterday. Sorry I missed it.”
Rolling my eyes. “Here we go.”
Greyson makes it to camp and tosses down his bag near the tent. “P, I hear your girlfriend had to save you from a bear.”
Before retorting, I snort. “Like you could have done any better. You’d be shitting your pants right alongside me.”
Shrugging, he grins as he sits down. “You’re probably right. I’ve seen ‘em, but never been attacked by one. In all seriousness, I’m glad Savy got here in time.”
“Me too.”
“Hey boys, I’m gonna go get some water to boil for breakfast while ya’ll make fun of each other. Be back in a minute.” She grabs an empty jug and heads toward the creek that’s situated down a small hill.
Greyson takes a branch and moves around some of the burning twigs. “Judging by the lovey looks she was giving you, I’d say being stranded out here was not a bad thing. You guys made up then I’m guessing?”
Laughing, I grab the supplies for breakfast. “Being stranded with Savy is definitely not a bad thing.”
“I don’t want to know all the detai–.” he’s cut off by a scream. Savy’s scream.
Dropping the food, I take off in a sprint toward the creek. Heart racing, I stumble through the trees, eyes going back and forth, trying to locate her. Greyson follows behind me, his breaths heavy. “Where is she?”
“I don’t know!”
Frantically, I slide down the small hill, my hands slashing at tall grass before I finally see her. “She’s in the fucking water!”
Reaching the creek, I jump into the ankle-high stream, splashing cold water up my pants and grab her. Pulling her to the bank, I immediately notice a nasty gash gushing blood at her hairline, coating my fingers, the tang sharp in my nose. I’m shaking when I realize she isn’t conscious.
“Oh my god, Savy, please wake up, please wake up. Baby, please wake up!” Shaking her and smacking her cheeks, her head just lolls to the side.
Greyson comes pounding up beside me, barking orders. “Get her out, lay her down, check her breathing.”
Lying my head on her chest, her heart beats faintly, but she isn’t breathing. I’m quaking—the blood is so dark, so red, flowing too freely from her wound. Before I pass out, Greyson moves me out of the way to tend to her. He performs mouth to mouth on her blue lips, vivid against her pale, cold skin. She’s as still as a corpse; I wish I could trade places with her. I can’t be in a world where she doesn’t exist.
“She can’t die, don’t let her die.”
He continues CPR until she bucks up, hacking up murky water. Greyson turns her over on her side, holding her as she draws in noisy breaths, her entire frame shaking uncontrollably.
He motions for me to switch places with him. I kneel and rip off my shirt to drape over her shivering, wet body. Holding her close, I rock her, rubbing my hands up and down her clammy skin. The gash on her forehead still leaks blood down her temple. It’s going to need sti
tches. She’s crying and grasping at my arms. I need to be strong for her, but I feel like a failure, not being able to protect her.
Greyson comes back over to us, crouching down to eye level with her. “Hey, Savy, honey, I got a helicopter coming to take you to the hospital, ok? Just hang in there it will be here soon.”
He meets my eyes. “You ok?” I just nod and keep trying to warm her up.
“I’m fine, I don’t need the hospital,” she croaks out.
“You’re going. You have a nasty cut that doesn’t need to get infected, and Greyson just had to perform CPR on you.” My voice comes out harsh and abrasive, so I soften it. “You weren’t breathing, baby.” I squeeze her tightly, and she shudders in my arms.
“Ok,” she says weakly.
“What happened?” I whisper into her wet hair.
“I slipped and fell. Must have hit my head. It’s hurting now.”
I wad up a section of my shirt and press it to her head, trying to staunch the blood that’s still welling out, and she winces under the pressure of my fingers. “I’m sorry, I’m just trying to stop the bleeding.” She nods into my chest.
The sound of helicopter blades cut through the forest, the whirling of the propeller so loud we cover our ears. Greyson shouts they will have to touch down back close to camp where there’s a clearing. He helps me carry Savy back and we wrap her up in a sleeping bag.
In a whirlwind of chaos, the chopper lands, and two medics jump out to get her into a seat. One does a quick patch job on her forehead until she can be seen at the hospital and then turns around to ask if anyone else is coming.
Greyson grabs my arm, pushing me towards the chopper. “Go, I’ll meet you at the hospital. I have to take care of stuff here, meet up with my group and then I’ll be out. Let me know how she is.”
“I will. Thank you, Grey. Fuck, if you weren’t here…” I let the statement hang.
“P, she’s going to be ok. Get in that helicopter before it leaves without you.” Slapping me on my back, he runs out of the way. Stepping up into the helicopter, I get strapped in and we were off to the hospital. Our hands find each other’s as the wind whips around us, both painfully aware that we’ve yet again been given a second chance.
31
SAVANNAH
Beep, Beep, Beep. The sound, soft at first, grows increasingly louder as I rouse from my dreamless sleep. Blinking open my eyes, it takes a second for me to register where I am. The hospital.
My head itches and reaching up, a thick swatch of bandages and tape meets my fingers. I wince. The cut hurts and it’s tender to the touch even through the gauze. The iv-stand next to me is pumping in fluids through a tiny tube inserted into my forearm. That hurts too. About as much as the harsh florescent lights above the uncomfortable bed.
Squinting, my gaze lands on Preston passed out in a chair butted up to my bed. His upper body drapes over my legs, which explains why they’re tingling, and his hands are clasped tightly over my free hand. His dark hair is tousled every which way, hiding his sleeping eyes. I drag my hand slowly out from his and run my fingers through his silky strands, smiling at how sweet and innocent his face appears during slumber. I know better, though. This man is full of passionate words and devious deeds to match.
He stirs, lifting his head. Rubbing at the dark circles that lay prominently underneath his tired eyes, he gives me a sleepy, sexy smile. “You’re awake, how do you feel?” He sits up and scoots his chair closer to me before raking back his messy locks.
“I’m ok, just tired and a little sore from falling. I’m sure I’ll have some bruises.” Shifting my legs, I hiss as pain radiates through my hips.
Taking my hands, he kisses my knuckles, concern flitting across his face. “That scared the shit out of me. I would never have forgiven myself if we hadn’t gotten to you in time.” Horror at the possibility clouds his features.
“I was lucky to have such a handsome prince there to save me.” I want to lighten the mood. I’m alive and safe, and I don’t want to think about what could have happened.
As if he senses my need to not dwell on the alternatives, he chuckles. “It was actually Greyson—I froze up like a fucking popsicle. Seeing your blue lips and all that blood freaked me out and I couldn’t move, so he had to shove me out of the way. You sure you love me, because I’ve been doing a crappy job of keeping you safe.”
Before I can reply, the door opens, and the doctor comes in.
“Hi, Savannah, glad to see you awake. I’m Dr. Hanna. I was on call when they brought you in. Let me take a quick look at your head.”
She walks over, her heels clicking across the floor, and peels back the bandage gently to inspect my wound. The pressure makes me cringe, but she’s already done, and places the gauze back over my gash.
“It looks good, should heal nicely, won’t leave too much of a scar. I’ll prescribe some cream that will help lessen any discoloration and scar tissue.”
Luckily, my hair is long and will probably cover it up, but I also wasn’t that worried about it. I’m lucky to be alive.
“Ok, thank you, I appreciate it.” My throat is scratchy and I motion to Preston to hand me water. He holds the cup and lifts the straw so I can greedily suck it down. The doctor continues her speech as the cool water quenches my thirst.
“We ran a barrage of testing to make sure everything looked normal and so far, so good. You were asleep when they brought you in, so you probably don’t remember most of the tests, especially the ultrasound. I wanted to bring by the pictures so you could keep them.”
Thoroughly confused, I ask, “Why would I want pictures from an ultrasound? Do I have a kidney stone?” I’ve never had a kidney stone, but I can imagine they’re painful and not worthy of a picture.
She cocks her head at me strangely for a second. “Savannah, you’re eight weeks pregnant. We found out through a blood test and then performed an ultrasound to verify that the baby was ok. Everything checked out, he/she is healthy.”
She holds out a slender hand. They printed the ultrasound pictures on flimsy paper and with a dazed look on my face, I grasp them in my shaky fingers. Slowly, I turn to Preston, whose eyes are equally wide and as round as a hen egg.
“Pregnant?” I finally find my voice, “There’s no way, I was told I could never have children.”
The doctor smiles. “Sometimes even doctors get it wrong. Congratulations, mom and dad. I’ll come back and check on you later.”
She leaves, closing the door with a definitive click. I still can’t wrap my head around the fact that I’m pregnant. With Preston’s baby. Oh my god.
I whip my head back around, groaning in pain, to see him staring down at the pictures. I touch his hand and he snaps his head up, eyes glossy with emotion.
“Preston, I’m sorry, I didn’t know, I would have never—I promise, I didn’t trick you into this.” My voice is thick with too many feelings. Fear, shock, elation, disbelief. I can’t choose, they’re all fighting for room in my brain.
Preston sits down next to me on the bed, gathering my bruised face in his hands. He rubs my cheek with his thumb and brushes away a tear that somehow escaped the corner of my eye.
“Baby, stop apologizing. I know you’d never do something like that.” He swoops in and captures my lips, searing them with so much passion and love, I gasp, but not from any pain. He releases my mouth and rests his forehead against mine, his hands never leaving my face.
“We’re going to have a baby, Montana. You and me. You get to be a mom like you’ve always wanted,” his voice chokes, and I lean back, reading his face. Pure, unfiltered happiness shines through his beautiful blue eyes, and my hand covers my mouth to hold back more tears.
Glancing down at the grainy black and white photos, I scrunch up my face. Holding the picture closer, all we see is a blob with a circle in the center. Cocking my head to the side, I say with a grin, “It looks like an alien peanut.”
“It’s our alien peanut. This is a miracle. Our miracle.�
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Tears flood my eyes and I clutch my stomach protectively, all the emotions rushing out. For years, I lived with the fact that I would never have a baby of my own, never get to carry a child within me and feel those little kicks and punches from the inside. And now, I get to do all that. Preston kisses my belly gently before pulling me into his arms, and his steady heartbeat soothes my soul.
“Oh, shit, what did I miss?” Greyson pops into the room, his face crestfallen. “You aren’t dying, are you?”
Giggling, I wipe away a tear and Preston stands up, handing over one of the ultrasound pictures.
Grey turns it sideways and upside down, his eyes widening astronomically. “Is this what I think it is, Savy? Are you pregnant? What? How?” His face registers shock.
Preston slaps him on the back, grinning. “I could tell you how, but that’s between her and I.”
A smile breaks out across Grey’s face. “This is amazing, I’m so happy for you.” He comes over and crushes me in a hug, then apologizes when I squeak in pain.
Preston and Greyson share a hug, rapping each other on the back, wide smiles taking up their faces.
Watching these two big muscly men hug it out makes me realize everything is coming full circle. Preston and Greyson have repaired their relationship, I fell in love, and now I’m getting a miracle baby. Life rarely gets any better than this. Or does it?
32
PRESTON
“Hey, cowboy, whatcha looking at over there?” Savy walks over, or I should say waddles over to me, and I help her sit down in a folding chair, wrapping a blanket around her shoulders. She’s seven months pregnant, and it had been a pretty miserable summer for her. She pushed through and even kept up her archery training like the wonder woman she is.
