But at least she’d kept so busy she hadn’t had time to worry and obsess. Which meant she’d probably be up most of the night.
“One slippery baby fresh from the bath.” Jena lifted Abbie from her baby tub and handed her into the pink towel draped over Justin’s arms. “You have her?”
“I have her.” Justin cuddled Abbie close with one hand and wrapped the towel and hood around her with the other. Careful and gentle. The ideal parent.
Jena spread the yellow towel on the bathmat then lifted Annie out of her tub, wrapped her in the yellow towel, and lifted the squirmy baby into her arms.
“You’re sure you’re ready to go solo?” she asked on the way to the second bedroom.
“Gotta try sometime.”
Except for leaving for a few hours to complete the paperwork necessary to take an emergency two-week leave of absence from work, Justin had been by her side all day. Watching. Learning. Helping. She couldn’t have asked for more in a fiancé.
“Be a good girl for daddy,” Jena said shaking Abbie’s little foot through the towel.
Justin smiled. Seemed he liked being called daddy. Which made Jena smile, too.
“Time to get you ready for bed,” he said, placing Abbie on the changing table. “And you and your sister better sleep for a good couple of hours because daddy has special plans for mommy tonight.”
Since they only had one changing table, Jena set Annie on the bed. “Oh does he?” she asked, an excited tingle taking up residence deep in her core. There was nothing she’d rather do than spend the night before her surgery in Justin’s arms. Every night in his arms.
“What the—?” Justin said. “That is not being good for daddy.”
Jena looked at the changing table, watched Justin rush to cover Abbie’s privates with her towel and laughed. “You’ve got to be quick.”
“She got everything wet,” he complained.
“I’ll clean it up when we’re done,” she said. “Come. Join me on the bed.”
He looked over his shoulder. “Why, Jena. I’d love to join you on the bed.” He wiggled his eyebrows.
“To finish changing Abbie,” she specified.
“Spoilsport.”
He grabbed the baby wipes, a diaper, rash cream, and a new set of pink PJs and moved to the bed. “No more funny business,” he ordered, setting Abbie on the bed next to Annie.
And in typical fashion, while Annie lay quietly, Abbie started to squirm. He handed her a rattle. Then he got started, concentrating so intensely, Jena didn’t think he even realized he was talking himself through it as he went. “Diaper, tabs in the back. Check. Shoot. Clean with a baby wipe first.” He did a very thorough job. “Then diaper, tabs in the back. Check. Diaper rash cream. Yuk.” He wiped his fingers on the towel. “Cover her up. Check. Secure sticky tabs. Check. Yes!” He lifted his hands over his head in victory. “Job well done.”
Jena laughed again. Changing the girls had never been this entertaining.
Justin struggled to insert Abbie’s kicking feet into the leg openings of her sleeper. “Minor setback.” Out of the corner of her eye she caught him watching her. “You make it look so easy. Some trick of the hands for sure.”
Abbie started to cry.
“Shshshsh. We don’t want mommy to think daddy’s incompetent.”
Jena smiled. And fell in love with him, trying so hard to do a good job of taking care of his daughter.
“You’re far from incompetent,” she reassured him. “I’ve been doing this a lot longer than you have. And I’ve learned it’s easier to hold the leg like this.” She took a firm but gentle hold of Annie’s leg over her knee. “Then put the sleeper on over the leg rather than trying to put the leg into the sleeper. Does that make sense?”
Justin followed her lead and had Abbie dressed in under a minute. “Works for flailing arms, too.”
That it did.
With both babies dressed they moved to the kitchen where Jena supervised Justin making and heating up bottles like she’d taught him earlier, while she held the girls.
Again he concentrated on doing everything exactly as she’d shown him and spoke out loud as he did it. “Take the plastic insert like this—don’t touch the inside. And only use bottled water at room temperature.” He lifted the jug and poured a measured amount into each bottle. “I measure the powdered formula carefully according to the instructions on the can.” Which he double checked. “And I don’t change brands without checking with the doctor first.” He looked and Jena and she nodded. “I replace the ring and cap and shake.” He did.
“Then I unscrew the ring and remove the nipple before placing the bottle in the microwave.” He set the microwave as she’d taught him and pressed start. “After heating, I reattach the ring, shake again to eliminate any hot spots, then squeeze out any remaining air into the sink like this.”
Abbie arched her back and screamed her displeasure at the formula not being squirted into her mouth.
“Then, even though my daughters are ravenous and crying loud enough to make the neighbors think we’re abusing them, which makes me feel like a terrible parent because I am taking so long, I don’t, under any circumstances, feed them until I check the temperature of each bottle by squeezing a small amount of formula on the inside of my wrist, like this.” He demonstrated.
“Perfect,” Jena said when he’d finished. “Now take your daughter.” She handed him Abbie, who had become quite the daddy’s girl.
Justin smiled proudly. “I feel like I just aced an important test.”
“Care to join me on the couch?” she asked. An innocent enough invitation. But Jena’s mind wandered to the last time they’d come together on that couch. Both naked with her straddling his lap.
He looked at her with a teasing grin. “Based on that cute blush of yours, you are so thinking what I’m thinking.”
Busted.
“To feed our daughters,” she clarified because it seemed they both required clarification.
Jena settled into the couch and gave Annie the bottle. Justin must have given Abbie her bottle at the same time because instant quiet. Ahhhhh. “This is my favorite part of the day,” Jena said. The peacefulness of sitting in a darkened room, while holding her sleepily relaxed, contentedly sucking daughter or daughters.
“I can see why,” Justin said. “But my goal as your future husband will be to make our bedtime your favorite part of the day.”
If she survived the surgery. If they continued to share a bed. If he wasn’t completely turned off by the post-surgical changes in her body. Quick, change the subject. “It’s so nice to have help, so each of our daughters can get the individual cuddling she deserves,” she said. “Abbie’s a gulper so you need to be diligent about burping her after each ounce. No matter how much she protests.”
And boy did she protest. “I think this one’s going to be trouble,” Justin said trying to hold Abbie still while he patted her back.
“Maybe,” Jena said calmly. “And if she is, we’ll handle it. But please promise me you won’t label her. The troublemaker. The wild one. People used to label Jaci and me as a way of telling us apart. We both hated that. And you know what? For as long as I can remember, people called Jaci ‘The Wild One.’ Since we were little girls. And she did, in fact, grow up to be ‘The Wild One.’ Was it because she was born that way or was she simply living up to what people expected of her?”
“If I had my guess I’d say she was born that way. But I get your point. No labels. Promise.”
As the girls drifted off to sleep Jena and Justin sat side by side in companionable silence, until Jena’s thoughts turned to her surgery and dozens of unpleasant “what if” scenarios. She needed to move around, to work off some of the accumulating nervous energy and keep her mind busy. So she stood. “I’m tired and I still have to clean up.�
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“Hopefully you’re not too tired,” Justin said as he stood, too.
She wasn’t.
He followed her to the cribs and set Abbie down, gently, on her side, with a rolled blanket at her back and a light comforter covering her, exactly as she’d shown him for their nap earlier.
On his way out, he brushed past her, sliding his front along her back and his chin along her curls. As he passed he whispered, “I’ll do the kitchen. Then I’ll be waiting for you in our bedroom.”
Jena almost melted.
She cleaned up the girls’ room and the bathroom on auto-pilot, having done it so often she barely paid attention anymore, even in her new environment. Her thoughts filled with tomorrow and what she had to do beforehand. Show Justin the notebook where she’d written down the girls’ routines, likes and dislikes, and important information/telephone numbers. Add Abbie and Annie’s birth certificates and her updated will. She’d kept Jaci as her Health Care Proxy, couldn’t risk Justin shutting down life support prematurely if he changed his mind and decided he wanted to be rid of her. Oh, and she couldn’t forget to put out the letters she’d written, just in case.
With the bathroom clean, Jena clipped up her hair and jumped into the shower, wanted tonight to be perfect. But when she stepped out and caught a glimpse of her naked reflection in the mirror she couldn’t look away from the sight of her body with two full, beautiful, real breasts. She cupped them, their weighted fullness heavy in her palms. She ran her thumbs over her dark nipples, felt them tighten and the responding needy twinge that traveled all the way down to between her legs. Always so sensitive, so arousing.
The impending loss burned through her. The finality of it. Complete. Permanent.
* * *
Cleaning up the kitchen and lighting the three dozen candles he’d placed around his bedroom took Justin all of ten minutes.
Now what?
He went into the master bathroom to wash up and brush his teeth.
Fifteen minutes down.
He stripped off his clothes and pulled on a pair of black satin boxer shorts.
Sixteen minutes.
How long did it take Jena to get ready for bed? At twenty-five minutes he went looking for her, finding the door to the hall bathroom partially closed. He peered through the crack to see her, staring at her naked torso in the large mirror over the sink, tracing the shape of her exquisite breasts with her fingers, looking sad.
He knocked softly as he pushed open the door.
She didn’t flinch or move to cover herself, mesmerized by her reflection. “I’m saying goodbye,” she said.
Justin walked up behind her, covered her hands with his, and leaned down to whisper in her ear. “Come to bed so we can say goodbye together.”
“In a minute,” she said.
Yeah right. She’d already had twenty-five minutes.
“Thank you for today.” She looked at him via the mirror. “For taking time off from your job and working so hard to learn the girls’ routines and get us settled in. I really appreciate it.”
And he appreciated her giving him the opportunity to step up and do the right thing. “You’re welcome.” He caressed her breasts and now her hands rested on top of his. She closed her eyes and let her head drop back to his collar bone, elongating her neck.
“I’ve been thinking.” He bent to dot a line of kisses down the side of her neck. “I’ve decided it’s time for me to find a new favorite female body part,” he said. “Breasts are so yesterday.” He moved his hands to her hips, kissed back up her neck and dipped his tongue into the small cove at the base of her ear.
She tilted her head to give him better access and moaned.
“I think this is the spot. The delicate curve of a woman’s neck.” He kissed his way back down. “My woman’s neck,” he specified.
“Perfect,” she said on an aroused sigh.
Perfect indeed.
“Now come,” he prompted.
“In a minute, I promise.” She moved his hands and gave him a gentle shove toward the door. “I want to make myself pretty for you.”
“The clock starts now,” he turned her, kissed her lips, and pressed his growing erection against her. “I can’t wait much longer.”
A few minutes later she stood in the doorway to his, no their, bedroom looking at all the candles and every second he’d waited had been worth it. Speech eluded him. Never in all his days had he seen a vision lovelier than Jena at that moment in time, her loose curls teasing at the thin straps of a pale pink, knee-length silk negligee with a deep, tantalizing V that dipped between her breasts and two sexy side slits that showed off plenty of leg. On her feet she wore a pair of silver stilettoes which matched the silver earrings dangling from her ears. He met her at the door. “You are...stunning.”
“The room looks beautiful all lit up with candles.”
Especially for her. He knew she’d like it. “You look beautiful.” And alluring. And his. And he wanted her. Now.
“Thank you,” she said. “And thank you for going out of your way to make this night special.” She leaned in to kiss his cheek, her silky body pressed to his, her aroused nipples poking his chest. He refused to think about her surgery and changes that may or may not occur in their sex life as a result. Because right now he had his sexy fiancée in his arms and nothing would keep him from making this night off the charts amazing.
He backed her toward the bed. “You smell so good.” Fragrant. Floral. Enticing.
“You feel so good.” She ran her soft hands up his chest, over his shoulders then down his arms. “So strong.” She set a soft, sweet kiss on his right pectoral.
He pulled her close reveled in the feel of her, thread his fingers through her hair, angled her head so he could plant a lusty kiss on her luscious lips. On contact a potent arousal surged through his system. His body hardened in response. “You drive me wild, Jena Piermont.” He kissed her again, slid his tongue into the slick heat of her mouth, over and over until he needed to break for air. “I want to take things slow, to linger and make tonight last, but I don’t know if I can.”
“I don’t want slow right now.” She pushed down his boxers which dropped to the floor at his feet. “Save it for next time.” She cupped him and he almost finished before he’d started.
He moved her hand, lifted her negligee over her head and followed her down to the bed where he lavished attention on her breasts. Caressed them, kissed them, squeezed and sucked and loved them. And said his goodbyes before moving down to the elastic of her panties. “These have to go.” He shimmied down to her ankles with them and slid them over her sexy heels before kissing his way back up. “Open for me.” She bent her knees and dropped each to the side so he could get to her inner thighs. Higher.
She moaned and writhed and clutched his head tightly as he tasted and enjoyed her. “Please,” she begged. “I need you.” She pulled his hair. “Make love to me. Now.”
They were of one mind. He crawled on top of her, not taking the time to expose the fancy new sheets he’d bought for her, reached for a condom and rolled it on. He positioned himself for entry. “Are you ready?”
“I feel like I’ve been waiting for this moment my entire life.”
Oddly enough, “Me, too.” He nudged her entrance, found her wet and ready, and thrust into her tight, slick heat. She wrapped her arms and legs around him, contracted her muscles, and squeezed him inside and out. Fully ensconced. The sensation wonderful. Astounding. So. Damn. Good. “My, God, Jena. You feel so unbelievably fantastic. I’m afraid if I move I’ll—”
She rocked her hips and that was it. Justin thrust into her, over and over, got lost in her depths, went out of his mind with lust. “You feel so good, baby.” He kissed her. Felt a connection, more than sex. Caring. He wanted to please her, to make her happy, to make her
love him. Pressure started to build. He needed release. But not without her. He slipped a hand between them.
“Oh my heavens that feels good,” Jena cried out, panting and rocking into his touch.
Oh my heavens. Only Jena. He smiled.
She dug her fingers into his back, clamped her legs about his butt, and urged him deeper. “Yes.”
He fought for control. Needed to wait. “Come on, baby. Come for me.” Now. Please.
She tightened around him.
He rode out her orgasm then let go, his release powerfully satisfying. On a scale of one to ten, a twenty-five, with an intensity people dream of, but few are ever lucky enough to achieve.
“Goodness gracious, I love you,” Jena said dreamily on a long, contented sigh.
The aftereffects of best-sex-ever talking. But it got Justin thinking of how nice it would be to be loved by Jena. To hold hands and cuddle on the couch, to know that his safe return home from work mattered to someone and over dinner that same someone was eager to engage in conversation about his and her day. He rolled to the side, taking her with him, still joined together, and held her close. He kissed her forehead, realizing he wanted her to love him. And he wanted to love her and for their marriage to be real and happy and not only for the sake of their children or to gain release of a trust fund.
CHAPTER NINE
A FEW short hours later, after a night of loving Jena would never forget, it was time to go. She looked around the condo wondering if this was the last time she’d ever see it. Justin’s stomach growled. “You’re silly for not eating breakfast,” she said.
To which he replied, “Like I already told you, if you can’t eat I’m not going to eat.”
Too sweet.
He pushed the double stroller out the door to head up to Mrs. Calvin’s, who’d agreed to watch the girls overnight. Jena popped her head out the door and said, “I’ll meet you upstairs. There’s one more thing I need to do.” She pulled each of the four letters she’d written, just in case, out of her folder. She sorted through them once again to check that they were all there. One for Jaci. One for Abbie. One for Annie. And one for Justin. Each sealed with a lipstick kiss. She kissed each one again for good measure and set them on the kitchen table. “God willing you’ll never have to read them.”
Secrets of a Shy Socialite Page 14
