Special Delivery

by Reagan Shaw

  I broke against his mouth, against his hands. White-hot pleasure skewered through me, and I pulsed through my orgasm, riding wave after wave, my body centered on Noah. After an eternity of pure bliss, I descended to Earth. Flopped down on the bed, my legs shaking.

  “That’s better,” he said, and crawled up my body. “That’s what I wanted.”

  “Mmm.” I licked my lips. “Now, take what you need.”

  “I love it when you talk like that. I love you,” Noah said, positioning the base of his engorged cock at my entrance. “Fuck, Erika, you were made for me.”

  “I need you.” I wrapped my legs around him, my arms looped around his neck. I pressed my fingernails into his back and held onto him. Before, I’d been so keen to push him away and protect myself, and now, he was my everything. My fiancé, my man, my protector, the father of my child. “I love you.”

  Noah slipped into me slowly, kissing every inch of skin he could reach as he did so. “Oh god, that’s fucking good. Christ, you’re so warm.” He lost his breath, pumped into me once, fully, and grunted. “Fuck.”

  “It’s too good,” I said, my legs quivering all over again.

  Two seconds of him inside me, and I was already close to another orgasm. It was the same as it’d always been with us. Except, no, it was different. It wasn’t driven by pure lust anymore. It was all love now.

  “Fuck, Erika,” he whispered, nipping at my earlobe. “I’m already so close.”

  “I want it.”

  “What?”

  “Your cum. I want it. I want it inside me.” And if we had another child? Another miracle baby? God, yes, I wanted that. “Please.” The last bit came out as a whine.

  He swore under his breath again and quickened the pace, lifted my right leg by the thigh, gripped it so tight his fingers bit into my flesh. He pressed his forehead to mine, stared into my eyes, warmed me with his gaze, with his love.

  “I’m coming,” I whimpered, angling myself into him, my ass lifting slightly off the bed. The waves crashed over me again, and Noah’s breathing turned jagged.

  “Baby,” he whispered. “Erika, baby. I can’t hold on, I’m gonna—” He broke off, shut his eyes, and pounded into me, released everything he had inside in five long thrusts, each punctuated with a moan. “Oh fuck,” he said on the last thrust. “Oh my god.”

  I came down from the peak with him, wrapped in his arms, and giggled quietly. “Think we were too noisy?” I asked.

  We both fell quiet and listened, our ears practically swiveling on our heads. Blessed silence. Hope was still fast asleep.

  “Good,” Noah said, and kissed the tip of my nose. “Maybe there’s time for round two.” He pulled out of my slowly, gasping as he did, then lay down on the bed beside me. He dragged me into his arms and crossed them over my chest. Noah kissed my temple. “Gorgeous. You know, this is the happiest I’ve been in my life, hands down.”

  “For real?” I asked.

  “For real, for real,” he replied. “You in my arms, the baby sleeping peacefully in her crib, another day of this tomorrow. It’s like a dream come true, every single day.”

  “I feel the same way.” I snuggled up against his chest, buried my nose in the crook of his neck. “I could stay here forever.”

  A plangent wail started up from the nursery. Hope’s telltale feed-me-Mommy cry. “Well,” I said, “maybe not forever.”

  “I’ll get her,” Noah said.

  “You will?” I propped myself up on one elbow and raised an eyebrow. “I forgot how you had mammary glands.”

  “I meant to bring her here,” Noah said, but looked around at the ruined sheets and the clothes on the floor. “Never mind.”

  “The sex sucked out all the brain cells?”

  “Pretty much.”

  We dressed quickly and strode down the hall together, him once again with his hand on the small of my back. Together, we entered our daughter’s bedroom. We took her out of her crib, and I fed her while Noah cooed and tickled her tummy, brushed her little downy hairs across her forehead.

  “Isn’t she perfect?” I asked.

  “You both are,” he replied, sparing one kiss for her soft forehead, and then one for mine. “Perfect and my forever.”

  Epilogue

  Noah

  This was a day that any father dreaded.

  “Cheer up, hon,” Erika said, and slipped an arm around my waist. “Everything’s going to be OK.”

  “Is it?” I grumbled but kissed the top of her head. Eighteen years together and she was still my addiction. My rock.

  “Don’t be like that,” Erika whispered, and squeezed me tight around the waist. “She’s so excited for this. It’s an exciting day.”

  “But it’s Los Angeles,” I said.

  “It’s her choice, honey.”

  We walked out onto the front porch together, a quaint home in Cazenovia, and looked out over the lawn. It was green, sun-strewn, and birds chirped, twittered, and flew from tree to tree in the yard. It was the perfect day for our little girl to head off on her journey, to be what she wanted to be.

  A writer. In LA. Doing screenplays. My nerves were fucking on the end of a string right now. It’d been years since I’d been a total asshole, but I still felt the urge to control this shit and shut it down before it started.

  “I just don’t get why she has to go away so far. New York is a hotspot for writers.” I was stiff about it.

  Hope was upstairs bidding farewell to that idiot of a friend of hers, Grant. I’d never liked the kid, simply because I knew exactly what kind of friendship he wanted with Hope.

  “She wants to be independent,” Erika said, leaning her head on my shoulder, stroking my upper arm. “Just let her enjoy this day. She’ll be fine. God, Noah, I thought I was the one who was supposed to get empty-nest syndrome.”

  I looked at her then, taking in the perfect wrinkles around her eyes and the forever gaze she always wore when she was around me. She dyed her hair, even though she hadn’t gone fully gray yet, and she looked damn good for a soft fifty-two. Put Cindy Crawford back in the day to shame, but more importantly, she was my Erika. My woman.

  Footsteps thunked down the stairs inside, and she poked me in the ribs. “Here they come. Be nice.”

  “The older I get, the less nice I become,” I replied, still grumpy, but holding it back now.

  My daughter strode out onto the porch, in charge as always, with her dark hair tied up in a high ponytail and wearing shorts that were far too short for my liking. She grinned at us both, her green eyes sparkling bright, then passed that look on to the approaching goober with bag in hand.

  “What’s this?” I asked, nodding to Grant, who held a duffel bag in front of him. He was a big kid, probably would’ve given me a run for my money in college, and just as handsome as I’d been. It amused me that Hope seemed totally oblivious about his feelings for her. “Are you leaving too?”

  “No, sir,” he said. “Not for now, at least. Just helping Hope carry her stuff out to the car.”

  “Oh? All right, do it then.” I flicked my fingers toward Hope’s VW.

  “Dad,” Hope said, and sighed. “Be nice, will ya?”

  “Depends on your definition of nice,” I replied, just as Erika poked me in the ribs again. Between the two women of the house, I was stuck between a rock and a hard place. They made a habit of ganging up on me, simply because they knew I always gave in. I loved them too much not to.

  “I’m just gonna take this down to the car,” Grant said and winked at Hope. He bustled past and down the steps, across the lawn.

  “At least, in LA you’ll have the opportunity to make some new friends,” I said loudly. Another poke from Erika, and an eye roll from Hope.

  “Sheesh, so this is the goodbye I’m going to get?” she asked. “Nice.”

  “Don’t mind your father. He’s just preemptively getting angry about the fact that the house is going to be empty without you around.” Erika drew Hope into a tight hug and bo
th women sniffed back emotion. “I’m going to miss you so much, honey. I’m so proud of you. I know that you’ll make a success of yourself.”

  “I gotta,” Hope said. “No option.” That was my girl. Driven in the extreme, and always prepared to face a challenge head-on. She pulled back from her mom, then stepped up in front of me. I swallowed emotion, refused to choke up.

  “I’ll call you along the way,” Hope said.

  I hugged her, patted her on the back, and squeezed until she squeaked. “Every hour on the hour. Understand?”

  “Yes, I understand.”

  “Are you sure about this?” I asked, as she slipped out of my embrace. “I mean, New York City’s a pretty amazing place to be. It’s the hub of civilization. You really want to go to vegan land?”

  “That is the unofficial name,” she replied, and rolled her eyes at me again. “I’m sure, Dad. One hundred percent sure. Look, I gotta get on the road. Grant’s getting a flight back from—”

  “Wait a second, that goober’s going with you?” I asked, just as the kid strode back up the garden path.

  “I’ll make sure she stays within the speed limit, sir,” he said.

  I was helpless to stop Hope from leaving, from starting a life without her ol’ mom and dad there to support her and it sucked.

  “Bye!” She gave me a quick kiss on the cheek and another hug to her mother, then darted off down the steps. She patted Grant on the back as they walked, looking up at him and shaking her head. Probably telling him not to worry about the “goober” comment. She’d always cared about people, about what they thought.

  Together, Erika and I watched as our only daughter climbed into the driver’s seat of her VW, started the engine, and gave us a wave, and then a thumbs-up. No doubt she was more worried about how we’d take this than we were about how she’d do out there in the big, bad world.

  “Are you crying?” Erika asked, peering up at me.

  “No,” I replied, and blinked. “I’m leaking. There’s a difference.”

  “Is there?”

  “No.” I cleared my throat and tightened my grip on my wife, tugging her close as the little car headed down the drive and my daughter took the first step into her future. “There she goes,” I muttered.

  “She’s ready,” Erika replied. “She’s more ready than I was at her age.”

  “At her age, you were flipping me off on porches.”

  “You deserved it.” Erika pinched my ass. “You know you did.”

  “I did,” I replied, then turned to her and cupped both her cheeks in my hands. “Sometimes I wonder what I did to deserve you.”

  She blushed, pretty in pink, and I pressed my lips to hers, gently. “You know what this means, don’t you?” I asked, after we broke apart.

  “We can party all night long? Go skydiving? Have an impromptu toga party with a chocolate fondue?”

  “No, but I like the way you think.” We walked back into the house together, still holding onto each other, almost as if we could prop each other up in our time of need. Almost? We did.

  “Then, what can we do, Dr. Cox?” Erika asked.

  I pressed my lips to her nose, then trailed them down to her neck, leaving wet, warm kisses behind. “Make as much noise as we want,” I replied.

  I lifted her off the ground, and she let out a whoop of joy. We took the stairs together, we lay on the bed together, we laughed, we loved. We lived. Together.

  If life was meant to have a meaning, she was it.

  Thank you so much for reading! If you enjoyed this book, please take a moment and leave an honest review wherever you purchased it. Your review helps other readers know what this book is about, and it helps me know what to write for you in the future.

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  Deleted Scene

  Deleted Scene

  Erika

  Erika – Aged 18

  * * *

  My eighteenth birthday party was officially over.

  Sure, it hadn’t been much of a party, but the only other attendee, apart from my annoying older brother, was fast asleep on the sofa in the living room, bits of popcorn scatted over her shirt. Jessie had totally pigged out, had dared me to go skinny-dipping, then promptly fallen asleep halfway through our chosen movie—Legally Blonde.

  I shook my head and sat back, trying but failing to focus on Reese Witherspoon kicking lawyer ass on the screen.

  This was it.

  This was my eighteenth birthday party. It should’ve been kick-ass, or at least something momentous. Instead I’d spent it binge-watching chick flicks with my best friend and trying but failing to ignore the loud music from upstairs.

  Marc and Noah were up there, cloistered in my brother’s room and listening to hip-hop, playing video games. That was what they did in their spare time. I gritted my teeth and rose from the sofa, walked out of the living room, and stood at the base of the stairs, listening.

  Noah laughed upstairs, loud, as he always did, because he loved being the center of attention. The music thumped on, along with the sounds of their video game. I rolled my eyes.

  “This is it, world. I’m eighteen, a virgin, and totally alone. Congrats.” I whistled under my breath. What did other eighteen-year-olds do on their birthdays? Have big blowouts, drink illegally, sleep with a guy? Tonight was meant to be wild—and I was the opposite of the world.

  Was I, really, though? I’d had plenty of fantasies. I’d kissed a guy.

  Jessie’s dare came back to me. “I bet you won’t do it,” she’d said. “I bet you won’t skinny dip while Noah’s up there.”

  I bit the inside of my cheek, then shrugged. Fuck it. This was my birthday. I deserved to celebrate it by doing something crazy.

  Quick as a flash, I darted through the kitchen, then unlocked the back door and slipped out into the darkness. I made my way over to the pool, heated, thank goodness, and slipped a toe into it, just to test it out.

  It was warm, the perfect temperature for a naked dip.

  “You’re crazy,” I whispered, but stripped off my shirt regardless. I was naked in seconds and giggling too. I slipped into the water and immersed myself completely, opening my eyes underwater.

  This is wild. I’m wild. I’m not boring Erika. Not the nerd everyone thinks I am.

  I surfaced quietly, listening to the distant thump of my brother’s music, and swam to the other side of the pool and back again, enjoying the sensation of the water sweeping over my legs. I was free. Totally alone, still, but free.

  I dove down to the bottom and turned in a circle, then made my way up again. I burst out of the water, and laughed, splashing a little.

  “Need some company?” Noah’s voice spoke from the kitchen’s back door.

  I froze and dipped down again, covering my breasts in the shallow end. “Oh my god,” I hissed. “Oh my god, what are you doing out here?”

  “I think the more appropriate question is, what are you doing skinny dipping in the pool, when there’s a house full of people next door?”

  I cringed and paddled closer to the side of the pool. At least I could use that as a method of hiding from him. “Go away,” I whispered. “I’m just trying to celebrate my birthday. In peace.”

  “And this is how you chose to do it?” Noah strode into the garden, larger than life and overwhelmingly handsome. “Shit, I wish I’d been invited to the party. Gotta admit, I didn’t expect this from you, Erika.”

  “And why’s that?” I lifted my chin defiantly, faking confidence I didn’t have at the moment. So what if I was butt naked in front of the guy I’d both hated and wanted for as long as I could remember? “Because I’m a nerd?”

  “No, because you’re safe. Safe and not wild in the slightest.”

  Anger flooded me. He’d stopped at the edge of the pool
. He could probably see my ass, even in the dim light from the garden lamps at the end of the yard. “Not wild, huh?” I snapped. “Shows how well you know me.” I pushed off from the wall and splashed away from him, showing off my body, but blushing furiously all the same.

  I swam to the other end of the pool, dipped under the water and smoothed out my hair, then surfaced again. I looked back at him where he stood, grinning, though he likely couldn’t make out my face now.

  “You’re right,” Noah said. “I don’t know you as well as I should.” He shrugged, then turned and made for the back of the house again. He halted in the kitchen doorway and looked back at me. “Do me a favor, Erika? Put some damn clothes on before anyone else comes out here. Wouldn’t want them to catch a glimpse of what I just did.”

  “Why’s that?” I countered, still frustrated with him, with this moment. With everything really.

  “Because it’s for my eyes only,” he replied.

  Shock sparked through me fast and hard. I opened my mouth to retort, but he’d already disappeared inside the house again.

  I grasped the edge of the pool, shaking despite the warm water. “What the hell?” I whispered. “What the hell?”

  Had Noah Cox just hit on me?