Fever

by Carnal, MJ

  He kisses me on the top of my head before he gets back up. “Anything for you and Jellybean. You know I love you.”

  And I do. I know that all these guys love me. They're so much more than friends. They all feel like family to me. I can’t believe this is the direction my life has taken. My life is so full of people I love and who love me back.

  After everyone leaves, Connor carries me to bed. “We can clean up later. I need to get you in bed.”

  He gently lays me down and crawls in behind me. I snuggle back into him. I love it when he spoons me like this. I feel so safe and warm wrapped in his arms. I feel completely and totally protected. “I love you, Connor.”

  “I love you too, sweetness.” He brushes the hair off of my neck and gently kisses me. “Now get some rest. You’ve had a long day, and I want to spend all day tomorrow making love to you.”

  I fall asleep in my favorite place in the entire world with dreams of little green-eyed babies and a life full of love.

  Epilogue

  Connor

  Deep breaths, Connor. You can do this. Hold on tight and don’t let go. Just take one step at a time. Put one foot in front of the other. I can’t believe she’s really here. She’s really here in my arms. I don’t know that I could feel any happier than right here in this moment. Ever.

  “Guys,” I say, walking through the waiting room door to our eager and waiting family; that’s what they all are, family. “I’d like you to meet Kaitlin Sara Reeves.” And I hold up the most beautiful baby girl the world has ever seen. I’m so afraid of dropping this little bundle that I keep her held tight to my chest.

  Michelle and Gabbi leap out of their chairs, practically knocking over Sly and Wade in the process to see my daughter.

  Daughter.

  That word fills my heart with more joy than I thought I ever deserved. I am so damn proud of Lynae. My God, she is incredible.

  “Oh my God! She looks just like her!” Michelle exclaims as she reaches her hand out to gently move the blanket way from Kaitlin’s face. “Connor, she’s beautiful.”

  Gabbi's leaning over Michelle and beaming. “Congratulations, Connor. She is absolutely gorgeous.”

  I can’t take my eyes off of her. Kaitlin Sara Reeves. Lynae and I had talked about names for the last few weeks, but we hadn’t really decided on anything. Despite my wanting to know if it was a boy or a girl, she was set on it being a surprise. She said her parents didn’t find out what she was going to be, and her mom had always talked about how sweet the moment was when they found out. When the doctor announced we had a healthy little girl and placed the pink screaming bundle on Lynae’s chest, I was so glad we waited to find out about our daughter. The look of pure joy on Lynae’s face and feeling of absolute wonderment that filled my heart as I looked at our baby and at Lynae was worth the wait. Lynae looked up at me and smiled the most beautiful smile I have ever seen. I couldn’t help the tears that came to my eyes and streamed down my cheeks. At the same time, we both opened our mouths.

  “Kaitlin,” she said.

  “Sara,” I said.

  It is the perfect name for the perfect little baby, honoring the amazing women in our lives we wish could have been here to meet this little miracle.

  Michelle finally moves out of the way for Sly to see Kaitlin. His eyes are shining with unshed tears too.

  “Hey there, little one,” he coos to her. “It’s nice to finally get to meet you.”

  Kaitlin opens her eyes. Everything about her is Lynae. From the shape of her nose, the curve of her lips looking like a pink little bow, the head full of dark brown curls, everything. Except her eyes. Those are all me. Like little emeralds sparkling behind a dark fringe of lashes, she looks up at Sly.

  “May I? Sly asks, holding his arms out.

  I reluctantly pass her over to Sly. “Just be careful. Watch her head. Don’t hold her too tight,” I instruct. I know, I know, I sound like a complete control freak, but I can’t help myself. I have never had anything so precious in my life to worry about. No, that’s wrong. I have Lynae, so I now have two incredibly precious things in my life.

  My girls.

  Sly takes Kaitlin in his arms and starts slowly rocking her. “You are so beautiful. Just like your mommy.” He leans down to press a soft kiss into her hair. “Your daddy is gonna have a time keeping the boys away from you. But don’t worry, your Uncle Sly will kill any boy that tries to lay a finger on you. Yes he will.”

  I laugh. He sounds and looks ridiculous sitting there fussing over the little pink bundle. Sly is already protective of her. He and I have come a long way. There was a time we both wanted to hurt the other. I know he loves my sweetness almost as much as I do. I know he will do anything in his power to make sure that my girls are safe and protected from anything. I watch him take a seat on one of the couches in the waiting room, then become flanked by Michelle and Gabbi clamoring to get a closer look at my daughter. Wade goes to set next to Gabbi so he can see Kaitlin too.

  Marcus comes up to my side and pulls me into a tight man hug, slapping me on the back. “Good job, man. You’re gonna be an awesome dad. I’m just glad she looks like Nae, and not you.”

  “I’m absolutely terrified.”

  “Don’t be. You’ll be fine. I can’t believe that we’re standing here like this, but I know you’ll be fine,” he assures me.

  “Where’s Seth?” I ask, looking around the room. I'm surprised to not see him. I know he wouldn’t want to miss this.

  As soon as those words leave my mouth, Seth runs into the room carrying a teddy bear almost as big as Lynae, and a huge cluster of pink and blue balloons. You can’t see his face, but I know it’s him from the spiky blond hair sticking up over the teddy bear, and the tattooed forearms.

  “I can’t believe they didn’t want to find out what the baby was gonna be. It would be so much easier to figure out what to get if I knew what fucking color to buy,” he mutters as he dumps the bear on the floor. “Connor!” Seth exclaims when he sees me.

  “Hey, watch your mouth in front of the baby.” I clasp Seth in a manly backslap hug. “Come on over and meet Kaitlin.”

  I can’t help the smile permanently plastered to my face. Seth’s attention moves from me to Sly, still sitting between Michelle and Gabbi, cooing over Kaitlin and telling her how much her Uncle Sly loves her and how beautiful she is. She is pretty damn beautiful.

  “Sorry, man.” Seth walks over and kneels in front of them. He sweeps the fluffy pink blanket back to get a better look at my daughter’s perfect little face. “Hey there, Jellybean. It’s so nice to finally meet you.” he says quietly. “God, you look just like your momma.” Seth turns to look at me. “Congrats, man. Lynae doing okay?”

  “She’s wonderful. The nurses are helping her go to the bathroom and clean up a little. And she wanted a few minutes alone with John.” I walk over and scoop up my little bundle from Sly. “Come on, it’s time to go back. Daddy needs to see Mommy again.”

  Marcus lets out a little laugh. “I am so happy for you guys. I don’t know if I’ll ever be able to get over the idea of you saying shit like ‘mommy’ and ‘daddy’ though.”

  “Watch your language, dude.” I nudge him and head out of the waiting room back to Lynae’s room.

  ~

  When I walk in, she’s lying propped up on all the damn pillows she insisted on bringing from our apartment, having stated that “hospital pillows sucked” and weren't going to be enough. Her eyes are closed, and her mouth is parted. I’d think she was asleep if it weren’t for her eyes popping open as soon as she hears my shoes on the linoleum floor when I step next to the bed. She looks worn out, but she couldn’t look more beautiful right now even if she tried. Her hair has mostly fallen out of her ponytail and is framing her face in soft curls.

  “Hey, baby. Where’d John go?” I ask when I sit down beside her, still holding little Kaitlin tight to my chest. I’m so afraid of dropping her. “I figured he would still be here.”

  “Da
ddy went to get something to eat and to let me get some rest.” Lynae reaches her hand out to rest on my thigh and looks lovingly at our daughter. “She is so tiny and so beautiful.” The sweet smile on her lips makes my heart melt completely. “I can’t believe we made this.”

  I look down at Kaitlin, who is starting to squirm in my arms and making little noises. “She’s perfect. You’re perfect. I’m so proud of you, Lynae.”

  I look back up at her. I adjust Kaitlin in my right arm and extend my left hand out to hold onto Lynae’s. My thumb brushes back and forth over her engagement ring. I can’t wait to add a wedding band to this finger. I can’t believe I let her talk me into waiting until after the baby was born for us to have a wedding. I was ready and willing to make her my wife as soon as she agreed to marry me. I’d have run out that night and booked a flight to Vegas, but she wanted to wait. I can’t deny her anything.

  A knock at the door draws our attention. It’s a nurse coming to check on Lynae and Kaitlin. She explains that she's the lactation nurse, whatever in the hell that is, and that she wants to help Lynae try to nurse Kaitlin. I scoot my chair back and let her do her thing.

  Lynae looks so cute trying to listen and pay attention to what this chick is telling her. I can see the nervous twitch in her eyes and the way she pulls her bottom lip between her teeth. I can’t help but laugh at her, but when she gives me that little glare, I try to hold it in. My sweetness is too damn adorable when she’s trying to be mad at me.

  Once Lynae seems to get the hang of breast feeding, the lactation consultant, I think that’s what she kept calling herself, steps out to let Lynae continue feeding Kaitlin on her own, instructing us to hit the call button if we need anything. I lean back in my chair and watch my girls.

  My girls.

  If you had told me this is where my life would have ended up, I would have thought you were crazy. I’ve always thought I wasn’t deserving of love. I believed the horrible things my mind kept throwing at me.

  I almost lost everything. Hell, I did lose everything there for a while. I let the demons take control and tried to destroy the most precious thing to have ever entered my world. Sitting here now, watching my future wife feed and sing quietly to our daughter, I know now that there is no life worth living without them in it.

  My heart belongs to them.

  It beats for them.

  The End

  About The Author

  Liz King is a wife, registered nurse and romance book blogger. In A Heartbeat was her debut novel. She lives in South Carolina with her family. Reading is a passion of hers, and writing is always something she wanted to do. Liz is addicted to gummy bears and coffee, even though her family and friends don’t think she needs caffeine to add to her already energetic personality. She’s obsessed with the 1980’s and loves to sing even though she can’t carry a tune. Liz loves college football and hiking in the Blue Ridge Mountains and the Great Smoky Mountains with her husband.

  http://www.facebook.com/authorlizking

  http://www.twitter.com/Rom_Addiction

  Also by Liz King

  In A Heartbeat (Shameful Regret, Book One)

  For the past eight years I haven't been living, just... existing.

  The pain, the guilt, and the shame I carry have been locked away deep inside me for so long that it's impenetrable, until him. Until Connor Reeves.

  With a sexy smile and seductive eyes, the bad boy rocker walked right into my life without warning, and now the walls I built that hid all of my grief for so long are now crumbling at my feet.

  Now I am left wondering if it's possible that just as life can cause pain, it can also heal wounds in a heartbeat.

  Amazon – Barnes & Noble – iTunes – Kobo

  Assumption

  The Underground Kings Series

  Kenton

  Aurora Rose Reynolds

  Copyright © 2014 Crystal Aurora Rose Reynolds

  ARC Edition

  Edited by Hot Tree edits Mickey edits, Midian Sosa

  Book Cover by Mellissa Gill Designs

  Formatted by BB eBooks

  All rights reserved. No part of this book may be reproduced or transmitted in any form or by any means, electronic or mechanical, including photocopying, recording, or by any information storage and retrieval system, without permission in writing.

  This is a work of fiction. Names, characters, places and incidents are the product of the author’s imagination or are used factiously, and any resemblance to any actual persons or living or dead, events or locals are entirely coincidental.

  The author acknowledges the trademark status and trademark owners of various products referenced in this work of fiction, which have been used without permission. The publication/ Use of these trademarks is not authorized, associated with, or sponsored by the trademark owner.

  All rights reserved.

  Prologue

  Chapter 1 Leaving on a jet plane.

  Chapter 2 Word Vomit.

  Chapter 3 One tequila, two tequila… floor.

  Chapter 4 Not my ass!

  Chapter 5 Done, I’ll give her crazy (Oops, did I do that?) Chapter 6 Of annoying roomies and bad guys.

  Chapter 7 A whole lotta like.

  Chapter 8 It’s not past tense.

  Chapter 9 Shit hits the fan.

  Chapter 10 The slaughterhouse.

  Chapter 11 Future, meet past.

  Epilogue One year, three month, six days, twelve hours, fifteen minutes, and thirty-six seconds later. Approximately.

  Obligation Sneak peek

  Dedication

  To the man who showed me what love really is.

  I love you, babe.

  Prologue

  I see you judging me. I know what you’re thinking. She has to be a slut; she works at a strip club and takes off her clothes for money. Yes! I work at a strip club, and you may think I’m a whore for showing off my body, but this is a talent that has been forced down my throat since I was a young child. Look pretty and smile. I put on a show for those who choose to watch. However long I’m on stage, I’m not even me. It’s what I imagine an out-of-body experience would be like—a performance, nothing more, nothing less. The people watching make assumptions about who they think I am or cook up a story in their heads of who they want me to be. I’m just another beautiful face.

  Beautiful. I hate that fucking word. Who gives a crap if someone is attractive on the outside if they are dying inside? My whole life has been about what I look like. I swear, the only reason my mother kept me was to have a real-life, living, breathing doll she could dress up and control, which is the exact reason why I got as far away from her special brand of crazy as I could as soon as I became eighteen. That’s also why I don’t date. The first thing guys do is look at me and see a pretty face, a nice body, and an empty space where my brain’s supposed to be. They have no interest in getting to know the person I am on the inside. They don’t care that I volunteer my spare time, and they couldn’t care less that I’m going to school to be an RN. They don’t ask about my hopes, my dreams, or about where I see my life in twenty years. They don’t care about me at all.

  They just want someone pretty to follow them around and tell them how handsome they are, how special they are, while agreeing with everything they say. Fuck that! I did that for too many years. That’s why I live inside books. At least there I can choose where I want to be—from the highlands of Scotland to a king’s bed in a faraway land—and even if it’s pretend, sometimes that’s a lot better than reality.

  Chapter 1

  Leaving On A Jet Plane

  I look out the plane window, my finger going to the glass, feeling the cold on my fingertips as I look down at the land moving quickly below me. It’s funny how, from up here, everything looks so small. I’ve never traveled in a plane before today. The idea of being trapped inside a tin can while flying at six hundred miles per hour never appealed to me. I take a breath and look at the TV monitor that’s in the seat in front of me. The sma
ll, animated plane on the screen shows that we’re over halfway to Tennessee.

  “Are you traveling for business or pleasure?”

  I turn my head and look at the guy sitting next to me. He’s slightly overweight and balding, but he also has wrinkles around his eyes, giving him the appearance of someone who smiles often.

  I debate with myself on whether or not to answer before replying, “Business.”

  His eyes drop to my mouth then to my chest as I fight the urge to punch him in the throat. I hate when men go from nice to creepy. I shake my head, turning away from him. I don’t know why I even try.

  I feel a hand on my bare leg and my head swings around quickly. “Touch me again and I will rip off your balls and feed them to you,” I tell him in a soft tone, trying not to bring attention to us.

  He quickly removes his hand, swallowing hard. “I…I’m sorry.”

  I shake my head before turning my body away from his. I feel tears stinging my nose, but I fight them back. No way am I going to cry now—not when, just six hours ago, my whole world exploded and I didn’t shed one single tear. I lay my forehead to the glass, closing my eyes. I still can’t believe how fast my life changed…

  I got up yesterday morning and went to the hospital like I always do. I work at one of the busiest ERs in Vegas. I’ve been working there since I finished school and was required to get my clinical hours for my RN. As soon as I walked into the building, I was loaded down with work. Weekends are always crazy in Sin City, but yesterday seemed worse than normal—two drug overdoses, three stomach pumps, and one gunshot victim. Later, I left the hospital exhausted, only to head to my real job—well, the one that pays me the money I need to live.