Conquer (Desired Affliction Book 2)

by C. A. Harms

  I’d spent the last couple months secretly planning Lexi’s Christmas present. With the help of Radley, my dad, and Lexi’s father we were almost ready. I couldn’t wait to see her face when she opened the box.

  I was on my way home when my phone rang with Lexi’s ringtone. I still couldn’t stop smiling whenever I heard the jingle she put on my phone. Some nagging squealing voice saying, “Your wife is calling…hello, hello…your wife is calling.” I still remember her giggle when she found it online.

  “Hey,” I answered with a smile.

  She was crying and I pulled over on the shoulder of the highway in a panic. “Lexi, what’s wrong?”

  Through her sobs, “I’m at the hospital. I fell and they brought me here.”

  “Who brought you there? And are you okay?” I spun my truck around heading back toward the hospital before she even began to explain.

  “I tripped down the stairs leaving Emerson Hall today. Some guys helped me up and afterward one of their girlfriends called the ambulance and they brought me here.” My heart sank and before I could ask she continued, “We’re both fine. I just broke my wrist.”

  I blew out a deep breath. “I’ll be there in five minutes, okay?”

  I hung up my phone relieved that they were both okay, but I still felt sick at the thought of Lexi falling down the stairs. I couldn’t get to her fast enough. I quickly parked my truck and went in through the emergency room doors, looking around for the nearest nurse.

  “Can I help you find someone?”

  I looked to the left at the little girl dressed in scrubs. She looked like she was twelve.

  I shook my head. “Yeah, um…my wife was brought in today. Lexi Hartman. She fell down some steps. She’s pregnant.” I waited for the girl to look over the screen on the computer and then she directed me to Lexi’s room.

  The minute I saw her I felt the bile rise in my throat. She had a bandage on her forehead and her arm was in a sling. When she looked over at me her eyes filled with tears.

  “Hey there, slick. Did you forget to tie your shoes before you left class?”

  That was just us, Lexi and I; we developed this comfortable teasing game. I promised the day I agreed to marry her that I would always do whatever I could to make sure she smiled. This was my attempt. I leaned over placing a soft kiss on her wounded forehead.

  She laughed lightly. “I don’t have shoestrings, jackass.” I kissed her lips and hugged her gently. “I was excited to get home and tell you I passed all my exams despite your continued X-rated interruptions.” I grinned at that comment.

  “I wasn’t watching where I was going and I fell. When I brought my hand out to protect my stomach the doctor said that was when I probably broke my wrist.”

  I looked at her arm, “Are they gonna cast it?”

  She nodded and I heard the door open behind me. The nurse entered pushing a big machine behind her.

  “Hi, Lexi, I’m Regan. Doctor Mitzler wants you to have a sonogram just to check everything with the baby. It’s just a precaution, because the heartbeat is strong.” Lexi nodded her head toward the nurse in agreement and I stood up moving to the other side of the bed.

  We both watched as the 3D imagine of our daughter filled the screen. It had only been a couple weeks since we saw her last, but it still hit me hard. My chest tightened and I squeezed Lexi’s hands with mine. I watched the screen as she rolled the instrument around checking over everything she could.

  The nurse assured us both that everything looked great as she handed a warm wash cloth to Lexi. I watched as Lexi wiped the gel from her cute as hell little belly. She still wasn’t as big as I imagined her to be. Lexi is a small girl and seeing her with a pregnant belly was, in my eyes, the greatest thing. Just knowing that she was carrying my daughter made me emotional.

  I kissed her as she looked up into my eyes. “I’m gonna take you home and you’re gonna rest, okay?” She nodded up at me and I kissed her once more.

  Once they finished with her cast and she had her discharge papers I took her home. I called Radley and Megan earlier and they agreed to pick up Lexi’s car for me.

  Of course when we got home, Megan needed to see Lex because she had to know she was okay. They ended up staying for over an hour before leaving. It took everything I had not to grab Lexi and carry her into the bedroom to put her in bed myself.

  Once she did crawl into bed she slept soundly next to me. I was worried about cuddling her because of her wrist and the soreness she had from falling. Instead I lay awake just watching her sleep.

  I pulled her shirt up slowly, exposing her belly and placed my hand over it. The thought of something happening to Lexi or our daughter made me feel sick. I couldn’t sleep very well because I woke with every little movement or sound she made. I felt at ease watching her rest next to me and I wanted to make sure, for my peace of mind, that she was peaceful.

  Chapter 44

  Lexi

  “Oh, sweetheart, how are you feeling?” Kate took me into a soft hug once she opened the door. Kole and I had just arrived at my dad’s house to celebrate Christmas. Both she and my father had been calling Kole repeatedly asking how I was doing and to make sure we were still coming to their house for a few days.

  “I’m okay. It looks worse than it is.” I brushed it off like it was no big deal. The first twenty-four hours were the worst, but it had gotten a little better since then.

  I followed her inside and the smells of baked goods flooded my senses. “Oh wow, what is that delicious smell?” I extended my nose into the air, breathing in deeply.

  Kate laughed and directly behind me I heard Kole chuckle. “She’s got a nose for the good stuff. Is that pumpkin cinnamon?” Kole sat our bags down just beside the counter.

  Kate just smiled. “I’ve actually been baking for the last two days, and to be honest, I think I have at least one of everything.”

  I knew instantly I was going to be in trouble. I had done so well with the weight gain until now. I walked to the counter and grabbed a handful of cookies. The first bite was amazing because it was still warm. Kole joined me until we heard my dad holler as he entered through the front door.

  After a delicate hug from my father and a quick kiss from Kole, the boys escaped into the family room for some football.

  I went to bed early because I was exhausted from the drive. When I woke on Christmas Eve morning to Kole sprawled out next to me naked, I instantly regretted going to sleep before he joined me. The sheet was just barely covering his ass and I couldn’t resist touching him. When he moaned in approval I laughed.

  “Morning, sexy girl. You feeling a little frisky?”

  He didn’t even open his eyes. He just continued lying in his current position.

  I trailed my fingertips down his back and slipped my hand under his hip. Sliding between the sheet and his body, I found what I was looking for and gripped him firmly. After I felt him get hard within my hold, I pulled my hand away. I rolled toward the edge and started to crawl from the bed.

  “I’m actually feeling a little hungry. I think I’ll go grab something.”

  He reached out and quickly gripped my hips, holding me on the bed.

  “Lexi, you started something, so I think we should finish it.” Kole pulled me back toward him. I giggled as he rose up on the bed in all his naked glory and proudly displayed the fact that he was ready to get busy.

  For the next hour we devoured each other. At times I was a little worried someone would hear us. I was sprawled out over his chest breathing heavily as I tried to come back down from the high of yet another round of caveman Kole.

  “How was that? Better than breakfast?”

  “I think maybe I should have chosen the Toaster Strudel instead.”

  Kole immediately began tickling my sides. Rolling over he placed his body over mine. “I love you, Lexi. You make me so god damn happy.” He kissed me, letting his lips linger for a few seconds before kissing me once more.

  After we both took a
quick shower we joined the rest of the family in the kitchen.

  Kole spent the afternoon playing video games with Kyle and Tyler. They had some sort of baseball season competition going on and were taking it far too seriously.

  I spent the day in the kitchen with “Katie Crocker.” I swear she cooked enough goodies for an army. The only time we saw the four boys was when they snuck into the kitchen to steal something off a plate.

  Chapter 45

  Kole

  I woke up full of excitement. Today was it. Lexi was going to open her present and I could barely contain the urge to give it to her now.

  I sat in the living room as I looked around at her dad, Kate, and her brothers. They were tearing at the gifts that were on display in front of them. Lexi rubbed my arm and I turned toward her.

  “Are you gonna open your present, Kole?”

  I had been so consumed with watching everyone else I hadn’t even touched mine. I was distracted from answering her when I heard a voice behind me, causing my blood to boil.

  “Merry Christmas, everyone. Uncle Adam’s here.”

  The strong desire to possess Lexi took over me, so I went with it. I wrapped my arm tightly around her and pulled her into me closer. I think she picked up on my mood and traced her finger along my jaw. I looked down at her and she arched her chin up. I knew she was attempting to help me with my anxiety about Adam. After all, the last time I saw the asshole he was trying to take what was mine.

  I kissed her softly and she whispered against my lips.

  “I love you and there is absolutely no reason to question that.”

  I knew she was right, but fuck if this guy didn’t piss me off. The anger became worse when I turned my head to the side and found him eye fucking my wife. My jaw tensed and I started to bounce my leg in an attempt to keep my cool.

  “Can I have my present now, please?” Hearing Lexi’s little whisper against my neck and the light kiss that followed calmed me just a bit. Oh yeah, her present would definitely make me feel a little better. I would enjoy throwing that shit in Adam’s face for sure.

  “You sure can. You know my girl gets whatever she wants.” I said it loud enough for Adam to hear, who was still perched next to us staring.

  “Hey, Keith, can you have one of the boys grab Lexi’s package for me?”

  I watched as Kyle reached under the tree and pulled out the flat square box. He carried it over and handed it to me. When I placed it into Lexi’s lap her dad and Kate watched with excitement. Lexi looked over at me smiling.

  “Open it. This has been killing me for two and a half months now.”

  Her eyes went wide.

  “What?”

  I just shrugged and pointed toward the box. She pulled gently on the big purple bow as it slowly fell away. When she lifted the lid she scrunched up her face in confusion. She never said anything. Instead she lifted the album from the package slowly examining it. There was a key taped to the top of the leather album. Lexi ran her finger over the metal key before opening the first page. I heard her gasp and when she turned to face me her eyes were full of tears.

  “Our house. I bought it right before the wedding and we’ve all been working on it since.”

  Lexi couldn’t speak as the emotions took over. She slowly flipped through the pages looking from picture to picture. I had taken before and after photos. It went room by room, showing her how we changed things from the way they were to become what I knew Lexi would love.

  When she reached the back page her hand went over her mouth. I had spent time creating the nursery and took pride in leaving it until the end. I did it on my own—every stencil, every detail. I was so proud of our little girl’s room, and now, watching Lexi’s eyes, I knew she loved it too. The tears ran heavily down her cheeks and she turned to look into my eyes.

  “Hanna?”

  I waited for her to say more and when she didn’t I shook my head lightly in confusion. “What?”

  Her eyes filled with tears and spilled over as she stared up into my eyes. Everyone in the room was silent as they waited. She swallowed hard and took a deep breath. I traced her tears away with my thumb and watched her eyes close.

  “I wanna name her Hanna. It means joy.” Her eyes opened and once again connected with mine. “You’ve given me so much joy and I think we should reflect that happiness in our baby’s name.”

  I smiled down at my beautiful girl and nodded my head in agreement. We had just chosen our daughter’s name, and I had just fallen a little deeper in love with my wife.

  When I eventually caught site of Adam he looked ill at the site of Lexi and me. I had to admit it felt fucking great that he just witnessed our love in such depth. I mentally spun around to face him, flipping him the bird yelling, “Fucking suck on that, asshole!”

  Keith’s eyes connected with mine when I turned forward, and the grin he held let me know he knew exactly what victory I was internally celebrating.

  ***

  We spent the rest of the day smiling and laughing. Lexi was so emotional; it seemed as if she cried at everything. I hated to see her cry, but today it had its advantages because she was overly clingy. Having Lexi in my arms always made me feel whole. I let go of the fact that Adam stuck around continuing to try to get Lexi’s attention. He looked like a starving dog waiting for some table scraps. I fought the urge to laugh as Lexi snuggled into my chest and kissed my neck. I held her just a little tighter; Adam appeared ill at the sight of us.

  The day was perfect and Lexi was perfect. I couldn’t wait to get her home and take her to our new house. It was so hard to keep it from her and now I wanted to cut the trip short just so I could get her there sooner.

  Chapter 46

  Lexi

  “Everything turned out so perfect. I just can’t believe he did all of this and you had no idea.” Megan really thought it was great that they all knew about Kole buying me a house. I stuck my tongue out at her and I continued to fold towels. We had been living in the house now for almost a month. It seemed crazy to think of how far Kole and I had come. If I thought back to almost four years ago and had to guess how our lives were going to turn out, I’m pretty sure it wouldn’t have been like this.

  The trouble we had in the beginning almost broke us. Even after Matt went to prison, I was difficult and stubborn. Kole never gave up on me, though. He stood by me and loved me unconditionally.

  The front door closed and I looked up into the eyes of the gorgeous man I adored. He smiled at me as he approached, stepping behind me. Wrapping his arms around my waist he brought his hands to settle onto my stomach.

  “How are my girls doing?” He kissed my neck and breathed me in slowly.

  I let my head fall back onto his shoulder looking up into his adoring eyes. “We’re good, but suddenly we became much better.” I dropped the towels and turned in his arms to face him. “I missed you.” Before he could answer I rose up on my tiptoes and kissed him softly.

  “Oh hell, guys, no wonder you’re pregnant. This is my cue to take off.” Megan blew a kiss as she grabbed her bag and went out the front door.

  “Alone…I like that,” Kole whispered just before his lips once again found mine. I giggled when he picked me up and carried me toward our bedroom. As he lowered me to the bed, he took a minute to look down at me. I smiled up at him and his eyes closed for just a minute. When they opened they appeared glossy.

  I lifted my hand up to touch his cheek, “Hey. What’s going on? What’s wrong?” He just shook his head and once again let his eyes close. “No way, mister. Crawling into a denial bubble is my game, not yours. Now spill it.”

  He relaxed his body alongside me and brushed the hair from my face. As his thumb lightly grazed my jaw, I leaned into his touch. My eyes fluttered shut as I fought my own tears.

  “I love you so much, Lex. In less than two months our daughter is gonna be here and we’ll be a family. You’re amazing and I just got to thinking today about everything you’ve been through.” He swallowed h
ard and I looked up into his eyes.

  Kole kissed me softly, letting his lips linger for a few seconds before pulling back. “I fall for you over and over each day, Lex. You give me so much without even trying to, just because you’re in my life. I have everything I could have ever imagined and it’s ours. It’s all so overwhelming at times.”

  His forehead rested against mine. “A girl like you is next to impossible to find. I’m just one lucky bastard because not only do I have you, but I’m gonna have a little mini you to love also.”

  I couldn’t fight the tears. I held him close to me. “Thank you. Kole, you are my knight. You’re my savior and every day you remind me of that. I love you so much, you crazy caveman.”

  The feeling of his soft kisses on my shoulder, leading up my neck set off my cravings for him. I needed his touch. Slowly over the next hour we made love. He took his time with every move, every taste. It was the most erotic, yet romantic, experience we had ever shared.

  Chapter 47

  Lexi

  Over the next month and a half things were wonderful. We were surrounded by friends and family daily. All the girls decorated my backyard and I came home from Lamaze class to a co-ed baby shower. It was perfect and meaningful.

  Megan and Radley had a set of onesies made for Hanna. They were the cutest things I had ever seen. The first one was yellow with purple writing. Displayed across the front in fancy script, it said, “Auntie Megan is cooler than my mommy.” I laughed and shook my head. Of course she had to say something like that. Radley’s was red with white writing and when I read the wording on it I laughed turning it to face Kole. “What do you think?”

  After he took a second to read it Kole chuckled. “Bullshit, man…you wish.” I turned the onesies so everyone else could see the words. “My Uncle Radley has bigger muscles than my daddy.” Laughter filled the backyard as Radley shoulder bumped Kole and smiled.