by Becca Lee
“We can be excited about this, right?”
I made a feeble attempt at a shrug and remained quiet.
“Oh, come on. This is excellent, being knocked-up on your honeymoon.” She paused. “It was on your honeymoon, right?” She stopped stroking my head, forcing me to reluctantly turn over and sit up next to her. “Or, you dirty hussy, were you already up the duff when you got married?” she mock-gasped.
I reached for a cookie and my water and took a tentative sip before I nibbled on the delicious chocolate. “Honeymoon, I think. It’s the only thing I can think of. I was sick when I was there, but that wasn’t straight after I took my tablets or anything. Or it may have just been one of those not-one-hundred-percent moments. Who knows?” I crammed the rest of the cookie in my mouth. My stomach had decided it wasn’t going to turn me into a version of that freaky chick from The Exorcist, so I was safe to devour as many cookies as I could handle.
“What did Liam say? How’d he take it?”
I snorted, spraying a few crumbs on her bed. She raised a brow at me. “Well, he passed out, and I think he may have even knocked himself out, as well, after that by banging his head.”
She laughed, holding on to her ribs as she did so. “Holy shit. Really? I wish I could have seen that. What did you do? Is he okay?”
“I threw frozen veggies at him.”
Ella laughed again. “Awww, your maternal instincts are kicking in.”
Reaching for another cookie, I looked at her and guffawed. “That’s what I thought. It has to count for something.” Continuing to look at me, Ella remained quiet. I knew she was waiting for me to continue. “He was as freaked out as me. Now he keeps having this weird smile on his face and looking at my stomach and me. Last night, I woke up needing a pee to find him beneath the blankets…” I laughed at her raised eyebrows.
“Do I want to hear this story?”
“I would have been bloody ecstatic if he was going down on me, but the weirdo had his ear to my stomach and was lying perfectly still. After I realised I wasn’t going to get lucky, I asked him what the hell he was doing. You know what the dork told me?” Ella pursed her lips, a slight smile playing at the corners. “He was listening. What the hell did he think he was going to hear, for Christ’s sake?” There may have been a part of me that was just slightly touched by his dorkiness. It was ridiculously sweet, and yes, weird as hell as I was only barely pregnant, but the knowledge that he was actually beginning to get excited about being a dad made me feel a bit gooey inside.
“Did your ovaries just spasm?”
“What?”
“I swear my ovaries just went into a spasm or something. That has to be the sweetest thing I’ve ever bloody heard, and from Liam, hard-arse extraordinaire. Damn, I may just need to call up Preston and see if he can pop by for half an hour.”
I squinted at her, to which she proceeded to snort in laughter at. “I’ve just vomited. Don’t make me bring up my chocolaty cookie goodness, too.” My lips quirked into a small smile. “Okay, so it may have been sweet, but it’s just strange. Everything is already changing.” I knew at any moment she’d roll her eyes at me, so I attempted to pre-empt her. “Yes, I know things will change, but I can’t help sounding like a spoilt brat and complaining a bit—” She gave a light cough. “Or a lot,” I admitted. “I just didn’t expect this right now, is all.”
Reaching out her hand, she held on to mine and gave a tight squeeze. “I get it. I do. Now, move the crap on already and let’s get excited. It’s amazing news.”
My heart swelled. It really was. I didn’t even try to hold back the smile. “Yeah, it is.” I knew Ella was desperate to be able to jump up and down and squeeze the living crap out of me. Small mercies for injuries.
For a moment, a flicker of unease danced deep in my chest, but I forced it down with a gulp. I refused to allow the past to screw this up for me, for us. Liam and I would be the best parents we could be. Rehashing history wouldn’t do me or Liam any good, and it was certainly something I didn’t want to talk to Ella about again. Seven years ago, I’d forced her to make a promise to me, a promise I knew I could see flickering in her eyes over the last hour. Yet, true to form, Ella had stayed steadfast.
“So, have you told your parents yet?” She broke my focus. I dreaded to think what my face looked like as I allowed myself to think about a time I managed to forget most days.
I shook my head furiously. “Hell no. Not yet. As soon as I do, my mum’s going to be knitting booties. Do I have to remind you of the matching bras she knitted us when we were ten?” The thought made me shudder. What sort of insane person knits bras? I laughed at the memory of our itchy non-boobs.
She laughed for a small moment before her face turned serious. I hoped she wouldn’t break her promise. “Erm…so, what about Liam’s family?”
That wiped the laughter from my face. While it wasn’t a broken promise, it was pretty close.
Chapter Two
Liam
It took all I had not to throw my phone across the room. Instead, I gripped it slowly, pressed it off and took slow and deep breaths. Damn Marshall McKenny! The bastard was trying to undercut us again.
We were set to sign a contract for a mixed-use development at the end of the week. Our plans and designs were flawless. Yet somehow, McKenny had his claws into Sutton, the money behind the project. The development was worth a small fortune to our company; it was set to put us on the map.
The fifteen conversations I’d just had with Sutton and his itchy feet had almost pushed me over the edge. It took all the goddamn willpower I had not to jump on my bike and kick McKenny’s weasel arse. Twice over the last ten months, he’d managed to win an account over us. It was so far into the game that he shouldn’t even be close to getting to Sutton, but somehow, the bastard had. By the end of our conversation, I seemed to have placated Sutton with a promise of shifting dates. I had no idea exactly how I’d pull it off, but I had no choice. I would have to make it work.
Powering off my Mac, I knew it was time to head home. Staying at the office, I’d drive myself to distraction thinking of a multitude of ways I could get back at McKenny. It would be so easy to rip off his balls and shove them down his throat, but I knew Jo would threaten to do the same to me if she knew what I had planned.
Flicking off the lights, I set the alarm and locked up. Having some time with Jo was all I needed to make my shitty day that much brighter. An unexpected rush of emotion as I thought of my wife, the word still feeling strange, swept through me. We’d been together for so long, yet the leap to husband and wife still had me double taking. The last few months, from the moment I’d asked her to marry me, to the crazy planning of the wedding, to saying our vows and then spending a hot week on our honeymoon—I shifted my dick at the thought—barely gave me the time to catch my breath. I looked down at the gold band on my finger and smiled. Yeah, wife. I could definitely get used to it.
I pulled my helmet on and secured the strap under my chin. My leg swinging over my Ducati, I was eager to get home to my baby—babies, plural. Jo had always been my baby, yet at that very moment there was a real honest-to-God baby growing in her stomach, I was more eager than usual to head home and spend some time resting between her legs.
Starting up my Duc, I pulled out and headed straight for home.
“Hey, babe. How you feeling?” Jo was in the kitchen draining some pasta. She’d taken the day off to spend some time with Ella. Plus, she was feeling sick as a dog that morning. Her constant vomiting still had me freaked. I had no idea how so much sickness could come out of one person, and daily at that. I’d made a similar comment to her the day before. It hadn’t gone down well. Her threat to throw up on my junk had me back-pedalling. Jo rarely made idle threats, so I knew better than to push her.
She glanced over her shoulder and smiled. “Better, thanks, handsome. Hungry?”
Placing my helmet on the side unit, I stepped up behind her and kissed her neck, taking in her fresh scent as I
did so. The fact that she didn’t smell like vomit had me pressing against her. Who would have thought such a simple thing could be such a turn-on? “Always.” I smiled around my kisses as she relaxed into me.
“Good.” She pushed her sweet arse back against my growing hard-on, and then did so with more force, pushing me away. “I’m starving. Unless you want me to start salivating and chewing on plain pasta, grab the dishes for me and the bread out the oven, please.”
I backed away, groaning lightly. “Anything for you, babe.” Gathering everything we needed for dinner, I sat down at the table with a beer in my hand. “Smells good.”
Jo nodded around a mouthful of pasta, refusing to take a breath to answer me. I knew better than to expect a response. Jo had always liked to eat, which was one of the things I loved about her. Okay, maybe it had more to do with the sex noises she tended to make when she was really enjoying her food. It didn’t take much to get me hard when it had to do with Jo.
“How’d it go with Ella?”
That time, she leaned back from the table and finished chewing before speaking. “Good,” she answered around a bright smile. Her smile was exactly what I needed to see after my shitty day at work. I took a quick glance at her stomach and my own smile grew bigger. I may have had a ‘moment’ when I found out I was going to be a dad, but I recovered pretty quickly. Unlike Jo, who I knew I was pissing off with my constant touching and badgering.
Since finding out our baby was growing in her stomach, I couldn’t help but touch her belly. I also found myself staring at her stomach. What was a man to do? It was hot. Knowing my super sperm—it was its new official name since she was on the pill when my super sperm battled through and left it for dust—had created a baby hit me hard. It hit me in a way I had not expected. Before, I’d found Jo sexy as hell, but now? Damn, I was constantly walking around with a bloody erection.
She was only a few weeks pregnant. I dreaded to think how I was going to survive over the next eight months or so. My dick had only just recovered from our honeymoon incident. I had no idea if it was possible to wear out my dick from too much sex, but I was sure the next eight months might put it to the test.
“She’s really excited and fed me cookies.” She picked up her fork and continued to eat.
“Has she told Preston yet?”
She shrugged. Swallowing her food, she said, “I haven’t received a call or text yet, so I’m assuming not.”
I had no doubt she was right. Jo was pretty tight with her brother—hell, her whole crazy-arse family were inseparable. I expected her folks to be around soon doing some sort of baby-related stuff.
Stopping eating, she pushed her plate away. I raised my brows at her gesture. There was food left on it. Never a good sign. “What’s wrong?” Her smile had slipped.
“Are we going to have to tell your family?”
And there it was. A moment I knew we’d both been dreading. In the build-up to our wedding, it had been bad enough. We’d managed to circumvent my immediate family from attending, thanks to my brother. I knew my mum had been pissed, in the few moments when she was lucid, but she’d lost the right to have an opinion too many years ago. As far as I was concerned, the addition of a baby was none of her business, or any of theirs.
I was still close with a couple of my cousins, and my relationship with my brother was strained. I had no expectations it would be any different, or the desire for that matter.
“No.” That was it. There was no preamble, no need for explanation.
She breathed a sigh of what I assumed to be relief. “You can tell your cousins, Brett and Chris, in a month or two, and your brother will need to know.”
I reached over the table and kissed her sweetly on the lips. “Okay.” Brett and Chris would be happy for me; and my brother Simon…well, he would simply have to know because of our business. Jo would be requiring time off, so he would need to be kept in the loop.
Jo leaned forward to touch her lips with mine once again. Pulling away, she smiled. “Okay,” she responded. She went to collect our dishes.
“It’s fine. I’ll do that. Why don’t you go and run a bath?” I smoothed a strand of hair from her eyes. “You look tired.”
Leaning into my touch, she turned her head and kissed my hand. “I haven’t done shit all day. I have no idea why I’m so damn tired.”
I laughed lightly. “I imagine that’s something to do with our baby.” She quirked her brow. “What? I may have read something about it.” I’d been googling baby stuff and pregnancy over the last forty-eight hours. I’d only just scratched the surface, and based on what I’d already read, I was damn impressed I wasn’t a cowering mess. When I’d stumbled on an image of a placenta and read about what some weirdos did with that shit, hell, I’d gagged and felt the colour drain from me.
“Thanks, honey.” Kissing me once more, she stood and headed to the en-suite. Before she entered our bedroom, she threw over her shoulder, “I’ll be using the blackcurrant and vanilla.”
Hell, yes! I picked up the dirty plates and raced around the kitchen, tidying and stacking the dishwasher. I loved that bath oil; it made her skin smell and taste delicious. My buddy came to life in my pants when I remembered the aroma. I didn’t give a shit what anyone said about my love for a scented bath with my woman. It was sexy as hell. Vagina moment or not, I wouldn’t miss it for anything, not even a back massage, and that was saying something.
Switching the dishwasher on like the domestic god I was—I knew what would get Jo hot and happy—I headed to our room, shedding my clothes as I went. When I opened the door, I heard the water running followed by the splashing of a body entering the tub, and embraced the scent of heaven. My dick sprang happily from my boxers.
Stripping completely, I stepped into the en-suite. Jo lay in the bath, eyes closed, with a towel behind her head. One of the other awesome things about the oil was there were no damn bubbles to block the view of her naked body.
When I touched her arm and inclined my head, she smiled and moved forward, giving me room behind her. I scooted in, rested my back against the tub, stretched my legs around Jo and pulled her back flush to my stomach. A sigh escaped her lips when she pressed against me, and I leaned down and kissed the top of her head.
Laying her head against my chest, she spoke, “How were things at the office?”
I groaned. I would love to keep the stress of the bullcrap of my day from her, but I’d learned long ago that only total disclosure worked. I’d paid for that mistake on a couple of occasions, and vowed never again. “I spoke with Sutton.” I didn’t try to hold back the frustration or exhaustion from my voice. She turned her head and looked up at me, my signal to continue. “McKenny’s caught up with him.”
“That freakin’ mongrel turd. Shit. What happened?”
A small laugh erupted from my chest at Jo’s description, so I leaned down and kissed her when she turned her head to look at me. I parted her lips and licked the bottom one before pulling it lightly into my mouth. She sighed when I leaned away, a smile lighting up her eyes. “He tried to put the pressure on, made Sutton double-think the plans and us, but we’re all good now. We’re back on track.”
“You sure?” A gentle frown formed between her brows.
Leaning down, I kissed it away. “I’m sure.”
She nodded. “I’ll be back tomorrow. I need to look over the final-stage prints for the office spaces.” I returned her nod, distracted by her pert nipples poking out of the water. Moving my hand from where it was resting on her stomach, I stroked upwards and caressed one of her peaks. My other hand, feeling lonely, travelled the same direction, eliciting a moan from her parted lips. “Liam…”
“Yes, baby?” God, I loved it when her voice turned husky and she gasped my name. She turned her head and exposed her neck to me. I eagerly kissed down it, enjoying the scent of the oil. Each kiss pushed her further against my rock-hard dick, causing me to tug firmly on her nipples.
She groaned again and sat forw
ard. I hoped her movement and groan indicated she was getting on her knees for me; she knew how much I loved that. Pummelling into her, while being able to caress her breasts and admire her gorgeous arse at the same time, was always one hell of a turn-on. “Fuck,” she groaned.
Hell, yes! Jo only kept her dirty mouth during sex for special occasions. I had no idea what I did to deserve her asking me to fuck her, but I was not foolish enough to question her. Just as I was manoeuvring to my knees, desperate to sink into her, she swore again, but immediately retched at the same time. “What the hell? Jo?”
She scrambled out the tub and raced to the toilet bowl, pulled up the lid and continued to heave. Before I even had a chance to stand, the dreaded smell of tomato sauce-laced vomit mingled with my sacred blackcurrant and vanilla, turning it into a completely new smell. There was nothing like the smell of puke and the sound of retching to cure me immediately of my raging boner. Damn. Pulling my head out of my arse, I stopped thinking about Jo’s peachy arse and stepped out of the bath to hold her hair.
I had no idea if this was what she wanted, but I’d watched it in a chick flick once. I was only used to hosing her down after she’d downed too many tequila shots with Ella. Somehow, I’d always managed to miss this stage, even after all these years. “You okay, baby?”
She vomited again, the contents of her stomach hitting the water of the toilet. I desperately tried not to look. It was the last thing I wanted to do, but just like rubbernecking at the scene of an accident, I felt compelled to. I leaned over a little to take a squinty look. “What the hell are you doing? Seriously! Are you looking at my sick? What the hell is wrong with you?” She flushed the toilet and turned to glare at me.
