In the Still of the Night
Page 13
"I knew you would get antsy being here all the time. I knew you wanted more freedom than I gave you, but when you faked that breakdown so you wouldn't have to testify against me..."
"And then you married me so it wouldn't ever come up again."
He looked stunned by her statement.
"You were already my wife in my heart. The only reason I hadn't forced the legal issue earlier is because I was waiting for you to come to me."
His eyes grew sad, his gun hand dipped. Jayden knew this was her only chance. Without giving it much forethought, she grabbed the jewel-encrusted dagger—the one she'd seen him use to cut out that poor man's tongue—and aimed for his head. She knew a direct hit in the eye would kill him. At the last minute, she pulled her aim and plunged the dagger into the hand that held the gun.
Gunfire exploded as Lorenzo's scream filled the room.
Run!
She got three steps before strong arms trapped her against an even stronger chest. She struggled, kicked, and finally bit hard into the flesh of the arms that held her. In her panic, all she could think about was getting free, seeing if she'd been hit by a bullet, if her baby had been hit.
"Shit, Jayden! It's me, baby.” His voice gentled, his arms tightened. “It's me."
The room suddenly seemed filled with people. She saw uniforms and dogs, voices were everywhere, and as she grabbed hard onto Zane's arms, she felt the first of what she knew was going to be many, many tears.
* * * *
Mica opened his eyes to the soft scent of lilac as the first hint of sunlight filtered through the blind on the window. He closed his eyes against the pain in his head.. Not that the pain was unexpected. It had been pretty much a regular occurrence for the past four days, so he was almost used to it. The nausea was the worst part for him, and the fact that he couldn't stand upright for very long before he needed to clutch something. But fifty million tests agreed that there was no bleeding in his brain and the swelling was going down. He'd been told all he could do was take it easy. Right.
"Baby, you awake?"
The soft voice was accompanied by an even softer touch.
Oh goody. I've started hallucinating.
Everyone around this place skirted his questions. No one other than medical personnel had been allowed in his room, and he was about stark raving crazy by this point. The pain caused him to moan. He reached for his head, saw for the first time that the restraints were removed.
"Zane, get the doctor.” He felt that soft touch again. “Mica, can you hear me?"
Eyes closed, a goofy grin on his face, he murmured, “I hear you. This is the best hallucination I've ever had."
"Mica, honey. Open your eyes and look at me."
"Whatever you say, honey."
Mica's eyes opened on the sweetest sight he'd ever seen in his life. Jayden's smile. He touched her face, cupped her cheeks in his palms, caressed her shoulders, held her hands. “Is it really you? You're okay?"
She smiled even as she cried. “Everything's perfect."
"How...?"
She pressed her lips against his and for a time. Mica forgot all questions and lived only in the moment of Jayden's taste. It amazed him how, after everything, she could still ignite a fire of passion inside him that nothing but all of her would satisfy. He eased his tongue inside her luscious mouth with a rush of emotions, as if it was their first kiss. She whimpered and squirmed and wriggled her way into his hospital bed, and Mica pulled her body against his.
"Jesus, Jayden, the baby.” He touched her swollen belly, looked from it back into her eyes. “The baby's all right?"
Her sweet smile answered him. She touched his cheek so softly, a touch that burned to his soul. Then pure relief as he heard the words. “I've been checked out several times. We're both fine."
"Not that she sat still long enough for a decent examination.” Both heads swiveled toward the door where Zane, in all his leather and piercings, made his way back into the room. “I sort of hoped now that she saw with her own eyes you were all right, she'd let the doctors here look at her. Of course, they're all running scared of her. You should have heard the fit she threw when she saw your restraints."
"Brit."
"Yank."
Mica smiled in spite of himself. Scratching his head, he inquired, “I suppose I have you to thank."
"The bastard's dead. You can thank me for that.” His tone hardened by the smallest margin. “But don't thank me for giving you back Jayden. If I'd had a choice, I'd have kept her for myself, and we both know it."
Mica acknowledged the statement with a nod.
"I'm gonna slip back outside. Convince her to be seen."
Mica waited until the door shut before he tucked Jayden's body close to his and brought his head down atop hers. “You will let them see you, but they can damn well do it in here."
Jayden smiled and snuggled closer. She'd never before felt so relived, so fulfilled, so love, so ... everything. She couldn't believe the nightmare was over and she was actually going to get to live out her fantasies. Her children would swim in that pond, Gene and Steffi would take them for ice cream on hot summer afternoons, they'd all dance in the street together after the fireman's barbeque. It was too much. More than she'd ever hoped and everything she could ever want all rolled up in a package she couldn't resist.
Mica had come into her life like the storm she'd been caught in and had laid claim to her body and soul with such fervency that she'd gladly given him her heart for all eternity.
"I love you, Mica. I always will."
Mica still felt too groggy to believe this was real, that it was over. How was it possible that the past months had even happened? How was it possible to find the woman of your heart in a back alley in the midst of a horrible storm?
She was pregnant with his baby. She loved him. She set his body on fire with need—even now his cock was hard. He couldn't wait to watch her atop him, her swollen belly between them, and God help him when her milk came in. He envisioned it beading on her hard nipples, could almost taste it as he ran the tip of his tongue over it. Who knew he'd be such a pervert?
It was a damn shame his body ached so much right now. Then again, there was a lock on his door, and she would be gentle with him. His smile hitched on one side as he looked down on her.
"You have the sweetest voice I've ever heard, angel, and I'm beside myself with happiness to hear it, but tell me again, this time...” He pressed his hand over her heart and looked down into her blue eyes. “...heart to heart."
The End
[Back to Table of Contents]
Author Bio
Born and raised on the beaches of southern California, Samantha now dwells in the mountains of Virginia. She shares her home with a man who swears they're married, and two sons who she still loves dearly—even if they have turned into foreign creatures since becoming teenagers.
Passionate and creative to the point of insanity, and a born a storyteller like her grandmother, she loves writing romances because there is no greater adventure in the world than falling in love. While her current projects include contemporary and suspense, she does have her eye on sci-fi/fantasy sometime in the future.
She loves to hear from her readers. You can reach her at: romance@mail2samantha.com or visit her Web site: www.samanthalucas.com
* * * *
VISIT COBBLESTONE PRESS, LLC
WWW.COBBLESTONE-PRESS.COM
ROMANTIC FANTASIES FOR EVERY READER!
MAINSTREAM, SENSUAL, AND EROTIC ROMANCE
LIT, PDF, HTML, AND MOBI FORMATS AVAILABLE
* * *
Visit www.cobblestone-press.com for information on additional titles by this and other authors.
t-filter: grayscale(100%); -moz-filter: grayscale(100%); -o-filter: grayscale(100%); -ms-filter: grayscale(100%); filter: grayscale(100%); " class="sharethis-inline-share-buttons">share