He stopped right in front of her, didn’t touch her, but stared into her eyes, looking into her soul. And all she could say was, “Oh.”
“If you ever put yourself in danger like that again, I will bend you over my knee and spank that ass of yours in front of every-fucking-body. Is that understood? I appreciate what you were trying to do, but understand this, my anger is not because of my manhood, but only because I could have lost you.”
She swallowed so hard it hurt. “Well, I, ah—”
“I’m not finished.” His voice sent delightful shivers down her spine. He reached out and moved her hair away from her forehead, his eyes searching the gash as anger sparked in their depths. “I cannot lose you, Jade Wilder.”
“You won’t, but just know that I can’t lose you either,” she whispered, her face turned up toward him as she touched his cheek. “I’m sorry I’m such a pain in your ass.”
A smile curved his lips. “Oh, you’ll be making it up to me later.” He leaned down and tenderly kissed her lips. “Believe that. I love you, Jade.”
“I love you more, Drake.” She smiled when he growled down at her.
“We’ll see about that.” He held her tightly against him.
Someone behind them cleared their throat. “The doctor’s about to have a shit fit out here. The king has given us permission to go, so will you please stop fooling around and get stitched up so we can get out of fucking pixie land? I got my woman waiting for me.” Max glared at them, then glanced to the left. “Is that fucking donuts?”
Chapter 13
Things had pretty much settled down. Drake was back to working other cases for the agency, and she was still waiting tables. Jade stood at the kitchen window washing dishes from the dinner last night. She usually did them right after she ate, but since Drake had moved in, that rarely happened. They never could make it to the kitchen, which was fine with her.
She had never been happier than she was at this moment in her life. The only thing dimming it was not being able to locate her brother. It was frustrating and scary. She missed him more and more every day he was gone. Ariella’s mother, Luna, was actually calling her, keeping her updated on their search. They had surprisingly become somewhat good friends, though Drake warned her to be careful since she was half-pixie.
She knew Clyde was a man at nineteen years old, but still, he was her little brother. She’d taken care of him for so long, and dammit, she just missed him. The worry nagged at her not knowing if he were alive, okay, or what. If he was happy, great. But the least he could do was contact her someway to let her know… unless he was dead.
“No! He’s fine!” she told herself, slamming a plate on the counter a little harder than necessary.
She glanced at the clock and frowned. She needed to leave for work in half an hour. She was so tired and nauseous. Glancing toward the bathroom, she sighed. Two days ago, after waking up puking and with how exhausted she felt, she’d stopped by the pharmacy and picked up a pregnancy test. She was either sick or pregnant.
“I can’t be pregnant.” She shook her head, then bit her lip. Then again, as much sex as they’d had in the past month, she very well could be pregnant. They practiced safe sex, but she also knew people who had practiced safe sex and still ended up with a surprise baby.
Standing up quickly, she headed toward the bathroom. She stopped at the door, staring in as if there was a monster inside.
“Oh, for shit sake.” She flipped on the light. “Just do it already.”
Opening the drawer, she dug underneath everything she piled on it and pulled out the pregnancy test box. She peeled the plastic off, then opened it up. She didn’t need to read the instructions since years ago she’d had a little scare with a guy who turned out to be a total loser.
“Thank you, God, for that negative reading.” She looked up at her ceiling. “But if you happen to be listening, I wouldn’t be heartbroken if this one turned out positive. Just sayin’. Amen.”
She chuckled at herself, then pulled down her pants, sat on the toilet and grabbed the test. “They really should make this easier.” She moved and positioned herself, hoping not to pee on her hand, which was inevitable. “Yeah, just peed on my hand.” She squealed at the grossness of it.
Once she was finished, she glanced at it, but nothing came up. She carefully placed it on the back of the toilet. Taking care of cleaning herself up, she washed her hands the whole time to avoid looking at the tell-all stick.
Suddenly, a fear settled in her stomach, and she quickly opened the bathroom door and hurried into the living room. What if Drake didn’t want kids? They had never really talked about it. And holy shit, would it be human or elf? Could it be a mix of both? By the time she had thought through everything, she was in a full-blown panic attack.
To try to keep calm, she called work telling Butch she was sick, even tried to fake it with a weird sounding cough. She really might not be lying to Butch, which she hated to think she was; she could really be sick, not pregnant. It was their slow night anyway, and she just couldn’t go. She was either pregnant or not. If she was pregnant, then going into work would be, no wait… if she wasn’t pregnant, going into work would be torture because she realized at that very second, she wanted this. She really wanted to have a baby, Drake’s baby.
Pacing back and forth, she kept looking at the bathroom. She could see the stick. Was it two pink lines for positive or one? Dammit, she should have read the instructions. After rushing in, she pulled the package out of the small garbage can to look, still avoiding the stick.
“Okay, calm down, Jade,” she told herself as she read the instructions. “Hold stick in urine…. Yep, done that. Two lines you are pregnant.”
She dropped the paper in the sink, reached for the stick, but kept her eyes looking at herself in the mirror.
“Stop freaking. You may just have the flu or something. It could be negative.” She actually witnessed the disappointment on her face. “But you could be pregnant because you have been screwing like the end of the world is coming. But you’ve been using protection. Yeah, but it could have broken, that happens all the time… didn’t it? Condoms were 98 percent effective, so there is 2 percent of a ‘uh-oh.’ Ugh, just look at the freaking stick already.”
She walked into the living room with the stick in her hand, then put her hand over her eyes, raising the stick in front of her. Should she wait for Drake? “No, because you’re probably just freaking yourself out and you’re not pregnant at all, so you might as well not freak him out too,” she argued with herself. “Maybe I’m just losing my damn mind. Just look at the damn stick!”
Her fingers separated, and her eyes landed on two pink lines. “Oh my God.” She gasped, removing her hand. “Wait, two lines for pregnant, right?” She glanced at the bathroom, then ran and grabbed the paper.
She screamed, seeing that yes, she was right. Two pink lines equaled pregnant. She screamed again and again. She started to calm down until the door came smashing in. She screamed again, this time in terror.
Drake pulled into the driveway and was getting out of the car when he frowned seeing Jade’s car. She should have left for work fifteen minutes ago. He’d driven home disappointed because he wasn’t going to be able to see her before she left, and tonight he had some news to give her.
Worry filled him as he slammed the door. He’d just made it to the steps leading up to the porch when he heard her scream, then scream again. He sprang into action, didn’t even bother opening the door. No, he just busted his way inside full of panic and rage. She stood in the middle of the room, unhurt from what he could tell, holding something in her hand and looking at him in horror as she screamed.
“What?” He looked around for danger but didn’t see anything. “Jade!”
“Holy shit, you scared me to death!” She weaved, and he was right there, walking her to the couch. “And the door!”
“The door can be fixed.” He sat her down then positioned himself on the edge of the coffee ta
ble, studying her. “You’re so pale. What’s wrong? Why in the hell were you screaming? Are you hurt? Why aren’t you at work?”
He knew he was pelting her with questions, but dammit, it wasn’t every day he came home to hear the woman he loved screaming. In his line of work, he knew he had enemies and tried to shelter her as much as possible. But that was his worst fear.
“I’m fine. I called off,” she replied, as her color started to come back. He watched as she put the hand that held something behind her back.
“What is that?” He frowned; she never called off work. Was she sick? He also didn’t like that she was hiding something from him.
“It’s… ah….” She bit her lip and stared at him wide-eyed.
“Jade?” Drake growled at her. “What’s behind your back?”
“I wanted to kind of ease you into this.” Jade sighed, then pulled her hand from behind her back, holding something up. “Congratulations… daddy.”
He grabbed the stick and stared at it.
“I peed on that,” she warned him but didn’t get a reaction.
“Are you sure?” His eyes finally met hers.
“Pretty sure.” Jade sat back on the couch. “I mean, I guess I need to go to the doctor to be a hundred percent.”
Drake looked back at the stick as every emotion hit him at once. Fear, happiness, love, anxiety, wondering if he’d be a good dad… was it a boy or a girl? What if Jade had a hard pregnancy and… holy shit, he was going to be a fucking dad.
“Listen, we’ve never talked about this baby stuff before,” Jade hedged, her eyes watching him. “So, I mean if you, you know, aren’t really happy about it, then I’m sorry.”
He put the stick down and reached out, drawing her onto his lap. “I’ve never been more fucking happy in my life.” He kissed her, holding her tightly, then cringed. “Guess I need to work on my language.”
Jade chuckled with tears in her eyes. “We’re going to be parents.”
“Damn, or ah… dang.” He laughed with her, feeling a little wetness in his own eyes. “I guess we are. You’re going to be a great mom, Jade.”
“And you’re going to be the best dad.” She snuggled up to him.
“And Clyde is going to be a great uncle, after I kick his ass of course,” Drake said against her hair. “He is over eighteen, isn’t he?”
“Nineteen.” Jade sighed, then sat up, clipping his jaw. “Wait? What?”
“Tarron and Max, found him and Ariella.” Drake rubbed and moved his jaw where her head smacked him. “They’re bringing them home. They’re fine, Clyde’s a little nervous, but fine.”
“Thank God!” Jade cried, as he wiped her tears. Then she pulled away in panic. “The king will kill him.”
“No, I won’t let that happen.” Drake assured her, then chuckled. “And I seriously doubt his daughter will let that happen either. From what I was told, she had a long conversation with her father, who agreed no harm would come to Clyde as long as they came home.”
“And you trust him?” She eyed him closely. “From what you all have said, pixies can’t be trusted, and they are evil and—”
He put a finger to her lips. “Trust me.” His eyes narrowed. “I won’t let anything happen to your brother, other than me giving him a good talking down to for putting you in danger.”
“I do trust you,” Jade replied, grabbing his hand away from her mouth.
“Good, because all this worry can’t be good for the baby, or you.” Drake pulled her to him. “Now, what are we going to name her?”
“Her?” She glanced up at him. “I thought you’d want a boy to do all that manly stuff with.”
“I want a little girl who looks just like you, green eyes and all.” He cupped her cheek.
“You might be sorry.” Jade chuckled. “Two of me might be too much.”
“Two of you would be just right.” Drake kissed her, and in that one kiss, promised her everything a man could possibly promise the woman he loved.
Damn, she was so beautiful. When she said she trusted him, his heart fucking soared. Jesus, there he went again. If he wasn’t careful, he’d give all dark elves a bad name. But she brought out all the goodness and put his darkness in her beautiful light.
“Plus, with a girl, you’d have to fight off all the guys coming around when she got older,” Jade added as she bit her lip, as if not to smile. “You think you can handle that?”
“I will kill any piece of shit who even looks her way.” His growl was dark and sinister. Okay, so his dark side was still present and accounted for.
“Then maybe we should start with a boy.” She laughed at his seriousness before climbing on his lap to face him. “He can help you keep the boys away.”
“You were made for me.” Drake didn’t smile, just stated that fact. “I love you, Jade. And I will do everything in my power to keep you safe, happy, and loved.”
Leaning her forehead against his, Jade sighed. “You really mean that?”
“With everything in me.” He growled again, a little upset she even had to question him.
“Good, then please take me to get an ice cream.” Jade pulled away with a big grin on her face. “I have a feeling this baby is going to want ice cream as much as me because right now, I am dying for a triple scoop of double chocolate, chocolate chip on a waffle cone.”
He stood up with her still wrapped around him. He grabbed his keys off the counter where he threw them and headed for the door. “Your wish is my command.”
“Do dark elves grant wishes?” She giggled, her legs tightening around him as he carried her out the front door as if she were a part of him.
“This one does.” He went to close the door behind him, realizing he had broken the damn thing down. Shit! He set Jade on her feet quickly, grabbed the door and positioned it closed as best he could. Knowing they wouldn’t be gone long, he glanced at his work and felt it would suffice for the moment. He turned and picked her back up, then kissed her deeply, not caring who saw them. “Any wish you have, consider it fulfilled.”
As they made their way to the car, Jade continued making wishes, one wish almost sending them back into the house. A happiness and sense of belonging almost sent Drake to his knees. He stopped at the car looking down at the beauty in his arms, realizing how lucky he truly was to have found her.
Also by Teresa Gabelman
Lee County Wolves
Forbidden Hunger (Lee County Wolves Series) Book #1
Forbidden Seduction (Lee County Wolves Series) Book #2
Forbidden Desire (Lee County Wolves Series) Book #3
Forbidden Temptation (Lee County Wolves Series) Book #4
The Protectors Series
Damon (The Protectors Series) Book #1
Jared (The Protectors Series) Book #2
Duncan (The Protectors Series) Book #3
Sid (The Protectors Series) Book #4
Adam (The Protectors Series) Book #5
Slade (The Protectors Series) Book #6
A Warrior Wedding (The Protectors Series) Book #7
Jax (The Protectors Series) Book #8
Sloan (The Protectors Series) Book #9
Blaze (The Protectors Series) Book #10
Invisible Warrior (The Protectors Series) Book #11
Ronan (The Protectors Series) Coming Soon!
Other Books by Teresa Gabelman
Sanctuary
The Enforcer
Blind Faith
Rodeo Romance
Karma’s Revenge (A Bad Girls Novel)
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TeresaGabelman.com
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Claiming Jade Page 9
