Given

by Ashlynn Monroe

  He moaned. A happy little bubble floated up, followed by another as he ran his fingers in her tangled hair and tugged, just a bit. “Why do you have to be so perfect for us?” he muttered.

  She didn’t respond, only increased her suction, drawing a low moan from him. His fingers left her hair and slipped under her to toy with her nipples. They were hypersensitive. Wetness trickled down her thighs. The realization that she remained covered in the other’s ejaculation, gave her a moment pause. She needed a shower before Brax came inside of her, offering herself to him in this condition felt wrong. The emotion she refused to name that lived between them deserved better.

  She pulled away from his cock. “I’m sorry. I need to go clean up. Will you stay with me tonight, if it’s okay with DeAnthony? It’s still his night.”

  “I’m good,” DeAnthony said. “I’m damn tired now. That was great, baby girl.”

  Braxton’s expression was blank. He moved, picking her up in his arms. She yelped with helpless shock. Without a word to the others, he carried her toward his room. She glanced over his shoulder to see the others looking as surprised as she felt.

  He kicked open his bedroom door and carried her to the private bathroom. Brax set her on her feet and moved wordlessly to his large tub. This one was even larger than the one in her room. She knew it could seat all six of them if they were of a mind to jump in together. He turned on the faucet and put the plug into the drain. She watched him gathering soap, shampoo, and towels. He still hadn’t said a word.

  “Are you mad at me?” she whispered, afraid to hear his response.

  “Never,” he replied, but she noticed a tick in his jaw that declared his words a lie.

  “I’m sorry. I know I’d said no more group…games. I just wanted… I wasn’t bad.”

  “I know,” he replied, still not looking at her.

  When he turned, she saw it then, his grief. Her heart ached, she’d put that terrible look on his face. She fought the urge to be angry. She hadn’t asked for this polygamy.

  “I…” She didn’t know what to say.

  “I’m falling for you, Krista. It’s not just because you’re the only woman on Earth for me. It’s you. You’re fascinating. When I saw you with the others, I was so pissed, but you were so beautiful. I’ve never been so turned on in my life.” He took her hand and led her to the tub, helping her step over the edge. “You were different with me. I saw it. Why?” Brax questioned softly.

  “I don’t know,” she replied honestly. “I feel something so—it’s almost special. I don’t know. I think you’re my favorite.”

  He grinned and lathered up the washcloth. He started with her back and neck. She sighed. The sensation of his touch gave her comfort, but also made her lust renew. Krista marveled at her reaction. After all that sex, she could still hunger for this one man. The idea of having him touch her, come inside of her body… Brax excited her more than all the sexual excess she’d just experienced. Krista bit her lip and looked at her bare knees sticking out of the water.

  “What is it? Have you changed your mind about being with me tonight?”

  “No,” she cried, then clamped her mouth shut. She didn’t know how to articulate the bizarre way she felt. “I—you twist me up inside,” she finally uttered.

  Brax grinned. “Now you know how I feel. There’s something developing between us, right? Don’t lie.”

  She nodded, afraid of speaking and giving away just how deeply she was falling for him. She knew she could love Brax if she allowed herself to be that foolish.

  “I’m going to make you feel something better than twisted, Kristannie.” His hand dipped between her intimate lips. The water in the tub splashed. He began to rub her already sensitive clit.

  Her pussy clenched hungrily as a little orgasm over took her. She closed her eyes. The mewling gasp came from deep inside. Her hips bucked, and water sloshed over the side of the tub. Brax replaced his hand with the soapy washcloth. He washed her pussy and inner thighs. She opened her eyes and watched him attending to her. A ghost of a smile tilted her lips upward.

  When he looked at her, he smiled back. “What are you thinking about?”

  “How I like it when you look so serious. Do you have any idea how handsome you are?”

  He grunted. “Handsome doesn’t do much good these days, unless you’re into guys. Sucks to be straight. Well, it did until you arrived.”

  “I can’t imagine if things were reversed, sharing you like you share me.”

  He scowled. “As hot as that was to watch, I wanted to bash heads together when I saw you with them, especial Jared. You like him, don’t you?”

  His question took her by surprise. “I like him, sure. You’re my favorite, Braxton.” She looked down shyly. Why she felt nervous admitting what he should’ve guessed was a mystery.

  He seemed moderately pacified by her admission. “I just want to fuck you until my name is the only one on your lips, woman,” he complained.

  She screamed as he pulled her out of the tub so quickly she didn’t have time to prepare. He pressed her back up against the bathroom wall, her slick body slid, squeaking against the surface. He wrapped one of her legs around his hip and supported her with his hands on her ass as his cock slid inside of her easily. She wrapped her arms around his neck, burying her face in his neck. He fucked the same way he did everything—epically. Brax was the kind of man who would have had women lined up around the block, but he was all hers. Her inner woman purred, knowing she was the most exciting thing in his life.

  Pleasure quickly surged and then crested. She shuddered violently as she came, her back arched. Her pussy tightened around him as it convulsed with the joyous release he gave her. Krista screamed his name. The sound echoed off the bathroom walls. She never wanted to let him go. He cried out, his breath tickling her ear as her half-wet, half-dry hair fluttered against her skin. He came, but unlike the others, she didn’t want to wash him away. Krista relished the proof she’d given him her body, because she reluctantly admitted she’d already given him her heart.

  Krista rested her forehead on his shoulder and he huffed with exertion. “I think I’m falling in love with you,” she whispered.

  His muscles tightened and his body went stiff. She was afraid to look at his face. When he tried to tilt her face up, she resisted. He prodded her chin insistently and she finally found the inner strength to meet his eyes. Those beautiful, blue eyes were so bright.

  “Good, because I’m fucking crazy about you, Kristannie. I’d call what I feel a whole lot more than lust, I’d call it adoration, respect, awe, and yes, love.” He reached back and grasped a towel, wrapping it around her. “Now I’m going to take you to my bed and remind you that you’re mine.”

  The promise on his face made her sigh. She hated how much she cared about this man. He had the power to make her want so much more than a peaceful life. When she looked into Brax’s eyes, she dreamed of having the fairytale. Real love was lost for her generation, but that didn’t stop the non-rational part of her brain from demanding she give into her feelings for him.

  Chapter 10

  Seven Months Later

  Krista put her hand on her distended abdomen. She was due in a few months. Life had become so strange. The live-in doctor and Jared constantly seemed to be disagreeing, and her relationship with Brax had become strained. She’d spent so many wonderful afternoons making love with him after life had found a routine and the others had gone back to work. Everything had almost felt…wonderful. Then she’d announced she was pregnant, and her doctor had almost immediately ordered an amniocentesis. It was done at only fourteen weeks. The child was healthy and Braxton’s. Instead of the news making him happy, he seemed sullen.

  Max was standing alone on the patio, smoking a cigar. Krista went outside quietly. A winter chill filled the air and she could see her breath. Snow blanketed the world beyond the patio. She had the irrational urge to run out into the pristine yard and make an angel, just to see Max’s react
ion. The outdoor heater hummed and Krista moved toward the slightly warmer air around it.

  He glanced over to her, surprised. “Shouldn’t you be inside, away from my smoke? You don’t want to get sick, not when you have to be healthy for two.”

  She grinned at him. Once upon a time, she’d thought he was a jerk, but they’d developed a very unlikely friendship. “I just wanted to say hi,” she told him quietly.

  “What’s up? You’ve been so sad lately. I’ve noticed you aren’t eating, and I don’t like it,” he replied gruffly.

  “I’m fine. Don’t yell at me or I’ll go back inside.” She stuck out her tongue at him.

  He scowled, but then chuckled. “This is about Brax, isn’t it?” There was an odd tone in his question.

  “Yes,” she replied truthfully.

  “Do you want me to talk to him?”

  “God no!” She responded so quickly, he started chuckling again.

  “Love. Fuckin’ sucks,” he muttered, gazing out at the lake.

  He could say that again. As un-poetic as his words were, he’d gotten it right. Then she paused, pondering when he’d ever fallen in love.

  “How would you know?” she retorted, annoyed.

  His head whipped around in her direction so quickly, she marveled that he didn’t have whiplash. “That’s my point,” he replied. “I know.”

  Realization dawned on her and she felt small and stupid. “I’m sorry,” she said evenly, not sure how else to respond.

  “I never thought it would happen, but right from the beginning you were everything I needed without knowing it. Brax is a fucking idiot. I was really hoping that baby would be mine, something more to connect us. I’d never have gotten cold like he has. I don’t care if it’s his. I’ll love your child, Krista, because I love you.”

  She rushed over to him, tears filling her eyes. He tossed his cigar into the snow and wrapped his arms around her.

  “Christ! You’re freezing. Let’s go inside. You shouldn’t have come out in just a sweater.” His arms tighten around her as he led her back inside the house.

  There was a fire going in the living room fireplace, and Max kicked off his boots as he ushered her inside. His grip didn’t slacken, and she relished the comforting warmth. The realization that he loved her made her ache. Nothing about life was fair, but she hated hurting him. She’d set her heart on Brax from the start.

  Max sat her on the ottoman he kicked close to the fireplace and turned the blower on high. Warmth poured over them. “Don’t let yourself get sick. I doubt that quack of a doctor would give you as much as Tylenol for a cold.”

  Max rushed away, but when he returned he held a cup of hot Jasmine tea, her favorite. The fragrant smell gave it away as she took the cup. “Thank you,” she said, giving him a small smile.

  The worried look left his face and he appeared satisfied. Max crouched down beside her, his hand was cold when he caressed her cheek. “I’ll talk to the bastard. He shouldn’t be messing with your head, especially now.”

  “I’m fine, really. Please don’t talk to him. Things are weird enough, I don’t want them to get worse.”

  He frowned, his lips thinned to a fine line. “Okay, but just don’t feel alone in this. I want to be there for you. I don’t care who the father of your child is, I’d be proud to call it mine.”

  Affection for Max filled her deeply, and she began to cry. She’d been doing a lot of that lately.

  “Don’t,” he mumbled.

  “Sorry,” she whispered.

  Max tilted her face up so she had to look at him. His kissed her tears and rested his forehead against hers. “Don’t apologize. You have nothing to be sorry for.”

  She felt him stroking her ponytail. This was the most physically affectionate he’d ever been with her outside of the bedroom. Knowing how hard it was for him made the gestures all the more meaningful.

  Brax walked into the room, his foot hovered in the air, and he froze. It would’ve been comical if his face hadn’t twisted with so much rage. He seemed to recover, then stomped away in the direction he’d just come from, slamming the door. Max stood, and Krista saw the darkness on his face. She grabbed his hand quickly.

  “Don’t go there, Max, please. The doctor will report any fighting. They’re watching us so much more closely. Only another month and a half before the jackass leaves and we can get back to normal, our normal.”

  Her words seemed to pacify him slightly. “Don’t worry. I won’t kill him, even if I’d like to. Just get warm.”

  Max stalked away in the direction Brax had gone. A moment later, Krista heard arguing. She prayed it didn’t get any louder. The last thing she wanted was to be taken away during her pregnancy. She’d surely find herself back in the protection facility. The moment her baby was born, she’d be re-given and her baby stolen. Shivering, she stood. Her legs trembled and she fell. She reached out to grab hold of the side table, but all she managed to do was knock over a vase.

  The loud crash was followed by the sound of rushing feet. Jared came running in. “Are you all right?”

  “Yes,” she lied.

  Doctor Jackson was right behind Jared. He grabbed her wrist and looked at his watch. Then he glanced at Jared and the men seemed to be having some silent conversation, which annoyed her greatly. “I’ll get her upstairs,” Jared said gravely as he picked her up.

  Max and Braxton’s argument escalated in the other room. “What’s going on?” the doctor demanded to know. “Did one of those men hurt you?”

  “No, nothing like that. I went outside in the cold, my mistake. They’re arguing about something not connected to me,” she lied quickly.”Just ignore them.”

  The doctor’s eyebrow rose, and Krista knew he didn’t believe her by the skeptical look on his face. She bit her lip.

  Jared was running with her. He rushed past his brother. “Go tell those jackasses to stop fighting and that Krista is bleeding.”

  His words startled her. She looked down. She hadn’t noticed, but she was bleeding. Her jeans had a dark splotch on the crotch. Whimpering, she looked into Jared’s eyes.

  “It’ll be all right,” he told her reassuringly. She nodded, but worried he was lying for her benefit. It was too soon for her baby to be born.

  Jared laid her on the portable exam table the doctor had in his room. He hooked a stress monitor around her abdomen, and Jared started to turn on the equipment. Krista watched the men preparing. Their tenseness wasn’t comforting her.

  The doctor began checking readings. “I need to speak with you,” he told Jared.

  When they left the room, she laid her head on the table and cried, sobbing hard. She wanted this baby, even if Brax didn’t. This was her family and she’d never felt any connection close to what she felt for the little, unborn child in her womb. She wanted to give her child all the love that her government had denied her. For the first time in her life, she had something precious that really and truly mattered. Even powerless, she’d find a way to protect her son or daughter from what awaited it.

  The doctor knew if it was a boy or a girl, but she’d asked him not to tell her. She didn’t want to worry about her child’s fate before she had to. Now her unborn child’s very life was in danger. She closed her eyes, hating herself. She’d let her stupid emotions for Brax cloud her judgment about what was best for her child. Not taking care of herself had been the equivalent of not caring for her baby. The guilt she experienced was poignant.

  Jared returned, without the doctor. Not a good sign. She tried to calm down and stop sobbing.

  He pulled up a chair and sat down, then took her hand. “Krista, we need to transport you to the hospital. The doctor feels you would benefit from more advanced diagnostic equipment. Don’t panic, we don’t know what’s wrong yet. Everything will be fine, as long as you stay calm. Stressing out won’t help your child.” He wiped a tear from her cheek. “I’m sorry, I should’ve insisted you eat and take better care of yourself instead of letting my anger with
your doctor keep me silent. He wasn’t doing a very good job and I should’ve stepped in.”

  “It’s okay. I’m to blame, not you. I shouldn’t have let myself get so wound up.”

  “We’ll get you to the hospital, and then everything will be all right.”

  “Will it?” she whispered.

  “I hope so,” he replied. The honesty in his eyes made her want to start crying all over again.

  “Okay,” she replied, willing to do whatever it took to save her child. She just hoped she hadn’t come to her senses too late.

  The ambulance came. It was freezing outside. The temperature had dropped at least another ten degrees. Mal threw her coat over her torso. She lay strapped helplessly onto the gurney. He handed her overnight bag to one of the paramedics. She nodded to him and the stricken look on his face stopped her heart.

  Brax pushed Jared out of the way and got in with her. Jared grabbed his arm. Brax shrugged off his friend’s hold. “I’m going with her,” he said with finality.

  The doors closed. They didn’t turn on the siren, and that made her feel a little better. She knew if they’d turned on the siren, things would be much worse. She’d seen security waiting in their cars. Knowing they’d be going to the hospital to guard her was strangely comforting. For the doctor and her six to allow the risk of her leaving the compound, she knew it was serious.

  Brax took her hand, and she looked into his face. He didn’t look cold, an appearance she’d recently grown accustomed to, instead she saw torment in his expression. His brow creased, and fine lines radiated from his eyes that she hadn’t noticed before. His neatly trimmed goatee, a new addition to his face since the cold weather hit, had a few gray hairs. He suddenly looked ridiculously aged and seeing it made her feel even worse.

  “I’m sorry, Kristannie. This is my fault,” he mumbled.

  The paramedic took her blood pressure. “Sir, try to keep her calm,” he scolded Brax gruffly.