‘MIA,’ she yelled again. I frowned as I walked to the bedroom door. That wasn’t her usual I’m hungry, or I’m floundering in the sofa, help me yell. I quickly opened the door and raced down the stairs.
‘Lexi?’ I called as I ran to her bedroom, my heart racing.
‘Kitchen,’ I heard her cry. I ran in and looked at her horrified. She was doubled over the island and looked really pale. ‘O God, what’s wrong? Are you ok?’
‘No,’ she groaned. ‘Really bad cramps and they’re not moving like normal. I think something’s wrong.’
‘O God,’ I uttered as I quickly walked to her and rubbed her back trying to soothe her. I was trying to breathe calmly, when really I was ready to go into complete nervous meltdown. ‘We’ll get you straight to the hospital. Cover your ears.’
‘Will that stop the pain?’ she gasped.
‘No, but it will stop you from ruptured ear drums when I yell for Gabe,’ I advised and she nodded and did as she was told. I screamed his name at the top of my lungs, hurting my throat as I did. I heard him banging about upstairs and then hammering down the stairs.
‘Mia?’ he yelled and skidded into the kitchen and pulled up to a stop as he looked at us horrified.
‘Hospital, now,’ I nodded.
‘Her waters have broken? It’s too early.’
‘They haven’t,’ I replied with a shake of the head and he read the concern on my face immediately.
‘Shit, you get the Range Rover ready, I’ll help her.’
I flew out of the front door, opened the garage and backed his dad’s Range Rover out and opened the back door. Gabe came out of the house holding Lexi up and I ran to close the front door and then hopped into the back to help her in. He lay her down, so I lifted her head and put it on my lap, as Gabe jumped in the driver’s seat and tore out of the drive with a wheel spin. I grabbed one of Lexi’s hands and stroked her forehead with the other.
‘When the pain gets really bad you scream as loud as you like and you grip my hand really hard,’ I told her and she nodded up at me.
‘Mia, what if something’s really wrong? What if … I can’t put you through that again.’
‘Sssshhhh. Nothing’s going to go wrong Lex, the doctors will check you and they’ll know what to do.’
‘But what if …’
‘Stop,’ I interrupted. ‘Nothing is going to go wrong, because I say it won’t. No one is that unlucky, we’re not going to be that unlucky, do you hear me?’ I was trying to convince myself more than Lexi. Gabe and I really did seem to be that unlucky, and if this went wrong it would break me. Not to mention how it would make Gabe and Lexi feel.
‘Talk to me, keep me distracted,’ she begged and then winced through the pain.
‘I think you need to talk to me. Don’t think I haven’t noticed Doug hanging around more than normal. What’s going on?’
‘Nothing gets past you does it?’ She gave me a half smile as she looked up at me.
‘No, so spill. Though if you’ve been having sex I’d really rather not know. The thought of Gabe and my babies in your tummy is weird enough, without the thought of Doug’s penis up there as well.’
‘Stop it,’ she giggled as she clutched her stomach. ‘There’s been no sex. Besides, how the hell could I when my stomach is the size of a cow. He’d be rocking on top of me like a seesaw.’
‘So what’s going on? He’s not coming round all the time to hang out with Gabe, and I’ve seen the looks he’s giving you.’
‘I wasn’t going to tell you … Oooo, shit,’ she groaned and I squeezed her hand, ‘until after all this as I wasn’t sure how much …excitement you could take.’
‘He’s asked you out hasn’t he?’
‘Yes,’ she nodded.
‘I knew it. He’s been getting this soft fuzzy face as he looked at while you were pregnant. More than his normal adoring looks at you. So? Have you said yes?’
‘I … don’t know what to do,’ she panted and gripped my fingers so hard I had to bite the inside of my lip to not wince in pain myself.
‘You’re still scared after last time?’ I asked, remembering how devastated she’d been when he’d backed out of seeing her again, after telling her that he loved her.
‘Yes,’ she whispered.
‘Ok, well you’re a qualified counsellor now who’s looking for a day job, so your only responsibilities are to Greyson’s at night. I’m going to pay for you to go on holiday for a couple of weeks, somewhere warm where you can relax and recharge after all this, and I’m sending Doug with you. No interruptions,’ I warned as she started to protest. ‘The surrogacy counsellor told us it would help you to have some distance after giving birth and having to hand the babies over to us, and you agreed that you wanted that. This way you get to have a break with Doug, who you’re already friends with, and you can see how things develop.’
‘Mia,’ she moaned. ‘What if …. Owwwwww … what if it doesn’t work out with us?’
‘What if it does? Look at Gabe and I. This time last year we were separated, but if it’s meant to be nothing will keep you apart.’ I smiled as I stroked her hair, then grimaced as she went even paler and palmed her stomach harder. ‘Gabe, tell me we’re not far, please.’
‘Two minutes,’ he called back over his shoulder.
‘Drive faster,’ I ordered. He did, he skidded to a stop right outside the A&E entrance doors and yelled for help as he flung open the door. My heart was pounding, Lexi had gone all clammy and her eyes were rolling and unfocussed. I had a feeling she was on the verge of passing out and I’d never been so scared. Not even when Adam had me chained with a knife on my face.. Some hospital staff came running out with a gurney and helped to lie Lexi on it.
‘Her name is Lexi. She’s our surrogate mother, carrying twins and is under the care of Dr. Walker at Riverdale,’ advised Gabe as we quickly followed them inside. ‘She’s not just our surrogate, she’s our best friend, please help her.’
‘You’ll need to stay here while we take her through, we’ll be with you as soon as possible.’
‘I need to go with her,’ I begged, but they whisked her out of sight behind some double doors. As they shut I burst into tears and Gabe hauled me against his chest and I could feel his heart racing as fast as mine.
‘Doug? It’s Gabe … no, we’re at A&E, it’s Lexi and the twins … no idea. Can you come? Great … Can you also bring some jumpers and cash? We kind of left in a rush, I forgot my wallet and Mia’s freezing. Great, see you shortly.’
‘Gabe,’ I sobbed. I needed to be with her, she’d be so terrified. He led me to a soft armchair and sat me down, crouched at my feet and grasped my hands.
‘I need to move the car, baby. I’m blocking the path for the ambulances. I’m so sorry, I’ll be as fast as I can, I promise.’ He kissed my hands and quickly ran. I covered my eyes and tried to take deep calming breathes. It was going to be ok, we were in hospital, they were trained for this. Lexi and the babies were going to be ok. I practiced some of Dr. Jarvis’s techniques for dealing with stressors, and had to try to focus as a nurse asked me to complete a load of admission paperwork for Lexi. I curled back up and hugged myself and closed my eyes. Suddenly strong arms lifted me and Gabe held me to him as he sank back down into the chair with me on his lap. ‘Any news?’
‘No,’ I whispered as I clung to his t-shirt and shivered, more through fear than cold. He ran his hands up and down my arms as we waited, silently. Doug burst through the doors looking for us about twenty minutes later.
‘Shit you guys, I’m so sorry. What’s happening?’
‘We don’t know, no news,’ advised Gabe. ‘Baby, come on, stand up for me, Doug has a jumper for you to wear. You’re trembling and cold.’
I nodded and he helped me up and I lifted my arms as he tugged the navy V-neck over me and down. It hung off me, with the long sleeves covering my hands. I stood in a trance as he turned the cuffs back for me. I couldn’t believe this was happening. Not Lexi, not the
twins. Doug gave me a hug as Gabe quickly pulled on a black jumper.
‘Coffee?’ asked Doug. I nodded and Gabe did too.
‘Mr. and Mrs. Austin?’ We both looked up as someone in scrubs stood at the double doors.
‘I’ll get coffee, go and find out what’s happening,’ advised Doug with a pat to Gabe’s back. Gabe took my hand and we walked over.
‘You’re the parents?’
‘Yes. How’s our friend? How are the babies?’ he asked.
‘Dr. Walker is working on them now, both the surrogate and babies were in foetal distress. We’re performing an emergency C-section now. I’m sorry to ask this, but we need to know where your priorities lie if we have to make a choice?’
‘You’re asking us to choose between my best friend and our babies?’ I gasped as I looked at him in horror. He gave me a sad smile and a nod. This was too much, I couldn’t bear it. I quickly turned to Gabe and buried my face in his chest. He put his arms around me and held me tightly.
‘If you have to make a choice, then … then you save Lexi,’ he replied with a wavering voice.
Full Circle
I sat on the edge of the bath and wiped away the tears from my eyes. I was drained and emotional and wondered how I was going to make it through my birthday and wedding anniversary lunch and evening meal. I dabbed my eyes and looked up as a naked Gabe strode into the bathroom looking for me.
‘Hey, why the tears?’ he frowned as he scooped me up and carried me back to bed.
‘I just feel really emotional today,’ I sighed as he kissed my forehead.
‘Understandable. But we’re seeing everyone later, our parents, Georgie and Justin and Doug and Lexi. You’ll soon feel better when you’re dressed up and we’re with them all.’
‘I know,’ I nodded. He carefully lowered me onto the bed and climbed in next to me.
‘You know what will make you feel better?’
‘What?’ I smiled. I already knew. He had that familiar twinkle in his eye, the one that had a hotline directly to my libido, the one that said he still wanted me, as much as I wanted him.
‘A bit of gentle loving from your husband of four years.’
‘Four years,’ I sighed with a shake of my head. ‘Where has four years gone? So much has happened.’
‘It has,’ he nodded with a half-smile. ‘So, Mrs. Austin, can I make love to my wife this morning?’
‘That’s a question you never have to ask, Mr. Austin,’ I smiled as I pulled his face down to mine and kissed his full soft lips. His handsome face never failed to take my breath away. I thought back to the first time I’d seen him, how my stomach had fluttered, how my breathing had gotten way out of control. Gabe as a twenty-four year old was even more devilishly good looking. His jaw line was stronger, his posture was straighter, his face more determined and his body … wow, his body was broad and toned to muscular perfection. If I’d thought he’d turned heads as a teenager, it was nothing to the admiring glances he got as Gabe Austin, the confident director in his three piece work suit. I went to pieces every time he strode into my office for our daily lunch, or when I saw him sitting at his desk, with his hands behind his head in that cocky domineering pose, as he talked on his earpiece while winking at me. My husband was a serious amount of man. One I was more than capable of handling though.
‘God, I do love you,’ he sighed as he cupped my face with one hand and swept his thumb back and forth along my cheekbone. ‘Every morning I open my eyes and you take my breath away, baby.’
‘I was just thinking the same about you,’ I smiled as I kissed him again. I went lightheaded, the possessive way his mouth took mine, demanding yet tender all rolled into one. The powerful plunges of his tongue into the recesses of my mouth, followed by lazy flickers that sent tingles up through my scalp. ‘Gabe,’ I sighed. ‘I need you.’
‘You’ve got me baby, for life,’ he grinned as he ran a hand from my hip, cut in at my waist and gently reached up and cupped one of my breasts. My nipples automatically peaked for him and I heard him make a contended groan as he lowered his head and started to suck. I grasped the back of his head and held him to me as I tugged on his soft silky strands and whimpered. A look at him, a few kisses and a suck of my nipple and I was gone, floating on a cloud of bliss, as a pool of longing gathered between my thighs.
‘Gabe,’ I whimpered as I writhed under him on the bed.
‘You are so beautiful,’ he sighed as he started kissed around my breast and down to my navel. ‘I love this body of mine, your soft skin and how quickly you respond to me.’
‘Hmmm,’ I sighed as he traced my tattoo with his tongue.
‘I’m going to eat you, my sweet little peach, eat you until you beg me to make love to you and then I’m going to take you to the stars and back.’
‘Please,’ I nodded and a smile broke across his face.
‘You still want me, after all this time?’ he asked as he settled between my willingly opened thighs and blew on my swollen flesh.
‘More and more, every day.’ I cried out as his tongue trailed through me and casually flicked my sensitive clit. I lifted my hips up to his mouth as I stared at the ceiling and smiled, enraptured by the man between my legs. He flicked, he licked, he sucked and he plundered until I broke into a thousand fragments under the skill of his mouth and felt myself flood as I climaxed. ‘Take me,’ I begged. His eyes looked up at mine, over my stomach, and he shook his head.
‘I’m not done yet, it’s a man’s obligation to make his wife happy on their wedding anniversary,’ he winked and gently thrust two fingers inside me and scissored them. I tensed then relaxed over and over as he teased me, skimming over my g-spot while he worked my clit again, always pulling away as I got to the point of climax, letting me calm down and then building me up again.
‘Gabe,’ I begged. ‘I’ll die from pleasure overload,’ I mewled. He took pity on me and the next time allowed me to come and I clamped my thighs around his ears as he sucked and prodded me to a mind blowing climax. I blinked away the tears of pleasure as he kissed my clit and sucked it again, my legs trembling, then kissed his way back up my body to take my mouth again. ‘You are amazing,’ I sighed as I wrapped my arms around his neck.
‘You’ll be screaming that later tonight,’ he chuckled.
‘What are you up to?’ I asked as I hooked my legs around his waist and rubbed myself along his flexing shaft.
‘I’ll be up you,’ he winked. ‘And you know how we never got to have sex behind the light curtain in 26?’ He gave me a knowing look.
‘Tonight?’ I giggled, all excited.
‘Boxing night, when we’re alone,’ he confirmed. He silenced my giggles with his mouth, as he nudged his way into me, inch by inch, and let out a hiss between his teeth as he tugged on my lower lip.
‘Damn it, I swear you keep growing,’ I groaned as my muscles fought against his girth.
‘It’s you, Mia,’ he sighed. ‘I look at you and he just has a mind of his own.’
‘As long as it’s only when you look at me,’ I replied with raised eyebrows and a gasp as he buried himself to the hilt inside me and I quivered around him.
‘Only ever you, forever,’ he grinned and swivelled his hips making me cry out again and grip his taut shoulder blades.
‘You’d better have that gag for Boxing night,’ I warned, as I matched the rhythm of his hips with my own.
‘You’d better give me a private performance in the studio,’ he replied.
‘You want a bit of Candy the stripper do you?’ I giggled.
‘No, I’ll want all of Mia Austin, my hot, sexy, wife,’ he grinned as he thrust between each word, battering my insides with pleasurable sensations. ‘You’d better be close to coming, baby. I was going to drag this out, but I need you.’
‘I’m close,’ I panted with a nod as he gently worked inside me, all the while watching my face. ‘It’s early, we still have time for a round two.’
‘I’m getting old, Mia,’ he
pouted. ‘I don’t know if I have the stamina left in me.’
‘Please,’ I giggled. ‘You have the stamina of a hundred men. You could go all day. Oooo God,’ I squealed as he moved faster.
‘Who are you thinking about?’
‘You.’
‘Who do you love?’
‘YOU,’ I cried as my body started to tense. I dug my nails into his skin and he hissed with pleasure and thrust harder. ‘Gabe … Gabe … GABE,’ I sobbed as I started to convulse under him, sparks of pleasure hitting various parts of my quaking body as he continued to make love to me, smiling down at me with a look a male satisfaction all over his face. I screamed as I hit my peak and his face contorted with pleasure, a loud groan escaped his lips and he collapsed onto me, kissing me as we both came down from our highs.
‘Wow, I will never get tired of doing that with you,’ he sighed as he kissed my neck.
‘Well, I’m tired already,’ I teased. ‘I need a nap after that.’
‘You can have five minutes, then I want you again, before it’s too late,’ he murmured in my ear. I giggled as we heard a loud cry through the baby monitor.
‘As if on cue. Sorry, Austin, it’s too late. They’re awake.’
‘God damn it, they’re early,’ he moaned checking his watch.
‘You need to train them better. Come on shift, I’ll go and get them up.’
‘No,’ he replied and kissed me. ‘You’re tired because you were up most of the night with them. You lie there, it’s my turn. I’ll bring them into you and go and get you breakfast in bed.’
‘Hmmm, I do love you,’ I smiled. ‘I’m so lucky.’
‘No, I’m the lucky one,’ he grinned with another kiss. He cursed as there was another cry, followed by another.
‘You wanted them,’ I laughed as he pulled out of me and quickly got up, yanking up a pair of discarded sweats on the floor.
Infinite Love (The Austin Series) Page 46
