His eyes darkened. “Fuck, you have no idea what you do to me.”
I shivered. He didn’t either. He slid out and pushed my knees wide, watching my pussy with the kind of hunger that drove me wild. He thrust inside me slowly, but at a new angle that scorched my skin.
“Ohh, Cole.”
He grinned wickedly. If he knew I liked something, he’d do it over and over. And this morning was no different. His body consumed mine one thrust after another until my orgasm exploded around him.
He followed seconds later, shooting his come inside me with a low groan.
He lowered to the bed beside me, kissing my shoulder. He handed my phone to me.
“You need this?”
I laughed. “Thanks.”
But I had found a place that was still open today. I clicked on the calendar and there was an open appointment for a 3-D ultrasound. It was an independent office, so I didn’t need to have a doctor in town. It was perfect.
I kissed Cole again. “I have to go. I need this present to be perfect.”
“Baby, I wanted to talk to you before dinner.” He tugged on my arm.
“Later,” I urged. “I need the ultrasound and then I’ll be home. I promise I won’t be out past lunch. This is the last thing I need to get. It’s Christmas Eve.” I smiled. “It’s going to be a perfect Christmas.”
I darted into the main house in search of my mother. “Mom, you here?”
“What’s going on, honey?”
I found her in the dining room sorting cookies into tins. How did she find so many projects?
“I have a few errands to run? Can I borrow your car?” I asked.
“Of course you can. Want me to ride with you? I probably should pick up some more pecans.”
“No. That might ruin the surprise.” All I had to do was say those magic words and she’d back off. “But I can stop by the market for you. I don’t mind.”
“Ok. I’ll be here. Hurry so you don’t miss lunch. Good luck at the store. It’s crazy out there.”
“Thanks.” I grabbed her keys off the hook and rushed out the door. I didn’t want to miss this appointment. It suddenly felt as if everything depended on getting this gift right.
17
Kaitlyn
I could smell the ham before I even entered the house.
“Kaitlyn, that you?” Mom called from the kitchen.
“Yes.” I peeked around the corner.
“Come on in. The guys are in the shed again working on the motorcycle. Why don’t you hide that in the guesthouse and you can wrap it later?” She pointed to the bag I was carrying. “I told them lunch would be ready in ten minutes, so they’re likely to walk in here any minute.”
She thought my bag had a normal Christmas present inside. There was nothing normal about it.
“Cole’s in the shed?” I needed him. My heart was in my stomach.
“I took pictures. He and Ryan are covered in grease. They even gave Grayson a wrench. He’s going to need another bath.”
I bit my lip. “Oh. Ok. I’ll just put these away.” I walked past her and out into the yard, taking the small path to the guesthouse. I could hear Dad, Ryan, and Cole laughing in the shed on the other side of the yard.
I sat on the bed and stared at the pictures again. I was still in shock. Disbelief. I hadn’t processed the information yet. How was I supposed to?
I had only had one ultrasound during this pregnancy. And the baby was so tiny it looked like a stuffed animal shape. I had pointed it out to Cole and told him it looked like our baby was a bear cub. I didn’t care though. I loved that little stuffed animal picture. I loved it enough to give it to my parents for Christmas. It was our little cub.
But this? I held the new photos in my palm. Twins? I was having twins?
Cole should have been with me, but I didn’t think I was doing anything monumental today. I thought I was getting a picture of my baby. But it had been four weeks since the last ultrasound and things were drastically different inside me.
The technician tried to explain that early on it’s easy to miss a second baby. Sometimes they are so small they mirror each other’s movements and even the second heartbeat is distorted if the heartbeat rhythm is the same.
But there was no doubting I had two babies growing inside me. A boy and a girl. I had pictures of both to prove it. What were we going to do? I was having two babies instead of one. I was having Cole’s babies.
I closed the ultrasound pictures in a drawer and walked back to the house. I’d have to tell him before dinner. I just didn’t know how.
I entered the kitchen. The guys were discussing the motorcycle. Ryan was running through a list of options.
“Well, we’ve hit all the spark plugs. I can’t imagine what else it could be?”
“There’s a reason the engine’s not running. Let’s take another look after lunch.” Cole sat at the seat opposite my father.
“There she is. How was your trip, pumpkin?” Dad grinned.
“Good,” I answerd.
Cole’s eyes lit up when I sat next to him and I felt his hand squeeze my leg under the table. “I heard you had to make some deliveries for your mom. Everything go ok? Are you ok?” he whispered.
“Mmmhmm.” I nodded.
“Lunch is ready.” My mother announced, and placed a platter on the table. “Kaitlyn, do you want to help me with the luminaries after lunch? I have the bags of sand in the garage and the paper bags ready to go.”
“Sure. No problem.”
Our neighborhood always lined the streets with white paper luminaries every Christmas Eve. It was the responsibility of each neighbor to distribute their own and clean up the next day, but they were beautiful when they were all lit.
“What about the Turnwells? Do you think I should ask if they need help?” I hadn’t been by to visit Miss Peg like I promised Mr. Turnwell. My time was dwindling and I needed to make a trip across the street to see her.
“That sounds like a good idea. We can make a big assembly line and knock them both out.” My mom seemed pleased with the plan.
“I’ll help you too, darlin’.” Cole shoved a forkful of ham on his plate.
“Thanks.” My eyes locked on his. There it was again. That look I remembered from Sasha’s wedding. The one that caught me off guard, but at the same time felt like home. In one short week Cole had shown me that he was more a part of my life than ever before. We were building something together. I blinked back a tear that was fighting its way to the surface.
It would give us a chance to talk.
“I haven’t done the luminaries in years. I’ll help out too,” Ryan added.
I shot my brother a death stare.
“What?”
“Nothing,” I grumbled. My twin news would have to wait.
After lunch, Cole left my dad and Ryan with another angle to try for the bike and he and I walked to the Turnwells. Most of the snow had melted to mush. We needed a nice arctic blast to roll through and snow us in for the night.
I knocked on the door.
“Kaitlyn. So good to see you. Merry Christmas.” Mr. Turnwell stood holding the door open.
“Merry Christmas to you, too. Mr. Turnwell, this is my boyfriend, Cole.” It was nice not to have to introduce him as Ryan’s friend, but I wanted to say fiancée.
Cole extended his hand. “Nice to meet you, sir.”
“Likewise. Come on in you two. Peg will be so glad to see you.”
We followed him through the foyer and into the great room. Peg was wrapped in a blanket on the couch near a roaring fire. She placed the book she was reading in her lap.
“Kaitlyn, so good to see you. I thought I heard your voice at the door.”
I crossed the room to give her a hug. “I’m sorry I haven’t been by sooner.” I sat in a chair next to her. “Miss Peg, this is my boyfriend, Cole.” He walked closer to us, smiled, and took the frail woman’s hand in his.
“I’ve heard a lot of great stories about you ma�
�am. It’s nice to meet you.”
I thought I saw Miss Peg blush. I knew the feeling. Cole had that effect on women, especially if you made the mistake of looking directly into those piercing eyes.
“Sit, sit.” She motioned to him. “Tell me what’s going on in Texas. I haven’t talked to your mother in a while.”
Cole and I sat for an hour recounting our new life together in South Padre while Mr. Turnwell brought us cookies and drinks and Miss Peg asked a hundred questions. After the third time she yawned I thought we should probably head home. I stood to leave.
“Before we go we were wondering if we could help with your luminaries tonight.”
Mr. Turnwell looked at the floor. “Oh, I can do it, Kaitlyn. Don’t worry.”
“But we’d like to.” I urged. I didn’t want him to be embarrassed. They had a lot on their plate.
Cole stepped forward. “Sir, I asked Kaitlyn if I could help her this year and it would be great if we had a few extra bags in the assembly line so I can really get indoctrinated into the neighborhood traditions.”
A smile spread across Mr. Turnwell’s face. “I see. I see. Well, sure. We’d be happy to have the help and break you into the neighborhood. I’ve got everything in the garage, just haven’t started putting them together.”
“Merry Christmas, Kaitlyn.” Miss Peg called. “Thanks for the visit.”
I leaned to kiss her soft cheek. “Merry Christmas.”
Cole and I walked back home, his arms loaded with bags of sand and mine with tea light candles and white paper bags.
“You think that will be us?” Cole asked.
“What do you mean?”
“Nothing. It was just something about them that made me think about growing old with you.”
I smiled. “I need to tell you about my—” I stopped before I could mention the babies.
Ryan was on the other side of the street holding a shovel. Grayson was next to him. “I brought reinforcements.”
“Great.” I smiled.
Grayson was already flinging sand everywhere. Cole tried to show him how to use the small shovel.
After the last scoop of sand was poured into the bag and the last candle dropped inside, we placed the luminaries in my old red wagon and wheeled them down the driveway.
Cole started the row near the mailbox and eyeballed the measurements, making sure they were equal distance apart.
“Not bad for a newbie.” I laughed.
He was studying the alignment, his brow furrowed. “I need to move a few.” He squatted next to the curb and rearranged the bags.
“They’re fine. They’re more than fine. I think they are perfect.”
I could tell he wasn’t satisfied. I guess I was lucky he didn’t bring a tape measure from the garage and mark off the inches.
I turned toward the Turnwells. “Ok, now this side of the street.”
He wheeled the wagon over the asphalt and started a neat line of the paper bags. It looked like he was even more determined this time to make sure they were the right distance from each other. It didn’t help that every time he put one down Grayson tried to pick it back up.
When he was finished, we stood back and surveyed the rows.
“Wait until we light them. You’re going to love it.” I looked up at him.
“Oh, I want to do that part.”
“I should have guessed. It’s the fire thing, right? Anything with fire?”
He chuckled. “You know me so well.”
Right then, I thought I knew everything single thing about this man. His loves, his wants, his dreams. How he liked his coffee, his workout schedule, his favorite teams, which boot he pulled on first, how he liked me to kiss him, how he liked me under the sheets. Everything. I couldn’t imagine knowing another human being like I knew him.
And yet, there was something about me that he didn’t know. I sighed.
18
Cole
The longer I waited to tell her, the harder it was going to be to say the words. I talked to Ryan more, and I knew there was only one right thing to do. I had to go to Kabutur. One day of in-processing in Washington to update my clearance and then four days in the field. It would be the last time. The only time.
I hoped like hell she understood.
Christmas Eve night was the one night out of Christmas week that the Sinclaire family dressed up. Kaitlyn’s father wore a tie and her mother wore a cocktail dress for dinner. They served wine, the house was lit with candles, and her father kept a fire blazing in the fireplace all night.
There was Christmas music playing on the sound system. Ryan even shaved. I couldn’t say we celebrated this was in South Padre, but I was used to their traditions. I brought a button-up white shirt and extra dark jeans.
Kaitlyn fastened a pendant around her neck as my arms circled her waist. She smiled at our reflection in the mirror.
“You ready for Christmas Eve dinner?” she asked, leaning into my shoulder.
“Actually, I’m ready to spend some time with you.” I spun her so she was facing me. “We’ve been working all day on projects. What about you and me tonight?” My mouth descended to her neck.
She moaned and pressed her palms against my chest. “We can’t. This is the special night.” She used air quotes. “At least that’s what my parents call it.”
“I thought all the nights around here were special.” My eyes focused just below the pendant on her chest. God, her tits were incredible.
She stepped backward and slipped into heels. “They are. They definitely are.”
“You realize you aren’t covering anything up in this dress, darlin’.” Her bump was visible.
She pinched her lips together and brought my palms over her belly. “Cole?”
“Hmm?” All I wanted was to kiss her tits and strip the dress from her body. I wanted to take her to bed and fuck her until Christmas morning.
That could be our new tradition. One that Cole and Kaitlyn Thomas made.
“I need to tell you something.” She led me to the bed. “And promise me you won’t freak out.”
I stared at her. “That is when people freak out.”
She reached behind the pillow and retrieved a wrapped green box with a red velvet bow.
“What’s this?”
“An early present. Open it,” she whispered.
I lifted the lid. I saw a black and white copy of the ultrasound.
“Thanks?”
“Cole, look at it,” she urged. “Look at the date in the corner.”
I plucked the picture from the box. There was more to it. I held it up. “From today. Oh, this is the one you had done. I think it looks great. Your parents will love it.”
Kaitlyn huffed. “Look at the picture.”
I studied it for the last time and it finally hit me what Kaitlyn was trying to tell me. “Are there two? These are two babies?”
She nodded, dragging her lip under her teeth. “Twins.”
I thought my heart stopped for a second. “Holy shit, baby.”
She laughed. “Please tell me you aren’t freaking out.”
“I am definitely freaking out.” I pulled her against my chest, brushing my lips over hers. “But I’m happy. I can’t believe it.”
Her eyes flickered with the beginning of tears. “Really? You’re ok?”
I cupped her breast. “How could I not be ok with it? You’re having my babies.”
I sought her mouth again, pushing my tongue inside. She tasted sweet like cinnamon. She moaned as I dipped her toward the bed.
“And there’s something else.” Her eyes followed mine.
“What?”
“I know the genders.”
I swallowed. “Tell me.”
She twisted her lips together. “We’re having a boy and a girl.” I saw the light in her eyes.
I pulled her under me. “God, I love you.” Her lips parted as I kissed her. I grabbed her tit, rubbing it under my palm. She whimpered sweetly.
“No. No. We have to walk over for dinner. You have to stop.” She tried to catch her breath. “But when they open these boxes, they’re going to know, and I just…you’re ok? With all of this?”
“Baby, where is your ring?” I lifted her land hand.
“Why?”
“Get it.”
She stood from the bed and opened her carry on. I took it from her and it slid it over her knuckle.
“But they’ll see it.”
I shook my head. “You and I are in this together. Completely. My babies are growing inside you. You’re going to be my wife. And these are the last few seconds that we have that secret. You are going to marry me.”
She nodded. “I am.”
I grabbed her ass and brought her against me. “Then let’s go tell the Sinclaires.” I waggled my eyebrows. “You look hot in that dress.” I winked. “Come on, I can see your mom peeking out the kitchen window. I hope Grayson didn’t tear down her gingerbread house.”
Kaitlyn threaded her fingers through mine. I’d never felt her hold my hand so tightly. We made the short walk to the house and hurried inside out of the cold.
I whispered in her ear just before we walked inside. “It’s you and me, baby. It always will be.”
Kaitlyn crossed the kitchen to give her mom a hug.
“I love your dress.”
Moira had on a dark emerald cocktail gown that stopped above the knee. Her hair was down around her shoulders, and I noticed the bling on her ears.
“Wait, are those new?” Kaitlyn pointed to the earrings.
“Yes. What do you think? Your father just surprised me with them.” She shifted her blond hair so we could see the diamonds.
“Wow. Dad did great.”
“Are you talking about me?” Frank waltzed into the room. He looked as if he had already had a few bourbons.
“Yes, just loving the present you got Mom.” Kaitlyn gave him a hug.
“I thought they would look good on her.” He moved past his daughter and kissed Moira on the cheek.
Grayson ran over and I threw him in the air. “Santa night.” He giggled.
“That’s right. Santa will be here tonight. So you have to go to be extra early.”
Don’t Tell: The Series Page 37
