Changing Lanes (Bounty County Series Book 2)

by Maren Lee

  Jake gained his balance and reached for a towel. He slowly pulled out of her, wiping the come from between her legs before it had a chance to drip the bathroom floor.

  “God damn, baby.” He turned her around and kissed her lips softly.

  “That was so good,” she whispered. “And who would have known that I'd be turned on by having my mouth covered?” she laughed nervously and Jake nuzzled her neck.

  “I knew, baby. I know what you need. I’ll always give you what you need.”

  Always? Lane decided to leave that comment alone. She kissed his neck and backed away. “How do we play it cool going back downstairs?” Lane pulled her panties back on.

  Jake adjusted himself and zipped his fly, “We don't. You look thoroughly fucked. There's no hiding it.”

  “Jake!” she slapped him playfully in the chest. “You better at least walk in front of me and hold my hand until we're seated.”

  “Don’t worry, baby. Everyone’s drunk, we’ll be fine. At least the girls are sleeping so they won't ask a million questions.”

  “Oh my God, I didn't even think about that! Kids will sell you out quick won't they?” Lane looked in the mirror and finished adjusting herself.

  “Hell yeah they will. And we are just a few months away from learning from first hand experience.” Lane gulped. Shit. He’s right.

  Jake held out his hand. “Come on, baby. Time for the walk of shame.”

  “Lucky me.” She rolled her eyes as she grabbed his hand.

  Even with the embarrassment, that orgasms were totally worth it.

  ➰

  Jake couldn’t sleep. He kept eyeing the top dresser drawer. In it, he’d set a box that his mom gave him. It was calling to him. He wanted to pull it out and look at it again.

  He’d asked for his Grandma Hamilton’s engagement ring tonight. He expected a little resistance from his parents, but they practically threw the thing at him. They loved Lane. Who wouldn’t? He planned on asking her before Christmas, probably up at the Sioux Lodge where it all began for them. It had to be perfect. He knew he wanted to marry Lane, and not just because she was having their baby. She made him happier than he had ever been in his life. Their differences in opinion only made him love her more. They had figured out a productive way to agree to disagree. If Jake tried to control things outside of the bedroom, Lane just told him to fuck off. Somehow it just worked for them.

  She was crashed out next to him in bed, snoring softly. She was gorgeous even when she was snoring. Pregnancy must be exhausting. Lane was usually dead to the world. He could pick her up and move her around and she wouldn’t wake up. He bet he could give her oral sex and bring her to orgasm without her even waking up. Jake smirked. That sounded like a fun challenge. He’d have to get advance permission for that, though.

  Jake couldn’t get his mind off of the ring. He slipped out of bed, wearing only his boxer briefs, and moved over to the dresser. He slowly opened the top drawer of the chest his Grandpa Hamilton had made, hoping the drawer wouldn’t creak. He lifted the small wooden box out and cracked it open. His gramps had good taste in the late 1940’s, picking out a 14k white gold ring. There was a one carat marquise diamond in the center with sapphires surrounding the stone. More diamonds surrounded the sapphires, creating the perfect elongated almond shape. Two small blue stones accented the sides where the stones met the band. Jake loved it. It was perfect for Lane. It wasn’t the traditional solitaire engagement ring, but he was pretty sure the stone in the center was plenty big enough for Lane. His mom begged him to let her have it cleaned and the stones checked to make sure they were all tight and in place, but he was too impatient to wait. He could do that himself before he proposed. Jake closed the lid and placed the ring back in the drawer.

  He grabbed his phone and set four different reminders to make sure to grab it before they left this weekend. Shit, man. This is finally going to happen. If she says ‘yes.’ He knew she’d say yes. She’s gonna say yes. Right? Jake shook off the insecurity. He was happy. She has to say yes.

  It was 2:00 a.m. He climbed back into bed next to his woman and pulled her in tight, wrapping himself around her small frame. Lane barely flinched. Jake was finally dozing off when he heard loud thumping on the wall behind his bed. It just so happened to be the wall that he shared with his sister Katie. The thumping was followed by loud moaning and more thumping. Gross. So much for her plan to be discreet. Dammit, Katie. He figured he’d better go put a stop to the noise before his mom and dad woke up from the disruption. It was plenty loud and probably echoing off of the vaulted ceilings in the house.

  Jake cracked the door slowly, in an effort not to wake Lane - though he doubted anything would wake her at this point. He tiptoed out of the room, leaving the door ajar a few inches so he could get back in quietly. Jake rounded the corner at the same time his dad reached the top of the stairs. They were facing one another. Fuck.

  His dad looked at the door to his sister’s room, then back to Jake. His face went beet red with anger. Joe was pissed. Oh fuck.

  Jake couldn’t react quick enough to stop him. Joe was already at the door jiggling the handle then began pounding on the door.

  “Jake, you better hope to God that’s your sister in there with your girlfriend!” Joe continued pounding, “Katie! Open this goddamn door!”

  “Dad, stop!” Jake tried to pull his dad away from the door.

  “Don’t tell me what to do, Jake! I’ll knock you on your ass!”

  “Whoa, calm down, Dad. She’s 22 years old. And you may have been able to knock me on my ass when I was 14, but I’ll fuck you up now, old man.” Jake laughed. This whole scene was fucking hilarious to him.

  Joe stopped pounding on the door and pointed to Jake, “Don’t try to distract me right now! We can wrestle this out tomorrow, you little fucker. Right now, I need to kick a hippie’s ass! Katie Alexandra Hamilton, get out here now!” Jake always fucking laughed when his little sister was middle named. Alexandra Hamilton? What the fuck were my parents thinking?

  “Joe!” Jake's mom shouted from the top of the stairs. “What’s with all the screaming?”

  “Your daughter is being taken advantage of in that bedroom, that’s what the screaming is all about.” Joe yelled and pointed to the door.

  “It doesn’t sound like she’s being taken advantage of. Just sayin’…” Jake bit his tongue. He knew he probably should have just kept his mouth shut.

  “What?! My baby girl is a vir-“ Joe was cut off by Sarah.

  “Stop it, Joe. How do you even know what’s going on in there with all this yelling out here?” Sarah stepped between him and the door, “Katie, can you come out here please?”

  Muffled voices came from behind the door, “I’ll come out, but Shiloh is staying in here.”

  “The hell he is! I’ll grab him by that girly pony tail and drag him out here myself!”

  “Calm down, Joe. Go sit down in the kitchen. I’ll talk to Katie and be right down.” The look on her face was enough to let him know she wasn’t fucking around. Joe let out a disgruntled growl and turned on his heel. Yeah. Jake learned pretty early on that his mom ruled this roost.

  “Katie? You can come out now.” Sarah spoke softly.

  His sister exited the room quickly and closed the door behind her, “What’s up, Mom?” she asked innocently.

  Jake rolled his eyes at her.

  “Don’t you roll your eyes, Jake. And don’t you play all coy with me, Katie. You two agreed to sleep in separate rooms. And then you go and wake your dad up like this?”

  Jake felt like he was 15 years old again being scolded for having a girl in his room, “studying” with his door shut.

  “I’m sorry mom, I didn’t know how to tell you and dad that Shiloh and I are…sexually active.” Katie spoke softly, turning pink with embarrassment.

  Fuck this noise. Jake was about to go off.

  “Well, I’m not sorry! I’m practically 40 years old with a baby on the way. I should be able to sle
ep with the mother of my unborn child whenever the fuck I want!” Jake yelled. And the second he did, he regretted it. Oh fuck. Lane was going to kill him.

  “What? The mother of your what?” Sarah repeated.

  Katie put her hands over her mouth. Her eyes went wide.

  Jake heard a door slam behind him. Lane. Shit. “You heard me. I need to go.”

  Sarah smiled huge, her eyes filled with tears, “Jake, oh my baby Jake.” She wrapped her arms around him in a tight hug, “Please, bring Lane downstairs after you have talked to her and she’s forgiven you for being such a dumb lug?”

  Jake nodded his head and turned to head to the room. He heard his mom cursing at Katie directing her downstairs to the kitchen. He hoped Lane would understand that it was an accident and he was dumb and had a big mouth and he was so, so sorry. He got to his doorway and went to turn the handle. It was locked. Fuck.

  ➰

  Lane was furious. Fucking. Furious. She couldn’t believe that Jake had just blurted out their private business like it was no big deal, using it as leverage in an argument with his mom. God damn it. Being woken up by the shouting and hearing his dad yelling were bad enough, but now his whole family knew their secret. This just made the situation ten times worse. It wasn’t that she cared if people knew she was pregnant, but any normal woman meeting her boyfriend’s family for the first time wouldn’t want to tell them that. At least not in that way. And while she knew that Jake was conceived out of wedlock, she didn’t want her first meeting with them to be about history repeating itself.

  The door handle jiggled. Three loud knocks followed.

  “Lane, baby. Will you let me in please?” Jakes voice was coated in honey. He knew she was pissed. Lane wasn’t going to fall victim to his charms.

  “No. I will not. I don’t want to see that fat mouth of yours!” Lane shouted. Fuck it. She didn’t care if his family heard her.

  “Whoa there now, simmer down, baby. I just want to apologize and talk to you.” His voice was muffled through the door, but Lane could tell he was losing the edge of sweetness.

  Lane leaned up against the window seat. Fuck, it's cold outside! “Hamilton, don’t you even try and tell me to simmer down! I want to kick your head right off the top of your body right now. For your own safety, I suggest you be content staying out there.”

  “You don’t scare me, Red. Not even a little bit. Open up the door, please, I don’t want to have to break the door down or get the ladder.” Jakes voice was calm. Demanding, but calm. God damn it. That voice makes me want to do everything he asks. But not this time. Not. Giving. In.

  Lane heard two voices whispering at the door. There was definitely a female with Jake now. The whispering went on for less than a minute before the handle jiggled again and then the lock popped. Shit. Jake opened the door slowly, clearly bracing for a potential fight over the door opening. Once he made eye contact with her without her screaming at him, he let out a dramatic sigh of relief.

  Lane stiffened her posture, still sitting in the window, refusing to make eye contact. “If I’d have known you were going to be able to get in here so easily I would have put a barricade up.”

  Jake furrowed his brow and shook his head, “Don’t be crazy, babe.”

  “Don’t tell me how to be. You may have control over the bedroom, but you have no control over my feelings.” Lane glared at him. “Asshat,” she breathed out an insult. That’ll show him.

  “That’s not what I-.” He took a deep breath in his nose and let it out of his mouth, “Lane, I’m sorry. I know we were gonna wait to tell everyone. I didn’t mean to blurt it out. Honestly. It was the heat of the moment. My mom was treating me like a child, so I reacted without thinking! The words just spilled from my mouth.”

  “Jake, you are 37 years old. You don’t need to win every argument. Sometimes you just need to shut the fuck up.” Brutal. Lane shushed her conscience.

  “Clearly, I do.” Jake approached her slowly.

  “Clearly,” Lane repeated. “This is embarrassing for me. Your family knows I’m pregnant. Everyone is going to assume that you’re only with me because you knocked me up. No one is going to think we’re together because we just more than slightly like each other.” Jake smirked. Lane continued. “And I don’t have family of my own. My parents are both gone and I have no siblings. Your family is so wonderful and warm and loving,” tears started dripping down her face, “and I don’t want them to judge me! I don’t want them to think I forced you into a relationship.”

  Jake wiped the tears from her face. “You are way off, honey. My family would never think that about you and me. If anything, they would think you’re only with me because I knocked you up.” Jake was now standing in front of her at the window. He placed his hand softly on her cheek.

  “How do you know that? I’ve seen people judge pregnant women like that. Especially the ones at the OB’s office. I’m guilty of doing it too! I’m an unwed mother, Jake.” More tears streamed down her face.

  Jake smiled and moved his hands down to hold hers, “I aim to change that, sweetheart. Lane, I way more than slightly like you. I love you, honey. Like forever and ever kind of love you. My family knows that too. This wasn’t how I imagined saying it for the first time, but that’s kind of how our entire relationship has been. It is what it is. I’m crazy in love with you, Red.”

  Oh my God. What?

  The tears continued dripping out of Lane’s eyes. She tried to wipe them away, but more took their place. Jake kissed them away. “Jake. I-… I love you too.” She smiled as she bit her lip, trying to fight more tears from falling and failing miserably. “Wait. What do you mean your family knows? How does your family know that? They’ve only seen us together for a day.”

  “Lane, I told them I was in love with you earlier tonight. Before they heard anything about the baby.” He kissed her forehead.

  “You did? Really? How did you even get to talking about that?” Lane felt relief that they knew their son’s feelings for her before they knew she was pregnant.

  “Well, we were talking about the future, and where I want things to go between you and me...and it just came up.” Jake shrugged and smiled. His dimples. God damn it. Please let me always see these dimples.

  “Where do you want them to go?” Lane swallowed. She felt anxious. Jake was looking extremely serious. The intensity in his eyes pinned her in one place. He was so sexy.

  “Well, this isn’t the way I thought I’d be doing this, but I guess nothing about our relationship has gone as planned.” Jake turned from her and walked across the room to the dresser. He opened the drawer and pulled out a small wooden box -- the kind of box she would expect to hold a ring. Lane felt her entire body tense. Jake moved back toward her and bent down on one knee just below her seat at the window. Shit.

  “Ginsburg.”

  Jake let out a loud belly laugh that caught Lane by surprise. “No. You’re not safewording now, sweetheart. I won’t let you do that.”

  “Jake. What are you doing? We barely know each other. Are you sure? Please don’t ask me to marry you just because I’m carrying your child.”

  Her breathing became slightly erratic.

  “Lane, baby, listen to me,” he said as he held her hand. “I want to go everywhere with you. I want to raise our baby together as a family. I want to put more babies in you. But it’s not because of the baby that I want to marry you. I’ve felt this way since we first connected at the wedding. Maybe even before that. You’re it for me, baby. I want to make you mine, forever. I want the entire world to know that you’re mine.” Jake opened the small box in front of her, “Will you marry me, Lane?” He looked her in the eyes, his smile wide, his eyes tearing. Holy shit. This man. Could he be any more perfect? Ok, not so perfect. Kind of a dick. But a sweet one. Not to mention hot. Good in the kitchen. You can’t go wrong here, Lane.

  Lane covered her mouth with her hands. She nodded as the tears continued to stream down her face.

  “Is that
a yes?” Jake prompted.

  “Yes.” Lane choked out.

  Jake pulled the ring out of the box. He grabbed her shaking left hand and placed the ring on her finger. He rubbed his thumb over the ring as he looked into her eyes.

  “This was my Grandma Hamilton’s ring. My mom and dad have been saving it for me for years. There has never been a woman I wanted to wear this ring until I fell in love with you. You mean everything to me, Lane. I promise I will never share another secret of ours again.”

  “Thank you, Jake. I love you.”

  Jake stood and picked Lane up, moving her to the bed.

  Jake laid her down on the bed and covered her body with his.

  “I love you, too. Now let me show you how much, baby.”

  Jake spent the next two hours loving on her. There was no roughness this time. No spankings. No ordering around. While Lane knew that would always be in his arsenal, and she loved him even more for that, this was not the time. This time she got a sweet, thorough loving, accompanied by multiple toe curling orgasms. Jake knew how to rock her world. And she knew that it wouldn’t just be tonight. He would rock her world for the rest of her life. Lane couldn’t wait. They could work out the details of her keeping her last name later. Lane had a feeling Jake wasn’t going to like that discussion.

  Chapter 15

  On Thanksgiving morning, Jake decided let Lane sleep while he went to the kitchen to make some coffee. The night ended well for him. Lane said ‘yes’ and he got to make love to his brand new fiancée for hours. She would probably sleep for another four hours or so. If they weren’t having sex or eating these days, all Lane wanted to do was sleep. It should have given him more time to work on reports or prep patrol schedules, but playing video games and dicking around with her gigantic television was a lot more fun than work. But today was Thanksgiving, so his culinary skills were needed.