This was the test we’d both known was coming. It was time to start our real lives together, which, along with the bliss of building our future, also meant at times he’d be taken away from me.
That last night had stayed with me every day, every moment. He’d made love to me until I could barely move before he pressed his forehead to mine. “We’ve been through hell, baby.” His voice had been insistent through the darkness. “We’re stronger than iron. We’ve got this, yeah? Don’t forget that.”
I hadn’t.
Despite everything that had transpired the last few weeks, I’d held firm to that resolve. I’d leaned on my friends in a way that my old self wouldn’t have. I’d opened up freely to them on those nights when I’d struggled most.
Sarah and Danny had both spent the night more than once, Piper called daily, and the guys that weren’t overseas had all checked in frequently. I had an entire family who worked every day to show me that the trust I’d worked so hard to share wasn’t misguided.
I’d never felt so lucky.
My phone rang, the sound shrill and shocking in the quiet space. Trixie and I both jumped before I sprang for it.
“Is he home yet?” Piper’s voice asked, her urgency barely suppressed.
“The answer is the same as the last time you called,” I answered with a practiced sigh.
And when Danny and Sarah called, I thought.
“Sorry, I’m just impatient,” she replied, eliciting a snort from me.
“You’re impatient?”
She laughed. “I know. I know. The world doesn’t revolve around me and my emotions. It’s a hard concept to grasp.”
I laughed, so grateful for my friend and her ability to distract me. My friends and my music had been a wonderful distraction.
That didn’t mean I didn’t miss my man like crazy. After three long weeks, I could barely stand it.
“Well, I’ll let you go so you can continue to pace a hole into your floors,” she said dryly.
She knew me too well.
“You have to call me when you tell him. At least text me,” she added pleadingly.
“I will,” I promised with a smile and a yawn.
“Let’s go wait for him in bed,” I suggested to Trixie after hanging up with Pipe. I’d perfected my dog monologue in the past three weeks.
I curled into our bed, lifting the covers so Trixie could burrow underneath.
“Baby.” His deep voice was like a dream as it floated over me.
“Hmm?” I murmured.
His warm, calloused hand ran over my cheek. “I’m home.”
My eyes sprang open and I sat up suddenly. “You’re here!” I exclaimed. I’d fallen asleep with the lights on and I was grateful of that fact as I got my first look at my handsome man. He sat on the edge of the bed in his formfitting black pants and camos. He’d buzzed his hair again right before leaving. It made his features that much more striking. I admired the brightness of his eyes as they stared warmly back at me.
I threw my arms around him burying my face in his neck. “I meant to wait up. I didn’t even realize I’d fallen asleep.”
His hand stroked my back. “That’s okay. It’s late.”
I nodded, still clutching him tight. “Missed you.”
“I missed you, too.” He sighed.
We stayed like that until Trixie nosed her way between us, eager to get a little love from Sid.
He chuckled, tickling her ears before his eyes returned to mine. “Everything okay while I was gone?”
My cheeks grew warm as I bit my lip and nodded.
He looked at me curiously but chose not to press, taking my mouth instead. That suited me just fine. “Shower with me,” he murmured when our lips were raw and swollen from kissing.
After a brief hesitation, I nodded, my breath coming in shallow pants as I clutched his T-shirt.
He bent down, unlacing his heavy work boots before removing his pants and shirt. He looked a bit leaner than when he’d left but no less muscular. My eyes devoured his frame hungrily despite the trepidation I felt.
He cocked his head to the side. “You’re wearing too many clothes.” When I hesitated, his eyes grew wary and concerned. “Sam?”
I offered a shaky smile and stood up lifting my shirt up over my head and sliding my shorts down my thighs. I stood before him fully naked, watching as his gaze tracked my frame hungrily at first before a moment of confusion became clear as his eyes lingered on my heavy breasts.
My body had changed. It was slight, but I’d known he would notice immediately.
I stepped closer, my heart pounding, and took his hand, placing it on my belly that though still mostly flat, had formed a tiny bump below my belly button. “Yours and mine,” I murmured, watching as his eyes widened.
“What?” he breathed. “You mean you’re…? We’re...?”
I nodded. “We’re having a baby.”
His fingers splayed wide against my belly as though he wanted to cradle the unborn baby that grew inside. “Christ, Sam,” he choked out, looking at me with wonder. “How long have you known?”
“I found out right after you left,” I admitted. “I’d been feeling a little tired.”
“I remember,” he murmured.
“I didn’t even think of it until Piper said something. I took a test and then saw a doctor. I’m thirteen weeks. My body’s really changed the last few weeks.”
“Why didn’t you tell me?” he demanded.
I looked up at him. “Because you were across the world and I didn’t want you to lose focus. There’s nothing you could do except come home early, which wasn’t necessary. I’m fine.” I placed my hand over his. “We’re fine.”
He dropped to his knees, delivering a kiss to my belly before he dug through his pants and produced a Swiss army knife. At first I was confused, then I saw what was attached.
“I’ve been carrying this around with me for three weeks, wondering why the hell I didn’t give it to you before I left,” he murmured, untying the gorgeous diamond ring attached with a ribbon.
It was so Sid to carry my engagement ring around with him attached to a Swiss army knife.
Nestled in a platinum band, the emerald-cut sapphire shone brilliantly between two diamond baguettes. It was a gorgeous ring and very me.
I gasped, my right hand flying to my mouth as he pulled my left hand toward his chest, looking up at me with wonder. “You’re all I see, Sam. I thought I lived before you, but now I know what breathing really feels like. I promise to love you for the rest of my life. Would you do me the honor of becoming my wife?”
I looked down into his earnest blue eyes and nodded frantically as he slid the ring onto my finger.
He stood up, enveloping me in his arms and kissing me senseless.
“Did you really just propose naked?” I asked breathlessly.
“Did you really just agree to be mine forever?” he replied without missing a beat.
“I did.” I beamed. “Though I’ve been yours since I set eyes on you. You just didn’t know it yet.”
His hand splayed on my belly again, where I had a feeling it would rest for the remainder of my pregnancy. “Neither did you,” he pointed out with a sly grin.
“Fair enough,” I allowed, smiling as I traced the tattoo Cade had done just before Sid left. The badge lay across his heart, my name as its crest.
The badge we’d both earned.
I’d become stronger since I’d given my heart to Sid. I’d opened myself up in a new way to the friends that had been waiting in the wings all along. I was really living, finally.
Though I knew Sid would always catch me if I fell, I knew now I could catch myself too. I was stronger than I’d ever given myself credit for and that allowed me to love that much deeper.
I couldn’t wait to give that love to our baby, who Sid still held reverently in his hand.
“Do you feel okay? Did the doctor say everything was okay?” he asked, suddenly worried.
�
�Everything’s fine,” I assured him. “I feel much better the last few days. Our baby has been taking it easy on me compared to some stories I’ve heard.”
“Our baby.” He grinned, nuzzling my neck. “My wife.”
“Yours,” I agreed with a matching grin.
He stooped low, his lips teasingly close as he breathed, “Mine.”
The End
The Talon Security Series will continue with
Claim, Travis’s story.
Crave (Talon Security #1) Page 17
