by Jamie Pope
“I didn’t think it would be an issue. I have been working on this project for the better part of a year. You know how important my work is to me.”
“Of course it is, Cricket! It’s a huge issue. I don’t care about your work. I don’t care about other people half a world away. I care about you. We are married. You should have discussed this with me.”
“There’s nothing to discuss. This trip has been planned for eight months, and I can’t back out now. You of all people should be sympathetic to my problem. You’re a trauma surgeon. Your only goal is to save people’s lives.”
“You weren’t pregnant eight months ago. You weren’t my wife eight months ago. You can back out. No one will blame you for wanting to put your child’s health first.”
“I will not be putting my baby in danger by going over there!”
“The reason you got pregnant is because you were taking medication that you didn’t fully understand the effects of. I’m supposed to stand here and be silent and let you take some other drug, or be exposed to some deadly virus, just because you have do-gooder syndrome? And it’s not just your baby. It’s our baby, and if you think I don’t get a say in everything that happens to him or her, you’re dead wrong.”
“Cricket,” Dr. Lundy said quietly. “He’s right. I can name fifteen medical professionals who would tell you the same thing.”
“You’re taking his side!”
She nodded once. “Jerome?”
“I’m sorry, Bug. I agree with your mother.”
Cricket looked shocked. The betrayal she felt was clear. Elias wanted to feel bad about it, but he just couldn’t muster it. The thought of something happening to her made him feel like he was choking.
“I don’t want you to go, Cricket,” he said as calmly as he could manage. “I want you to call them and cancel.”
“I’m not a child.” The stubbornness set on her face. “You cannot order me around.”
“You’re right. You’re not a child, but you’re carrying my child and I’m your husband, and for the past two months we’ve been doing things your way, but not on this. You are not alone in this world anymore. You cannot just think about what you want now. You must think about us. You must think about our marriage. We can’t have a good one if you’re only going to think about yourself.”
“I only think about myself? Are you kidding me? My every thought...” She stopped herself, probably realizing that this argument was going to get even more heated in front of her parents. “I need to get out of here.” She stood up and left the table.
“Cricket, don’t go.” He reached for her hand, but she snatched it away.
Soon after, the front door slammed, and he was left alone with her parents. He buried his face in his hands. Their first big fight. He looked up at his in-laws, who both were expressionless.
“I’d bet you two are really wishing that I hadn’t married your daughter right now.”
“No. That’s not what I’m thinking,” Dr. Lundy said with a shake of her head. “If you hadn’t blown up that way, I would’ve.”
He frowned in confusion, not sure he had heard her correctly. “Excuse me?”
“You were right. We agree with you. What more do you want?”
“She’s our only child,” Jerome said. “You’re her husband, and as much as she doesn’t think she needs to be looked after, she does. And that’s why she fell for you, because you care for her in a way that no one else ever has.”
“I’m crazy about her. I can’t even begin to explain it.”
“Keep being crazy about her,” Jerome said. “You won’t have any problems with me as long as you are.”
* * *
It was late when Cricket returned to the house. Just after 11:00 p.m. Her parents were long gone, the house mostly dark, except for the light over the front door and a lamp in the living room. Elias had left them on for her.
He hadn’t waited up. He hadn’t come after her. He had only called her twice and when she didn’t pick up, he sent her a simple text message.
I’m not asking you to come home yet, even though I want you to. I’m not even asking you to talk, but I need to know you’re safe.
She didn’t know what kind of danger he thought she would get into on Hideaway Island, but the way he phrased his words took some of the steam out of her righteous anger. She was still mad as hell at him and her parents, but she wasn’t mad enough to sleep elsewhere tonight. She had thought about sleeping in the guest room, but why should she be chased out of her bed because of him?
He had no right telling her to cancel her trip. No right to imply that she was selfish. She wasn’t doing it for herself. It was no vacation. She was going to go because she’d spent the last three years researching those people. Studying their illnesses. Following their treatments, educating their local governments on how to prevent the spread of disease.
Was going to go.
She had called and canceled a few hours ago.
Her child wasn’t the reason she was staying home. Now that she knew she was pregnant, she knew how to take precautions. She wasn’t going to put the baby in harm’s way at all. It was the fact that she had a husband that made her pick up the phone.
You are not alone in this world anymore. You must think about us. You must think about our marriage.
That had gotten to her. She wasn’t alone anymore. She’d always had her parents, but she had felt so alone for all these years. Now she was married. She had said yes when she didn’t have to. She had made this commitment to be not only his partner, but his wife.
He didn’t want her to go. And sometimes she felt like she was more the vessel that carried his child than his wife, but he cared about her. He took care of her, and she’d uprooted his life. She should be able to compromise on this, even though nearly everything inside her wanted to rebel.
She stared at his large slumbering body as she got ready for bed. She wasn’t sure how he could look so peaceful sleeping when she was a big ball of angry mess.
She was afraid to let her guard down, to let him closer, because she was afraid that he was going to walk away. Every man she had ever gotten close to had walked away from her. For so long she’d thought it was her.
Part of her still thought it was her.
She slid into bed beside him, her body touching his even though it didn’t have to. Their bed was huge. She could have had all the space she wanted, but she pressed herself closer to him because she couldn’t help it. Bedtime was her favorite part of the day. She loved their lovemaking. She loved his big hard body, the feeling of safety she got whenever she was with him. She was angry. Hours later she was still angry with him, but that didn’t stop her from wanting to be with him.
“I’m glad you’re home,” he said. “I wasn’t going to be able to sleep without you next to me.”
“Shut up.” She removed her nightgown and climbed on top of him. “You’re not going to be able to sleep yet.”
“Shut up? You never say that.”
“You don’t know what I say or who I really am.”
“I know. But I want to change that. I want to know you.” He was being so damn sweet to her. He had been furious with her earlier. His words harsh. His demands clear. He was asserting his possession of her. She never wanted to feel owned, dependent on any man. She didn’t need Elias to survive, but she did need him in her life. She needed him to be happy, and she hated that she needed that.
“I’m going to kiss you.” She slid her hands along his jaw. “But I don’t want you to enjoy it.”
“That’s going to be hard,” he said with a slight grin.
“I’m mad at you. Don’t smile.”
He nodded as he pulled her face down to his. He was the one to kiss her, softly at first. A peck, and then a lick across her lower lip. But then his tongue swept into her mo
uth, and her nipples went even tighter. She wanted to control the kiss. She wanted to control their sex tonight, but she always lost all her thoughts whenever he kissed her like this. Her mind had been the only thing she could count on all these years, but he turned it into mush. He made her feel things that she didn’t think she was capable of. And that made her angry, too.
She broke the kiss and looked down at him. His eyes were closed, his body completely relaxed. He looked almost as lost as she felt. “I’m supposed to be the one kissing you.”
“So kiss me. I like the way your lips feel on my chest.”
“Do you?” she asked him.
“Yes, and on my stomach and...lower,” he said with a touch of mischievousness.
“Well, I’m never going to kiss you anywhere again. I don’t want you to like it.”
“Okay.” He ran his hands down her back, stopping on her behind to knead her flesh with his fingers. It was more than arousing, and she didn’t know if she wanted him to keep going or ease the persistent throbbing between her legs right then.
He had been very gentle with her lately, despite her assurances that she wasn’t fragile. She liked when he could barely control himself. She liked when he was shaking with need for her. “Give me your hands.”
He looked at her curiously for a moment but did as she asked, and she placed them behind his head.
“You have to keep your hands to yourself tonight.”
“But I need to touch you.”
“I’m punishing you.” She removed his manhood from his underwear and stroked it. He was already hard. He always was whenever their bodies were close together.
He sucked in a deep breath. “Can’t you punish me by giving me the silent treatment instead? I want to touch you.”
“No.” She looked into his eyes as she rose over him and sank down. He was so large and so deep inside her. She relished this feeling, and it made her think about her ex. He had been right. Ultimately she wouldn’t have been happy in a relationship with him, because this feeling was important to her. She and Elias were as close as two people could be, and she wanted to be closer.
She squeezed herself around him. He inhaled sharply and let out a low, deep moan. She felt powerful on top of him. With her body alone, she could give him pleasure, and she savored every expression he made, every sound of satisfaction that escaped his lips.
She rose up again and started to ride him slowly, almost letting him completely slip out of her before she plunged back down. She had her hands behind her on his legs, her thighs spread wide before him. She was putting on a show for him. Changing her tempo when he was enjoying himself too much, slapping his hands away when he attempted to touch her.
She had him gritting his teeth. She would have laughed if it hadn’t felt so damn good. Every stroke was bringing her closer to climax—she wanted to prolong it as long as possible, but by torturing him she was torturing herself.
“Go faster,” he urged her as he grabbed her hips.
“Don’t touch me.” She reached for his wrist, but he surprised her by rolling her beneath him. He plunged hard inside her, all his control gone. It was what she had wanted. He’d held out for a long time, but he was a strong man. And that’s part of the reason she loved him.
Yes, she did love her husband. She didn’t know why she was surprised by that. She wasn’t sure when it had happened, exactly. Maybe she had always loved him. Maybe she knew the moment they met that she wanted to end up here with him.
He drove into her hard, their skin slapping together. She knew she was making incoherent noises and digging her fingers into his back, but she couldn’t help herself. And she broke, a scream escaping her lips. Elias’s climax came moments after hers, and for a long time they lay together, a sweaty mass of limbs.
He kissed the side of her neck and then her jaw and cheek before he pressed his lips to hers and gave her a deep, sweet kiss.
“You enjoyed that,” she said to him, still breathless.
“Very much so.”
“You weren’t supposed to.”
“I enjoy everything that has to do with you.”
“Stop it! I’m trying to be mad at you.”
“I missed you,” he said quietly. “I will miss you if you go away, and I’ll worry about you and I won’t be able to sleep knowing my family is halfway across the world.”
A large hard lump sneaked into her throat. “Why didn’t you just tell me that before you got all macho and bossy with me?”
“I was mad. Your wife tells you that she’s leaving you—you get mad.”
“You could have come with me.”
“If you’re dead set on going I will, just to make sure you stay inside the protective bubble that I’m going to lock you in.”
“I’m not going. I called and canceled.”
“I thought you weren’t going to listen to me.”
“I was tempted to tell you to go to hell, but the truth is, I want you to be happy. And I know that you aren’t. I don’t want this marriage to fall apart, and I know if I can’t compromise with you now, in a few years I’m going to look back and hate myself for not doing something so simple.”
He kissed her throat and then buried his face there. “You’ve been afraid we’re not going to make it this entire time, haven’t you?”
“Yes, haven’t you?”
“When people in my family get married, they stay married. I would feel like a total failure if we couldn’t make this work.”
“Why did you have to go and marry me? It’s so much pressure. It’s suffocates me.”
“I needed to be married to you.”
For the baby, he didn’t say, but she knew that’s what he meant.
“I’m not sure how to be your wife. Sometimes I don’t read people the right way. You have to let me know if I’m doing something that bothers you. I need you to tell me.”
“I will. You have to talk to me, too, Cricket. Don’t keep yourself away from me. If we’re going to fail at this, we need to go down flaming. With everything out on the table.”
“Okay.” She nodded.
“What can I do to make you happier?” he asked her as he stroked her cheek.
Love me.
She couldn’t make herself form the words. They hadn’t even known each other for four months yet. It was too soon to expect love. To ask for it.
“I’m not unhappy. But I’m feeling you aren’t so happy here. Do you want to go back to Miami?”
“Going back won’t change anything. I need to work.”
“I would offer to speak to my mother about letting you go back, but I don’t think that will help you.”
“No.” He laughed. “It won’t. My brother-in-law told me that the hospitalist at Hideaway Hospital is looking to cut back on his schedule as he prepares for retirement. He wanted to know if I would take over three days a week for him. It’s such a small hospital and at most they only have a handful of patients admitted, so he sees patients as a primary care physician, as well.”
“What did you say?”
“That I have to speak to my wife about it first.”
“Way to make me feel extra bad about not talking to you first about leaving the country.”
“That’s what I was going for.” He grinned at her.
“Take the job. You aren’t cleared for surgery yet, right?”
“No.”
“I think you’ll feel better having something to do. And you get to get away from me.”
“That’s the only downside to it.”
“You’re very good.” She sought out his lips and kissed him. “We’re not fighting anymore.”
“Good. Although I kind of like fighting with you.”
“Do you?”
“Yeah.” He slid his hand ont
o her breast. “The making up is amazing.”
Chapter 9
Elias studied the boy’s foot that he was treating. He had taken the job at the hospital, focusing his mind on medicine. Even if it wasn’t the kind of medicine he wanted to practice, it was better than not practicing at all.
The kid had a broken big toe. The nail had split in half. The boy had to be in pain, but he looked more sheepish and worried than anything.
“Mrs. Nieves, would you mind running to the vending machines to get Landon a soda while I fix him up?”
She looked up at him with her eyes full of worry.
“Trust me, it will be better for you if you don’t see this. Landon is a tough kid. He’ll be fine. But we’re understaffed. If you pass out, I’m not sure who will treat you.”
“Okay, Dr. Bradley.” She kissed her son’s forehead a dozen times. “Mommy will be right outside.”
“I’m all right, Ma. I swear.”
Elias waited until she was out of earshot to speak again. “You want to tell me how you really hurt your foot? Because you didn’t just stub your toe.”
Landon’s eyebrows shot up. “You can tell.”
“Of course I can tell. I’m a doctor, and I’ve been ten before. What did you do?”
“Kicked a microwave.”
“You kicked a microwave? Why? Were you mad?”
“Nope. I don’t know why I kicked it.” He shrugged. “It was big and sitting on the lawn, and sometimes I kick stuff just because.”
In ten-year-old boy thinking, it was perfectly logical just to kick stuff because it was there.
“Don’t do that again, you knucklehead.” Elias grinned at him. “Or else you’ll be in here every week.”
The boy gave him a cheeky smile. “Maybe twice more before summer ends.”
“You like coming to the hospital?”
“You’re pretty cool,” the boy said. “But I get hurt. So do my brothers. My mother said she would put us up for sale, but no one will take damaged goods.”
Elias laughed and patched the boy up. He was still thinking about the encounter when he ended his shift at 3:00 p.m. He came home to find Cricket in the kitchen. She was cooking, which shocked him.
