Rescued Heart (Titan World)

by Tarina Deaton

  “Are you doing alright?” Emme asked?

  “Yeah. Little bit of indigestion. A lot of foot.”

  “Eighteen weeks, right?”

  “Right around that,” Gilly said.

  Emme stared at her sister-in-law’s belly. She was kind of big for eighteen weeks. “Have you had an ultrasound yet?”

  “We have an appointment in three weeks,” Doug said.

  “Have you heard the heart beat yet?”

  “Not yet,” Gilly said. “We’ve only been to see the doctor once for our initial appointment.”

  “Wish I had my stethoscope to see if I could find the heartbeat,” Emme said.

  “There’s a box of your stuff up in the closet in the guest room,” her mom said. “The NGO sent it when—” She swallowed hard and looked down at her wine. “Well, the NGO sent your things here.”

  Emme wrapped her hands around her mom’s, resting on the table. She became teary eyed and her grip on Emme’s hand tightened. With a tight smile, she said, “Why don’t you go see if there’s one in the box?”

  She stood and wrapped her arms around her mom’s neck, kissing the top of her head. Her mom returned her hug and patted her arm. Letting go, she jogged up the stairs and into the spare bedroom — the one she hadn’t napped in — and into the small walk-in closet. She found the two moving boxes addressed to her care of her parents and tore the tape off the first one. The smell of old and musty clothes assailed her. Guess they hadn’t washed any of her things before they boxed them up. Maybe they thought her mom would want to be able to smell her scent if she hadn’t made it back. That’s a morbid thought.

  She pulled up the layers of folded scrubs, shorts, and t-shirts, but didn’t find a stethoscope. The second box held all the non-clothing items — her iPod, the few pieces of jewelry she’d taken with her, some shoes, her phone, and at the bottom, three stethoscopes. She didn’t remember having three, but it was possible they had grabbed a couple from the clinic. It worked to her benefit anyway.

  She dug around some more looking for her phone charger, finally it finding in a box of other cords. Plugging the phone in beside the bed, she grabbed two of the stethoscopes and went back downstairs.

  Boisterous laughter, including Jordan’s, greeted her at the bottom of the stairs and she smiled. Dorothy was right — there was no place like home.

  She motioned to Gilly when she entered the dining room, indicating the other woman should turn in her chair. “Doug, let her lean back on you a little.” Kneeling down in front of Gilly, she set the second stethoscope on the table.

  “Is the other one so we can listen?” Doug asked.’

  “Not yet.” She placed one the earpieces in her ear.

  “Then what’s it for?”

  She gave her brother an exasperated look. “Echo location. Shh.”

  “Really?” His look of shock was comical. “You can do that?”

  Emme rolled her eyes. “No. Now shush.” She placed the diaphragm against Gilly’s stomach, moving the small circle from spot to spot. It might still be too soon, but she was hoping she’d be able to find it. There! Closing her eyes, she concentrated on the small, yet distinct sound. Moving the stethoscope to the other side of Gilly’s belly, she tried to find the proof of her suspicions. Maybe…right there.

  Opening her eyes, she pulled the earpiece out of her left ear, setting it in the hollow behind her earlobe. Picking up the second stethoscope, she put one earpiece in and set the other one in the same spot behind her right ear. Taking both ends in her hand, she set one on each side of Gilly’s belly where she had heard the heartbeats and closed her eyes.

  The soft echo of two strong and steady heartbeats sounded through the stethoscopes. She smiled, opened her eyes, and met Gilly’s gaze. Her eyes shone with equal parts happiness and trepidation. Emme took the earpieces out.

  “Why were you listening to both sides of her belly?” Doug asked.

  “Really?” Gilly asked, a little breathless.

  “I’m ninety-five percent sure,” Emme said.

  “Oh my god.” Gilly covered her mouth with her hand, her eyes wide. “I thought I was just getting really fat.”

  “What are you sure about? What’s going on?” Doug asked.

  Emme ignored him. “You need to call your doctor tomorrow and have an ultrasound as soon as you can.”

  Gilly nodded. “Okay.” She dropped her hand. “Oh my god.”

  “Hello! What is going on?” Doug demanded.

  She couldn’t pass up the opportunity to tease her brother. “Jeez, Doug, keep up.” She stood from her crouch. “You’re having twins.”

  Her mom leapt out of her seat and jumped up and down clapping. “Twins!” Doug sat there, mouth hanging open, speechless. Her mom ran around to hug Gilly. She let her go and continued to dance around the dining room, fists raised, like she had just scored the winning Super Bowl touchdown.

  Her father had his usual, bemused look on his face. “I take it Mom is excited about being a grandma,” she said.

  He stood and patted her back. “Don’t think this is going to give you that big of a reprieve. It’s probably going to make her worse.”

  Emme groaned. “Great.”

  Close to nine o’clock, Gilly yawned and looked down at her belly. “I guess this explains why I’ve been so tired.” She rested her head on Emme’s shoulder, where the sat on the couch, having left the men alone to talk on the back porch. “I’m glad you were the one who told us.”

  Emme laid her head against Gilly’s. “Me, too.”

  Gilly raised her head, dislodging Emme. “Mostly I’m just glad you’re here.” Her eyes teared up and she waved a hand in front of her face. “Don’t mind me. It’s the hormones.”

  Emme laughed and bumped her shoulder against her sister-in-law’s. “I’m glad, too.”

  Pushing up from the couch, Gilly said, “Time to go home. I need a foot rub before bed, especially now that I know I’m carrying twins.”

  Following her mom and Gilly through the house, they said their good-byes on the back porch. Her mom and dad walked Doug and Gilly to the front door with a parting, “Don’t stay up too late.”

  Alone for the first time in what felt like days, rather than hours, she curled up next to Jordan on the outdoor sofa. He wrapped an arm around her shoulders and pulled her even closer.

  “How close are we to the ocean?” he asked.

  “Twenty minutes with traffic.”

  “When did your parents move here?”

  “About six years ago.” She stared out into the blackness of the small back yard. “There’s no gazebo.”

  His fingers toyed with the ends of her hair where it rested on her shoulder. “A what?”

  She tilted her head back to see him. “A gazebo. That’s where you kissed me the first time.”

  He smiled. “I remember.”

  “I never thanked you for beating up David Baker.”

  “Hmm, wasn’t sure you knew about that.”

  She quirked an eyebrow. “Kind of hard to miss the matching black eyes and broken nose he had at school the next day. He also said he was sorry for being a dick and he wouldn’t do it again.”

  “Good to know he got the message.”

  “I also never had another date in high school.”

  He smirked. “Good.”

  She gasped. “How was that good? That was not good!”

  “You shouldn’t have been dating in high school anyway.”

  “I— You—” She sputtered, trying to find the words to express her outrage.

  “Your dad knows we’re sleeping together.”

  “Oh my god!” She pushed away from him. “You have to stop touching me.”

  “Why?”

  “Because we’ve been together for two weeks.”

  “Emme, we’ve known each other more than half our lives.”

  “We hadn’t seen each other for fifteen years.”

  “So?” His stare was assessing. “What’s really goin
g on?”

  She rubbed her forehead. “I’ve never been comfortable ‘being’ with a guy in front of my parents. Even when I was married, we kept public displays of affection to a minimum.” She shook her head. “I’m not even sure why, to be honest. Mom and Dad are always hugging and touching each other.”

  “I understand wanting to respect your parents, especially in their house. But me not touching you? That’s not going to happen.” He pulled her closer and locked his arms around her. “Your dad told me to call him Emmard.”

  She stilled. “He did?”

  “Yeah. Why’re you surprised by that?”

  “He never let my ex call him Emmard.” She deepened her voice. “‘Mr. France is fine.’ That’s what he said the first time he tried to call him Emmard.”

  “Huh.” He grinned. “Guess that means he likes me.”

  “Hmm.” She mewed her mouth and rested back against his large frame, his heat seeping into her side. “Or something.”

  He rubbed his cheek against her head. “What time do they usually go to bed?”

  “‘Bout now. Mom may read for a while, but they’re usually lights out by nine-thirty.”

  He looked at his watch. “We’ve got about fifteen minutes to fool around before we go upstairs.”

  “Oh.” Disappointment settled in her chest. He had an early start in the morning, but she had envisioned their last night together differently.

  His teeth nipped at her ear. “Get out of your head, Emme. I’m just giving your parents time to fall asleep.”

  She tilted her head back to give him more access. “Oh.”

  “You’re going to have to be quiet.”

  “What do you mean?”

  “You get a little loud sometimes. It’s awesome since it means I’m doing something right. But I don’t want your parents hearing it when I make you scream.”

  “Someone’s awfully full of themselves.”

  His grin was licentious. “Someone’s going to be full of me.”

  “Oh my—.”

  Jordan’s mouth covered hers, his tongue sliding against her bottom lip. She inhaled sharply, desire piercing her like tiny little needles all over her body. She turned and straddled him.

  “God, baby, I can feel the heat from your pussy through your shorts. Are you wet? Ready for me to slide into you? Spread you wide and fill you up?”

  She gasped, his erotic words sending a gush of moisture between her legs. “Yes.”

  “Am I going to have to shove your face into a pillow to keep you quiet? Keep your luscious ass in air while I take you from behind?”

  All she could do was pant, so close to orgasming just from his words.

  “Fuck, I can’t wait anymore. Let’s go.”

  He stood and lowered her to the ground, then adjusted the front of his jeans where the bulge of his erection pressed. She licked her lips and lifted her gaze.

  “Hell no,” he said. “Stop looking at me like that.”

  She blinked. “What?”

  “You’re not giving me head on the back porch of your parents’ house. I’m good with having sex behind a door that locks, but no way in hell are you wrapping those lips around me where either of your parents can walk in on us.”

  “Oh. Yeah.” He was right, but she was still disappointed. “Suppose not.”

  He shook his head. “I like the way you think, though. Come on.” Grabbing her hand, he led her back into the house, locking the door behind them.

  The upstairs bath light was on to guide their way and they tiptoed to the room he had claimed earlier. Easing the door closed, he thumbed the lock with a soft click.

  Emme had no time to think before she was in his arms, his hands skimming her body, touching everywhere he could reach. Her shirt was gone in moments and her pants and underwear following soon after. He left her briefly to remove his own clothes and then she was airborne as he tossed her onto the bed.

  He wasted no time in planting his mouth between her legs. She drew her knees up, gripping the sides of his head, trying to pull at the short strands of his hair. God, if he ever left the Army she’d make him grow his hair out so she had something to grab while he was tonguing her clit. She inhaled sharply when sucked on it. Like that.

  He stopped sucking. “Pillow, Emme.” Finding her clit again, he flicked the tip with his tongue and glided two fingers into her core.

  She bit her lip to keep from moaning, groping blindly for a pillow. Finding one, she covered her face and released a short shout. Her hips moved in time to his fingers and mouth while he fucked her, the orgasm building. Just before it crested, he stopped and grabbed her hips.

  “Flip.” Putting pressure on her hips, he turned her, then pulled her up on her knees. The hand in the middle of her back kept her head down and she braced her weight on her elbows.

  He slid his hard cock between her slick folds. His hands left her and she heard the crumple of a condom wrapper. A moment without him and he was back, sliding his cock back and forth, wetting himself with her juices again. The tip caught her entrance before continuing on to nudge her clit, still sensitive from his mouth.

  His hand reached around and found her hood. His fingers barely touched her, rubbing circles around and around.

  She was so close. Just a little more pressure or if he would— His finger pressed on her clit at the same time he entered her in one smooth, hard stroke. The angle rubbed her front wall. He withdrew and slid forward setting up an alternate rhythm of pressing her clit and filling her pussy.

  Heat gathered in that one spot in her core. Her thighs quivered and she buried her face in the pillow, concentrating on the feeling. So close. She just needed—

  He leaned over her and nipped at the fleshy part of her shoulder.

  She exploded in a burst of starlight and shoved back against him, lost to everything except the waves of pleasure coursing through her body. He stilled while she continued to rock against him, riding her orgasm through to the last little ripple.

  Her whole body shook and he withdrew from her, laying her on her side and turning her. Gathering her in his arms, she felt him searching for her entrance. He slid forward again, pushing into the swollen muscles of her channel.

  She took a shuddering breath, wrapping her arms around his chest. “You didn’t—?”

  “Not yet,” he whispered.

  He kissed her. Soft and gentle. His thrusts matched his kiss. He set a steady pace, rocking his hips into hers, the base of his dick pressing against her clit with every thrust. This was different. This was so much more intimate than they’d been any other time. More than just sex. More than fucking. It was romantic. He was—

  She stopped the thought before it could form.

  The words tumbled around in her brain, ready to be screamed from her lips, but she wouldn’t put that kind of pressure on him the night before he left. More than anything, she was scared he didn’t feel the same way.

  The way he was… They were having sex, it felt like it, but maybe it was wishful thinking on her part.

  His warm, rough hand traced down the length of her body. He hooked her leg behind the knee and drew it up around his waist. “Emme.”

  She found his mouth with hers, wrapped her arms around his neck and poured all her feelings into her kiss.

  Please understand what I’m saying.

  He continued to rock into her, picking up his pace as his breathing increased. Using his thumb, he pressed her clit and she came again, pulling both legs around his waist, clenching him tight.

  The tempo of his thrusts sped up, the power of his hips driving her toward the top of the bed. She grabbed the cheeks of his ass, feeling them clench and tighten under her fingers as she rolled her hips, trying to prolong her second orgasm.

  He tore his lips from her mouth and buried his face in the side of her neck, his mouth wide, breath warm and wet against her skin. He surged forward and stayed planted as his body shuddered and jerked, pouring himself into her. Grinding his hips in circles, he
groaned before collapsing on her.

  Tears stung the corners of her eyes as she wrapped her arms and legs around him, locking him in place. She felt him wipe his head against the pillow under her head.

  “You okay,” he asked, his lips brushing against her neck.

  She nodded, afraid if she spoke the tears she was holding back would burst forth.

  “Am I crushing you?”

  She shook her head.

  “I’ll move in a second, after I recover. I think you killed me.”

  Smiling, she tucked her head into his shoulder.

  Too soon, he pulled away from her. “Is there a waste basket in here or do I need to go to the hall bath?”

  “There should be one by the door.”

  “Be right back.”

  Shivering at the loss of this weight and heat, she rolled to the side and pulled the sheet and blanket down, sliding between them. The bed shifted with his weight when he returned. Sliding in beside her, he pulled her to him, wrapping her in his arms. He held her so close, the fingers of his hands brushed against her ribs.

  “I’m going to try not to wake you in the morning,” he said.

  “Jordan—”

  “I don’t want the last image I have of you to be crying in my rearview mirror. I want it to be you spread out in this bed, exhausted because I wore you out.”

  Tears pricked her eyes and leaked out the corner, but she nodded.

  “And no crying now. I’m coming back Emme. It’s only a few months.”

  “It’s almost six,” she argued.

  “More than two, less than ten. A few.” She felt his smile against her neck.

  “I’m going to miss you.”

  “I’m going to miss you, too. But I am coming back, Emme. You can count on that.”

  CHAPTER SIXTEEN

  “Thank you… Yes, ma’am, I look forward to meeting you in person as well… Have a good evening.” Emme hit the disconnect button on her phone and grinned down at it.

  She got the job. A teaching job and in Charleston, but it still put her within three hours of Fayetteville. “Woo hoo!”

  Tossing the phone on the bed, she jogged down the stairs for dinner. She rounded the corner of the kitchen and kissed her mom on the cheek.