by Lisa N. Paul
Julie’s heart thrummed as Chester spoke. The end of an era was approaching; big changes were on the way. Danny patted her knee, a reminder that they too had news to share, and it was time.
Julie felt a smile break across her lips. “So, Ches, do you think you could find it in your heart to make your way up north in about six months?”
“What?” the entire group asked in unison.
Excitement lit up her insides. The news was still so fresh to her and Danny. “You tell them,” she implored her equally radiant husband.
Danny brought their joined hands to the table top. His fingers were warm and strong as they grasped hers. “As you know, we’ve been waiting for over two years to adopt a baby. For the past week, we’ve been in talks with the adoption agency about a seventeen-year-old girl who’s only twelve weeks pregnant. Her parents aren’t supportive of her keeping the baby once it’s born, and the baby’s father isn’t in the picture. She’s giving the baby up for adoption, and she chose us to be the adoptive parents.”
“Oh… oh…a baby!” Anita jumped up from her chair, rushed around the table, and threw her arms around Julie.
“This calls for another round of champagne,” Chester ordered to the server. “And to answer your question, Julie girl, wild cowgirls couldn’t keep me away.”
“My question is, why the hell did it take you two so long to share this news?” Sheila’s motherly tone always tickled Julie. “Seriously, am I the only one thinking it? Or am I the only one ballsy enough to say it?”
“I’m with Sheila on this one,” Allan said as his fingers drummed a quick beat on the table top. “We’re having dessert already. Jeez, what were you waiting for?”
Julie turned her gaze from her father-in-law to her husband. Danny’s eyes glowed with enjoyment and tenderness; she knew he felt her excitement just as deeply, just as powerfully, just as intensely as she did. “We were waiting for the sweet moment at the end of dinner to share our sweet news.”
“And it doesn’t get sweeter or sexier than this,” Danny’s gravelly voice muttered a split second before his lips claimed hers. Passion and longing met in one brief kiss—Christ, she couldn’t wait to get home.
Allan cleared his throat, which cleared Julie’s erotic thoughts. “Please don’t forget you have house guests. Anita and I love you, but we don’t want a repeat of Independence Day 1996. Some pretty explosive fireworks that night.” Allan winked.
“Dad,” Danny groaned while Julie felt her face heat. “We promised we’d never discuss that again.”
“No, son, you promised we’d never talk about it again.”
Laughter filled the emptying restaurant.
“Aw man, I love that story,” Chris chimed in. “Nothing funnier than having your dad ask you to keep it down via Post-It note. Fan-fucking-tastic.”
Julie’s cheeks flamed. “No disrespect, but you guys aren’t so quiet yourselves.”
Instantly Allan and Anita fell silent and Danny’s shoulders shook.
“It’s true,” Danny admitted, his lips twitching with humor. “Time we came home for Christmas—first time we met you, Anita—you guys wouldn’t have a sleepover while we kids were staying at the house. But when I took Julie out one evening to look at the Christmas lights, you two used the alone time to your advantage. It seemed Jules and I came back a bit too soon, though you both came right on time.”
Julie giggled and Danny squirmed.
“Oh… oh…” Anita gasped. “That’s horrifying. You’re right, we should never talk of those times again.”
“Agreed,” said Julie, Danny, and Allan.
###
THE WEEKS PASSED with dizzying speed as Danny and Julie prepared for the inevitable changes coming to their lives. Chester’s move had gone off without a hitch, leaving Maryland a little less…merry. That said, it seemed as if Julie spoke with him more after his relocation than she had when he lived just a few towns away.
An introduction had been arranged between Julie and Danny and Ivy, the birthmother of their future child. The meeting felt awkward, stilted, strange, but as Danny reminded her after the fact, how was something of that nature supposed to have gone? The three of them met a second time, and as Julie and Ivy chatted, a connection blossomed. Because Ivy was a minor, she was covered by her parents’ health insurance, but that didn’t stop Danny and Julie from offering financial support during Ivy’s pregnancy. All of Ivy’s maternity clothing, stretch mark prevention creams, and bi-weekly pedicures were on the Marcuses’ tab, and they relished every second of it.
But that wasn’t all. Julie wanted to give their future baby her full attention. Whether due to maturity, priority adjustments, or plain old guilt, she was ready to step back from her career and focus on being a stay-at-home mom.
“Honey, are you sure this is what you want?” Danny carefully removed the coffee pot from her grip, placed it on the breakfast table, and in one fluid movement, had her facing him on his pajama-clad lap.
“Yes,” Julie answered softly as she stared into understanding eyes that forever stole her breath. “I’m completely certain. I want to be home with our baby. I know I felt differently last time.” She cleared her throat, as well as the emotion that still came to the surface when she thought about the loss of their child. “But last time, I thought it was just the beginning. This time…it’s most likely the only.” Her hand met the perpetual scruff that lined Danny’s jaw but never masked his face. Its feel brought instant comfort to her soul and pleasure to her body. “I want to savor every minute of the mommy time”—she wiggled her ass against his crotch, pulling her bottom lip between her teeth as he hardened beneath her—“and still have energy to savor you.”
A shiver ran up her spine as Danny meticulously swept her long hair around his fist, exposing the sensitive flesh where her neck and shoulder met. “Honey, any child we have will be loved the world over, but you will always be my reason.”
His large hands spread her knees as his palms worked up to her panty-covered core. The pad of his middle finger stroked tenderly over the satin panel. The contact with her clit made a soft moan escape her lips before she could think to hold it back.
“Don’t you worry about energy, baby, I got enough for both of us.” Husky authority laced his tone. “Only one thing you need to do.”
She peered up at him through hooded lids.
“When you’re home, the underwear is gone. Any opportunity I can find to sink into my pussy, I’m gonna take it, and you’re gonna love it. Just. Skin.”
The warmth of his breath mixed with the unique force of his words had goose bumps multiplying over Julie’s skin before his first kiss ever made contact.
“Take ‘em off now.” His command made her nipples tighten, and the fire in his hazel gaze had her peeling off her panties. “Good girl, now sit back down on my lap. Gonna make you come, honey.” With her back to his front, and her bare legs draped over his, he widened his feet, baring her sex to the empty room. “Mmm, can smell you, Jules,” he whispered in her ear, making the fine hairs on her neck wakeup while he rubbed her clit with gentle circles. “Waiting for me to touch you, stroke you, fuck you with my fingers. Yeah?”
“Danny…” She writhed into his hand. His touch wasn’t enough, and he knew it. It was his brand of foreplay, and she loathed it and loved it. “I need…more.”
“More?” He flicked her earlobe with his tongue, sending chills through her body as he continued light play to the sensitive nerves above her entrance. “Got more to give, baby. Tell me what you want.”
“Make me come.” She panted, her nails pressed against his thighs. “Please, Danny, I need to come.” Her request was barely out when his fingers plunged into her wetness. “Oh… oh… fuck, Danny.” She moaned, thrusting into his touch.
“Goddamn, yes, fuck my fingers baby. Your pussy’s so greedy. Fuck, Jules…”
She rocked onto his fingers as his thumb worked her clit. Sparks began to light in her belly.
“Don’t st
op,” she mewled shamelessly, the climax building, climbing, ready to crest.
Danny leaned in and swept his tongue up the column of her neck, sending ecstasy careening through her. Breathless, she shifted on his lap, torquing her torso in an awkward position. Danny lifted his brow.
“I want to see your face, handsome,” Julie answered his unasked question. In less than a second, she sat face to face, straddling the man who’d brought her unbelievable pleasure and unconditional love.
“Mmm, watching you fall apart may be my favorite pastime,” Danny rasped before licking his glistening fingers. “Close second is tasting your sweet cream.”
The way his tongue seductively swiped Julie’s arousal from his finger mimicked the oral pleasures he often bestowed, revving her just-sated body up for another round. God, the way she wanted her man couldn’t possibly be normal. She craved him.
With her legs still shaking and dangling off the sides of the kitchen chair, she lowered her small hands from his shoulders to his biceps, leaning in to press her lips to the tattoo scribed across his chest.
Julie’s Main
She’d thought he was crazy when he opened his shirt on their wedding night and presented her with what many referred to as the vow vaporizer. People swore that inking your lover’s name on your body was as good as setting your relationship up for failure. She’d frantically reminded her new husband of that very fact while openly admiring the beautiful script.
But as always, passion licked his eyes as he pulled her close and unzipped her simple wedding dress. “I’ll always be yours, Jules,” he said in a hoarse whisper, “no matter what.”
Taut skin over hard muscle rippled under her tongue as she traced each letter of her name.
“While I’d love to play some more…” Danny groaned, reaching behind him and unhooking her ankles before standing them both up. “I need to get to work if I’m gonna meet you and Ivy at the ultrasound appointment today at five o’clock.”
Desire was evident on his face and below his waist, the unmistakable evidence tenting his pajama bottoms. However, as always, he focused on the tasks that needed his attention first, knowing his needs would get tended to when time allowed.
Going to be an amazing father, she thought as she trailed him to their bedroom. “We won’t start without you, babe.”
She and Ivy had spoken the day before. The teen was as anxious as they were to make certain the baby was healthy, and she was grateful that Julie and Danny would be at the ultrasound appointment with her.
“Good,” Danny called from the bathroom, “because I wanna be there when the tech tells us we’re having a boy.”
The sound of water beating on tile muted but didn’t erase Danny’s chuckle. They had been battling over the baby’s gender since the first time they met Ivy. While Julie didn’t agree with Danny’s assessment, truth be told, she couldn’t care less if it was a boy or girl as long as it was a Marcus.
Julie’s full smile reflected in the mirror as she stripped off her T-shirt and walked naked into the shower stall.
***
“HONEY,” DANNY MURMURED in surprise. His semi-hard cock stiffened the minute his sexy wife entered the shower. The best kind of mischief glimmered in her gray eyes.
“You said you had to get ready for work.” She lowered to her knees in front of him, water spraying her firm tits and dripping to her thighs. His breath locked in his chest the second she fisted his hardness. “I certainly can’t let you go to work like this. I’d feel horrible.”
Her pink tongue gliding across her bottom lip had his dick throbbing with need.
“So you go ahead and wash your hair”—an impish grin curled the corners of her mouth—“and try to forget I’m even here. I’ll just take care of business and leave you to finish your shower in peace.”
Even the hot water didn’t compare to the heat of Julie’s mouth the moment she wrapped it around his cock.
“Fuck…” His groan echoed in the tiled space as Danny widened his stance to keep from falling over from pleasure.
Like a scene from his wildest fantasies, his wife was naked before him, steam surrounding her perfect body. Her strawberry hair darkened as she slicked it back from her face, showcasing her steel eyes. She stared up at him with a perfect storm of lust, satisfaction, and power. Each time her cheeks hollowed with suction, the tip of his cock touched the back of her throat.
“Christ, Julie, oh…that’s it, take it down.” He growled the command as release gathered in his spine.
There was no disguising Julie’s mewls of pleasure, even over the pounding water and his own grunts. That, in its own right, turned him on even more. With her sitting back on her heels and her knees spread wide, just as he’d taught her, he could imagine the wetness pooling at her core and knew it was from more than just water.
“Fuck, honey, your pussy…is it dripping for me? You love sucking me off, yeah?” His dirty words were just as powerful as his tender touches, and with her mouth around him, dirty words were just about the only thing he had to offer. “Touch yourself, Jules. Let me see how you rub that pretty little clit.”
His dick vibrated with her moan as Julie’s long fingers rolled her swollen nub. Her nipples were drawn into hard points that had his mouth watering and his balls aching. But before he could so much as move to touch her creamy tits, her tongue glided around his cock head, touching the sensitive spot underneath. Release pushed through his body like a freight train as Julie took him deep into her throat.
“Fuck!” he shouted, and his hands twisted through her hair as he fucked her mouth, incapable of holding back. An endless orgasm rocked his body to exhaustion. His eyes fell closed, and his head hit the tiles behind him. “That was…”
Soft kisses marched from his abdomen to his lips before he could peel his eyes open.
“Delicious,” Julie announced, touching her lips to his. “And exactly how you made me feel in the kitchen. Now hurry up and get done. You’re going to be late for work.”
The cool air of the shower door opening did nothing to squelch the heat still thrumming in his body. The woman blew his mind, ridiculous pun not intended.
“And, baby,” Julie cooed over her naked shoulder, “the shampoo Mohawk went out in the 80s. May wanna wash that out before the water runs cold.” She blew him a kiss and shut the door, leaving him sated, steamy, and clean. No better way to start the day.
Chapter Seventeen
He Was Ours
“IS EVERYONE READY?” The ultrasound technician smiled as she entered the small exam room.
Danny was more than ready. Hell, he’d left work early to make certain he wasn’t late for the appointment. Not that he’d been late to any of them, but because the baby wasn’t biologically theirs, the need to be perfect felt tangible. Part of him knew the irrational feelings would pass once he held their baby, but for the time being, punctuality was the best he could offer.
“We’re ready,” Julie and Ivy responded.
“Can’t wait.” Danny grabbed for his wife’s hand, lacing their fingers together.
After fifteen minutes of measurements and snapshots, the baby appeared perfect. As its tiny heart fluttered on screen, Danny found it difficult not to tear up just like Julie, but with a deep inhale and a throat-clearing cough, he held himself together as he held onto her.
The tech nodded, moving the curser over the screen. “Are you interested in knowing the gender of your child?”
The question was addressed to Ivy, but before the girl could answer, Danny did. “Yes, of course we want to know.” His chest puffed with pride. “We’re his parents.”
The tech spared a quick look at an unusually quiet Ivy before pointing at the screen. “Well, Mr. and Mrs. Marcus, it looks like you’ve already guessed. You’re having a boy. Congratulations!”
“A boy,” Julie said as tears rolled down her face. “We’re having a boy.” Julie pivoted, craning her face up to his. “A baby boy, Danny.”
“I know, Jules.
Happy as hell no matter what God gave us, but it’s a boy.” He waggled his brows. “Since this ain’t the time to tell you I was right, I’ll wait ‘till later.” He winked before touching his lips to hers. The kiss was chaste, given the company they kept, but the promise for more lingered.
A quiet sniffle immediately shrouded the tiny room in silence.
“Ivy,” Julie spoke with reverence, “thank you so much for giving us this gift. I wish I could explain what this means to us, but there are no words to describe how your act of selflessness is changing our lives.” Danny’s heart pounded as Julie placed her hand over the young girl’s belly. “There will never be a day where this little boy goes unloved. He’ll spend his entire life knowing everyone in his life wanted only the best for him, that both of his moms loved him with their whole hearts. And I swear to you, Ivy, Danny and I will give him the best life any child could hope for. Thank you for trusting us. We won’t let you down.”
Ivy’s wide brown eyes shifted from Julie to Danny before she nodded. “I know you won’t. You two have been incredible. Thanks for being here with me today. You helped to make things so much easier for me.”
Danny’s heart broke for the teenager. He would teach his son to be responsible, and honorable, and to be a stand-up man. His boy would learn that if he was man enough to get a woman pregnant, then he would be man enough to stand by her side until decisions were made. No boy of his would walk away from a woman he cared about, nor would he walk away from one he’d claimed to care about long enough to get her pregnant. “Anything you need, just call. Yeah?”
“Thanks, Danny. I’m just going to get dressed and head home.” Ivy quickly averted her eyes as she swung her legs to the side of the table.
“Are you sure you don’t want to go out to dinner with us?” Julie asked.
“Umm, no thanks.” A stilted silence filled the room before Ivy spoke again. “I have a term paper due on Monday, and my parents said I couldn’t go out for my birthday this weekend unless it’s finished.”
