by Ivy Rose
Dominic kisses me softly. “We love her more than anything. She calls us Mama and Daddy.”
I fall asleep with a picture of a chocolate- covered faced girl with bright green eyes smiling as she runs through the backyard, Cooper chasing her, as Dominic and I look on with love.
Avery
I walk in the shelter for young children and abused women. I’ve volunteered here since was young.
One of the workers Harper smiles as soon as she sees me. “Avery look at you, you look beautiful.”
I smile. Lifting the boxes of chocolate cup cakes. “Thanks, Harper. I made some cakes for the Party.”
She grabs a two of the boxes, shaking her head. “I can’t believe the caterers let us down at the last minute. This will help so much.”
I follow Her to the kitchen. “Wait, you haven’t got any food?”
“No, and the kids have been excited for weeks. It’s our tenth year. It was meant to be this big event, but no one will do anything for nothing these days. We’re already tight with our budget.”
“Hey, not everyone is like that. You get the kids ready tomorrow. I’ll get a few friends together and we will sort something out.”
She shakes her head as she starts on the children’s lunches. “You’re pregnant, and you’ve done so much already, I can’t ask any more of you.”
I put on some gloves helping out “I’m offering. I’ll be here tomorrow morning.”
Harper gives me a list of everything she needs, saying she will never expect it all, but anything will help.
Harper runs over to me. “I can’t believe you’ve done all this.”
I hug her tightly. Looking around it’s not as big as Harper first planned, but it is still perfect. “I had a little help. Cecelia, Mac, Carter, and Dominic were all happy to help, Molly would of too but she had to go away with work this weekend.”
Cecelia had gathered loads of decorations and even got her class to make a big banner, My mom had helped me with all the catering and called the local fire brigade to bring along the truck. The kids are loving it. Dominic, Mac, and Carter had gone around gathering toys and books for the children. And, of course, Cooper. You could hear the children’s laughter from around the block.
I sit down to have a drink at last. My feet have started to swell when I am on them too long.
Mac smiles as he approaches. He hasn’t stopped apologizing for not telling me that Dominic was safe that night but he’s kept to his word. He has been coming around more, and he fits in with us perfectly. He is a lot like a little brother.
He sits next to me. “How’s mama holding up?”
I return his smile, holding my stomach. “Great.”
His smiles widens and he looks over at Dominic. “He’s got your scan picture on his desk. Nobody can miss it. He’s excited.” I can’t help the goofy grin, as I rub my stomach. “We both are. There’s so much we’ve planned to do. I even caught Dominic looking at Disneyland the other day. I swear, she has already got him around her little finger.”
He grins shakes his head looking over at Dominic and Carter. “When I first met Dominic, he scared the shit out of me. You know they call him Stone Cold?”
I frown. I’ve never liked that name. “Yeah, I’ve heard that name a few times.”
“Carter and Dominic are a force to reckon with. I hope one day I’m like them.”
I grab his hand which makes his eyes widen in surprise. “You will be. Dominic told me you’re bright and not scared to get your feet dirty. What made you decide to become a police officer?”
A small frown appears as he looks at the ground before looking back up to me. “My dad was one. He got killed a few years back out on patrol. My mom doesn’t even know I am. Only my sister Marilyn does.” He almost says it as if he rehearsed it like he’s detached himself which makes me reach out to him.
Gripping his hand. “I’m so sorry for your loss. You sure your mom wouldn’t be happy?”
Mac eyes widen, a grin covering his face. “She would come here and kick my ass back home. My dad dying nearly destroyed her. She was never the same, Avery. It broke her in a way only life can break a person. It broke us all Marylyn went off the tracks, getting in with the wrong crowds falling for the wrong guys, but I’m getting her sorted now.” He says it with so much determination I have no doubt he will help his sister anyway he can.
I smile. “You’re a good person Mac, Marylyn and your Mum are lucky to have you!”I grab his hand giving it a squeeze as remembering that night at the hospital and seeing the blood.
“Shit. I’m sorry, Avery.”
I wave my hand to tell him I’m okay.
“Beautiful.”
My head snaps up at his low voice.
His arms crossed over his chest, frown lines his face as he looks between Mac and I.
“Yes, baby? Mac was just telling me about the Deep South and how his mom can still kick his ass.”
Mac lets out a gruff laugh. “You witch, that was only for you.” His eyes silently thank me.
“Before I leave you with your man, is…umm…” He goes bright red, rubbing his neck.
Dominic smirks, watching him squirm.
“Your friend Cecelia is beautiful. Is she…umm…single?”
I shrug, watching Cecelia playing football with a bunch of boys from the home. Her laughter is boisterous as she plays soccer with a crowd of kids. “I’m sorry. It’s complicated she doesn’t say she relationship in fact if you ask her she deny it completely but there someone she cares about back home.”
He doesn’t seem shocked by my answer. “Yeah, I should have known a beautiful woman like Cecilia wouldn’t be available.” He walks off like someone just kicked his puppy.
“I like him.”
Dominic nods. “He’s a good Guy. He’s going to make a great cop in a few years. You look tired.” His thumb stroking my jaw.
“Yeah, it doesn’t seem to matter how much I sleep, I’m always tired.”
He stands, reaching out for my hand. “Come on, I’m taking you home.”
I wave him off. “It’s not finished yet.”
His eyebrow rises. “I’m not arguing with you, beautiful. I’m taking you home.”
I give in, knowing I should really go home. My feet have swollen and I’m starving.
“Okay, let me say goodbye to everyone first.”
It takes another hour before we leave. Harper can’t thank me enough and she tells Dominic that the patrol car was a massive hit, too. After saying goodbye to everyone, we grab Cooper, who is running around with a bunch of children.
I fall on the couch and Dominic pulls my feet to his lap, rubbing them.
I groan. “God that feels so good.”
He continues to massage my feet until I fall asleep.
“Beautiful.”
My eyes flutter open softly to see him standing above me. My mouth waters as the smell of my famous meatballs fills the air.
I sit up as he puts the plate in my lap. “You made this?”
He grins. “Yeah, I rang your mom. She walked me through it.” He doesn’t move as watches me as I take the first bite.
“This is so good.”
A boyish smile covers his face, making him look younger, more his age.
After we’ve eaten I get in the shower. I get a chill from the door as Dominic walks in behind me, grabbing my face and kissing me hungrily. I place my hand around his neck and stand on tip toes, kissing him with just as much force.
He grabs my hands from around his neck placing them above my head. He drags a finger from my cheekbone down to my ear and down my neck, then from my collar bone to my breast, where he lightly tugs, causing me to moan. My hips buck toward him. He does the same to the other breast, quickly replacing his fingers with his hot mouth, sucking and gently biting.
My hips move forward as if they have a mind of their own. The coldness from the tiles only adds to the pleasure.
He releases my breast with a pop. “Sweet as fucking ca
ndy.”
The intense green eyes bore into me and I suck up a sharp breath as he inserts two fingers.
“I can feel you, baby, and your cunt trying to squeeze my fingers. You want me, baby.”
I can only nod as his thumb finds my aching nub. He starts slowly in a circling motion, watching my every reaction and applying pressure to make me gasp before slowing things down as I near the edge.
“Dom, please.”
He quickly turns me, pulling my ass out before entering me in a hard thrust which makes me explode, screaming his name as wave after wave of pleasure takes over me.
His hips buck relentlessly as his fingers dig into my waist.
“That’s it, baby. I want to feel that pussy squeeze my cock.”
I’m already at the edge.
He leans over me, his chest against my back. “Cum for me, Avery.”
He bites my earlobe and it’s as if my body was waiting for permission. I scream his name.
He washes me after, so softly, a stark difference to the sex we just had. He kisses every inch of my skin. As he bends down and places a kiss on my stomach, I feel a weird sensation.
Dominic’s head snaps up to me. “What was that?” he asks, just above a whisper.
It happens again.
I place my hand on my stomach. “She’s kicking.”
Dominic’s eyes widen. Placing his hand on my stomach, there’s another strong kick.
“Oh God, Dom, can you feel that?”
He nods his intense green eyes on my stomach. He looks back up. “You’ve given me more than I ever dreamt possible.”
Avery
I watch Dominic, Carter, and Mac mess about in the garden.
Ever since feeling our daughter, he has changed. There is lightness about him that never existed before. It’s like the storm clouds have finally disappeared and there is nothing but clear blue skies. His eyes shine bright, his smile easier. His laughter is deeper. The chains he wore around his soul are broken and he’s free of the darkness of his past.
I push open the door. “I’m going meet Molly.”
Carter smirks. “Tell my wife not to burn my card out.”
I laugh, holding my hands up in the air in mock surrender. “I’m not getting between Molly and a pair of shoes. She actually tackled that poor woman.”
Dominic bursts out laughing with everyone else. Carter and Mac’s head turn at the deep sound.
But as always, his eyes are searching mine. A smile making him looking even more handsome pulls at his lips when he sees what he’s looking for.
He threads his fingers through my dark hair, pulling me toward his mouth, our lips inches apart.
“Mine,” he whispers against my lips before claiming them as his.
I am meeting Molly in a little restaurant called Flamingo. It’s a lovely little brunch place that we found a couple of months back. The decoration is airy and light, white walls with gold mirrors and light pink furnishings. The fact that they sold pink champagne with lunch made it Molly’s favorite place.
I’m already sitting down when a fussed Molly comes through the doors. She smiles as she races over to me, apologizing as she bumps into people along the way. I hide my smirk as she grabs me for a hug.
“I’m so sorry. My ass of a boss tried sending an email to a certain female employee, only it went to nearly all our contacts.”
My eyes widen before I burst out laughing. “Please tell me it was something embarrassing.”
Molly’s boss was an arrogant man. From what Molly had told us.
Molly smirked. “Him, naked. I’m finally free of Mr. Grabs-a-lot.”
He also liked to touch women, but he only tried once with Molly. He played it off as a mistake and Molly stood on his foot in her five-inch stilettos while smiling sweetly as she told him it wasn’t a mistake. Molly was full of energy today as she rambled on. I had lost my train of thought about five minutes ago, everything seeming to blur together, but her enthusiasm as she speaks makes me smile.
“It’s a shame Cecelia can’t join us. So, what’s Brax like?”
I frown as I place my fork down, Molly didn’t keep it quiet that she thought Cecelia was being walked over. “I’ve never met him.”
Her eyes widen. “What, never?”
I shake my head. “No, he’s never been down. He didn’t even come to our wedding.”
Molly had become close with Cecelia in the last few weeks. We made an unlikely trio but we fit like jigsaw pieces. I couldn’t imagine my life without them now.
“What a corncake.”
I snort as a few people turn around, frowning at Molly.
“I used to think that, but when Cecelia talks about him, her smiles are brighter.” I can’t shake the feeling that Cecelia isn’t telling me something.
“Something isn’t right.”
Molly’s scowl deepens. “You think he’s hurting her?”
I swing my head toward her. “She’s one of my best friends. You think I would let her go off if I thought for one second that he would hurt her?”
She has the decency to look embarrassed. As she fidgets before grabbing my hand, she apologizes. “No, I’m sorry, Avery. You're an amazing friend.”
I sigh, biting my lip, something I’ve done since I was little whenever I was nervous.
“I don’t know what it is, but it doesn’t all add up. It’s like two plus two, but I’ve got five. The answers are there but I’m not seeing it, Cecelia completely denies she in a relationship with Brax, but I know she cares for him whoever he is?”
Molly nods. “Yes, I know what you mean. She’s so scared of breaking the rules of stepping over that imaginary line, she has drawn.”
I agree with Molly. Cecelia is too careful and she works harder than anyone I know. She is a couple of years younger than Molly and I but you would think she was years older. She never let’s go, is careful with everything she spends, and I’ve never heard her talk of going out.
“She said once she wished her dad would look at her again the way he used to, something is telling me that something broke Cecelia. Something she’s still paying for.”
I get lost in my thoughts of Cecelia, hoping she is okay, but something tells me she is a lot stronger than anyone gives her credit for.
We walk in the house and Carter’s eyes widen as he sees Molly’s bags. She’s even more chipper than when she first arrived. What is she eating? Give me some of it.
Molly grins, holding up two arms full of bags. “There was a sale.” She grabs a shoe out. “Look how pretty they are.”
I smirk as I walk over to Dominic who leans against the wall watching me. His sleeves are rolled up showing off his ink. His hair unruly just like I remember it in school, only this time, I walk up to him and run my fingers through it. “Hey.”
Lips pulling to one side as his eyes check me over. “Beautiful.”
I grin. “Close your eyes.”
He studies me before listening.
I grab the three small items out of the bag. “Hold your hands out.”
Once he does, I place the items in his hands.
“Open.”
His eyes open slowly, looking at me before the small items. He sucks in a small breath. The first item is a small baby suit which says, “I wear bows my daddy wears a badge.” The second reads, “My hero wears a badge. I call him daddy.” Lastly, there is, “Daddy’s little rookie.”
I also pull out a top for Dominic as well, which says, “I have a beautiful daughter. I’m also a cop that knows how to use a gun and make you disappear.”
He doesn’t take his eyes off the little items, tracing his fingers across the wording. “I’m really going to be a daddy.”
Carter grins, pointing at my stomach. “Too late to change your mind, Stone.”
Dominic narrows his eyes, making Carter physically flinch.
“I’ll never change my mind. They are mine.”
Molly’s eyes widen as she looks at Dominic. “Wow.”
&nbs
p; Yeah. I smile. Wow.
“Where’s Mac?”
Molly frowns she doesn’t seem to like Mac much, they tend to avoid each other.
Carter sighs. “Trouble with his sister.”
I curl up to his side, wrapping my arm around his waist. “I hope everything is okay.”
Dominic squeezes me. “Yeah, I think she’s dating a prick and Mac wants to get his hands around the little fucker’s neck.”
Molly snorts. Her eyes roll as her lip curls up. “Yeah like Mac is going do anything?”
Carter frowns at her, I know he worries about Mac.
I’m curled on the sofa with my Kindle. As Dominic holds my hand while watching action film, I look up at him. For me it’s moments like this that mean the most. They are so simple. No big gestures, yet these are moments that make up life. These are the moments people look back on, not the fancy restaurant, or the luxury holidays. It’s the simple gesture of holding your partner’s hand—a promise that no matter what life brings, you’re never going to face it alone.
His head turns to me as if he’s knows I’m watching him. He doesn’t say anything as his intense eyes take me in. He watches me as I put my Kindle down.
Leaning forward, I place a soft kiss on his lips. “I love you, Dominic Stone.”
His eyes widen in disbelief, as if he’s hearing the words for the first time.
We lay in bed, Cooper at our feet.
“Is this how you imagined your life?”
His husky voice makes my stomach tighten. I think back to when I was little and how I, like most little girls, dreamed of my future. I dreamed of a husband, and children named after my favorite TV programs or best friends at school. I imagined my prince riding in on a white horse as we rode into our happily ever after. Of course they made for such innocence seen through rose tinted glasses.
I think back to how Dominic came into my life like a hurricane, sweeping me off my feet. Nothing could have prepared me for the force with which he entered my life or the fact that my feet have never touched the ground since.
