by Sable Hunter
When Logan buried his face in her neck, Jenna kissed tiny beads of perspiration from his powerful shoulders. This was her man. Clasping his head, she rejoiced as he impaled her over and over until her body tightened as pleasure raced through her – harder and faster.
“I can't...” Logan muttered, feeling his body surrender to hers.
“Let go, baby.” Jenna caressed the hard muscles of his broad back. She could feel her own orgasm rising. Knowing what pleasure she was about to experience, she gave herself over to his possession. With a small cry, her thighs tightened around him, her hips arched and she sank beneath a whirlpool of rapture that throbbed throughout her whole being.
Logan kept thrusting, seeking to make this as good for her as he could. His reward came when she flew apart in his embrace. When her muscles clenched, his own release hit like a locomotive. He jabbed to the hilt, a bellow of primal satisfaction escaped his lips as his release shot deep within her.
“I love you, I love you, I love you,” she chanted as she felt his seed spill into her. Her love, coupled with the knowledge that she carried his child, only compounded the ecstasy rushing through her.
Over her, Logan's breathing was coming hard and fast. He lowered his mouth to hers, capturing her sweet declaration, letting their very breaths mingle into one. Rolling to his side, he carried her with him until they lay side by side facing one another. “You're amazing, wife. I came so hard I thought I was going to pass out.”
Jenna laid her forehead on his chest, still panting. “Be warned, Chief. I'm going to want sex all the time.”
Logan laughed, hugging her close. “You're going to kill this old man, aren't you? But what a way to go.”
“Stop staying that. You are the most sensual, virile, desirable man in the world.” Jenna gasped as he pulled her on top of him. “The only man in the world that I want.”
“The only man in the world you're going to get.” Hearing her declaration, he set out to make sure she had no regrets, making love to her three more times before dawn, giving her a wedding night she'd never forget.
CHAPTER SEVEN
“There's nothing to be nervous about, Jenna.” Logan covered her cold hand with his own. “I've known Dr. Joseph for years, he's a good guy. After your appointment, we'll head home and see the folks. Mom is standing on her head, she can't wait to see you.”
She clung to his hand. “This is just so new.” Jenna looked up at him. “You know I would never have endangered the baby had I known I was pregnant. I'm not scared to see the doctor, I'm just worried that I might have done something to endanger him.”
“Him?” Logan couldn't help but grin. Undoubtedly he was happier than he'd ever been. His every desire was sitting next to him, holding his hand and talking about their child.
“I'm hoping,” she blushed. “I've dreamed of having your child, a boy, and naming him after you.” She laid her hand across her flat belly. “Will we stay in your house tonight?” Jenna certainly didn't want to have to go back to her old room – which was ludicrous, but she needed to hear him say it.
“Of course.” Logan assured her. They'd driven straight south from Ada and through Fort Worth. Now they were headed toward Austin where Dr. Joseph's offices were located. “I can't displace Mom and Dad, they'll keep the main house as long as they want it, but I promise to build you a new house as soon as we can.” His mind started buzzing with the possibilities.
“No.”
Her answer caused his head to jerk toward her. “What?”
“I want to live in your house, where you're living now. It's plenty big. There's that small room next to yours, we can use it as a nursery.” At his confused expression, she hastened to explain. “Later when the baby is older, we can add on or something.” She licked her lips, knowing she wasn't making herself clear. “I want to be a part of your life, not change it. I can't tell you how many nights I'd stand at my bedroom window and gaze down toward the foreman's cabin, knowing you were down there asleep in your bed. There was nothing in the world I wanted more than to be there with you.” Jenna smiled. “And now I can. Please?”
How could he say no? “If that's what you want, we'll do it.” He turned off I-35 and headed west on 183 toward the hospital complex. “We'll be there in a few minutes. Smile,” he told her. “We might get to see an image of him in an ultrasound.”
“You think?” Jenna's heart jumped with joy.
“I imagine.” Logan couldn't help but feel a little guilty. He'd made her pregnant. She was barely eighteen and now her life was all mapped out. With him.
“I'm so happy!”
Seeing her beautiful face pushed his fear and trepidation to the back burner. “I'm glad,” he said as he made a right turn off the ramp and pulled into the clinic parking lot.
In a few minutes they were in the office and Jenna's eyes widened seeing all of the expectant women waiting on their appointments. A few gave them a pointed look and she knew what the look was for. Her husband was one of the most handsome men around. They were jealous, she was certain of it.
Logan saw the looks also, but he had a totally different take on their meaning. These women probably assumed Jenna was his daughter.
“Help me,” she pulled at his hand. “I don't know the insurance information.”
Insurance? Hell, he hadn't even added her yet. “Okay, baby.” No matter, he'd take care of that little detail tomorrow. Before they knew it, the papers were complete and Jenna's name had been called. When the nurse gave Logan a pointed look, he answered it. “I'm coming with my wife.”
She gave them a slight smile. “Right this way.” Showing them to a waiting room, she held the door open. “Put on the gown, the doctor will be with you shortly.”
“Oh, my goodness,” Jenna muttered as she undressed and put on the backless gown. “Seems like this is uncovering the wrong side.”
Logan didn't let the moment go to waste. “Not for me, God you are so beautiful.” He let his hand stray over the sweet swell of her backside. The door suddenly opening had Jenna blushing and arranging herself on the table, pulling the gown down over her knees.
“Logan Gray, it's good to see you.” Dr. Larry Joseph came in holding a chart.
“Good to see you, Larry.” Logan shook his head.
“And who's this pretty lady?”
“This is my wife, Jenna.” Logan touched her shoulder.
Pulling up a stool, he glanced at Jenna with a smile. “Well, let's see what we have here. Lay back.” His nurse came in to join them and in a moment they had Jenna arranged with a white cover over the lower part of her body and were checking her vitals. “How far along do you think you are?”
“About eleven weeks,” Logan answered and Jenna grinned, thinking she could have answered for herself. Although she was glad he was so involved.
“Okay, let's see.” The nurse pulled the ultrasound machine closer and applied some cool gel.
Logan stepped near and held her hand as the wand moved over Jenna's flat stomach. He stared at the screen alongside the others, but he couldn't make anything out.
“Hmmm,” the doctor murmured. “Did you take a home pregnancy test?”
“No,” Jenna began. “I was riding rodeo in Oklahoma. I took a spill and they carried me to a small clinic. The doctor said they always check women who could be pregnant with a urine test before they perform an X-ray. I was unconscious, so I didn't know about the baby until I came to.”
Dr. Joseph turned to look at Logan, then at Jenna with a perplexed expression on his face.
Jenna sat up, alarmed. “Is there something wrong with the baby?”
“I didn't say that.” The doctor scratched his head, turning to his nurse. “Let's get a urine test and a full blood work up and move it to the front, I want it done in minutes, not hours.”
“Yes, doctor.” She left to get a lab tech who returned quickly to draw blood.
Jenna's heart was pounding. Logan was looking at her with concern. “Do you feel bad? You're pale
.”
“I'm scared,” she admitted as the nurse cleaned the gel from her belly.
“Don't be,” the doctor smiled at her as the tech wrapped a rubber strap around her arm so she could find a vein, then escorted her to the restroom to fill up a cup. When she returned, the doctor was waiting. “I just want to make sure of something before I say it. You two wait here and I'll be back as soon as I have something to tell you.”
When they were alone, Jenna sat up and Logan wrapped his arms around her. “Everything's okay.”
Jenna wasn't so sure. “He acted like I might have some dread disease.”
Logan stroked her back. “You're fine, I've got you.”
While the doctor was gone, he tried to make her think of other things. They talked about which side she slept on. “The left.”
Logan grunted. “Me too, I guess you'll just have to sleep on top of me.” He was worried too. If anything ever happened to Jenna, he didn’t know what he’d do.
Jenna giggled. “That won't be a hardship. I love to cuddle with you.”
A wave of tenderness engulfed Logan. Every once in a while, he had to touch her just to make sure she was real and he wasn't daydreaming. In a low tone, he soothed her – talking about everything from when he liked to eat supper – at seven – to what his favorite television show was – NCIS. Jenna wanted to know everything. He would've thought she'd known all of this, they'd been a part of the same family for two years. As they talked he realized he'd held more back from her than he'd ever imagined. The only explanation Logan had was that he'd been trying to protect himself. Being with Jenna was something he'd wanted so bad, he'd been afraid to hope for it. And now...here they were.
A slight tap on the door made them draw apart. “Okay, let's talk,” Dr. Joseph came in and took a seat facing them both. “The blood work and urine specimen shows you have a bladder infection and the only explanation I have is that your white blood cell count was up. Whoever did the test on you misinterpreted the level of leukocytes as pregnancy when it was in actuality an infection. A hard mistake to make, but not impossible.”
Jenna stared at Dr. Joseph. “What do you mean?”
Logan was ahead of Jenna, he went to her and enfolded her in his arms. “It's okay, love.”
“There is no baby, Mrs. Gray. You were never pregnant.”
* * *
On the way home, Jenna was quiet. She felt like a rug had been pulled out from under her. “I'm sorry, Logan,” was all she could think to say.
“You have nothing to be sorry for, Jenna.” He rubbed his hand down her arm. She was cold and trembling. He turned down the air conditioner. “You'll have children someday.” Logan made sure to keep his emotions in check. At first, he hadn’t really known how he felt. He’d been disappointed in some ways and almost relieved in others. Not that she was incapable, not that she wouldn't be the best mother in the world – but Jenna was too young. She had her whole life ahead of her. Again a feeling of guilt swamped him. He'd married her. With eighteen years separating them, he'd let his weakness and desire for her lead him to propose when he probably should have put his foot down and just brought her home. But God, he was weak...he wanted her in his life more than he wanted to see tomorrow. What kind of selfish man did that make him?
Selfish or not, Logan was grieving. He hadn’t really thought about children, but now he knew he wanted a child with Jenna more than anything.
“We'll have children someday,” she corrected him. Jenna brushed her palms up and down her own arms – up and down. “I feel empty,” she confessed. “Sad. Isn't that silly?”
“No, it isn't silly.” Logan sought to reassure her. “We were happy about the baby.”
“I miss him.” Jenna choked back a sob. “And he never even existed.”
“I do too,” he admitted with a catch in his throat. Logan's heart went out to her. She was so small and brave. He thought back to her survival of the fire that killed her parents, how she'd trusted him when her world had fallen apart. Jenna had changed her life completely to become part of his, embracing their lifestyle, learning to ride – that thought hit him hard in the solar plexus. She was good, but he had barely survived watching her trick-ride, much less get on the back of a one-ton bull. “Jenna, there will be babies.”
“Someday.” Since she wasn't pregnant, Dr. Joseph had offered to fix her up with a prescription for birth control. Jenna knew this was smart, she just felt numb.
“Hey,” Logan reached over and touched her face. “Smile for your husband. A baby will always be welcome.”
His request was all it took. She raised her eyes to his and beamed. “My wonderful, gorgeous, sweet husband that I love more than life.”
“That's me.” He grinned at her. “We're almost home. We'll check on the folks and then head to the house and settle in. Okay?”
“Perfect.” Jenna pushed her sorrow aside and sat up wide-eyed as she drew near Gray Wolf Ranch. This time it was different, her role had changed. She was returning as Logan's wife. When they pulled in front of the main house, Earl and Louisa were standing on the front porch waiting. Logan had no more than stopped the truck before his mother was at the passenger side, opening it and pulling Jenna into her arms.
“How are you feeling, sweetheart?”
There had never been any doubt that Jenna was loved by these people. She let them hold her and she held them back. “I'm good, no lasting ill effects, just a few bruises.”
Before Logan could say anything, his mother asked. “And the baby?”
Jenna's voice broke. “There is no baby, Louisa. It was all a mistake.”
“Oh, you poor little doll.” She hugged Jenna and Earl came up and put his arms around both of them.
“That's okay, you can try again.” Louisa kissed her on the top of the head, meeting her son's gaze. “You've both got plenty of time.”
Nothing would do his parents, but for them stay for a meal his mother had prepared. They also surprised them with the fact that they'd arranged for Jenna's things to be moved from Dixie's apartment back to Gray Wolf Ranch. “Most everything is already in the foreman's house. We left the boxes on the sun porch in the back.”
“You've been busy,” Logan muttered, but he didn't have the heart to be upset with his parents. They were just excited. Jenna was their child also, and now she was his wife. Daughter/daughter-in-law, he knew the distinction was irrelevant to them in this case. They loved Jenna and that was all that mattered.
Logan understood the sentiment very well. He would give his life for Jenna in a heartbeat. She meant everything to him.
He and his dad had found a few minutes alone to discuss matters. “Stormy is in the stable, but we still need to make arrangements about getting her pickup back. How are you holding up, son?”
“There's no rush.” Logan chuckled. “Holding up? I'm fine.”
“You were out of your mind when you didn't know where Jenna was or what she was doing.” At Logan's semi-guilty look, he patted his son on the shoulder. “I might be old, but I'm not an old fool. You're in love with her and you have been from the moment you brought her home.”
“Yea, and that's almost criminal, isn't it?” Logan sighed.
“No, it's not. You were meant for one another from the beginning. Jenna never doubted it and neither did I.”
His father's words stayed with him, giving Logan a semblance of peace. He knew he needed to allow himself to be happy. After all, now he had everything he'd ever wanted. After Louisa was positive she had filled them up and they were both doing well, she didn't argue when Logan announced it was time to leave.
The day was waning and Jenna was anxious to get settled into her new home. No, there wasn't a baby to plan for – but there was a marriage and she had to pinch herself in order to remember it was all real. She'd left as Jenna Travis and returned as Jenna Gray.
The drive to the foreman's cabin was momentous for Jenna, she cataloged the route, noting the passing of trees. Everything looked different be
cause her perspective had changed. She belonged now. She belonged to Logan.
“When we get there, I want you to make yourself at home. I need to check on a few things, make sure the stock got back from Oklahoma okay and call down to the fire station and see how they're faring.” Logan continued to speak as he drove through the double wide gates and crossed the iron cattle guard. “The cupboards are probably bare, but I'm sure I can whip up an omelet or two.”
“Uh-uh, that's my department, Mr. Gray,” Jenna teased as her eyes stared straight ahead at the foreman's cabin. Her new home. “You take care of your business and I'll take care of you.”
Once they were parked, upon his direction, she waited for him to come around to her side. To Jenna's happy surprise, Logan carried her across the threshold and tenderly kissed her before he sat her down. “Welcome home, Mrs. Gray.”
Joy filled her heart – that's the only way she could describe it. The hour was getting late, they'd driven back from Oklahoma, seen the doctor, checked in on his parents and now they were home. As he carried her through the door, she felt warm and wanted. The whole place smelled like him. Warm colors and sturdy furniture welcomed her. “You got a new TV,” she noted the flat screen that almost covered an entire wall.
“Yea, I did.” He kissed her cheek. “But now, I'll have you to entertain me instead of watching reruns.”
“I accept the challenge,” she assured him.
Gently, he set her down and returned to the truck for their things. “I'll take your bag to our room.” Together they walked down the hall, his hand at the small of her back. “Tomorrow I'll rearrange the closet and make sure you have plenty of drawer space.”
“No problem, I don't have that much,” she said with a giggle when he rolled his eyes.
“Don't forget, I know you pretty well,” he said with a smirk. As he set her luggage on the end of the bed, Jenna couldn't keep from studying her surroundings. This was his bedroom, their bedroom now. She moved around the room, running her hand over the rich wood of the dresser. None of the furniture was ornate, but it was classy and sturdy – suitable for a man like Logan.
