He fell slack to the floor and Jenna scrambled to her knees, immediately pulling Darren into her arms.
“All clear,” Weston called. I dropped my gun and rushed to Jenna, falling to my knees and encircling my arms around them both.
“It’s okay, sweetie,” she soothed as Darren burst into tears. Her body leaned into mine, drawing from my strength and passing it to the frightened child.
My throat was choked up, keeping me mute as I tried to drag in some air. So, I said nothing and simply held them, soaking in the relief at knowing they were safe.
“Are you family, sir?” the nurse asked snootily. I glared at her and she shrank back a little.
“I’m her damn fiancé,” I growled. “So, step the fuck aside.”
She swallowed hard, but drew her shoulders up. “Family only,” she squeaked.
“I’m her brother. Let him the fuck in, woman.” Weston’s voice bounced off the sterile walls as he yelled. I glanced back to see him jogging my way, Aspen hot on his heels. I lifted my chin before spinning back around and darting past the sputtering nurse.
“Room four!” I heard Aspen call, and I waved in acknowledgment. Finding it, I tore open the curtain and stalked to the bed where the love of my life lay, pale and tired. Her face lit up when she saw me, and she put her arms out.
I didn’t hesitate, climbing onto the small bed and crushing her to me.
“Fuck, baby,” I breathed. “I was so damn scared.”
She burrowed deeper into my chest and sighed contentedly. “I knew you’d find me.” A small smile slipped out at her confident tone, and I kissed the top of her head before laying my cheek in the same spot.
“Did you find Darren’s mom?”
I nodded, enjoying the way her silky hair felt against my face. “The team Xander sent arrived a few minutes before Manny and Sylvia. They waited for him to crack the safe and take the ledger so they could nail him for more than breaking and entering.”
“And she’s okay?”
“Yeah, baby. She’s fine. They brought her here, and she’s with Darren. They were both checked over, no worse for the wear.”
Jenna sniffled and I leaned back so I could sneak a hand between us and lift her chin. “I was really scared,” she admitted quietly.
I brushed my lips over hers, then her cheeks, eyes, and forehead. “You’re safe.”
“How come it took you so long to get here?” There was no accusation in her tone, only curiosity. But the question put a stronger edge on my mood.
“Because you aren’t my wife,” I ground out. “I couldn’t get back here to check on my woman and our unborn child because you haven’t fucking married me yet.”
Instead of being bothered by my attitude, Jenna nodded, her face flooding with understanding. “I’m sorry I fought you on getting married right away, Quinn.” Her voice was soft, and it smoothed every ragged edge inside me. “I’ll marry you whenever you’re ready.”
I started to answer but an older, male doctor entered the room, reading a chart. He glanced up and when he saw our position, he frowned. I returned the expression with even more threat in my eyes. I wasn’t going to fucking budge.
“I need to examine Ms. Davis, Mr…?”
“This is my fiancé, Quinn, Dr. Cooper,” Jenna replied.
“Yes, well. As he’s not your husband, he’ll have to step out while I exa—”
“Not a fucking chance in hell,” I growled, making his eyes widen behind the small, round glasses perched on his nose. “And where the fuck is the ultrasound machine? She’s pregnant. You need to check on the baby. What kind of quack doctor are you?”
“Quinn.” Jenna patted my chest softly as she tried to get my attention.
“A quack?” Dr. Cooper sputtered.
“I’m sorry, doctor,” Jenna apologized, her tone sheepish. If she expected the same from me, she had another thing coming.
“He’s just worried about me and a little worked up.” She patted my cheek, and I took a break from glaring at Daffy Dick to look into my girl’s face.
“They’ll send an ultrasound tech in to check the baby, okay. Just be patient.”
My eyes narrowed, but she smiled sweetly and I couldn’t do anything but give in. So, I nodded and relaxed my hold on her, though I didn’t leave the bed.
Dr. Cooper glared at me, and I just shrugged. With a huff, he worked around me, checking her over. A nurse came in and drew blood then he declared that she looked fine, but would return after he had the results of her blood test and ultrasound.
Weston and Aspen came in just as the doctor was leaving. “You took a year off of my life today, sis,” he told her as he kissed her forehead. Irritation grumbled to the surface, and I pulled Jenna closer. Weston rolled his eyes, but stepped back. Aspen hugged Jenna quickly, then Weston tucked her into his side and they chatted with Jenna for a few minutes before the tech arrived with the machine to check the baby.
“I’m Violet. I’m here to do your ultrasound, Jenna” she said with a perky smile. She looked at me with sympathy before saying, “I’m really sorry, but you’ll have to move for the procedure. But, as soon as I’m done, you can go right back to where you were.”
I finally relented and climbed off of the bed so she could lie flat on her back. The steady thump thump thump of the baby’s heartbeat finally eased the last of my tension.
“Looks like baby is just fine,” Violet said as she captured a few measurements. A little machine on the cart spit out some pictures and she handed them to us. “Congratulations. The doctor should be in with your discharge paperwork shortly.” She smiled brightly and bounced from the room with a wave.
Dr. Cooper finally returned after what felt like a fucking eternity. “You’re all set to go, Ms. Davis.” I clenched my hands and held them tight against me so I wouldn’t punch something at hearing her called Ms. Davis again. “I suggest you rest for a day to give it some relief from the stress of your ordeal. But, otherwise, you’re free to return to your normal activities.”
“Thanks,” she murmured as she signed the papers on the clipboard he handed her. After she returned it to him, he left without another word.
Aspen sighed. “Seriously? There aren’t going to be any doctors left who will be willing to treat our families if you two don’t stop being such ogres to them.”
Weston rolled his eyes, mirroring my internal sentiment about her opinion. “Let’s go, baby. I’m sure Jenna wants to get home.”
“Call me if you need anything,” Aspen tossed out as Weston herded her from the room.
“Thanks, guys,” Jenna responded as she began to climb off the hospital bed. I quickly scooped her up and gently set her on her feet.
“The doctor said to take it easy.” I frowned. “You shouldn’t strain yourself.”
“I’m not going to break, Quinn,” she snorted. “I’m fine, the baby is fine. Put away your inner caveman.”
“We’ll see,” I grumbled, ignoring her sigh.
Chapter 9
Jenna
“Jenna, baby. No.”
In all the years we’d been together, it was the first time Quinn had turned me down when I’d propositioned him. It had been a long night, and we’d barely gotten any sleep. Between the trip to the hospital and the police needing our statements, we hadn’t gotten home until after three o’clock in the morning. I’d crashed, face-first and still dressed, on our mattress and didn’t remember anything after that. When I woke up to pee at ten, I was wearing my panties and one of Quinn’s T-shirts. There was a glass of water on the bedside table, along with a bottle of aspirin. The clothes I’d worn to work the morning before were spilling out of the top of the laundry basket in the bathroom. It looked like Quinn had thought of everything, and I’d been so out of it that I’d slept through it all.
I figured he just wasn’t completely awake yet and didn’t know what he was saying. “C’mon,” I purred, sliding my hand down his torso. When I reached the hem of his rarely worn pajama pants, his f
ingers wrapped around my wrist and stopped my progress. Surprised, I jerked my gaze up to his face. When I found his dark eyes, filled with concern, scanning me from head to toe, I realized what was going on inside his head. “I really am okay, Quinn. You heard what the doctor said—I’m free to return to my normal activities, and having sex with you is absolutely, positively one of my favorite normal activities.”
“Don’t you get it, baby? If anything ever happened to you”—he reached out his arm and rested his palm against my belly —“either of you, I don’t know how I’d go on. You were taken from me yesterday. That fucker had his arm wrapped around your throat. A knife pressed right here.”
I shivered as his finger trailed upwards and traced along the underside of my breast. “And that’s part of why I need you now.” I leaned forward and kissed him, slipping my tongue in his mouth and nipping at his lips. His arms flexed, and I pressed closer, a moan bubbling up in my throat.
“What’s the other part?” he whispered against my lips.
“It’s our last chance at single sex.”
He pulled away and cocked his head to the side. “Single sex?”
“Yeah, because the next time we have sex it will be as man and wife.”
His dark brows rose, practically to his hairline, and his eyes narrowed on me. “I’m not waiting months to get back inside you again.”
“No wait needed.” I flashed him a saucy grin. “Except maybe for the one when we go to the courthouse to get hitched this afternoon.”
“Courthouse? This afternoon?”
I nodded.
“You’re really going to marry me today?”
“Yes,” I whispered, tearing up at the joy I saw in his eyes. “With everything that happened yesterday, I suddenly find myself with a long weekend off of work and a burning need to become your wife as soon as humanly possible. And since we already have our marriage license, this afternoon sounds perfect to me.”
“But what about the wedding? You’ve already got everything planned, and I know how much you were looking forward to it.”
The way Quinn loved me was humbling sometimes, how he always kept my needs and wants in mind when making decisions. “We can be that weird couple who renews their vows all the time. Instead of waiting for one of our anniversaries down the line, we’ll do it for the first time and celebrate with our families then.” I took a shuddering sigh, feeling overwhelmed by emotion. “It’s the perfect solution. One that shouldn’t have taken a kidnapping to make me come up with it. I should have thought of it when we found out I was pregnant. Or when you didn’t re-up your contract and came home a year ago. Or—”
His lips claimed mine, effectively shutting me up. It was a ruthless, no-holds-barred, take-my-breath-away, devouring of my mouth. Lips, tongues, teeth—they were all in play as he clenched my hair in his fists and tilted my head back for better access. When he finally lifted his head, I was flat on my back on the mattress with the shirt I was wearing shoved high and Quinn hovering over me. We were both panting heavily, and his dark eyes were filled with stark need.
“Our life together is fucking beautiful.” His hips thrust forward, his hard cock nudging against my opening with only my drenched panties between us. “Perfect.”
“It is.”
“Don’t second-guess the decisions we’ve made together.” His tone brooked no argument. “Especially not today, when you’re about to make me the happiest man alive.”
“Whatever you say, Mr. Evans.”
“Damn straight, very-soon-to-be Mrs. Evans.”
“Before we get ready for that ‘very soon,’ you’ve got something else on your to-do list. Me.” I wrapped my legs around his waist. “I haven’t gotten my morning orgasms yet.”
“Fuck, baby,” he groaned. “Unwrap your legs so I can get you off with my mouth and fingers.”
“And let your perfectly good hard on go to waste? I don’t think so.” I slid my hand down the muscles of his back, shifted my hips, and reached between our bodies to shove the gusset of my panties to the side. Without the barrier between us, his hard length bumped against my swollen clit and my wetness coated his skin.
“After coming so close to losing you last night, I don’t think I can be gentle,” he rasped out, even while he pumped his hips slowly, rubbing his cock against me.
“Who said anything about wanting it gentle?” I craned my neck up to nip at his earlobe, biting down harder than I normally would. “I passed the fuck out, got the rest the doctor ordered last night, and now the only thing I need to feel better is you. Deep inside of me. Making me feel alive like only you can do.”
“Jenna,” he exhaled, his forehead dropping down against mine. “How am I supposed to say no after that? You know I always want to give you whatever you need.”
“Then give me this.” I wrapped my hand around his cock and lifted up until he was at my entrance.
His dark eyes flared as his control finally snapped. He sunk inside of me with one powerful thrust, and his hands shoved my shirt up and over my head. His hips kept pumping, slow and hard, while he focused his attention on my breasts. He pinched my nipples between his thumb and forefinger, rolling them around until I was writhing mindlessly beneath him. Another advantage of being pregnant seemed to be that my breasts were insanely sensitive and felt like a direct line to my core. When he lowered his head, and sucked one of my nipples his mouth, I exploded.
“That’s right, baby. Your pussy is clenching my cock so tight. Trying to suck me dry.” He slid deep and held still until I stopped shuddering. “But you can’t make me come yet. Not until you fly apart for me a second time. You did ask for your morning orgasms, after all.”
My pussy fluttered at the sensual promise in his tone. It was the signal Quinn needed to start moving again. He set a punishing pace, his strokes bottoming out each time. I wrapped my arms and legs around him, holding on for the ride.
“Come for me, baby. You feel so damn good. I don’t know if I can last much longer.”
The husky rasp of his voice in my ear, combined with his cock bumping against my cervix on a particularly forceful thrust, had my body tightening. He reached between us to pinch my clit, and I flew apart, screaming his name. He followed me over the edge, groaning in my ear as his cock jerked inside me, filling me with his hot come.
“Wow,” I sighed, struggling to keep my eyes open after we’d both recovered a little. “Our last bout of single sex was so incredible; I think I need a nap.”
He settled us with his back against the pillows, my head resting on his chest. His hand glided up and down my spine in soothing strokes. “Then sleep, baby. I’ve got plenty to keep me busy.”
“What do you have to do?”
“Guy things,” he answered mysteriously.
I yawned widely, my eyes drifting shut. “You trying to turn me into a nagging wife already?”
“No, baby, but I promise to show you that married sex can be just as amazing as single sex tonight.”
“Mmmmm,” I hummed. I loved the sound of that.
Chapter 10
Quinn
“If we’re going to the courthouse, why do I have to be blindfolded?” Jenna huffed as she crossed her arms. I stifled a laugh and put my hand on her thigh.
“Just trust me, baby.”
It was a twenty-minute drive from our house to our final destination, and Jenna fidgeted for every one of them. She was so fucking adorable, and I couldn’t wait to finally be able to call her my wife.
I turned off of the highway onto a small road that led to a tiny white house. It was no bigger than a typical master bedroom, only enough room to fit, at most, five to eight people. But, it was freshly painted and well kept, with beautiful landscaping and a trellis off to the side.
After parking the car, I hopped out and went around to Jenna’s side. I opened the door and lifted her out of her seat to set her on the ground. I couldn’t resist her sweet lips and bent my head to take her mouth in a deep kiss. It quickly heated u
p and my hand slid from her waist to her ass, molding her body against mine.
“Ahem.”
We broke apart at the awkward cough, and I smiled sheepishly at the older man standing in the open door of the little house.
I untied Jenna’s blindfold and turned her around.
“Welcome to the Atlanta Wedding Chapel, I’m your officiant, Tom,” the man said with a smile.
Jenna’s head twisted to look at me with raised brows.
“You didn’t want a courthouse wedding, and I didn’t want to wait for the fancy one. I decided to find a compromise. I’ve driven by this place a few times and looked it up. It’s meant for small weddings. And when I called, I got lucky because they happened to have the afternoon open.”
“We are already decorated for our evening ceremony, too,” Tom added. “Shall we get started?”
Jenna’s eyes twinkled as she pivoted to face me and went up on her tip toes to brush a kiss over my lips. “You’re pretty awesome, you know that?”
“I’d do anything for you, baby.” I opened the back door of the SUV and grabbed two garment bags that had been laid across the seat. Handing one to her, I pecked her mouth, then turned her around and patted her ass to get her moving. “Now, go get changed.”
Tom backed up and gestured for us to enter. The room was set up like a miniature chapel. A single bench seat flanked an aisle that was only about ten feet long. It ended at a raised platform with a white alter and an arch covered in white flowers.
“The bathroom has a dressing area and it’s over there, to your left,” Tom informed Jenna. Smiling brightly, she thanked him and hurried over, disappearing behind the dark, wooden door.
He pointed to a corner of the room that was shielded by a trifold screen. “You can change over there.”
I nodded and made my way over, quickly discarding my jeans and Henley for the tux inside the garment bag. When I was ready to go, I stepped out and stepped over to the alter. It wasn’t long before I heard a door creak open and looked up.
The Passion & Vows Series Page 26
