“No. I just took what I could from the broken dreams and sort of let myself believe it would be enough. I guess…you know what the worst part is? When they did the procedure and I was lying on that bed, I was sad.”
“Why?”
“Because I knew that it was just time to let you go and it hurt a little. Up to that point I still had a tiny bit of useless hope left and…when I realized I was pregnant and that the father was a stranger and…I just knew that it was all over and it was sad. That’s all.”
“Luce—”
“And then I woke up the next day and the day after that and so on, and I managed to just be happy. I got hopeful and all that stupid emotional stuff because it was done, and as the eternal optimist that my dumb ass is, I saw only good things if it turned out I was pregnant.”
“It’s scary, huh?”
She laughs and I see her blush a little as she looks back at me.
“Terrifying. I feel like shit all the time and I’m alone in this and I never…it never crossed my mind that I would be this way. I saw how happy Callie was, but I never once stopped to think that she was okay because Jack was there and he made her feel like it was all going to be okay. I really should have thought this through better, because I feel like hell and I am terrified of going through this alone for the next seven months.”
“You don’t have to be alone in this, Luce. I can be there for you every step of the way.”
“Cage—”
“No. Just hear me out, okay? I know that you won’t believe that I love you, and I don’t blame you one bit for your lack of trust. I totally deserve it all and then some. I know that. But the truth is that I do. I love you so much it fucking hurts knowing that I ruined the only good thing that’s ever happened to me. I don’t expect you to ever love me or want me again, but if you let me be here for you and get you through this, I swear to God I won’t let you down,” I say vehemently, taking her hand in mine. “I can move in here. No, you should move in with me since my penthouse apartment is bigger, and…and I can go with you to the doctor appointments and those classes that teach you how to get through the birth. I can be there for you when you’re sick and can’t take care of yourself.”
“Cage…”
“Please. Please, Luci. Please don’t tell me that we can’t at least be friends. Please forgive me enough to let me do this. I won’t pressure you to do anything you don’t want to do, and I swear, if you say yes I will never let you down again.”
I feel like I’m walking a tightrope without a net as her eyes go misty and she stares at me for the longest time, just stares and seems to look right through me.
“I’m a handful right now,” she warns.
“I can handle it.”
“I puke all the time and I cry for no reason.”
“I’ll buy tissues.”
“I’m a bitch in the mornings.”
“That’s okay. I’m an asshole before the first cup of coffee anyway, so we can be miserable together,” I counter, seeing her lips twitch.
I know I have her when I squeeze her hand and she squeezes back, seeming to regain her strength.
“Thank you, Cage.”
We’re back in business.
All I have to do now is figure out how to seduce a pregnant woman and make her so dependent on me, she won’t want to ever leave me again.
Chapter Eight
Dorothy, That House of Yours Fell on Me When it Wound Up in Oz.
Luci
It’s all so surreal that I want to say I fell down the rabbit hole, drank both potions, and met a talking rabbit and the Mad Hatter all in the same moment.
Or maybe I just wound up meeting a scarecrow, lion, and tin man.
That’s how I feel a month later when I drag a shirt over my burgeoning belly and look down at yet another new article of clothing that doesn’t fit me.
“Hey, babe? You ready?” Cage calls from outside my door as I scowl at my reflection in the mirror and snarl in disgust.
I’m three going on four months pregnant right now and I look like I swallowed half the football team along with the Goddamn ball! I’ve been shopping once already when none of my pants or shirts fit anymore and Cage came home a week ago with a whole new wardrobe when he noticed that I was popping the buttons on all my blouses.
And here I am again, looking like a freaking ten-year-old in his five-year-old baby brother’s clothes. My boobs are so big they need their own zip code, and I can’t turn a corner without announcing my arrival anymore.
Freaking scientist’s mutant sperm. I feel like I’m carrying a Hulk baby the little mite is growing so fast. Today is another appointment since Cage in all his paranoia called the doctor yesterday and started yelling at him about how big I am already and how things do not seem right.
Have I mentioned yet that living with him is like living with a paranoid old mama bear? The man feeds me constantly, won’t let me bath or shower alone, and just goes out of his way to be wherever I am at all times.
He even calls me from work when I’m doing something I shouldn’t and lectures me to death about being stubborn and too damn ornery for my own good. So what if I tried to change a freaking burnt-out lightbulb by myself. I’m pregnant, not dying.
“Babe?”
Snapping out of my ramblings, I stomp to the door and jerk it open with a huff, ignoring his bulging eyes when they land on my bra and boobs where the shirt won’t close.
“Don’t even because I am so not in the mood right now. Nothing fits and I promise you and all that is holy, if I have to try another shirt on and have the buttons pop, I will lose it,” I warn, hating the tremble in my lips.
Crying is so not cool, not when he looks ready to start hyperventilating at any minute, but I can’t help it.
Cage seems about to have another panic attack before I see him freeze and smile. Then he’s hoofing it down the hall only to return seconds later holding up one of his T-shirts with a grin.
“Here. This should fit over your boobs, at least. Damn baby, how are you even standing upright right now?”
“You shut your disgustingly handsome face and go get us some yogurt before I kick your ass.”
He leaves with a chuckle and one last glance at my watermelons while I rip the shirt off like it’s dirty and slip on his.
When it settles easily, without pushing on me like a second skin, I let out a sigh and slip on my flats, making my way to the kitchen with a little more pep than I felt minutes ago.
“Hell yeah, that looks great, babe,” he says, giving me a wolf whistle and a wink.
I don’t at all miss the hot look he can’t quite hide, and I feel myself heat a little just thinking about sex with Cage. It’s a fact that a lot of women are okay during the whole pregnancy thing, and Callie even told me that one of the women in her class once told her that she was so put off sex while she was pregnant that she caught her poor husband masturbating at all times of the day.
I feel like someone lit a fire in my pants and poured gasoline on my crotch. And Cage looking at me like I’m dessert? Not helping the blaze, man.
“Huh, now I know you’re full of bullhockey, mister. These babies are maternity pants. Maternity pants, Cage. You know, since you bought them for me, that they have enough elastic to circle the fucking globe.”
He laughs, the ass, and comes over to peck my cheek.
“You look good. Now stop fishing for compliments and eat your yogurt so we can get going. And yes, I’m carrying you to the car after last week’s almost disaster, so don’t even start.”
Sheesh! I trip one time and the man thinks my legs are useless!
“Fine but if my fat ass breaks your back and you can’t walk for shit, do not complain to me. I warned you,” I mutter around my spoon as I scarf my yogurt in a minute flat.
The morning sickness leveled off just two days ago, and now that I can finally eat without blowing like a volcano I want to devour everything in sight.
Current company included.
“You
’re not fat.”
Even I hear the slight hesitation there. As I look down at my belly, I can’t say a thing to deny it. I’m growing at a rapid rate.
We leave for the doctor’s not long after, Cage carrying me like promised, and by the time I get into the exam room and the doc is waving that cold ass wand all over the place, I’m about ready to have a Dot meltdown.
“What is it? What’s wrong? If there’s something wrong in there, I will sue or kill you all,” Cage barks, his eyes narrowed and trained on the monitor like a freaking madman.
His antics make me want to laugh my ass off but I can’t, not now when my heart is beating so hard I’m sure he can feel it through the hand he’s clutching.
It’s just as the doctor start smiling and is about to talk that I hear a ruckus outside before the door bursts open and four pissed-off maniacs come barreling through the door.
I already told them all about the baby and moving in with Cage, and after some violently un-repeatable statements they’re all happy for me and ready to be aunts to the second addition to our family.
“Jesus. What the fuck, Luci? You look ready to explode and you’re not even halfway through,” Indie yells, shoving the nurse out of the way and coming at me like a freight train.
“Hey! You know I have feelings, right?” I mutter as Cage growls and throws her a filthy look.
“Don’t listen to her, baby. She’s just an asshole in a cute package. She doesn’t mean a word of it. Do you, Indie?” he grates.
Indie just shrugs and looks a little discomforted as Percy, Dot, and Callie come closer, eyeing my belly as if it’s radioactive or something, though I note with amusement they don’t say a damn thing as Cage glares.
“Well now, ahem! If you are all ready for me to proceed?” Doc Sparks mutters, shaking his head at the circus that is my life.
“Go ahead, Doc. Don’t mind us, we’re just here to see if she’s packing an elephant. Wouldn’t that be totally icky? If they somehow got the sperm mixed up with—”
“Percy! Be quiet,” Cage growls.
She zips it with a long suffering sigh and we all watch as the doctor starts rubbing the wand around again.
“Ah, just as I thought,” he mutters, fiddling with his machine and peering at the monitor as we all wait with bated breath.
“Oh for crying out loud already, man! Just tell us if she’s packing a mutant or not.”
“No, it’s just as I suspected when Mr. Cage called yesterday. Here, listen.”
I don’t know what the hell I’m listening for when he turns up the volume, but I think I lose a few brain cells to shock when a cacophony of thumps reaches my ears.
“Twins?” Callie gasps, going high-school cheerleader as she claps and squeals.
“I’m afraid not.”
Oh shit.
“Trips!” I yell, looking at my belly with fear.
“Ahem.”
Oh hell no!
“Oh God. It’s not really happening. It’s a nightmare. It’s a nightmare and you haven’t woken up yet. Wake up, Luci!” I start yelling as the knowledge of what he’s saying and not so much saying slams into me.
I look up with wide eyes at Cage. I can’t help it. He’s like my rock, my go-to, and as I feel the doctor look back at the screen and then at me again, I see Cage’s eyes go wide, too.
“Quads?”
That’s not happening. That is so not happening. I have one tiny little hole down south that’s already going to try and crawl off my body and abandon this sinking ship.
“Yes Mr. Cage.”
I hear nothing else as shit starts going fuzzy and I pass the hell out.
***
Cage
Holy shit.
When the doctor confirms that I did hear four little heartbeats and that there are four babies inside my girl, I don’t know if I want to cry in fear or start cheering the roof off.
First and foremost, I want to have a heart attack when I finally look down again to see that Luci is out like a light and dead to the world.
“Fuck.”
That’s Indie and I can’t quite blame her for her language as I glance at the others to see equally shocked faces staring down at Luci’s prostrate form.
I feel like a bus hit me, turned around, and came back to finish off the job. It takes a few minutes of silent shock as everyone just looks at everyone else, but I dig deep and finally find my balls where they’ve lodged in my throat.
I can so do this. Hell yeah I can do this!
Now Luci will definitely need me around, and as soon as she wakes up and maybe stops screaming like I know she will, I’ll take her home and start talking to her about the practicality and logic in getting married.
Four babies need a daddy and as far as I’m concerned, I am just that man. All I have to do is revive my girl and find a way to stop her from going hysterical. And then convince her that she needs and wants me.
“Ahem, Mr. Cage? I trust that you understand the dangers involved in your girlfriend carrying multiples?” the doctor asks when Luci still hasn’t come around.
“I do.”
I don’t but admitting that right now aloud, to myself, may just pitch me right back into WTF territory, and Luci does not need that right now. No, she needs a rock when she wakes up, and I aim to be that rock, if only to keep her from going ballistic.
“Good, that’s good because from here on out we can’t allow her to miss ultrasounds like she has been or ignore the facts. Her body is under a considerable amount of strain as it is, and it’s only going to get worse as the months draw on. Now as you may know, she will not carry to term. It rarely if ever happens, and definitely not when the woman in question is of Miss Braxton’s small stature.”
You’re telling me! The woman barely comes to my nipples and half her weight is her damn boobs.
I can’t even contemplate the fact that right now she has four little humans inside her, living off her body. Shit, when I first met her I wondered how she kept her little self alive at all without people stomping all over her.
“She’s…oh my Lord. How the hell is she going to survive this?” Callie breathes, her face now green.
I feel the same way as I look over and see Luci starting to come around.
“Miss Braxton? Luci, dear?”
The doctor continues to revive her as I sit silently and try to hold my shit together.
I’m struggling and I can’t deny it. To learn that the woman I love has another man’s baby inside her was a blow that almost felled me.
To hear that she’s got four…
It’s a blow that I have to breathe through as I clutch her hand and start thinking.
You love her and these babies are yours. You hear me. They’re yours and you love them like yours because as far as you’re concerned, they are of your blood.
Yeah, yeah that’s right, I yell to the universe, daring anyone to dispute my claim. These babies are so mine and nothing anyone else says will change that fact.
Ever.
With that settled I feel myself smile for the first time in minutes and I look over at Luci as she blinks her beautiful eyes open with my heart near to bursting.
“Hey, babe, you okay?”
She blinks again and glances at the monitor, her eyes round as saucers as they land on me.
“I-I think I need a drink, Cage. A big one with an umbrella and everything.”
The chortles behind me seem to shake her up again and I see her scowl before she launches herself at me and starts bawling.
“Well. I guess I’m going to have to go shopping for more baby shit, huh?” Percy mutters.
Yup.
And I can’t wait. I can already see the spare bedrooms I plan to turn into the nursery. I need to call the contractor to break down a wall and get estimates and cribs and—
“Oh, Cage, what the hell am I gonna do now?”
I grin at Indie, Callie, and Percy over her head as she wails and feel heartened when they smile back, givin
g me the thumbs-up.
Not a damn thing, baby, because I’m taking care of it all, I think as I kiss her head and get ready to fight my biggest battle yet.
Chapter Nine
Mummy
Luci
We all end up at Gruffy’s house after the doctor appointment from hell. I’m still reeling and staunchly denying it all as I sit on the sofa and stare blankly at the wall while everyone seems intent on laughing and joking around me.
Of course I am the butt of all their jokes, but right now I’m too done in to beat them to hell as I have visions of four little genius babies running circles around me.
Oh God in heaven, what am I going to do? I was at the point of actual hysteria just contemplating single motherhood this morning, and now…
I can’t look after four babies!
They’ll kill me. I just know they’ll be little geniuses with my evil temperament. Oh Jesus, I’ll be raising savages.
“Snap out of it already, you wee kelpie, and grow your balls back already! So what you have four in there? You think it was easy for me to raise the likes of you lot after Grampa Landry left me alone with you? Five! I had five of you Naughty wee bastards to raise and look at me.”
I do. And promptly start wailing when I see the wrinkles and grooves lining her face. Oh, I know what this is! This is karma hitting only me for every wicked, naughty, terrible thing the Naughty Ones ever did.
Why me? Why not Callie who needed a muzzle till the age of twenty when she finally stopped fighting with her teeth? Why not Indie who constantly used to have Gruffy in the principal’s office when her family refused to go anymore? Why not Percy with her freaking uncontrollable need to beat the tar out of the cheer squad just for existing?
I won’t mention Dotty because I love her and she’s a rock star—she hasn’t made fun of me once today, not once after finding out that I’m carrying a freaking litter.
Cage hasn’t left my side and Woody can’t stop grinning and congratulating him.
As if he has a reason to be happy right now and…
And now I won’t ever get to seduce him after I stop being a hippo, I wail internally, my damn and blasted optimism truly crumbling beneath the news.
THE NAUGHTY ONES: The Complete 5-Books Series Page 18
