Full Contact

by H. J. Bellus

  I’m on her before either one of us says another word. My mouth is all over her slender, graceful neck. My hands are in her hair. My cock is pressing into her heat.

  “You’re my life, too, Liam.” My name coming from her mouth captivates me. The way she says it is better than any announcer. I trail up her jawline and hover my lips over her ear, wanting to utter those words I want to say for the rest of my life.

  “I meant what I said. I want a life with you. I love you so damn much,” I express.

  “I love you. I want that, too, Liam. I do.”

  I consume her mouth, and my hands are everywhere. Flicking, licking, and worshipping her the same way she is me. “I need you, Justice, do you get me? Need. You are a necessity to me. Nothing else. Just you.”

  “You’re going to make me cry,” she whispers and slips between us to grip my cock. I moan, dip my head down to her chest, and pull a nipple into my mouth, hands sliding under her to grip her bare ass. My cock is throbbing against her hot pussy. Damn.

  I drag my face from her breast, lift up, and line my dick to her heat. She glances up at me, causing something to clang in my chest. She is everything to me.

  I sink slowly inside of her, halt, and when she lifts her ass up, I move.

  “I love you,” I repeat those words over and over until she finally falls asleep in my arms. Under my protection.

  17

  Justice

  “I’ll be right back, Miss Bexley. Let me run this card. By the way, the team is looking great. Idaho has always wanted a football team.”

  “Thank you. They sure are. I love this town. I have a feeling my roots will eventually grow here.” I smile at the receptionist and watch as she starts processing my paperwork.

  I inhale and exhale. I feel awful that I kept things yet again from my family, but I’m thankful for them being here, and I’m even more relieved they didn’t demand me to go into hiding. I couldn’t bear to be tucked away somewhere and not know what’s going on.

  Besides that, I’d have to be away from Liam, and being away from him again is not an option for me. He was highly emotional the other night, rightfully upset, and yet we talked through it. We both kept our anger intact. I listened to his worry crack through every painful word he spoke.

  There is so much about our lifestyle he will never understand, and I hope he never does. It’s far too soiled.

  Tears prick my eyes. They always do when I reflect on my family life. The hardest part of all of this was talking with my mom and finding out things about her I never knew. I already heard most of the story about my parents being separated from each other after they were married. My mom was lied to about her true identity in the sense of being related to the mafia; it was hard at first for her to accept it. What I didn’t know was the horrible nightmare she endured at the hands of Roan’s dead brother. I mean, I knew she and Roan were kidnapped. I just didn’t know she lost a baby she never knew she was carrying. I cried until I had no more tears left when she told me this morning. Once I calmed down, I understood the importance about not keeping secrets from them so much more. Secrets are what eventually get people hurt or killed in the life of the mafia, and regardless if I’m a part of that life or not, I’m connected, and so is Liam.

  I sigh and shift my thoughts to something happier. Like Alex being here. The dirty little shit is going to come in here and take over my job. Not that I mind; it will give me time to relax. To sit and enjoy the team practice and inhale the fresh fall air.

  The way our families interacted with one another on Sunday during the game meant everything to me. Nothing compared to it. Not even the heart-to-heart talk I had on the phone this morning with my grandfather, John. My mom’s father compared to watching my brother and Alex toss a ball around with State before the teams came out to warm up. It’s the first of many memories I see waiting for us on the horizon.

  My grandfather eased my mind, though. The man was a cold-blooded killer before he eventually took a step back due to a shaky tremor in his hands. He and my grandmother now live in a quiet town in Florida, not far from where several of my family members have vacation homes.

  Despite him killing hundreds of people, I love him, and he loves his family with his entire heart. He assured me I wasn’t to worry, and I’m trying with everything in me not to. It’s all just so hard and mentally draining.

  It’s only been a few days, and my family has already started trying to find out who sent me those gifts. They’ll work on it non-stop until they do. My dad has started checking out everyone I’ve dated. Even the creeper who stalked me. How they’ve ruled him or anyone else out, I’ll never know, and I don’t dare ask.

  “Well, this is the last place I expected to find you. When you asked me last week at dinner if I had found a doctor or a dentist, I thought you wanted one for a referral. Are you okay?” I spin around, forget my troubled thoughts to see Baylor standing behind me.

  “I’m fine. Just my yearly checkup. Everything okay with you? Is something wrong with Rowe?” I don’t bother glancing around for her; if she were here, she would have hollered my name the minute she noticed me.

  “She’s fine. Home driving State crazy, I’m sure. I’m out running errands, needed to drop off the rest of her files. I was going to grab some lunch and enjoy a bit of quiet time; I can wait if you’d like to join me.”

  “I’d love that. Mom is with me; we were going to have a bite to eat ourselves. We could meet you if you have other things to do.” My brother is with us, too; he chose to wait in the car. A chill runs up my spine imagining him trying to protect me if something were to happen.

  I study her features to see if there’s any sign she’s worried or stressed out. I don’t spot one. Having to tell her and State about my current situation was hell. It was the salt in the wound. Baylor acted as any loving mother would. She teared up, trembled, but held it all together. State’s jaw was tense and worried as well. I swear the man doesn’t like me. I explained to them how there would be extra security on all of us. Nothing obvious, just always eyes watching over them. We have no idea what in the hell this psycho will do or who he will go after. It was awfully hard this morning not to share it with Sage. She thinks our extra security is because the press is still sniffing around waiting for anyone to balk and tell them more about Liam and me.

  Baylor pulls me into a hug. She’ll never know how much comfort that hug offers up. We are all on edge yet still doing our best not to let my stalker control our life.

  “I’ll wait. This was my last stop. Are you sure you're okay? You look tired.” If she only knew how tired I really am.

  I have so much running through my head that if one more crisis comes along, I might explode into tiny pieces.

  “Honestly, I’m okay. It’s not easy running a football team and keeping up with your son.” I turn to take my insurance card back from the receptionist, thank her, and guide us around the corner to where my mom is sitting. I’m about to sit when they call my name.

  “I shouldn’t be very long. You two catch up and figure out a place to eat. I’m starving,” I say, follow the nurse through the door, down the hall, and into a room that looks the same as all the other rooms I’ve been in. White walls with pictures that would normally cheer me up, but with everything that’s going on, the bright purple flowers in the vase look wilted and dead to me, and the cat in the other picture has fangs.

  “Let’s get you on the scale to check your weight. We haven’t received your file from your doctors back in New York. Do you know how much you normally weigh?” she asks, while I slip out of my heels and toss my bag in the chair.

  “Not really. I’m afraid I’ll be no help to you at all,” I answer politely. My eyes enlarge and bug out of my head when I see how much I weigh. My shitty diet and sparse runs are the culprits. I make a mental check to eat better and dedicate time to running on a regular basis again.

  “Justice, did you hear me?”

  “I’m sorry, what did you say?”


  “I said you can step down and have a seat on the table. I have a few more things to do before the doctor comes in. I need to take your blood pressure and check your temperature. While I’m doing that, can you tell me when you had your last period?”

  “Okay.” I do what she asks while my eyes remain glued to the scale and my brain runs on a wild goose chase. I’ve only gained a few pounds, I think, but that’s not really the problem. It’s thinking back to my period. It should have been last week. “Oh, my God,” I shout loud enough it startles her.

  My tone and my thoughts collide in the middle of my chest. If I weren’t sitting down, they would knock me to the floor. My mouth opens and shuts like the little goldfish my dad won for me at a fair when I was four years old. I talked to that little fish all the time, praying and hoping he would talk to me, too. Only he never did; no sound ever came out of his mouth. And now I feel the same. Trapped in a tiny bowl with the world revolving around me while I swim until I drown.

  “I think we should run a pregnancy test.” Did I really say that out loud?

  “Sweetheart, Liam is here. Baylor and I are going to take off. Call me if you need me.” My mother wakes me from my nap. I stretch, sit up, and fear grabs hold of my heart and squeezes.

  “I will.” I gather my strength, and the second I no longer see her, there’s the resounding, unnerving silence as I wait for the echo of his footsteps.

  I remember everything in bright colors after the words slipped out of my mouth. The possibility of me being pregnant never occurred to me. I’m on the pill, for shit’s sake. But things happen, so after I peed in a cup and waited for the test to come back, I had the nurse get my mom and Baylor to sit with me. I’ve been scared of many things in my short life. This had my heart pounding its way out of my chest.

  And then I laughed, a full-out, crazed laugh that had both women and the nurse staring at me from the doorway as if I’d lost my mind.

  “Dad was right?” I stammered out.

  Of course, they weren’t there when he teased Liam, so they had no clue what I was yammering on about. The minute the doctor walked in and confirmed what my intuition told me was true, Mom caught on, and Baylor’s body tipped sideways and smashed into the wall.

  “You feeling okay? Not going to lie. You look like shit.” Liam’s low words feather across my face from where he’s standing; they draw a frown on my lips instead of a smile. He has no idea how shitty I feel or will feel soon. It has nothing to do with how his reaction will be. It has to do with bringing someone into this world of chaos.

  My tattered breath escapes my lips when he strides in and sits next to me and lightly traces his finger along my lips. The man thinks I’ve come down with something. The dark, hollow places of what’s been happening to cease to exist as his smooth lips come down and kiss my forehead. The bed beneath me vanishes as he leaves me floating with his touch. I know he’s going to be happy, and yet this is way too soon.

  “Liam,” I whisper.

  “I fucking love you so damn much. Tell me what’s wrong? Do you have a cold, the flu? What do you need?” he questions. The man knows me all too well picking up on the situation. The only thing is, he is way off target.

  “I love you, too. I’m not sick, Liam.” Not yet anyway.

  The idea of morning sickness doesn’t sit well with me. If ever there will be a time when Liam calls me princess, it will be then. I’m a big baby when it comes to throwing up. Although, both Mom and Baylor told me it’s all worth it. I have no doubt it is. But still.

  I’m silent for a moment while I listen to his steady breathing. I lift my hand to feel the beat of his heart beneath the palm as I place it on his chest. I have two hearts beating inside of me. Mine and the little one Liam and I created. I’m happy, sad, and excited, and yet I’m not quite capable of getting the words to come out of my mouth. I want to say them right. Everything is a jumbled-up mess with puzzle pieces scattered everywhere, but when I take in a deep, calming breath, the scene before me becomes crystal clear. Trust. Honesty. Love. I have it all in spades.

  18

  Liam

  Justice presses her lips to mine, ghosting me with a kiss. The longer she remains quiet, the more panicked I become. This can’t be happening, whatever the hell it is. She pulls back keeping her palms cupped to my cheeks.

  “I’m pregnant.”

  I heard the two words but can’t quite process them. They volley back and forth in my head. I don’t move. Hell, I don’t even blink. My sore muscles that plagued me all day from the first game quiet to non-existence. The only thing before me is the woman I love and the two words that danced off her lips.

  “Say something, Liam.” The pads of her fingers dig into my cheeks. “God, please say something.”

  “Holy shit.” I shake my head knowing those weren’t the best two words to speak. “How? I mean, I know how, but holy shit.”

  A grin finally forms on her plump lips. I can’t help myself. I lean forward and take advantage. Our lips seal. Fuck. Me.

  “You’ve gotta give me more than ‘holy shit,’” she whispers against my mouth. I want to ravish the fuck out of her.

  I shift our position on the bed, so my back is pressed against the headboard, my legs spread wide, and then pull Justice to straddle my lap so she’s facing me. I draw a line down the side of her face and cup her jaw. This is one of those times I never want to forget. The timing isn’t right; then again, life flips on a dime. All that matters, all that’s ever mattered, is making her happy, and now she’s carrying my baby. Our baby.

  “One, I’m shocked. And two, I’m overwhelmed by so many feelings right now.”

  She drops her forehead to mine. “I know. I am too. I went in for my yearly check-up and received the shock of my life.”

  “I bet you did. Crazy, huh? I mean, you were on the pill.”

  “I was. Those were my exact thoughts as well. It seems if you miss a few days, they’re not as effective. Had to be around the time of you arriving here. I was a shaken mess.”

  “A baby,” I whisper glancing down to her stomach.

  “A baby. Ours,” she repeats.

  I reach down, pulling up the hem of her shirt until her creamy skin is exposed to me. I admire the simple beauty of it before splaying my palm across her abdomen and fight to come to grips with the reality of a little human growing inside her. One we created.

  My eyes sting. Never in my wildest dreams did I imagine my life turning out like this. I have everything right here in my lap. A beautiful full-of-life woman who stole my heart years ago, our love, and now a baby. I don’t realize I’m crying until Justice reaches up and wipes away tears with the pad of her thumb. More than anything I want to shout and demand her to marry me. Justice Bexley is worthy of the proposal of centuries. I tamp down my need to blurt the burning question.

  “Are you happy?” she whispers.

  “You have no idea how happy I am. Are you?”

  “I’m terrified and thrilled. They wanted to do a vaginal ultrasound today to determine how far along I am, but I wanted to wait for you. I scheduled an appointment for next Tuesday on your off day. The doctor and I talked, and from going by when I had my last period, the doctor is certain my due date will be early May.”

  “Perfect.” I lean forward and kiss the tip of her nose. “Grow a baby, take care of my woman, win a Super Bowl, and then meet our baby. I’m the luckiest bastard on earth.”

  “My lucky bastard,” she adds with a wink.

  I run my hands down her hips, pulling her into my hard erection. I’m not certain if it’s appropriate to want to take my woman right now, but my dick has a mind of its own when she’s straddling me.

  “Oh, and our moms know. You already knew mine was with me. We ran into yours at the office. I needed them by my side once my appointment started going in a different direction.” She wrinkles her nose. “I just wanted to let you know.”

  Good-bye, boner.

  “Good. I’m glad two of the strongest women I
know were there for you.” I roll her off to my side and lie next to her facing her entangling our legs. “How’d they take it?”

  “I think your mom nearly passed out, and mine was stunned, but it all morphed into excitement once the shock wore off.”

  It happens without conscious thought and hits me hard out of nowhere. My body grows tense with fear and anger boiling together. Her stalker. Some crazy fuck is still out there taunting her. I bite down on my bottom lip until it stings. It’s been in the back of mind since she told me. I’ve been more aware of everything. I know her family has security in place and none of us are ever without eyes on us. But it still weighs heavy in the bottom of my gut, and now that weight has multiplied by infinity.

  “What’s wrong?” The last thing I want to do is make her worry more than she already has been. I’m not about to tell her what’s on my mind, because the slimy bastard threatening her will not ruin this moment.

  “Just thinking about what your dad and uncle are going to do to me once they find out.”

  Her lips turn up into a megawatt smile, and she laughs. I reach around and swat her ass.

  “Easy for you to laugh. I’m probably going to be nutless soon, so you better enjoy them now.”

  Her laughter grows hysterical, and it’s music to my ears. This is how it should be. Always.

  “Nah, they shoot people, then dump them in the ocean.” My brows rise, and my dick shrinks. “I’m kidding. He’s going to be happy.”

  “Rowe is going to shit her pants,” I reply.

  “Your mom already warned me she would, and more than likely begin designing a line of baby clothes.”

  I shake my head, damn excited to see Rowe’s reaction when she finds out. Life is good. Damn good. My shitty practice, aching muscles, and stress for the next game no longer linger.

  Justice’s stomach growls, causing me to sit upright. “Shit! Gotta feed my pregnant woman.”