by Kari Lemor
“Don’t go teasing me, Ellie. I’m not sure I could take it. I’ve been celibate for a very long time.”
She shouldn’t go there, but she had to ask. “How long?”
He tucked a strand of hair behind her ear, then caressed her face. “Since we created Junior.”
Her heart pounded with those words, wanting them to be true. And they would be. Luke might be a womanizer, but he’d never been a liar.
Closing her eyes, she pressed against him and melded her mouth to his. His response was exactly what she wanted. He kissed her with the passion she remembered from seven long months ago.
“Oh, God, Ellie. I’ve wanted to taste you and touch you for so long. Please, tell me I’m not dreaming. I need you so much. I’ve missed you.”
“I missed you, too.”
His kisses covered her lips, then journeyed across her cheek and down to her neck. Oh, yes, the pleasure he was giving her caused her to tremble. Grasping his head, she held it against her, then ran her hand down his back and under his t-shirt.
When her hands stroked his skin, Luke sucked in a mouthful of air and froze. “I need you touching all of me. Please.” He grabbed the neck of his shirt and tugged it over his head, then tossed it aside.
Lord have mercy. She’d seen Luke prance around with no shirt back in his high school track days, but he’d matured since then. Ten years had done some serious sculpting to his torso. It had been too dark for her to appreciate it at the wedding.
“This isn’t fair.”
“What?” His eyebrows slid together.
“You without a shirt. It should be illegal for any man to look that good.”
A sexy grin split his face, his dimples working their magic on her. “You mean all I had to do was take my shirt off and you would have fallen at my feet? Why didn’t you tell me this before?”
She waved at his chest, all muscles and swirls of dark blond hair. “I didn’t know this was what you grew into.”
“Well, now I’ve got my secret weapon. See if you can resist me.”
With that, he kissed her again, and she forgot she was supposed to fight her desire for him. Wherever his lips touched burned like molten lava flowing over her skin. Somehow, her pajama shirt got tossed next to his, and his lips found exactly what she’d been hoping they’d find.
As he sucked on a nipple, desire coursed straight to her center. She needed this man. Now. Always. Could she have him? Would he stay with her? Would she be enough for him?
Skimming her hands down his sides, she tucked them into his waistband and cupped his butt. Unbelievable. Firm and smooth and perfect for her hands.
“I just want to feast here all day, Ellie.” He kneaded the breast he was currently licking.
“I have no objection whatsoever.”
His hand caressed her belly. “Maybe you would, huh?” He glided his lips to kiss where their baby rested. “Your mom is the best lady I’ve ever known, kiddo. Wait until you meet her. She’s something else. Smarter than anyone I know and that includes your dad. I’m no slouch myself in the brains department, but your mom has common sense on top of intelligence. Me, I’ve been fooling around when I should have known it was your mom who was the best one for me.”
As Luke spoke to their child, Elle’s eyes filled with tears. Tessa was right. Luke would make an excellent dad. It didn’t matter what his feelings were for her, no matter how much she wanted him to love her. He would love their child. That was the most important of all the details.
“Right now,” Luke continued talking to her belly while he caressed up and down her sides. “I need to show your mom what she means to me. I think she needs some loving, and I’m the man to give it to her. You’ll see when you come out, she’ll love you better than anyone. Except me. I’ll be right beside her loving you, as well.”
And for quite a while, Luke kissed every part of her, driving her wild and making her want everything he could give her. Somewhere along the way, the rest of their clothes disappeared. She made sure to touch as much of him as she could reach. His strong shoulders and arms, his sculpted back, his narrow hips and trim waist. And oh, those buns of his were so tight and tantalizing, she made sure to check them out a few times.
Unfortunately, with her big belly, some positions were more difficult than others, but Luke allowed her to lay propped on pillows and enjoy his ministrations. Elle thought she’d die when he kissed up her thigh and nibbled between her legs.
When his tongue got involved, she threw her head back and moaned, waiting for him to thrust inside. Instead, he spread out on his back next to her and maneuvered her to sit astride him.
“You need to take the lead on this, Ellie. I’ve been doing lots of reading, and it’s not good for you to be on your back while pregnant.”
“Reading about having sex with a pregnant lady? Now, why would you do that?” Massaging her fingers through his chest hair, she slowly swung her hips from side to side until she was fully seated. Heaven help her, she was ready to lose it right here, right now.
“Wishful thinking on my part. After the doctor said it was okay to have sex, I wanted to make sure I didn’t hurt you if you ever changed your mind about me. This.”
Shifting back and forth, she ran her tongue over her lips. His erection filled her so nicely, she wasn’t sure she ever wanted to leave this position. Then, Luke took hold of her hips, thrust his own forward, and pulled back. Tension built higher and higher, and Elle needed more. More of Luke. Always Luke.
She pressed her lips to his and sucked on his tongue when it poked from his mouth. Holding him as close as possible with this belly between them, she rocked back and forth.
“God, Ellie, yes. This is what I need. From you. Only from you. Oh.” His deep voice vibrated through her.
The heat inside grew to volcanic levels as she twisted and swayed her hips. Luke nipped at her shoulder, then pushed up to take a nipple in his mouth once again. As he sucked, her body bucked, and tremors ripped through her. She clung to Luke’s shoulders as she flew over the edge, then drifted slowly back to earth.
Luke thrust a few more times, then stiffened and held her, his hands digging into her hips as he shuddered. His breathing was as heavy as hers.
“I think my bones have liquefied.” Elle slumped, her head on his shoulder.
“Um…hoping that’s a good thing. My bones may have completely disappeared. Here.” He coaxed her down onto her side and rested next to her. Touching his forehead to hers, he kissed her tenderly.
What did she even say now? Being with Luke was incredible, and she wanted to stay right here with him forever. Could she do it? Marry him, knowing he didn’t love her? They had great sex. If she could keep the sex spectacular, then maybe he wouldn’t go looking elsewhere for it.
“See how good we are together, Ellie?” He caressed her cheek and kissed her again. “I want my baby to have two parents who love him.”
“He will. Regardless of what we do.” Was she trying to talk him out of his daily marriage proposal?
“I want those parents to be together. I know I’m not the most old-fashioned guy, but I kind of feel a child needs both parents pulling for him. Together. Making a commitment to raising him or her.”
Luke twisted, and she panicked. Was he leaving her after they’d just had mind-blowing sex? But he spun back and held up his phone. What?
After scrolling through for a few seconds, he held the screen for her to see. It was a picture of her from the wedding. After he’d just kissed the stuffing out of her.
“This picture, the memory of you, is what got me through my time overseas. You’re all I could think of while I was there, Ellie.”
Had he seriously looked at her picture during his time on deployment? “All? You didn’t have other work to do?” Yup, deflect those emotions.
“I did, and knowing I could stare at your picture once I was done helped me to cope. You, your image, and the thought of seeing you again when I got back made my time there, and all the th
ings I saw that no one should ever see, manageable. You saved me, Ellie.”
God. She’d been so caught up in her own drama, she’d never given much thought to what Luke had gone through while he’d been deployed. Well, she’d certainly thought about him during that time and worried endlessly for his safety, but once he came back safe and unhurt, she’d forgotten he’d still been in a war zone.
It was her turn to kiss him. Hold him.
“Ellie, please. I’m begging you. Marry me? Be my wife, and let’s raise our beautiful child together as a loving family.”
Luke tensed as he typically did when he proposed each night. Expecting her negative response. Not today.
“Yes, Luke. I’ll marry you.”
“You will?” The surprise on his face was only surpassed by the excitement and happiness that radiated from him. “Thank you, Ellie. I promise I’ll try and be the man you need me to be. I’ll do my best to make this marriage work.”
As he kissed her again and held her tight, she truly hoped he could live up to his promises.
Chapter Fourteen
“Why are we doing dinner on Saturday this week?” Elle asked as she trudged through the slush beside Luke. “Isn’t the family get together usually Sunday at noon?”
“Usually.” He took hold of her elbow as they stepped over a small patch of ice at the edge of Alex’s driveway. “But Erik and company came down early, so he could cover for someone at work tomorrow. Sara and TJ didn’t mind coming up a day early.”
As they climbed the steps to the front porch, Luke paused and faced her. “So I was thinking that Alex and Gina always host the family dinners.”
A block of ice formed in her chest. “You want me to start cooking for your family?” She wasn’t bad with food, but she’d never made dinner for so many people at once.
“No, not at this point. Alex loves cooking and is too anal to let that go. But both Erik and Sara and their families stay here.” He pointed to the door. “We’ve got a bunch of empty bedrooms, plus that whole third floor. I wondered if maybe at some point, we could offer our place for overnight?”
“Oh, yeah, I think we could do that. Especially since your bedroom will be empty now.”
Luke cocked his head and frowned. “It will?”
Elle rolled her eyes at his ridiculous expression. “Unless you still want to sleep in another bed after we get married.”
After pressing a kiss to her lips, he sighed. “I want to be right where you are, babe.”
“Babe? We’ve slept together twice and suddenly I get a nickname you’ve called all your other ladies.”
“Oh, no. I’ve never called anyone else babe.” His panicked look made her feel better. “You’re my only babe. The babe with the babe. Did you want another nickname? Honey? Darling? Dear? Sweetheart? Lovey Buckets?”
A laughing snort spilled out before Elle could stop it. “Um, let’s not go with lovey buckets, if it’s all the same to you. If you call me babe, do I get to call you babe?”
Luke hauled her closer. “You can call me anything you want as long as it means husband.”
“Okay. I’ll have to think on this.”
Reaching for the door, Luke said, “Let me know what you decide. Let’s go do this. I know you’ve been nervous about telling them, but my family will be thrilled.”
Sure. They’d be thrilled that she and Luke were doing the “right” thing and getting married. Being in the Storm family wasn’t what made her anxious. It was Luke himself. She could lose herself in him so easily and then where would she be if it all fell apart?
As they stepped into the foyer, the typical noise from the kids greeted them. Matty, Kiki, and Joey pranced around the front room while Tessa and Sara watched them through the arched doorway into the middle room. Behind them, Alex scurried around the dining room, reorganizing plates and setting down baskets of rolls. Molly shuffled beside him with utensils.
“Hey, everyone,” Luke greeted.
Matty scampered over and jumped into his arms. “Uncle Luke, look what I did at school.”
Elle lingered in the doorway as Matty showed Luke a folder filled with papers. Would their child be so adorable with his aunts and uncles? All the Storms were beautiful, inside and out, so most likely.
“Ellie, how are you feeling?” Molly called out, crossing the room in quick strides. “It’s so lovely to see you here each week. I can’t tell you how happy we are you’ve moved in next door.”
“It’s a beautiful house. I can hardly believe I’m living in something so huge.”
Molly’s gaze lowered to Elle’s stomach. “Well, you’ll be filling it up soon enough.”
Elle’s smile faltered. Did the rest of Luke’s family think they’d be having lots of kids? Would they? If they got married, there’d be no reason not to. Unless you counted possibly being left with several children to take care of when Luke got tired of her.
Taking a deep breath, she shook her head, knowing she needed to stop with the negative thoughts. They wouldn’t get her anywhere.
Sara and Tessa greeted her and asked pregnancy-related questions. TJ stood with Erik in the hallway talking to Pete.
“Food’s ready,” Alex called out. “Give me a hand getting it all on the table, and we can eat.”
Bustling about, the adults got plates and bowls to the dining room while Tessa and Erik got their kids settled at the small table in the corner. How long would it be before their little baby was big enough to sit at the kids’ table?
When plates were filled and everyone settled, Pete held his hands out. Elle loved how this family still joined in saying a prayer before meals. She held Luke’s hand on one side and Sara’s on the other.
The food was blessed, the Lord was thanked, then they all began to eat. Luke stayed silent while he worked on his plate and the rest of the family chatted. When he’d eaten most of his meal, he squeezed her elbow and nodded.
“Um, Ellie and I wanted to make an announcement.”
Molly’s eyes widened, but Erik winked. “We know. She’s having a baby.”
“Yes, and we’ve decided to get married.”
Tears filled her eyes at the way Luke announced it. Like it was a joint decision. He could easily have pointed out that she’d turned him down a dozen times, but he didn’t. God, she loved him for that. Wasn’t that the kicker? She loved the man she’d be marrying. Like you should. If only he loved her.
“Wonderful!” Molly shouted, raising her hands in the air. “We’ll need to start planning.” She bolted from her seat and disappeared into the kitchen, returning a minute later with a notepad and pen.
“Mom, you can finish eating first.”
Her cute, blonde bob bounced as she shook her head. “I can eat and write at the same time. I wonder if we can get the community center at our complex? I think it’s free next weekend.”
Luke cleared his throat. “I have guard drill next weekend. I can’t do it then.”
“You just got back from six months away.” Alex frowned.
“And next week will be four weeks from our return. I’m sorry, Mom. Maybe the next weekend.”
Luke had mentioned his mother would push for the soonest date possible, but he’d also told her of his weekend away. They’d barely been living together a week and already she hated the idea of him being gone.
Molly jotted down notes on her pad, then tapped her cheek with the pen. “It’s still far too cold to do this outside. Alex, do you think you could call Kristan and see if they have any availability at The Inn. I know it’s last minute, but March isn’t a busy time of year for weddings.”
Alex finished the small bit on his plate, wiped his mouth, then dug in his pocket for his phone. As he tapped on the screen, Molly glanced her way.
“Ellie, how many will you need, sweetie?”
“How many what?”
“People to invite?”
God, did she even need to ask guests to come? “Nobody really. Although I suppose I should invite my aunt, uncle
, and cousins. That’s five.”
Molly scribbled again. “I suppose we do need to keep this fairly small. Just family.”
“Hey, Kristan. It’s Alex.” Luke’s brother spoke into his phone. “I was wondering if you had any availability for a small function in two weeks. Yeah, my brother, Luke, is getting married.”
There was a slight pause, then Alex grinned. “Um, yeah.”
Heat rose to Elle’s cheeks. She had a feeling the question Alex had just answered was if the bride was pregnant.
“So two weeks? Anything? How many, Mom?”
Molly checked her pad. “About thirty adults and eight children. We’ll need the chapel, too.”
Alex relayed the information and listened for a few moments. “She’s got either Friday night after six or Sunday at five. The rest of the weekend is booked.”
“Ellie?” Molly tipped her head in question.
“I have to work Monday.”
Nodding, Molly said, “Then, we’ll do Friday night. Alex, see if they have a room for Friday night and possibly Saturday night, too. I know it’s a bit late to plan a honeymoon, but you can have a little local getaway for now.”
A honeymoon. Elle thought of all the great places she’d love to visit, and being with Luke would be a dream come true. With a baby on the way, doubtful they’d get to do much traveling for a long while.
“Okay, all booked for Friday, March twenty-second at seven,” Alex relayed.
“Thank you, sweetie. Tell Kristan we’ll be down tomorrow to give a deposit and start working on details. Is there a time that’s better for her?”
Molly glanced at Elle and Luke. “You’re free tomorrow, aren’t you? If not, I can start the process, but I’d think you’d want some say in your wedding.”
Luke squeezed her hand and nodded. “Any time tomorrow is fine, Mom. Thanks for doing this.”
Molly waved her hand in the air. “Oh, it’s nothing. Happy to help.”
Pete chuckled. “She really is, so don’t feel even a little bit guilty at what’s she doing. She’s in her glory.”
