by Meg Ripley
Through the drive, we caught up on what had happened in the weeks we’d been apart as we drove along the landscape of Big Bend. We finally arrived at a drug store just outside Marathon and went inside.
After wandering around for a few minutes and telling one employee we didn’t need help, we had to track down another to tell us where to find them. We stood in the aisle, staring at a vast array of tests.
“Which one?” Valentina asked.
“How am I supposed to know?”
“Well, do we want the one that’s more accurate or the one that can be taken sooner?”
“Both? Let’s just get a few,” I suggested. “Why take chance with something like this?”
She picked out three and we took them to the cashier at the front of the store. After scanning the third test, she looked at us with raised eyebrows like we were nuts. I paid and we got back in the truck.
While I drove us home, Valentina opened the boxes and read the directions. “Okay, I think I have it. Basically, I just pee on the stick and we wait. They all work pretty much the same.”
“Sounds easy enough.”
When we finally reached my house again, I was relieved. I paused at the front door to kiss her, then unlocked the door. Before she could step inside, I picked her up and carried her in.
“You don’t have to do that until after we’re married,” she said, chuckling.
“This is the first time you’re coming here.” I set her down and gave her a quick peck. “Bathroom is this way.”
She took the bag with the tests into the bathroom, and after a minute, the door opened, and she set one of the test sticks on the counter. “Time it.”
I took out my phone and started the stopwatch while she washed her hands.
“How long do we wait?”
“Three minutes.” She watched the test, squinting and leaning closer to study it.
When the time had ticked by on my stopwatch, I said, “That’s three.”
She picked up the test and held it closer, then tilted it and moved closer to the light.
“What does it say?”
“Well…” She turned to me and held out the stick. “It says I’m not pregnant.”
My whole body sank. “Really?” I took the test from her and inspected it myself. It was definitely missing the second pink line.
“But I think I might’ve messed it up,” she confessed.
“How?”
“I held it there too long. I think it got too wet.”
“Where are the other tests?” I asked.
She pointed to the bag.
“Take them already!” I said, laughing. “You’re killing me.”
She grinned and closed the door, and several minutes later, she peeked out and scrunched her face apologetically. “Crap,” she said. “Now I can’t go.”
I put my hand to my face.
“I’m getting some water.” She disappeared around the corner and came back drinking from a glass. “Okay, I have to go again.”
“Already?”
She shrugged. “Pregnant women pee a lot, so maybe it’s another symptom.”
She went back into the bathroom, and when she opened the door again, both tests sat on the counter. “They’re both good this time,” she said.
Again, Valentina leaned over the tests, watching them. “How long has it been?”
“One minute.”
She held up one of the sticks and showed me where a second line had already appeared. The other one had a faint line, but as we watched, it grew darker.
“Time,” I said.
We looked at the two positive pregnancy tests, then stared at each other for a long moment.
“So, this is really happening,” I said.
“It is.”
I let out a squeal of excitement and grabbed Valentina, picking her up in the air and spinning her around. “We’re going to have a baby!” I laughed. “And to think, yesterday at this time, I was sure I’d never even see you again.”
“And now, here we are,” she said, smiling against my lips. “All three of us.”
17
Valentina
“I think everything’s catching up with me.” I yawned, yet felt a little dizzy from the excitement of it all.
“Want to go lie down for a while?”
I nodded and Elijah gently picked me up, carrying me to his bedroom.
“I like your house,” I said as I watched the walls go by. “Very simple. Neat.” He had few decorations and tasteful furniture. Definitely a place I could see myself living in. Though, I might not be as neat as he seemed to be.
“Why, thank you.”
“Are you a neat freak?” I asked.
“I don’t think so?” He set me down on the bed and slid into place beside me.
“So, if I’m a little messy…?”
He shrugged. “Then we’ll clean up.”
A slow smile spread over my face. “Kids are very messy, you know.”
He leaned forward to kiss me. “Then I welcome the mess.”
“Do you own this house?”
He kissed me again. “I do.”
I trailed a finger down his chest. “Impressive.”
He gave me a half smile and kissed along my neck. “Me or the house?”
“Mmm.” My eyes closed and my skin tingled where he’d touched me. “Both.”
“Do you want to live here with me in Big Bend?” he asked against my neck.
I let my fingers slide through his dark hair. “It’s not like I have a place of my own. If we couldn’t be together, my plan was to was to put a crib in the corner of my bedroom at the ranch.”
“The two of you in that tiny room?”
“I didn’t have many options,” I told him. “And I didn’t much like the ones I had.”
He kissed along my collarbone. “I’m so glad it didn’t come to that,” he murmured. “I’d hate to think of you living like that. I want to give you both the whole world.”
“You are my whole world.” I took his face in my hands and kissed his nose.
“And you’re mine.” He put a hand over my stomach. “Both of you.”
“I’m kinda nervous, though.” I bit my lip.
He laughed. “Of course. Me, too. We’ve never done this before.”
I nodded. “It’ll definitely be a bear shifter. We know that much.”
He pulled my earlobe into his mouth and nibbled gently, and I let out a soft moan.
“We’ll need to find a doctor…”
The things I wanted to talk to him about kept slipping from my mind as he touched me. My body was heating up and the desire that always simmered just beneath the surface when I was near him spilled over.
I hungrily pressed my mouth to his and he responded with equal passion, pulling me closer and closer to him until he was partly lying on top of me.
“Do you mind if maybe we take this off?” He lifted the lower edge of my top and gave me a mischievous smile.
I pulled my shirt slowly over my head, making a show of it. “You have to take yours off, too, though.”
He yanked his shirt off, much less theatrically, and then danced his fingers over my skin, teasing me. He traced circles around my nipples, then pinched gently. I moaned and ran my nails along his back.
Trailing kisses all the way down my abdomen, he stopped at my waistband—which was starting to feel snug, now that I thought about it.
“Maybe these could come off, too?” He looked up at me and tugged on my waistband.
“So soon?” I teased.
His eyes widened slightly. “Feels like it’s been years.”
“I know.”
I reached down to unzip my pants and he pulled them off, sliding out of his before resuming his position near my navel. I’d kept my panties on. As much as I wanted him, I wanted to enjoy every second since last time, everything had been so hot and fast.
Elijah glided his tongue along the edge of the thin fabric and gently rubbed his thumb over me, kissing back up
my stomach and lingering at my breasts. His stiff member prodded me as he rocked his hips against me, soaking my panties in no time. Maybe I shouldn’t have kept them on after all.
I tried to push them off, but he reached down and took my hands, then stretched them above my head.
“Are you trying to rush it?” he cooed into my ear in that slow, Texan drawl.
“Are you trying to tease me?”
“Maybe…”
His lips found every inch of my neck and torso as he held my hands in place, not letting me touch him back. It drove me wild not to be able to have my hands on him, and I tried to break free of his grip.
“If I let you go, what are you going to do?” he challenged.
“Stroke your hard cock.”
“I can’t let you do that.” He rubbed harder against me, until I let out a moan that was both pleasure and longing.
“Please,” I begged him.
“Please what?”
“Please let me touch you.” I pressed my hips against his in return, and it was a mistake. I didn’t just want to touch him, I wanted to feel him inside me.
He let go of my hands and I immediately reached down to grab his perfect ass, pulling him against me, hoping he couldn’t take the waiting, either.
But he pulled away, caressing his way down my stomach again and slipped a finger under my panties, teasing my sensitive bundle of nerves.
“Take them off!” I moaned.
Despite my pleading, he left them on and kept circling his fingers over my slickness, then slipped a finger inside me. I bucked my hips to push it in deeper, but his finger wasn’t what I wanted.
He spent several more minutes teasing me, but then I had to take matters into my own hands. With him down in front of me, he couldn’t stop me when I tried to shove my panties down. I wiggled out of them, and he looked up at me with an amused expression.
Wagging my finger, I called him closer. He crawled up the bed toward me and kissed me, but he held himself up, not letting his body touch mine. I tried to wrap my legs around him to pull him toward me, but his strength outmatched mine.
“Why are you doing this to me?” I moaned.
He replied by softly nipping at my neck.
I reached down to stroke him, and he finally let me touch him, moaning quietly in my ear as I moved my hand along his throbbing shaft. I tried again to get my leg around him. Finally, I put my hands on the backs of his shoulders, pulled myself up off the bed, and turned him over so he was on his back.
I hurried into place, straddling him, and leaned down to kiss him. “Ah-ha. Gotcha now.”
He looked slightly alarmed. “Wait a minute.”
“What?”
“This is okay, right? For the baby? It won’t…hurt anything?”
I shook my head. “I’ve been reading up a little. It’s perfectly safe to have sex during the entire pregnancy, for the most part.”
“For the most part?”
“Some things can go wrong and then you shouldn’t, but in most cases, it’s totally fine.”
He visibly relaxed.
“Was that why you were hesitating?” I asked.
He gave me a half smile. “Partly.”
“In that case…” I lowered myself down to kiss him and took him in my hand. I positioned him and slid down, pushing him slowly inside me.
He let out a moan and gripped my hips. I moved slowly on top of him at first, keeping a steady rhythm with my hips as I rode him, and every movement sent a wave of tingling pleasure through me.
But I couldn’t keep things slow for long. I sped up and sat up tall, forcing him deeper inside as Elijah rocked my hips harder. He sat up and held me, thrusting into me even harder for a few moments before laying me down to slide into place over me.
He looked down at me with such adoration that my heart swelled and tears filled my eyes, then slipped gently back inside me, filling me with warmth.
We moved together in perfect rhythm and every thrust pushed me closer to the edge of pleasure. The slowness drew out the sensation, almost teasing me still, but he sped up and pounded into me harder once he felt me tighten around his length. I felt the orgasm crash over me, digging my nails into his back as we cried out in unison, his climax joining mine after several more thrusts. Breathing hard, he planted kisses along my jaw, then curled up behind me, pulling my body against his.
“That was well worth the wait,” he murmured.
“It was.”
We rested for a time as our hearts slowed.
“Have you thought of any names yet?” Elijah asked.
I turned over to face him. “No. Do you have any ideas?”
“Not yet. Lots of things go with Tucker, though. Valentina Tucker sounds mighty nice.” He smiled at me.
“Oh? I’m changing my name, am I?”
His smile faded. “I thought you would when we got married. You don’t want to?”
“Well, who said anything about getting married?”
He pulled his eyebrows together. “What are you saying? You don’t want to get married?”
“That’s not what I’m saying. What I’m saying is you haven’t asked me to marry you.”
Elijah laughed. “We’re having a baby together. We’re madly in love, and we know we’re fated. I guess I just assumed we both wanted to.”
“Maybe we do. Won’t know unless you ask, though, right?”
He slid off the bed and disappeared from my sight. “This isn’t going to work if you stay where you are.”
I inched closer to the edge of the bed so that I could look over and see him down on one knee. Naked, it was an interesting sight.
He looked up at me. “Sorry. With not knowing if I’d ever see you again, I hadn’t bought a ring or anything.”
I chuckled. “It’s okay. Go on.”
He reached up to take my hand. “This proposal is like everything has been in our relationship so far. Fast, unexpected, and full of love. I had to live a few weeks without you, Valentina, and it was more than enough for me to know I never want to spend a single day without you in my life. Will you marry me?”
“Yes.” I laughed again. “How could I say no to that?”
He crawled back into bed and pulled me close to him. “Now that we’re officially engaged, do you want to get married before or after the baby comes?”
“My mother will have a heart attack if we wait. I don’t really see a point to waiting, either.” I squeezed my arms around his neck. “I want to be your wife right now.”
“The town hall in Marathon isn’t that far, you know.”
“That’s tempting…But I would want our families and clans to be there.”
“It would be nice to have everyone we love around us,” he agreed. “All that love in one place at one time.”
“Maybe we could do it in Boquillas. Most of the people in my village don’t have passports to come into the States.”
“We’ll do whatever you want. And most of my clan goes back and forth across the border regularly, so that’s not a problem. As long as you’re there and the day ends with us married, that’s all that really matters to me.”
“My mother and sisters will probably have tons of ideas.” I groaned. “If we do it quickly, that won’t give them much time to go crazy.”
He kissed my nose, then my lips. “I’d marry you today, right now, if we could.”
A smile crossed my face and I sighed. “Everything I ever wanted is happening all at once. It’s overwhelming, in the best possible way.”
“Fate must be impatient.”
“So am I.” I lay back and nuzzled against Elijah’s warm neck, content beyond belief and loving every second of it.
18
Valentina
Epilogue: Three Months Later
Three months turned out to be more than enough time to plan our simple Mexican-American wedding. The location had been easy: right in the middle of Boquillas. The village was arranged like a loose circle, with a large open space in
the middle. Los Osos Demonios already held monthly meetings there.
We’d arranged to rent chairs and the other equipment needed to perform an outdoor wedding. The fact that the wedding was in a small village without easily accessible roads made our choices limited, but also made decisions easy. I’d only spent a few days calling around before I’d booked and ordered everything we would need.
“Are you sure there isn’t anything I can do, hija?” my mother had asked me several times.
“Nope. Most of the planning is done.”
My sisters begged to be part of the details, too.
“Come on,” Isabella pleaded, “as bridesmaids, we should get to help you plan!”
“That’s not what bridesmaid do,” I corrected.
“How would you know? You’ve never been one,” Rosa challenged.
She had me there. “Well, I would know because this is my wedding, and you’re my bridesmaids, which means you have to do what I want. Plus, I told you, it’s already done.”
They weren’t happy about it, but I was glad I’d gotten things taken care of quickly. After all, the wedding wasn’t the only thing I had going on at the moment.
I pulled the packing tape across another box and wrote “clothing” on the top of it. Several boxes sat in my now near-empty bedroom, and one that was still open sat by my bed, full of pregnancy and baby books.
“What are you doing in there?” Rosa called from the hallway.
“Just packing up a few last things.” I didn’t have much, but I’d already taken what I could to Elijah’s. After the wedding, when I would officially move in, we’d get my remaining things.
“You have to get dressed!” Isabella squealed.
“Okay, okay.” I opened the door to let them in. My wedding dress hung on the back of my door in its plastic sleeve.
Rosa pointed to me. “Get undressed.” She turned to Isabella. “Let’s get it down and ready to slip over her head.”
I stripped down to my underwear, the lingerie I’d made from the dress Elijah had given me. The bracelet was already on my wrist, opposite of the hand that wore my engagement ring.
Rosa and Isabella carefully brought my dress down over my head, avoiding my hair the best they could.