Love Me

by Olivia Cunning

  She scrambled for the phone. “Umm, hi. Adam?”

  “Yeah. Who’s this?”

  “It’s Lindsey. The . . . uh . . . pregnant woman from Christmas Eve.”

  “I know who Lindsey is. Why are you calling me?”

  “I got the results of the paternity test.”

  “I didn’t take the test.”

  “I know, but Jacob did, and he was negative, so that means it’s yours.”

  Dead silence greeted her ear for a long moment, and then he said, “What do you want from me?”

  She licked her lips and swallowed. This wasn’t going well, but at least he hadn’t flat-out denied he was the father. “Me?” she said. “I don’t want anything.” Her heart was pounding so hard she thought she might faint. “I— Do you want to see Daisy?”

  “Who’s Daisy?”

  “My daughter.” She took a steadying breath. “Our. Our daughter.”

  He was quiet for another long moment. And she’d thought Chad was a man of few words.

  “I hadn’t realized she’d been born already,” he said.

  “She hasn’t been. I just . . .” God, this was hard. “I named her already; I hope that’s okay.”

  “Why wouldn’t that be okay? It’s your kid.”

  Technically, it was their kid, but he wasn’t interested. A couple of months ago she’d have been devastated by that news, but now she knew Daisy would have a strong father-figure even if she wasn’t related to Chad by blood. And that was all she’d ever really wanted for Daisy. Not a famous father or a rich father, but a good father who loved her. That he was also supportive of Lindsey was a huge added benefit.

  “Do you want to be part of her life?” Lindsey soldiered on. “I won’t try to stand in your way if you do. Or if you don’t.” She had to think life would be easier for them all if he didn’t want a part in Daisy’s life.

  “Have your lawyer contact mine about child support,” he said.

  “I don’t have a lawyer.”

  “Then you should get one.” He hung up before she could utter another word.

  She bellowed in frustration and chucked the phone across the counter. Why did everyone assume all she wanted from them was money? Yes, money made things easier, and it was nice to have, but love was more important. Love was always more important. Even if it couldn’t pay the bills.

  The scrape of Hawn’s nails on the tile behind her alerted her to Chad’s presence. Talk about love—that dog followed him everywhere. He was already working with Hawn as his first companion dog, though he didn’t plan to give her up. She’s practice, he’d assured Lindsey when she’d gone all blubbery over the thought of saying goodbye to Hawn regardless of how much good she could do for someone who needed her. Chad had told Lindsey that she wasn’t allowed to get overly attached to the first official trainee, a dog that Chad planned to carefully select after the baby was born.

  Chad wrapped his arms around her stomach as he stepped up behind her and rested his chin on her shoulder. She breathed in his calm and his scent, drew his warmth—both physical and emotional—deep inside her, and sighed.

  “The sod’s down,” he said. “You’re allowed to go outside now.”

  He truly got off on his big reveals, so he never let her see his partially finished projects. He was like a one-man home improvement reality show.

  “I can’t wait to see it,” she said, though she didn’t move from her perch on one of the barstools she’d helped Chad pick out. Instead, she wrapped her arms around his and held on tight.

  “Everything okay?” he asked, kissing her ear.

  “I finally got up the nerve to call Adam.”

  He stiffened. “What did he say?”

  “That I should get a lawyer.”

  “He’s contesting his paternity?”

  She shook her head. “The lawyer is needed to work out child support arrangements.”

  “And visitation?”

  She swallowed. This situation could get incredibly complicated. “He didn’t mention that.”

  Chad released a relieved-sounding sigh and relaxed against her back. “You should use Tina’s lawyer,” he said. “She got a huge settlement from Jacob in the divorce. Her lawyer must be excellent.”

  “Daisy won’t need much.” Lindsey would honestly be okay with Adam signing over his rights as a father in lieu of paying child support. She needed to give the option some thought before she broached the possibility with Adam or even mentioned it to Chad. She knew Chad would be onboard with the idea. Daisy hadn’t even been born yet, but he was already attached to her and the idea of raising her. Sometimes Lindsey wondered if he was more interested in being Daisy’s dad than in being Lindsey’s boyfriend. He’d never told Lindsey that he loved her, but he’d said it to her belly and the baby growing inside her more than once.

  “You have a couple more weeks to sort it out before the baby’s born,” Chad said.

  Two weeks. Lindsey was more than ready to have her body to herself again. She hoped Daisy didn’t decide she wanted to stay inside past her due date.

  “Adam hasn’t had much time to get used to the idea,” Lindsey said. “I’ve had almost nine months, and I still don’t feel prepared.”

  “I’m more than ready,” Chad said, nuzzling her ear. “Can’t wait.”

  She shifted off the stool. Her back was tender today. It had been aching all morning and sitting on a stool wasn’t helping. She turned to face Chad, rubbing the small of her back with one hand. “I’ll worry about Adam later. Let’s check out that yard.”

  Chad beamed. “It looks amazing! Especially with all the flowers you planted in full bloom in the background.”

  She’d worked hard to keep those flowers alive through the oppressive heat of late August, and they were now thriving. Maybe that was a sign that she wouldn’t be a terrible caregiver for Daisy.

  Chad walked slowly, holding her hand as she waddled through the dining room on her way to the front door. Her hips ached almost as much as her back did. Hell, even her ribs hurt. She might not quite be ready for the responsibility of motherhood, but she was beyond ready to give birth just so she didn’t have to be pregnant any longer.

  She continued to rub her back as she walked, until Chad noticed her discomfort and took over for her.

  “Do you need a massage, angel?”

  “That would be lovely.”

  “After we admire the yard, I’ll take you upstairs and rub you down from head to toe.”

  “Just my back will be fine,” she said. “And my boobs.” She grinned as her interest shifted away from relieving aches and toward igniting passion. “And my clit could use a good massage. With your tongue.”

  “I’ve got you covered,” he said. He opened the front door.

  Even from the porch, she could tell that the yard’s transformation was amazing. A neat carpet of green stretched from the sidewalk near the road to the flowerbed boarders. A newly poured cement pathway meandered from the driveway to the front steps Chad had replaced the week before, but the section of the path nearest the steps remained empty.

  “Did you run out of cement?” she asked.

  He grinned. “Not exactly. I thought we’d pour that section after Daisy is born.”

  “Why?” The missing section would be an incredible tripping hazard, especially for her, but also for Chad. His prosthetic leg was already an extension of his body, but an uneven step could definitely trip him up.

  “We’ll press our hands and Hawn’s paws into the cement and make our own walk of fame. But it wouldn’t be complete without Daisy’s little handprints, so I thought we’d wait.”

  Lindsey suddenly felt warm all over, but mostly in her chest where her heart thudded in response to his sentimentality. “You’re such a sap, Mitchell.”

  “It’s the other Mitchell son that’s the sap.” He lifted her hand and kissed her knuckles. “Except where you’re concerned.”

  She stared into his eyes, only forcing her gaze to their surroundings w
hen she realized he’d never take her back inside until she admired his hard work.

  “The yard looks incredible! And I love it against the new brighter paint color.” The house was now a pale gray with blue accents instead of the dingy white with drab brown cross-timbers of before. “It looks like an entirely different house, Chad.” One she was proud to call their home.

  “Now you’re glad you stuck it out with me through the ugly phase, aren’t you?”

  She grinned and nodded, but she was glad she’d stuck it out with him for many reasons completely unrelated to having a nice place to live. “Now about that massage you promised me . . .”

  “What about it?”

  “My back is aching, and my feet are swollen.”

  “Foot rub needed as well. Got it.”

  “And my nipples hurt.”

  “I’m sure they could use a gentle suck.”

  “They definitely could,” she murmured.

  He leaned close and whispered in her ear, “And how’s that sweet pussy of yours?”

  “Empty,” she complained.

  “I think I can take care of that for you too.”

  “You take such good care of me.” Both in the bedroom and out. “What would I do without you?”

  “That’s not something you ever need to worry about.”

  He led her back into the house. The living room had once been a blank page; now it was comfortably decorated in soft taupe, with pops of color in the pillows and ornamental touches. She’d helped him pick out most of it. Even though she hadn’t been able to pay for anything, the place felt more like home than any place she’d ever lived.

  She took the stairs slowly, her backache really slowing her down. She wasn’t sure if she could handle two more weeks of this. But when they reached Chad’s bedroom and he peeled her loose, flowing dress off over her head, she decided she could tolerate the discomfort a while longer if Chad continued to help ease her aches. He assisted her in settling comfortably onto her side and even remembered she liked a pillow between her knees. She moaned in encouragement as his hands began to massage her back, his thumbs rubbing deep circles into the tight muscles on either side of her spine.

  “Tell me where, angel,” he said close to her ear.

  “Everywhere.”

  “If I touch you everywhere, you know where that will lead,” he said with a soft laugh.

  “I’m counting on it.”

  She turned her head to watch him over her shoulder as he removed his clothes and even released the valve that allowed him to take off his leg. She smiled. That meant he planned to stay in bed with her for a while. He usually left his prosthesis on until bedtime.

  He shifted onto the bed with her and curled up against her back. He propped his head up on one hand and kissed her neck while the fingertips of his free hand traced gentle paths up and down her arm. His warmth further soothed her back, but his touch drew shivers from her awakening body.

  “It’s been a while since we wasted a day in bed,” he murmured close to her ear.

  “I wouldn’t call that a wasted day.” In fact, those were her favorite days, but Chad’s ever lengthening to-do list made them a rarity.

  “Me neither.”

  He palmed her breast and then turned his hand to graze her nipple with his knuckles. That such strong hands could be so gentle with her blew her mind, but even though he was the strongest man she’d ever known, there was a tenderness to him that couldn’t be denied.

  She winced as her backache intensified and shifted her hip to try to ease the discomfort.

  “What is it?” he asked.

  “I can’t seem to get comfortable. I’m sorry.”

  “Nothing to be sorry about. Is it your back?”

  She nodded, her forehead aching from the scowl she couldn’t seem to shake from her face. He shifted away from her and massaged her lower back with his thumbs and the heels of his hands. After a moment the tension finally lessened, and she took a deep breath.

  “That’s better,” she said. “Thank you.”

  Chad arranged an elevated nest of pillows for her and eased her onto her back with her legs dangling over the edge of the mattress. She was grateful he remembered that lying on her back was uncomfortable for her and even more grateful when he dropped to the floor and knelt between her open legs. She couldn’t see his handsome face through her bulging belly as he lowered his head to kiss her inner thighs, so she closed her eyes and just let herself feel his lips and tongue and the graze of his teeth against her eager flesh. He took his time coaxing her desire into a frenzied peak—licking her opening, sucking her lips and clit, kissing and nibbling on her thighs.

  She called out to him, begging for release, for him to fill her. When he finally stood and pressed his hardness inside her, she shattered around him. He gave her a moment to relish her release before he leaned over her—fists planted in the mattress on either side of her—and began to rock his hips. He was always so gentle when he made love to her, and she knew it was because of the baby. She wondered if he’d take her hard and fast once she had her body to herself again, or if he’d think she was dirty for craving a little cruelty in his thrusts. She watched his face, fingers itching to trace the scar above his ear, but he was too far away. Too far away to hold, to kiss. Her belly was always in the damned way.

  Her breath caught as her back began to ache again. Apparently even her nest of pillows wasn’t enough to keep her comfortable when she was thirty-eight weeks pregnant.

  Chad, who’d been watching her closely, stopped moving immediately. “Am I hurting you, angel?”

  “No, it isn’t you. It’s my stupid back again.”

  He pulled out—not what she wanted—and rearranged her pillows again so she could lie on her side. She curled inward, which helped ease the ache some, and Chad’s massaging hands helped more.

  “I’m okay,” she told him, looking over her shoulder at him. “Except I really need you to finish what you started.”

  “I can tug one out in the bathroom if—”

  “I’d prefer if you’d curl up here behind me.”

  She patted her butt in invitation, and he grinned before lying down behind her and pressing up against her back. He kissed her ear and massaged her breast, and she felt almost like herself without her belly between them. They’d tried just about every position imaginable over the past few weeks to find comfortable ways to fit together, and this way was the best they’d discovered.

  He entered her again and snuggled close, seemingly content to be inside her, against her. She was far from content, however, and began to rock her hips forward and back.

  “Angel, slow down.”

  But she didn’t want to slow down. She wanted him to lose control. She found the faster she moved, the harder he thrust, until his fingers were digging into her hip and he was moaning into her ear. Heat and friction. Pleasure. Aching. Building. Her excitement intensified until she came undone, and his body shuddered behind her. He grasped her breast tightly when he buried himself deep and let go, and her pussy rippled around him with release.

  Releasing a deep huff of air, Chad went limp, his forehead pressed against her shoulder. His rapid breaths warmed her back as her undeniable feelings for this man bubbled to the surface and brought tears to her eyes. She always tried to blame the moments of intense emotion on her pregnancy and out-of-whack hormones, but she knew that wasn’t the truth. She loved Chad, and had never told him, not once, because she was so afraid that he didn’t feel the same way about her.

  “How’s your back?” he asked, pressing a soft kiss to her shoulder.

  She sniffed and dashed a stupid tear away with the palm of her hand.

  “Angel? What do you need?”

  “I need you to love me.” Her voice broke, and she hated that she sounded so needy. “Love me, Chad.”

  “I do love you, angel.”

  Her breath caught, and she twisted as best she could to see his face. “You do?”

  “Lindsey . .
.”

  He never used her given name, so hearing it on his lips made her heart pang.

  “Lindsey . . .” he repeated, stroking a stray lock of hair from her cheek and tucking it behind her ear. “I love you. I’ve loved you for weeks. For months.”

  “Then why didn’t you tell me sooner?”

  “Because . . .” He glanced down, breaking eye contact. “I didn’t want my love to be a burden on you.”

  She shook her head and grabbed his hand, which was still cupping her breast. Her heart expanded, reaching out to him through her fingertips. “Your love could never be a burden, Chad. You could never be a burden. I cherish your love. I cherish you.”

  “You love me?”

  “Didn’t I just say that?”

  He grinned. “No, angel. You alluded to it, but you never actually said it.”

  He was right. She hadn’t said it directly, but she wouldn’t make that mistake again. “I love you, Chad Mitchell. More than I’ve ever loved anyone or anything. I love—” A searing pain cramped her midsection, and she cried out in anguish. “Owwww.”

  “It hurts you to say that?”

  “Uh, no. I think that incredible orgasm might have put me into labor.”

  He backed out of her so fast, he fell to the floor. “Oh God,” he said. “Your daughter is going to be born with my cum all over her head.”

  Lindsey laughed between Lamaze breaths. After a moment, the contraction ended and she said, “I think my water breaking will wash that away.”

  “I’m not so sure.” He sat up and peered at her over the edge of the mattress. He was actually blushing. “It was a lot of cum, angel.”

  “Enough to start labor.” Unless her aching back had actually been labor pains. That recurrent back pain sure felt different from the abdominal contraction she’d had a moment ago, so maybe they weren’t related.

  Chad’s blush faded as he paled. “You’re in labor. Are you sure?”

  She pushed her hair from her face, trying to think.

  “I don’t know. I’m supposed to have two more weeks, but I should probably get dressed and wash up just in case. Can you hand me my clothes?”