“You have a fucking dune buggy!” I exclaimed. “How in the hell did I not know about this?”
Kiera pursed her lips then shrugged. “Never came up, I guess.”
“You just made my shit list, Mrs. Kyle,” I deadpanned.
Kiera laughed while Anna groaned and held the lavender-scented hot pack pillow to her back. Her contractions were starting again. “Can we go,” she whispered. “I’m not really feeling so hot.”
As I helped Anna into the buggy, I noticed that Liam was waiting in the driver’s seat with the engine idling, ready to go. “Hell, no,” I told him. “I’m driving.”
Scoffing at me, he gripped the wheel a bit tighter. “Not a chance,” he stated.
I was about to rip his head off, but Anna clenched my arm. “Don’t fight, just get me out of here.”
With a sigh and a vow to kick his ass later, I sat with her in the backseat. Kiera hopped in the front with Liam, and he immediately took off; Kiera clenched the side so hard her entire hands turned bone white. I looked over at Anna as the buggy bounced along. She looked more uncomfortable than scared. The jarring jolt as the tires met the earth wasn’t helping the pain any.
When Anna sucked in a tight breath, I screeched at my brother to slow down. He was flying down the steep hill beside the house, nearly hitting small trees and boulders that would surely flip us over. Over the noise of the engine, Liam tossed out, “Just trying to get you there fast, bro.”
“I’m more concerned about getting there in one piece!” I shouted back. Kiera turned to look at me with wide eyes. She seemed shocked that I would say something like that. I wanted to assure her that it was just Anna’s safety I was concerned about, but the words wouldn’t come out.
When we got to the driveway at the bottom of the hill, Liam spun out a bit on the rocks, and I saw a couple large pieces hit the side of my Hummer. “If you dinged the paint, fucker, I’m taking it out of your hide.”
Liam rolled his eyes as he shut the buggy off. Ignoring Kiera’s comments that that was the scariest ride she’d ever taken and she should have just walked down, I unstrapped Anna and helped her climb out of the contraption. It took some finagling; dune buggies weren’t exactly pregnancy friendly.
Once Anna was on solid ground, I hurried her over to the Hummer; it was running, along with Mom and Dad’s minivan. “My bag,” she murmured as she stepped up to her open car door. “My stuff.”
I let out an annoyed grunt. We weren’t the prepared type, so we didn’t have a hospital bag packed and ready to go in the car. “I’ll get everything later, after I get Gibson.”
She nodded, then settled herself into the car. She didn’t seem to be in as much pain, so her contraction must be over. Hell if I knew for sure though. A chick’s body was a mystery to me. Well, the inside at least, the outside, I was an expert at, which is how Anna had wound up this way in the first place.
We’d considered waiting between kids, but me and my siblings were close together, and I loved that. It made us tight. Kind of. If Liam wasn’t such a selfish asshole, we’d be closer. Chelsey and me were tight though. Man, I hoped she did all right with Gibson.
Peeling out of the driveway, I hauled ass to the hospital. Kellan better already have the gate open, or I was going to plow right through it. I had no idea who was following me, and I didn’t much care. Gibson was accounted for and Anna was with me. That was my world right now.
The next several hours were a blur of pain, blood, gore, screaming, and name-calling, and at one point, a plastic tray of vomit was tossed across the room. Not by me. The day was seared into my memory, even the parts I wished I could forget. But in the end, when I was handed a warm, tiny person swaddled in a pastel pink blanket, it was all worth it.
“Another girl,” I whispered, in awe of the miniature version of Anna and me. “Guess the doctor was right.”
Finding out the sex was another one of those moments that was forever seared into my memory. I was happy about this one though. “Congratulations Mr. and Mrs. Hancock…it’s a girl.”
“No fucking way!” had been my immediate response. I’d been so sure the doctor would be wrong again and I was going to have a little man to mold into another me. Oh well. I still wanted a boy, but girls were awesome too, and now Gibson had a sister to do girly things with—dress-up, tea parties. Whatever the hell girls did.
Anna was tired but ecstatic to be over with the uncomfortable part. Physically, at least. The exhaustion part was still coming. “I’m just glad she’s finally here…and no longer pressing against my sciatic nerve.”
Reaching over, she brushed a finger across our daughter’s forehead. Her eyes were wide open; the deep gray studied me like I was the strangest thing she’d ever seen. Lifting up her crocheted cap, Anna peeked at our little girl’s head of dark, dark hair. “I think she’s gonna look like me,” she said as a tired smile brightened her face.
Looking down at my wife’s deep mahogany hair, I nodded. “Yeah, I think so too. Lucky girl,” I added with a playful wink.
Anna giggled, then her eyes drifted down to the baby in my arms. Her face took on a nearly reverent glow. “We’re so happy to finally meet you, Onnika.”
My smile matched Anna’s as I watched Onnika’s tiny features twist into a yawn. “You’re about to find out how incredibly awesome your mom and dad are. I’m kind of jealous of you.”
Anna laughed again, then held her arms open in invitation. “Gimme. I want to smell her.”
Reluctantly, I handed her back to her mother. We’d have plenty of cuddle time later. Pride stretched across my chest as I watched my wife and daughter bonding. All the women in my life were so gorgeous. I always knew I would create attractive kids. I mean, how could I not? But scoring someone as hot as Anna for my partner was what really sealed the genetic deal. My kids were fucking lucky. Ah, who was I kidding, I was the lucky fucker.
After a few more minutes of one-on-one time, family started knocking on the door and stealing into the room to get a peek. We’d made them wait outside during the event. Mom hadn’t been too happy about that, but Anna had been adamant on it only being her and me. I think Mom had planned on staying anyway, maybe hiding somewhere in the back, but the aforementioned tray of vomit smashing into the wall above her head had changed her mind. When Anna didn’t like something, she let you know it. I dug that about her too.
I thought Mom and Dad would be the first ones to enter, but surprising me, it was Kiera and Kellan who popped in first. Kiera looked over at her sister with an expression of Don’t hit me. “Can we come in? We waited as long as we could…”
Anna was in a much calmer mood now that the painful part was over. Tears in her eyes, she nodded. “Yes, yes. Come meet your niece. She held Onnika up a little bit. “Onnika, this is your aunt Kiera and uncle Kellan. Guys…this is Onnika.”
Kiera’s eyes instantly filled with moisture that dropped onto her cheeks. Why did girls always cry around babies? Geez. “Oh my God, Anna, she’s beautiful.”
A mocking laugh escaped me. “Of course she is. She’s a Hancock. Did you expect anything less than perfection?” Kellan laughed at my comment, but Kiera ignored me. I was used to that. She often couldn’t handle my unique brand of awesomeness.
After washing her hands, Kiera walked over to Anna’s side of the bed. She instantly put her hands out for the baby, and a familiar reluctance washed over Anna’s face. There was just something about Onnika that made you want to hold on tight and not let go. Maybe she had superpowers. Wouldn’t surprise me. Someone in our family tree was going to develop them one day, that was just a given. And, in a way, you could say I already had them. Sexual prowess was an ability that I possessed in spades.
When Kiera had Onnika, she firmly held her to her body. “Oh God, she’s so tiny. Remember when Ryder was this tiny?” From the way Kiera looked up at Kellan, I thought another baby was soon to be in their future. There was nothing like holding a newborn to ramp up a woman’s sex drive. I’d bet all the money I
had that Kellan was getting laid tonight. Interesting. Not even a day old yet, and Onnika already had two superpowers. That’s my girl.
While Kellan smiled and nodded at Kiera, she turned her attention back to Anna and me. “How did you come up with the name?”
Puffing up my chest, I jabbed myself with my thumb. “It was my idea.”
Anna made a scoffing sound and I frowned at her. “No it wasn’t. You wanted to go with Myrtle again.”
Remembering that lost negotiation, I frowned. “It’s a family name. I don’t know why you have such a problem with it.” Anna’s face scrunched into the look of disgust she always got when we mentioned my grandma’s name. Not wanting to argue about it again, I added, “And I was right, Onnika was my idea. You just supplied the spelling.” I gave her a grin and a wink to ease the sting in my words, if there was one. Sometimes it was hard to know what would piss chicks off.
Anna didn’t look upset when she turned back to her sister. She had a high tolerance for my crap. “He wanted to spell it A-N-N-I-K-A, but I thought that was too close to my name, so we switched it to O-N-N.”
Kiera nodded, then went back to cooing and cuddling Onnika. I didn’t think she had any plans to give Kellan a turn. Not willingly at least. Eventually she had to share though, because after a while everyone else walked into the room. And just like that, our place was party central. There were so many people in it, I felt like we should start charging admission.
Aside from Kellan and Kiera, Mom, Dad, Liam, Matt, Rachel, Evan, and Jenny were there. There were also nurses loitering outside the door, and a few people visiting other patients too, from what I could tell. Guess news of a rock star’s wife having a baby had already circulated around the hospital. I’d probably have to beat them back to get out of here.
Everyone was all smiles as they passed Onnika around, and whatever tension had been between us suddenly melted away. Rachel and Jenny were fine with me, the guys were fine with me, and I was fine with them. I could barely even remember why I’d been irritated earlier. Another one of Onnika’s superpowers. This kid was truly amazing. Again, not a big surprise. She was genetically engineered to be cool.
While Kiera impatiently waited for another turn with Onnika, she told Anna, “I called Mom and Dad. They’re heading out tomorrow or Monday. Mom’s mad that you couldn’t hold out until your due date.”
Anna snorted. “She’ll get over it. She did the last time.”
I expected my wife’s happy buzz of newborn bliss to fade, but she looked relaxed and sleepy as she lay there, watching everyone lose their shit over her daughter. It seemed like nothing could faze her at the moment, a fact that was confirmed when she told the room, “I’m so glad you’re all here for this, and Mom, Dad, I want you to stay as long as you want! My home is your home! Invite everyone, the more the merrier!”
My eyes widened. Did she really just say that to my parents? I couldn’t help but wonder if whatever was dripping into her IV was making her loopy or if she was riding a natural high. Either way, she’d just opened the floodgates, and there was no taking it back. I could see it in my mother’s eyes. She’d been given permission to crash for as long as she saw fit, and nothing Anna said or did now would matter. Our negotiation was null and void, but at least I hadn’t torn up the contract. No, Anna had screwed this one up all on her own.
Chapter 7
Oh Holy Awesome
Thanks to Anna giving my family the green light to stay as long as they wanted, two months later, my home was still full of visitors. Every single room was being used up by various relatives who’d decided to “visit” and refused to leave.
Anna’s parents were staying with Kiera and Kellan. Kiera said that was because our house was too crowded, but Anna let it slip that the real reason they were staying over there was because they preferred Kellan over me.
She didn’t say it quite like that. She’d merely said they “had a few issues with my personality.” What? I had an awesome personality, so that couldn’t really be it. They were just wrapped up in the Kellan Kyle fantasy, like everybody else.
That really irritated me. I was the coolest person I knew, and certainly Martin and Caroline would come to know that if they spent a little more time with me. I didn’t see what problem they could possibly have with me anyway. I’d married their daughter, given her an awesome home to live in, and impregnated her with two of my very best seeds. What more could they ask of a husband? I should be on their Most Awesome Person in the World list.
Anna had deep bags under her eyes as she bounced Onnika in her arms. “Griffin, I’ve had about as much of this as I can take. When are they leaving?”
We were in our room, where Onnika slept in a bassinet by the bed. We were eventually going to move her upstairs in a room next to Gibson, but Anna wasn’t ready to be that far away from her yet. Me either, although I was looking forward to having sex in my bed again. When Anna had felt ready to resume the horizontal mambo, we’d moved over to the closet to complete the act. I just couldn’t have sex in the same room as my kid, no matter the age. I never would have thought I’d have a sexual Achilles’ heel, but I guess I did.
I knew what Anna meant by her statement. Even with our bedroom door closed, I could hear people talking, laughing, shouting, running, watching TV, stomping, eating, playing, and somewhere, someone was crying. I needed a bigger house.
Shrugging, I told her, “I don’t know when they’re leaving. You kind of told them they could stay as long as they wanted. I think some of them are planning on moving in.” A few of my cousins had jokingly said that when they’d noticed the pool and tennis court. At least, I was pretty sure they were joking. I might have to deal with squatters in the near future.
Anna gave me a look born from exhaustion, a look that said she was frying my manhood in her mind. “I do not remember saying that. Or anything even close to that. I think you told them it was fine to stay longer, which goes against our negotiations. So, according to the rules, I have one free win to use at my discretion.”
Crossing my arms over my chest, I raised an eyebrow. “I didn’t say shit to anybody.” Except my sister, Chelsey, but I didn’t mention that. “You were the one feeling all lovey-dovey in the hospital.”
“I was doped up on baby juice. That doesn’t count.”
She closed her eyes, and I saw the tears forming. She was so tired. I’d told her in the beginning that she’d be less tired with everyone around, but that just wasn’t the case. Anna felt the need to entertain them, and while they did help with Onnika and Gibson during the day, Anna was still the one getting up all night long with Onnika. I’d tried to talk her into napping whenever she could, but she said it was too loud, she couldn’t sleep. I wished there was something I could do to help her, but I was stuck. She’d opened the hospitality doors, and I couldn’t shut them. Not on family.
Pulling Onnika from her arms, I gently placed her in the bassinet. She was such a beautiful baby—thick dark hair that curled at the ends, eyes that were turning greener every day, and pink chubby cheeks that must have been kissed fourteen million times by now. It was difficult to put her aside, but my wife was having a panic attack. I needed to soothe her.
Onnika was a pretty mellow baby, so she didn’t object too much when I put her down. Anna slumped over, like she had nothing left. I pulled her into my arms, and she loosely wrapped herself around me. “I can’t do this, Griffin,” she muttered while I stroked her back.
“Sure you can,” I told her. “You’re one of the toughest chicks I know, Anna. You deal with my shit, you handled being pregnant all on your own when you found out the first time, you started moving into management at Hooters until I started raking in the dough and you didn’t need to work. You’re an amazing mom to Gibson and a pretty fucktastic wife. There’s nothing you can’t do, babe.”
When I pulled back to look at her, she was smiling. “Yeah?”
Nodding, I leaned down to kiss her. “Yeah.” Our lips moved together for a few moment
s. When we pulled apart, I ran my lips to her ear. “I want to take you in the closet, run my hands all over you, sink myself inside your wet pussy, and stroke you until you fall apart. Then I want you to take a nap, while I handle the girls.”
I peeked over to her eyes, and they were glossier than before. She gave me a hard nod, like she really, really wanted what I’d just offered. I wasn’t sure which part she wanted most—the sex or the nap—but I didn’t care. The curves of her body were pressed against mine, and all I could think of was her nipple in my mouth, her hand around my cock. Fuck, I wanted her so bad.
We both looked over at Onnika in her bassinet. She was watching a mobile dangling above it. Anna turned it on so it would twirl and play music, then we headed over to the closet. Mom and Chelsey were entertaining Gibson, so I wasn’t worried about her needing anything as I closed the closet door. For once, Anna and I might be able to have sex during daylight hours without an interruption. Just the thought made me throb. God, I couldn’t wait to touch her.
There was a chaise lounge in our closet now. Or sex couch, as Liam called it. He was totally right too. It was a sex couch, and whenever I passed by it, my dick twitched. Anna yawned as she ran her hand over the back of the couch. I wondered if I’d be a better husband by leaving her alone so she could take a nap in here, but I wasn’t that awesome. I wanted sex.
She shimmied out of her yoga pants, then pulled her long-sleeved shirt over her head. She was wearing a lacy red bra and matching underwear, and I instantly stopped worrying about just letting her sleep. No one who didn’t want to be nailed wore underclothes like that. “Fuck, baby, you look amazing.”
“Yeah?” A tired smile brightened her face as she ran her hands over her curves. She wasn’t back to her pre-baby body yet, but I didn’t fucking care. What she was showing me right now was hotter than the rest of the female population. If I didn’t get inside her soon, I might need surgery to correct the internal damage going on.
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