by Lucy Gage
Until he realized what he’d done, and then he felt awful.
Rob and Emily were diplomatic, alternating hosting duties between the two groups. Regardless, it must have made Nina uncomfortable to be there, because after a couple of hours, he heard Meg tell Emily that she’d head home with Nina. Despite Em’s protests that, once the Deacons arrived, the place would be chaotic and distracting, Meg insisted it was time to leave, now. They’d return for the wedding tomorrow.
Liam shifted his weight to stand. Rob put his hand firmly on his best friend’s arm and gave a little shake to his head. Instead, Rob stood, walked over to Emily’s friends and offered to walk them to the car with his fiancée.
As she left the deck, Nina sadly smiled at him and it broke his heart. If it hadn’t meant being with the love of his life and his child, Liam couldn’t have walked away from her so easily.
He wondered if she knew that. Or if it really mattered.
**********
After the cousins left, the mood lifted. Though Liam hadn’t been around Jenna and Reggie at the same time before, they’d always known the score. Unlike Nina, who’d been blindsided by Jenna and her role in Liam’s life.
At one point, when Jenna used the bathroom, Reggie pulled him aside and said, “I always knew you were in love with her, you know. She told me how things were between you and I knew it wasn’t like that with us. We were never very serious, but after you met Jenna, you were disconnected.”
“I never meant to use you.”
“I know that. Even if you knew you loved her, you were too chicken to do anything about it. If I wasn’t okay with how things were, I’d have stopped talking to you. I wasn’t in love with you. Don’t think you hurt me the way Nina is hurting.”
“You think Nina was in love with me?” Liam was horrified at the thought that he’d been so cruel as to crush her like that, even without meaning to do it.
She hesitated. “No, but I think Nina thought there was the potential for that to happen between you. I never believed that even before Jenna, but especially after.”
Liam rubbed the heel of his hands into his eyes and swiped his palms down his face. “I’m an asshole.”
“You’re not. Would you have spoken to Nina if you knew Jenna was having your baby?”
“No. If I knew Jenna still wanted me around, I wouldn’t even have called you when I went to New York. I thought she’d moved on by then. I should have called her. I’m such a fucking idiot.”
“Don’t be hard on yourself. Men can’t help but be idiots.”
Liam laughed. “Thanks.” That was one reason he’d always liked Reggie, she was good for a laugh.
Chapter 26
When Jenna returned, Liam finally relaxed into affectionate behavior with her, the way he’d instinctively wanted to act. He felt guilty, but he was relieved that Nina had decided to leave early. His heart couldn’t take seeing her in pain.
He walked with Jenna to her rental car so he could retrieve her bags and bring them to his room. At the car, Liam sat against the hood and drew her to him. Wrapping his arms around her as best he could, he kissed her the way he’d hoped to kiss her for months. When they pulled apart, they were breathing heavily, gazing at one another with months of lust in their eyes.
“I don’t think saying I missed you begins to cover it,” he said.
She shook her head. “Do you think they’d notice if we stay upstairs for a little while?”
“Is it okay for you to have sex while you’re this pregnant?”
“I can have sex until my water breaks.”
“Wow. I’ve never had sex with a pregnant woman before.”
She hooked her fingers on his waistband. “Well, guess what? Not only do you get to stop worrying about getting her pregnant, when that woman is going to be your wife, you can stop worrying about how many partners you have. I know you never have sex without condoms and I haven’t had sex with anyone but you since the day I met you.”
“Are you saying you want to have sex without protection?”
“I’m telling you that I want you to take me upstairs and show me how much you missed me. And if you even think about taking out a condom, I’ll cry.”
His dick stiffened instantly. “Damn. How can I say no?”
She laughed. “You can’t.” She unlocked the car so they could remove her bags and then stepped out of the way so he could lift her suitcase from the trunk.
Liam brought her to his room and pulled her suitcase into the corner. When he turned, Jenna had tears in her eyes. He ran to her, touching her face and wiping a tear that had escaped.
“What’s wrong?”
“Did you…did you sleep with her in here?”
“What? Nina? No. Until last week, she lived near us and I stayed with her. She was…busy this week so she hadn’t stayed here with me yet. You’ll be the first and the only.”
“Promise?” she said through the tears.
“Promise. I love you. Only you. No one else. There will never again be anyone else.” He hugged her, rubbing her back.
She sniffed, “I’m sorry. Pregnancy hormones make me an emotional wreck half the time.”
Liam stepped back and looked at her, his hands on her face.
“Don’t apologize. I’ll spend the rest of my life making up for the fact that I was too stupid to hold on to you tightly from the beginning. I will never be unfaithful again, okay? Now are you gonna help me christen this bed?”
She sniffed, smiled and nodded. Liam closed the door softly and when he turned, she was backing him into it. “I can’t really shove you against the door and have the same effect when my belly is this big.”
“I’ll pretend that’s what you did, then. You’re going to have to tell me what’s okay and what isn’t. I’m new to all this,” he said, brushing her hair from her face and caressing her jaw.
As she kissed him gently, she said, “Well, the good news is that my hormones make me horny all the time and it doesn’t take much to get me excited. Oral sex is okay, but you have to be careful about blowing air inside me. You can touch me, and sex doesn’t hurt him. Neither do orgasms. I can’t be on my back at this stage, though. We’ll have to be creative.”
“What are we waiting for, then?”
“Not a damn thing. Come here.” She pulled him toward her by his waistband and began undressing him, yanking his shirt from his pants. He whipped the shirt up over his head and she sighed. “I’ve always loved watching you do that. You’re so sexy. I missed you.” She ran her fingers down his chest and over his abs.
Liam swallowed hard. It was almost as nerve-wracking as it was their first time. He unbuttoned her maternity shirt, a pretty, pink, flowing, cotton thing with buttons all the way over her belly. She looked suddenly uncomfortable.
“What’s the matter? Are you okay? You’re not thinking about me with anyone else, are you?”
She bit her lip. “No. But…Liam, I don’t look the way I did the last time you saw me naked.”
“That’s a given, considering the last time I saw you naked was the day we conceived this baby. I don’t care if your body isn’t perfect, Jenna. That’s my baby in there. I’m the reason your body looks this way. I just wish I’d gotten to see your belly as it grew.”
He gave her a sad smile.
“I wish I had called you…”
“Let’s just try to get past it, okay? Now let me finish what I was doing,” he said as he unfastened the last few buttons.
Her breasts were huge. Jenna hadn’t been small-busted before, but she had to have gone up at least a couple sizes. She wore a pink, lacy bra that was insanely sexy.
“Bet you’re glad you went up a size instead of down.” She sounded annoyed.
“What are you talking about?”
“Nina has big tits, Liam. Don’t think I didn’t notice.”
“Stop, Jenna. Don’t bring other women into our bed.”
“I won’t if you don’t.”
“I didn’t like Nin
a for her breasts. And I loved yours before you got pregnant. They were perfect. I just didn’t realize how much bigger they were now. I could tell they were bigger when I first saw you, but I wasn’t prepared for how much they’d grown.” He grinned. “I get to try out the real version of what all those fake women pay so much money to have.”
“So do I, and they’re a bitch to carry around. Don’t think this is a permanent thing.”
He shook his head. “Nope. I won’t. But at least I get them like this every time you’re pregnant.”
“Every time? You think you’re going to get me pregnant lots of times, do you?”
“Well, at least one more…” he said, kissing her sweetly.
“Okay, that I could do. After that, we’ll talk. Now let me undress you. I want to see you naked.”
“Anything you want…”
She unbuckled his belt and undressed him as she had the first time dropping his pants to the floor. Then she slipped his boxers over his hips and his erection – which became steel when it saw her breasts – and she sighed again.
“I thought a lot about you and what you do to me when you’re naked.”
“Keep talking like that and I won’t last long. I missed you too much.”
“As if you haven’t had sex recently?”
“Jenna…”
“Okay, okay. It’s going to take some time for me to really get over it. You know that, right?”
“I know,” he said, rubbing her arms. “But we both have to get past the mistakes we made and try to build our life together from here forward. I did a lot of stupid shit to you. I never hurt you on purpose, but that doesn’t mean I didn’t hurt you. I hope you know that I mean it when I say that you’re it for me. You were always more than enough. I don’t know why I couldn’t get over myself. Now, you have to let me finish undressing you. Because I want to see you naked, too. I don’t care if you look different. I still love you. I’ll always love you.”
She gave him a shy smile.
He pushed her shirt off her shoulders and then slid maternity pants over her hips. The reward was a pair of matching, sexy pink panties underneath.
“How could you think that I wouldn’t find you sexy because you’re pregnant? You’re a very sexy pregnant woman. It’s a big turn-on to know that I did this to you. I’m glad no one else got to see you naked while you’re like this. I don’t want anyone else to see my pregnant wife naked.”
She laughed. “Well, too late for that. My OB/GYN already saw the important bits and will likely see the rest.” Liam’s eyes grew wide. “Liam! You know they can’t deliver the baby if they don’t look.”
“Oh. Right.”
“And you said pregnant wife.”
“Well, you’re going to marry me, aren’t you?”
“Only if you ask. And I don’t mean, ‘Do you want to marry me?’ I mean really ask, with a ring and everything. Until then, I’m your girlfriend and your baby mama.”
“You wait. I’ll surprise you with a proposal when you least expect it.”
She grabbed his hips and moved closer. “Good. I can’t wait.” Her expression got lusty in an instant. “I can’t wait to make love to you. Kiss me. Touch me. Make me come like only you can.”
Liam shuddered. She knew how to push his buttons. “God, you always know how to get me going.” He kissed her, tongue plunging inside her mouth. Cupping one of her huge breasts in one hand, he ran his hand over her stomach with the other. At the bottom of her tight belly, he found her panties and he pushed his fingers inside them. He smiled when he felt perfectly groomed pubic hair.
“What?” she asked when she felt him smile.
“You had a bikini wax before you came out here,” he said as he kissed her neck and glided his fingers inside her. God, she was so wet.
She moaned. “Yes. I hoped you’d want me again. I bought new sexy underwear and made sure I was nice and groomed the way I know turns you on.”
That made him even harder. “Oh, God, Jenna. How could I have ever thought I’d want anyone but you? You’re perfect, you know that?” He kissed her, hard and pushed his fingers deeper.
“Take me to bed, Liam. Let me make love to you,” she breathed, “I need you inside me.”
Turning her around, he left his hands between her thighs as he kissed her neck and walked her to the bed. Rubbing her clit, he squeezed her breast with its rock-hard nipple. Then he unclasped her bra and removed her panties noting that she looked almost no different from behind.
“God, you’re beautiful,” he muttered.
He rotated her to face him and stared at her, fully naked, this woman he loved to the core of his soul, swollen with his baby in her belly. She was the most stunning thing he had ever seen. “I have never in my life seen anyone more beautiful than you at this very moment. How’d I get so lucky to find you?”
She smiled. “It’s a good thing you were working that day.”
“Best thing to ever happen to me. Tell me what you need me to do. You always get to call the shots.”
Her grin grew wider. “Yes, I do. Lie on the bed and let me ride you. We’ll find other ways later, but I know that will get me off and it’s safe for the baby.”
“Whatever you want. For the rest of your life, whatever you want,” Liam agreed as he followed her instructions.
Jenna mounted his hips and said, “Promise?”
“Promise,” he replied as he kissed her. She eased onto him and moaned. It felt so very good to be inside her again after he’d waited seven months. He couldn’t even recall what it had been like with Nina. Not when it was him and Jenna and nothing between them. As she slowly moved up and down, he groaned, “My God, why didn’t I have sex with you without condoms before?”
She laughed. “Because you were trying to avoid this baby in my belly. That’s why.”
He caressed her breasts and she whimpered when he rolled her nipples between his fingers. They must be more sensitive now.
“Somehow, while I’m inside you, that doesn’t seem relevant. Promise me we never have to use condoms again. This is a million times better than before and you were amazing before.”
“Just concentrate on this for now. Can I ride you harder?”
“God, yes. I love it when you do that.” She picked up the pace and he pulled her hips toward his, drove deeper each time.
He’d missed long, slow, intimate lovemaking. It had only ever been like this with Jenna, and he realized that he preferred it.
She tensed. “Oh, Liam, you’re going to make me come. Can you come with me? I want you to come with me.”
Fuck, yeah. And that he’d missed most of all, having a chance to hear her say that he was making her feel as good as he did.
It got him off every time.
“Yes. I love you, Jenna. I love you so much,” he groaned as they came together. She cried out her love for him and he saw her belly move. “Holy shit, what was that?” he asked, panting.
She laughed, breathless. “He feels it too.”
“No way.”
She nodded. “He likes it when I get off.”
“Your vibrator get a good workout the past seven months?” It made him think about that video. He’d ask her about those later.
“I had to buy a new one. That one broke, I used it so much.” When Liam’s eyes grew wide, she laughed. “What? Pregnancy hormones make me horny. Expect to get laid often.”
She swung her leg over him and lay on her side, with her head propped on her hand. He rolled so he was facing her.
“I missed your laugh, your smile, your lips and your hair, your breasts, your ass, your tight pussy, and your smart mouth. I missed everything about you, every day, even when I was with Nina. I thought about you constantly. She was right; pregnant or not, I’d have left her for you if you wanted me back.”
“She said that?” Liam nodded. “And you mean it? You’d have walked away from her for me?”
“If you weren’t pregnant, I’d have felt worse about it, becaus
e then I’m not being a good father, I’m just being a selfish dick. But, yes, I’d have done it. I love you that much, Jenna. I’ve never really loved anyone but you.”
Jenna touched his face. “You plan to tell me that every day?”
He kissed her. “As often as you need it. I don’t want you to ever again wonder how I really feel about you. You’re the only one who ever truly meant anything to me.”
“If I didn’t come back to you, would you have stayed with Nina and fallen in love with her?”
“Maybe. There’s a good chance, yes. But you did come back to me, and I’ll be forever grateful. I don’t think my heart would have been whole if it wasn’t you by my side every night for the rest of my life. Something would have always been missing.”
“My heart is only whole because of you, too. I love you. We don’t have to get married if you’re still not ready.”
Liam smiled. “I’m ready. I want our baby to have my name.”
“He could still have your name.”
“I don’t care, I want you to have my name, too. When we walk into the hospital to have this baby, I don’t want anyone telling me I don’t have a right to make decisions about you or our baby if it comes to that. I want you to be my wife, to spend the rest of my life with you. There’s no point in waiting until later. So when do you want to get married?”
“You still have to ask. Do you want to get married here?”
Liam smiled. She wasn’t going to let the formal proposal go. They talked about the logistics of getting married on Monday. It made sense, given that most everyone they wanted to be at their wedding would either already be in Maine or could easily travel here in a couple days. Finding an alternative officiant would be a requirement, since Nina was the one marrying Rob and Emily, but they’d iron out those details later.
Meanwhile, they took advantage of a little more alone time. After, Jenna lay beside him, caressed his face, ran her fingers over his scar. She traced it gently. “I missed you,” she sighed.
He smiled at her. “I am the biggest idiot in the world. I should have proposed to you the day I met you. You’re perfect for me.”
“Don’t you ever forget it again.”