My head spun at how fast that shit happened.
It also spun at how well it had done. It debuted at eighty-eight on the Hot 100 for mainstream rock. It was now sitting pretty at fifteen. We were all fucking floored. We were essentially nobodies. Unknowns. Yet we were chilling in the top twenty with the likes of Linkin Park, Theory of a Deadman, and Papa Roach.
It was un-fucking-believable. We’d had a fairly significant following started with our YouTube videos, but it had only gone up from there. The studio couldn’t get over how quickly our fan base had grown. We were in the press damn near every day. They were calling us the hottest rock band in years.
What had sucked was being away from Poppy and missing more of her pregnancy—the pregnancy that I had already missed the entire first six months of. The difference was, I didn’t know what I was missing then. These last couple of months, I did.
“Levi.” Her breathless exclamation of my name as I walked in the door of the condo had my heart racing. Sitting on the couch, her feet propped up on the coffee table, she was cute as hell in her hot pink PJs.
Standing had taken her a while before. It had only gotten worse the further along she got. My heart went out to her, because it hurt to see her uncomfortable.
Her doctor had been after her for the weight she gained since she had to stop running. She was nuts, because Poppy looked amazing. Then again, it didn’t matter if she was rolling out of bed in the morning, no makeup, hair a matted mess, and had creases from the pillow on her face, I still thought she was beautiful.
Love shone in her golden eyes as she rested a hand on her heart. The magnitude of emotion she evoked in me was so great, it almost brought me to my knees.
“Wait. Let me help you.” Dropping my bag, I rushed over to the couch when she began to awkwardly scoot to the edge of the cushion in preparation to stand. Once she was on her feet, I pulled her into my arms and buried my nose in her hair. “Goddammit, I fucking missed you.”
Flying back once every couple of weeks wasn’t even close to being enough. The only thing it had shown me was that I was a miserable fuck without her. Days without her were long, cold, and devoid of color. This was only the third time I’d made it down since leaving to record the album.
When we started on the road in May, I was going to have to find a way to deal, because we were not a big-name band yet with massive resources. Though we were gaining popularity faster than any band in history, we were still just an opening band for that big-name band. Unfortunately, that didn’t include a fancy tour bus with all the bells and whistles.
“Hell, I missed you too. I wish you would have let me pick you up from the airport.” When she tightened her arms around me, it pushed her giant basketball belly into me. Our huge little girl was quick to tell me she didn’t appreciate being smashed.
“You ready for tomorrow?” Tomorrow she was getting induced. I’d cut it to the wire, but when I’d booked my flight she had been doing well and no induction date had been set. She had hovered on the edge of a preeclampsia diagnosis this whole time. Over the last week symptoms had finally eased to the point they were no longer talking about hospitalizing her. Luckily, she’d improved. They were still watching her, but she’d been able to stay home. They’d scheduled the induction for tomorrow because her doctor decided she’d rather not risk her swinging onto the side of preeclampsia again.
“Hell, yeah. I can’t wait to hold our sweet little girl.”
Pulling back, I pressed a kiss to her nose, then her lips. “You have your bag packed?”
“Uh, yeah, like for the last month.” Laughing at her dry response, I gave her a last kiss before grabbing my bag from where I’d dropped it by the door. I’d bought something I couldn’t wait to show her.
“I’m sorry I’m getting here so late. I wished we’d known about the induction date before I booked this flight. Now we pretty much need to go straight to bed so we can get up in time. But I cannot wait to hold you again.” Unzipping my small travel bag, I dug for my purchase.
“Mmm, yes. Bed sounds amazing. Especially if we’re going to be naked.” Turning my head to meet her gaze, I couldn’t help the dirty thoughts that popped into my head at her words. Evidently, those obscene thoughts raced right down to my dick. Having to adjust myself as I stood upright, I groaned inwardly at the need I had for her.
“What do you think?” Holding up the little black onesie T-shirt with matching tiny jeans, I raised an eyebrow waiting for her response.
“Oh, my God.” Both hands covered her mouth and the sweetest laughter escaped around them. Reaching out, she grinned. “Where on earth did you get that?”
Holding it up, she touched all the little details. I glanced her way and watched as her face lit up with appreciation of my choice. The little black shirt said, “I’m with the band,” in a gray, childlike font. Then it had the band’s simple logo of “Straight Wicked” in some fancy-ass script, enclosed in an oval. Nodding in self-congratulation, I couldn’t keep from flashing her a huge fucking grin.
“I had it made. I figured she could wear it home, along with these….” When she took the outfit to check it out closer, I pulled out the little black socks with a drum kit embroidered on the toes of each one and beanie with a crossed guitar and bass guitar. “The guys had these made. They wanted part of her outfit to be from her ‘uncles,’ and I didn’t have the heart to tell them no.” At her squeal, I knew she loved them. The guys would be happy as fuck at that news.
Fuck, I was proud. And so damn excited. Yeah, I was scared shitless of messing up and possibly fucking up my little girl’s head, but I vowed to do the best I could.
My parents had been a pretty amazing example of what great parents should be like, so I liked to think I had pretty good role models for parenting. “Mom and Dad will be here on the earliest flight they were able to book. They may miss the delivery, depending on how fast she moves out, but they’ll be here tomorrow to see our little girl. Mom said to tell you she loves you and she knows you’ll do just fine.”
“God, you have no idea how glad I am that they don’t hate me.” Chewing on her bottom lip, she dropped her gaze to the floor before returning it to me. After I tossed my bag to the couch, I threaded my fingers through the soft hair at her scalp and pulled her to me. In a teasing manner, I bit her lip to get her attention, then soothed it with a chaste kiss.
“How could they hate you? You were the daughter they never had. You’ve made two of their sons happier than they’d ever been. It’s not like you were with both of us at once. Life handed you and all of us some shitty circumstances. None of us would have chosen for things to play out the way they did. If Lucas was still here, I would have never let on how I felt about you. I may never have found anyone that I loved as much as I loved you, but no one would’ve been the wiser. The thing is, Lucas isn’t here. I fucking miss him every goddamn day, but I’ll be damned if I’m going to make us both miserable to make society happy.” Mom and Poppy had been talking almost daily, trying to come up with a name that she liked. So far, we’d settled on Larissa Marie. Knowing her, she may change her mind as she was pushing.
“What if the tabloids and shit get wind of our history and it messes things up for the band?”
“Hell, who cares? Besides, this is rock and roll… people expect rock stars to make waves. Right? We’ll cross that bridge when we come to it. Just like I’ll have to figure out how to handle being away from the two of you while we’re on the road. Now, come on, let’s get you two to bed. You have a lot of work to do tomorrow.” Grabbing her hand, I led the way to the bedroom.
Swear to fucking God, I had no intention of doing anything but holding her. But when she stood before me and peeled her top off and dropped her sleeping pants, my dick stood at attention. I even tried to ignore it and turned back the sheets, thinking she just wanted to sleep naked.
When I climbed in bed and she crawled in after me and straddled me, I knew I was in trouble. “Poppy. I don’t think this is a good idea.
You’re getting induced tomorrow.” Running my itching fingers absently along her skin, I gazed up at her.
Like a goddess, her dark hair hung in waves around her shoulders. Those unique eyes of hers seemed to glow in the dim light cast from the small lamp on the nightstand. There was a light flush to her cheeks that makeup could never duplicate. Arching in front of me, her belly was so naturally beautiful—like that was exactly how God intended a woman to look. Long fingers twined with mine where they finally rested on her thighs.
“I think this is a terrific idea.” Full lips tipped up with barely perceptible movement. “Levi, I love you. After she’s born, it’s going to be six whole weeks before we can do this again. Please… let me have tonight.”
“Then we’ll have to get creative for six weeks. I don’t want to do something to hurt you tonight.”
She dropped down to hold her weight on her hands and run her tongue up my neck and along my jaw. My breathing sped up, becoming a gasp when she tugged my earlobe between her teeth. I was almost hyperventilating when she ground her warm, wet, bare pussy against my already straining cock. “Jesus,” I whispered as my eyes rolled in my head.
“No, just your girlfriend,” she whispered in my ear, allowing her lips to feather up and back down the edge. Grasping her hips to halt any further grinding from her pelvis, I tried but failed to stay still. Like it had a mind of its own, my stiff erection slid through her slippery cleft when my hips rose.
“God-fucking-damn.” Groaning at how good she felt, I told her, “Aren’t you supposed to be watching your activity so you don’t spike your blood pressure, babe?”
Small white teeth bit softly along my jawline and my mental capacity began to plummet.
“My blood pressure has been great for my last three checkups. We’re only inducing now as a precautionary measure. If it makes you feel better, I’ll go slow. Please? We’ve been so good. It’s been a month since we’ve even messed around. I’m going crazy here. I need you.” Scooting down until she was sitting over my thighs, she flicked her little pink tongue over my nipples, and I wanted to push her down further until that mouth of hers wrapped around my aching cock.
I’d been so good the last time I was here. Like a fucking saint, I fended off her advances and just enjoyed our time together. A month of getting intimate with nothing but my own damn hand, however, sucked. With her hands all over me, I was bordering on desperation. Especially with what she was doing to me with that tongue.
Calling on every last bit of patience I had, I literally shook when her slender hand gripped my rock-hard shaft and gently teased my piercing. “Jesus, fuck. You really need to stop while you still can.”
The corners of her mouth tipped up in a way that spelled trouble. When I saw her slowly shake her head and walk forward on her knees over me, I knew I was a fucking goner.
Still holding me in her hand, she flicked the tip through her slick opening before lowering herself down. So damn slow.
I couldn’t even tell you what the fuck I was saying by that time.
Pretty sure it was just bliss-induced muttering. Maybe a foreign language. Shit, I could have been speaking in tongues. Who the fuck knew? All I knew was my cock was seated in her glorious pussy for the first time in over a long damn month. And it felt like fucking Nirvana.
I take that back. When she started to move and I was sliding in and out? That. That, my friends, was fucking Nirvana.
Worshipping her, I skimmed along her softly rounded hips, curved around her belly to trace the very few, tiny stretch marks that were testament to her nurturing of our child. Cupping her full breasts, I lifted them and rolled her nipples between my thumbs and middle fingers. Tipping her head back, she whimpered as she paused for a millisecond before starting to grind on my length.
“Oh my fuck. Holy shit, I’ve missed this.” Breathy and soft, her words melted over me.
By this time her palms were flat on my chest and her hips were moving in such a way that I was using every motherfucking ounce of control I had to let her set the pace. Heart slamming against my ribcage, I was on the verge of shoving up into her and fucking the hell out of her. “God, yes. Levi, you feel so damn goooood.” Everything out of her mouth was sultry and sexy; her eyes closed and her luscious lips parted in shallow pants.
“That’s it,” I gasped. “If we end up in the emergency room having this baby tonight, don’t say I didn’t warn you.” Surging up into her tight sheath, I felt the familiar tingle and tightening in my spine as it shot up to my head and down to my balls. Swelling, my cock was on the verge of exploding deep inside her, but she hadn’t come yet.
Hating myself, I lifted her off me and felt the cold absence immediately. Flipping her as carefully as I could, I turned her onto her knees and pushed her head down to the pillow.
“Yessss… fuck me, Levi. Fuck me with that big pierced cock.” Sweet Jesus in heaven.
“You want to talk dirty to me, huh?” Palming her ass, I dug my fingers into her luscious hips and ran both thumbs from her clit to her puckered opening. Rimming it, I watched her clench as she whined.
Between the sight and her sounds, my cock had had enough and began to bounce as it swelled and ached to be back in her. Lining myself up, I paused briefly. “You ready, baby? This is what you wanted. Right?”
“Yesssss. Fuck, Levi. Please!” I could feel her trying to push her hips back toward me, but I held firm. Slipping the tip of my dick in and out, just to the piercing, I teased her mercilessly. When she growled my name, I darkly chuckled before giving her exactly what she wanted.
With a powerful thrust, I slid home. That sweet goddamn pussy of hers gripped me tight and I fucked her for all I was worth. Now let’s be realistic here. Though it felt like I buried myself in her heaven at least a hundred times, it was probably only about fifteen strokes before I felt her body tense, then her inner walls grabbed me tight and began to pulse hard and rapidly around me. After that, I was done.
“Fuuuuuucccckkkk.” With a last growling roar, I pushed deep and shot what felt like a gallon of cum up against her cervix. Fuck, if she wasn’t already pregnant, she would’ve been after that explosion. It may have been the best goddamn orgasm of my life.
My damn muscles were shaking like I’d been in the gym all fucking day. With my head tipped back, I studied the ceiling and tried my damnedest to catch my breath. I wanted to stay inside her forever. Just like we were. Unfortunately, I worried we had probably already overdone it, so I cautiously slipped out of my favorite place in the whole damn world.
I received great satisfaction from seeing a little of myself running out of her and down the inside of her thighs. Wanting to mark her forever, I held my hand over her swollen mound and smoothed our mixed cum into her soft skin from pussy to thigh.
“Mmmmm. That was amazing. Can we do it again?” Her murmured request had me breathlessly laughing as I gave her a playful smack on the ass.
“How are you feeling, baby?” I was fucking terrified I’d been too rough and that we really were going to end up rushing to the damn ER.
“I’mmm abso-fucking-lutely fabu-fucking-lous.” Her ass was still in the air, so I gently helped her to her side and spooned her back into my front. It was impossible to resist touching her as I slid my hand over her hip and along her taut belly in a tender caress.
“Your skin is like silk. I can never get enough of just feeling you.” I wrapped my arm around her and tucked my hand into her cleavage before raining love bites along her shoulder.
“If you don’t quit that, I’m going to have to jump on that cock again.” It was funny as hell that her words were spoken so matter-of-factly. Chuckling with the curve of her neck still between my teeth, I teased her with the tip of my tongue.
“I’m drawing the line. You need rest and so do I. Seriously, babe, how’s your head? Any headaches?”
She slowly shook her head as she murmured, “Mm-mm.”
I settled in, my mind wandering as silence surrounded us. Tomorrow—no,
a glance at the clock on her bedside table said it was already after midnight—today, I was going to be a father. It still seemed a surreal concept.
Listening to the even breaths and light snores coming from her mommy, I spoke to my baby girl as I dropped my hand to touch the curve of her abdomen. “Larissa Marie—Daddy cannot wait to hold you tomorrow. I’m going to spoil you rotten, but I’ll beat the shit out of any boy who thinks he’s going to get near you.” A big thump against my hand had me smiling like a loon.
Eyelids growing heavy, I nestled my nose to the nape of her neck. Shoving down the feeling that things weren’t going to go the way we thought they were tomorrow, I breathed in her calming scent and dozed off.
“Welcome to Reality”—Pop Evil
“I’ve been waiting for this day for months. I thought I was ready. I said I couldn’t wait. But, Levi, I’m scared. So many things can go wrong. What if something happens? What if I die? Women die every day giving birth. What if I die?” Panic was creeping into my thoughts, and my lungs didn’t seem to be cooperating when I tried to breathe. Clasping his hand in a death grip, I wildly scanned the room before my gaze landed on the nurse as she quietly laid out the necessary crap to start my IV.
Dr. Evans had already been in to explain the process to me again and to make sure Levi understood what to expect. Also to make sure he was going to be okay and wasn’t going to pass out. At that moment, he was calmer than I was. They’d already prepped, poked, and violated me, checking to be sure everything was “good to go.”
“Sweetheart, everything is going to be fine. Please tell her she has nothing to worry about?” I didn’t miss the pleading look in his eyes as he spoke the last to the nurse. Glancing up briefly from where she was about to stick a needle in my vein, she smiled.
“Ms. Pritchard, everything will be fine. We do this every day. Even if anything happens to go wrong, we have some of the best staff and technology in Florida. You’re in good hands. Before you know it, you’ll be holding this little girl and all the rest of it will be a fuzzy memory. Okay?” As soon as I gave her a hesitant nod, she told me I was going to feel a big poke and before it even registered, she had the IV started, the tubing hooked up and fluids running cold into my arm. Next was an elastic belt, strapping a flat thing to my belly and hooked to a machine to see how my contractions were progressing—once they started that was.
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