The Legacy series: The Love series, the Wrapped series, and the Burning Souls series.

by Mj Fields

  He sat her on the bed. He took a box out of the desk drawer and knelt down.

  ���Tessa Ross I love you, and I want to spend the rest of my life with you. I want to wake up to you every morning and go to sleep next to you every night, I want to raise a family together, and love you forever. Baby, will you marry me?���

  She stared down at him and searched his eyes. She looked at his beautiful face, and his perfect lips, his green eyes that sparkled when he looked at her.

  ���You���re sure? I mean ������ Lucas closed his eyes and his brows knit together, ���Of course I will. Yes Lucas ��� I���ll marry you.���

  Lucas took her face in his hand and kissed her gently. Everything about him was gentler now. His kiss, his touch, and the way he looked at her.

  He rubbed her gently spreading her as he kissed and nibbled down her throat. He gently took her nipple between his lips as his tongue teasingly licked her.

  ���God, I love you,��� he whispered as he raised his body over hers and held himself rubbing gently against her wet warmth.

  He pushed in tenderly. His teeth clenched, eyes shut tightly, breath hissing as he pushed into her over and over and over again.

  When they finished, he lay beside her and kissed her.

  ���I am the luckiest man on the planet Tessa Ross. I love you.���

  Tessa laughed, ���Lucas Links, you���re so sweet, I love you.���

  * * *

  As they drove towards home, Tessa was looking out the window deep in thought.

  ���Lucas you know you didn���t have to do that because I���m pregnant,��� Tessa looked at the ring.

  It was beautiful, much like the last one but bigger and shinier.

  ���Tessa, the ring has been in my drawer for two weeks now��� he laughed. ���I was going to wait until Christmas Eve or the day we moved into our new apartment, which by the way we���re going to see now.���

  ���Hold on what did you just say?���

  ���I found a place, that���s available on the fifteenth of December, it���s a safe neighborhood, and it is beautiful Tessa. Please don���t be mad,��� he grabbed her hand.

  She didn���t pull it away. She had more than her to worry about now.

  ���Did you already get it Lucas?���

  ���Would you be angry if I did?���

  ���I wouldn���t say angry, annoyed possibly,��� she said still admiring the ring and smiling. She was so happy she was wrong, he did love her and she couldn���t doubt it again ��� it hurt too much.

  * * *

  He pulled in and parked in front of a row of townhouses. He jumped out and opened the door.

  ���Come look, Baby,��� he was so excited, like a kid on Christmas Eve.

  She took his hand and couldn���t help but smile. Lucas smile was contagious and could change the world, she was sure of it, it changed hers.

  They walked in the front door into a small foyer. There were hardwood floors throughout, the kitchen was in the back, and straight ahead to the left was a den and the right a dining room. It was bright and new and freshly painted. Off of the kitchen was the living room with a fireplace and a bathroom. The kitchen was completely modern and beautiful. There were French doors leading to a deck and a fenced in backyard.

  He watched her as she looked around trying to anticipate what she was thinking, how she would react. She walked upstairs without saying a word. There were two small bedrooms and a bathroom between them. Across the hall was the master suite which was amazing and resembled Lucas���s bedroom back home.

  She took a deep breath and hugged herself looking around. He put his arms around her.

  ���Is this okay?���

  ���It���s beautiful, but Lucas we can���t afford this,��� she said. ���We have to be smart with money.���

  ���Tessa, I made enough money this summer to cover this,��� he kissed her check.

  ���I want you to finish college Lucas, please.���

  ���Why is that so important to you?���

  ���You worked hard for it. I don���t want to take that away from you ever, I wouldn���t ever be alright with that. Do you understand that?��� she turned around and looked at him.

  ���Tessa if I promise you I���ll finish school, will you promise me we can live here?���

  ���No,��� she shook her head. ���I won���t let your father help us.���

  ���I won���t ask for his help. I have asked him once for my mother that���s it. I���ll even give him back the credit card if you want.���

  ���Well then how?���

  ���I have money Tessa. I told you I���ve worked. I have a college fund that I haven���t even touched yet because of my scholarship, we��� he said and touched her stomach and smiled. ���We will all be fine.���

  ���I want to see that in black and white before I agree. I���ll get a job ��� too, to pay my own way.���

  He smiled. ���Let me take care of you. Come on Tessa, don���t be stubborn. Tell me you like it.���

  ���I like it,��� she said, ���But I can be just as happy somewhere far less extravagant.���

  ���Tessa say yes ��� let me off the hook here, baby,��� Lucas pleaded.

  ���Okay yes, but after I know what half of everything is.���

  He picked her up and spun her around. He handed her the other key and smiled.

  ���You���re such a jerk,��� she playfully smacked him in the arm.

  He kissed her, and they made love on the bedroom floor.

  She lay there and started to fall asleep.

  ���You���re tired Tessa.���

  ���Yes, I have been a lot lately,��� she said quietly as she forced herself to sit up and get dressed.

  As they drove home, he handed her his checkbook. She shook her head as she looked at the balance, and again when she saw that he had already paid six months��� worth of rent.

  ���I pay the utilities,��� she said.

  He laughed. ���We can move in anytime Tessa, I think maybe you should tell your parents.���

  ���What am I supposed to say?���

  ���I���m going to move in with a roommate?��� he laughed.

  ���Or how about Lucas and I are young and stupid and having a baby when we usually break up every three months,��� she said quietly.

  He didn���t respond he just shook his head and raised his eyebrow. He pulled into a steakhouse. He opened her door, and she got out. She looked up at him apologetically; she hadn���t meant to say it out loud.

  He kissed her and then lifted her chin, ���You���re definitely going to be a lot of fun, let���s go eat.���

  * * *

  When they got back home Lucas dropped her off and headed back to Ryan and Jades, he was going to study, finals were this week.

  Tessa walked in and lay on the couch and fell asleep.

  Ben walked in and saw her sleeping; he saw the ring on her finger and closed his eyes. He couldn���t believe she was going to have a child with him and marry him. He shook his head as he continued watching her sleep. She opened her eyes and saw him sitting there.

  ���So you���re going to marry him?���

  She sat up and yawned, ���I love him Ben, and now, well, yes I am. Please don���t tell anyone. We���re going to wait until I���ve gone to the doctors and after the first trimester is over.���

  ���What about school Tess? What about you, God ���
you don���t even look happy?��� He was angry. ���You know you don���t have to marry him just because you���re pregnant.���

  ���Ben, I told you I love him,��� she said softly.

  ���How can you when he has hurt you so many times?���

  ���I just do, and now I don���t have a choice, and even if I did, Ben ��� I don���t know��� it is what it is,��� she said and stood up and walked in the bathroom and she threw up again.

  She walked out, and he walked downstairs with his bags.

  ���Where are you going?���

  ���To camp,��� he said.

  ���Ben, please talk to me.���

  ���Tess, I can���t watch him screw you up anymore,��� he walked past her to the door.

  ���Ben, please.���

  ���Tess, please stop crying,��� he dropped his bag and hugged her.

  ���Please don���t hate me,��� she said quietly.

  ���I would never, but I need to go, your secret is safe with me. Get to a doctor,��� he kissed her cheek and left.

  She sat and thought about Ben, she knew he didn���t hate her. She just hated that he was THIS disappointed in her.

  CHAPTER NINE

  Lucas finished his finals and Christmas was only a week away. Tessa was moving out of the farm house. Lucas had slowly been moving things in for a week. Maggie and John had gone to a few counseling sessions and had decided to make things work. Molly announced that she was pregnant a week after Thanksgiving. Everything was changing, but for the better this time.

  ���Now why do you need three bedrooms?��� Maggie asked Tessa.

  ���In case we get a roommate��� Lucas and I won���t be sharing a room.��� She laughed.

  Maggie shook her head, ���You���ve never been a good liar.���

  * * *

  Tessa and Lucas walked into her doctor appointment together. She was anxious, and he was too, he just didn���t let her see it.

  They did blood work and sent her into an exam room. She changed and laid waiting for the doctor. Lucas wanted to go in, but she insisted that he waited until the exam was done. She remembered the last time she had been on the Vagatron 5000 and didn���t want him in there to witness it.

  ���I was in the room when Jade had her baby,��� Lucas whispered.

  ���It���s different,��� was all Tessa had said.

  The exam was done, and the nurse brought Lucas back to the room.

  ���Are you alright?��� he asked.

  ���Yes I���m fine,��� she said softly.

  The doctor told them that based on the date she was seven weeks ��� more than half way through the first trimester. She told her what she should and should not be eating and what activities to avoid.

  ���So everything looks alright?��� Lucas asked.

  ���Everything seems fine,��� she smiled.

  * * *

  ���You are so quiet lately Tessa, please tell me what you are thinking,��� Lucas asked.

  ���I���m just a little overwhelmed.���

  ���Are you unhappy, I mean you are so distant it makes me, I don���t know baby, are we okay?��� he looked like he may burst.

  ���We���re good Lucas, okay?��� she said and touched his face. ���We���re very good.���

  He hugged her, ���I just miss you.���

  ���Sorry,��� she started to cry.

  ���Sorry for what, Tessa?���

  ���All of this, I���m sorry if you feel trapped, or if you feel like this is too much to deal with. I���m just��� sorry,��� she said and he stepped back.

  ���I don���t feel that way, but obviously you do,��� he said with hurt in his eyes. Hurt quickly turned to anger, ���I need to take a drive.���

  He left, and she cried.

  Lucas was gone for an hour, and she began to worry.

  She sent him a text

  - And this is exactly why��� Tessa

  She went to bed wondering where he might be.

  He lay down next to her and kissed her.

  ���Don���t,��� she said.

  ���Why?���

  ���Where have you been?��� she asked and sat up.

  ���Shopping,��� he smiled.

  ���Goodnight Lucas,��� she rolled her eyes and lay back down.

  ���It���s five thirty Tessa,��� he laughed.

  ���And I am tired. Go back to where ever you ran off to,��� her voice cracked

  ���I told you I went shopping,��� he laughed and got up.

  She laid there and fell back to sleep.

  She smelled something cooking downstairs. She got up to use the bathroom. She needed crackers her stomach was off. Tessa walked down, and he was cooking dinner. She opened the cupboard and grabbed for the crackers. Lucas looked at her and shook his head as she gave him a dirty look,

  ���Baby I���m making you dinner, can you wait like ten minutes?���

  She looked at him and ran into the bathroom and threw up. This sucks she thought.

  He pulled her hair back and rubbed her shoulders, ���You need anything?���

  ���Crackers,��� she snapped and grabbed them and walked outside.

  ���Tessa, talk to me,��� he said from behind her with a smile in his voice.

  ���Where did you go?��� she asked and shoved a cracker in her mouth.

  ���Shopping I told you that,��� he said quietly. ���I���ve told you I wouldn���t hurt you again. I���m here Tessa, all in Baby. You need to start trusting me again.���

  ���Lucas I feel like garbage all the time, I���m either tired or sick. And then I think about how much I miss you. And as far as making you happy, I can���t when I feel like this and then I say things that either hurt you or piss you off. And I just feel awful, and it makes me lash out more and I don���t mean it. I just don���t know what the hell is wrong with me.���

  He smiled as she rambled on and on and then laughed, ���I knew you���d be fun.���

  ���It���s not funny,��� she scowled.

  ���Okay, I���m sorry. Let���s go eat dinner,��� he kissed her cheek and went inside.

  She went to the bathroom and brushed her teeth and washed her face. She walked into the dining room there were flowers and candles, it was sweet very sweet. She smiled as she looked up and he carried dinner in.

  She smiled at him, ���Thank you Lucas, I���m sorry.���

  He kissed her and set her plate down. She looked at the chicken, and he watched her face. She was trying to hide the disgust, and laughed and he took the plate and brought it out to the kitchen. He brought her in a new plate with crackers and a glass of milk.

  ���I am so sorry, it looked really great,��� she said quietly.

  He laughed, ���Really?���

  She smiled, ���Sorry.���

  She fell asleep on the couch next to him, he grabbed one of the baby books off the coffee table.

  ���Hi,��� she said and kissed his cheek.

  ���Hello baby,��� he said and smiled, ���You look better, I mean not that you looked bad, you just���.���

  ���Lucas I have two perfectly good eyes��� I know how awful I���ve looked,��� she laughed.��� But right now, I feel a lot better.���

  ���Good,��� he grabbed the book, ���It says here you are supposed to sta
rt feeling better at the end of the first trimester and you, ���she kissed him.

  ���I feel good right now,��� she kissed him again.

  ���Oh, are you������ she kissed him again.

  ���Lucas will you be quiet,��� she laughed.

  ���Really?��� he asked and his green eyes danced.

  She smiled and shook her head up and down. She rubbed down his stomach and under the waistband of his running pants, ���That was quick.���

  Lucas���s breath hitched, ���Yeah.���

  She wiggled out of her pants as she stroked him. His hand was up her shirt gently kneading her breast and she climbed on his lap, holding him in her hand she gently eased down on him, ���Damn Baby.���

  His mouth crashed over hers as she rode him.

  When they had finished, they went upstairs. They took a shower and got into bed.

  ���Now you look better,��� she laughed.

  ���It���s been a rough couple weeks,��� Lucas laughed, ���You alright?���

  ���Yes, I just have to go to the bathroom,��� she whispered.

  She came out and snuggled into him and fell asleep.

  * * *

  She woke up and ran downstairs. He was warming up milk for oatmeal.

  ���Good morning,��� she hugged him. ���Do you want to go for a run?���

  ���Are you sure?��� Lucas asked.

  ���I feel great right now, please,��� she smiled and jumped up and down.

  ���How about a walk?��� he said knowing it would piss her off.

  ���Fine,��� she stomped.

  They held hands as they walked and talked about nothing and everything. Every time she walked faster he found a way to slow her down.