“You’re welcome to come hang out with me. It’s not like you’ll be in the way, I’ll definitely put you to work.”
He thinks it over for a minute and then nods. “Why the hell not, all I’m gonna do is go home and watch Netflix. When you ask me if I’ve caught up on Blue Bloods I’ll say no and you’ll know I’m lying.”
It warms my heart in a million ways to know he thinks of my house as his home. For someone like him who’s never really had a spot to call his own besides his apartment, it means something. To know I’ve given him stability that no one else ever has can almost bring me to my knees. “Let’s get going,” I grab hold of his shirt sleeve. “And don’t you be watching Blue Bloods without me. We talked about that already.”
“I get bored without you there,” he complains good-naturedly.
“Pretty soon we won’t be bored at all,” I remind him. “All the hours of our days will be filled with taking care of Stella, preparing to take care of Stella, or trying to catch up on our sleep. We probably need to enjoy it while we can.”
He shakes his head as we make our way back to his truck. “I’d much rather spend time with you.”
* * *
When we get to the wedding hall, I direct him on where to park and then grab my change of clothes. Walking in, I see our crew already at work and wave Addison over.
“I’m gonna go change, but he’s come to help us today since he doesn’t have to work. Tell him what to do while I go get more comfortable.”
As I walk back to the bathroom, I think about how this could be my life from now on, Ryan and I helping each other through situations and being a support when we both need it. I never had that with Stephen, never would have even thought to ask him to come work with me. He wouldn’t have, even if I had begged. He was that selfish.
Ryan is that selfless. Always has been, and I pray to God our daughter gets his empathy and willingness to work hard. They’re both such great characteristics to have, and I hope he’s rubbed off on me, too. I can be a southern lady, but I can also be a lady who helps people. After changing, I go in search of Addison, stopping when I see her watching our crew from the door.
“How’s it going?”
“With your superhero baby daddy out there, it’s going a lot faster. God, but he is strong,” she gives me a look with her lips pursed. “Tight ass, makes you just want to grab it.”
“Stop!” I laugh, smacking her in the arm. “You said it right, he is my baby daddy. Hands off, sister.”
I watch as he works alongside our team, never backing away from anything they ask him to do. Even when I’m doing my own thing, I don’t let him go too far out of my vision.
If he’s willing to work this hard on something that isn’t his, I can’t help but imagine how hard he’ll work something that is. Like maybe the love he and I can share.
The thought is enough to startle me. It’s been there, in the back of my mind for a while, but I’ve not been able to bring myself to tell him, and I know I won’t be able to now either. Love got me hurt in a bad way before, and I know that with him, it would hurt even worse.
Making myself vulnerable in that way just isn’t possible yet. No matter how badly I want it.
CHAPTER THIRTY-TWO
Whitney
I hear Ryan come home through the back door, hear his keys hit the bar, and his shoes hit the spot next to the door where we keep them.
I’ve been thinking about him the past few hours. I have no idea what it is, but he sent me a selfie at lunch with the sexiest smirk I’ve ever seen him wear. Since then I’ve been on edge, my nipples rubbing the inside of my bra almost made me come twice.
People told me that once I hit the third trimester, I would want sex, but they didn’t tell me how much. Today I feel like a horndog, and I’m almost mad that it took him an extra thirty minutes to get home tonight. Something about a call they had. I know it’s crazy I would be upset about it, but I literally ache with the need to have him inside me.
“Whitney, you in the bedroom?” he yells as he makes his way down the hall way.
“Yeah,” I answer as he enters the room, whistling as he sees me.
I’m naked as the day I was born because I didn’t want to waste any time getting clothes off my body.
“What’s going on?” he starts unbuttoning his shirt, and I’m amazed when he takes it off, revealing his Adam’s apple, the tattoo I love, and the wide expanse of skin that are his abs.
Sauntering over to him, I notice he’s already removed his gun belt and I’m thankful for it. Moving my hands to the button of his pants, I start the task of taking them off. “That picture you sent me earlier was the hottest smile I’ve ever seen. All day long I’ve thought about you,” I lift up on my toes to kiss him, driving my tongue into his mouth.
“Ohh Princess,” he pulls back, and judging by the way his eyes darken, he’s with the program now. “You need me, don’t you?”
“Yes,” the word is a hiss as I feel his button let loose.
Within seconds, he’s got his pants down around his ankles and I’m pushing his boxers that way. “Need you is too weak a phrase,” I admit, moaning as the palms of his hands lift the hot, heaviness of my breasts.
“How do you want it tonight?” he buries his face in my neck, pulling on the skin, then soothing it with his tongue.
“You behind me, I’ll hang onto the headboard. Don’t worry about being romantic, I can’t stand it tonight.”
Doing what I’ve asked, he threads his fingers through my hair, pushing me back towards the bed. I’m too big for him to pick up now, and I kind of miss it. Tonight I’d love for him to manhandle me and throw me on the bed. Instead, when the backs of my knees hit the mattress, he turns me around, hand still in my hair. He keeps hold as I knee-walk over to the headboard. When I’m there, I wrap my hands around it, before looking back at him over my shoulder.
“Fuck me, Renegade.”
The breath he inhales through his nose is sharp, and enough to make my nipples peak harder.
“Hold on, Princess, it’s gonna be a wild ride.”
I can distinctly remember him saying something like that the first time we ever had sex, and my body responds. It responds in a big way. Moisture flushes against my core, and it eases him in as he seeks passage. He thrusts deeply against me and we both moan as he crowds me against the wood of the headboard.
“You’re so fuckin’ wet, Whit. What the hell has gotten into you?”
I throw my head back against his shoulder. “That bad boy smile you gave me. It’s all I needed. My mind thought up a million fantasies about it,” I pant as he wraps an arm around my thighs, moving his fingers to my clit, fingering the protruding nub, making all my pleasure spots light up.
“Like this one?”
“Just like this one,” I answer, thrusting back against his cock and then forward against his fingers. I have no shame at all, none where he’s concerned. All I want to feel is the release I know he can give my body. “Except you were pulling my hair.”
“I can make that happen,” he grabs hold of my hair again, pulling tightly.
Between the sensation of the hair pulling at my scalp, his fingers at my clit, and his cock in my pussy, I’m done. I don’t think I can take anymore. My ears are ringing as he pounds into me, and out of nowhere my orgasm hits me.
“Fuck, Whit, me too,” he groans as he pitches forward, grasping the headboard to keep from squishing me under his weight.
As our bodies press into one another, coming down from our high, his heart hammers against my back, and it’s the best sense of completion I’ve ever had.
Renegade
I’m draggin’ ass this morning because it’s normally my day off. This week though, I’ve switched a shift with Ace’s partner, and we’re riding together today.
“Do you hate Trevor for being off today while you have to work six on?” Whitney questions as she strolls into the bathroom, standing next to me at the double vanity.
; I shake my head. “No, nothing could have kept me from being at your ultrasound on Thursday. Seeing our little girl? Highlight of my life.”
I can tell by the way her cheeks turn a pink hue she enjoys the answer I’ve given. I don’t think I’ll ever forget seeing our daughter’s face so clearly on screen yesterday. When Whitney had approached me with the 4D appointment and shown me some of the pictures, it’d freaked me out and I had almost declined her offer. Now? I have a picture of Stella in my wallet that I’ll never let go of. She fuckin’ looks like me. Has my lips and everything. Nothing could have prepared me nor taken away from anything that happened yesterday.
“It was pretty amazing, wasn’t it?” Whitney puts her hand on her stomach before she bends over and grabs the toothpaste, doing her morning rituals.
“Amazing isn’t the word for it, but either way, I’m glad to work my sixth day in a row if it let me be there for you and her.”
Our eyes meet in the mirror as she finishes brushing her teeth. The pull I’ve felt with her since the night we conceived the child in her belly is still there and it’s only getting stronger. She turns around, leaning her back against the counter. Taking advantage, I move in, putting my arms around her waist. Immediately, her arms go around my neck and she rests her head against my shoulder.
“I’m so tired,” she yawns, burrowing deep against the indention where shoulder and neck meet.
“Me too,” I answer, brushing my lips against the skin of her forehead. “I won’t keep you up late tonight.” There’s a smile in my voice as I think about the hours we spent wrapped up in each other. I’d had Whitney on her knees while she’d gripped the edge of the headboard, begging me to ease the ache she’s feeling more now that she’s further along in the pregnancy. Some of the guys at the station told me third trimester sex was going to be the best sex of my life – they were not joking. “Where are you meeting your client again? If things run slow, I might pop in and say hi, see how my girls are doing.”
She burrows a little deeper and I can feel the smile spread across her face as her cheeks pull against my skin. “The Café. Mom’s meeting them with me since she’s going to be handling the catering. They’re calling for rain most of the day, so she wants to drive me,” she pulls back and rolls her eyes. “Mom said she doesn’t want me out in my condition.”
“I’d have to agree with her. If someone can drive you, then all the better.”
Whitney purses her lips, putting her hand on her hip before sticking it out. “We still have a couple of weeks to go, Ryan. You can’t be around me 24/7.”
“You’re right, but when there’s the option of someone being around, I’ll take it. Besides Thanksgiving is this week. People are out and about and being stupid while they run their errands. Just let your mom dote on you. Soon you won’t be her little girl anymore. You ever think of that?”
“I’m thirty-six years old,” she argues.
“But now, you’re responsible for another human being. It’s a change, and I’m sure it’s taking her some getting used to.”
Whitney reaches up, kissing my jawline as she nuzzles the rough skin there. “Don’t shave, I kinda like it.”
Works for me, less time to get ready. “You know I live to please you.”
She pulls me in by grabbing the fabric of the boxers I’m still wearing, before she circles her arms around my waist. “That you do, and you pleasure me so well.”
I can feel myself responding to her, responding to the chemistry that flows between our bodies, no matter what we’re doing. “The pleasure is going to have to wait,” I groan because I want nothing more than to spend the day with her.
“I know,” she sighs. “We both have to get ready for our day.”
CHAPTER THIRTY-THREE
Renegade
I’ve had a cup of coffee and I could be on my second Monster of the day, but I’ll neither confirm or deny that to anyone. I am tired as fuck.
“You okay over there?” Ace asks as we continue making our rounds through town. We drive back and forth, up and down a grid pattern, before we make our way out of the more populated edges of town. Once we’re on what’s considered a back road, Ace presses the accelerator, letting us speed up and down the hills, making me grab hold of my oh shit handle as we take a curve faster than we need to.
“Perfect.”
“Am I scaring you?” Ace asked, a grin in his voice as he straightens the car out when we hit another straight stretch.
“I’d like to live to see my child born, if that’s what you’re asking,” I take a healthy drink of the Monster before setting it down again.
“Figured I’d wake up you. Why are you so tired anyway?” He looks over the console at me, genuine question and concern in his eyes.
No way I’m going to tell him what I was doing, instead I answer. “Getting the last of the nursery done and it’s my sixth day on.” He doesn’t have to know the nursery has been done for months.
“Oh yeah, how did the ultrasound go?”
I struggle with not pulling the picture out of my wallet and showing him with a dumb smile on my face. “It went great. She looks like the perfect mix of both me and her.”
“You seem happy, Renegade. I’m thrilled for you.” Judging by the sincerity in his voice, I believe him. It’s nice to have friends who like it when you do good, and Stella is the best thing I’ve ever done in my life.
“Thanks man,” I smile because it’s all true. “I’m very happy. If someone had told me a year ago I’d be where I am now, I’d say they were fucking crazy,” I laugh, because sometimes I truly can’t believe it. “But I’m happier now than I’ve ever been.”
Whitney
I hear a sharp catcall as I get out of my mom’s car. Used to dealing with that type of thing, I turn around, ready to give the person a piece of my mind, when I see Trevor. The harsh lines of my face relax and I grin at my younger brother.
“Hey,” I hold my arms open to him, hugging him as well as I can with the belly I sport.
“Hey, Sis,” he lets me go and gives mom a hug too. “Didn’t expect to see the two of you here.”
“Meeting a client,” I explain, hooking a thumb at The Café. “What are you doing here?”
He lifts up a brown paper bag. “Grabbing some sandwiches. I think I’m gonna see if the fish bite today.”
I can see he’s dressed for fishing – an old band t-shirt covers his torso, holes in it here and there. Old camo pants have been turned into shorts and a hat rests on his head.
“How’s it going to be without your fishing buddy?” I know Ryan usually fishes with him.
Trevor gives me a tight smile. “Guess I’m going to have to figure it out. In a few weeks he won’t have much time to fish, now will he?”
I’m shocked by the tone Trevor uses. “He’ll have plenty of time to do whatever you want him to do with you. Just because we’ll have a baby doesn’t mean either one of us won’t have time for you. You’re one of the most important people in our lives, and not only are you Stella’s uncle, but you’ll be her Godfather, too. Don’t even think that.”
He gives me a disbelieving look. “I know, just gonna take some getting used to.”
“You’re tellin’ me? I’m gonna be a mom.” Some days it still hasn’t sunk in, other days I can’t wait to hold her in my arms.
“You’ve wanted it for years, you were born to be a mom. There’s absolutely no reason you won’t blow motherhood out the park.”
I giggle because I’m not sure I’ve ever knocked anything out of the park, but leave it to him to use a sports analogy. “I love you, Trev.”
“Love you too. I gotta get goin’. See ya, Mama,” he leans down and gives our mom a kiss on the cheek.
Mom heads for The Café, but I stand there a few minutes, watching him as he goes to his truck and gets in. For a split-second I have a feeling of suffocation, like I want to grab him and hold him close to me, never let him go. I’ve never felt anything like it before, but I also kn
ow my emotions are crazy because of the pregnancy, and I don’t need to push my craziness off on him. Shaking my head, I go in, smiling as I see mom greeting our mutual client.
“Hey Ashley,” I wave to the bride as I have a seat. It’s time to get to work and push anything besides doing my job out of my brain.
Renegade
“You ever wonder why we have slow days?” Ace asks as he yawns. “I mean why are some days so busy we can’t even take a break to piss, but then you have days like today when we’ve not had one call.”
“I think we should be thankful for it. In the grand scheme of things it means no one’s in trouble or needs help. Maybe everybody is following the law to the letter, we shouldn’t question it.”
“I think I want to know more for the psychological side of things. You know? Why do people commit crimes? What makes one day worse than the next? Why does a full moon bring out all the crazies? I don’t know.” he shrugs. “This is the shit I think about.”
“Dude, you need to go on Dr. Phil or some shit like that,” I laugh. “You’ve got too many questions in your head.”
“I’ve been told that before,” he doesn’t deny. “Just the type of person I am.”
I open my mouth to say something to him, but just as I do, a black pickup drives by in a blur of speed. Literally the only thing I can see is the color as it flies by.
“Holy fuck,” Ace yells as he flips on his lights and takes off after it.
I can see the license plate and know immediately who it is, but I call Brooks Strather in anyway. “He ain’t gonna stop,” I tell Ace. “He never fuckin’ stops.”
“How many tickets have you and Tank had a uniform deliver?”
“Probably around five at this point, but you know other people have tried to stop him, too.”
We’re both quiet as we give chase. This is a dangerous part of the county. S-curves lead to a low-lying creek with a small two-lane bridge that links the two pieces of land together.
“I might be able to get him in the curves. He’s gonna have to slow down. No way in hell he’ll be able to handle them.”
Renegade (Moonshine Task Force Book 1) Page 18