by Alexa Riley
I’d never taken the time to look into why I hadn't gotten pregnant. I left it all up to fate, knowing that if I was going to have another child, I would. But after throwing up this morning and the soreness in my beasts, I’ve been thinking maybe it’s in the cards for us after all. I also can't remember the last time I had my period. I’ve never really kept track of them. After thinking about it this morning, it's been a few months at least. I need to take a test as soon as possible. I don’t want to get Dylan all worked up if it’s just a false alarm. Nancy volunteered to run out and get me a test. I’m excited and nervous all at once to find out.
Things have been utterly perfect lately. The boys started first grade last week, but they spent the summer coming to the library when I volunteered. They would read or play on the computer, and often times joined in on whatever I’d set up for the kids that day. Dylan would sometimes join us, too, and he always came for lunch.
Now it’s back to just the two of us during the days. But I love that no matter what, we all get home at the same time. Dylan was right. Just volunteering at the library worked out way better for our family. Plus, the new director, Lana, loves the idea, too. She’s a sweetheart and lets me have free rein running activities in the library and with the community. It’s a perfect fit. It doesn’t hurt that Mark is long gone. And I’m pretty sure he left town. I asked Dylan about everything a few weeks after it was over, and he just gave me a look that said never bring that asshole up again.
I put away the book I just finished reading before cleaning up my area. When I’m done I rush over to Nancy, who pops up from her chair when she sees me. She hands me the bag and squeals.
“I’ve never been so excited for someone to pee before,” she laughs, following me to the bathroom. I rip open the box and step into one of the stalls. Thankfully the bathroom is empty.
I pee on the stick then come out of the stall and set it down on the counter. I busy myself with washing my hands and I try not to look, but I can’t stand it as I hover over it, waiting. As soon as I see two faint blue lines, both Nancy and I scream.
Suddenly, the women’s bathroom door explodes open and Dylan is filling the doorway. His eyes are locked right on me.
“Dylan!” I scream at him. My hand flies to my chest. “You scared the crap out of me.”
“Something's going on. You’ve been acting weird,” he growls, stepping into the bathroom.
He’s an hour early for our lunch date. How does he always know everything? I’m not even going to ask if he still has cameras around here. It’s pointless. Besides, I don’t care if he watches me. In fact, it kind of turns me on.
“He’s like a bloodhound,” Nancy laughs, walking past him. She gives him a smack on the arm as she goes. “Congrats. For the baby’s sake, I pray it’s not a girl,” she throws over her shoulder as she leaves the bathroom, giving me a wink.
“Button.” Dylan rushes over to me, lifting me up.
“I’m pregnant.” Saying the words out loud makes them feel real. I beam up at him, wrapping my arms around his big body. He smiles for a second, then it quickly falls.
“It will not be a girl.” He says it like he can somehow command it to be true.
“Dylan. I want a little girl,” I pout. Even our dog is a boy. We need some pink in our house.
He lets out a deep breath. “Fine. But you think I’m crazy now…” he warns.
“Well, she’ll have two older brothers to keep an eye on her,” I remind him.
Those boys can be as protective as their Dad sometimes. Two weeks ago a man randomly asked me for my number when I was showing him where to find a book. The twins popped out of nowhere, letting the guy know I was married. He backed away from them with his hands held up in surrender along with a smile on his face. He was clearly amused. It was kind of adorable.
“That’s true,” he agrees. I can already see him thinking on it, and I fight a laugh.
I run my hands up the back of his neck into his hair and wrap my legs around him the best I can. “You ready for another baby? We haven't really talked about it.” I look into his eyes.
“I’m ready for anything as long as I’m with you, Button,” he tells me simply.
“I love you.” I lean in, kissing him. His hands tighten on my ass.
“I love you too.” He gives my ass another squeeze before putting me back onto my feet and dropping to his knees in front of me. His hand goes to my belly. “When do you think we should tell your mama that I’ve known about you for a while?” I look down at Dylan, and my mouth falls open. “Button, I worship this body every night. I wouldn't be doing my husbandly duties right if I hadn't noticed.” He kisses my stomach.
“How about you take me home and show me some of those husbandly duties before we pick the boys up from school?”
“It would be my pleasure.” Dylan stands, giving me a deep kiss with a promise of what’s to come.
Epilogue
Dylan
Six years later…
“Now, you’re not going to do anything crazy,” I say, with both my eyebrows raised in question. “Right?”
“It’s just her first day of kindergarten. I don’t know what you’re talking about,” Emily says as she gets our daughter Daisy her breakfast.
“The last time it was the first day of kindergarten you went and got a job, and I had to beat someone up,” I say, leaning against the kitchen counter top.
She rolls her eyes, but I catch her smile when she turns around.
“I’m excited, and yes, I’m a little sad, but I’m not going to run out and get a job.”
Her back is to me, and I walk up to her and wrap my arms around her waist. “I’m just making sure,” I say before I kiss her on the neck.
The twins come downstairs and sit at the table before thanking their mother for breakfast and then inhaling their food. She’s taught them well.
Our daughter Daisy is the princess of the house and comes bouncing down last with a brush in one hand and bow in the other. I sit down at the table and she comes to stand in front of me as I brush out her tangles and then clip in her bow.
“Thank you, King Daddy,” she says and kisses me on the cheek before she goes to her seat.
“King Daddy?” Emily queries, crossing her arms and popping her hip out.
I reach out and grab her, pulling her into my lap. “It was something we came up with last night. When I was reading her bedtime story.”
“Daddy said you’d like it,” Daisy says then winks at me.
“I’m sure he did,” Emily says and rolls her eyes.
I tickle her sides until she’s laughing and trying to get away from me. I’ll take the playful laughter over the tears any day of the week.
Last night she got really sad because we knew this would be our last baby going to school. As much as we’d love another child, Emily had a hard time with her pregnancy and the delivery wasn’t much better. When Daisy was a few months old, Emily and talked about it and I decided to go get snipped. It was easier than putting her through another surgery.
Some days I wish we could have had a dozen children, but most days the three we have are more than enough.
“All right, I’ve got the library until noon, then King Daddy is picking me up.” She rolls her eyes when she says it, but Daisy giggles. “The boys have soccer after school, and Daisy has karate.”
“I’m going for my belt tonight,” Daisy says excitedly and then makes a chopping motion.
“We’ll all be there to watch,” I say, and the boys agree.
We tried to put Daisy in dance a few years ago, but she hated it. She’s girly and likes frills, but when it comes to play time, she might as well be just like her brothers. She took to karate like a duck to water and has been breaking all my lumber since she learned how.
“Just stay out of my shed,” I say, and she pretends she doesn’t hear me.
“Okay. Everybody finish up. It’s almost time to go.”
“Listen to your mother,” I s
ay before scooping up Emily in my arms and carrying her to our bedroom.
“Dylan, what are you doing? Put me down,” she says as she playfully slaps my back.
I toss her onto our bed and go over to the dresser. I pull out the little velvet box, then walk over and sit down next to her.
“I got you this,” I say and place it on her thigh.
“What’s this for? I didn’t forget our anniversary again, did I?” Her eyes widen, but I smile and shake my head.
“Just that one time.” I like to remind her that I’ve never forgotten. And to be fair, we’d been so tangled up in the sheets of that hotel room she didn’t know what day it was until I reminded her.
“What is it?” she asks, holding the box in her hand.
“It’s a present for you. I thought you might need something special to remind you of this day. And how much you mean to me.” She gets a little teary, and I kiss her forehead. “Just open it.”
Inside is a necklace with a long gold bar. On the front it has three birthstones, one for each child. And on the back there’s an inscription.
“Oh Dylan. I love it. What does it say?” she asks, wiping away her tears.
“It says, All because we fell in love,” I tell her and kiss her cheek.
“Why did you have to go and make me cry? I was doing so good,” she whines before wrapping her arms around me and burying her face in my neck. She laughs through the tears and I rub her back.
“Because I love you. And I want you to look at it and remember that we’re all here because of you. Because you love us.”
“I love it. And I love you. Thank you for today and for always making me feel so special.”
She leans back, and I brush away her tears. I take the necklace from her and help her put it on.
“It looks beautiful,” I say and give her a quick kiss on the lips. “Queen Mommy?” I ask, and she rolls her eyes. “Come on, it has a nice ring to it.”
“It does. But if we don’t get off this bed, King Daddy is going to be late taking these kids to school.”
“Fine, but your royal duty is to give me that booty,” I say as I flip her over and spank her butt.
She squeaks before she’s off the bed and tries to chase me down the hall. God, I love that woman and every second of our lives together.
THE END!
Her Touch
by
Alexa Riley
Eli Strong got out of the military and all he wanted to do was get better. He never expected that the officer he was living with would have a daughter who tested his honor.
Maggie Drummond has been moved around more times than she can count, and starting at a new high school sucks. But when a wounded Marine comes to live with her and her dad, suddenly Maggie figures out what home is.
She's forbidden fruit, and he's trying to not to taste... But desire can only be denied for so long. Circumstances keep pulling them back together, and something truly unforeseen happens. Overnight, Eli becomes a guardian and Maggie his ward.
Will Eli keep his hands off Maggie? Will Maggie like it if he doesn't? Will the two of them break the law because it feels so good? Only one way to find out!
Warning: This book will make you ache in the best way possible! It's so sweet it's disgusting, and yet we just can't stop. It's a coming-of-age story that's just what the author ordered. So eat up and enjoy!
Dedicated to young love, new love, and love that’s timeless…
May you find the kind of love that makes you feel it all at once.
Copyright © 2017 by Author Alexa Riley LLC. All rights reserved.
No part of this publication may be reproduced, distributed or transmitted in any form or by any means, including photocopying, recording, or other electronic or mechanical methods, without the prior written permission of the publisher, except in the case of brief quotations embodied in critical reviews and certain other noncommercial uses permitted by copyright law. For permission requests, email to [email protected]
http://alexariley.com/
Publisher’s Note: This is a work of fiction. Names, characters, places, and incidents are a product of the author’s imagination. Locales and public names are sometimes used for atmospheric purposes. Any resemblance to actual people, living or dead, or to businesses, companies, events, institutions, or locales is completely coincidental.
Edited by Aquila Editing
Cover Photo by Sara Eirew
Cover Designer: Perfect Pear Creative Covers
Prologue
Eli
I sit outside in my truck and wait, my cock hard and thick, throbbing with need. Today’s the day, but we have to keep up appearances. There are already too many eyes on us. One step out of line and it could be bad.
She’s the most important thing in my life, and I will do everything to protect her. Even if it means ignoring the steel length resting along the inside of my thigh.
Squeezing my eyes shut, I try not to think about it. I try not to picture her soft curves under me and the places my tongue is going to go. How her sweetness will taste and what sounds she’ll make when we’re alone.
“Fuck,” I grunt, and lean back on the headrest.
One touch from her and I knew that my life had been changed. One moment a year ago and my world was forever hers. From that moment on, everything I did, every motion in my life, every beat of my heart, was for her. When her lips met mine, it sealed her fate. She didn’t know it that day, but it happened.
The minutes tick by, and though it feels like an eternity, she appears. Her blue eyes find mine, and like every time before, I’m home.
She’s walking toward me, and every step brings her closer to my grasp. To the moment when I’ll never let her go.
Chapter 1
Maggie
“It’s just a kiss,” Nick tells me as he steps closer. His blond shaggy hair falls a little into his eyes as he looms over me. His dark brown eyes are focused on my lips as he licks his own. “I think I deserve a kiss, Mags. We’ve been boyfriend and girlfriend for two weeks now.”
I want to correct him and tell him we aren’t boyfriend and girlfriend and that it’s only been days, but what’s the point? I’ve already learned he isn’t the brightest. You think if we’d been boyfriend and girlfriend he’d stop calling me Mags like I asked the first three times. My name is Maggie. Is that so hard? Apparently it is, because now the whole school is calling me that because Nick does.
I swallow, wondering if it’s really just a kiss he wants. Maybe I’m making a bigger deal out of it than I should be. I’ve probably read too many books, because excitement isn’t coursing through me like I thought it would. I’m about to have my first kiss, and none of the things I’ve read about are happening. I’m overthinking this. All I have to do is place my lips against his. Easy. It will be over, and then I won’t have to worry about it anymore. Or maybe I will.
The other girls at school do more than kiss. I hear them talk. I’ve been at my new school for over a week, and it’s all they talk about. My first few days, I blended in, which didn’t bother me. I got used to moving around a lot because my dad’s in the military. It’s sometimes better to not make friends because I know I won’t be around for long. But my dad told me we were settling in here, so I tried to make an effort. Then Nick blew that wide open.
After only a couple more days in my new high school, Nick noticed me. It was all a little overwhelming to say the least. I went from having no friends to everyone wanting to know me once Nick set his sights on me. He’s the star of the football team, and people seem to pay attention to his every move.
Nick is exactly what you picture when you think of the popular boy in school. But for some reason, I don’t find myself attracted to him. All the girls talk about is how wonderful he is, but I’m not getting it, even though I keep trying. Maybe kissing him would make me understand why all the girls at school are so enamored with him.
“Okay,” I whisper, closing my eyes and tilting my head back. When
I feel Nick’s hand grip my hip, my eyes fly open and I watch his mouth descend toward mine.
Unable to stop myself, I try to take a step back to pull away, changing my mind. I don’t want him this close. I don’t like the heat of his body pressing against mine or the feel of him digging into me. But his grip on my hip only tightens.
I turn my head, and his lips land on my cheek, but he doesn’t seem to care. He pulls me closer to him, and then I feel his fingers wandering all over my body as his mouth moves to my neck. He grinds against me, and bile rises in my throat. I don’t want this. I try to push him away, panic setting in, but no matter how I try, he doesn’t move. For some reason all the self-defense tactics my father had taught me aren’t kicking in. It feels like he’s getting closer and closer, and the breath is leaving my lungs.
“Stop,” I tell him, but the word is softer than I mean it to be. My throat feels like it’s starting to close.
“Don’t be a prude, Mags. You want this,” he says against my neck, and I squeeze my eyes closed.
“No, stop,” I say with as much force as I can manage. His size is overwhelming, but any size would be, compared to me.
Pure fear shoots through me as I close my eyes and take a breath to scream. As I feel tears start to build, he’s miraculously gone. A loud crack sounds, and then I hear a thud as something heavy hits the ground.
My eyes fly open, and I see a man, his back to me. He’s breathing heavy and standing over Nick. Nick’s on the ground, holding his face as blood gushes from between his fingers.