“I know,” I whisper.
When I’m finished, I lean my head against his shoulder and let him rock me back and forth.
“How about now?” he asks.
I lift my head, waiting for the queasiness to return. “I think it’s passed.”
He unfolds himself from the floor, then gently lifts me. “Let’s get you cleaned up.”
This is a purely perfunctory shower, but Rock takes his time cleaning me and toweling us dry.
“I think I’ve got it now,” I protest when he opens one of my dresser drawers.
He throws me a look over his shoulder. “Let me do this for you, please.”
The flannel jammies he picks out are thick and warm. Everyone told me pregnancy would make me hot all the time, but I’m usually freezing. Rock bundles me up and tucks me in to bed without any lingering touches.
“What’s wrong?” he asks, studying my face.
“This is the end of everything. You didn’t try to cop a feel once.”
He laughs softly. “Trust me, it’s not easy.” His expression darkens and he squeezes my hand. “But I’m still shaken from finding you sick on the floor.”
“Sorry.”
“You want me to start a fire?”
“Please.”
Another sensation stirs inside me as I watch Rock light the fire—such a simple caveman act—and slip on a pair of shorts. The hotter I need the room, the fewer clothes Rock wears. Win-win for me all around.
“Why are you smiling like that?” he asks as he pulls the covers on his side back.
I rub my hand over my belly and grin. “Just thinking of my pregnancy perks.”
He gives me the side-eye. “Like what?”
“Well, I hate being cold all the time, but I do enjoy you being mostly naked.”
He rumbles out a laugh and shakes his head before climbing in next to me. “Silver lining?”
“Yup.”
“How do you feel now?” he asks as I snuggle up against him.
“Better.”
“Good.”
I turn and look at the clock. “It’s so early. I don’t want to be one of those couples who goes to bed before nine o’clock.”
He slowly strokes his hand over my hair and down my back. “You need your rest.”
“But you’re a night owl,” I murmur.
“This is nice. I’m not complaining.”
The weight of Hope’s soft naked body on top of mine wakes me from sleep.
She straddles me, hugging my hips with her knees and rubbing her hot, wet pussy against my half-hard cock. Even sound asleep, my body recognizes and responds to her.
“Hope?”
“Shh. Let me have my way with you.” She places a finger over my lips and I suck it into my mouth. The searing heat from her center pulls me fully awake. I shift flat onto my back and grab her hips.
By far my favorite way Hope’s ever woken me up.
“Rock.” She yanks at my shorts, not even bothering to pull them off before her pussy squeezes down my length. I groan as she takes me completely inside her.
My eyes open, taking in the beautiful sight on top of me. Dark shadows and slices of light play over her pale skin, enough to highlight the curves of her breasts, her hips, the line of her neck, slope of her shoulder to her fingers digging into my chest. She rocks forward, moving up and down.
I grip her ass, rocking her faster. A raspy groan pulls from my throat. Mist of sleep still surround us, giving the moment a dreamlike quality.
Coming fully awake, I circle my hands around her waist, shifting our bodies until I’m sitting up with my back to the headboard.
“Rock,” she whispers, voice full of urgency.
“Right here.” I tighten my hold on her, continuing to guide her up and down my length.
Her nails dig into my shoulders as she works herself harder and harder.
“Oh.” She gasps and grinds her hips into me harder.
“Fuck you’re beautiful when you come.”
“Wow. That was intense.” She blinks at me and I roll us to the side.
“I’m about to show you intense.”
Intense is right. But then again, everything with Rock is intense.
He turns me on my side and gathers me in his arms. He nuzzles against my neck as he slides back into me.
“Rock,” I gasp.
He tightens his hold on my hip and groans in my ear as he lets go.
“Fuck, I planned to last longer than that.” He kisses my cheek, but makes no move to release me.
“No complaints here.” I wriggle against him and he presses another sleepy kiss to my shoulder.
I’m on the verge of falling asleep when a quick pulsing sensation wakes me.
My eyes blink open and I stare into the dark. Did I imagine it?
There it is again. A fluttery-quiver unlike anything I’ve ever felt before.
“Rock,” I whisper.
“Hmm?”
I grab his hand and place it over my bump where I felt the movement.
“Holy shit,” he says, coming fully awake. “Is that? Is that the baby?”
“I think so.” Laughter bubbles out of me from the excitement of feeling the baby move.
“Oh my God.” The wonder in his voice makes me tear up. Few things in this world have the power to awe my husband.
I trail my fingers through his hair while he runs his hands over me, trying to feel another kick.
“Here.” I move his hand to a different spot.
“Did we wake you, baby?” he asks as he kisses his way down my belly. “Sorry.” He smiles against my skin. “But not really.”
“Don’t tire yourself out too much. Big day tomorrow,” I say to the baby. “We want to know if you’re a boy or a girl, so we can stop calling you “it.”
Rock rumbles with laughter and I think our little bean likes his voice, because there’s more fluttering.
“Oh my God. That’s amazing.” Tears run down my cheeks. This is real. This is really happening. And it’s amazing.
“Why you crying, baby doll?” Rock asks, settling down next to me and kissing my tears away.
“I’m so happy,” I whisper.
It takes a while to fall asleep after that. We keep waiting and checking but there’s no more movement.
“She must’ve gone back to sleep,” Rock mumbles. “You too. You need your rest.” Even half asleep his tone leaves no room for discussion.
CHAPTER THIRTY-TWO
“Oh my God! Are you guys so excited today?” Heidi squeals first thing in the morning.
“We’ll see. The doctor said we might not be able to tell the sex right away.” I hesitate, remembering how scary the first ultrasound was. “I’m keeping my expectations low.”
“What are you hoping for?” Murphy asks Rock.
“Don’t care as long as they’re both healthy.” He squeezes my hand.
Our appointment isn’t until later in the afternoon. Before that, Trinity asked me to stop by so she could take some photos for the “bump album.”
Although I would never say it to Trinity, at first I thought the whole bump photo thing was silly and cheesy, but now I kind of look forward to the sessions.
Since the beginning, I’ve tried to make sure all my doctor’s appointments were scheduled on Thursday or Friday. The idea was that would help me to remember when they were. But Rock’s taken care of that by going to each one with me. We usually make a day of it. Only today, we’re adding in the stop for the photos.
“I’ll see you later at Trinity’s,” Heidi says, packing up the rest of her stuff.
“You dropping Alexa off at Teller’s?” Rock asks.
“Yup.”
“I’ll walk over to the garage with you,” Murphy says.
“Bye!” Alexa yells and waves as Heidi carries her out of the house. “Bye!”
“Bye, Alexa. Be good for Uncle Teller,” I call out. The door closes, but the front windows are open, so we can still hear her ha
ppy baby talk through the woods. “She’s so darn cute. I’m going to miss them when they move out.”
“Yeah, we’ll be emptying our nest and filling it right back up.”
“You really think they’ll be out by the time the baby’s here?”
He shrugs. “Depends. Weather’s been shit for construction.”
“Well, I hope he knows there’s no rush.”
“Do you think this makes me look too earth-mothery?” I ask twisting from side to side. The long sky-blue floral maxi dress swirls around my feet, tickling my bare toes.
He stops and looks at me. “Is there such a thing?”
“You know what I mean.”
“I don’t.” He motions me to come sit at the table. “You look beautiful.”
“Thank you.”
He teases a finger along the cleavage displayed by the dress. “I especially like this.”
I smile as his hand brushes over my breasts. “I was worried it’s a little much to wear to the doctor, but I wanted to look nice for photos. And,” I tug at the tie under my boobs. “It’s a true-wrap. Easy on and off.”
“I definitely like the sound of that.” He sweeps my hair to the side and kisses my neck.
“Mmm.” My eyes close and I lean back.
“Oh Christ.” A muffled yelp from the back door. “At breakfast?”
We both look up to find Z at the sliding glass door waving at us. “Let me in.”
“There’s this thing called knocking,” Rock says as he flips the lock and lets Z in.
I glance down, checking to make sure my boobs haven’t escaped the confines of my dress. Lately I swear Rock can undress me with a look.
“Good morning, Hope. You’re radiant this morning,” Z says, ignoring Rock’s glowering and dropping into the chair to my left.
“Come on in. Make yourself at home,” Rock grumbles. “Can I get you anything?”
“He’s being sarcastic, isn’t he?” Z mock-whispers to me.
“I wouldn’t ask for pancakes if I were you.”
He laughs and eyes Rock. “Coffee?”
“Are your hands broken? You see I’m busy, right?”
“I dunno. Looked like you were molesting your wife a few seconds ago.”
“Like I said, busy.”
I silently laugh at their banter. “I think we’re definitely only having the one baby.”
Z grins even wider. “Shit, can you imagine if we’d grown up together?”
“Maybe he would’ve gotten it all out of his system by now,” I suggest.
Rock sets a bowl of oatmeal and berries in front of me. “Doubtful.”
He thunks a mug of coffee on the table in front of Z and I lean over for a whiff.
“Sorry, Hope. You want me to go drink it over there?” he asks.
“Aw, you’re so sweet. No. I’m fine.”
He pushes his chair back and rests his foot on his opposite knee. “Heidi said you’re gonna find out if it’s a boy or girl today?”
“Fingers crossed.”
Rock sets my ginger tea in front of me, then takes the chair on my left with his own plate.
“You’re cute all domesticated, Rock,” Z says.
Rock takes a few bites of his steak and eggs before responding to Z. “Did you come over here for a reason? Or just to annoy me?”
“Is, I miss both of you a good enough reason?” he asks with wide eyes.
“Aww.” I reach over and pat Z’s leg.
Rock growls and attacks his eggs.
Z lifts his chin at me. “You nervous?”
“About today? Not really.” A slight fluttering sensation stops me and I close my eyes, resting my hand over my stomach.
There it is again. Fleeting and gentle. A soft twitch.
“What’s wrong, Hope?” Z asks.
Rock’s hand brushes up against mine. “You feel the baby again?”
“I think so. It’s so subtle.” I laugh, almost giddy from the connection.
I open my eyes and find Rock watching me intently with his hand still resting over my belly.
Z’s staring at us with a curious expression and without thinking, I grab his hand and place it where I felt the last flutter.
“Is that it?” he asks, confusion clouding his expression.
I shrug. “Well, it could be gas.”
He yanks his hand away and I laugh. Rock squeezes my fingers gently before finishing his breakfast.
“Rock could feel it better last night,” I explain. I gesture to my dress. “There weren’t all these layers in the way.” I laugh a little harder, still excited by the baby’s movement.
“Keep your dress on, I don’t want to die today, Hope.” He throws a wary glance at Rock.
“Hi!” Trinity pushes open the back door, holding it for me until I’m inside. Rock follows me and Trinity strides to the front of her studio.
“Your dress is perfect,” she says. “I thought we’d do a blue and pink theme, since you’re finding out the sex today.” She crosses her fingers and holds them in the air.
I can’t help laughing at how excited she is. I’ve never probed too much about why Trinity doesn’t want children. I try to be sensitive to my non-mom friends. I don’t want to be that annoying pregnant mom who won’t shut up about every detail whether they want to know it or not. But Trinity’s been almost as excited as I am, which has made things easier.
She presses her hands together. “Your dress is perfect. Come here.”
We stand in front of one of the mirrors and she gives my hair a quick fix, tucking fly away pieces into place and fluffing the long waves. “Perfect.”
Trinity snaps a dozen or more pictures of me by myself before asking Rock to join me.
“Rock, can we get a little more enthusiasm, please?” Trinity asks.
While he’s attentive in every single way that counts—feeding me, taking me to the doctor, tending to pretty much every need and weird craving I have—Rock’s limitless patience ends at making goofy faces for cheesy maternity photos.
Unsatisfied, Trinity adjusts the lighting before taking a few more shots.
“Pretend I’m leaving and you’re about to have your way with Hope right there on my prop couch,” she suggests.
Rock turns the predatory eyes that have the power to liquefy my insides on me and Trinity hums in approval.
“Much better,” she mutters. “Should’ve started there.”
When she finishes, Rock still has me in his arms and seems reluctant to let me go.
“Sorry, I can’t make good on that, Rock,” Trinity says. “I have someone coming in at one.”
“Bait and switch, Trinity.” He gives her a teasing glare. “I’ll remember that.”
Heidi rushes in the back door. “I’m sorry I’m late, Trin.”
“No problem. Just finishing up.”
Poor Heidi seems so frazzled. “What’s wrong, Heidi?” I ask.
“Nothing, I just got held up after class and traffic was a bitch getting over here.”
“It’s cool,” Trinity assures her. “I got your text. We have a little time before the next one.”
We say our goodbyes. In the parking lot, Rock takes my hand. “I’m sorry if that was too much,” I say.
He cocks his head but doesn’t say anything.
Once we’re in the car, I try again.
“What are you apologizing for?” he asks.
“Just, all the cheesy photo stuff. I know that’s not your thing.”
He taps his thumbs against the steering wheel a few times. “Some days I just feel like maybe I’m too old for this,” he waves at the studio, “stuff.”
This is the first time Rock’s expressed any apprehension about impending fatherhood to me and my heart squeezes.
He shrugs. “Last night, feeling those flutters… every day it gets a little more real.”
“It does,” I whisper.
“I wasn’t trying to ruin it for you,” he says.
“You didn’t. Not at a
ll. I’m sorry. I’ll tell Trinity we should just do some simple shots up at the clubhouse—”
“Nah, don’t do that because I’m being a grouch.” He looks at the studio again. “I’ve known Trinity a long time. Proud of her.”
I’m cut off from asking any follow-up questions by the buzz of his phone.
“Fuck,” he grumbles. “They know not to bother me today.”
He groans even louder when he looks at the screen. For a moment it looks like he’s going to send it to voicemail, but then he answers with a terse, “What?”
I can’t tell who’s on the other end or what they want, but Rock’s definitely not pleased about the interruption.
“No, I can’t do it today.”
On the other end, Loco whines some more. “Rock, I need someone to help Malik with this gig.”
“And I’m not available.” No way am I explaining my plans. I don’t answer to this fuck.
Hope looks out the window, pretending she’s not hearing every word. I reach over and take her hand, attempting to reassure her I’m not going anywhere.
“You need to get it through your head, I don’t work for you.”
“Rock, I do a lot to help you out in Ironworks.”
“I know. And I appreciate that. I’ll check with my guys and see who’s available.”
“Try Wrath first.”
“That’s probably not happening, Loco.”
“I need someone scary.”
“All my guys are scary.” He keeps pissing me off he’s gonna witness first hand how scary my guys can be.
“Or at least send someone I can pay in pussy.”
“I think my guys prefer cash.”
“Yeah, yeah.”
“I’ll have one of them call you if they can do it. Either way, I’ll have Z check back with you. I’m unavailable the rest of the day.”
“Now you got me all curious, Rock.”
“Bye, Loco.”
Hope chuckles as I hang up. “You’re so friendly.”
“He’s a pain in my goddamn ass.”
“What does he need?”
“You really don’t want to know.” I dial Z. “Give me one second.”
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