Fairytale Lost

by Lori Hendricks

  She turned and walked back toward the room that would be the babies’. She went through her mental list of everything she wanted to get done before she wasn’t able to move anymore. These were going to be some really big babies, judging from how they were growing. The doctor warned her to expect to be on bed rest for her last month of pregnancy. That was going to be hard.

  “I also need the racks in the closet adjusted. I bought some additional ones so we can hang the babies’ clothes up. Their stuff is small so, you know.” She turned and looked at him, a devilish grin on her face. “You have a lot to get done this weekend. Don’t just stand there.” She disappeared around the corner, and he quickly followed her.

  She worked his muscles from dawn to dusk that weekend and for several weekends after. Lukas was beginning to regret having said anything to Emmalyn about helping with baby stuff.

  “She’s supposed to get tired,” he thought to himself. Where does she get all this energy. But with him doing all the heavy lifting and her sitting in her rocker (that he’d put together for her), she wasn’t really expending that much energy.

  Despite hammering his thumb—twice, splitting several pieces of wood, requiring at least four trips to the hardware store, and drilling the end off of his shoe, he was the happiest he’d been in ages.

  Lukas knew he was getting to Emmalyn. She no longer shied away when he tried to touch her and, every so often, allowed herself to be cuddled while they watched TV after dinner. Emmalyn was a terrible cook, so Lukas started making dinners and bringing them to her. After a couple of days, she declared the situation ridiculous and started showing up at his door at six thirty with the expectation of being fed.

  He still wanted to be able to kiss her, make love with her. But he was wary of pushing her too far to fast, so he bided his time, intent on making things as easy for her as possible.

  He hung up the last pink dress in the last bag from her most recent shopping trip and sighed. He turned to go to find Emmalyn and have her inspect his work once again—he’d learned that asking for an inspection was much better than having one thrust upon him—and found her standing in the doorway, a beer in her hand. She was giving him a strange smile, one he hadn’t seen in many years.

  Taking the beer and a very long drink, he bent down to kiss her cheek in thanks. At the last second, she shifted her head, and his mouth landed right on hers. Surprised, he tried to pull away to apologize, but she’d wound her arms around his neck and held him in place. He groped around for somewhere to set the can then wrapped his arms around her waist, careful not to pull her too tightly.

  She kissed him almost desperately then, remembering where they were, she pulled away. He gave her an arrogant smile, and she punched his shoulder.

  “Will you kiss me like that every time I submit to being your house slave from now on?”

  “Seeing you among all the baby stuff got me all tingly with emotion. Come on, dinner’s ready.”

  She laughed when he blanched. “Don’t worry, I didn’t cook. I brought some food back from my last trip to the store, and after dinner, I have some stuff I need you to bring up from the car.”

  “Jesus, Emmalyn, how many outfits can two baby girls need?” he asked, exasperated.

  “Don’t worry. I used the credit card you gave me for the hardware store. I still have plenty of money.”

  “That’s really not what I meant,” he deadpanned as he sat at the counter.

  She fixed him a plate with food overflowing but took only vegetables for herself.

  “Get some meat, Emmy. You need the protein,” he ordered.

  She turned to argue with him but held her tongue when she saw how worried he really was.

  “I can’t. My stomach’s been acting funny, almost like the morning sickness is back. I’ll eat these then I’ll have some chicken when my stomach settles.” She settled herself on a stool next to Lukas but couldn’t get comfortable. “I swear my ass doubles in size every week. I’m going to sit on the sofa and eat.”

  Lukas tried his damnedest not to laugh, but it was a losing battle. He threw his head back and laughed a full belly laugh until, that is, a full piece of broccoli hit him on the back of his head. He turned to look at Emmalyn and saw the tears in her eyes.

  He dropped his fork and rushed over to the sofa. He put Emmalyn’s plate on the coffee table and pulled her onto his lap. He felt exactly like the horse’s ass she was always calling him.

  “I am so sorry, sweetheart. Please, please, please don’t cry. You’re pretty, and I love your butt, no matter what size you think it is.” Lukas kissed her on the head and rocked her like a child. She tolerated it for exactly seventeen seconds before her tears turned to anger.

  “So, you agree that my butt is getting bigger,” she demanded.

  Lukas looked like a deer caught in headlights. “I agree you think it’s getting bigger. I don’t see any difference.”

  She huffed and pushed herself off his lap, her left hand landing squarely on the tip of his penis. He yelped like a puppy and rolled over to his side.

  “What is wrong with you?”

  “Nothing,” he replied through clenched teeth.

  “Oh, Lukas, you are such a drama queen. I think I’ll try that chicken. It’s smells divine!”

  And just like that the fit of temper was over, and all it had cost was the first half inch of Lukas’s manhood.

  *

  By the middle of Emmalyn’s seventh month of pregnancy, Lukas was driving her insane. He hovered incessantly and called her at least ten times a day for a status. Emmalyn loved and despised being the center of his attention.

  She sighed deep in her chest as he rubbed her swollen feet and ankles one day after work. She watched the concentration on his face, and she realized just how much she loved him.

  “Lukas…,” she started, but his thumb was making circles on the ball of her foot and it felt too good to ignore.

  “What’s wrong? Am I hurting you? Do you want me to stop?” He pulled his hands away, but the murderous look in her eyes got him back to work quickly.

  She rolled her eyes but smiled at him. “What do you think of moving in here with me? All the babies’ stuff is here, so it would be easier for you to move in here than for us to try to find someplace else.”

  Lukas didn’t respond, merely focused on massaging her toes, but on the inside, he was dancing with glee. “ I mean, I guess that makes sense.”

  Emmalyn huffed. “It’s okay to sound a little more enthusiastic.”

  He looked up from his massaging and gave her a big smile that made her tingle from her hips to her thighs. When he leaned over to kiss her, she met him half way, or as close to half way as her growing belly would allow.

  The kiss between them was more than just “thank you,” or even “I love you.” With every swipe of his tongue and caress of her hand, it conveyed love, need, and desire. Lukas needed Emmalyn and desired her beyond reason. Emmalyn clung to his shoulders, desperate not to lose him again. When he pulled away from her, she pouted.

  “We need more room.” Lukas stood, pulled her off the sofa and into his arms. His mouth found hers, his lips tender yet forceful, knowing, and confident. Em’s core ached, and suddenly she wanted nothing more than Lukas’ hands, his mouth between her thighs, all over her body. Responding to her hunger and heeding his own, he swept her off the floor and carried her to the bedroom.

  Once there, he set her on her feet, quite content to slowly and methodically undress her. She moaned everytime he stopped to kiss the area he’d just uncovered. He took his time driving her mind and body wild, raining light kisses up and down her torso, then down her thighs and between her legs. She stood before him all swollen breasts and thighs and sexy belly, her lips slightly parted, her nipples hard. He couldn’t remember ever seeing a more beautiful sight than Em in that moment. He simply told her, his voice thick and heavy with lust, “Lie on the bed and make sure you’re comfortable. You’re going to be there for a while.”

&
nbsp; And she was.

  Meticulously, slowly, as though he had all the time in the world, Lukas made love to her with his hands and mouth. The wide, flat, rough surface of Lukas’s tongue drove Emmalyn to the brink of madness over and over, never letting her cross into the sweetness of her passion. He used his fingers to drive in and out of Emmalyn, making her legs tremble. When he knew she’d had enough and was ready to truly cause him harm, he gave her body that one last kiss and a flick of her sensitive nub that drove her over the edge and into the arms of the orgasm she’d been building.

  While she recovered her breath, he stood, removed his clothes, and lay down beside her. He was content to let her rest, but that wasn’t what she had in mind. Eyes closed, he listened to her breathe and was caught completely unaware when her hand wrapped around his cock. He was so hard it was painful, and having her warm hand on him nearly caused him to spill himself. He caught her as she shifted, trying to find a comfortable position to love him as he’d loved her. Instead, she found herself being pulled onto his lap, straddling him where he’d needed it the most.

  “You can do that another day. Right now, I need to be inside you,” he said, his voice so gruff she could barely catch his words.

  He lifted her slowly and, with equal care, lowered the woman he’d loved for so long down to sheathe him completely. He moaned with pure male satisfaction.

  “You better not be going to sleep, mister,” she laughed.

  “I wouldn’t dare.”

  She leaned down, catching his lower lip between her teeth. She placed her hands on his cheeks and slipped her tongue over his lips, tasting the juices she’d left on him. He tried to sit up and make things easier for her, but she put her hands on his shoulders and pushed him back down. “Nope,” she said with a wicked smile. “My turn.”

  She shifted her knees to a position that would allow her to ride him without hurting her back. She watched the sweet pain on his face as she lifted then lowered herself in rhythm with his breathing. Emmalyn could feel the pressure building in her abdomen but didn’t slow her pace. She needed this. He needed this. And they needed each other. She’d accepted that long before, but it was a driving force that gave added power to her orgasm.

  Her body began to buck as Lukas held on to her and used his hips to meet her, stroke for stroke. He pulled her down for a kiss as his body released, joining her in the most earth-shattering orgasm the two had ever shared.

  She wanted to stay like this, wrapped in his arms, but the pressure of the babies on her back was beginning to be the bad kind of painful. She rolled away from Lukas, and the coolness of the evening hit her. He pulled her close to him and pulled the sheet over them. They lay there, quiet, listening to the sounds of the swamp at dusk.

  “I would love to move in with you, my love,” he said in a whisper. He pulled his arms tighter around her. “And at the risk of ruining a perfect moment, I need to ask you something.”

  “You may ask me anything,” she said yawning and snuggling deeper into his warmth.

  “Why won’t you marry me?”

  She stiffened in his arms. He relaxed his hold on her just enough for her to turn over and face him.

  She studied his face long enough for him to squirm under the attention. “Why is this so important to you? It wouldn’t be any different from what we have now.”

  He kissed her on the forehead and hugged her close. “Don’t get mad and I know this is going to sound like male arrogance, but…I want the woman I love and my baby girls to have my name. And I want every man you meet to know that you’re mine.”

  She nipped his chin lightly with her teeth. “You’re right. That does sound arrogant, but okay,” she sighed in feigned acquiescence.

  Emmalyn shot Lukas a tentative look.

  “Okay?” he tentatively asked.

  She nodded, and he whooped with joy. Suddenly, all the stress that had been pent up in her chest released, and she laughed with a happiness she didn’t think she had left in herself.

  23

  When Bells Toll

  Emmalyn and Lukas argued for a week about where, when, and how they were going to get married. Lukas was adamant that he didn’t care, so long as it was done before the babies were born. Emmalyn was equally adamant that she did not want their wedding pictures to include her at eight months pregnant.

  In the end, they settled on a courthouse wedding and a small reception, then a larger ceremony with all the bells and whistles she wanted later. There was no agreement on how long after later meant.

  They did agree that though they wanted only their parents and Lukas’s brother at the courthouse, they wanted their friends to be at the after party, as Lukas had taken to calling it. Lukas was in charge of corralling Delma and making sure she made it to the courthouse on time. He promptly passed that duty on to his brother.

  Everyone seemed excited about the wedding—except for Lukas’s dad. He begrudgingly accepted his role in it, but as always, he felt Lukas was making a huge mistake. Unfortunately, he’d had the misfortune to have voiced that opinion within earshot of Delma.

  “Oh, so, my daughter’s not good enough for your boy,” she challenged. “Well let me tell you something. You’re not good enough for your boy. Ha! That’s right! I said it! If you hadn’t gotten in the way when they were together before, they’d have been married with three or four kids by now. But, no. What kind of father doesn’t want to see his kid happy? You miserable old coot!” Her finger and face were inches away from his. Lukas had never seen Delma this fired up about anything. “You better not ruin this for them, or so help me, I’ll tear you limb from limb.”

  Lukas’s bark of laughter caught the attention of Delma’s ire. He immediately righted his face, but it was too late.

  “And just what, pray tell, is so funny?”

  “I…Emmalyn said that exact thing to me a few weeks ago. She sounded just like you. I can’t wait to tell her she sounds like her mother.”

  Delma’s mouth twitched just enough to let Lukas know she wasn’t angry. “I wouldn’t do that if I were you. Things are better between my daughter and me, but she’ll snap your neck if you tell her that.”

  Lukas looked confused. “Why? There’s nothing wrong with you.”

  “Oh, Lukas,” she said, sounding just like her daughter once more, “No girl wants to hear she’s turning into her mother. Don’t you know anything?”

  *

  The after party was in full swing, and everyone was genuinely having a good time. Zavia and Isabel pulled the party together in such a short time that Lukas was genuinely surprised by everything they’d managed to do. Hosted in Zavia’s spacious back yard, the food, music, and guest list were perfect.

  Lukas sat off to the side and was watching Emmalyn laugh and dance with Zavia’s son, Jared. His brother joined him on the deck stairs.

  “She’s beautiful, man. I’m so glad you got your head out of your ass.”

  Lukas didn’t take offense. “Me too.”

  “Pop’ll come around eventually.”

  “I honestly don’t care at this point. I’d love for my girls to know their grandfather, but if he can’t—” Lukas’s voice stopped abruptly.

  “What?” Jaxon watched the color drain from Lukas’s face. “What’s wrong?” he asked to Lukas’s back.

  Emmalyn had fallen down, and she wasn’t moving. Lukas ran over to her and dropped to his knees by her side. She was conscious, but her eyes looked crazy. She grabbed his hand.

  “I think the babies are coming,” she moaned.

  “Call an ambulance!” he yelled to no one and everyone. “Hold on Emmy. We’ll get you to the hospital.”

  The tears fell from Emmalyn’s eyes. “It’s too early….” She screamed as another contraction tore through her. She squeezed his hand, and with a painful snap, she’d broken the bone.

  “Emmalyn!”

  “The pains started yesterday, but I thought they were Braxton Hicks pains, not actual contractions. The doctor said they were no
rmal, but this is different,” she said breathlessly.

  “Get her into the house,” Delma said. “Zee, where is a good place to wait for the ambulance?”

  “Take her to the living room,” Zavia said. Scared to death, she took a step back as Lukas hoisted Emmalyn into his arms and turned to carry her into the house. Zavia covered her mouth to hold on to a scream as she saw the huge bloodstain Em left on the patio. Isabel grabbed on to her and began to cry.

  “That’s not good. They need to get her to the hospital now!” Isabel whispered harshly.

  Just as Zavia made her way to the living room, the sound of sirens could be heard approaching the house from a distance. She sent Jared and Robert out to the street to flag down the EMTs. They returned a few minutes later.

  “What’s the situation?” asked one of the EMTs. Lukas repeated what Em had told him and about the blood stain on the patio. The EMT knelt down beside Emmalyn and began taking vitals. “Her pulse is weak,” he said over his shoulder to his partner. “We need to get her to the hospital.”

  The two men worked to get Emmalyn on the gurney.

  “How far along is she?” asked the second EMT.

  “Thirty-six weeks,” Lukas replied. His knees gave out on him when he saw Emmalyn’s blood on the sofa cushions. His father and brother helped him stand.

  “You need to ride with her, Lukas,” Delma pointed out. “And you need to hold it together. She can’t be any more scared than she is right now. Be her rock.”

  Lukas nodded. He followed the EMTs and his new wife out of the house. It took him two tries to pull himself into the back of the ambulance.

  *

  Lukas, Emmalyn, two doctors, and a slew of nurses had been in the delivery room for almost three hours before the first baby was born. He’d expected hours and hours of labor, but this one came out surprisingly fast. The doctors were huddled over the baby, checking her over. Prematurely born babies could have so many issues, Lukas remembered from his and Em’s prenatal classes.