by Dahlia Rose
“You are all banned from this club,” Caleb said loudly. “The security footage of this is heading to the police station, and trust me, if anyone tried anything we know what you all look like.”
They were escorted out and the crowd was still silent. Caleb looked around and smiled widely. “It’s all over ladies and gents, a round of shots on the house for everyone. DJ, get that music back up.”
The crowd cheered, and the music started up once again. Caleb and John moved toward Charlie who was still in the corner. Her eyes were wide and definitely hurt. John hated seeing that look on her face.
“You guys head home, I can take over,” Caleb said.
“You’ve never mixed drinks before,” John pointed out.
“We’ll manage,” Caleb said. “Seriously, head out and cool off. Charlie take him home.”
“Okay.” Charlie’s voice sounded weak.
John noticed she was trembling and wrapped his arms around her. “We’ll take my car, I’ll get yours tomorrow.”
She just nodded, and John led her out the door. He looked back to see Caleb’s worried face and gave him a quick nod. John felt like the biggest idiot in the world. He should’ve handled it better and now she was afraid of him. They were silent as they drove toward her townhouse. When they got there, instead of letting her walk to the door, he lifted her in his arms.
“John, put me down,” she said softly. “I can walk.”
“I know, but I want to carry you,” John answered. He only put her down to unlock the door and then carried her inside and put her gently on the couch. “I’ll make you a cup of hot tea.”
He went into the kitchen and she could see him but still he braced himself against the counter close to the stove and took a deep breath. I’m such a jerk, he thought, hating the fact that she trembled because of him and not for the right reason. He made her tea and took the cup out to her on the sofa.
“Charlie, I’m sorry,” he said huskily and rested the cup on the coffee table. “I’m sorry you’re scared of me. I’m a big jerk and I don’t know my own strength at times.”
Charlie looked at him in surprise. “Why would you think that?”
John cupped her cheek and caressed the soft skin. “Because I was this big, horrible brute, and I could’ve beat the shit out of that idiot. He insulted you and I just saw red, son of a bitch should never have talked to you like that. How could he sound so fucking racist against anyone.”
“That’s why I was trembling,” Charlie said gently and covered his hand with her own. “Honey, I’ve lived with people doing this to me for years on every side of the spectrum. I let myself forget that it still went on. How he acted just sent me right back to high school and the way I was treated for not having darker ebony skin. I’ve been called everything from yellow baby to albino pony.”
“They are wrong, and I want to punch anyone who thinks that about anyone. Who can still think that way,” John said. “I never wanted you to see me be so brutal.”
Charlie laughed. “Honey, I’ve seen you take down dicks at that club before. It’s kinda hot that you did it for me.”
He smiled. “Really, that did it for you?”
Charlie called him forward with the crook of her finger and kissed him. “You always do it for me. Even making me a cup of tea is sexy.”
“You’re amazing, my goddess, regardless of what anyone in this stupid town thinks,” John said suddenly. “We can leave this dumb town if you want.”
Charlie shook her head. “No honey, this is our home. Our babies will be able to grow up with their cousin Lucas and have barbeques and birthday parties. Our family is here and no one is going to chase me away. They’ll have to stare and comment all they want. Not everyone is like that and we’ll make sure our kids know that. Fixing this kind of stereotype starts with parents, and we’ll be the ones to show them everyone is beautiful.”
“This is why I love you.”
She grinned. “That’s the first time you’ve ever said it, that you loved me.”
“Well I do, head over heels and never want to go back,” John admitted. “I’ve loved you for so long I’ve forgotten when it first hit me.”
“I love you, too. I was just too scared. I want to be the type of woman you’d want. The model chick and the news reporter and all those sophisticated types. Then the whack job that was independently wealthy. That’s not me—I’m the comic loving nerd, the wall flower.”
“I love the woman you are, and trust me, I don’t want to ever relive any of those past relationships.” John sighed and lifted her into his arm before walking to the bedroom. “Nothing existed before you.”
“You forgot my tea.” Charlie nibbled on his ear and his temperature shot up a few notches.
“I’ll make you some more later,” he growled. “You just got my sweet spot.”
“I know,” she whispered in his ear.
When he set her on her feet it was to take her lips in a kiss that shook him to his core. Her lips were sweet and her body supple as he molded her to him. He was so very careful with her, she carried precious cargo, and no matter how much he wanted to devour her, John wanted to please her and keep her safe.
She looked into his eyes. “I will never be afraid of you John, don’t ever think that.”
“Guys like him don’t scare me,” he told her.
“But they scare me,” Charlie caressed his cheek. “They’ll hype each other up to do something stupid, and I don’t want to ever lose you.”
“You won’t and I promise to be careful.” He kissed her gently. “I’ll think before I react.”
“How about we stop thinking for a little bit?”
When she pulled his head down for another kiss, John went willingly. He was completely relieved that he didn’t scare her. John never wanted to see fear in her eyes. Her hands roamed over the muscles of his biceps with tender caresses. Her touch inflamed him each and every time—she was like fire in his blood.
She took his hand and led him back to their bedroom. There the kiss turned hot and for John there was nothing in the world but her. He gathered up the ends of her maternity dress, a soft, gauzy material that felt fragile under his hands. John pulled it over her head and freed her from the confines of the material. He filled his hands with the full globes of her breasts, noticing how much fuller they were now that she was pregnant. It turned him on to see her arch into his palms from the pleasure of his touch, and he watched as she arched into his hands.
“You like how my hands feel on you,” he murmured with certainty and pleasure in his voice. “You’re so beautiful, getting round with my babies nestled inside you. Can I kiss your breasts, baby?”
“Oh God, yes,” she moaned.
John was much taller than Charlie, so to kiss her breasts he got to his knees. With her standing in front of him, her upturned breasts within reach of his lips, John felt like she was his goddess and the only way to worship her body was with his mouth. He laved the first nipple and felt her body tremble. He turned his attention to the second pert bug and pulled it deep into his mouth. Her soft cry made his cock jump in his pants. He repeated the process until she shuddered and pulled at his shoulders frantically, a silent plea for him to stand.
John stood, and his eyes widened in surprise as she pushed him back against the soft sheets on the bed. Charlie flashed him a quick. wicked smile before she swept his jeans and boxer shorts down his legs. His aching hard cock throbbed when she settled herself on her knees between his legs.
“Honey, you’re pregnant,” John said huskily.
“I know that, John Greyward, I’m bigger but I can still please my man,” Charlie laughed. “I won’t be doing this when I’m eight months pregnant, but for now let me taste you.”
John nodded and swallowed thickly as he watched her. She ran her hand down his torso and teased a trail down to his cock. He ached to be inside her, and his cock throbbed in anticipation. He groaned when she took his cock in her grasp and fondled the heavy sacks of his b
all. John felt the tension in the muscles of his thighs each time she stroked his hard length. Charlie looked up and their eyes connected. She released a slow whimper as she expelled a breath. He knew she was watching pleasure on his face and it turned her on. She wrapped her lips around the sensitive tip of his cock, and John closed his eyes and groaned. Her mouth was hot and the soft suction as she took him deeper drove him wild.
“Enough.” He heard the desire in his voice.
The need to bury his cock deep inside her went beyond reason, beyond sanity. As Charlie straddled his thick thighs, John pulled her down on his waiting shaft. The feeling of her hot, slick pussy enclosing his engorged cock wrung a guttural groan from his lips. The sheer pleasure of it almost sent him over the edge, and he gritted his teeth, striving for control. She began to move, and John’s heart raced in his chest as need pulsed through his veins. His hands were on her ass, pulling her down onto his cock. He reveled in the sensations of the wetness of her sex, soaking his length and dripping down the sacks of his balls.
“Stop, baby, just a minute,” she said breathlessly. Charlie moved off him and got on her hands and knees. “Take me this way.”
“I think my heart just stopped,” he groaned out, his breathing harsh.
John positioned himself behind her and slid into her trembling sex. He threw his head back in pleasure when her body accepted him, and he could feel the wall of her pussy clutching at his cock.
Her body was still but she trembled uncontrollably. “John, you feel so good, I don’t think I can last much longer.”
He moved slowly within her and kissed her back. “I want to feel you come, don’t fight it.”
He tempered his thrusts as he moved and felt as if he was on fire. He didn’t want to hurt her and let Charlie set the rhythm. Soon she was pushing back against his cock and the wet sound of sex filled the room. She was soaking wet, and their breathing echoed off the walls in the bedroom. His fingers bit into the smooth skin of her chocolate hips before he caressed the dip of her back.
She cried out as he body clenched around me. ”Yes, John, with me!”
John felt like his cock was enclosed in a velvet glove, and his orgasm surged to the surface. His groan mixed with her soft whimpers as they climaxed together. Charlie lay against his chest, and John automatically wrapped around her and moved her to his side.
“If you weren’t pregnant now, that would’ve done it,” he said with a panting laugh.
“I concur,” Charlie said. “I may need ice cream in a few minutes.”
“Your wish is my command. Whatever my love and my babies want, they get,” John answered.
“You’re such a good daddy,” she murmured sleepily and kissed his chest.
“I always will be,” he promised.
He knew his sucky life and the man he called father was the biggest asshole in the universe of assholes. He’d never be that. His kids would always know love and always see their dad when they woke up and went to bed at night. They dozed lightly in the warm cocoon created from the love they’d found in each other. Later, he got up and made her a fresh cup of tea and a tuna melt with pickles. She wanted that instead of the ice cream. Now she was pregnant she had a thing for sweet, bitter pickles on everything, including macaroni and cheese. He didn’t question it. John read up on the cravings of pregnant women, and if she wanted cherries on chicken tenders, he’d make it.
Charlie ate it hungrily, humming as she did in bed. It made him grin watching her. She sat in the middle of the bed wearing only a Thor T-shirt, eating and watching He-man re-runs. Her hair was tousled, and she wore her glasses. She was more than just cute, she was downright sexy.
He felt the stirrings of desire within him once more. John couldn’t help wanting her, but she was pregnant and he would hold on to his urges. He’d taken a shower while she ate, and now he lounged in bed wearing only sleep pants. She climbed over him and went and took a shower of her own. John smiled as he heard the shower run over the news that was playing front the flat screen TV he mounted on the wall. She didn’t have a TV in the bedroom and when he found out she was pregnant with twins, he wanted her to be comfortable when she watched the gazillion DVDs she had. He’d come over with the smart TV and mounted it for her while she configured her Wi-Fi. His techy girl had it up and running in no time and now they both enjoyed it.
He looked over when Charlie came to the bedroom door. She was wearing nothing, and he traced the lines and curves of her body, including the mound of her stomach where her pregnancy was pronounced.
“Hey,” she purred.
“Hello,” John replied. Her nubs of her nipples were hard. “Aren’t you cold?”
“You’re going to warm me up any minute now.” Charlie walked over to him. “Mind if I join you?”
“Honey, this bed is half yours,” John pointed out.
“I was thinking about that.” She climbed into bed and straddled his hips. “I love you, you love me… I think there has to be a layer of dust at your apartment two inches thick since you’re never there anymore. Move in here for real, forever. I can’t sleep without you next to me anymore.”
John’s mouth formed a slow grin. “Really, I’m that addictive?”
Charlie nodded and leaned forward to nip at his lips. “Yes, very.”
“I was waiting for you to ask me. I didn’t want to impose,” John said. “But since you asked I’ll be moved in by the end of next week.”
She laughed huskily. “That quickly, huh?”
John nodded. ‘The incentives were too good to resist.”
“So, about that other thing.” She undulated on his already hard cock. “Warming me up and all.”
“I’m about to work on that,” he promised.
She moved only long enough for him to remove his sleep pants, and when their naked bodies connected, John couldn’t help the groan that escaped him. Charlie began kissing him feverishly, and John returned her kisses with just as much excitement. He took his time pleasing her, running his hand over her stomach down to the apex of her thighs. There he found her wet and slick as he played with the sensitive hood of her clit. Each moan from her lips fueled his desire.
“Please,” she whimpered.
“What do you want me to do?” John asked huskily.
“I want your fingers inside me,” she begged.
He slid one lone finger inside her and felt her quake. Her pussy clenched around his digit, and he felt a rush of sexual fluid. He brought her to the brink of passion and watched her face as she arched and came under his touch. This time she was on her side and he nestled behind her and kissed her neck while he raised her leg. John angled his body so he could slip inside her and groaned against her ear. He could never get enough of her, the way she felt like liquid heat around his cock as he moved. John massaged her breasts as he took her from behind. He could read the signals from her body, the soft cries, the moans and the shivers of pleasure, and the breathless way Charlie said his name. John could feel his own orgasm take hold as he plunged into her. Each thrust sent them both higher and higher until he took her cries of bliss into his mouth as he kissed her. Together they reached for the stars and floated back to earth. He caressed her ribs and she giggled.
“I’m ticklish,” she reminded him.
“I know,” he chuckled. “I love lying here with you.”
“In a few months there’ll be four of us,” she said.
“I can’t wait for that time to come. The late night feedings, diapers, baby smell,” John said. “Are you excited?”
“To be a mother, yes, to be a mother of your children, double yes,” Charlie said.
“We’re going to be amazing parents,” John said.
Charlie laced fingers with his. “Yes, we are. Thank you, John, you gave me three miracles. These babies and you.”
“I had a miserable junkie of a father, hooked on pills, hooked on alcohol, and anything that could get him high,” John said. “The only time he paid any attention to me was to beat
me. Mom left, and I was the only thing he had to take his anger out on, until I got bigger and I hit back. I left and we never spoke again. He died two years later of liver failure. I vowed when I had children they’d always know they were loved.” She turned to him and John met her gaze. “You never have to worry about that. I’m the one that’s blessed, sweetheart.”
He wiped away the tear that slipped from her eyes and kissed her gently. They fell asleep together once more, and this time when John’s eyes closed his hand was pressed against her stomach where their children nestled.
Chapter Five
Charlie didn’t expect fear to break into their weekend. Gut wrenching fear that made her legs weak, and she wanted to crumple to the hospital floor. But Angel wouldn’t let her. In one hand Angel carried baby Lucas and the other she kept wrapped around Charlie protectively. She recalled wondering vaguely how she was doing it, how Angel had become the woman of steel with the cold glint of determination in her eyes as they moved.
It all started out like any other Saturday night. Angel had been at her house all day. They’d decided to start the babies’ room while Lucas slept in the pack and playpen. Charlie wanted gender neutral colors for the room and one massive crib instead of two. Everything was going so good, they were laughing and talking. In her twentieth week of pregnancy, she was just beginning to feel the first flutters of life in her stomach, and she was tickled with happiness at the thought.
“Are you sure you don’t want two cribs?” Angel asked.
“No. I’ve been reading up on mono amniotic twins, and sometimes they’re born hugging each other,” Charlie explained with a smile. “I want them to be close and not miss each other. I’ll get separate cribs when they’re around one and moving around. Then they’ll need more space to form their own identities and have adventures.”
Angel sighed. “That’s sweet. Lucas could do with a sibling.”
Charlie raised an eyebrow. “Are you going to try for another baby?”
“In about a year. I’d like them to be close together so they can grow up together.” Angel chuckled. “Caleb was an only child and he thinks we’re having five kids.”