by Evan Grace
Reece is a good sport, patting Brandon awkwardly on the back. Jose finally has to intervene and pull Brandon off of my man—wait, is he my man? We really haven’t clarified anything. Although the past couple of nights I’ve slept in his bed with him, we’ve only slept. Maybe he felt I needed space, or needed the time to get my head straight.
While Jose talks to Reece, Brandon comes toward me. “You look fantastic.” He places both hands on my belly. “He’s going to be a monster.”
I slap his arm playfully, his green eyes twinkling at me as he chuckles. “My baby is not going to be a monster.”
“I know, I’m just teasing. You look beautiful. I can’t believe how much your belly has grown since the last time I saw you.”
I rub my belly, smiling at him. Jose comes to me and kisses both of my cheeks. “Hey, doll.”
“Hey, Ho.”
Reece grabs drinks for everyone and then sits down next to me on the sofa. I lean into his side when he wraps his arm around my shoulders.
“So Reece, Del tells me you used to be in the Army with her dad.”
“Yeah, we were both Special Forces. I enlisted when I was eighteen, and at first it was just because they’d pay for college. I just got out last year, and Jack had me come out to talk to him about a job, and well…we know how that story ends.”
He looks at me and gives me a squeeze. My cheeks heat up as I remember that night. I do a full body shiver that I hope no one notices, but I couldn’t get that lucky. Reece looks at me, his mossy green eyes flaring with desire…for me. I lick my lips—it’s a nervous habit, and I don’t miss the way he follows my tongue.
“Should we go?” I turn wide eyes to Brandon and Jose, who are grinning like lunatics at us.
It’s then I realize that Reece’s hand is in my hair, and he’s leaning over me, our lips so close I can taste the beer on his. He chuckles before kissing me chastely and then sitting back up. The timer goes off. I excuse myself, and as I step out of the room I hear them all chuckle. Being the mature woman I am, I flip them all the bird, and of course they laugh louder.
Earlier this week Reece bought a dining room table, so we eat in the dining room. Everyone seems to be getting along and conversation flows freely, but Brandon’s never met a stranger. Reece has been very touchy feely throughout, rubbing his hand up and down my back and pulling me by my head toward him to kiss my lips softly, but the best is when he just rests his hand on my belly.
After we finish eating, I clean up while they go out to the garage to look at Reece’s car. A thought occurs to me: I’m going to need a car. I sold mine when I moved here because I take the L or an Uber everywhere.
I don’t want to have to try and strap a baby carrier in and out of an Uber all the time. I could get something reliable enough to get me where I need to go and that’ll keep the baby safe.
I wrap up the leftovers and am sticking them in the refrigerator when the boys come back in.
“Del, have you told Reece that I’m your kid’s fairy godfather? Have you told him that the baby’s middle name is going to be Brandon?”
I smile at my best friend. “No, I haven’t.” I place my hand on my belly. “His middle name will depend on whatever his first name is, and we haven’t really talked about it. We start our child birthing class next week.”
I told Reece that he didn’t have to go, but he was insistent. He’s been adamant about being in the delivery room when our son is born too, which makes me very happy.
“How fun,” Brandon says, his voice laced with sarcasm.
I wrap my arms around his thin waist and hug him tight. “It will be, and we’ll learn lots of useful things.” I look to Reece. “I hope they don’t show a birth. Blood makes me squeamish.”
Brandon kisses the top of my head and then turns to Reece. “When we were about twelve, I tripped while we were walking home from school. My knee got tore up, and Del took one look at it and passed right out. I had blood running down my leg, but I had to carry her home.” I nod because hell, it’s true. “In high school, we went to donate blood, and she did fine when they stuck her, but she accidentally looked, and they had to hit her with the smelling salts to wake her up.”
“I’d like to think I won’t be like that with my own child,” I grumble. Great, now I’ve got one more thing to worry about. Instead of letting it show, I plaster on a fake smile. “I guess we’ll just have to see what happens.”
When it’s time for them to go, Brandon drags me outside to talk quickly. He places both hands on my shoulders. “I’m really, really happy for you. He’s absolutely crazy about you.”
“He likes me, but he’s not crazy about me.”
“Del, you know I love you, but you’re blind. He never stopped touching you. He watched you with an intensity that we could all feel. When you practically started fucking on the sofa I felt like I needed a cigarette.” His face turns serious. “Girl, I’m so fucking happy for you. After years of not being happy, or as happy as you could be, it’s nice to see you smiling like you have been all night.”
“I just don’t want him to regret being with me because I’m a lot younger than he is.”
“Age is just a number. In the grand scheme of things, it doesn’t matter. All you need to worry about is being a good mother, and being a good partner, co-parent, or whatever you and Reece decide to be. I know you didn’t have a great childhood, and that you still carry the scars, but you are so strong. You survived that, so you can survive anything.”
“I love you, Brandon. I don’t know how I survived without you.”
He gives me a squeeze. “You would’ve survived because that’s what you are…a survivor.”
Jose and Reece come out, and Jose kisses me goodbye. Once they leave, with his arm around my shoulders, Reece leads me inside.
***
Reece grips my hips as he powers into me from behind. “Oh God, right there, baby,” I cry out. He’s hitting a really good spot deep inside of me, and my body trembles. I’m so wet right now that I feel the wetness all over my groin and upper thighs.
He’s already given me two orgasms—once with his fingers while sucking on my sensitive nipples, and then once with his tongue between my legs. I’ve never been a fan of oral sex, but Reece knows what he’s doing and gave it to me so good, and then some.
My arms tremble as he picks up speed and then moans against my ear. “Get yourself there, baby.”
I reach in between my legs and begin making little circles around my clit. My moans turn to cries as I feel my orgasm coming on, and fast. “I’m coming,” I moan.
His thrusts become brutal, but I relish the pleasure/pain I experience. My orgasm seems to last forever, and I’m vaguely aware of his groan as he plants himself to the root. Aftershocks shake me as I feel each blast of his hot cum inside of me. When we both finally start to come down, he pulls his softening cock from me. “I’ll be right back.”
I watch his gorgeous naked body as he disappears into the bathroom. He comes back with a washcloth and cleans me off. After he tosses it into the laundry basket, he climbs back into his bed and pulls me toward him, but my big belly gets in the way.
After sex the baby always acts like it’s party time. Reece’s large hand covers my belly, and he smiles so sweetly at me as we feel our son move around. “I love feeling him kick my hand,” he whispers.
“I love it too. Except when his foot gets caught in my ribs, and Carrie says that toward the end he’s going to love using my bladder as a kickball.”
He leans forward, kissing my lips. “Let’s get some sleep.”
I roll over and he pulls me so that my back is up against his chest. I grab his hand, pull it up to rest in between my breasts, and let myself fall asleep.
Chapter Eleven
Reece
I step into the office after grabbing a quick sandwich. Shayla is behind the desk in reception, and for once Erik isn’t hovering over her. She shoots me a big smile. “Hey, Reece! Jack wants to see you in his offi
ce.”
“Thanks, Shayla.” I head through the doors and find Jack sitting at his desk.
He looks up when I knock on the doorframe. “Hey Reece, come on in and shut the door.” I do as he asks. “I wanted to give you an update on things, but first—how was Delilah’s checkup?”
Delilah had her seven-month checkup the day before. “It went well. He’s measuring big, but I was a big baby. I tell you what—I’ll never get tired of hearing his heartbeat.”
“I’m glad.” He stares at me a beat. “I know I didn’t react well when I found out you were the father of Del’s baby, but I’m glad it’s you.”
I’m stunned speechless, and I don’t know what to even say or do. “I appreciate that. I care deeply for her.”
“I know you do.” He scrubs his hands over his face. “I wanted you to know that we’ve hit a dead end on Delilah’s case. I’m honestly so fucking lost right now. Do I keep chasing dead ends, and pushing myself toward total fucking exhaustion? If I pull back the only thing that keeps me feeling okay with it is that she’s got you protecting her.”
“Of course, you’ve got me. Man, even if we’re not together I’ll always protect her and our kid.”
“I know you will. That’s why I’m glad it’s you. I’ve just never been this fucking stumped. We’ve been monitoring her phone and there have been no calls, nothing.”
Since the phone call and the rock through my window there’s been nothing, and I’m happy about that, but a part of me is waiting for shit to fall apart. “Maybe since they know there’s a whole team protecting her they gave up.”
“Yeah, maybe. I’ve got another case I have to follow up on, and I’ll be out of town for a week. I need to trust that you’ll help keep an eye on things.” Jack scratches the stubble on his chin. “Erik and Marcus will keep an eye on all ongoing business, Delilah can run everything else, and you—you just take care of my daughter.”
“You got it, boss.” I stand and salute him, but then I get serious. “I won’t let anything happen to either of them. I promise.”
Our workday ends at noon and Delilah and I decide to take lunch to Carrie and Egan. I know she’s excited to get her hands on their baby. To be honest I am too. I need to practice changing diapers.
They live about ten minutes from the office in a nice apartment that looks like a huge house. Delilah practically sprints to their door, with me chuckling as I walk sedately behind her. Egan answers with their son in his arms. I know he’s married, but I have to stop from growling when he kisses Delilah’s cheek.
She takes the baby from his arms and disappears inside. “Hey, Egan. How are you?” I shake his offered hand.
He scrubs a hand over his dark blond hair. “I’m fucking tired, but I’m so happy. My wife is the shit.”
“That’s great, man.” I clap him on the back before following him inside.
We find Delilah and Carrie sitting on the sofa, and Delilah is cooing at the baby. Carrie smiles up at me from the sofa when we enter the room. “Hi, Reece.”
“Hey Carrie, how’s it going?”
She smiles warmly at her son, and then up at me. “It’s going great. I can’t remember the last time I slept longer than four hours, but it’s so worth it.”
The plan was to order takeout once we got to their place, but another idea came to me on the way here. “I know the plan was to order takeout, but what if you guys went out to lunch, and we stayed with this little guy? You know it would give us a chance to practice.” I hope they don’t think this is because we don’t want to hang out with them. “Or we could grab some takeout, and maybe you guys could go have a drink after we eat.”
Delilah smiles at me. “Yeah, guys. Let us give you a break.”
The couple look at each other and then back to us. Egan speaks up. “How about this—we’ll go to this great pizza place that’s about ten minutes from here. Carrie and I will have a drink and an appetizer. We’ll order pizza to bring back for all of us.”
After the new parents leave, I sit down next to Delilah. “Here, let me have him.” Carefully, she places the little chunk in my arms. He’s so tiny, but substantial. His eyes open, and he blinks at me. His balled up little fists go right to his mouth and he begins sucking on them. “He’s a lot heavier than he looks.”
I look up at Delilah, and her eyes are bright with unshed tears. “Hey, what’s wrong?”
She shakes her head. “Nothing, you’re just going to be a really good dad. I’m glad you’re his father.”
“I’m glad too.”
The baby makes a wet fart sound. “I think someone just made a deposit in his drawers.”
Delilah gets up, and I follow. We take him into his room and I lay him on the changing table. Together we manage to get his little sleeper off, and then he begins to cry. I take off his diaper and gag at the present he left for us. While I hold his little legs up she wipes him down, and then squeals because she gets some on her fingers. At the same time Leif begins to pee all over himself and me.
We both take it in stride, getting him and ourselves cleaned up. Delilah puts him in fresh pajamas and then picks him up, snuggling him to her chest. The boy is smart and knows he’s got a good thing going when he snuggles into her breasts.
“Will you hold me like that later?” I whisper into her ear. She’s so expressive when I touch her, and right now Delilah’s doing a full body shiver. I kiss her cheek, and just as we get settled on the sofa, Carrie and Egan come in carrying a couple of pizza boxes.
“Hey guys, how was he?” Carrie takes Leif from Delilah.
While we eat, Delilah tells them about our two-person diaper changing sideshow. “We’re going to need lots of practice,” she says while holding her swollen stomach.
“Trust me, you’ll become a pro quick. I could probably change Leif’s diaper blindfolded at this point. Right, babe?” Egan smiles proudly at his wife.
“Of course. You’re the master.” He gives her a heated look, and I look away. Delilah saw it too because she’s smiling at them and then me.
Even from across the table I can still smell Delilah’s familiar scent. I can even smell it over the scent of tomato and melted cheese. She breaks the connection first by turning her head. It’s not lost on me that her cheeks are flushed, and she’s breathing heavier. The tension is broken only moments later when Leif decides he’s tired of being ignored.
We leave a short time later. The baby was being a little fussy, so we said our goodbyes.
On the drive home, I grab her hand. “Have you thought of names yet?” she asks. “I’ve got a couple.”
“Uh…not really. I just assumed that was your call,” I tell her truthfully.
I glance at her as she shakes her head. “No, I want your input, totally.” She squirms in her seat until she’s kind of facing me, but still protected by the seatbelt. “I really like the names Sawyer, Parker, Maverick—”
“Wait, let me stop you right there. No kid of mine is going to be named Sawyer or Maverick. What is this, a soap opera?” I don’t have to look at her to feel her glare on me. “I’m sorry babe, but I don’t like those names. What about Mitch, Jake, or even Reece Jr.?”
“Mitch? Jake? Reece Jr.? Those are your picks? Those are totally boring,” she counters.
“Those aren’t boring, they’re manly names.”
“Oh brother,” she mutters. “Why don’t we just name him Axel or Zeus?”
By the time we pull into the driveway we’re both laughing, and her basketball belly shakes like what I imagine Santa’s would. Of course I’m not going to tell her that. I may be a guy, but I know better.
As we step into the house the hair on the back of my neck stands up. I grab Delilah, covering her mouth with my hand. “I need you to listen and do exactly as I say. Nod your head.” She does slowly, but I don’t miss her body trembling. “Baby, I want you to go get in my car. Lock yourself in, and if you hear anything that doesn’t sound right, then just throw it in reverse and back right out of the
garage. I don’t care if you take the whole damn thing down—you just get out.”
I kiss her lips hard, and then watch as she slips out the door into the garage. I pull my gun out of my ankle holster and flip off the safety. I move throughout the house and look under any nook and cranny, but there’s no one here. I flip the safety back on and open the garage door. I signal for her to come in.
“Are you sure it’s safe?”
“Yeah, I went through the whole house, baby. There’s no one here.”
She disappears upstairs to change, and I pull out the burgers I’m grilling for dinner tomorrow night. When Delilah comes back down she’s quiet, but still gives me that beautiful smile. The t-shirt she’s wearing hugs her figure and shows off her baby bump. Her shorts are snug around her ass, and my dick’s getting hard just looking at her.
I turn my back to her to adjust myself and check out the refrigerator. “Later do you want just a snack?” We ate a lot of pizza at Egan and Carrie’s.
She takes a drink of her water, and again my dick twitches. What is wrong with me? I shake it off, and don’t miss the underlying feeling that sours my gut. Maybe I’m just paranoid, but I’ll just be extra watchful tonight.
Being with her is easy, effortless. I’ve worried that our age difference would be a problem, but it hasn’t been. Maybe growing up the way she did, she had to mature a lot faster. I don’t really understand how someone could treat their child the way Delilah’s mom has treated her.
We settle on the sofa. I’m sitting down in the corner and Delilah is lying with her head in my lap while I watch the six o’clock news. My fingers absently sift through her hair, and it isn’t long before her soft snores fill the living room.
It’s safe to say I’m falling in love with her, and I know it’s fast and things are complicated, but it feels right. Moving to Chicago was one of the best decisions I’ve ever made. It was a fresh start, and a chance to use my skills. Prior to Jack asking me to join his team, I’d thought about going into law enforcement, but this suits me a lot more—everything suits me better here.