by L. A. Casey
He laughed. “We can protect each other.”
“Deal,” I murmured.
“Please don’t cry anymore,” Kane murmured. “It makes me want to beat the shit out of your brother for upsetting you.”
I surprisingly laughed, “Me brothers beat you to it.”
“I figured as much.”
I sighed. “I’ve missed you.”
Kane snorted, “I’ve only been gone a couple of hours.”
“So? I still missed you.”
He tilted my head up so he could lean down and press his lips against mine. Our kiss started slow, but it quickly became one filled with hunger. He kissed me hard and hissed when I bit down on his lower lip.
“I can’t wait to have you,” he whispered.
I smiled. “You do have me.”
“I mean I can’t wait to have you naked.”
I playfully swatted him. “We just started datin’. What kind of girl do you think I am? I have morals.”
“I hate your morals,” he whimpered.
I laughed. “Let me get really comfortable with being with you first. I don’t want this to just be physical.”
Kane rubbed his nose against mine. “I can wait. It will kill me, but I can do it.”
I knew he could, and it made waiting harder.
Literally.
I was in pain.
My back was sore, and I was a grouch because of it.
“Do you want a foot rub?” Kane asked me.
I rolled my eyes. “I want you to piss off and leave me alone.”
“Damn, Aideen,” he mumbled. “You’re cranky today.”
I shrugged my shoulders. “You’ll get over it.”
“You should go fuck yourself.”
I looked at Kane with raised eyebrows. “Excuse me?”
He held his hands up. “Masturbation is a proven stress reliever. If you won’t let me fuck you, then fuck yourself and calm your pregnant ass down.”
I hated that my lip quirked, and I hated that Kane, and his brothers, saw it. My brothers left my apartment hours ago; I was just left with Kane, Nico, and Alec.
“Ah ha!” He pointed at me. “I made you smile!”
I rolled my eyes. “So?”
“So!” Kane beamed. “I’m not that much of a bastard if I can make you smile.”
I forced myself not to laugh. “You are a bastard. A huge one.”
“I want to throw a lamp at you.”
“What? Why?” I asked, wide-eyed.
“Because you need to lighten the fuck up!” Kane grunted and folded his arms across his chest.
I stared at him for a moment then burst into laughter.
“What? Now you laugh?”
I laughed harder.
“I’ll never understand women, never!”
“I’m here to guide you, brother.”
“Fuck off, Dominic.”
I was wheezing so hard that I thought I might pass out.
“Stop!” I begged and fell sideways into Kane, who was laughing at me laugh.
I quickly got up and waddled out of the room and down the hallway to the toilet. I barely made it to the toilet before I relieved myself. Laughing whilst being pregnant sucked—wetting myself was always a possibility.
When I finished up in the bathroom, I headed back down to the sitting room. I passed the kitchen and saw all three of the brothers were inside making sandwiches. I didn’t feel hungry—for once—so I walked back into the sitting room and sat down.
As soon as I sat down, she woke up and it made me smile.
“Kane,” I called out.
He walked into the sitting room a few seconds later, a sandwich in his hand.
“Yeah?”
“She’s awake; ask your brothers if they want to feel her move.”
Kane smiled and walked over to me. He put his sandwich on the coffee table and kneeled before me, pushing my t-shirt up and placing his hands on my belly.
“Dominic, Alec,” he called. “Come here.”
They both walked into the room, sandwiches in their hands.
“What?” Alec asked.
“Come here, the baby is awake.”
They put their sandwiches down then flanked Kane on both sides and kneeled down next to him. Like Kane, they just stared at my stomach.
“Put a hand on her stomach,” Kane whispered, a big smile still in place on his handsome face transforming it into a thing of beauty.
Nico and Alec glanced at one another over Kane’s head, but did as told and carefully reached a hand out and hesitantly placed them on my bare stomach. I smiled at them both and moved my hands from Kane’s to theirs. I laughed when the baby gave a gigantic kick and Nico screeched a little.
“That’s definitely a boy!” he declared, proudly.
Alec nodded his head in agreement but then frowned. “Although, Ado can kick pretty hard herself. So can our girls. They can even outdo us some days... Damn, it may be a girl after all.”
I snorted, “It is a girl, I’m sure of it.”
Kane snorted but said nothing.
He beamed when both of his brothers patted him on the back.
“That’s a baby Slater in there.” Nico smiled.
Alec beamed. “The first of many! I can’t wait to make babies with Keela.”
I was in awe of the three of them.
They were some of the fiercest men I had ever met in my entire life. They had each severely harmed or killed people—so I’d heard... and yet here they were, kneeling before me and like putty in my hands, over a baby who wasn’t even here yet.
“You’re goin’ to be great uncles,” I said to Nico and Alec.
They looked up at me and smiled then leaned up and kissed my cheeks at the same time making me giggle. They refocused on feeling the baby kick. They didn’t even move when the door to my apartment opened.
“It’s me,” Keela shouted.
“And me, and Branna,” Bronagh’s voice chimed in.
I snorted.
They entered the sitting room and once they saw what the lads were doing, they shot over and leaned over the lads, placing their hands on my stomach.
“I love this,” Bronagh squealed.
I frowned. “I’m sad that me stomach is gettin’ so big all of your bloody hands fit on it now.”
Everyone laughed.
Alec stood up and picked up his sandwich. “We have to go, so you ladies can have more room to feel away.”
I frowned and looked at Kane. “Where are you goin’?”
He leaned in and kissed me. “To help Dominic figure some stuff out.”
Brandon Daley and Darkness popped into my mind and I grunted.
“My thoughts exactly,” Bronagh murmured.
Nico looked at Bronagh then leaned up and kissed her cheek. “It’s just a fixture list for fights; I get to choose which ones I want, that’s all.”
Bronagh nodded her head so Nico kissed her cheek again making her slightly smile. He stood up then and so did Kane.
“Bye,” I mumbled.
Kane frowned. “No, I’ll see you later.”
I rolled my eyes.
He always said that.
“What is with this whole ‘see you later’ thing?” I asked Kane. “What don’t you ever say goodbye?”
Kane focused his eyes on me. “Goodbye is final to me so I never say it to people unless I mean it. I especially don’t say goodbye to people I care about. So, babydoll... I’ll. See. You. Later,” he said then turned and walked out of the sitting room and then out of the apartment with Alec and Nico in tow.
Things were silent for a minute or two until Keela opened her big mouth. “I told you he deeply cared for you. Didn’t I tell you?”
I looked down to the ground and smiled, then looked back up with the same smile playing on my lips as I turned to face my friends.
“Yeah, you told me so.”
The girls gasped.
“And you care about him! You’re a real couple, not just tryin’ it out!” Bronag
h squealed then aww’d.
Branna clapped her hands together. “You both make the most beautiful couple!”
“This was the first time he left a room and I didn’t feel like I wanted to kill him. Let’s just take a breather and calm down your big tits down.”
All the girls simply smiled at me and after a minute, I cracked and laughed.
“Okay, we make the most beautiful couple.”
“And you’re both goin’ to have the most beautiful baby. Say it!”
I laughed at Bronagh, “We’re goin’ to have the most beautiful baby, too.”
“Atta girl.” Keela beamed then stood up and hugged me.
I shook my head, snickering, “It’s weird that we’re all friends and we’re each datin’ a brother from the same family.”
Bronagh blinked at me. “I’ve actually never thought about it like that.”
“We’ll have to fix Damien up with Lana when he comes home to complete the circle,” Keela grinned.
Bronagh and Branna shared a look.
“What was that look for?” I questioned.
Bronagh sighed, “It’s a long story.”
“We’ve got tea and time,” Keela replied. “I’ve always wanted to know the full story behind Alannah and Damien.”
I raised my hand. “I’m kind of tired so can you tell us the short version, but with all the major details?”
Bronagh snorted at me and looked at Branna. “Do you wanna tell them?”
“Nah, you’re a good storyteller. You do it.”
I aww’d, “You’re so nice for sisters.”
Bronagh snorted, “She’s me sister—I’m supposed to like her.”
I snickered when Branna shoved her younger sister with a smirk on her face.
“Okay,” Bronagh chuckled. “The short version is Alannah had a crush on Damien from the day she first saw him, but because he slept with so many pretty girls, she didn’t fall into his line of sight. That’s what she believed anyway.”
I clicked my tongue. “Let me guess, he had it bad for her?”
“For her face and body?” Bronagh questioned then bobbed her head. “Yeah.”
I widened my eyes. “That’s a pig-headed move.”
Bronagh shrugged. “Damien was a player back then; he had issues with connectin’ to people. He just slept around and didn’t care about the trail of broken hearts he left behind him. Granted, he never set out to hurt anyone; he made it clear he just wanted a physical relationship. It didn’t change the fact that he was a bit of a prick... but a really nice one.”
I frowned. “Don’t tell me he shagged Lana and left her high and dry.”
Bronagh snapped her fingers at me. “Bingo.”
I slumped down in my seat. “Poor Lana.”
“Yeah, she was crushed,” Branna mumbled. “Bronagh had words with Damien though and it completely knocked him back... she was a little harsh.”
Bronagh grunted, “I’ve said sorry for it, but he needed to hear it. I wasn’t standin’ for him hurtin’ Lana.”
“So when Damien left, they were on bad terms?”
Bronagh nodded her head. “Yeah. It’s not any better now either. They don’t speak, and if they do, it’s curt hellos when she is in the room and he is on the phone.”
I blinked. “What do you think will happen when Damien comes home?”
“Honestly?” Bronagh asked.
I nodded my head.
She shook her head. “I have no fuckin’ idea what will happen between them, but whatever does go down, no doubt it’ll be fuckin’ insane. I expect nothin’ less from Damien Slater.”
Five weeks later...
“Yeah, I get that, but what I don’t understand is how women can bleed for days... and not die? That blows my mind.”
Alec?
I walked into the kitchen, leaned against the doorway, and folded my arms across my chest.
“We’ve been over this,” Branna groaned and rubbed her hand over her tired face. “That blood supply is not pumped from your heart. It doesn’t come from a veins or arteries-”
“Then where does it come from?” Alec cut Branna off in an ah-ha tone like he caught her on something.
What in the hell did I walk in on?
Branna stared at Alec. “I’m too sober to have this conversation with you.”
I snorted and it got both Alec and Branna’s attention.
“Preggers!” Alec beamed when he saw me and jumped to his feet.
He walked over to me and leaned his head down to my stomach, kissed it, and rubbed it with his hand. “Hello, baby.” He stood up straight and rubbed my head, kissed my cheek, then said, “Hello, Mama.”
I smiled and rubbed his chest. “Hello, Uncle.”
“Is this a new thing?” Branna asked from the table. “Rubbin’ and kissin’ body parts when we greet one another?”
“Yes!” Alec instantly replied. “Yes, it is, and for future greetings, my preferred body part to be rubbed and kissed is between my thighs.”
“Pervert,” I said laughing as I playfully swatted at him before walking over to the table where I sat down across from Branna.
I groaned as my feet pulsed with delight when my weight was taken off them.
“Tired?” Branna asked me, smiling.
I nodded my head. “I’m exhausted, and me feet are killin’ me. I feel like I gained fifty stone this week alone. I can’t stop eatin’ pizza. It’s a curse.”
Branna snickered at me. “You’ll be fine; it’s just your cravin’s.”
I frowned. “Why can’t I crave fruit or vegetables though? Why does it have to be pizza? I have no willpower to stay away from it.”
Alec laughed from the sink as he filled himself up a glass of water. “Blame Kane. Pizza was all he ate back on the compound.”
“What are we blaming me on?”
Speak of the Devil.
I didn’t look at Kane as he entered the room; I was too tired to even move my head.
“Aideen has pizza cravings, and pizza is all you ate when we were kids so I told her to blame you for her weight gain,” Alec snickered.
Kane mumbled curse words at him then moved across the room to me where he hunkered down next to me and nudged my arm with his head. “What weight gain? You look hotter than ever.”
I growled. “Don’t. I’m too tired to hit you for lyin’.”
Kane chuckled and leaned in, pecking my lips. He rubbed his nose against mine, and it only caused me to lean into him further.
I sighed against his mouth. “Did I give you your second injection yet? I can’t remember.”
Kane licked my lower lip before he pulled back and said, “No, we can go do it now... then watch a movie?”
That sounded perfect.
“Okay. Help me up.”
Kane stood up, took hold of my hands, and pulled.
My back clicked and I groaned. “That felt brilliant.”
Branna laughed at me. “It’s goin’ to be interestin’ to see how you are in a few months when you’re bigger.”
Bigger?
“If I get any bigger, I’ll split in two,” I said to Branna, my eyes narrowed.
She burst into laughter. “You’re twenty-seven weeks gone, and though you are big for that time scale, wait till you’re four weeks out from your due date. That is when hell happens. You will balloon out, you’ll be constantly uncomfortable, you’ll never sleep, you’ll cry a lot... all the good stuff.”
I stared at Branna, my eyes wide.
“I hate you.”
She laughed as I left the room with Kane in tow.
“Bye, preggers!” Alec shouted after me.
I grunted but didn’t reply.
I walked up the first flight of stairs without much effort, but halfway up the second flight, it almost killed me. “I can’t make it up to your room,” I groaned.
This was ridiculous; I was pregnant, not disabled, and yet I could barely walk. Pregnancy was hard, so fucking hard.
K
ane placed his hands on my hips. “You’re nearly there; you can nap when you get to my room.”
“Okay,” I breathed.
Kane kept his hands on my hips and I felt him push me upwards as I took the stairs one step at a time. I appreciated it; he was giving me a much-needed boost.
“What can I do to make you comfortable?” Kane asked me when I laid down on his bed.
I glanced at him, feeling a little embarrassed though I wasn’t sure why. He was my boyfriend after all... but I was wary around him because we still hadn’t had sex yet. I wanted to. God, I really wanted to. But I wasn’t comfortable enough with my body right now to even attempt it.
“You can rub me back because it’s hurtin’ a lot lately.”
“Okay, turn on your side,” Kane murmured.
I did as he asked, but stilled when he moved very close to me. I quickly relaxed and groaned when he pressed his fingers into the base of my spine and rotated them in a circle. “Here?” he asked.
It felt nice, but not nice enough.
I gnawed on my lower lip. “Pull up me top, the material is botherin’ me when you rub.”
Kane mutely pulled up my top and exposed my skin. I felt a little insecure with what I knew he was looking at so I cleared my throat and said, “Sorry about the stretch marks. I tried a few different creams to keep them at bay, but they don’t seem to work on me.”
Kane stilled. “Don’t apologise for what your body is going through because you’re growing my baby. Not ever.”
I flushed when he placed his palm on my soft hip and slid it around to my front where he rubbed over my belly in lazy circles. “Your body is perfect, babydoll, even more so now that you’re swollen with my baby. I love that you look like this because of me.”
Oh.
I needed to break the sudden rise in temperature in the room.
“Come back to me in a few months when me body is enormous, and I have stretch marks so purple they look like a roadmap to Hell.”
Kane vibrated with laughter then placed a kiss on my still covered shoulder. “Relax, be quiet, and let me rub your pain away.”
The growing, aching pain between my thighs or the one in my back?
I grinned to myself as I exhaled and snuggled deeper into the pillow under my head. I licked my lips when Kane brought his hand back to the base of my spine and rubbed.
“Harder,” I groaned.