“And I know I was, with the additional dubious honor of also being a cheating dickhead man-whore,” Joe said. “Thank Christ people can change, huh?”
“If they really want to,” Mitch said. “Yeah, they can. And we have.”
“Mmm-hmmm,” Joe said, looking delighted about it all – the future late nights and the sleep-deprivation and the endless expenses. Hell, he was even happy about the baby wipes. “So one beer each for the old, married Daddies and married-Daddies-to-be?”
“Yep.” Nick thought about his wife and son waiting for him, decided to be back with them in an hour, not two hours. As much as he loved these guys, he wanted to be with his family now. “One quick one, Carlisle – we all got places to be.”
**
Nick walked in to Mia’s hospital room quietly, not wanting to wake her if she was out for the count. The labor had been tough on her and had gone on for more than twenty-four hours. If the woman needed a rest, he wasn’t about to deny her that. Not even to get a longed-for kiss from those perfect lips.
Sure enough, Mia was asleep. He stood at her bedside, just staring down at her for a few seconds. Then so carefully, so gently, he pressed a tiny kiss on to the top of her head.
That was when his son stirred in the hospital bassinet. He’d be sleeping next to Mia all night, and Nick would be sleeping on the pull-out sofa in the corner. It was going to be their first night sharing a room as a family – and it wasn’t going to be anything like the last.
Kieran’s blue eyes squinted open, and he made a soft noise of what sounded like complaint. Nick scooped him up, held him close to his broad chest, stared down at the baby.
“Hey there, little man,” he whispered. “You gonna stay quiet just a bit longer and let Mama sleep?”
Kieran frowned, seemed to contemplate his father’s request.
“Tell you what.” Nick walked over to the window, rocking his son the whole way. “You stay quiet as a mouse, and I’ll tell you the story of how me and your Mom met.”
Kieran gurgled.
“That’s a yes?”
Kieran yawned and Nick laughed.
“Aw, c’mon, now. It’s a thrilling tale, one where I rush to rescue the damsel-in-distress – that’d be your Mom, by the way – and I even got to punch the jerk who hurt her. Knocked him out cold, actually.”
Kieran blinked.
“Impressive, right?” Nick kissed the baby’s forehead. “Not that it’s OK to hit people.”
“That’s a bit rich, coming from a guy who made a living knocking opponents to the karate mat.”
Nick spun to face the voice, keeping his balance perfectly and without effort. “How you feeling, angel?”
“Like I just had a baby.” Mia rolled on to her side with a wince. “All my lady bits are sore.”
“Lady bits are awesome,” Nick whispered to his son. “Not that you’re gonna be allowed to get up-close to any before you’re thirty.”
“Forty,” Mia corrected. “And that’s maybe.”
Nick came back to the bed, deposited the baby in Mia’s arms. She cuddled him close and Nick sat on the edge of the bed, enjoying the sight of his sweet son being held by his beautiful wife.
She smiled up at him. “I love you, Nick.”
“Love you too,” he said, his throat tight with emotion. “Love you so much.”
“So,” Mia said, stroking Kieran’s wisps of blond hair. “What were you two men talking about?”
“About how you and I met.”
“Yeah?”
“Mmm-hmmm.” Nick pushed her tumbled hair off her face. “Can you believe that this all happened because that asshole spiked your drink and drugged you at the bar where I worked?”
“Urgh.” Mia shuddered. Even now, years later, she still hated to think about that night. If Nick hadn’t noticed that she’d been drugged, if he hadn’t rushed after her and the jerk who’d roofied her, if he hadn’t found her and saved her… what might have happened to her? “It’s amazing that something so good came out of something so bad, huh?”
“Not just one good ‘something’, either,” Nick said softly. “Lots of good ‘somethings’, babe, with so, so many more to come.”
“Yeah?” She smiled up at him again, glowing and lovely. “Like what?”
Nick kissed her again, harder this time, his lips insistent and fiery. “Hmmm. How about another one of these?” He ran his huge hand over Kieran’s legs, tickled his toes. “Maybe four more?”
“Four?” Mia gaped at him. “Four more?”
“OK, OK.” Nick grinned. “One more? Maybe two?”
“I can get behind that,” Mia conceded.
Nick’s grin changed now, got hotter and dirtier. “Nah, babe. I’ll be the one behind you… and on top of you, and under you, and so fucking deep inside you, you won’t know where I begin and you end.”
“Oh,” she groaned, turned on despite the inconvenience of it. “Don’t talk like that. It makes my lady bits tingle – and right now, tingling kinda hurts.”
Nick laughed. “Sorry. I’ll hold off on the naughty talk until you recover. Yeah?”
“Yeah. That’d be good.”
“So.” Nick looked at Kieran rooting around Mia’s chest, making hungry snuffly noises. “Looks like the little guy’s searching for his meal.”
“Yep.” Mia lowered the shoulder of her not-at-all-flattering hospital gown. “Kieran gets first dibs on these for the foreseeable future, I’m afraid.”
“I’m good with that.” Nick settled in the chair next to the bed. “The way I see it, your breasts are just on loan to him, but they’re gonna come back to me soon enough.”
“Oh, yeah?” Mia gave his a sassy little smirk. “You own them, huh?”
“Damn right I do,” Nick growled, his voice all sex and want. “You’re mine, babe. Always have been, always will be, and I’m never – never – gonna let you forget it.”
“I love being yours,” she said softly.
“I know you do. And I love that you do.”
After Mia fed their son, she handed him back to Nick. He rocked Kieran as he fell back asleep, and Mia dropped off soon after.
Nick didn’t sleep at all that night, though. He stayed awake, watching his son, looking at his wife, thinking about how he’d ended up here in this hospital room with them. They were his reason for living, his reason for loving, and he wasn’t ready to slip in to sleep and leave them unguarded. Not this first night of Kieran’s life. This night was a vigil for Nick, an almost holy experience as he watched over the two things that he held most sacred and precious in the universe.
He knew that he couldn’t do this every night, that he wouldn’t be able to do it for the rest of his life. Not like this. After all, for all his possessive growling at Mia about being his, the fact was that she was her own person. So was Kieran, and he’d become more and more so as time passed. That was OK, really… it was life. Children grew up, parents grew old, the cycle of care reversed.
But not yet; not this night. This night, Nick sat unmoving in his chair and watched over his last woman, watched over his first child, with all the ferocity and protectiveness of a warrior king. With love and faith and hope, he sat and he watched and waited, and he was there when his wife and son woke up in the morning.
For the rest of his long, happy, healthy life, Nick Spencer was always there.
Dear Reader,
I very much hope that you enjoyed following the individual and group stories of the ‘Fighting For Love’ characters. With this book, their stories conclude, since ‘Fighting Back’ is the final book in this series. ‘Fighting Hard’, Nick and Mia’s story, was the third romance book that I ever wrote and I think (I hope!) that I’ve learned so much since then.
Having said all of this, I can now announce that I’ll be beginning a new series in 2016, and it will spin off from this book
. It will be called the ‘Wounded Hero’ series and Book 1 will be Keegan and Trish’s… every man in Luke’s support group of wounded heroes will get his own book. I hope that you’ll look forward to that!
I’ll keep you up-to-date about the release date of ‘Keegan’ (Wounded Hero #1) via my newsletter, Facebook and Twitter. Do check in once in a while, since I’ll be sharing sneak peeks, the cover reveal, chances to win free copies and – of course – the release date once that’s been confirmed.
Thank you so much for reading!
Marysol
About the author
Marysol James is the author of the 'Open Skies', ‘Fighting For Love’, 'Unseen Enemy' and 'Dangerous Curves' series, as well as the upcoming 'The Road Devils MC' and 'Wounded Hero' series.
She writes steamy, sexy, slinky romances which feature strong, complex women and equally fascinating men. Marysol is interested in producing well-written and passionate stories with characters who learn to let go of control and to trust – both in and out of the bedroom.
Her stories are very sensual (very!), and offer smart plots, a bit of humor, and lots of character development, so her books will appeal to readers who want emotional connection as well as sexuality.
When not writing, Marysol can be found swimming, doing yoga, listening to music and drinking coffee. To stay up-to-date with her, visit her official author website at www.marysoljames.com
By the same author
Contemporary Romance
The ‘Unseen Enemy’ Series:
Enemy Within (Unseen Enemy #1)
Enemy Outside (Unseen Enemy #2)
Enemy Mine (Unseen Enemy #3)
Enemy From The Past (Unseen Enemy #4)
Solid Muscle (Unseen Enemy #5)
Solid Steel (Unseen Enemy #6)
Solid Heart (Unseen Enemy #7)
Solid Gold (Unseen Enemy #8)
PUBLICATION DATE: Spring 2016
The ‘Dangerous Curves’ Series:
Dangerous Curves (Dangerous Curves #1)
Hard Curves (Dangerous Curves #2)
Killer Curves (Dangerous Curves #3)
Gentle Curves (Dangerous Curves #4)
Secret Curves (Dangerous Curves #5)
Dark Curves (Dangerous Curves #6)
Extreme Curves (Dangerous Curves #7)
PUBLICATION DATE: Spring 2016
‘The Road Devils MC’ Series:
The Devil's Scars (The Road Devils MC #1)
PUBLICATION DATE: Spring 2016
The ‘Wounded Hero’ Series:
Keegan (Wounded Hero #1)
PUBLICATION DATE: Spring/Summer 2016
The ‘Fighting For Love’ Series:
Fighting Hard (Fighting For Love #1)
Fighting Strong (Fighting For Love #2)
Fighting Love (Fighting For Love #3)
Fighting History (Fighting For Love #4)
Fighting Back (Fighting For Love #5)
The ‘Open Skies’ Series:
Open Skies (Open Skies #1)
Open Arms (Open Skies #2)
Open Eyes (Open Skies #3)
Open Heart (Open Skies #4)
Open Life (Open Skies #5)
Contemporary Literature
The ‘Nakasee Lake’ Series:
What Happened That Day (Nakasee Lake #1)
Bringing Her Home (Nakasee Lake #2)
Thunderbirds (Nakasee Lake #3)
Short Stories
Stone Princess - A Collection of Short Stories
Fighting Back (Fighting For Love Book 5) Page 16