Takeoff

by Becca Jameson

  “Rae, it’s preposterous. It changes nothing. Leave it sealed. Burn it. Throw it away. I don’t care. You’re not leaving over this.”

  A tear slid down her face and she swiped at it. “Katia told me she loves me.” She sobbed as she said those words.

  Deacon swallowed hard. “I told you I love you too.”

  “I’ve only known her a few days.”

  “You’re very loveable.”

  “I never expected to have kids.”

  He set his forehead against hers. “Now you get to have two.”

  It was more than she’d ever dreamed of.

  “Did you have any trouble picking them up? I forgot to ask.”

  She shook her head, but words rushed out of her unbidden. “That place is loud and crowded. No wonder he threw up. I don’t even think he’s sick. He was probably just stressed from the new environment and so many people he didn’t know. He’s a baby. I hate him being left with strangers every day. And Katia. She was sitting alone scribbling frantically on a piece of paper as if she wanted to hurt it. I don’t think she was happy there either.”

  He smoothed his hands up her back, a strange grin on his face.

  “What are you smiling about? I’m telling you daycare makes me nervous. What does it cost anyway?”

  His grin grew. “It’s expensive. You have another option in mind?”

  “No.” She rolled her eyes. “I mean yes. Well, I’m not working right now, and I don’t think I can risk going back to the airline. Those old biddies will find me. If not the two stalking me lately, two others. And you kind of need me. Just for a while. Once they get settled and all then I can get another job and we can readdress the topic, but…”

  The expression on Deacon’s face made her stop rambling. A mixture of mirth and confusion and happiness.

  “I’m rambling.”

  “I love you.”

  She sighed. “I love you too.”

  His eyes slid closed and his smile grew. “God, that sounds good. Say it again.”

  “I love you, Deacon. But the envelope…”

  “Fuck the envelope.”

  She smirked. “Watch your language. We both have to stop cussing or the kids will start mimicking us.”

  “Yes, ma’am. So, you’re staying?”

  She stared at him. Yeah, she was staying.

  “Will you remove them from that daycare?” she asked as if this were an argument.

  He laughed. “Yes, ma’am.”

  She let out a deep breath she hadn’t realized she’d been holding and shuddered. “Good. The vibe there… It just… Kids belong at home.”

  He chuckled. “Couldn’t agree more.”

  “Just for a while. Just until they get a bit older. Or we run out of money and I need to work. Or—”

  He kissed her, cutting her off. The kiss deepened.

  She fisted her hands in the band of his flannel pants.

  He backed her up until they reached the door, which he managed to shut and lock without breaking the kiss. Seconds later, he was pulling her tank top over her head, parting from her lips for the second and a half that took.

  His hands were on her breasts next, and she moaned as he cupped them, his thumbs finding and flicking her nipples.

  She arched into his touch, tugging on his pants until they fell to the floor. She fisted his cock a second after that, loving the way he jerked in her grasp.

  Deacon dragged her shorts down, taking her panties with them.

  She giggled when he tucked his hands under her butt and lifted her off the ground. She wrapped her legs around his waist and held on while he carried her to the bed and let them both tumble onto it.

  Hands were everywhere. His. Hers. Touching. Stroking. Teasing.

  They rolled to one side and then the other before he nailed her to her back and lowered his face to suck a nipple.

  She threaded her hands in his hair and gasped. Sex between them was usually going to be a hurried frenzy like this, but she didn’t care. This was good too. His mother had been adamant that she would keep the kids sometimes. Those nights Raeann and Deacon could take their time.

  Tonight, frantic was the adjective.

  After he sheathed himself, he thrust into her, making her cry out before she could stop herself.

  He chuckled. “Baby, you’re going to have to learn to be quieter.”

  “Mmm…” She pursed her lips and arched into him as his fingers came to her clit. He hovered over her, slowly easing in and out while he drove her higher with his fingers.

  She gasped and tipped her head back as she came, loving that he so carefully judged her and came right behind her.

  It had been fast, but damn she felt good as they gasped for air as if they’d been fucking for an hour.

  Deacon threaded his fingers in her hair and met her gaze a minute later. “You’re staying.”

  “Mmm.”

  He gave her a shake. “Fuck the envelope, Rae.”

  “Not sure I can do that.”

  “You can.” He kissed her neck and up to her ear. “You can,” he repeated, his breath making her shiver before he kissed his way to her lips. “I love you. You can. I don’t care what it says. It won’t make a difference to me.”

  “It will make a difference to me.”

  “That’s why we won’t look.”

  She sighed. “I’ll think about it.”

  He shook his head. “I want you to stay. I want to marry you. Your new last name can be Matthews. Raine Matthews. That’s your new name. Please?”

  She giggled. “That’s a horrible proposal.”

  He grinned. “True. Don’t answer that. I’ll do better another day.”

  She lifted her head to find the envelope where it had slid to the floor. “After we see inside that stupid envelope.”

  “I’m going to burn it.”

  “You better not.” She narrowed her gaze at him.

  He sighed and rubbed his hand up and down her arm. “We’ll readdress this another day.”

  “Okay.”

  “So… You hated the daycare?” His eyes danced.

  She shuddered. “There are so many kids there. How can anyone get enough attention?”

  He chuckled.

  “And they probably get sick a lot from all the exposure.”

  He continued to grin at her.

  “And Katia and Teddy have been through a lot. It’s too much change.”

  He kissed her again. “Okay, baby. You don’t have to convince me. I was sold like three days ago.”

  She gasped. “You already wanted me to stay home with them on Friday?”

  He shrugged. “Well, yes. I mean I would never insist on that. It will always be your choice. I would never tell you not to work if it was what you wanted. But I’d be beyond happy if you wanted to stay home and be with them. They already love you and you clearly have taken to them too.”

  “They are pretty damn amazing. So odd what little humans know and do.” She shivered. They had surprised her every day, but when she saw the look on Katia’s face when she picked her up early from school, it broke her heart. She didn’t want to send them there every day.

  Obviously, she was exaggerating. Millions of kids went to daycare every day. It was a lovely place. There was absolutely no reason to doubt their abilities or the level of care. But for Raeann… She just… “I’d rather you didn’t take them back.”

  He pulled her closer and snuggled her against him. “Done.”

  Chapter 26

  One month later…

  * * *

  Deacon was nervous as hell.

  He’d driven the kids to his parents’ house so he and Raeann could enjoy a night alone. He had big plans, and as he drove back to his own house, his nerves kicked in.

  One month into their new life, he felt like things had calmed down. They had a routine. It was working. He got up early with the kids most mornings so Raeann could sleep another half an hour. After that, he passed them off to her and got in t
he shower. She at least got one cup of coffee in before he kissed them all goodbye.

  Raeann was thriving. She loved those kids. It warmed his heart. She was exhausted, but always smiling and always had a list of funny things to tell him over dinner.

  She could cook too. Even with two kids underfoot. She’d managed to leave the house with them in tow a few times also. The grocery store was her biggest adventure, but she’d done it.

  He was the luckiest man alive. And tonight, he hoped she would agree to make it permanent.

  While he’d been driving back and forth to his parents’ house, she’d gone to see Bex and their new arrival, Kaley. It still made Deacon chuckle when he pictured Bracken with a baby girl. The man was in love with his women, and everyone knew it.

  Deacon frowned as he pulled into the garage and turned off the engine. The house was totally dark. For a second he thought maybe Raeann hadn’t returned yet, but her car was in the garage next to his so that made no sense.

  A bit of panic had him rushing inside where he found her sitting at the kitchen table in the dark. “Rae?” He moved toward her, dropping his keys on the island.

  She sniffled as she lifted her face.

  He couldn’t see her expression well in the dim lighting, but he knew she was crying. “Baby, what happened?” His heart seized, and he stopped dead when he found papers spread out in front of her. Papers from that damn envelope he easily recognized under them.

  Fuck.

  He slid into the seat next to her and set a hand on her back. “Rae…”

  She sucked in a breath and leaned her head into the crook of his arm.

  “You know I don’t care about those damn results.”

  She sniffled and nodded. “I care.”

  He wanted to throw something. Scream at the universe. This was not how tonight was supposed to go down.

  Her hand was shaking as she lifted the top page. “The results are negative.”

  He stiffened. “Negative?”

  “Yes.” She nodded, sucking back another sob.

  Thinking he was misunderstanding, he took the paper from her and lifted it so he could see the results himself from the light coming in from the street. He skimmed the first few lines before confirming that indeed she did not have the genetic marker for her mother’s illness.

  “This is wonderful news, baby.” He dropped the paper and turned her to face him, taking her cheeks in his palms and frowning at her in total confusion.

  “I know.” She cried harder.

  He finally chuckled. “Why exactly are you crying, Rae?”

  “I don’t know?” Her sobbing picked up.

  He stood, helped her stand too, and then took her hand and led her to the living room. He sat on the sofa and pulled her onto his lap.

  She sucked in another sob. “I’m just relieved and it was so stressful worrying about it and you and the kids mean the world to me and I didn’t want that hanging over me and I didn’t want it to mess up your life and I went to see Bex and the baby and that baby is so cute and sweet and small. So small. So much smaller than Teddy. Did you realize how small babies are?”

  He pulled her into his embrace and held her tight. “Yeah. They are small. And they smell good.” He remembered from when he’d met his niece and nephew. He’d been deployed for both of their births, but he’d come to see them as soon as possible.

  “Yeah. She smelled like that baby lotion. So sweet.” Another sob.

  He chuckled again. “You want one?” He was half-joking.

  “Maybe.”

  He froze and then tipped her back so he could at least sort of see her face. It wasn’t enough though. He leaned to one side and turned on the lamp on the end table before facing her again.

  She was looking at her lap, playing with her fingers.

  “You want to have a baby, Rae?”

  She shrugged. “Not really. It’s silly. We have two. They’re healthy and don’t have my genes. I just got worked up visiting Bex is all. I’ll get over it.”

  He lifted her chin to meet her gaze. “It’s not silly.” He’d seriously never been happier in his entire life. His heart was beating so fast.

  She rolled her eyes and wiped her tears from her face. “It’s totally ridiculous. I just got emotional.” She sucked back more tears. “Plus, I’m thirty-five.”

  “Thirty-five is not too old to have a baby, Rae.”

  “Forget I said anything. I’m sure I’ll think it was absurd in the morning.”

  He shook his head. “Nope. It won’t be absurd in the morning. And it’s not now either.”

  She glanced at the table. “Just because that test is negative doesn’t mean I can’t pass on the genetics myself.”

  “We can’t live life filled with what-ifs. What if my brother and his wife hadn’t had kids because they’d known they would die in a car accident? We wouldn’t have Katia and Teddy to brighten the world.”

  “That’s different.”

  “It’s not.” He wiped her tears again and eased her to the side so she was sitting on the sofa. He slid to the floor next to her and propped himself on one knee before pulling the ring box from his pocket.

  When he held it up, she gasped. “Deacon.” Her gaze jerked from him to the box and back.

  He opened the box to reveal the diamond he’d carefully selected over a week ago. He removed it from the box and grabbed her hand with his. “Will you do me the honor of becoming my wife, Raine? Making your last name officially Matthews? Will you marry me?”

  She sobbed again, more tears falling. The woman was an emotional ball of nerves.

  “This is the part where you hold out your hand and say yes or at least nod.”

  She chuckled through the tears and lifted her trembling hand.

  He slid the ring on. “So is that a yes?”

  “Yes. Yes, I’ll marry you.” She threw her arms around him, and he knew this was the new highlight of his life. The best moment ever.

  After rocking her back and forth in his embrace for a while, she finally stopped crying. “The freaky Venatori bitches could still find me.”

  “Not super likely though. Not with a new name. It also helps that eight of them have been arrested now and the two from here were extradited to Virginia for bigger crimes. Eventually, most of them will be convicted and end up in prison. You started an avalanche.”

  She nodded. “Thank God.”

  He leaned back and kissed her lips. “We need to move to the bedroom.”

  “Why?” she asked, grinning.

  “Because we have fourteen hours before we’re supposed to pick the kids back up, and I intend to spend most of those making love in every imaginable position. I want to do so without you having to stifle your sounds. And I want to do so without condoms. If we’re going to make another kid, we should start practicing.”

  She giggled. “I’m on the pill. I can’t get pregnant.”

  He shrugged. “So you stop taking it and we call tonight a practice night. I’ve never had sex without a condom. I’m so looking forward to it.” He wiggled his brows.

  She launched herself at him, nearly knocking him backward. “I love you so much.”

  “That’s convenient. I love you too, baby.”

  When she pulled back, she looked him in the eye. “We’re seriously going to have a baby?”

  “Definitely.”

  “Two is a lot of work. And they’re so young.”

  “I’ve heard you can’t even tell the difference when you add a third.”

  She glanced around. “We’re gonna need a bigger house.”

  “Yep. We’ll start looking tomorrow.”

  “Can we afford it?”

  He nodded. “Yep.”

  “Maybe I should get a job.”

  “Not a chance. You love staying home. You’ve been happier than I’ve ever seen you these past few weeks.” He wasn’t sure where she was going with this. She’d finally completely quit her job with Open Skies last week, realizing she would never g
o back.

  “But the money…”

  He kissed her soundly before rising and pulling her to her feet. “I haven’t mentioned this to you but my brother was a wise man. He had a sizeable life insurance policy. I wouldn’t dream of using the money for me, but the kids will have everything they need, any education they desire, and nice nest eggs.”

  “Wow. That’s great. Okay, so you’re sure? We can afford all this?”

  “Positive.” He gave her a tug. “Woman, stop worrying. You can worry tomorrow. Tonight I want to have sex with my fiancée until neither of us can stay awake.”

  She smiled and rushed ahead of him toward the hallway. “What are you waiting for then?”

  I hope you’ve enjoyed Takeoff. Please enjoy the following excerpt from Jetway, the sixth book in the Open Skies series.

  “I can’t believe how big she’s getting,” Heather said as she reached out to catch one-year-old Kaley just in time to keep her from toppling onto her butt on the concrete.

  Bex set the birthday cake on the picnic table before swooping down to pick up her little girl. “Good save. Thanks. Ever since she started walking last week, we can’t keep up with her, and she’s fearless. Until she falls of course, and then she cries.”

  Bracken, Bex’s husband, unloaded an armful of decorations next to the cake and grinned like a loon as he reached for Kaley. “How about you and Daddy go to the swings so Mommy can get the decorations put up?” He leaned over and kissed Bex before swinging Kaley through the air in circles as he headed for the park swings.

  Heather watched him dote on his sweet baby before turning her attention back to Bex. “What can I do to help?”

  Bex glanced at her phone. “Yikes. Everyone else will be here in thirty minutes. Thanks for coming early to help me set up.” She looked at the pile of decorations and chuckled. “Seems like a lot of unnecessary effort for a one-year-old who has no idea it’s her birthday.”

  “Hey, it’s a celebration. The party’s more for the adults anyway, and the cute gifts.”

  “Yeah, I guess.” Bex looked toward her husband as he put Kaley in the toddler swing. “He doesn’t know where to draw the line. This kid is going to be the most spoiled child on earth.” But she was smiling as she stood on the picnic bench and reached up to attach some streamers to the rafters.