by Linda Verji
Faster. Faster. Faster….
“Amara.” He groaned her name as he surrendered to his own pleasure. Shuddering tremors rippled remorselessly between them as he held himself deep inside her.
Afterwards, Lee’s strong body slumped boneless over hers as primal pleasure coursed through him. His breathing ragged, he lay there, hot and heavy, still joined to her. They stayed like that for quite a while as they caught their breaths.
Lee was the first to recover. With a long shuddering sigh, he moved off her then stood up to go and get rid of the condom. When he came back, A.J still had her face buried in the pillow. What could she say? He’d tired her out.
Chuckling, he clambered in beside her. He dragged her closer until she was tucked into the side of his body then brought the covers over them. For a while they lay silently, enjoying the feeling of being so close to each other. Then Lee chuckled again.
“What’s so funny?’ A.J asked without opening her eyes or moving her head off his shoulder.
“I can’t believe you said it first.”
“Said what first?”
Using two fingers, he tilted her chin upwards. When she opened her eyes, he murmured, “That you love me.”
“Why are you surprised?” She arched her eyebrows. Was there something in her DNA that said she was too proud to admit her feelings?
Lee stared at her for a long while, his lips curved in a soft smile, before he shrugged. “Just surprised.” Before she could demand that he explain himself better, he changed the subject. “You never told me what happened with your father.”
“Casper?” She grinned. “I gave him his painting back, and he gave me my money.”
Disbelief widened Lee’s eyes. “Just like that?”
“Not just like that.” She chuckled. “Let’s just say that there was some intense negotiations involved.”
Lee tilted his head to study her. “Was there fighting involved?”
“Not much,” she said. When worry flashed in his expression, she quickly added, “Very little in fact.”
But it wasn’t enough to reassure Lee. Cradling her cheek and frowning, he asked, “Did you get hurt?”
“Nah!” She shook her head. “I did all the damage.”
The incredulous gaze Lee gave her was enough to make her pull away from him and draw the covers away from her body. “See, I’m not hurt at all.”
Lee’s gaze lowered down to her body to give her a slow and lingering once-over that reawakened her still-recovering nerves. Before the heat could fully settle in, she pulled the covers back over body. “I’m not hurt.”
He cupped the back of her head with his hand and brought her closer for a kiss. When their lips separated, he was smiling. “I’m glad it’s over now.”
“Me too.” She heaved a relieved sigh. “At least I don’t have to deal with Casper anymore.”
“He’s still your dad though,” Lee reminded her.
“Yeah!” A.J’s mood instantly plunged. With a sigh, she cuddled back against Lee, “I wish he wasn’t. You’re lucky to have Mason.”
“I know.” He added, “You’re lucky too.”
When A.J met his gaze with a questioning look, he reminded her, “You’ve got me now.”
She smiled. “That’s true.”
“I love you.” There was so much intensity and feeling in the way he said those three words that it left A.J breathless. There was no doubt that he meant them.
Her heart warmed as did the rest of her body and she arched her head upwards to touch her lips to his. “I love you too.”
Smiling, A.J wrapped her arms tightly around Lee and surrendered fully to his embrace. Who would’ve thought that she, Amara Justice Nixon, would not only fall in love with someone but would in turn find someone who loved her just as much? It was as surprising as it was amazing.
Lee was everything she wanted in a man. Actually, he was more than anything she’d ever dreamt of having. She couldn’t even imagine giving him up. Never.
He was hers forever.
And she was his.
EPILOGUE
A.J was in the bathroom, standing by the sink and staring at the pregnancy stick in her hand with equal amounts of disbelief and shock. Two pink lines smirked right back at her. She shook the stick vigorously, hoping that it’d malfunctioned. Hopefully, a good shake would get its head straight because she was not pregnant. When she looked at the stick again, the two lines were still there.
“Damn it,” she cursed beneath her breath.
Babies were never, ever, ever part of her plan. Not just because she and Lee had only been dating for four months, but also because she didn’t even have one maternal bone in her body. Just imagine; A.J Nixon climbing walls and jumping out of windows with a baby strapped to the front of her body. The imagery was enough to send a shiver down a spine.
And that wasn’t the only problem.
Consider who her father was and how he’d raised her. How was A.J supposed to raise a child of her own when she’d never seen good parenthood in action? Dear Lord, that poor child. Wincing, she shook the stick again. It still came back with those two stupid lines.
Anger rushed in to take the place of shock. She knew exactly who was responsible for this fiasco. Oh, he was going to get it from her today. She stormed out of the bathroom with the stick in hand.
Ah! There he was. The culprit lay sprawled out on the bed deep asleep and without a care in the world.
These days Lee’s nights were more restful. He hadn’t had a nightmare in more than a month. A.J wanted to claim that it was all because she spent so many nights with him, but it would be lying. The real reason he was sleeping better and was more at peace was because of the therapist he’d been seeing for the last three months.
Of course Lee had resisted seeing the therapist. He wouldn’t be Lee if he didn’t. But somehow, she and Mason had convinced him to see someone. Waking up to find out that you’re an adult survivor of child abuse wasn’t something one could wish away or work through on their own. Thankfully, he’d surrendered and as a result was doing much better now.
Though the last four months hadn’t been a bed of roses, A.J could honestly say that they’d been the best months of her life. Lee’s love was as fierce as it was absolute. She’d never been loved as much as he loved her. And it wasn’t just in the bedroom. Lee was so protective of her, so caring that sometimes she thought he was a figment of her imagination. He was so unwavering in his love for her that even Mason had surrendered and was back to getting along with A.J.
To make matters worse, or better, Lee had no problem showing others how much he loved her. Even A.J, who’d assumed she wasn’t a fan of public displays of affection, had fallen into the bad habit of reciprocating his public kisses and hugs.
Right now, however, she wasn’t in any mood to kiss or hug him.
Still fuming, she tossed the pregnancy stick on the nightstand. She settled on the bed with her back against the headboard as she waited for Mr. Sleepy Head down there to wake up. As if he could sense her next to him, Lee smiled. Without opening his eyes turned to sling his arm across her thighs and set his head on her stomach.
“Ah, I slept well,” he murmured as he rubbed his head against her stomach.
“I’m sure you did,” she retorted caustically. “Get your head off my stomach.”
“Huh?”
“Get your head off my stomach.” She punctuated her words with a sharp jab of her finger into the side of his head.
Lee woke up slowly to sit up beside her. Frowning, he asked, “What’s the matter? You sound – and look – angry.”
“This is the matter.” She grabbed the stick off the bedside table and waved it at him. “Look at this.”
“Let me see.” He took the stick from her. His eyes widened when he saw the two lines. His gaze lifted to meet hers then lowered back to the stick. He swallowed convulsively then started, “Does this mean…”
“Yes, it means exactly what you think.” She glared a
t him. “I told you that withdrawing was a dumb form of birth control. But you said what? You said that your pull-out game was strong. Now, look what you did. Look at that nonsense.”
She waited for him to say something, defend the indefensible. But all he did was stare at the test like it was a foreign object.
Suddenly, he shoved the covers aside, swung his legs off the bed and stood while still holding the pregnancy stick.
“Lee. Lee,” A.J called out as she watched him striding towards the door. “Lee, where are you going?”
But he didn’t say anything. He simply opened the door and walked out.
Dear Lord! Had she shocked the man that much? He probably wasn’t ready for a child either. What if he threw himself down the stairs or into the swimming pool just to escape this disaster? A.J quickly got off the bed to follow him.
“Babe? Lee?” She rushed out of the room. “Where are you going?”
Lee, who was descending the ornate stairs that led to the equally luxurious foyer, didn’t even turn.
If A.J wasn’t so panicked, she likely would’ve taken the opportunity to take another look around the large mansion that was currently hosting them. Frankly, when Kelly and Spencer had invited her and Lee to spend two weeks with them at Spencer’s godfather’s home, A.J had been reluctant to come along. Group vacations were not her thing. However, Lee wanted to get to know her friends so here they were.
The things she did for this man!
She trailed him down the stairs, past the foyer and into the dining room. Everyone else was already there having breakfast.
“You’re up late,” Fabián greeted Lee. Since there were so many women in their group, Lee had brought him along to balance out the numbers.
“A little later and you would’ve missed Kelly’s apple pie.” Spencer grinned in welcome.
“Nah, I saved some for him and A.J,” Kelly said as she stood up to grab a plate for Lee. “Is A.J up ye-” Her words halted when she saw A.J walk in behind Lee, and she grinned. “There she is. Did you sleep well?”
A.J’s response was a curt nod.
In all this time, Lee hadn’t spoken. He turned to smirk at A.J before setting the pregnancy stick smack in the middle of the dining table.
“What the hell is that?” Fabián was the first to see it.
“Is that-” Kelly was the first to realize what it was. Her jaw dropped and she tapped the back of her palm against Spencer’s shoulder. “Babe, babe, babe.”
Spencer leaned forward to take a look at the stick. Shock suffused his features then delight. “Congrats, man.”
“Congrats?” Fabián leaned forward to take a better look. “Oh… Are you… are you going to be a dad?”
Lee’s grin was the only answer he needed. Soon, Lee was receiving bear hugs and pats on his back.
Kelly rushed around the dining table to give A.J a hug. “I’m so happy for you, girl. I can’t believe you’re going to be a mommy.”
What A.J couldn’t believe was that that punk she called her boyfriend had just announced to the world that she was pregnant. She was going to kill him. No, seriously. She was going to stab him right in the face with a butter knife.
“What are we all so excited about?” Sin chose that moment to appear.
Close behind Sin was Ten. The two had become such firm friends that Sin had invited Ten to be her date on this vacation. A.J wasn’t sure she approved. The two were both dangerous on their own. Who knew what kind of damage they could cause when they were together.
Though A.J had never asked, it seemed like Ten had completely ditched Casper. These days she was living in the flat above A.J’s new store while A.J spent her nights at Lee’s.
“You won’t believe this!” An excited Kelly turned to Sin. “A.J’s pregnant.”
“What?” Sin’s shock was as dramatic as everyone else’s. She pointed at A.J. “That A.J?”
“That A.J.” Kelly nodded.
“Wow!” Sin gasped. In two strides, she was close to A.J and hugging her. “Congratulations.”
“Mm.” A.J grunted as she tried to disentangle herself from her friend’s embrace.
Sin paid no attention to her discomfort. She turned to Ten and asked, “Did you hear that? You’re going to be an aunt.”
“I heard.” Ten’s expression could only be described as a cross between disbelief, shock and ‘glad-it-ain’t-me’.
I’m going to kill Lee, A.J sung silently as she endured more hugs and teasing from her friends. Neither of her friends could believe that she was the first to get pregnant. She would become thick, they teased gleefully. Finally, Lee would have some meat to hold on to. Their joking only left her more annoyed.
Lee was sooo dead. Just wait until she got him alone…
Mr. Blabber Mouth himself had settled in between Spencer and Fabián. He happily accepted their congratulations while dishing out breakfast for himself. Obviously, he was taking this better than she was. The bastard. Without conscious thought, she strode closer to the table and grabbed a fork.
She threw it at Lee.
With unerring accuracy, it pierced the wood right next to his shoulder. The whole room stilled as everyone’s shocked gaze flew to the still-vibrating fork then to A.J.
Spencer was the first to speak. “Did she just-” He paused to swallow as his gaze moved from A.J to Lee and back to A.J. When he spoke again, his voice was practically a whisper. “Did she just try to kill you?”
Lee stared at A.J even as his own shock slowly faded. Surprisingly, he smiled. “If she wanted to kill me, she wouldn’t have deliberately missed.”
He was right, she’d deliberately missed. But he was supposed to be scared not grinning at her so endearingly, making her want to forgive him.
“Man, she’s scary,” Fabian said, his wide eyes on A.J. “Are you sure you want to have a baby with her?”
His question should’ve annoyed A.J. Instead, it made her ridiculously happy. It was good to know she could still get people to shake in their boots.
Still grinning, Lee pushed back his chair and stood up. “Of course I still want to have a baby with her.”
His amused gaze locked on her, he circled the table to wrap his arms around her waist. Though she didn’t jerk out of his arms, her glare shouted her irritation with him.
Lee was unaffected by that glare. His gaze softened as he said, “I wouldn’t want a baby with anyone else.”
Well, when he put it like that how could she not melt?
If she was going to have a baby, she supposed Lee wasn’t the worst man she could’ve chosen to be the father of her child. No, scratch that. Lee was the absolute best man she could’ve chosen. No other man would love her or their children better.
Despite herself, she smiled back at him and said, “I wouldn’t want a baby with anyone else either.”
With a grin, Lee lowered his mouth to hers for a gently yet long kiss. His taste was so intoxicating that A.J even forgot where they were until someone cleared their throat.
Kelly piped up, “I hope you two realize that you’re not alone here.”
“Mm hmm,” Sin agreed. “We’re all still here.”
Embarrassed, A.J moved away from Lee. Chuckling, he dragged her right back into his arms. He swallowed her shocked gasp with a heart stirring kiss that soon eclipsed their audience’s protests.
│ THE END │
Thank you for reading Lee & A.J’s story. Hopefully, you’re with me when I say they deserved a happy ending. Let me know what you thought about their story by leaving a review at your favorite store/site. Again - Thank you.
What’s Next?
We’ve still got one more ‘crook’ who needs a happy ending. Yes, our dear, dear Tamsin. I’ve started working on her book already and its title is ‘How To Catch A Crook’. Will Sin finally ditch her crooked ways or will she finds someone who doesn’t believe she can even ditch them?
Sin’s book (How To Catch A Crook) should be out in January, but if you want a heads-up when it
drops, be sure to sign up for my Book Club. The book club’s also a good place to get more info about new releases, giveaways, reading recommendations, TV show recommendations and many more goodies.