9
Blake
Hutch makes a quick lunch of ham and cheese omelets and toast. He refuses to let me help—plopping me down on the counter and telling me to stay put. Since my legs are still mostly made of jelly thanks to multiple orgasms, I don’t argue. Then again, I don’t think I would even if I wasn’t weak-kneed. Watching Hutch efficiently move around the kitchen as he cooks is hot as hell. I practically need to wipe drool from my chin.
He plates up our food and before I can hop down from the counter, he has me back in his arms. Then he sits with me on his lap, which is where I am now. Comfortably sitting in the lap of the most amazing man I’ve ever met, while he feeds me bites of omelet and presses devastatingly tender kisses to my neck and shoulder.
I decline the next bite, putting my hand to my stomach. “I couldn’t eat another bite. I’m stuffed.”
“Not yet, Kitten.” His voice is deep with desire and my pussy clenches at the reminder of how it feels to have him buried inside me.
“You’re terrible.” I can’t help but laugh at his antics. His cock is a solid bar under me the whole time we ate. He had to adjust me twice because I kept rubbing myself against it. I blush remembering how he groaned and threatened to bend me over the table and redden my ass for teasing him when my pussy is too sore to fuck.
“Hmm… I’d give about anything to be inside that mind of yours right about now.”
I can feel my blush deepen and I’m considering telling him my dirty thoughts, hoping it might break his resolve on the whole give Blake’s vagina a break thing. Before I make my decision, we are interrupted by the slam of a car door.
Who the hell is that?
Hutch looks down at me, barely covered in a towel and he's instantly on the move. Back in his room, he tosses me one of his shirts and pulls on a clean pair of jeans. Apparently, I’m not moving fast enough because he grabs the shirt from my hands and pulls it over my head. It’s so big it falls down to my knees, but the heated look in Hutch’s eyes says he very much likes seeing me in his clothes. Pounding on the door makes me jump and Hutch growl in annoyance.
“You stay here,” Hutch demands. Spinning on his heel he takes quick strides out of the room and I hear the door open, followed by a very familiar, very angry voice.
I poke my head into the hall, but I can’t see anything. Hutch hasn’t let our visitor inside yet. I debate on staying there and hiding or going out and stabbing my ex. Anger rises up in me as I think about everything I lost—all the years of friendship burned down by betrayal, the years of giving myself wholly to a man who was unfaithful, and let’s not forget, my fucking self-respect. I put up with his shit for too long. Now that I’m free of him, I’m kicking my own ass for letting it go on so long.
I blame him for that, too.
He made me doubt myself. Made me feel like I wasn’t good enough. That I couldn’t do better than him. Well, fuck him. Rage burning through my blood, I storm into the living room.
Seeing Shane standing beside Hutch has me stopping in my steps. How could I ever have thought Shane was the one for me? He can’t even hold a candle to Hutch.
Everything about Hutch screams man. His wide shoulders and chest that tapers into a trim waist. And don’t even get me started on those muscles. The deep cut of each slab is defined in the most delicious way. If my ex wasn’t standing two feet away, face red as he yells at a very scarily calm Hutch, I would climb him like a tree.
“You need to crawl back into your car and drive the fuck away.” Hutch’s tone is relaxed, but I can see the twitch of his jaw and the flex of muscles that indicate he is anything but.
Shane, oblivious to what’s brewing beneath the surface, levels a glare at Hutch. “You better let me in there, my fiancée is in that house and I’m not leaving here without her.”
Hutch growls—literally growls at Shane—as he takes a threatening step forward, his calm demeanor cracking. Before things can escalate between them, I walk further into the room.
“There you are, baby. Tell this ogre to let me in,” Shane addresses me as if nothing bad has happened between us. Every one of his words grates on my nerves like nails on a chalkboard.
Hutch scowls at Shane when he calls me baby, but a gentle hand on his arm has him relaxing minutely. He looks down at me, quirking an eyebrow, asking me silently how I want to proceed. I smile sweetly at him, loving that he’s letting me call the shots, even though I can tell he wants to pummel him.
Shane’s gaze narrows in on my hand resting familiarly on Hutch’s arm. A look of confusion, followed by one of anger, flashes on his face. He meets my eyes and says the single most stupid thing I’ve ever heard in my entire life.
“You slut! I can’t believe you would cheat on me after everything I’ve done for you.” Spittle flies from his mouth as he screams at me.
“Oh no, you did not just call me a slut,” I scream back, launching myself at him. I pull my fist back, punching him square in the nose. The instantaneous blood flow is almost as satisfying as the crunch of broken bone. I’m reeling back to hit him again when Hutch grabs me around the waist and pulls me back, kicking and screaming.
“You motherfucking, cum guzzling, bag of ball sweat!” I yell to his crouched figure, blood dripping through his fingers as he holds his broken nose. “Hutch, you put me down right now. I’m going to bury this douche drinking shit stain.”
“Calm down, Hellcat. I think you’ve gotten your point across.”
“I am calm. I’m Mother-fucking-Theresa with how fucking calm I am.”
Hutch chuckles, but doesn’t let me loose. “I can see that, but how about we not kill the pathetic little man-child? I can think of a lot more interesting ways for you to work out your aggression.” He waggles his eyebrows suggestively and my pussy clenches, completely on board with that option.
“Fine, but I’m going to pout because he really does deserve worse than a broken nose.”
“You’re right, he does, but the fact that he’s lost you is a pretty severe punishment.” He brushes his lips over mine and I instantly melt. “Let me take out the trash and we’ll see about all that pent up aggression.”
“Time to go, asshole. There’s nothing here for you.”
Shane looks at me beseechingly. “Blakey, I forgive you, just come home and we’ll put this whole mess behind us.”
“Hutch is right, Shane. There’s nothing here for you. Go home. I’ll send one of my brothers to get my things.”
“But…” Shane starts to say something else, but Hutch doesn’t let him. He grabs him by the back of his shirt, then unceremoniously drags him across the porch and down to his car. He pushes Shane into the car and slams the door. Hutch doesn’t move until Shane’s car is nothing but taillights in the distance. As soon as they fade away, he’s crossed the short distance between us and has me wrapped in his strong arms.
“You okay, Kitten?”
“I’m absolutely perfect,” I quip, grabbing his hand and pulling him back into the cabin. “I believe you promised to show me how to properly deal with my aggression, though.”
“That I did my little hellcat.”
Epilogue
Blake
Three years later…
“Momma, up!” Brenden, my sweet little guy holds up his chubby arms to me. I’m just about to bend to scoop him up when my husband stomps into the room and grabs the little guy, turning him upside-down before parking him on his shoulders.
“I know you weren’t going to pick this monster up, were you little momma?” He asks, one eyebrow quirked up and a smirk gracing his handsome face.
“Yes, I was. I’m perfectly capable of holding my own son,” I whine. Okay, I might have stomped my foot a little, too. I’m so tired of being coddled. “I’m pregnant, not broken. You’re being ridiculous.”
Brenden giggles while tugging his daddy’s hair. “Yeah Daddy, wedicuwous.”
“You’re days away from delivery. Please, just humor me.” His tone is pleading and his eyes are
full of concern.
Ugh. I hate when he looks at me like that. I can’t deny the man anything. “Fine.”
He plucks Brenden from his shoulders and puts him on his feet. “Why don’t you go find Uncle Drake, little man?”
“Dwwaaakkkeee,” he squeals, running full-speed down the hall to the guest room.
As soon as he’s out of sight, Hutch has my face cupped between his hands and his lips caressing mine in a soul-searingly sweet kiss. Lust shoots through my body and my brain short-circuits like it always does whenever he touches me. I move closer, but my baby bump gets in the way. He pulls back, grinning at me like a fool. His hands move from my face to my belly, hands cradling his babies where they rest.
“I love you so fucking much, Kitten.”
“I love you too, Hutch.”
“And I love sleep, but this little monster has no respect for closed doors,” Drake interrupts our moment.
My gaze finds my brother standing just inside the room. My heart clenches and I have to steel myself against the grief that wells up inside me. The deep scars that mar the once perfect skin on the left side of his face don’t take away from his good looks, but knowing that the event that caused those scars nearly took him from my life guts me every time. And the haunted look in his eyes keeps me up at night.
“Unka Dwake, up!”
“Yeah, yeah, buddy.” Drake picks him up, tickling his sides and filling our home with sweet baby giggles as he heads toward the kitchen.
“He’s going to be fine, you know?”
Hutch always knows what’s worrying me. He’s spent every day of the last three years chasing worries away and guarding my heart against hurt.
“I know.” I snuggle into his side, taking his strength for my own. “I can’t help worrying… and peeing. These babies of yours are tap dancing on my bladder today. I’m going to go lay down since you won’t let me do anything else.”
He barks out a laugh, slapping my ass as I waddle away. “Someone’s got to make you slow down.”
I’ll never admit it, but the second my tired body collapses on the mattress I’m out from exhaustion. It’s been a hard pregnancy. I was spoiled with Brenden, everything went smoothly from start to finish, but the twins have been hard. Morning sickness—which was more like all day and night sickness—bleeding, and threats of bedrest because of my high blood pressure. Despite it all the babies are healthy and strong. It’s my body that’s causing the troubles.
“Kitten.”
“Hmm…”
“Time for dinner.”
Hutch drops a kiss to my forehead, then helps me from the bed. When I stand, dizziness rushes through me and I wobble. Hutch steadies me and I smile up at him, but my smile falls from my lips when I take in the look on his face. Following his gaze to the bed, I see the large dark circle where I was laying. Confusion hits at the same time as another wave of dizziness. That’s when the world tips the wrong way and darkness clouds my vision. The last thing I see is the stark fear in my husband's eyes.
* * *
Hutch
My wife lays in a hospital bed, tubes and wires hooked to her frail body. Hours ago she was full with the lives of our twins, her skin pink, and smile wide. Now she's fighting for her life. She always seems larger than life. She's has such a zest for everything, never taking a single moment for granted. I'm clutching her hand like it's a fucking lifeline. In a way it is, she's my life and I don't know how I could ever go on without her.
I watch the heart monitor, thanking God for every beat. The doctors said she coded three times on the table. They practically lost count of how many bags of blood they used as they fought to save her. My eyes burn with unshed tears. If I let the dam break, it'll consume me. I'll be lost and I can't let that happen while she's laying here. When she needs me to be strong.
"Kitten, you've have come back to me. Back to us," I beg.
I'd sell my soul if I thought it'd help in this situation, but I know it's up to her. The doctors did their jobs and now she's just got to fight.
"The twins are healthy. Identical heads of black as night hair, sweet little noses, and sassy attitudes from their first breaths... just like their momma."
The nurse comes in, checking vitals and giving her a fresh bag of fluids. "She's looking good, Mr. Hutchinson. She'll come around."
I know she’s doing her job by trying to make me feel better, but right now the only thing that will make me feel better is for my wife to open her eyes. It's been three days since she was brought in and every minute of every hour has been torture. I haven't left her side. Thankfully, Drake has stayed with the twins in the nursery. Using FaceTime, he's been giving me updates and letting me see our girls.
I should be there with them, too. Blake and I should be cuddling our babies and introducing them to their big brother. This should be a time of joy, not a nightmare.
With a sympathetic look the nurse leaves the room.
I press gentle kisses to the back of Blake's chilled hand, wrapping both of my hands around hers gently and willing my warmth into her body. Exhaustion weighs down on me. Resting my head on the bed I fall into an uncomfortable sleep.
“Hutch?”
An angel speaks in my dreams. Striking blue eyes with hair so black it’s nearly blue, and a smile so wide it’s devastating in its beauty. The angel speaks again, but I dare not respond. I couldn’t live if this dream disappeared and reality took its place. Then a soft touch, a gentle caress from cool fingers across my cheek, has me jerking away from my dream into an even better reality.
“Kitten?”
She’s got a soft look on her face, but her gaze is laced with pain. A look of panic takes over and her heart monitor goes crazy.
“The babies?” She chokes out, as her free hand moves towards her now flat stomach.
“Are fine. Calm down, Kitten. They're perfect. Drake hasn’t left the nursery since they were born. He’s caused quite the scene from what I’ve heard.”
The relief on her face is instant and the vise that gripped my heart at her panic loosens.
“Brenden?”
“He’s with Shay.”
“Everyone’s okay then?” Just like my girl, totally worried about everyone else after just waking up from major emergency surgery.
“Yeah, everyone’s perfect now that you’re awake.”
Some of the anxiety of the last three days ebbs away once the doctor comes and checks Blake over. I haven’t had the chance to tell her what happened before the doctor came in for rounds, and like a chickenshit, I’m grateful that I didn’t have to tell my beautiful wife that she’d never have another baby.
The bleeding was too bad and even with removing her uterus, they still barely managed to save her life. The heart wrenching sobs that wrack Blake’s whole body tear into me like a thousand blades. Unable to take it another moment, I carefully crawl into the bed beside her and hold her to me, taking on all the pain she’ll give me.
“It’s okay, Kitten. Let it out. We all have to break sometimes, but I’ll always be here holding you together.”
Finally, her sobs turn into sniffles and then to silent tears. After a few silent minutes she says something I never expected…
“I almost lost you.”
“No. I almost lost you,” I repeat her words fervently.
A few errant tears trail down her cheeks and I carefully wipe them away. The moment is broken by a soft knock on the door right before Drake walks into the room pushing a nursery crib followed by a very annoyed looking nurse.
“Up for a couple visitors?” Drake asks, eyeing his twin up and down, assessing her. Unmistakable relief floods his features when he takes in her upright position.
Blake’s whole face lights up and you’d never know she’d nearly died by the look on her face. So full of life and practically glowing with the joy of seeing the fruits of thirty-eight long weeks of pregnancy.
“Yes! Let me see my babies.”
The scars on my best friend’s face
pull tight as he smiles down at the tiny baby girls. Carefully lifting one then the other in his arms like he’s done it a million times before, he comes directly to her bedside. Tears fill Blake’s eyes as he settles the babies gently in her arms, cautiously putting pillows under her arms for support so she doesn’t hurt herself.
“Oh, Hutch, they’re just perfect.”
“So, sis, what’re their names?”
Another wide smile spreads across her face, delight at having kept a secret from her twin. He always cracks her one way or another, but she managed to hold out on this one.
“Caiden Marie and Haiden Leigh,” she answers and I can’t hold back the laughter when Drake groans.
“Did you really have to do that to them? Just because it’s been done with every set of twins in our family for generations, doesn’t mean you had to do it too. You could have broken the curse.” He sounds upset, but his eyes are brimming with happiness. Despite his constant complaining about how their parents hated them by giving them matching names, I can tell he’s pleased that she honored the tradition.
“When you have twins, you can go ahead and break the curse. I wasn’t about to have mom come back and haunt me for the rest of my days. You know she would,” Blake teases.
The nurse, who has been mostly silent, snorts out a little laugh, then blushes beet red when she realizes she’s caught our attention. Drake looks at her like he wants to eat her for dinner… interesting. She clears her throat, and shuts down any amusement she was showing. “It looks like you’re all set here. I’ll leave you to it. If you need anything, just call down to the nurse’s station and someone will be right in.”
“Thanks.”
The door doesn’t even click shut before Drake is heading out with a wave and a quick, “I’ll be back later.”
His Hellcat (Sassy Girls Book 1) Page 6