I snorted.
“Pizza. But make sure you get me those BBQ wings that they have, they sound really good.” I smiled down at the counter.
But, before I could study the detail in the marble countertops too long, I felt Rhys’ hand on my chin, lifting it up to look at me.
“Tell me about your brother. Why hasn’t he come home?” he asked. “I feel like I’m missing something.”
My smile died. “It’s not my story to tell,” she hesitated. “But, I guess since he was the one to bring the two of them up, he expected me to tell you.” She moaned and moved her hips in the chair. “Tyler used to date a woman. That woman was dating Tyler and Tyler’s best friend, Rome—real name Romero, at the same time. The woman, Tara, chose Romero and not Tyler. He’s not been back since they broke up.”
Rhys sighed. “That sucks big balls.”
I snorted. “So eloquent you are.”
He shrugged. “I’m not apologizing for telling the truth…but next time I might be a little nicer to him. I don’t know what I would do if I lost you…but I know damn well that I’d avoid my sister, because seeing her happy would be just one more dagger to the heart that I wasn’t willing to endure unless I absolutely had to.”
I felt my heart shudder in my chest, and despite being sick as a dog, other things started to flutter, too.
“That was sweet, Rhys.”
He winked at me. “Now, are you sure on the pizza?”
The moment might be gone, but the words weren’t able to be unsaid.
“I love you, Rhys.”
He looked up sharply, and his entire face broke out into a grin. “I’ve loved you since the day I woke up in the hospital room and found you staring at me…I just didn’t know what the emotion I was feeling was.”
Chapter 26
I call it taking care of myself and chasing my dreams. Others call it a nap.
-Rhys to Henley
Rhys
Three days later, I found myself in a grocery store for the first time since I was a young kid.
This time, though, it was immensely more fun staring at my woman’s ass rather than my mother’s.
Speaking of my woman, we made eye contact across the fruits and vegetables, and she looked down with embarrassment.
Why was she so embarrassed all the time? Literally, I only looked at her, and she was flushing pink.
Not that I didn’t enjoy the hell out of it when she flushed pink, but still.
My girl needed to learn to take the looks I was giving her, because I didn’t plan on stopping anytime soon.
“What is it?” I asked, looking at her like she was hiding something.
“Nothing,” she lied.
I rolled my eyes, then looked at the spread of apples.
Why were there so many fuckin’ kinds?
I grabbed three different bags, putting them all into the grocery cart.
“Jesus,” Henley whispered, catching her niece around the waist and hitching her up onto her hip. “Stop throwing stuff into my cart. You’re not even going to be here this week to eat any of this.”
She had a point but…I was hungry. One shouldn’t ever go to the grocery store hungry.
I looked at the little girl and held my hands out to her.
She came willingly.
Autumn had shared the flu with Henley and was just now on the mend just like Henley was.
Unfortunately, Alana had missed too much work and was being threatened with a write up if she didn’t go in today—which was why we ended up on babysitting duty.
Tonight, I’d be on a plane flying to Toronto for a baseball game and leaving my woman behind for over a week. During the week that I would be gone, Henley would be doing three things.
One, visiting with the women who were carrying our children.
Two, doing a photo shoot for Baller Magazine that would be showcasing us as a couple, and our wedding, as one of a four-part series involving ‘bachelors of baseball.’
And three, she would be flying to Toronto—out of the country for the first time—by herself. It was only her third plane ride, and I was already hating the fact that I wouldn’t be with her.
All three of those things I did not, under any circumstances, want her doing by herself.
Yet, I had no choice.
Per our contract with the surrogates, we met with them once a week during their pregnancy. Went to all their doctor appointments, and every single sonogram. Hell, we even had legal rights to call them at any hour of the day to ask how they were doing.
As for Baller Magazine, that hadn’t been my pony show. That’d been all Henley.
She’d been approached during the last game, and they’d asked her if she’d be willing to do it. She’d, of course, said yes and I hadn’t had anything to do with the time or place that they had it.
Then there was the flight out to Toronto.
Since she had all the other stuff going on during the week, she couldn’t fly out with the rest of the wives and girlfriends, ensuring she wouldn’t be alone. I wished she would be able to fly out with me, but even if she’d been able to go at the same time as me, team regulations meant that she’d be banned from our flight.
“Are you listening to me at all when I say you don’t need this?” Henley asked, poking me in the chest. “This will expire by this weekend. You’re leaving tonight. And I already have dinner in the crock pot for tonight…”
I looked at the steaks I’d added to the cart. “They freeze.”
She rolled her eyes and walked away, and I watched her ass as she did.
Autumn smacked me on the chest, and I looked down at her still tired eyes.
“What do you want to eat?” I asked her.
“Nana.”
I went to the bananas, grabbed a bunch, and put them into the cart, too.
Then I followed Henley to wherever she was going now.
I found her at the meat counter.
Once she’d selected what she wanted, her eyes caught on something behind me, and she rushed over.
I turned and watched her, chuckling softly when she walked straight over to the end cap, which happened to have extra-large condoms as well as lube. She grabbed a handful of each.
Four times.
I nearly choked.
But I didn’t stop her.
She’d been ‘healthy’ again for two days. And both of those days I’d taken her twice before she’d ordered me to back away from her.
All four of those times we’d done it without a condom.
I understood her need.
Yet, the thought of wearing a condom made something hurt inside of me.
My cock maybe.
I liked her bare. The thought of not having her how I wanted her was quite disappointing to say the least.
I was brought back to reality when I felt something hot and wet slide down my neck.
I closed my eyes and said, “Henley?”
“Yeah?”
“Is there something on my neck?”
Henley paused in her perusal of her condoms and I suspected looked over at me.
“Oh, no.”
It was bad.
I knew it.
“Did she throw up on me?”
“Ummm,” Henley hesitated. “On a scale of one to ten, how mad would you be if she did?”
“I’m not mad…but I feel it leaking down my back.”
And that’s how my last day home with Henley went…cleaning up throw up.
And not just from Autumn.
Apparently, Henley was susceptible to smells and threw up when she was thrown up on.
Who knew?
Chapter 27
You cannot make everybody happy. You are not a taco.
-Words of Wisdom
Henley
I didn’t know what I’d been thinking.
I should’ve never attempted to do this all the week that he was gone.
I’d just met with two women, both of which were having my babies—yes, that does sound weird since I was a woman—and both of them looked at me like I was lint between their toes.
It was more than obvious that both women didn’t care for me.
The women that did this kind of thing for the company that we used were hoity-toity bitches.
I would know. I’d literally just spent an hour with each woman going to their doctor’s appointment that confirmed that they were, indeed, pregnant.
Though, our count was lower than we once had thought.
Apparently, Baby A in Surrogate 1 had perished sometime in the last four weeks—which they said was normal this early in the pregnancy. Though each fertilized embryo was implanted successfully, it was normal for one or even both to be lost.
The doctor seemed to think we were doing well, and I believed him.
I was still kind of sad that one hadn’t taken, but I was upbeat as well because the doctor said that, on the next appointment, we would be able to see the baby’s heartbeat.
Surrogate 2 still had two living embryos inside of her.
And at four weeks gestation, both were doing what they should be doing.
I felt drained, and I hadn’t even been the one to go through the appointments.
Lucky for me I had the rest of the day off.
Tomorrow I’d be doing the shoot for Baller Magazine with Furious George’s wife the center fielder for the Lumberjacks, wife. Her name was Wrigley, and she was the nicest person I’d ever met outside of my family.
I had to be there at one, and I planned on visiting the babies in the NICU at the hospital since I hadn’t done that in well over two weeks.
Thursday I’d visit the ICU, and Friday was my scheduled flight.
But for now, I had my phone in my hand to call Rhys.
He answered on the second ring and sounded more than excited to speak with me.
“How did it go?” he asked breathlessly.
He sounded like he’d been running.
“Did I catch you at a bad time?” I asked worriedly.
“Sprints. I’m done for now, though. Tell me quickly what happened,” he ordered, sounding excited.
I did, explaining the entire day, down to the way that the two surrogates made me feel.
“Bitches.” He sighed. “I’m sad to hear that only one is viable in the first one. I really had my heart set on four.”
I relayed another thing that the doctor had told me today. “He also said that multiples were common in invitro like we’re doing. He said that he was surprised that neither embryo split, making eight.”
“Oh, God.” He moaned. “That I don’t think I could have handled.”
“The doctor said that as well. He normally encourages us to narrow it down to two embryos. Which I’m glad that we didn’t have to do. The surrogates could’ve legally done it themselves if they hadn’t wanted to carry that many,” I explained.
He made a sound in the back of his throat. “Well…” he hesitated. “I’m glad that we didn’t either. But…I’m worried that they’re making you feel unwanted. This is supposed to be a fun process. They weren’t like that when we met with them before.”
“You also were there, and cute. Oh, and they’re carrying Rhys Rivera’s babies,” I pointed out.
He grunted. “Not by choice. If I’d had it any other way, you’d be the one carrying my baby and no other woman.”
I felt my insides warm. “Well, other than that.”
A whistle blew, and he sighed. “It’s my turn again…call me before you go to bed, okay?”
I promised that I would…and would be happy that I did.
***
“You in bed already, baby?” he asked, sounding sleepy.
I nodded. “I am.”
“Can we switch to Facetime? My arms hurt and I want to prop the phone up so I can see you, too.” He paused. “We didn’t do arms today…and my body aches.”
I felt my belly tighten. “Uh-oh.”
I hoped he wasn’t getting sick.
“I’ll be fine. The nutritionist has been pouring vitamin C down my gullet every chance she gets. And I don’t feel bad other than a few aches and pains…but those could be because I had a long ass flight, sat still for hours, and had a long ass night before that.”
That was true.
I pulled the phone away from my ear and pressed the Facetime button. It took him less than a second to answer it, and then his beautiful, tired face was filling up the screen.
He was shirtless and laying on his bed, but that was all I could see other than the white sheets underneath him.
I found myself grinning despite telling myself not to.
“What?” he asked, looking sweet, comfortable, and tired.
His chest had a sheen of moisture that denoted he’d just gotten out of the shower, and I wondered idly whether he was wearing anything at all.
“I was just wondering…” I hesitated.
I was still so new at this stuff.
“Wondering…” he hesitated.
“I was wondering if you were wearing anything,” I blurted.
His smile lit up his face.
“God, I love you.”
I felt my heart stutter.
He’d said those words before, but every time they came out of his mouth, it still felt like the first time.
Then, before I could respond to his words, he turned the phone.
I was immediately disappointed. He was wearing a pair of black sweatpants—ones that I’d packed for him—and socks.
“Darn it,” I murmured. “I was hoping you’d be naked and I could have my first sexual experience over the phone.”
Before I could so much as tell him I was joking, he started to remove his pants.
He left the socks, though.
And his cock, my God, it was already hard.
I licked my dry lips.
“I’m torn,” I whispered.
“Torn between what?” he rumbled from behind the phone.
He turned the phone, and then I could see his face, and watch his eyes.
“Torn between wanting to see your face, and wanting to see your other attributes,” I murmured.
It was a habit of mine, making sure that I could read people’s every facial expression. Something that I’d been doing for so long that it was ingrained—something that had to happen for me to feel like I wasn’t missing anything.
And having the phone pointed away from his face, without me being able to control it and look at his cock—well, that kind of upset me.
Not enough that I would complain about what I was doing, but enough that I had no problem telling him what I was feeling.
Rhys grinned, then moved. I could see the room swirling around him as he walked somewhere—and then he placed the phone down, and I had an up close and personal view of his penis.
His pretty, hard, delectable, I-want-to-lick-it-now penis.
Then there were his balls. They were hanging low between his legs, and I wanted nothing more than to cup them in my hand and do things to them that were likely illegal in third world countries.
“That look,” he growled as he backed away.
As he did, the long length of his cock swayed with the movement, and I bit back a groan.
There was nothing more torturous in this world than to see something that you want, yet you’re unable to have it.
“All those moans and groans, honey.” He laughed.
I looked for a place to prop the phone up on my end and decided that the headboard would do. I’d just lay on the bed backward.
Which I did moments later, stripping down to nothing before laying on the bed just like he’d done moments before.
The moment he saw me, he fisted his cock and squeezed it hard.
At one point in our relationship, I would’ve questioned his roughness. But now, I knew him so well that it wasn’t sur
prising to see him do it. The move meant he was trying not to come.
I worked my bottom lip with my top teeth.
I loved making him feel good.
Loved. It.
My hand slipped down my chest, and I felt my nipples pucker.
He groaned, and I saw his knuckles go white as he tried to contain his need.
“God, I wish that you were here right now,” he whispered gruffly.
I did, too.
Oh, boy, did I.
Because I was soaked just by watching him squeeze his cock.
I had no doubt in my mind, had he been here with me, I’d be riding his cock to orgasm.
“Touch yourself,” he ordered.
I didn’t hesitate.
Moments after my hand started to travel downward, he let his cock go and brought both of his hands up to rest underneath his head.
Any other woman might look at him and see him getting comfortable. I knew better. He was taut and ready to blow.
He was just trying to gather enough control.
“Oh, fuck,” he said once I touched my clit with one finger. “Don’t.”
I didn’t listen to him. He didn’t want me to touch my clit yet, but with just one brush of my fingers, I knew that I wouldn’t be able to stop myself. I was already too far gone.
And, apparently, so was he.
He didn’t say another word as my other hand traveled down my belly to between my thighs, and then even farther to my weeping sex.
He also didn’t say a word when I thrust two fingers inside of me and continued to circle my clit with two fingers.
And when I started to come? He definitely didn’t say anything then.
He shouted, though.
He also came without touching himself.
I tried to keep my eyes open, but the force of my orgasm made me unable to control myself. They closed, and I arched off the bed.
Wetness leaked from my pussy and slickened my hand.
It was only his grunt that had my eyes opening to see the last spurt of come leaving his cock.
His belly was decorated with his release, and I wanted nothing more than to be in that room at that very moment and lick it all up. One slow lick at a time.
Seeing the look in his eyes, I knew I wasn’t the only one wishing that.
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