But now wasn’t the time to lay that on her. Right now, I just wanted her to know how much I cherished her and how determined I was to never let her go.
“My pleasure,” I said, standing, dragging her to her feet, and sweeping her into my arms, carrying her inside while her squeals of laughter surrounded me.
I could definitely get used to that.
24
Lexi
Six Weeks Later
“You know you don’t really have to come,” I said, clasping my necklace behind my neck, letting my hair fall over my shoulders.
“Why wouldn’t I come?” Bear asked, buttoning up his shirt. I had to admit, he cleaned up nice.
I liked how he normally looked in his jeans and t-shirt, but dressed up? The man was like a GQ model or something. I made a mental note to concoct more occasions to get him in a suit.
“I don’t know.” I shrugged. “Don’t you think it’s a little silly?”
He grinned at me, crossed my bedroom in two long strides, and kissed me.
“I think it’s completely ridiculous,” he said, still smiling.
That got a chuckle out of me and I shook my head. “It really is, but I can’t not go, you know?”
“Of course not. How many times is Dallas going to graduate from second grade?”
“I don’t get why every school year has to end with a ‘graduation,’ what happened to just passing?”
He kissed me again. “You’re sounding like an old grump,” he teased.
“Who are you calling old?” I asked, mock offense in my tone.
“Certainly not you. You’re young and gorgeous,” he said, stroking my ego.
I laughed, shaking my head. “That’s better. Can you zip me up?”
He stepped behind me, settling his hands on my hips. “Do I have to?”
“I have a zipper-puller arm-extender thing if you don’t,” I warned. “The dress is going on whether you comply or not.”
“Damn,” he murmured, his fingers dancing over the globes of my ass, sending shivers up my spine.
“Bear… We’re going to be late,” I moaned as he pressed a kiss to the back of my neck, then along the top of my shoulder. I wanted to just melt into him and let him have his way with me.
He kissed the other side of my neck, moving down that shoulder, his thumbs skimming along either side of my spine, over my bare skin, my whole body lighting up with desire for him. He reached around the front of me and splayed his hand over my belly, sliding it lower until he was cupping my sex.
My breath hitched, my eyes fluttered closed. I wanted him so bad…
I hadn’t stopped wanting Bear ever since that first night. We had our talk the next day and ever since then, things had been going remarkably well. It seemed that we both just needed to give each other permission to not feel guilty. I hadn’t been so happy in the longest time.
My mom was more than willing to watch Dallas whenever we wanted a date night or alone time. She was over the moon about our developing relationship. I was too. I still felt conflicted sometimes, but with Bear, everything felt so right. It just didn’t seem like anything that felt so right could be wrong.
And though there was plenty of sex — neither one of us seemed to be able to keep our hands off the other once we started — we were still trying to take things slow. He was still at his place most nights, and I was at mine with Dallas. Sleepovers were rare, but growing more common as Dallas seemed to get used to seeing him around.
We hadn’t actually sat down with the kid and told him what’s going on yet, but we will if it gets to the point where we feel like we should. I was sure he suspected, but we tried to keep the PDA on lock around him.
I didn’t know how much longer I could take that though. I wanted to kiss him every time he walked through my door, whether or not my kid was watching.
Maybe today was the day. He was graduating, moving on to third grade. Now one of the older kids at the elementary school. Perhaps it was time to trust him with grown-up news.
Bear’s finger slid over my cleft, through my dress, through my panties, his fingertip just swirling around my clit, making me melt back against him.
“Seems like someone wants to be late,” he growled into my ear, nipping lightly at it.
I clung to him as his finger moved faster and faster, bringing me right up to the edge so fast my head spun. My toes curled, I sucked in a sharp breath, and my whole body started to tense up, ready to explode.
He pulled his hand away and I staggered forward, nearly falling on the bed gasping.
“What—”
“We’re going to be late,” he said with a huge grin.
I gaped at him, knowing my whole face had to be flushed, my body tingling with the after effects of the orgasm he never let me reach.
“You asshole,” I growled.
He just smiled wider, stepping up behind me, zipping my dress and spinning me. “Guilty as charged,” he said, dropping a quick kiss on my lips.
“I just wanted to make sure you didn’t get too bored at this thing. Now you can just sit there thinking about how when I get you home I’m going to fill up that sweet little pussy and make you come so many times you lose count.”
My breath caught in my throat and I had to suppress a little groan.
“Tease.”
“You love it,” he tossed back.
I did, too. He had this casual way of being sweet and loving, but also somehow dominant. He made my knees weak every time he told me to get on my knees and spread myself for him. I dreamed about the way he teased me, bringing me right up to the edge only to leave me wanting and gasping, begging.
I hated the frustration it brought when I was left to go about my day and the only thing I could think about was coming home to his tongue, his fingers, his wonderful cock. But the anticipation made it so much sweeter. So while I grunted and groaned and pouted every time he left me right on the edge with a dark promise of later, I really secretly loved it, and he knew it too.
“Come on,” he said, taking my hand, “we’re going to be late.” There was a sparkle of laughter in his eyes and I shook my head, laughing quietly to myself.
We weren’t late. The whole school was doing this graduation thing, each grade walking up, getting their little diplomas and stuff. We walked in on the middle of first grade. Half the kids seemed like they’d rather be anywhere else in the world than on that stage and the other half seemed to think they should be the only ones on the stage. The parents were the worst part of the whole thing, filming and taking pictures, blocking everyone else’s view with their huge tablets up in the air. There was even a mom in the front row hissing at her daughter as she walked across the stage, telling her to twirl for everyone like it was a damn beauty pageant.
Bear and I sat together, holding hands, laughing at the kids, scoffing at the parents, not very invested in any of it until it was second grade’s turn. They all started to line up in order and I spotted Dallas looking around the audience and gave him a big wave. He finally spotted me, and Bear too, his smile growing from ear-to-ear.
It was amazing how their relationship had developed the past weeks. Dallas had never really had a guy around so much to do all those guy things with. They were always outside playing games, or Bear was working around the house, teaching Dallas how and where to use different tools. He was loving every minute of it. They both were.
I couldn’t believe how well Bear fit into our life. How natural everything seemed. How happy we all were. I kept waiting for something to happen. For some big change to rock the earth and test our solidity, but it had been nothing but smooth sailing since we’d finally decided to be open and honest with each other.
“Dallas Hunter,” the principal announced.
Bear whistled loudly while I cheered right along with him. Dallas shot us both a look, but that just made us more obnoxious. We hooted and hollered until his face was bright red. He took the little certificate the principal offered him and scurried down the stairs on the oppo
site side of the stage to join the rest of his class.
Sometime during third grade’s parade, Dallas broke away from the rest of his class and came over to us, climbing up in my lap.
“Can we go?” he asked, looking up at me with a plea in his eyes. I had to hold in a laugh. There was really no reason for us to stay anymore. A lot of the other families were leaving after their grade’s turn, and we didn’t have any friends with kids in the upper grades.
“Sure,” I said with a shrug. It was Bear that looked surprised.
“Really?”
“Why not?”
“Quick, before she changes her mind,” he said, grabbing Dallas’s hand and leading him out, me close on their heels.
Once we were out in the sunshine, we all burst out laughing.
“What do you think about going to get some ice cream?” I asked, looking down at Dallas.
His eyes grew wider. “Before dinner?”
I shrugged again. “Why not?”
Bear made a face and grabbed Dallas by the shoulders, pulling him behind his arm. “Watch out. I think she might have been abducted by aliens!”
I rolled my eyes. “I have not. If you don’t want ice cream…”
“I do!” Dallas said quickly.
“Well come on then.”
Twenty minutes later we were sat outside the local ice cream shop at a patio table shaded by a flowering dogwood tree. I had a cone of Rocky Road, Bear had butterscotch, and Dallas had cotton candy, which was already turning his lips, tongue, and teeth blue.
“Good ice cream?” I asked as he licked a drip off his hand.
“Mhm.”
“Good.”
“Mine’s really good too,” Bear said, looking me in the eye as he lewdly licked his treat. I narrowed my eyes at him, giving him a stern look, but at the same time, there was a hot trickle of need that I couldn’t ignore, making me squeeze my knees together.
Focus, Lexi.
“So, I — we — wanted to talk to you about something,” I said, gathering up my strength. Bear’s eyebrows shot up. I was kind of springing this on him, but the timing felt right. It seemed like the time.
Dallas frowned. “Am I in trouble?”
I snorted, shaking my head. “No, baby, you’re not in trouble. This is about me… and Uncle Bear.”
He made a face at me, then at Bear. “Is this about you guys liking each other? Because Grandma already told me about that.”
I groaned. “Of course she did. Thanks Mom.”
“What did she tell you?” Bear asked, much more casual than me. Maybe I should have just let him handle this.
Dallas shrugged. “Just that you guys like each other and might kiss and stuff.”
I sighed, pinching the bridge of my nose. Why in the world had we been trying so hard to keep this hidden from him when my mother was just blabbing all over the place?
“Are you guys going to get married?” he asked.
Blood rushed to my face, hot as lava, and I wanted to crawl in a hole, but Bear just smirked at me.
“Not yet,” he said, making my heart race. “What would you think about that, though?”
Dallas bit off a big hunk of his waffle cone and looked off in the distance thoughtfully. “Would you live with us?” he asked.
Bear nodded. “Yeah, probably.”
“All the time?”
“Yeah.”
Dallas paused, his thinking face still there. Finally he nodded, going back to his ice cream. “That would be cool.”
A huge ball of tension released in my chest and I let out a heavy sigh. That went way better than I expected. Way better.
Later, after getting Dallas buckled in, Bear and I were both standing outside the car where he couldn’t hear us.
“Marriage, huh?” I teased. “Don’t you think you’re moving a little fast?”
“What, is two months not enough time?” he teased back, grinning, his hands on my hips.
“Has it really been that long already?”
“Time flies, doesn’t it?”
“Yeah but…” I frowned.
“What?”
“Can you take Dallas home? I need to do something.”
Bear frowned too, his expression a mirror of mine. “Is everything okay?”
“Yeah… I think so… Probably?”
“Lexi, baby, you’re worrying me. What’s going on?”
I smiled and perched up on my toes to kiss him. “I’m not sure yet, but I’ll let you know as soon as I am. I promise.”
“Okay,” he said, trepidation obvious in his voice.
I didn’t want to say my suspicions out loud. Not yet. I didn’t want to jinx it. But there wasn’t much else in the way of an explanation, was there?
Bear went around to the driver’s side, climbed in, and pulled off, heading down towards my place. It wasn’t terribly far and I could walk after I made my pit stop.
As I walked toward the grocery store, I tried to do the math again, pulling up a calendar in my head. But no matter how many times I counted, no matter which way I did it, there was no denying it: I was late.
Late late.
One of the worst things about living in a little town like Rockford was the lack of privacy. Luckily, the grocery store in town had just added one of those self-checkout counters which was a godsend at times like this. I grabbed a couple of random things, a bag of chips, a candy bar, dish soap, and then I headed to the pharmacy section, grabbed a test and practically jogged to the check-out, my hands sweating. The last time I’d done one of these things, it had been planned. It was a whole ‘nother level of anxiety-inducing. But it was also kind of exciting. I hadn’t let myself think about something like it. Bear and I hadn’t talked about it. But now that the possibility existed… I was kind of hopeful.
Would he feel the same way? His talk of marriage surprised me, but that was Bear. He knew what he wanted and wasn’t afraid to say so. He’d taken a while with me, because of all of his guilt surrounding Wyatt, but at this point, I couldn’t go six hours without him telling me how much he wanted me and how happy he was to have me.
I loved it.
I loved him.
We were still a little shy about those words. They came out sometimes, but we both seemed to be waiting for… something. I didn’t know what. Maybe this was it.
Thankfully, there was no one else at the self check-out and I was able to ring up my items and get the hell out of there without any prying eyes or nosy neighbors seeing what I was up to. And then it seemed like I couldn’t get home fast enough. I’d have run if I had better shoes for it, but I was dressed for the graduation in modest kitten heels that weren’t exactly suited for jogging.
I was going to explode with the anticipation though, I just knew it. I couldn’t stand the not knowing, the mystery, the worry. How would Bear react? What would he say? I wanted to think he’d be as excited as I was, but you never knew for sure…
By the time I got home I was sweating and so nervous I was shaking.
“There you are, I was starting to get worr— Hey, what’s up?” Bear asked, coming out from the kitchen, his brows knitting together.
I just started toward the stairs, waving him after me. “Come on,” I whispered.
That did not make his frown go away at all.
“Lex, what are you—”
I closed the bedroom door behind him, turning the lock on the knob. Moving to the bed, I dropped the grocery bag and started unpacking everything.
“Are we having secret junk food?” he asked, picking up the bag of chips.
“No,” I answered, holding up the pregnancy test in front of him.
His eyes grew ten times their size. It would have been funny if I wasn’t worried that he was going to freak out.
“Is that…?”
“Yep. I haven’t had my period since we…”
His brows shot up. “Shit… You haven’t.” He’d know. We’d been having a lot of sex. “You’re not on birth control?”
“I didn’t either… Weird isn’t it?”
“Are you… upset?” I asked, biting my bottom lip, holding my breath.
“What? Are you kidding?” He wrapped me up in his arms, pulling me into a big tight bear hug. I’d decided awhile ago that that was where his name came from. Not him being a big angry growly bear. But being a big teddy bear that gave the best hugs. “Lexi… It’s amazing… I can’t even believe… Wait, are you upset?” he asked, pulling away, his huge grin dying in an instant.
“No,” I said quickly. “Just nervous.”
“You should take it so we know. I want to know.”
“You really want this?” I asked, scared to let myself believe it. It felt too good to be true.
“Did you think I was just talking out of my ass earlier with Dallas?” he asked, his voice getting serious as he stepped closer, enveloping me in his embrace, his hands settling on my ass, squeezing playfully. “I meant what I said. I’m crazy about you and I’d marry you today if you wanted to do it.”
“But this isn’t just marriage… This is a baby.”
“Yeah, and? Don’t you think this little family of ours has some room to grow?”
“Our family, huh?” I teased, grinning.
“Yep. Dallas is as big a part of my life as you are.” He stepped back enough to put a hand over my belly. “As big a part as this one will be.”
Tears gathered in my eyes. I couldn’t help it. He was just so good to me. I couldn’t believe how lucky I’d gotten with Bear, with this amazing man who came into my life when I was at my lowest, and raised me higher than I ever thought possible.
“Okay, okay,” I said, swiping at tears. “I guess I need to go pee on a stick.”
“Oh baby,” he joked.
I wrinkled my nose, shaking my head laughing as I disappeared into the bathroom.
The actual peeing part only took a moment, but then we had to wait. So I washed my hands and opened the door, but stayed in the bathroom.
“How long does it take?” Bear asked, coming up behind me, wrapping his arms around my waist, kissing along the side of my neck, his scruff rough against my delicate skin.
A Baby for the Soldier (Boys of Rockford Series Book 2) Page 16