“Well, you seem to be doing well, Luke.” The doctor beams at him.
“My head hwurts.” He goes to touch it again.
“Well, you fell, so that’s to be excepted. Mind if I take you over to your bed so I can check you?”
He looks at me.
“Come on, sweetheart.” I wipe his face and carry him to the hospital bed.
She happily talks to him as she does her exam. I sense Reed behind me, his body not touching mine but the heat almost pouring into me.
She sighs and pats his cheek. “You are doing great. I’m going to talk to your mommy and daddy. You can watch TV. I think you get all the kids’ channels.” He happily lies back as Reed turns on the TV.
“How is he?” He looks over at her as he finds Cars on the Disney channel.
“Good. He has a concussion, but we knew that. I have arranged for you guys to have a private nurse stay with him so that you can get some sleep.”
“Oh, thank you, but I’ll be up with him.”
Reed looks at me and then the doctor. “Excuse us.” He guides me to another room. It’s red and white with another TV and incredible view. I’m surprised that it’s dark out.
“Tess, you need to sleep. I want two nurses so that he is watched all night. That way you can at least get a little sleep.” I go to open my mouth, but he places a finger on it then kisses the side of my lips.
“It’s not up for discussion. Go take a bath and I will take care of the rest.” Before I can stop him, he’s gone into the other room.
I sink into the couch, realizing that having professional nurses is a great idea. “God,” I groan, massaging my forehead. I have not even called Brance and told him what happened. Also, I told Luke he can FaceTime Lilly after dinner. I sniffle as I open the door. Reed’s and Luke’s dark heads are touching as they both laugh at something on Reed’s phone.
He glances over at me, and before he can speak, I say, “Let’s FaceTime Lilly.”
Luke jumps up. “Yeah.”
I smirk at Reed. He shakes his head but pushes on the number. We wait as his phone makes the pulsing sound. Luke squirms with excitement. He and Lilly both love to FaceTime.
“Hello?” Lilly’s beautiful face has taken over the screen, well, her lips mostly.
“Hi, Bunny.” I pick up Luke’s hand and wave to her.
“Um, honey you need to pull the phone a little—”
“Mommy?” She jumps so now we see the floor and her toes that are red. Obviously my mom took her to get a pedicure.
“Lilly?” Luke is sticking out his tongue and tilting his head.
“Are you being a good girl?”
Luke turns to me. “Why are we seeing her fweet?”
“Hi.” Caroline’s face fills the phone. Luke reaches for her. “Hi, Grandmaw.”
Her eyes are red and swollen. Seeing them get wet with tears is almost painful.
“Is she doing okay?” I ask, trying to avoid Caroline’s tears.
“She’s the best little girl in the world. How’s Luke?”
Lilly’s hands flutter around the screen.
“He’s doing well. I wanted to check in and tell Lilly I love her.”
“I love you.” She kisses the screen. Luke giggles.
“We will be home tomorrow.” I throw her some kisses.
“Daddy!” Her face lights up. I turn to see Reed making silly faces behind us.
“You be a good girl for your grandparents and we’ll bring you a surprise tomorrow.”
“Okay, Daddy.” Her green eyes fill with tears.
“Be a big girl—no crying.” His voice is so tender my eyes get blurry.
“Bye Lilly, I wuv you.” She nods and clings to Caroline.
“Okay, good night, sweetheart. Night, Mom. Thanks again.”
Lilly peeks up then buries her head in Caroline’s neck as the phone beeps off.
“Reed?” I reach for him. “I need you.” It comes out raspy, but I don’t care.
“Go take a bath or a shower, Kitten. You’ll feel better.” He leans over and kisses me as he takes his phone back.
“There’s fresh clothes for us. I left them in the bathroom.”
“K.” As I start the shower, I’m almost numb. The sound of Reed talking tells me the nurse has arrived. He’s right—I will feel a million times better having someone watch Luke all night. I strip off my clothes and toss them in the garbage can. I never want to wear them again. As the hot water pounds on my back, I give in to my anxiety. The tears and nervous sobs take over and the shower washes them away. The glass door opens and Reed stands, his beautiful face troubled as he looks at me.
“Come on, you can finish crying in my arms tonight. Luke is happily charming the nurse. Let’s tuck him in.” I lift my teary face to the rainforest showerhead and close my eyes.
“You know I won’t sleep tonight.” I take a deep breath. The steam goes all the way down my chest, and I feel slightly better. Sometimes if I cry and let it out, it seems to help. Luke’s fall has brought out all those unwanted fears. The lack of control has always scared me, the unknown my worst enemy. That’s why I loved giving all that to Reed.
“You will—that’s why I hired two nurses tonight. This one stays until midnight and the other one stays until we get up.” He wraps a large white towel around me. His eyes darken as he watches me towel myself off. By the time I’ve wrapped the towel around my head, his erection is easy to see in his pants.
“I really want to fuck you, but I think that will have to wait if your eye roll is any indication.” He reaches to caress my breast.
“Shhh, the nurse will hear you.” He hands me a pair of soft pink thin material pajama bottoms and a white sleep T-shirt. I raise my eyebrow. “Seriously? I can’t go out there in this shirt.”
“Why? You look comfortable.” His lips twitch.
“Come on, Reed, give me the bag.” I take it from him and fish around for another shirt. Looking up at him, he’s leaning against the sink, arms crossed, smirking.
“You can see my nipples.”
“I love them.”
I can’t help but laugh. “Fine.” I pull the T-shirt off. He kneels down, and before I can stop him, he’s sucking on my breast and massaging the other. Pleasure spikes straight to my sex and I can feel myself getting slick and wet in my clean panties. My hands lace into his dark hair for steadying purposes and because I have to stop him before we get too carried away. The last thing I need is to be moaning in front of nurses and doctors.
His warm, strong fingers tug my pants slowly down.
“We have to stop.” I try to pull him off. Instead he lightly bites my nipple causing me to throw my head back and groan.
“Just let me lick her… just a taste. Then we’ll go tuck Luke in. He’s happy. He has a nurse.” He scoots me back on the tiled wall and proceeds to slip my pants down. I shake my head and mouth “No.”
He mouths “Yes” and says, “Trust me, you need this.” His thumb is already dipping in and rubbing my clit.
“Reed, I don’t feel comfortable doing this. Oh fuck, fuck… fuck.” I can’t help but throw my head back and close my eyes. Reed has lifted my right leg and drapes it over his shoulder. His mouth and tongue are not fucking around. He is sucking on me hard. A small whimper escapes as his five-o’clock shadow and tongue make me claw at the white tiled wall.
“Yeah… that’s it. Rub your pussy on my face.” He’s so nasty I’m horrified at how sexy I find it. My eyes pop open as I rub and grind on his remarkable tongue. His face is covered in my juices. I bite my lip as my stomach clenches. The orgasm hits me in pulsing, quivering waves. And I have to cling to his shoulder as I watch him drink and lick my convulsing pussy.
Finally, he lifts his head, his eyes a dark green. “I want another baby. Stop taking the pill.”
I can’t breathe for a moment. I simply stare at this man who has been my whole universe. He wants another baby. Can I do it? With warm hands, he gently pulls my pants up, takes off his
black T-shirt, and slips it over my head. I still feel drugged and slow moving, the release so quick yet exactly what I needed. I watch as he adjusts himself so his erect shaft isn’t that obvious.
I reach to wipe his chin and he smirks again then grabs another T-shirt and pulls it on.
“Reed, stop. Come on, I have to wash my hands and you need to wash your face.”
He can’t seriously be thinking of going out there with his face still covered in my come. He licks his lips. So dirty. He surprises me as he turns and splashes some water on his face. I quickly wash my hands and we both pad out to the dark room and a quiet, sleeping Luke.
“Everything okay?” Reed’s voice sounds calm and comforting.
“Hi.” She smiles at us. “Yes, he’s doing great. The best thing for him is sleep. I will wake him every couple hours.” She looks at me and gently says, “I will watch him. You’re in great hands.” I can’t exactly see her in the dark, but she has a calm, competent manner.
“Thank you. I’m Tess. I’m sure I’ll be up off and on checking on him too.”
“Of course, but try to get some sleep. The next couple of days will be tiring.”
“Thank you.” Reed takes my hand as he tugs me into the bedroom. We don’t undress. He pulls me into his warm, secure arms and lets me fall into a nervous sleep.
REED
I open the door to my sapphire Bentley Bentayga and instruct the SUV to call Tess. I’m leaving the office early because this is it. Luke has made a full recovery. It was stressful. Not gonna lie and say it wasn’t, but he came through like a champ. The phone goes straight to voice mail. I frown and I’m about to call again when Jax’s name comes up on my high-tech dashboard. I grin. “What’s up, man? Everything set?”
“Well, listen to you, all happy.” He laughs. “I have to say all this love is making me smile.”
I snort. “What’s wrong?”
“Nothing. I’m running late. So I’ll be by later.”
I sigh. “She might want everyone there.”
“Trust me. I am so bummed I’m going to miss this, but I… I have shit going on.” The edge in his voice makes him sound aggravated.
I look at the slow-moving 405 and admit I can’t wait to move. My commute will be the same, but having a house that overlooks the ocean in Malibu with a grass backyard and two large guest houses is making me antsy to sleep there tonight.
“You’re nervous?” Jax chuckles.
I sigh. “I know I can eventually get her to move in. But I want her to say yes. No fighting, no convincing, just ‘I love it. Yes.’”
“I think she might surprise you.”
I don’t respond as I stare at nothing but brake lights. There must be an accident because this is why I’m leaving at noon to avoid this mess.
“Reed? You still there?”
“Sorry, I’m a little distracted. Traffic is shit. Anyway, you think she will say yes?”
“I do. This is not a mere house, brother. You have literally bought her a fucking estate overlooking the Pacific Ocean. That place is like nothing I’ve ever seen and we’re rich. So yes, I think she will be impressed and touched by your thoughtfulness.”
“You don’t think she’ll think it’s too much, right? You know how she likes to pretend we’re middle class.”
“Well, she might have to get over that. Because yeah, that place is in a league of its own.”
He’s right. As soon as Luke, Lilly, and I saw this house in Malibu, it was pretty awe-inspiring. From the Spanish hacienda look outside surrounded by palm trees and grass to the incredible backyard that has an infinity pool and an ocean view. Old Spanish tiles with BBQ pits and a full bar. Sports-high ceilings and incredible wooden floors inside. The walls are mostly creams and yellows, so when you open any number of the French doors, you step out into fucking paradise. Yes, this is by far the most expensive, lavish property I’ve ever bought.
“All right, I’ll keep you posted.” I look over and my vehicle is alerting me that Tess is calling.
“I have to go. Tess is calling.” Jax says something, but I hang up.
“Hey, Kitten.” I’m nervous, so it sounds like a growl.
“Did you call earlier? Because I was in the middle of a call with that dealer in France… hold on.” I hear her yell at Luke and Lilly not to climb on her exercise bike. She’s pretty sensitive to any climbing at all. Poor Luke and Lilly were both running around with bike helmets every time we left the house. After Luke got his head rescanned at six weeks, I finally convinced her that both he and Lilly no longer needed helmets. Poor Lilly runs in the other direction anytime we go near the area the helmets are located. The only upside to all of Tess’s anxiety has been the sex. She needs to be fucked and often, so I’m willing to humor her with her neuroses.
“Sorry,” she huffs. “Did you call?”
I laugh. “I did. Can you do me a favor and tell the twins Sapphire for me?”
“I don’t understand.”
“It’s a surprise. I’m on my way home. Traffic is finally moving.”
“What, now?” She sounds panicked.
“Yeah…” I say slowly. “Everything okay?”
“Well, yes, but I’ve been on the phone half the morning and I need to go to the grocery store. Then I got distracted when Brance sent me over some photos from a really talented local artist, so I only got off the bike now and I haven’t showered yet and—”
“Tess, go take a shower. We’ll splurge and go out to eat.” I grin. My Kitten is taking the art world by storm.
“Oh, thank God. You know how I hate the grocery store.”
“I do, which is why I have no idea why I can’t hire someone to do that for you.”
“You know why. Okay, come on, guys. Mommy needs to take a shower, so let’s go watch TV.” Tess has this habit of having complete conversations with the twins and me.
“Babe, I’m going to go. I’ll be home soon to help.”
“All right, love you.” The line goes dead. No matter how many times I hear her tell me that she loves me, I seem to need it more. Our relationship after Luke’s accident has never been better.
She’s still Tess and I’m still me, but that was never our problem. I always loved Tess and she loved me. We needed to grow the fuck up. Neither one of us takes anything for granted anymore. I wake up every day and am thankful. As I twist my hands on the soft leather steering wheel, I’m fucking nervous. I can’t boss her around like when we were kids. Now it’s a give and take. She likes having a say in everything I do. I grin thinking about how I fucked her up against the wall last night. That’s the only time she lets me take control. I pull into the driveway and notice Brance’s new Jaguar is gone. That is another reason we need to move. Along with me and Brance and Logan’s separation, this three-bedroom house is not big enough for all of us.
Brance says he is eventually going to get a place, but he needs us right now, so fuck it, he can live in one of the two guest houses until he figures out his shit.
I grab my suit jacket and my phone. I can hear my kids playing in the backyard, their happy laughing and screaming music to my ears.
I stop at the door and rub my tattoo, the constant reminder that something bad can happen at any time. I’m so happy, so grateful that I like to push any negative thoughts aside. Bury them along with my past. But they are always there, and sometimes they like to come out to haunt me more than others. But not today. Today is my day. The day.
“Luke? Lilly?” I set my stuff down and head outside to see both of my children run straight to me.
“Daddy!”
I reach down and catch them.
“Mommy said saffhire.” Luke grins.
Lilly grabs my face. “Are you ready?” And I almost laugh that my three-year-old is giving me moral support.
“I think so. We need to be a team, remember?” I’m playing dirty using the twins to get Tess to agree. But hey, I never said I was perfect.
“Kitten?” I walk toward our bedroom. A
moment of doubt takes hold of me. I tried my hardest to get Tess to agree to look for houses with me, but she refused, so I had to take things into my own hands. This place is too small for all of us and the art. I try to justify my decision.
Jesus Christ, I’m almost twenty-six years old. I’ve loved her since I was eight. It’s time. I take a big breath causing both twins to give me an encouraging smile as I knock on the bedroom door. She opens it while pulling her hair up into a messy bun. Her beautiful face glows as she cocks her head in confusion.
“What’s going on?” She slips her feet into some heeled sandals. She’s gained a little weight, and her summer dress looks fantastic. Her tits are almost spilling out.
The twins giggle. “Nothing,” they sing as they jump up and down.
I glare a warning as I clear my throat. “Ready for lunch?”
“Yes, I’m starving.”
I’m shocked. Tess is never starving. I mean we’re not actually going to lunch, so this kind of puts a wrinkle in my plan.
“Great. What are we in the mood for?” I pull her in for a kiss, inhaling her vanilla scent.
“Mexican food,” she answers before the twins can shout out chicken tenders.
“Really? Okay, Mexican food it is. Is Brance joining us?”
She sighs and grabs her purse. “No, remember today is his couples’ therapy.” I don’t but smile like I do.
I get them all situated in the Bentley and text Brance.
Me: Are you really in therapy? Or is this just cover and you are at the house?” The three dots start to dance.
Brance: Shit! I really am in therapy. Why didn’t you remind me?
Me: I thought I did. No worries.
What the hell is going on with everyone today? I mean, I know they are busy with the art gallery and Jax is up to his ears in some sort of legal battle that I try not get too involved in. All it does is make him angry, so I’m supportive and there if he needs me.
I start the Bentley and give it a couple of revs. Luke loves it when I do that. Taking Tess’s pretty hand in mine, we drive toward the house. I’m trying to think of a great Mexican restaurant I can take her to after I do what I have to do at the house.
The Enlightened (Entitled Book 2) Page 23