Makenna's Trust: Titan Security Series #3

by Cynthia P. O’Neill

  “I didn’t say yes yet.” I tried arguing.

  He kissed the finger the ring was on, before lightly kissing my lips. “You didn’t say no either.”

  “But how can we do that in a week? I don’t have a dress or my family, and there’s so much to deal with that I wouldn’t even know where to start.” I saw by Marcus’s facial expression I wouldn’t win this dispute. He’d already made his mind up, so I acquiesced.

  He snuggled me closer to his chest. “Why do you think Mr. Prescott and Rick are here? I’d called them for help a couple days ago. I’d hoped the trial would go in my favor and I could talk you into binding our lives together.”

  Marcus smirked to himself for a second. “To my surprise, they were already boarding the plane, ready to head this direction.” He shook his head as he smiled. “They’re going to help us get everything together. Mr. Prescott brought his wife with him, and you know how much she enjoys planning weddings.”

  We were wrapped up in the joy of the moment. I couldn’t believe we were finally going to be together and have our happily ever after . . . or so I thought. There was a small knock at the door before a female doctor came into the room and gave us an unfavorable look for sharing a bed.

  “Hello, Ms. Bradford. I’m Dr. Warren. I see you’re finally awake again, so we can go over the results of your tests.” Her voice was a little irked as she added, “Mr. Lombardi, you really should get back into your own bed and let Ms. Bradford get some rest.”

  Her words did nothing, as Marcus pulled me tighter against his chest while I wrapped my arms around him, locking myself into place. “Good luck getting him to move.” I jokingly offered, but it was the truth.

  Dr. Warren’s eyes caught sight of my ring. “I’m guessing congratulations are in order? I see you’ve become engaged. Mr. Lombardi is the fiancé now?”

  I nodded in agreement. “Yes. We’re getting married next week.” I still couldn’t wrap my mind around it despite saying the words out loud.

  Marcus spoke up. “So do you know why Makenna fainted? Will she be okay? Can we get discharged tomorrow? We do have a wedding to plan.”

  Dr. Warren began to laugh as she held up her hands trying to get Marcus to stop with all the questions. “I get that you’re anxious, Mr. Lombardi.” She turned her eyes to me. “Is it okay if I discuss the results in front of him?”

  “Yes. Go ahead.” I was kind of curious myself. I’d never fainted in my life, not even after I’d been shot and stabbed. And what was with me feeling so nauseated all of the sudden?

  “We started an IV drip when you came in to the ER and did some blood work. Your electrolytes were low, you were severely dehydrated, and one of your levels gave us cause to run further tests.” Her voice was strong and steady as she relayed the results.

  “Is that why you took her away to x-ray and forced me to stay in the waiting area?” Marcus chimed in, not at all happy about how we’d been separated.

  I was unaware I’d been taken from him at some point in time, and wouldn’t have gone from his side if I’d been conscious.

  “Is it something serious, doc?” I finally gave life to the question that hung in the air just waiting to be asked. I could feel Marcus’s entire body tense up, like mine, waiting for a response.

  Dr. Warren’s face began to warm with a smile. “It shouldn’t be as long as you take it easy and have regular follow-ups with your preferred doctor at home.”

  Marcus and I didn’t respond to her words. I mean, how could we? She hadn’t exactly told us anything other than I needed more appointments with a doctor.

  Silence ensued until the doctor finally spoke. “I take it you don’t know. No one has told you?”

  We shook our heads in unison.

  “Congratulations are in order for your marriage and your babies. Wanting to ensure we didn’t use any harmful medication on you in the event you were with child, we ran a pregnancy test when we drew your blood. Your HCG levels were through the roof, so we took you to ultrasound to confirm the pregnancy, where we discovered fraternal twins. It looks like you’re about nine weeks along so far.”

  She pulled a handheld instrument from her coat pocket, along with a small tube of gel. “If you’d like, I’ve brought a portable handheld ultrasound with me. I feel you’re far enough along we can probably detect the babies’ heartbeats.”

  “Yes!” I knew I sounded desperate, but I needed to hear proof that these babies—our children—existed.

  As Dr. Warren pulled down the sheets and pulled up my hospital gown, I had to ask. “How is this possible? The last I was told was that pregnancy was not likely.” I explained how I’d been stabbed, the damage it had done to the fallopian tube, and the last checkup I’d had five months ago telling me things looked bleak at best.

  She spread some cold gel on my abdomen and turned on the machine as she explained, “We were going to ask you about that. We noted the scar on your abdomen and the small amount of scarring around your tube, but everything looked healthy otherwise. The tube has grown back in place, and your ovary sac looks just fine.”

  She turned on the device and ran a small wand across my stomach a few times, pressing here and there, to locate them. A high-pitched, fast-paced thumping filled the room. My eyes grew wide. “Is that one of them?”

  She nodded the affirmative. “Yes. There’s a strong, healthy heartbeat. Now let’s find the other one.”

  She shifted the wand to a new area and pressed in, moving ever so slightly one way and then the other. Marcus tightly held my hand while he kissed the side of my face. Before long, another little whirling sound hit the room. This one was a little slower, but still fast-paced.

  “Is there a reason why one heartbeat is slightly slower than the other?” Marcus asked before I got a chance to do so.

  Dr. Warren shook her head. “Both are healthy and strong. If I were a betting person, I’d speculate you have one of each in there, but only time will tell.”

  “What about the baby I’d miscarried before? Will I run the same risk again?” I hated speaking the words out loud. I’d tried to forget about that time in my life, but I didn’t want to get hopeful if I was headed toward the same fate.

  “How far along were you?” The doctor questioned.

  “Just barely. My period had been two weeks late.” Marcus could sense I was remembering the worst time in my life and placed a gentle kiss on the side of my face.

  Dr. Warren gave my shoulder a squeeze before she cleaned the gel off my abdomen. “Nature has a strange way of handling things. It loves to play with our emotions, but there really is no reasoning behind most miscarriages. Sometimes the body isn’t quite able to handle it; sometimes it just isn’t meant to be. But when the time is right,” she smiled at both of us, “it can sneak up on you and bring you the happiness you’ve been waiting for.”

  She picked up the tablet and typed in a few things on my chart. “You’re already well past the point you’d lost the baby before. Pending any unforeseen circumstances, and stress, I don’t see why this pregnancy can’t proceed to full-term. But as a safety, you might want to wait a few more weeks to get through your first trimester before letting everyone know.

  “I’m going to start you on some prenatal vitamins. I want you to follow up with an obstetrician in two weeks for a checkup. Because of your past miscarriage and the fact that you’re carrying twins, you’ll be treated as a high-risk pregnancy.” She held up her hand when Marcus started to open his mouth. “It’s only as a precaution. We call every multiple pregnancy high-risk, but the term sounds worse than what it is.”

  He seemed to settle at the words. “Thanks, doctor. When can we get out of here?”

  “We want to keep both of you overnight, at a minimum, possibly up to two days just to ensure there are no complications from the concussions. If you feel off or have any pain, I want you both to give your word you’ll call the nurse immediately. Either myself or another attending physician will prescribe something you can safely take to
help alleviate any discomfort.”

  She moved to the other side of the bed, close to Marcus, and pointed her finger his direction. “You need to let your fiancé, the mother of your children, get some much-needed rest. It’s bad enough we have to wake you every couple of hours to check your concussions.”

  She shook her head when Marcus refused to move. “Mr. Lombardi, would it help if I had the orderlies come in and move your bed alongside Ms. Bradford’s? Would you then allow her to sleep?”

  For some reason he didn’t want to be even a millimeter away from me, but he finally accepted those terms as long as our rails were down so our hands could remain linked. I couldn’t blame him. We’d gone through five years of hell to be reunited, given a chance at a new life and a couple of unexpected bonuses to boot. At this point, I didn’t want to be far from him either. I just wanted our perfect little piece of forever.

  Two days after everything had pretty much gone to hell and scared the crap out of us, we were released from the hospital. We went back to the penthouse to pick up some clothes and decided against staying, especially after seeing most of my things had been packed away, and some of Titan’s guys had started to move things around to make room for their new headquarters.

  The penthouse might have been my home for the past five years, but my life was wherever Makenna decided to live. I didn’t care where that was, just as long as we were together.

  I was thankful the courthouse hadn’t allowed Luke to come with us. I could only imagine what would’ve happened had he charged Damien or Cassia. The idea made me cringe.

  Makenna had been anxious to see Luke, to know he was okay. To her, he was her fur baby, her sidekick, and provided her comfort during anxiety attacks brought on from PTSD.

  The moment the door to the penthouse had opened, Luke had lunged for Makenna. She’d had to use her commands to stop him from pouncing as we’d tried to explain he’d have more people to protect soon. I’d thought he wouldn’t understand, but he’d nudged Makenna’s stomach with his nose, making me wonder just how smart he truly was.

  Mr. Prescott had helped us make arrangements to stay at one of the luxury hotels just across from our wedding location. He’d flown his wife, my brother and sister, their broods, my parents, and Makenna’s entire family up on one of their jets, with her brother-in-law Derrick piloting the crew to New York.

  The letter Mr. Prescott had passed on to Makenna that day in the hospital, from her father, was an apology. Apparently her mother had finally gotten to the root of her father’s need to control everyone. He hadn’t been willing to budge, until Makenna had blocked him on the phone.

  It turned out Dr. Bradford had been holding on to the guilt of being unable to protect his older brother. He thought by keeping his children on a tight leash, he could protect them from anything bad happening, not realizing he was stifling them in the process.

  The letter Makenna shared with me read:

  . . . I only wanted the best for you, Kenna. I didn’t realize by trying to protect you, I’d drive you further away.

  Marcus has been extremely loyal in trying to find you all those years. I hid most of his letters, never forwarding them to you, and hoped you’d move on to someone more suitable to your personality. I’d returned a few of them, thinking he’d get the message, but the man was undeterred in his pursuits of you. That speaks highly of his love for you.

  Your sister told me about the lost pregnancy. Don’t be mad at her, but your mother and I needed to know, and we’re sorry you felt you couldn’t confide in us.

  I had a pleasant talk with Marcus the other day, as he confronted my actions and caused me to really think. He wanted me to know the reason you’d joined the Air Force, and why you felt the need to prove yourself and live by your terms. I just wish you’d told me, or anyone for that matter, how you’d considered suicide when you lost your baby.

  Your mother and I would’ve understood. I’ve never told you this, but we miscarried between Jesse and your births, and you were a very high-risk pregnancy—we’d come close to losing you a couple of times. I guess that’s why I was so protective of you . . . that and believing I hadn’t protected my big brother. I’ve encountered too much loss in my life and had never really processed it.

  You have a good man with Marcus. He’d told me he didn’t care whether I approved or not, but he intended to come back to Orlando with you as his wife. He truly is your soul mate, and I hope, in time, you’ll both forgive me for my actions. I only wish to be a part of your lives, on your terms.

  I’m Sorry!

  Dad

  There’s still a bit of animosity when it came to her father and us, but we were taking small steps, as we wanted both families to be a part of our children’s lives. We didn’t tell anyone except for Mr. Prescott and Rick, although my future mother-in-law seemed to already have an inkling about our secret, hinting at how we needed to find a house with plenty of room to raise a family.

  Mr. Prescott already had a real estate agent canvassing the neighborhoods close to all our families so that we could be close. I wasn’t sure what my new salary would be, but between the sale of the penthouse and what I had saved up, I could easily afford a modest home to suit our likings.

  The music began to play, pulling me out of my thoughts to my current surroundings. It was a crisp fall day in New York. The leaves on the trees were brilliant flames of color in oranges, yellows, and reds. We were outside on the patio area of the most famous restaurant overlooking the Central Park.

  Titan Security members had taken up the side perimeters, ensuring our privacy and protection. Kyle, Tyler, and Dane were present from the FBI. They’d suspected we were falling for one another, but had never anticipated this quick of an engagement. I don’t think anyone did.

  All I could say was that I’d found that special someone in Makenna years ago. Granted, we started off as friends, then boyfriend and girlfriend, and slowly morphed into lovers, Master and submissive, and now we were becoming man and wife. I’d already tied my soul to hers years ago, and now she was legally tying herself to mine.

  My brother, Jackson, elbowed me in the ribs as Makenna made her entrance with her dad at the end of the aisle. She was a vision in antique white. She’d found a dress that required minimal altering at one of the most famous stores in town. The Prescotts had offered to buy her dress as a wedding present and had called in some favors to get her an appointment at that store. But I wasn’t complaining. I just hoped this ceremony and reception didn’t last long, because I felt my cock begging for attention. I could already imagine tonight as I slowly unwrapped my most perfect package—Makenna—and showed her just how much I loved her for eternity and beyond.

  As soon as Makenna reached the alter, she mouthed the words “I love you.” And I mouthed back “I love you more.” She shook her head and smiled. I was glad I was the one who put that on her face. I wouldn’t elaborate other than to say that we’d already broken the rule about not seeing the bride before the wedding. Hey, I was horny for my woman. At least I didn’t see her in her wedding dress. But she did give me a sneak peek as to what’s underneath, and I wanted more, now.

  The ceremony passed quickly. We’d already been through so much and had talked in detail of our feelings for one another, so we’d opted for the short version of our vows, just to get us officially wed.

  Everyone congratulated us as we made our way indoors to the restaurant, where we were served a seven-course meal fit for a king. And today, I felt regal with my queen by my side.

  We did all the necessary requirements, like cutting the cake and tossing the bouquet. Although, there were only a couple of single women there, mainly staff from the restaurant, to catch the arrangement.

  I went under her skirt to pull the garter down with my teeth, which was a lot of fun, and while I was there, I lapped at the moist spot on her panties, just waiting for the moment I could sink into her later. Needing to mark her, I sucked on her skin just above the garter, knowing it would still
be present hours later.

  To my surprise, Kyle caught the garter. He didn’t hesitate for a second to put it on the hostess who’d caught the bouquet. Hmm, I wondered if they’d be next in line to marry. Hey, it’s happened before.

  A few hours later, I could tell both of us are feeling anxious. “Are you ready to leave, darling?”

  Makenna smiled as she moved her legs on the seat she was sitting in. “I can’t wait to get out of here.”

  I knew how she felt, so I grabbed her hand and pressed it to my crotch. “I know what you mean. Can you feel how excited I am to have you to myself tonight?”

  She leaned over, practically crawling into my lap, and licked my neck up to my ear, before whispering, “I think the hormones have kicked in. I’ve been super horny all day, and this morning was only a small appetizer to the appetite I have. I’m craving some Italian Stallion meat tonight.”

  A loud laugh tried to escape me, but she contained it as her lips sealed over mine, taking me in a kiss that told me she wasn’t kidding. I pulled back just enough to give her soft smacks to her ass. I loved that she’d gotten more playful and expressive, reminding me of the Makenna I had once known.

  “Behave, love, or I’ll tie you up to the bed tonight, and we’ll revisit orgasm denial.” Her breath halted and her body stilled at my words. I may have said the words, but I’d never deny my woman anything she wanted. I loved her too much. Hopefully she now realized to what lengths I’d go to protect her and have her by my side.

  Makenna scooted off my lap and stood to the right as I quickly took my place beside her. I made a motion to the DJ to stop the music so I could speak. “I’d like to thank everyone for dropping your schedules and making today so special for us. I know I didn’t give much time to attend, but”—I looked over at Makenna and squeezed her hand—“I’ve waited five years to make this woman my wife. We’ve been through a great deal of adversity to reach this day, and I didn’t want to wait one moment longer to have our lives bound to one another.”