Love Me Like You Do: Winter Lake

by Rhian Cahill

  Building herself back up while building babies took more food than she was used to eating but it wasn’t as though she needed to keep herself in peak physical form for dancing at the moment.

  She’d been fooling herself thinking she could continue to dance for a living until she gave birth—for now and the foreseeable future she was unemployable in her chosen profession.

  She could afford to overindulge a little between now and when she could return to work.

  The one thing she had to do was stop giving in to her cravings for junk food. She’d consumed far too much sugar and fat in recent days.

  It was only that she’d barely been able to keep down her own spit for all those weeks that she’d eaten anything and everything she felt like since the morning sickness had eased in the last week or so.

  Although today she hadn’t been able to stomach the thought of food never mind actually eating. The churning in her belly wasn’t the usual pregnancy nausea though.

  No, the urge to vomit lay solely at the feet of her anxiety about telling Tristan he was going to be a father.

  Times two.

  In five months.

  Probably less.

  Twins often arrived early. She knew that. She’d read it in one of the pamphlets the nurse at the doctor’s office had given her on her last visit.

  “Hey, I thought I told you to put your feet up.”

  Tris entered the kitchen in a pair of sweats riding low on his hips, the deep V cutting through the sides of his lower torso making her fingers tingle to explore.

  His chest was bare, the dusting of dark hair across his pecs sparkling with a few missed droplets of water, and she had to stop herself from stepping forward and cleaning those up for him.

  Her gaze traveled over every inch of naked flesh with unbridled pleasure. Heat rushed through her, and Covington swallowed the little whimper of desire that worked its way up her throat.

  She remembered licking that chest. Remembered weaving her fingers through the hair, scraping her nails over his nipples. And remembered licking her way down his stomach, her tongue trailing a wet path through those deep trenches leading to his pulsing…

  “Covington.”

  Her gaze snapped up, colliding with Tristan’s heated one, and a shiver vibrated along her spine in the wake of the low, dark rumble of his voice, the hunger swirling in his eyes.

  She licked her lips, pushed her lusting thoughts aside, and tried to focus on what had to be done. “W-we should talk.”

  Clearing his throat, he nodded. “Yeah, we should.” He stepped closer and every nerve in her body buzzed, went on high alert.

  Oh, who was she kidding? The man had her on high alert all the damn time. She only had to think of him to be a puddle of lust-laced goo.

  Or it was pregnancy hormones.

  Hormones went berserk during pregnancy. She’d read that in one of the handouts too.

  Yes. That was it. She wanted to lick Tris all over because her hormones were in overdrive.

  Times two.

  Probably.

  Hopefully.

  Lord, if it wasn’t the pregnancy…

  “Are you okay?”

  She blinked. “Huh?”

  “You look a little flushed and your eyes are glassy and dilated.” He leaned forward, his gaze searching her face as he placed the back of his hand on her forehead. “I think you should sit down. You feel clammy, a bit warm.”

  Clammy? A bit warm?

  Ha!

  Right now she was sweating. She hadn’t done that since before she’d driven up into the mountains.

  Shaking away his hand, she pushed those pesky hormones aside as well, and attempted to behave like a sensible human being, not a seething mass of lust.

  “I’m fine. Pregnancy raises a woman’s temperature.” She’d read that somewhere too. Those leaflets were a goldmine of information.

  “Oh, right. About that.”

  This was it. The perfect time to tell him about the babies.

  “I need to tell you something.”

  Her voice came out little more than a whisper, a bit shaky with the anxiety squeezing her throat.

  He nodded, one corner of his mouth tipping up in an encouraging smile. “Okay.”

  “I’m pregnant.”

  Tris chuckled. “Yeah, I got that.”

  “Right. Well, I’m having twins—”

  “We should get married,” he cut in.

  “And they’re…what? Married?”

  “Twins!”

  They talked over the top of each other.

  “Married? No. We can’t get married.” She shook her head frantically.

  “There’s two in there?”

  “Are you insane?”

  “Two?” He stared wide-eyed at her stomach. “Seriously. You’ve got two in there?”

  “Stop. Stop. Stop. Stop.” Covington held up her hands, resisted the urge to stick her fingers in her ears and sing lah-lah-lah-lah-lah… “Stop talking. Just for a minute. Stop talking. I need a minute.”

  She needed to wrap her head around the conversation. Her brain hadn’t been in the best of order since she’d gotten pregnant and honestly she needed a minute—or fifty million—to get over the fact that Tristan Harding just offered to marry her.

  And he didn’t even know the babies were his!

  Spinning on her socked foot, she headed for the living room. “I need to sit.” Possibly lie down.

  “Are you okay?” He gripped her elbow, steering her in the direction she was already going but with a little more speed. “Do you need a doctor? Should you be walking around? You’re not in labor, are you?”

  She could hear the panic escalating in his voice. The big, tough firefighter who ran into burning buildings for a living was freaking out over a pregnant woman.

  She rolled her eyes.

  Great. That’s exactly what they needed. Two of them freaking out. Poor babies. Her hand slid over her belly.

  I promise we’ll get it together when it counts.

  “I’m fine. Just need to sit.” Put my head between my legs.

  She didn’t say the last part for fear he’d really freak out on her.

  He pushed her onto the couch, grabbed her feet, and swung her legs up as he pressed on her shoulder so she was stretched out along the seat cushions, her head resting against the arm.

  Crouching down beside her, he held her hand with both of his. “Tell me what to do. What do you need? Should I call someone?”

  It was probably the wrong thing to do but she couldn’t stop the bubble of laughter that burst out of her. The whole situation was hilarious.

  Okay, maybe not, but she’d been inside out and upside down for months now and if she wasn’t laughing, she’d probably be crying, and she hadn’t bought tissues yet and…

  A hiccup squeezed her middle and jolted her chest.

  Her nose tingled and her eyes stung.

  Her throat tightened.

  Then she made a noise that was a cross between a laugh and a sob and possibly a dying animal and no matter what she wanted or didn’t want, there was no stopping the jag taking her over.

  Through blurry eyes she saw Tristan’s horrified face and cried harder.

  She’d never been one of those pretty criers either.

  Nope. She was all puffy eyes and red nose.

  Big fat tears and snot.

  Lots and lots of snot.

  If she wasn’t so out of control, she’d be horrified that Tris was seeing her like this.

  “Shh, shh, shh,” Tris soothed as he pulled her into his arms, cradled her against his chest, and tucked her face into the warm curve of his neck. “It’ll be okay. You’ll be fine. The babies will be fine. I promise. Everything will be fine.”

  She sobbed against his skin, covering both of them with tears and snot and making a mess of everything.

  God. She used to be so in control. Independent. Self-reliant. And now she was clinging to a man who had no idea he’d gotten her pregnant
with twins but wanted to marry her anyway.

  Chapter 6

  Tris held Cov close and ignored the warm, slimy stuff sliding down his chest.

  One thing he’d always admired about Covington was her enthusiasm. Anything she did, she did with all her heart. It seemed crying her heart out was no exception.

  Holding her as tight as he dared, he concentrated on not demanding answers to the questions swirling in his head.

  She didn’t appear to be in physical pain and while she hadn’t denied being in labor when he asked, he was pretty sure she wasn’t.

  God, he hoped she wasn’t.

  He wasn’t prepared for that yet.

  He would be. He’d have to be. But for now he just had to be a shoulder to cry on.

  Someone she could depend on. A friend.

  A smile curled one end of his mouth as more liquid slid down his chest. And possibly a sponge.

  The longer she cried, the wetter they both got but he didn’t care.

  Covington Valenti was in his arms and even if she appeared to be falling to pieces he didn’t care. She was in. His. Arms.

  He’d put her back together or help her put herself together. He’d hold her hand or stand beside her. Whatever she needed, he’d provide.

  He was more than likely in for a world of hurt because there was no denying how he felt about the woman in his arms.

  But now wasn’t the time to deal with his emotions. Cov and the babies were his priority. He’d be here for all three of them; no matter what happened, she’d always be able to count on him.

  They would always be able to.

  Her sobs tapered off, each one less body-wracking than the last and he just kept on holding her, kept on soothing her with nonsense words and whispered promises he’d keep ’til his dying breath.

  He had no idea how long they stayed there, him on his knees, her half on the couch, half in his lap, before Cov’s breathing evened out and her tears appeared to stop.

  It was a few more minutes, the occasional hitched sob, and a couple of deep breaths before she broke the silence.

  “S-sorry,” she sputtered into his wet neck. He was pretty sure a bubble of something just popped against his skin.

  “It’s okay.” And strangely it was. He didn’t care that she’d covered him with body fluid. He’d prefer a different kind but he’d take anything she gave him. He’d take her tears and her smiles and everything in between. He held her tighter and waited until her body relaxed completely. “Feel better?”

  She nodded smearing the mess between them further.

  He smoothed his hands up and down her back. “Want to tell me what brought that on?”

  “Hormones?”

  “Ah, okay…” That certainly cleared things up. Not. He had some reading to do.

  “I swear, it’s like I’ve got a split personality or something. One minute I’m smiling and the next I’m leaking all over the place.”

  “So we don’t need to find a doctor?” He was worried she needed medical attention. His experience with pregnant women could be counted in minutes. All of them with her.

  “No.” She brought her arm up between her body and his and tried to clean both of them with the sleeve of her borrowed sweatshirt. “I’ve covered us in goop.”

  He smiled into her hair. “Not the first time I’ve been covered in goop.”

  She tipped her head back and stared up at him with blotchy cheeks and puffy, red-rimmed eyes. “Women cry all over you all the time?”

  “Well, no. You’d be the first. But there’s plenty of goop in my line of work.”

  She swiped her sleeve across his neck again. The fabric, already saturated, did nothing but smear the slick mess more. “Ah…um. Maybe you should shower again,” she murmured, a frown creasing her brow.

  “Let’s get you fixed up first.” Tris stood, picking her up with ease. She wasn’t as heavy as he remembered and he knew women hated to talk about their weight but shouldn’t she be bigger now she was having a baby? Babies. Jesus. He had to get his head around that. “Have you seen a doctor?”

  “Yes.” She covered a yawn with her hand. “Back home.”

  “And everything is okay?” She felt fragile in his arms and she’d gone to pieces a minute ago, which to his mind said things weren’t normal. Then again, what would he know and two babies.

  “Yes. I lost some weight early on because of morning sickness but everything’s progressing like it should otherwise. The babies are growing like they should.” She snuggled into him and used her clean sleeve to wipe her face as he walked down the hall.

  “And you’re staying? Here? With me?” He wanted to be sure he got her agreement on that right now.

  “If it’s okay?” Her words slurred a little, her eyes drifting closed as her breathing deepened, lost the last of the hiccupy sobs.

  “Definitely.” He didn’t add that he’d track her down and haul her back if she left.

  She was obviously wiped out from crying and he doubted she’d caught up after the long drive to reach him because by the time he arrived in his bedroom, Cov was sound asleep, her head slumped against his shoulder, the cutest little snore slipping through her lips with each breath.

  Easing her onto the unmade bed, he debated removing the wet sweatshirt. The house was warmer since he’d upped the thermostat after his shower but he didn’t want to risk her getting cold. It couldn’t be comfortable having all that wet fabric sticking to her skin either.

  With as much care as he could manage, he pulled the top off and tucked her under the covers without waking her.

  Using the body of the sweatshirt, he cleaned her face as best he could. She stirred. Mumbled something about needing to tell the babies’ daddy and tissues.

  Tris shook his head and smiled. He had no idea what one had to do with the other. It didn’t matter. Right now she needed rest and he had less than forty-eight hours before his next shift to make sure she got plenty of it.

  After her nap, they’d head out to get some groceries. They needed to stock up and get ready for the big snowfall heading their way.

  They should probably see about getting an appointment with a doctor too.

  He believed her when she said everything was fine, but for his peace of mind he’d like Jared Groves to take a look at her, plus she’d need a doctor to see her through the rest of her pregnancy.

  Like Tristan, the doc was new in town, but unlike Tristan, Jared Groves had never set foot in Winter Lake before taking over the town’s one and only medical facility.

  Tris had liked the doctor instantly and, more importantly, he trusted him. Putting Cov and her babies in the other man’s capable hands felt right.

  Yeah, they’d definitely make an appointment before he went back on shift.

  Leaving the bedroom and a sleeping Cov, he went to the bathroom, cleaned himself up quickly and grabbed the dirty wash. He’d put a load on now, then he could toss it in the dryer before they went shopping.

  Depending on how long she slept, he’d suggest stopping for an early dinner at Della’s Dina first. They could both do with a good hot meal, and there was nothing better than the comfort food that came out of Della’s kitchen.

  With the clothes in the washer, he went back to check on Cov. She was right where he’d left her. Tucked up in his bed, curled beneath his covers. He couldn’t resist the urge to lie down beside her and watch her sleep.

  Taking his time so he didn’t disturb her, he eased onto the bed next to her. With his head on one hand, he fisted the other behind his back to stop himself from reaching out and touching her.

  Her face was thinner, and the dark smudges under her eyes had to go. She looked different but the same. There were subtle changes but she was still beautiful. He hadn’t seen her smile yet.

  He’d lived for those smiles even when she’d been engaged to another man.

  From the minute he’d met her, Tris hadn’t been able to stop himself from getting close to her—from falling for her.

&nbs
p; It had taken some serious willpower to not touch her in all the months he’d known her. He wasn’t surprised he’d caved into the need the second the one thing standing in his way had been removed.

  Of course now he wasn’t sure that had been the best move. Look how that turned out.

  He’d heard people talk about a rebound fuck and honestly, he’d never thought he’d find himself on the end of one of those. Especially with the woman he’d wanted from the second he’d met her.

  He thought they’d been on the same page, fighting an attraction that couldn’t be while she was promised to another man, but then he’d known the truth about that man and she had finally seen it and the rest, as they say, was history.

  They’d been combustible from the first touch. He hadn’t really been surprised by their chemistry; it was the connection he’d felt while they were together that he hadn’t believed could only be on his side.

  Except the morning after proved otherwise; her words had sliced through any fantasies he’d had of them finally being together.

  Tris had left LA believing his chance to be with Covington had been ruined because he’d rushed. If he’d just given her time to get over Gavin’s betrayal, things might have turned out differently for them.

  If he’d been able to control himself they might not have gone up in flames. He might not have moved to Winter Lake to lick his wounds. To start a life without her in it.

  Except now she was here.

  In his house.

  In his bed.

  Pregnant with someone else’s babies and he didn’t give a damn. He still wanted her.

  The sweatshirt had hidden her belly but when he’d removed it he’d seen the swell beneath her t-shirt.

  He’d never thought about having children. They hadn’t been on his radar. Now, after seeing the gentle curve of her body that cradled two miracles of life, it was all he could think about.

  He wanted those babies to be his. Wanted to have that connection with her for the rest of their lives. He’d been half in love with her before.

  She’d driven him almost out of his mind until he’d gotten a taste of her and he’d known his life would never be the same.