ANOTHER BRIGHT, SUNNY DAY WAS upon them. Okay. Everything was good. Draegyn was still in bed fast asleep. He hadn’t disappeared in the night; he was in one piece. A battered and bruised one piece but still…
Why then did she still feel like something wasn’t quite as it should be? Everyone was acting strange and though her husband had come home, she remained unsettled.
Tori sighed heavily. Maybe she was just over being pregnant. The baby seemed to be riding lower which helped her breathe so that was a good thing. Her back, which always ached, was calm at the moment, so what she had to be unsettled about she wasn’t sure.
Wiggling around until she was reclining against the headboard with multiple pillows stuffed in strategic spots, she tried not to rouse Draegyn. But he was a light sleeper to begin with so that was probably a lost cause.
A minute later she heard, “Good morning, wife,” as he yawned. “Busy day ahead, hmmmm?”
“Good morning, husband. Busy is as busy does, right? There’s a ladies’ auxiliary meeting at ten. Last minute things on the TO DO list for tomorrow.”
Draegyn crept closer to her carefully arranged pillow fortress. His warm hand swept over a calf, up her thighs, both inner and outer, then disappeared into the shadow area between her legs kept from naked view by a pink cotton nightie that tied under her boobs.
“Look at me,” she demanded.
He did. Instantly. A frown on his face. “What’s the matter? Are you okay?”
Tori ran the fingers of one hand through his hair and peered closely at the bruising on his cheek and around his eye. “I’m fucking fine, it’s you who needs a damn doctor on call,” she bit out. “How’s your side? Does it hurt? Take a deep breath.”
“Whoa, whoa. Slow down, little lady, “ Draegyn begged. “Look, honey, I’m fine. Side is sore, but no problem breathing. Please relax, Victoria. We have a new deal, remember?”
Ballz. She did remember. He made her promise. Late last night in a moment of romantic desperation when she’d been overcome with anxiety about her husband’s well-being. Things were gonna change, he said. He didn’t want her to worry anymore. Nothing was more important right now than her and the baby. So he’d gotten her to swear she would let it all go and just calm the fuck down. Be chill. Relax and indulge. Sit back and let him and her mother spoil her rotten. His idea of a new deal.
Apparently, that new deal included pressing his palm against her mound and sliding his fingers under her ass so he could cup her flesh. Tori moaned quietly at the contact and felt the muscles in her thighs melt—opening her body up to a more deliberate erotic onslaught.
“You like that?” Draegyn murmured. He scooted closer to her side and began leaving quick, short kisses on her face. “Now see,” he muttered with a hoarse chuckle. “Isn’t this better? You just relax and let me take care of you.”
Ohhhh. Those wicked St. John fingers were starting to do naughty things to her flesh. She could get used to this kind of being taken care of. Gasping, she closed her eyes, arching off the pillow mound as she shimmied her ass.
“God, I love your pussy, Victoria,” Draegyn moaned. Her eyes drifted open with difficulty. His face was so close to hers, his eyes glittering with a fire that scorched her skin.
“Draegyn,” she begged. “Kiss me.”
He dove onto her mouth with an eagerness that scrambled her senses. She loved it when he left his finesse at the door and reacted on emotion alone. The moment her mouth opened, she felt his tongue invade. Not too long afterward, he worked two fingers into her slick passage. With his tongue working her mouth and fingers stroking her sensitive pussy, Tori was in heaven.
“I love watching you come, baby. It’s so damn sexy. That’s right,” he groaned. “Squeeze that pussy on my fingers. Unf, Victoria. You’re so wet.”
He coaxed an orgasm from her and got her thrashing blindly as it built to crescendo. Demanding that she looked at him when she came, Tori shattered on a desperate cry, her entire form convulsing as a full body climax took her under.
“That’s so beautiful, honey,” Draegyn grunted. “So fucking beautiful.”
The wonder in his voice clawed at her already raw emotions. “Draegyn. Oh God. Please, please. I need you inside me.” She was desperate. Something was driving her. Something that would not be denied.
“Baby, no. I’ll hurt you.”
The regret in his tone sealed it. There was no way she’d let him think that loving her would ever cause any hurt.
She rolled and let her belly pull her down onto her side—quickly moving her thigh over his, Tori forced the issue by digging her nails into his flesh until she was writhing against him.
Pressing feverish, desperate kisses wherever her mouth landed, Tori’s hand roamed—squeezing, stroking, caressing.
“Make love to me. Now. Please.”
He couldn’t stop what was about to happen. She knew he’d lose this particular battle when she felt his body shudder as she writhed in orgasmic pleasure. He knew there was no way she was taking no for an answer.
Groaning deeply, he surrendered. Triumphant, she shimmied her ass and felt his thick cock sliding through her dampness. Taking all of him was probably not going to happen but from this position and with her belly as a buffer, he could penetrate her partially, enough to satisfy the desperate aching throb in her core.
When he slid home, they both groaned aloud. He was hard as stone, which ramped up her excitement.
“Oh, fuck,” he grunted. “Victoria.” Holding her ass to aid their movements, she rocked her hips and took him deeper with each stroke.
She must be super sensitive because she started to come apart almost immediately. Something about the angle and his heavy erection hit a spot inside her that caused an immediate melting down.
“Draegyn,” she whimpered.
“Aw shit. Your pussy is on fire,” he growled. “Can you come again?”
Every muscle in her body violently contracted. It was like whipcords releasing one by one. He started thrusting harder, carefully, but with fierce intent.
“Oh, baby. Yes. I need you,” she moaned.
She heard him grunting—the sound filling her with pleasure. “Victoria,” he cried.
It was like falling down the rabbit hole. She was tumbling in a freefall of blinding ecstasy. Draegyn stiffened, became rigid, growled—then shuddered violently as her pussy savagely milked his cock. Luxuriating in each pulse, every throb heightened Tori’s fulfillment.
They each shuddered and shook, moaned and gasped for breath. In this, as in everything else, they were as one. It was another occasion, much like this one, when their volcanic passion led to the baby her body was nurturing.
Trying for a throaty purr, her voice, hoarse from passion sounded more like a growl. “I love you,” she told him.
Draegyn was still trembling, his hands roaming freely over her skin. It felt greedy and possessive—just what Tori needed.
Carefully pulling free of her body, he rearranged her pregnant form and gathered her close.
When he spoke, Draegyn sounded anguished and vehement. There was a finality to what he said. “I can’t be away from you, Victoria.”
She was listening carefully. Her husband wasn’t saying that he didn’t want to be away from her—like voicing a regret that you had no control over. By boldly declaring that he couldn’t…well, her emotions exploded.
Tori tilted her head to look into his beautiful, handsome face. He sounded and looked so serious. She’d known something was up. When a low light shining in the shadows hit his profile, she saw tears shimmering around the edges of his eyes. Oh my.
Draegyn tucked her close to him, with her face resting on his shoulder and his head resting atop hers. As he spoke, she couldn’t read his expression, but she did experience every word in a completely different way—each syllable rumbling up from his chest. In Tori’s fanciful mind, she imagined them as coming from his heart.
“You’re so much more than a wife, honey. You’re…” he slowed like he was searching for a word. “Everything. You’re everything—and I don’t want to make decisions that haven’t been discussed between us.”
Oh, good God. What had he done? Or more likely, what in the hell was on his mind?
“I’m thinking…well, actually Cam and I were both thinking that maybe it’s time to back off working in the field so much. Start grooming some of the B Team to step up and take assignments.”
He didn’t say anything else. Clearly, the thought was in its infancy. Tori was blindsided by what he’d told her; that he couldn’t be away from her and was considering backing off from what was essentially active duty. Wow-chicka-wow-wow.
After a long silence, she let out the breath she’d been holding and asked, “Have you talked to Dad about this?”
Draegyn was rubbing small circles on her tummy where the bump lay between them. The warmth of their post-lovemaking cocoon and the gentleness of his touch soothed Tori’s fears.
“I will. We’re going to set up a team meeting. Cam wants to talk it over with Lacey before we present to Alex.”
She thought about all she knew and carefully considered what to say next. Imagining Draegyn St. John chained to a desk rather than jetting around the world, kicking ass and taking names, made her anxious. Tori didn’t want him to change because of her. Or the baby. That sort of shit never worked out.
“Is this because you got hurt? Are you trying to cotton wool me—because it’s not necessary.” Sometimes she hated when everyone treated her like she needed to be protected from sharp edges. Being little didn’t mean she was a wimp.
He kissed her forehead. “No. Not really. And no as well to the cotton wool statement. While I’ll always want to protect you from anything that might even remotely cause you to be upset or in pain, I know that’s not gonna happen. No, babe. This is about me. Every time we’re apart, I’m a fucking mess. All I think about is you, Victoria.”
Bunny Cha Cha chose that moment to kangaroo kick her daddy with a thunderous punch that made Tori wince. Seemed the whole family wanted to weigh in.
“Holy shit, honey. Did that hurt? I mean, what the fucking fuck?” Draegyn lurched from their comfortable snuggle and all but jumped off the damn bed he was so startled by the baby’s movement.
She sighed and rolled her eyes. Men. She’d been a damn punching bag for the last few months. Tori seriously doubted that her hunky secret agent with all his manly-man traits could have survived her first trimester.
She lurched, grabbing Draegyn’s hand with a grunt when her belly got in the way. “Sit back down.”
“Seriously, wife, that felt like one helluva kick. Is that shit normal?”
Normal? Whatever. There was no normal when you were pregnant.
“One thing at a time. Let’s roll it back a tad to the you’re a fucking mess and thinking about talking to Alex. I don’t want you to do anything rash. Draegyn, I mean it!” she bit out when he avoided her eyes.
It was a measure of the man he was when, sliding gracefully to his knees at her feet where she sat with her legs dangling off the side of the bed, he took both her hands in his and leaned forward to press a kiss on her bump beneath the pink nightie.
Looking up at her, he said, “All I think about is you when we’re apart. I wonder what you’re doing. If you miss me, too. And yes, I’m as shocked to say that as you are to hear it. But here’s the bottom line, Mrs. St. John. Our lives have changed. We’re married with a kid on the way. Things can’t and shouldn’t stay the same. My head’s not in the game anymore, sweetheart. It’s time to make some changes. Decide what kind of future we’re building.”
The way he looked at her, the fact that he was on his knees, and how safe and right she felt as he tugged on her hands—all those things made an impact. Their lives were changing. He was right.