Loving Storm

On our way up the stairs, Asher’s daughter Kenzi appears at the top of the stairs. She hugs us as soon as we get to the top.

“Uncle Storm, I’m sorry I couldn’t be at your wedding. I wanted to, but I knew Tor would be there and my Dad isn’t ready to see us together… yet. We’re trying to give him time to get his head together about everything. I didn’t want to cause any tension.”

“It’s okay. We knew we’d get to see you here since you’re working with Katherine. And I talked to Tor at the wedding…he said to tell you he’s still wishing.”

She smiles, her bottom lip quivering. “I am, too,” she says softly.

When I found out my brother’s best friend and my niece had fallen in love, I was pissed at first, too. She’s fifteen years younger than him. But they’re the real deal. They love each other. As long as they’re happy and he treats her right, that’s all I give a shit about.

“I’ll bring you guys breakfast in the morning,” she says. “Just call when you’re ready.”

Once the door clicks closed behind Katherine and Kenzi and I’ve finally got my wife all to myself, I pick her up and carry her to the king-sized bed, plop her down on the soft gray comforter, and crawl on top of her. Leaning on my elbow, I stare down into her sleepy, smiling face.

“I told ya you were stuck with me forever. No turning back now, baby.”

Her arms wrap around my neck. “I don’t ever, ever want to turn back.”

I kiss her softly, tasting her lips and caressing her tongue with mine. I stretch her arm over her head, and my hand glides up her flesh until our fingers meet and curl around each other. We’re tired, but the last thing I’m wanting is sleep. The only thing I want is to make this night last forever.

We move to the bathroom, where I slowly remove the yoga pants and sweater she changed into after the reception. I kneel in front of her and move my lips across her stomach and down to her thighs while my hands run up the back of her legs. I’ll never get enough of the softness of her skin and the hint of her perfume. She gazes down at me with that woozy love in her eyes that fucking rocks me every time.

Standing, I keep my eyes riveted to hers as I yank off my own clothes, reach into the shower to turn the water on, and pull her in with me under the hot spray. We wash each other with almond-scented soap, and I get hard as a rock moving my hands over her slippery, soapy breasts. I kiss her hungrily, sliding my hands around to her back then down to cup her round ass cheeks, grinding my cock against her.

“I want you so fuckin’ bad, Evie,” I groan when we break for air. Smiling seductively, she goes down on her knees in front of me, with the water raining down on her back, and wraps her lips around the head of my cock. I watch her, with my hand cradling the back of her head, as she takes me into her mouth with hot wet suction, her tongue flattening against my length and lapping the tip before she impales her mouth on my shaft again, deeper each time.

“Holy fuck that feels good.” I exhale, pulling her head into the thrust of my hips. Her hands tighten on my thighs, the vibration of her moans buzzing around my dick. When she looks up at me—water trickling down her face, steam rising around us, and her mouth swollen with my cock—I can’t take any more and surge into her throat. The movement of her throat, swallowing me, vaults another wave of maddening desire through my body. I pull her to her feet and bring her mouth to mine, not leaving her lips to turn the water off.

I step out of the glass shower and grab two towels off the nearby rack. “Come here, Mrs. Valentine,” I say softly, and she comes to me to be wrapped in a towel that’s bigger than she is.

“You looked so beautiful coming down that aisle,” I tell her, closing my arms around her. “I swear my fuckin’ heart stopped when I saw you.”

“I felt the same way when I saw you,” she murmurs against my chest. “I still can’t believe you’re really my husband.”

I take her hand and we move back to the bedroom. We nibble on strawberries and whipped cream and sip champagne until I pull her under the covers and make love to her until the sun peeks out on the horizon; then finally we fall asleep in each other’s arms.

Our honeymoon at the inn was, without a doubt, the best week of my life. We bundled up in big sweatshirts and sat on the porch drinking hot cocoa every night. I played guitar in front of the fireplace and caught Evie staring in awe at her wedding band, like she couldn’t believe she was actually married. We stayed up late talking, propped up on pillows in bed, and every time, I’d kiss her mid-chatter and ravish her until we could barely keep our eyes open.

I finally got the girl, and the girl finally got me.

Chapter Twelve

Gram was right.

Was there ever any doubt? I mean, it’s Gram. She and Asher have crazy gifts of intuition.

I have four pregnancy tests lined up on the bathroom sink, two with the blue plus sign and two that actually say “pregnant” in the little window.

I whip out my phone and bring up my journal app, which has a calendar feature where I also keep little notes—like when I get my period. I swipe back a month, then one more.

Shit.

The last time I logged my period was the third week of November. It’s now mid-January.

I could be two months pregnant. Or maybe less or maybe more pregnant, depending on when it actually happened. Which could have been any day, since Storm and I have sex almost every day.

My stomach lurches so hard I hope it didn’t flip my tiny baby over. How did I not realize I missed my period?

The same way you forgot to take your pills, Evelyn. Your brain is a merry-go-round of spinning thoughts.

I check the tests again, but nothing has changed. I pick up the instructions and read them for at least the eighth time, wondering if maybe I skipped a step and now have four false positives, but there’s not much to skip. I peed on the sticks and waited.

Cold fear surges through my entire body. I always dreamed of having a baby someday. I just didn’t expect someday to be this soon. I have no experience with babies at all. No nieces or nephews or little siblings. The only baby I ever raised is Halo, and he was a kitten, not a real-life human baby.

What if I’m not a good mother? What if I have panic attacks for the entire nine months, worrying over every little symptom? I can see myself living on WebMD all day long, convinced I have three months to live.

What if I get fat as a cow and Storm is turned off by me? Gorgeous, sexy women still flirt with him all the time. What if my vag gets all stretched out and he doesn’t ever whisper “holy fuck you are so tight” again?

“Evie!”

I jump at the sound of his voice and knock two of the test strips onto the floor.

“You okay, baby? You’ve been in there for half an hour.”

I kneel down on the floor and scramble to pick up the tests. “I’m fine…just give me a sec.”

The door opens and slams into my skull. “Ow.” Rubbing my head, I look up at him as he stares down at me, his hair hanging over his face.

“Shit…I’m sorry…what are you doing on the floor?” His eyes shift to the tests strewn on the floor, then to the ones on the counter.

He grabs one and stares at it with his mouth open. Pushing his hair out of his face, he looks back at me and blinks.

“Evie are these…”

I nod rapidly. “I think I’m pregnant.”

“You think?” A huge smile spreads across his face. “They’re all positive, baby. Is this why you’ve been sick?”

“I thought it was the stomach flu. Or anxiety.”

“We’re gonna have a baby.” His eyes glaze over as he helps me stand up, and his expression hasn’t changed. He’s still smiling that huge smile, but he looks like he might be in shock.

My hands tremble as I gather up the tests. “I’m so sorry, Storm. I forgot to take my pills a few times. Everything was so crazy with the wedding. It’s my fault.”

“Babe, why are you apologizing?”

I peer up at him with my heart racing. “I’m not sure you wanted a baby now. We never really talked about when…”

He holds my face in his hands. “I want the baby, Evie. I want the baby now.”

A lump of happy emotion forms in my throat. “It takes a few months.”

“I know. I’m just fucking excited.” His lips come down on mine, his hands splayed across my cheeks. When he pulls away, his eyes are glistening with happy tears to match my own. “We’re going to have a little girl who looks just like you, Evie.”

A laughing sob erupts from me. “I don’t think you get to pick.”

My favorite mischievous grin crosses his lips. “C’mon, Evie. I always get what I want. We’re having a little girl.”

I jump up and down, with a burst of giddiness, and throw my arms around him. “I can’t even argue with that,” I tease.

“I love you.” He hugs me to his chest. “We have to go call Gram. And my parents.”

My anxiety rears up. “Are you sure? Maybe we should wait until we see a doctor to make sure everything is okay. We don’t want to get hopes up.”

A shot of fear blazes through his eyes, extinguishing the ecstatic light that was just there, and I immediately try to take it back. “I’m being silly. Let’s go call them right now. Gram will be so excited.” I grab one of the test strips. “We’ll text her a picture.”