TWO MONTHS LATER
Maybe I’m biased, but I’m pretty confident this is the most beautiful baby in the world. Smiling down at my niece, and her perfect, tiny fingers and toes, I can’t help but feel that pang in my ovaries telling me to get to the baby making.
Whoa! Slow down there, ladies.
No matter how adorable little Kennedy is, Gabe and I are nowhere near thinking about having babies. We’ve only been living together for a little less than two months, the last thing we need to do is toss a baby into the mix.
I’m perfectly content to snuggle with my niece to get my baby fix.
Her dark hair and blue eyes are all Savage. Even though I know all babies have blue eyes when they are first born, I’m fairly confident hers will stay that way, given the vivid blue of both Savage’s and Dani’s.
She’s going to be a little heartbreaker when she grows up.
And it’s going to drive Savage fucking crazy.
I just hope she learns from her daddy, and not uncle Stone, how she should be treated by a man—with respect, the way Savage treats Dani. My baby brother is barely visible out on the back patio. He paces back and forth, in and out of my line of vision, his cell phone glued to his ear.
There’s no way to hear what he’s saying, and I’m a shitty lip-reader, but he’s angry.
Leave it to Stone to come for a visit but spend the entire time working. And manwhoring it up. I swear, in the week he’s been here, I’ve seen him with no fewer than three different women. And those are just the ones he’s brought out in public. Who the hell knows how many he brought back to his hotel room that I know nothing about.
I love the kid, but he’s a fucking mess sometimes.
He’s certainly not the type of influence Savage is going to want for Kennedy. But Uncle Gabe has been reformed by yours truly, and I’m confident he will always keep a watchful eye on her to make sure she’s treated well by any poor sucker who tries to date her.
A snicker works its way up my throat envisioning Savage and Gabe answering the door for her first date with fully-loaded weapons strapped on and threatening looks in their eyes.
It’s definitely going to happen.
Gazing at Kennedy, it still blows my mind how much everything has changed so rapidly.
Just two years ago, Savage was alone and thought he would be forever. Now, he has a beautiful wife who puts up with all his demanding bullshit and a new daughter.
Back then, I was a miserable pain in the ass who did everything I could to make everyone else just as miserable as I was. I was a flat-out bitch to Dani when she started dating Savage, even though I only had his best interests at heart, and I pushed everyone away so I would never have to experience losing someone who meant as much to me as Star had.
If no one ever got close, I could never suffer again. And it worked, for over four years, it worked beautifully.
But Gabe changed all that.
Thank God I let him.
I could have turned my anger at his rejection into a full-on vendetta. But who the fuck am I kidding? I was lost to him the moment he showed up at my apartment that night. There was no way I could have pushed him away in the long run.
That man is everything and always will be.
I let my eyes wander over to where he stands chatting with Savage and Ben near the archway leading into the dining room. He laughs at something Savage says and tosses his head back. Seeing them talking and joking around together again is such a weight off my shoulders.
The rift between them has been the one lingering blemish marring my happiness with Gabe.
Deep down, I knew they couldn’t keep up the animosity and tension between them. They’re the epitome of bromance and have been friends too long, been through too much together to let anything, even me, push them apart for long.
I’m frankly surprised it lasted as long as it did. Gabe went into work like nothing had changed between them, and Savage continued to be cold and standoffish, only speaking with him about business decisions, even after he told Gabe he was okay with us being together. He just couldn’t let go of it fully.
The breaking point finally came when Dani went into labor, two weeks early.
Savage had a total fucking meltdown of epic proportions and was too panicked to drive her to the hospital. Leave it to Mr. Control freak to completely lose his shit when something doesn’t go as planned.
Gabe called to tell me he was bringing them in, and I went to make sure the birthing center was ready for her then waited for them at the hospital entrance. Savage looked more concerned than Dani. His face was pinched as if he were the one in pain. She just gave me a knowing smile and whispered, “Keep an eye on him so he doesn’t pass out,” as I helped her lower herself into the wheelchair.
I pushed her into the birthing center while Gabe tried to keep Savage from either hyperventilating or telling off some poor staff member while getting them checked in.
The way Gabe took care of Savage that day must have reminded Savage of the time he was in the hospital in Germany after the accident. Gabe had spent months traveling back and forth between there and New Orleans. He took care of the business alone so it didn’t crumble in Savage’s absence and stood by him through every painful surgery.
Savage remembering that is the only thing that would explain the one-eighty he pulled with his attitude.
Although, having a baby may have helped tame him somewhat too.
Whatever it was, I’m just happy it’s over.
Seeing Gabe this happy and content warms my black heart.
And he’s become even more amorous since his reconciliation with Savage and has more than kept his promise to fuck me on every surface of the condo, multiple times.
This morning, it was bent over the counter in the guest bathroom. He drilled his cock into me from behind and angled us so we could both see the mirror and watch his hard flesh sliding in and out of me. Seeing my wetness coat his dick every time he pulled out had to be about the sexiest thing I’ve ever seen.
Fuck, that was hot.
Gabe turns and his eyes meet mine just as a shudder runs through me, and I clench my thighs together at the memory.
He saunters over to me and leans down, brushing my hair back away from my ear. “You really need to stop eye-fucking me, or we’re going to end up doing it on your childhood bed again, and we both know how weird that was the last time we were here.” He eases away and the fire in his eyes causes a rush of heat and moisture between my legs.
I try to remain unaffected. “I wasn’t eye-fucking you.”
His lips curl into a sexy smirk. “Sure you weren’t.”
I glance down at the baby to avoid making eye contact with Gabe. He will see right through my pathetic attempt at lying. “I was not eye-fucking you. I do not eye-fuck when I’m holding my innocent little niece.”
He chuckles and brushes his finger down Kennedy’s cheek. “I hope you don’t want one of these anytime soon.”
Skye appears momentarily pained at my statement.
Shit. Real smooth, Gabe. Real smooth.
I meant it as a joke. There is no way she wanted kids, especially now. But that look she’s trying to hide has me wondering if I’ve read her wrong. We haven’t exactly discussed it. I assumed we were both on the same page, just enjoying being together.
Like this morning in the bathroom.
Sweet fuck!
That was so damn hot, I almost came with three pumps into her.
But maybe I misread her about the whole baby thing.
She smiles and squeezes Kennedy against her. “Of course not. I’m not ready to be a mom…yet. I’m content with being the cool aunt who teaches Kennedy how to use fuck like a comma.”
I burst out laughing, and Kennedy stirs in her arms. Skye glares and shushes me.
“Shit, sorry.” I’m clearly not cut out to be a father. With conscious effort, I lower my voice. “Sorry, I had to laugh, because I’m pretty sure Savage and Dani both say fuck enough that the baby would learn it whether you’re around or not.”
Skye cracks a smile, but there’s still something lingering underneath the humor there.
She said yet.
What if Skye wants a baby…eventually?
Images of a little boy with Skye’s eyes and my coloring darting around the condo flash through my head. A giggle echoes in my ears. The little guy throws himself into my arms and wraps his tiny arms around my neck. He leans in and blows a raspberry on my cheek.
My stomach roils a little.
I have no fucking clue how to be a dad. I barely had one and the one I did have was a no-good, dirty, lying criminal. Sam Hawke was the only father figure in my life, and he was only around a few years before he died. The thought of being responsible for a tiny life like that scares the fuck out of me.
But what terrifies me more is the way my heart sped up and joy flooded me when that little boy ran at me.
Someone slaps me on the back. “Hey guys, I’m sorry, but I have to take off.”
I turn to Stone and frown. The bags under his eyes and pallor of his skin tells me he hasn’t been sleeping and makes me wonder what he’s been up to the last several days.
Stone has always been the risk-taker of the Hawkes. And not always in the good sense. He tends to jump off a cliff and then check to see if he has a parachute.
We all know he’s fucking brilliant, but he can never seem to get his shit together. I actually thought this visit was a good sign. He seemed more with it and grounded when he arrived a week ago than I’ve seen him in years. But as the week progressed, he’s become less and less focused, and it’s clear something is going on with him.
The mysterious phone calls he’s been taking always have him returning rattled. He said this trip was to spend time with the family and to meet Kennedy. After his cancelled trip during the hurricane, he’s only come out once, and that was only for two days to see me and Skye at the hospital and to have Sunday dinner with everyone else.
I can’t help but wonder what he has himself involved in this time. “Where are you going?”
His phone dings. He types something in reply and doesn’t look up at me. “I need to go meet a friend.”
Skye’s exasperated sigh is loud enough to draw Stone’s eyes up to her. “Seriously? We haven’t even eaten yet.”
Stone is bailing on the Hawke family Sunday dinner. He knows how important this is to his mother, but he’s still going to leave. It must be something really important for him to be willing to face Savage’s wrath for skipping out.
His hard eyes soften as he his eyes meet Skye’s and brush over Kennedy. “I know, but I have to go. I’ll try to make it back later, but if it’s too late, I’ll try to see everyone tomorrow before my flight leaves.”
“What time is your flight?”
“Three, so I have time to stop and say goodbye to everyone before I have to be at the airport.”
She’s still pissed, but her shoulders relax somewhat with his promise to see her one more time before he heads back to California. I’m not so easily appeased. I want to confront him about what’s been going on since he got here, but I’m not going to do it in front of Skye or the rest of the family. There’s already been enough drama. I don’t need to start more.
I place my hand on his shoulder and lean in so Skye won’t hear me. “We are going to have a conversation about what the hell you’ve been up to. Make sure you tell your mom goodbye before you leave.”
When I pull away, he narrows his eyes at me. The look is so reminiscent of the one I get from Savage, there’s no mistaking its meaning—stay the fuck out of it.
No fucking way.
The Hawkes are my family and always will be. I will do whatever it takes to make sure all the members of my family are safe and well, even if they don’t want me involved. Stone is just going to have to fucking deal with it.
Dani bustles out of the kitchen and beelines for us. “She’s probably going to wake up screaming for my tits anytime, so I’ll take her.”
Skye and I chuckle, and she reluctantly relinquishes the sleeping baby before she stands and steps into me. I wrap my arms around her as she presses her face into the crook of my neck. “Don’t look so worried, if we decide to have kids it’ll be a long way down the road. But that doesn’t mean we can’t practice making one. I’ll meet you in my room in five.”
My cock hardens, and I press it into her. She peers up at me with a sexy grin then saunters away from me, swaying that sinful ass as she goes.
That woman is going to be the death of me.