My back was throbbing. How could one person endure so much pain in one lifetime? I shifted to lie on my back, and someone grabbed me.

“Jessica?”

At the sound of Brock’s voice, I opened my eyes. “Where am I?” That was a dumb question. I was in a hospital. The gray walls and the unconfortable bed should have been my first clue. If that wasn’t enough, the hospital smell was strong.

“You’re at a medical facility in Somalia. The doctor said you will be discharged in a couple hours. We’re going to Shialia.” Brock had dark circles around his eyes.

I was frustrated with myself for putting him through so much pain. “Sorry,” I rasped.

“Nothing to be sorry about. I will always come for you,” Brock said with a lopsided smile.

The events of the night before came crashing back—the torture, Eric getting hit, the gun, being shot. “Is Eric okay?”

“Eric is fine. The team headed back to the States once they knew you were okay.”

“Can you climb into bed with me? I need to feel you next to me and get the thought of that man out of my head.”

Brock must have needed to be close to me too. He rose, went to the door, and locked it. Then he climbed into bed and pulled me to his chest. “I was so worried,” Brock choked out.

My body pressed against Brock’s made his length stir. I could feel him hardening against my body. The need for him to be in me was so strong. I reached into his jeans and pulled out his length.

A groan escaped Brock. “No. Your back.”

Tightening my grip, I started to stroke his cock. “I can be on top.”

I knew I was ready for him. When Brock was near, my body hummed with anticipation. I crawled on top of Brock without waiting for an answer. Pulling my panties to the side, I slid down on his length.

It was intense. I was lost in the passion of riding him. The first orgasm tore through my body within seconds.

He grabbed hold of my hips, holding me in place, and thrust up with the urgency of a man possessed.

“Come with me now.”

At his command, I exploded and dropped to his chest.

Being with Brock made all my nightmares go away. I couldn’t imagine spending my life with anyone else. I couldn’t wait to be his wife.

“Marry me,” Brock demanded.

I was startled for a second, wondering if I said my thoughts out loud.

“Jessica, I want you by my side for the rest of my life. Please be my wife.”

“Yes.” There was no way I would spend my life with anyone else. I leaned over and pressed my lips to Brock’s.

We were lost in a kiss when a loud pounding came from the door. I was glad Brock thought to lock the door before sliding into bed with me.

The pounding continued, and I couldn’t help but giggle. He rushed to stand and zip up his pants before opening the door.

A female nurse entered the room. “That is to remain unlocked,” she demanded. Turning on her heels, she walked up to Brock and poked him in the chest. “Jessica is hurt. You save your sexy time for when she is well. You couldn’t even wait an hour. Men!”

I had to pull the sheet up over my face to hide the smile that spread across it.

She came over to my bedside and checked my vitals. “I have your release papers for you. You can leave. Make him wait next time.”

Needing to save Brock from the nurse, I said, “Actually, I jumped him.”

“I like you. He needs to learn to say no.” She had a smile on her face when she walked toward the door. “He’s a good guy. Wouldn’t leave your side.”

When I started to get up and get dressed, Brock was by my side. My clothes were destroyed in the kidnapping, so the hospital had given me a fresh set of scrubs. Patty would have something for me to wear when I got to Shialia.

“How long was I gone?” I asked.

Brock let out an aggravated groan. “It took us close to twenty hours to get you back. That was the longest day of my life. You have to promise me you’ll never take a tracker off again, no matter how mad you might be at me or any of us. There are crazy people out there, and I can’t go through that again. I thought I lost you.”

Since we were heading to Shialia, I was going to ask Patty if she could invent a new tracker. I wanted something smaller. When Sasha removed the one from my arm, I was in pain for a few days.

When I put the new scrub top over my head, I noticed the necklace was back. He must have put it on me when I was asleep. “When we get to Shialia, I will have another tracker implanted, as long as it is smaller than the last one.”

Brock must have noticed I was looking at the necklace. “I plan on getting you a permanent collar, and the collar will have a tracker. When we get back, we will go ring shopping, and we can have a tracker implanted in the diamond.”

“When we get to Shialia, we can pick out a ring. Dad owes me some gems for putting me through hell.” Shialia was known for its exotic gems. Brock and I grabbed our remaining items and left the hospital.

A few hours later, we were in Shialia.

* * *

“I thought you were due a week ago?” Brock and I had arrived at the castle two hours ago. Patty had not delivered her baby yet.

“He won’t come out! We have sex all the time, and I bounce on that dumb ball an hour a day.” She grumbled.

It was nice being back at the castle after so many years away. Our father hadn’t returned. We received a letter saying he was thinking about what he had done wrong, trying to come up with a way to fix what he did.

I had no hard feelings. He was my only parent left, and I couldn’t spend the rest of my years being mad at him. Brock, on the other hand, hadn’t forgiven him for putting me in danger.

“Did you know a first baby has a fifteen percent chance of being late. The second child only has a ten percent chance of being late.” Patty had been grasping at her belly for the past hour. “Are you sure you’re not in labor now?”

“I thought I was ready, and have complained about him not coming, but what happens if I screw him up, and he turns out to be crazy.” By the time she finished the sentence, she was panting in pain.

I pulled my phone out of my pocket and swiped to unlock it. Sam picked up on the first ring. “Sam, it’s time.”

“I will meet you in the car.”

I took another look at Patty. We weren’t going to make it to the hospital.

I could hear him running in the background. “Sam, we won’t make it to the hospital. Patty’s been in labor all day and hasn’t told anyone.”

Sam grumbled about tanning her hide after she gave birth.

“Meet me in your chambers.” Sam clicked off the line.

Grabbing Patty’s hand, I helped her up off the ground. “Let me get you to your room.” I was hoping Sam had called the doctor.

****Sam****

Once Patty had this baby, I was going to tan her hide for not telling someone she was in labor. She wouldn’t be able to sit for a week.

I was running toward our wing. The castle was twenty thousand square feet, and I just happened to be on the opposite side. I heard footsteps fall into stride next to me. I knew it was Brock. After years of working together, we were in sync.

Brock and I had been having a glass of Scotch, trying to figure out a way to get Shialia back under control. I was planning on hiring a bunch of Navy Seals I had worked with before. I needed to change out all the guards.

Jessica’s name flashing across my phone screen only meant one thing. Something was wrong with my pixie. When she said the baby was coming, a web of emotions passed through me. I couldn’t believe Patty had waited this long to let anyone know she was in labor.

Needing to have a doctor here, I grabbed my phone and called our doctor. His nurse answered and said a doctor would be at the castle in ten minutes. I hope we had ten minutes. Nobody at the residence was trained to deliver a baby.

When I rounded the corner into our room, Jessica was laying Patty down on the bed. I rushed to her side, needing to be close. “Pixie, the doctor will be here in ten minutes. How are you doing?” I grasped her hand.

“Peachy,” Patty ground out. I could see her molars grinding together inside her cheeks. She was in pain and trying not to show it.

“Pixie, your fingernails are piercing my skin.”

Patty squeezed tighter. “I’m in a little pain.”

The guard at the front door sent me a text letting me know the doctor was on his way up to the room. I was able to breathe a little more comfortably knowing the medical staff was here.

I ran a cloth across Patty’s forehead, removing the sweat. “The doctor is on his way up.”

Right as I finished my statement, a man who looked like a movie star swooped into the room.

“Patty!”

I’d never seen this man before. How did he know my Pixie?

Patty’s face lit up at the sight of the man. “Dr. Harper, what are you doing here?”

“I’m here for your delivery.”

My jealousy was showing on my face. “No.”

Patty’s gray eyes trained on me. “No, what?”

“We will wait for Dr. Riggs.”

“You have to be kidding me. First of all, we don’t have time. If you had come to all my appointments, you would have met Dr. Har—” Her rant was cut off by a contraction. I knew I needed to get my jealousy under control.

I took a deep breath, getting my nerves together. As long as our baby was beautiful and Patty was okay at the end of the day, I could do this. I needed to think of them.

“Okay, sorry.”

Dr. Harper took a look to see how dilated she was. “Patty, you waited too long to call me. It’s time. You ready?”

The nurse went to the other side of the bed, held Patty’s arm and shoulder, and told her to push. Patty pushed. Her eyes squeezed shut, a vein popped out on her temple, and tears were leaking from her eyes.

“Deep breaths!”

“Breathe!”

Patty nodded.

A harder contraction hit. Patty cried out, pushing with all her might.

“Harder.”

“Keep going.”

After one last push, I heard it—the tiny cry of our baby.

The doctor held scissors out to me. “Time to cut the cord, Dad.”

With a snip, my world was complete. I collapsed on the bed next to Patty, wrapping my arm around her.

Brock and Jessica were over in the corner with tears in their eyes. My family was all together.