39. Chapter Thirty-nine
Chapter Thirty-nine
Shira
Ben crossed his arms. “I don’t like her.”
Nate swatted the back of his head. “No one asked your opinion.”
Adrian raised his eyes from his phone for the first time this evening. He wasn’t big into basketball, unlike the rest of his brothers, but on a rare evening he wasn’t at work, he chose to hang out after we all ate dinner anyway. I’d learned the Wells brothers simply liked to be around each other, no matter the activity.
“Her background check is pristine, and her references are glowing.”
Ben narrowed his eyes. “See? That’s suspicious. It’s probably all fake.”
Laughing, I let my head fall on Roman’s shoulder. With five of us on the couch, it was a tight fit, so Roman had snuggled me into his lap. Though, truthfully, that was where I spent most of my time these days. It was just as well since that seemed to be the only place I could get comfortable. I was a week away from my due date, the baby was measuring almost nine pounds, and my belly was large and in charge. My back ached, my ankles and feet were swollen, my face looked like the moon…and I had never been happier.
“For what it’s worth, I think she had a few parking tickets,” I said.
Roman glared at Adrian, who was no longer paying attention. “You checked our nanny’s references?”
“Naturally,” he intoned.
The funny thing was, I wasn’t even a little surprised all the Wells brothers were invested in our nanny choice. Roman and I had interviewed several candidates over the last few weeks and had finally settled on Louise. The kids she’d been nannying were heading off to school full time, and that was the only reason she was leaving her current position. We were lucky to find her.
“She’s a gem,” I said. “Besides, she’s Elliot and Kit’s nanny’s sister, and she’s watched their children several times. Do you think Elliot Levy would vouch for someone less than perfect?”
“See?” Nate rounded on Ben. “They have it covered. Relax.”
Ben had not uncrossed his arms. “I’d like to meet this woman.”
“You’ll meet her when she comes to work for us,” Roman barked.
I slid my palm over his jaw. “He’s just being protective.”
“I don’t like him questioning our decision,” he grumbled. “You love Louise.”
“I do, and Ben will love her too. I’m not worried.”
Lately, I hadn’t been worried about much. Once Roman and I’d had our big talk, we hadn’t stopped talking. It was as if we’d broken something within ourselves, and instead of internalizing every tiny thought, we shared it aloud.
I now understood Roman more than ever. He may have been this massive, powerful man, but he had wounds almost as old as he was and a center that needed tending to. I knew something about that.
We were careful with each other, mutually aware of the old hurts we both carried. I had to unlearn being quiet and enduring, and Roman was making it easy. When it was just the two of us, we had a steady sense of peacefulness I’d never experienced before. His brothers always came along to shake things up so we didn’t get bored, though I doubted that would ever be a problem.
When we weren’t talking, we were going at it. Even with my giant belly, Roman got creative. We couldn’t keep our hands off each other because right beside the love and peace we had uncovered was a fiery passion that burned brighter every day.
Like most nights, I fell asleep on the couch, and Roman carried me upstairs when the game was over. I could have walked, but he liked carrying me, and I didn’t mind giving him that. Not one bit.
We got ready for bed together. Mary scampered off to her snoozing spot at the foot, giving us both the stink eye for daring to interrupt her sleep, then quickly settled down in the ultra-luxurious cat bed Roman had bought for her.
I hadn’t moved in with Roman. Not officially, at least. Unofficially, I slept here every night, and Mary spent most of her time here too. Slowly but surely, all her accessories and necessities had migrated, and my belongings seemed to be piling up as well. Roman hadn’t said a word, but I’d caught him running his hand over my dresses hanging in his closet and smiling to himself. So, I was pretty sure he was liking where we were going.
I sat in bed, my back against a pile of pillows, rubbing lotion on my arms. Roman took the bottle and went to work on my feet. His thumb dug deliciously into my arch. He did this nightly, massaging my feet and legs until I was boneless.
“I’m going to miss it when you don’t do that anymore,” I slurred.
“Who says I’m going to stop?” He kissed the tip of my toe. “These feet carry around the two loves of my life. They deserve to be treated with care.”
“Well, that’s sweet. Is there a part of you that needs massaging?”
He took my foot and placed it on top of the thick ridge of his cock. “Always.”
I reached for him. “Then come here and let me take care of you too.”
Beanie stretched, a foot or knee digging into me so hard, I hissed. Roman followed my hand on my belly, rubbing the spot where our son was trying to break free.
“You okay?” he murmured.
“He’s running out of room.”
“He’ll be out soon enough, then he’ll probably regret giving up his comfy spot.”
I tipped my forehead into his jaw. “I think he’ll be pretty comfy here too.”
His hum reminded me of Mary’s contented purrs. “You know I love you?”
“I do.” I spread my fingers on his cheek. “You know I love you too?”
“Yeah, baby, I do.” He rubbed his face against mine. “You and Beanie are going to live here with me, aren’t you?”
My heart flipped inside my chest, which wasn’t easy since my organs were pretty squished these days. Now that he’d asked—well, sort of asked—I realized I’d been waiting for this. Wanting it. Of course he was giving it to me. Roman always gave me what I wanted.
“Yes, Rome, we are.”
“Then we better get all your stuff moved over here tomorrow so we don’t have to deal with it after he comes.”
“Tomorrow?”
“I’m not feeling much like wasting time.” He turned his head to kiss my wrist. “You?”
“No more wasting time.”
With a deep groan, he moved behind me, wrapping his body around mine. His hand roamed over my belly and the slope of my hip before spending a generous amount of time on my breasts.
When it was time, when we were breathless and needy and had shed our clothes so our skin slid together, I lifted my leg, and Roman thrust into me.
We made quiet, lazy love, rolling hips and greedy hands. He kissed my shoulder and throat, then turned my head to take my mouth. In my ear, he whispered his happiness to have me in his bed permanently. I wove my fingers between his and sighed my agreement.
There was a part of me that was afraid—we were facing the unknown, after all—but then I remembered all of this was unknown.
Except Roman.
We had been connected by a letter since I was nineteen years old. I knew him. Not every one of his stories, but who he was at his core.
He was mine.
He traced the curve of my belly and rocked into me, planting himself deep. Mouth beside my ear, he nibbled my lobe, then said, “This part I’m going to miss. Do you have any idea how sexy you are right now, Shira? You’re in full bloom, baby.”
My insides quivered, pulling him even deeper. “Then you’ll have to work hard to get me this way again.”
“It won’t be hard work. It’ll be my favorite pastime. Fucking you to get you pregnant and round with our baby. Dripping tits and pussy. God, you sure seven is off the table? Not sure I’m going to be able to stop at a reasonable number.”
I tilted my head to nip the underside of his jaw. “Move, honey. Make me come, and you can probably convince me of anything.”
With a growl, he snapped his hips, hitting a spot inside me that made my eyes roll back. And he kept hitting it until I was shaking all over and moisture dripped from the tips of my breasts. Once he felt that on his palms, Roman followed me over, then methodically cleaned every last drop of milk.
Then he took my face in his hands and traced the slopes with his fingers while studying my features. The part of me allergic to attention squirmed, but the sureness that Roman adored every bit of me, including my face, pounded my insecurities back.
He pressed a kiss on each of my eyelids and the tip of my nose. “I adore you, Shira.”
“I feel that.” I lifted my head to kiss his lips three times, then once more for good measure. “I adore you too, my Rome.”
For once, Roman fell asleep before me, holding me snugly against his chest. It might’ve been the persistent ache in my back keeping me awake or the thoughts of all the things I had to get done before Beanie arrived.
The bright side? I had at least a week.
I smiled to myself. I hadn’t done that in a while, searching for a bright side when it had once been a habit. Looking at the man sleeping beside me in the dark, I knew why. My days with him were all light. There was nothing to search for or sort through. I was living in the bright side.
The backache persisted all night. I slept off and on, the waves of pain waking me. The following morning, the ache spread around to my front, tightening my belly.
It wasn’t consistent, so I decided to keep it to myself. I knew Roman. He would cart me off to the hospital before I even got the word “contraction” out of my mouth. Fortunately, he was distracted with the task of moving my things to his house. He’d recruited his brothers to carry what they could by hand, including my beloved dining room table.
Adrian scratched the side of his head. “Rome has a table. Why are we moving yours?”
I pointed at Roman’s dining set. It was fine, but it had no personality. He’d probably had a designer choose it for him while I’d fallen in love with my table and chairs. “Because this one is going to my house.”
Since the decision for me to move in with Roman had been officially made last night, we hadn’t decided what to do with my house. I assumed his brothers would be around even more when Beanie was here, Ben especially, and they’d need a place to sleep if they wanted, so for now, I’d keep it.
Nate rolled his shoulders. “Is there any reason you couldn’t hire movers?”
Roman patted his back. “Last minute decision. If there’s anything too heavy for you, I’ll hire professionals.”
Nate scowled. “Nothing’s too heavy for me.”
Another wave of pain hit me, like a band tightening around my stomach. My hand shot out, bracing on the wall as I attempted to breathe through it. This one smarted far more than the others had, and it seemed endless.
Eventually, it eased, and I could breathe again. Straightening, I looked up, gasping when I found Ben right in front of me, a deep frown on his face.
He wagged his finger in a circle near my middle. “What was that?”
I rolled my lips together and shook my head. “Nothing.”
He narrowed his eyes. “It was a contraction, wasn’t it?”
“Maybe.” I bit my bottom lip. “Probably.”
Roman whipped around, alarm widening his eyes. “You’re having contractions? How long?”
“They’re not consistent yet,” I replied.
He stalked over to me, taking me by the shoulders. “How long, Shira?”
“My back started hurting last night—”
“Last night?” he yelped. “What are we doing here? We need to get you to the hospital.”
Ben ran for the door, waving his keys over his head. “I’ll get the car!”
Adrian strode for the stairs. “I’ll grab the bag.”
Nate glanced around the room. “Uh…is there something I can do?”
I grabbed Roman’s wrists. “It’s too soon. They’ll just send me home.”
“Then they send you home.” He cupped my jaw. “I’ll give you almost anything, but not this. I need Dr. Sharma to check you out, make sure you and Beanie are doing well. All right? For me?”
He sounded so sweet, but beneath it was a sharp edge of panic. I knew he would be like this, which was why I’d kept my contractions to myself. But now, he was pleading for me to make him feel comfortable, and I couldn’t deny him that.
“Okay. We’ll go get checked out.”
He exhaled, his forehead falling to the top of my head. “Thank you, Goldie. If she sends us home, we’ll stop for donuts or cookies. Whatever you want.”
I laughed. “Don’t think I won’t take you up on that.”
A horn beeped frantically outside at the same time Adrian raced down the stairs with my hospital bag.
Roman’s mouth hitched. “Looks like it’s time to go.”
I slipped my hand in his. “Let’s go then.”
I had no doubt we’d be back here in an hour or two. With cookies. Lots and lots of cookies.