Chapter Fourteen
Molly
Maverick holds onto my waist, gripping me tight as the doctor tells me what I’ve been anxious to hear. He didn’t have to come with me or hold my hand while the doctor did his exam. He could’ve waited in the truck, but he didn’t. He’s here, next to me, holding me despite his own pain.
“You’re about five months along, dear, give or take a week. That puts your due date this spring. I’m guessing April 10 th based on these measurements. I should see you once a month from here on out.”
I swallow hard and lean against Maverick as the news permeates my brain, though I’m not sure I’m actually comprehending what’s happening. “ Five months? How am I five months along? I’m not showing. I have… I’m still feeling nauseous. Isn’t that a first trimester thing?” I’ve never been close to a pregnant woman, so I don’t have the faintest clue what to expect, but I’m still fairly sure that I’ve heard that nausea stops in the first trimester.
“You have some extra fluff in your mid-section, so you probably won’t classically show for another month or two.”
Awesome. I’m so glad Maverick is here to hear about all my extra fluff… not that I’m hiding it.
The gray-haired doctor continues, “And the nausea could be lingering due to stress. When Rhett called, he was concerned about your stress level and the health of the baby.” The doctor glances toward Maverick as though he’s confused why Rhett had called him, but another man showed up with his hands all over me.
I’m a little confused too, doc. Trust me.
“I’m going to give you something for the nausea, but I need you to make significant attempts to reduce your stress. What do you like to do for fun?”
Fun? Can I tell him that I love being admired and railed by three big strong men? That I like spending my evening on my knees sucking cocks and covered in come? That the most relaxing thing in the universe for me is feeling needed and used? Maybe the pregnancy is already a sign of that, though the man I made this baby with is not the kind of man I’d be interested in having more babies with.
“I’ll make sure she reduces her stress,” Maverick adds, squeezing my waist tight. “We all will.”
My clit throbs as the mere thought of what he might mean by that statement washes over me, and for a second my mind wanders with thoughts of all three men taking me over.
“Good,” the doctor says, rolling an ancient computer attached to a long-corded wand toward the table. The machine looks like it came straight from the eighties. I bet there’s a fax machine around here, too. “Let’s take a look at your little baby here. If you can lay back and lift your shirt for me.”
I’m not sure I expected all of this to be happening so quickly. An ultrasound. A picture of my baby. A supersonic timeline.
Panic rushes through me as I think of all the worst-case scenarios. A day ago, I couldn’t imagine having children. Now I don’t want anyone to take them away.
“Why haven’t I felt the baby kicking? What if something’s wrong? What if—”
The doctor squeezes cold gel onto my stomach as Maverick holds my hand. “You’ve probably felt kicking but brushed it off as indigestion. The baby would’ve just started moving around and you’re still very early in the pregnancy, so the movements would be light.” His wand pushes over the blob of gel, and he rolls his chair to the side of the prehistoric computer.
Suddenly, as though the world has started in a new place, there’s a drumming beat of life. A heavy fast rhythm that fills the room with an energy that wasn’t there before.
Maverick looks down at me, his hand in mine. “Fuck, Molly.” Tears well in his eyes and though I’m enamored by this moment of beauty with my child, I can’t help but feel overwhelmed by Maverick’s investment.
The man in white speaks, though he continues staring at the screen, “Ten fingers, ten toes, and as far as I can see you have a healthy baby. Do you want to know the sex?”
My heart stalls. “The sex? Already?”
“Already.” The doctor smiles and circles my stomach, clicking on his keyboard as he works the cool gel around.
I glance up toward Maverick, unsure of why I’m so crippled by this decision. On one hand, I’d love to know the sex of the baby. I could make a plan for the room, decide what kinds of clothes to buy, and prepare myself mentally for dolls or trucks. Then again, I’ve heard people say that the sex of your baby is one of life’s greatest surprises. Besides that, I’m a girl, and I refused to wear pink dresses or play with dolls. “ Do I want to know the sex?”
Maverick grins and opens his mouth to speak, but he’s also speechless.
“I can write it down for you,” the doctor says, brushing away something on his bulbus nose. “I’ll tuck it into an envelope. If you decide you want to know, you can pull it out later. A lot of people like to do it privately or with family around.”
I nod and the doctor turns, marks something down in a notebook, tears out the paper, and folds it before sliding it into an envelope from the drawer by the door. He hands the paper toward Maverick who tucks it into his back pocket.
I’m sure the doctor continues taking notes, or making measurements, or doing some other thing that’s imperative to a healthy pregnancy, but my mind is gone, lost on a life I’m about to have. A life with a real, actual baby. A little person. A little piece of myself is about to be in this world for me to love and care for.
Where will we live? What will we do? What does a mother even do?
I imagine myself as a free-spirited parent. The kind of mom that lets things go and talks about mistakes instead of doling out punishments. I imagine Rhett holding the baby like a goat under his arm with a bottle stuck in their mouth, Maverick demonstrating how to use a screwdriver, and Holden sat at the table doing puzzles and building Lego cities while they discuss how life makes them feel. Most of all, though, I imagine them all protecting this child with their lives.
My heart hammers against my chest with anxiety and excitement. Anxiety over the reality of the changes that are about to happen, and excitement over the possibility of a life I’ve dreamt of. A fantasy where three men want a life with me and my unborn baby. A fantasy where my child will always be surrounded with love and security. A life where I finally belong.
The doctor wipes a soft cloth over my stomach, shaking me from my thoughts. “I recommend a trip to the diner for some strawberry rhubarb pie. Babies up here are raised on that stuff, so you should get them started early.”
I smile and hop off the table and into Maverick’s arms. He smells like diesel and cedar, like a hardworking man. It’s weird, but the smell reminds me of my childhood. It reminds me of the farm, late summer nights with fireflies, early winter evenings curled up by the fire, and days in the hayloft looking for the ever-disappearing cats. I haven’t known Maverick for as long as he’s known about me, but there’s a connection between us that’s natural and genuine. A connection that isn’t easily replicated or found.
He holds the door open for me and we step out onto the sidewalk, unprepared for the cold December breeze. “Wow. That was… incredible.”
“I know! I can’t believe you have the sex of the baby in your back pocket. I mean… it’s crazy!”
He grins and tucks me against his chest, helping me toward the truck on the slippery sidewalk. “ Crazy , is right. You’re going to be a mom. A great mom.” He opens the truck door and helps me up inside, careful with how he lifts my body, though I know his hands are capable of so much strength. Still, though, he’s gentle and caring. “You going to open the envelope?”
A smile is so plastered on my face that I don’t think I could wipe it off if I wanted to, though I’m still not sure how to answer his question.
Maverick rounds to the opposite side of the truck and climbs up inside. His jeans are tight, and he wears a flannel over an old t-shirt that splits open as he sits up in his truck. “I don’t disagree with the doctor about the pie. You should definitely get on a steady diet of strawberry rhubarb.”
“Yeah? I don’t think I’ve ever had a slice.”
His jaw drops. “Bullshit! If you’re serious, we gotta fix that. What if I pick up some pie, and we all have dinner together tonight?”
“And we open the envelope?” I grin.
Maverick starts up the truck and glances toward me, his hand reaching out for my thigh. “You want to know?”
I swallow hard and nod slowly, thinking over the decision as though the destiny of the world relies on it. “Yeah, I want to know.”
Maverick rolls down the truck window and hoots out into the late morning light like a hooligan. He’s happy. Really genuinely happy. I like this side of him. It’s fun and carefree. Light and open. “Get over here, baby. I gotta have you closer.”
I slide toward him, effortlessly snuggling under his arm as he holds the wheel with the other. “I can’t imagine coming here with anyone else today. Thank you.”
He squeezes my shoulder before shifting the truck with his opposite hand. It would be easier to shift with this one, but he holds onto me tight anyway.
“Pull over,” I pant, twisting toward him with a wild in my eyes I haven’t felt since this morning.
He glances toward me, then back at the road again. “What? Why? Are you okay?”
“Yeah.” I climb up onto my knees and face him, clit throbbing hard. “I need you.”
“Yeah?”
“Oh yeah.” I brush my hand down over his inked arm, sliding it between my thighs, as my ass lifts toward the windshield. “I need you so bad… like right now.”
His rough hand slips against my inner thigh and onto my soaking panties.
What’s wrong with me? Why am I so insatiable? I could blame the hormones again, but truthfully, why does it matter?
I loved the way Maverick took care of me in the doctor’s office. I love the way he rolled down his window with excitement for me, and a part of me even loves the way he went back out to defend me last night. He’s a good man. A good, sexy, strong man who I want to do filthy things to me… right now.
He pulls the truck to the side of the road, following a dirt path around a few trees. We’re just off the main road and I don’t think we’re fooling anyone, but the tint on his windows are dark enough that we can mess around for a while undetected.
My hand lands on his thigh as he shifts the truck into park and turns toward me, pulling me onto his lap.
I’ve never been more thankful for skirts. The thick bulge of his cock is hard and ready, poking beneath the denim as I grind against his lap and lean into his lips.
“Fuck, baby,” he growls, kissing my lips ever so gently at first, savoring the taste as though he’s waited forever for this moment.
My hands wrap around his shoulders, and I sink onto his lap further, leaning into the softness of the kiss until it’s deeper and much less sweet.
It’s this moment right here where we both lose it. Where first time touch means nothing, and feral instinct means everything. Our hands roam each other’s bodies as though we’ve touched each other a thousand times before. As though every moment in our lives has led to this, and we’re connected on a level that can’t be spoken clearly without touch.
He drags his calloused hand up my throat and stares me in the eyes. “If we do this, you belong to me. I can’t lose you again.”
The flecks of green in his eyes show bright in this light. I brush my hand over his long beard and down past the stubble on his throat. “I want to be yours. I want to belong to all of you.”
He moans and wraps me tighter as I grind his covered cock. “As long as I don’t lose you, Molly. That pretty little face of yours got me through so much.” His lips crash against mine with eager breath, and our hands move wildly along each other’s skin.
The pines sway outside the darkly tinted window as I reach between us, feeling for the latch of his belt, but my hand slides over the hard steel of the gun in his waistband first.
“Sorry, baby.” He pulls the gun from his jeans and leans forward, tucking it into the glove box before drawing his giant hands over my breasts, focusing on the hard nipples that poke through the thin fabric of my shirt.
I wasn’t sure what to wear today, so I threw on a little cotton skirt and a light sweater. I figured it was easiest for the doctor, despite the fact that I’m dressed like it’s June in the middle of winter.
“It’s okay.” I kiss his mouth, tracing the line of his bottom lip with my index finger. “It turns me on.”
“What does?”
“The gun. It’s hot that you carry. That you’re always prepared and ready.”
He shakes his head and fists into my hair as he leans me to the side, weighing me down with the weight of his giant frame. “Get your ass over here.”
I unbuckle his jeans, he pulls up my skirt, my panties slide to the side, and his thick cock presses into me hard and fast, spontaneous and wild. Over and over again, he thrusts deep as I lift my ass and press myself as close as I can get, though it isn’t close enough. I want to be under his skin. I want to be in his breath. I need him like air.
“Oh, baby.” He growls low and tugs me close. “You’re so fuckin’ wet.”
Maverick is a big dude, and we don’t have much room to maneuver, but the way he looks at me, the way he touches me, the way he talks, the way our bodies feel together, is enough to send me straight over the edge.
I grip the back of his neck as he thrusts harder and faster. “Right there. Don’t stop. Please.”
“Fuck! I want you everywhere.”
“Everywhere?” I pant.
“Your mouth. Your soaking pussy. Your tight little ass.” His tone is ragged and wild.
I’ve never thought about letting anyone near my ass before, not ever, but I guess there’s a first time for everything. “Yeah? You want to sink into my tight little ass?” For some reason, repeating the dirty words out loud sends me closer to orgasm.
“Fuck, baby…” He holds me tighter, cupping my throat as he thrusts deeper and faster. “Fuck!”
My eyes close as his cock drives into me harder than ever, reaching deep inside of me to places that feel like euphoria.
“Look at me!” he growls. “I want to see your face when you come.”
My gaze meets his, and all at once, like a train going off the rails, I explode around his cock, squeezing and vibrating as I moan out for relief.
A second later, Maverick tightens the grip on my throat and drives his cock in one final time, sending waves of lightheaded excitement through me on repeat.
“Fuck! Fuck! Fuck!” he growls in chorus with my aching moan, and for a long, simple moment, the world disappears around us. No chirping birds. No rustling wind. No nothing. It’s just Maverick and I tucked away in a corner of the world that’s just for us.
He leans back and tugs up his jeans, then reaches toward me to help me up. “You felt so fuckin’ good.”
“Yeah?” I grin. “You too. That was hot as hell.”
His hands fist into the back of my hair and his teeth scrape across my neck. “I can’t wait to do that again and again.” His lips land against my forehead as he leans forward and grabs his forty-five from the glove box, strapping it back at his waist. “What do you say we get that strawberry rhubarb first, though? I’m starving.” His hand lands on my stomach and says, “I’m sure the baby is too.”
“Yeah. Pie sounds perfect.” I tuck underneath his arm again, laying my head against his chest as he pulls back onto the main road, where lunchtime traffic has picked up with shoppers.
We’re half a mile up the road when I see a line stretched twenty people long outside of the flower shop.
I hold my breath and glance at Maverick, wiping my eyes. “Do you see that?”
“Your shop?”
“Yeah. Look at the line. Why do I have a line?”
He drives slowly down the road as we stare toward the folks waiting. Mothers with their children in tow. Elderly women carrying purses that weigh more than them. A few men that are dressed in bright orange shirts. We weren’t even this busy the first day of business or during any of our sales.
Maybe Rosie found a good ad to run. Maybe her ‘bestie’ Owen knew some folks who could help. Maybe someone found out that she was going to have to join ‘Fantasy Driver’ and they gathered all their friends to come save the business and her virginity.
Maverick pulls the truck to the side of the road and shifts into park, using his opposite hand again as to not let go of me. I think I might be in love with this man. An echo in my brain still screams what’s wrong with me, but I’m rolling with the voices these days.
I kiss his lips gently, then bounce from the truck, too excited by the buzz of people to think clearly about anything. Right now, all my brain can focus on is this miracle and how we keep it going.
Heart pounding, I step past the group of people waiting to get inside, smiling and thanking each person individually for coming by. That’s one lesson I learned early on. The more personal you are with people, the more invested they feel with you, and that personal investment leads to financial success. I’m finally seeing the fruit of all of my efforts.
Nothing can ruin this day. I’ve found three men who love me, I’ve just seen my baby move, I’ve made love twice, and now my shop is right where I need it to be. I’m not sure life can get any better.
It’s not until I see the ‘ going out of business’ sign by the register that I’m slapped in the face with reality.
What the hell? I’m not going out of business!
My eyes search for Rosie, but as they move through the crowd and toward the register, they’re stopped by a familiar, lanky monster in the back room. An excuse of a man sits on a stool with a smirk on his face. A demon I’ve slept with. A terror of a man I was hoping to leave in my past. Yet there he is, hand tucked into the pocket of his hoodie, and a smirk on his face that’s a concrete reminder that this isn’t over yet.