27. Twenty-Six
Twenty-Six
Kayleigh
A fter Erik gave me two glorious orgasms and put me to bed, I was hoping he would not be here when I woke up. But no. Of course the stubborn, pain-in-the-ass Scottish baby daddy has me cuddled up against him. I can feel his breath kissing the skin on my face, the heat of his stare, and his fingers running through my hair.
“I know you’re awake, seamrag bhea.”
I choose to ignore him and snuggle into his chest; I hate that he is so damn comfortable to sleep on.
“Time to wake up.”
“No,” I grumble.
“Yes, we have an appointment with your new OB/GYN this morning.”
I look up and glare at him. “The doctors in Ireland said we both were fine.”
“Fine isn’t good enough, and besides, this one has been personally vetted by me.”
“Seriously? What did you do, a background check?”
“Yes.”
“What else did you do?”
“Now, would I do anything else?”
“Yes, you are extra when it comes to being an overprotective pain in the ass.”
“Okay, maybe I’ve let him know what would happen if you don’t get the best care…”
“And what would that be?”
“Obviously death.”
I roll my eyes, for which he spanks my ass, making me squeak.
“Now get up and go get ready. You need to eat before we leave.”
I grumble as I sit up and drag my ass to the bathroom to get ready.
The moment I walk into the dining room, I smell something rotten. I try to swallow back the bile rushing up my throat, but I lose the battle and yank my hand away from Erik’s.
“Kayleigh, what? Oh shit.” I hear him behind me as I run off to the bathroom, slam open the door, and drop to my knees, throwing up what little is in my stomach. I feel someone grab my hair and hold it. I try to push whoever it is away, but I hear Erik’s deep voice. “Stop. I’m not going anywhere.”
I open my mouth to say something, but my stomach decides to empty itself again.
“My poor seamrag bhea,” he coos as he rubs my back. I groan and lay my sweaty head on the toilet.
“Do you feel better?”
“No. I want to lay down,” I groan. He lifts me back onto my feet and hands me a cup with mouthwash. Then he guides me to his office and has me lay down. I close my eyes feeling like I just ran a marathon when I only got sick. If this is what the rest of my pregnancy will be like, I’m already over it.
I hate being sick. I would rather take care of others than have anyone take care of me.
Erik walks over to me with a pillow and blanket.
“Rest. We have a little bit until we must leave. If you get hungry, I’ll have one of the maids bring you something.” I scrunch up my face at the thought of putting anything in my mouth. He chuckles softly, kissing my head before standing and walking over to his desk. Instead of arguing, I close my eyes, hoping when I wake up my stomach will be settled enough I won’t need to take a barf bag with me.
“Seamrag bhea?”
“Hmm,” I say, opening my eyes.
“How are you feeling?”
“Better. I guess our baby doesn’t like eggs,” I chuckle softly.
“No worries. I’ll make sure to tell them not to cook eggs while you’re home.”
“You can’t do that.”
“Of course I can. We did it when Ember and Freya were pregnant. The Duncan men cater to our pregnant woman’s needs. You want to go get ready? We are leaving in thirty minutes,” he says, extending his hand to help me up. I sit up slowly, and after waiting a few moments to be sure I’m not going to get sick again, I walk out of Erik’s office and head to our room to freshen up.
“Kayleigh. Put a move on it,” I hear Erik yell from outside of the bathroom door twenty minutes later.
“I’m coming; we still have ten minutes.”
“Yes, but we don’t want to be late.”
I walk out putting my hair up in a ponytail. “And we won’t be. Would you chill, old man?”
“Keep being a brat and you will be punished for it.”
“Uh-huh,” I say trying to pass him, but he grabs me by my wrist and spins me around until I land against his chest with an unattractive oomph.
“Keep the bratty sass to a minimum.”
“Now where’s the fun in that?”
“Seamrag bhea,” he growls.
“Yes?” I say batting my eyes at him, trying to look innocent.
“You are so lucky we have somewhere to be, otherwise I’d be taking my belt to your ass.”
“Promises…promises,” I say, pecking his lips before walking past him. I make sure to shake my ass as I do, and I hear him growl before his heavy footsteps follow me. He snatches my hand with his, as if that will stop me from giving him hell. Let’s see if he will still want me after I show him my true self and not the polite Mafia princess. I give it a week until he is trying to put me in a different home or seeing me off to Ireland.
Rowan is outside waiting for us; guess he is our driver. He looks at Erik, then at me.
“Kayleigh, what did you do to make Erik look like he has a stick up his ass?”
“He isn’t enjoying me being a sassy brat,” I say shrugging my shoulders. Erik stops and pulls me back into his chest, then he wraps his free hand around my ponytail and yanks my head back.
As he lowers his head, he barely whispers in my ear, “It’s not you being a brat that’s the problem. It’s you being so tempting, and I have to stop myself from bending you over.” I gulp at the fire in his eyes. Damn him for fucking making me wet again.
“Be as sassy as you want, but when I get the all-clear from your doctor, you better be able to outrun me because I will chase you. And once I catch you, I will fuck you until you have no voice from screaming my name so much.”
Fuck. Fuck. I cannot jump him and ride him right now.
“Now get your ass inside the SUV so we can go to your appointment,” he says as he guides me into the vehicle.
“Alright, Mrs. Duncan, I have read over your file. Are you taking it easy and not doing any strenuous activities?” the doctor asks me. I give Erik the side eye; fucker looks like a damn peacock with his chest out.
“Yes, besides leisurely walks, I’ve been in bed.”
“Good, and it states here that you also have your own personal doctor who will come by to check on your gunshot wound.”
“Yes, he has been working for my family for years,” Erik states.
“Okay good. Have him get in contact with me if he has any questions. Now I would like to do an ultrasound to check on the baby. Can you raise your shirt and lower your pants?” Erik steps up and lowers my pants and I try to swat his hands away, but he ignores me.
“Keep it professional, doctor,” he growls as the doctor steps up to me.
“For fuck’s sake, Erik. How is he supposed to check the baby if you won’t let him touch me?” I turn my attention to the doctor saying, “Ignore him. He won’t do anything, will you, Erik?”
“I’m watching,” is all he says. I swear to god, when we leave here, I’m so going to tear him a new one.
The doctor’s hands shake as he squeezes the gel onto my stomach, and I wince when the cold hits my skin. Erik, not missing a thing, steps up to us.
“It was just cold, Erik,” I say grabbing his hand and giving it a squeeze. Erik relaxes and stays at my side; we both have our eyes on the monitor.
“Here is your baby.” I stare in awe as I see our baby wiggle on the screen.
“Wow. Kayleigh, look,” Erik whispers.
“Yeah,” I say.
“And this is the heartbeat,” the doctor says just before we hear whoop…whoop…whoop . It’s almost like horses galloping.
“Is the baby healthy?” I ask, and the doctor gives me a smile.
“Yes, your baby is healthy. A nice strong heartbeat and it is growing at a nice rate. I do worry about you going to full term after the gunshot wound to your stomach because your amniotic sac was scratched. As you get further into your pregnancy, the amniotic sac will grow with your baby, and it could become a weak spot. And we do not want you to start leaking amniotic fluid before it is time to give birth.”
“What can we do to prevent Kayleigh from giving birth early?” Erik asks.
“For now, I want her on bedrest for another two to three weeks, and after that she will still need to take it easy, which includes staying as stress free as possible.”
“Okay. I will make sure she does.”
“Also know that, as she gets closer to the end of her pregnancy, she will most likely be put back on bedrest if not getting admitted to the hospital.” I nod and feel Erik squeeze my hand as the doctor continues, “I know it is scary, but I want to see you every week. That way we can monitor both of you. I promise I will do everything I can to make sure you deliver a healthy baby.”
“Thank you, doctor,” I say, swallowing back my tears. My baby is at risk, and I still have twenty-nine weeks to go until they are safe. But really, how safe will they be after they are born? The baby will be Mafia royalty between being the heir to the Duncan Mafia and being a grandchild of Peter O’Sullivan. Double targets on my sweet baby’s head.
“Seamrag bhea,” Erik softly whispers while turning my head toward him.
“What?” I look around and see we are alone. “Where is the doctor?”
“He left, but that’s not important. Are you okay? You zoned out.”
“Sorry, my thoughts got away from me.”
“Don’t apologize. Talk to me.”
“It just hit me that our baby still isn’t safe, then I realized how big of a target they will have on their back. How are we supposed to keep them safe?”
He cups my face. “I’m telling you right now that you and our baby will always be safe.”
“But not only will your enemies be after them, my family’s enemies will be too.”
“And both of you will have double security on you for the rest of your lives. I know you’re scared, and I am too, but even with all the threats, do you know what our baby will have that no one else will?”
“What?”
“A mother who will love them beyond the ends of the earth.”
I smile and place my hands over his. “And a father who will love them and protect them.”
“I will always love and protect you and all our children. You ready to go home and lay down after you eat a bit?”
“I’m actually hungry.”
“Good. I will have the chef prepare something for you,” he says, standing up and extending his hand to help me off the table. He wraps me in my jacket before leaving the room and holds onto me the whole way out of the doctor’s office with security flanking us every step of the way.
As we head home, I rest my head on Erik’s shoulder, melting into his touch. He has one arm wrapped around my shoulders and the other resting on my belly as if he is protecting our child.
I know, no matter what, he will keep our baby safe.