Chapter Thirty-Three
ABBIE
“Oh my gosh, he’s so beautiful,” I declare, gazing down at the tiny swaddled baby in my arms. I’m standing in Sophie’s hospital room, next to her bed, and Jake and Carter are by the room’s window talking in hushed tones to each other.
“Isn’t he, though?” Sophie replies with a smile. She looks exhausted, like she can barely keep her eyes open — but also, so incredibly happy.
“What’s his name?” I ask.
“Hunter.”
“Oh, I like that.”
Gazing back down at Hunter, I feel tears in my eyes that I quickly blink away.
It’s a bit strange, holding Hunter now that I know what it’s like to hold my own baby.
My heart aches with longing, thinking of what it would be like to have another baby myself.
A little brother or sister for Lilah. A chance for Jake to be with his child from the start.
Jake looks up at me and grins before crossing the room to me.
“Come on, now,” he teases. “Don’t hog the baby.”
He holds out his arms, and I pass Hunter to him. I watch him cuddle the baby against his chest and am a little surprised by how totally comfortable he appears.
“You’re a natural,” I tell him with a grin.
He winks at me. “Eight little siblings, remember?”
I chuckle softly. “Well, you look really good holding a baby.”
“Oh yeah?” He grins, then gazes down at Hunter with a tender expression. “Dang, he’s so tiny.”
Seeing him like this, I feel a pang of guilt in my chest for depriving him of moments like this with Lilah. He wasn’t there when she was born. Wasn’t there for her first steps or first words.
He’s missed so much, but I remind myself that he won’t miss any more with her. We’re different people now, and our relationship is different. Better. Stronger.
We’re a family, and there will be countless moments just like this one for us to share.
Later that night, Jake and I are lying together in bed. Lilah and Chase are already asleep and we’re just enjoying a few quiet moments together after such an eventful day.
“Sophie looked so good,” I murmur, tracing patterns on Jake’s chest with my fingers. “She said Hunter’s birth was easier than Carson’s.”
“Is that typical?” he asks.
I shrug. “I’ve heard second births can be easier… it probably depends on the circumstances, though.”
“I suppose,” he murmurs, then reaches out and wraps his arms around me, pulling me into his chest. I tuck my head under his chin and let out a long breath, just starting to drift off when he asks, “How was Lilah’s birth?”
Chuckling, I answer, “Rough. She was stubborn and did not want to come out. I was in labor for about twenty-six hours, and they were about to go to C-section with me but she finally gave up the fight.”
He laughs softly. “She’s been a little stinker since the beginning, huh?”
“Absolutely…oh,” I murmur, “can you remind me to switch the laundry around tomorrow? I didn’t get to it tonight.”
“I’ll take care of it.” He kisses me on the cheek. There’s a pause, and then he says in a low, rumbling voice, “Hey, Abbs?”
I’ve closed my eyes and don’t bother opening them. “Hmmm?”
“Will you marry me?”
I freeze. What did he just say?
Bolting upright, I stare down at him in shock.
“Say that again,” I demand.
Grinning, Jake reaches over and turns the bedside lamp on before opening the nightstand drawer and digging out a small velvet box.
“I’ve had this for a few weeks now,” he tells me.
“Since just a little after the … uh, the kidnapping, honestly. Kind of put things into perspective, but there hasn’t been a good time to ask you…
or, at least, no time that felt right. Holding Hunter today made me realize that life moves fast and I’ve already wasted three years by being an idiot. I can’t waste any more time.”
He opens the box, revealing a gorgeous princess-cut diamond ring.
“Jake,” I gasp, covering my mouth with my hands. “Are you being serious right now?”
He chuckles and nods. “Absolutely. Abbie Wixx, you are the most incredible woman I’ve ever met.
You’re brilliant and beautiful, and you make me want to be a better man.
I never thought I wanted to get married or have a family of my own, but you…
you’ve shown me how wrong I was to believe that.
It’s only you that I want to build that life with. So, will you marry me?”
I blink and stare at him for several moments before I finally shake myself out of my shock.
“Of course I’ll marry you!” I exclaim, throwing myself at him and wrapping my arms around his neck. He laughs as he catches me and I press my lips to his in an eager, hungry kiss. I straddle his lap, pressing his back against the headboard.
He pulls back so he can take the ring out of the box and slip it onto my finger. I stare down at it, admiring it as Jake begins running his lips along my throat, his hands gripping my hips.
“Do you like it?” he murmurs against my heated skin.
“I love it.” I catch his face between my hands and turn it up to me so I can gaze into his eyes. “You could’ve given me a Ring Pop, though, and I’d have said yes.”
He grins. “Well, shit, if I had known that…”
I give his hair a gentle, playful yank, and he laughs.
We kiss again, and this time it’s much more heated.
He slips a hand up my oversized t-shirt and cups my bare breast, making me moan softly.
Our tongues tangle as he pinches and thumbs my nipple, and it’s like little bolts of lightning are sizzling beneath my skin.
When I feel his growing erection pressing against me, I grind myself along it and it’s like something snaps inside both of us.
With a growl, Jake grips my waist and rolls me onto my back on the bed.
“Put your arms over your head,” he orders. “Don’t move them.”
I bite my lower lip and nod.
Slowly, he pushes my shirt up and over my head, dragging it off me as I stay still and don’t move a muscle.
He grins, clearly pleased, and then places a kiss between my breasts.
Cupping them in both hands, he kneads them gently as he drags his tongue over first one nipple, then the other.
I clench my hands into fists as I fight not to move my arms, though part of me is desperate to touch him.
“You’re so beautiful,” he murmurs as he leaves my nipples firm and perky and begins moving down my torso, leaving a hot trail with his lips and tongue. “My beautiful fiancé. My future wife.”
His words seem to zip right between my legs, causing me to pulse there and grow wet.
“I like the sound of that,” I tell him. “Your future wife…My future husband.”
He drags my shorts and panties down my legs before he presses a kiss right above my pubic bone.
“I like it too.” Gripping my thighs, he pushes them apart, opening me up wide to him. “Mmmm, you’re so pretty down here. So sweet and pink.”
“Jake,” I gasp. “You’re teasing me again…”
“I know how much you love it.” But he shows me mercy and lowers his head between my legs. I cry out when he starts licking and sucking my tender flesh. Arching my hips, I push myself more firmly against his mouth and he growls in approval.
It’s so good… it’s always so good between us. How did we go so long without this? How did we manage to stay away from each other for three years?
I honestly don’t know, but I don’t want to think about it. All I want to think about is how good Jake is making me feel in this moment and how bright our future is together.
When he slips a finger inside me, I moan, biting my lip to keep from being too loud.
He pumps his fingers and sucks on my sensitive little bud, and I have to grip the sheets above my head as the urge to break and grab hold of him grows almost overwhelming.
Instead, I try to hook my legs around him to hold him against me, but his grip on my thighs is firm and I can’t budge.
I’m helpless to do anything but take what he’s giving me and my orgasm slams through me within moments.
The pleasure is so intense, my mind goes blank and I forget to keep my hands above my head.
Writhing beneath his mouth, I drop my arms and dig my fingers into his hair as I undulate against his face.
He doesn’t let my orgasm dissipate before pushing up onto his knees and grabbing my hips, yanking me toward him.
“Bad girl,” he smirks. “You broke my rule.”
I’m dragging my fingernails down his arms. “I held out for as long as I could.”
Lifting my hips so I’m lined up with his length, he replies, “Is that so? Still, I need to punish you a bit. You didn’t even ask for permission to move.”
Before I can respond, he surges into me with one hard thrust. I throw my head back and open my lips to cry out, but he presses his hand to my mouth to stifle the sound.
As he begins pounding into me, I sink my teeth into the soft pad of his palm.
He growls, his muscles straining, and he moves his hips faster.
“Fuck, Abbie,” he groans. “You always feel so good, I’m going to lose my mind…”
I moan against his hand and grip his wrist, but not to push him away. I just need something to anchor myself down so I don’t go flying off into space.
Jake bends over me and presses his forehead to mine. “I love you. I love you so fucking much. You’re going to be my wife—mine—forever.”
The combination of his passionate words and merciless thrusts is more than I can take. My body seizes and my second orgasm rips through me. I scream against his hand, thrashing beneath him as I come and come and come.
“Oh, fuck, you’re squeezing me so tight…” He drops his face against my neck and roars against my skin as he finds his own release. I feel him pulsing deep inside me and I cling to him, wrapping my legs around his waist.
Several moments pass before he collapses onto the bed next to me, releasing his hold on my mouth. I gasp, sucking in air. Jake kisses my cheek.
“You okay? Was I too rough?”
“No,” I assure him, cupping his cheek and smiling over at him. “It was amazing.”
Grinning, he nuzzles against my neck, whispering, “I can’t believe you’re going to be my wife.”
Warmth blooms inside me as well as a feeling of peaceful contentment.
“You’re going to be my husband,” I say softly.
We lay like that for long moments, wrapped in each other’s arms, soaking in the warmth and love that we’ve gone through hell and back to claim, and I know we’ll fight like hell to always keep.