Chapter 53 Melanie #2
Nick got right in his face, his voice low and lethal. “If you ever touch my wife again, these hands will be on your fucking face instead of your shirt. The only reason they aren’t right now is because I’m not about to upset a pregnant woman.”
Josh held his hands up in surrender. “Okay, it won’t happen again. We just got caught in the moment—”
Nick’s jaw tightened. “There will be no more moments because this is the last time you’ll be near her.”
“Nick, stop.” I grabbed his arm, trying to pull him back. “Josh didn’t mean any harm.”
Josh exhaled, shaking his head. “Yeah, man, I was just trying to be there for her when she needed a friend.”
Nick let out a sharp laugh, full of disbelief. “She doesn’t—”
“Enough!” I snapped, throwing up a hand like it could stop the collision. “He wouldn’t even need to be there if you hadn’t blown everything up in the first place. So don’t you dare put this on him.”
I turned, walking fast, each step fueled by fury, by heartbreak, by the wildfire clawing up my throat.
Nick followed. “I know, okay? I know I fucked up. But I’m here now. I’m trying. Just—let me in.”
I didn’t stop. “Too late.”
“It’s not too late, Mel,” he pleaded, catching my arm and spinning me to face him.
His eyes were wild, burning, begging. “Just admit you still need me.”
Something inside me cracked wide open.
I laughed—a bitter, broken sound—and let the fire pour out.
“I don’t fucking need you.” My voice shattered, but I pushed through it.
“I don’t need anyone. My mom walked out on me when I needed her most, and you did the same fucking thing.
So no, I don’t need you, Nick.” My throat tightened as I forced the words out.
“You wanted me to do this on my own? Congratulations. I’m doing it. Giving you exactly what you want.”
I yanked my arm free and started up the porch steps. The silence afterward wasn’t quiet—it pulsed, raw and bleeding between us.
Nick’s voice stopped me cold. “That’s not what I want.”
I hesitated, my fingers curling into fists at my sides.
His voice softened. “I want you, Melanie. And I’m sorry it took me hurting you to figure that out, but I’m not going anywhere.”
I turned just in time to see him jogging back toward his motorcycle. My heart clenched. Of course. The man couldn’t even handle being vulnerable for one fucking minute. I muttered under my breath, crossing my arms, but then I saw him bend down, grab a bag, and jog back toward me.
Panting slightly, he held it out. “I got you this. It’s part of my apology.”
I just stared at him, my chest tight, my emotions a tangled mess.
He ran a hand through his hair, exhaling hard.
“I’m not good at this relationship stuff.
I’ve never really been in anything serious before.
And the thought of being a dad? Normally, that would scare the hell out of me.
” He swallowed, his voice thick with emotion.
“But with you, Melanie… What scares me more is doing life without you. No matter what gets thrown our way.”
Our eyes locked, his flickering back and forth between mine, searching for something.
“When I lost Chaos, I felt like a part of me died.” His voice wavered slightly, and it hit me how hard that loss had been for him.
“And the thought of having a kid scares me because I never want to feel that way again. If I could fall apart over a dog, how the hell am I supposed to bring a child into this world? What if something happens to them? What if someone is cruel to them? I mean, fuck, I’m more worried about going to jail for killing some asshole who hurts our kid. ”
A small, choked laugh slipped out of me, a tear streaking down my face.
Nick took a deep breath. “I freaked out, and I’m so fucking sorry.
But that’s why I got this—to show you I’m here.
I’ll be here through it all. And I don’t want a divorce, Melanie.
” His voice dropped lower, more raw. “I want to build a family with you. I want to make grilled cheese sandwiches in the middle of the night. I want to go to church and then have dirty, sinful sex afterward.”
A laugh bubbled out of me, even as more tears fell.
He smiled, brushing a tear from my cheek. “I want to take Loco to the dog park and have picnic days while we watch your belly grow. I want all of it.”
I swallowed hard, my hands shaking as I reached for the bag. I yanked out the tissue paper and let it fall to the ground. My breath hitched. Inside were two tiny military-style outfits—one for a boy, one for a girl. Each came with a pair of little boots.
I lifted the girl’s set first. The tiny jacket and pants were pink camouflage, complete with a matching hat.
My vision blurred with tears. My fingers trembled as they skimmed over the soft fabric.
The tiny outfit felt impossibly light in my hands, yet the weight of everything—Nick’s fear, my own uncertainty, the unknown shape of our future—settled over me like a storm cloud, thick and suffocating.
But the question clawed at me, sharp and relentless.
Was he doing this because he thought I was pregnant?
Or because he actually wanted this? I swallowed past the tightness in my throat and slid the outfit back into the bag, forcing my emotions down with it.
Handing it back to him, I managed a tight smile.
“Thank you. This was sweet, really. But… lucky for you, I’m not pregnant. ”
Nick took the bag slowly, his fingers hesitant, his expression shifting—was that sadness? My stomach clenched. Shouldn’t he be relieved? Shouldn’t he be jumping for joy?
His lips parted slightly, almost as if he’d forgotten how to speak. “You’re not?”
“No,” I said, wrapping my arms around myself as a sudden chill seeped into my bones. “I took two tests, both negative. And according to Mr. Future OBGYN, taking them first thing in the morning detects the HCG hormone best, so there’s no mistaking it.”
I expected him to relax, to exhale in relief. But instead, his jaw tightened, his Adam’s apple bobbing as he swallowed hard.
“I’m sorry, Melanie.” His voice was rough, edged with something raw. “I just… I assumed you were.” He let out a breath, shaking his head. “Because it felt like you could be. It felt real.”
A bitter laugh slipped from my lips. “Nope. I’m as pregnant as an eighty-year-old woman.”
I turned to step past him, needing space, air—anything to clear the sudden, suffocating tension between us. But before I could, his hands caught my arms, firm but careful.
“Why didn’t you call me?” His voice was hoarse, but there was heat beneath it, frustration bubbling just under the surface. “Why did you go to him?”
He jerked his head toward Josh, who was still outside, lingering like a ghost.
I stared at him, disbelief burning through me.
“Are you serious right now? Do you have amnesia or do you just like pissing me off?” My voice rose, sharp and furious.
“You freaked the fuck out when you thought I was pregnant. Then you hinted that maybe I should just—” I cut myself off, the memory slicing too deep.
“After everything I have told you. I’ve lost a baby before and I would be damned if I lost one again. ”
Nick flinched, guilt darkening his green eyes. “I know. I know I messed up.” His voice cracked, thick with regret. “I’m sorry. I want to make it up to you.”
“You think I'd just forgive you because you brought me baby clothes?”
He lifted his chin, searching my face. “We can try.”
The words slammed into me like a physical force.
Try?
“Try what?”
“To make a baby.”
My heart lurched in my chest. “You’re serious?” My voice wavered, somewhere between shock and disbelief. “You want to try… to have a baby?”
Nick inhaled deeply, his eyes flickering with something intense, unreadable.
“I mean… if you want to.” His throat worked as he swallowed again.
“I know it’s something you wanted to wait on.
And I wasn’t sure if you were just putting on an act, if you didn’t know where this was going… or if it’s what you really wanted.”
I searched his face, every nerve ending in my body on high alert. “Is that what you want?”
His gaze locked onto mine, steady and unshakable. “If it’s with my wife? Yes.”
The world tilted.
We had started this whole thing as a marriage of convenience. And now we were talking about kids? My head spun, my chest tight.
I shook my head. “I don’t understand, Nick. We haven’t even been on a real date. We haven’t said the L-word. And now you’re talking about having a baby with me? This is fucking crazy.” I brushed a hand through my hair tugging at the ends.
“I know.” He exhaled a shaky breath. “I can’t explain it.
And it’s crazy. But these past few months—being with you—it’s made me feel alive again.
Like I have something worth waking up for.
” His voice dropped, thick with something dangerously close to vulnerability.
“Fourteen years in the military… I was so used to adrenaline, to always being on edge. But you… you make me feel something real.”
I swallowed hard as he stepped closer, his presence overwhelming, intoxicating.
“You’re a pain in my ass,” he murmured, a small smirk tugging at his lips.
“But I love waking up to your face every morning. I love the way you get all sassy with me when I ask about your blood sugar. I love how you care for your dog like he’s your damn child.
” His eyes darkened, voice roughening. “I love how, when you read, you lean into the book like you’re living in it.
” He stepped closer, his body heat licking at my skin.
“And I love the way you look when you come on my cock.”
A sharp gasp slipped from my lips as arousal pulsed through me.
My body betrayed me instantly, heat coiling low in my stomach.
Nick’s hands slid around my waist, his grip firm and possessive.
“I want to fuck my wife for the rest of my life.” His breath ghosted over my lips.
“Nothing about this feels fake when I’m inside you.
His mouth slammed into mine, and the world dropped out from under me.
We tangled—frenzied, uncoordinated, aching. Heat surged between us, raw and frantic, all hunger and urgency. He drove me backward until the wall bit into my spine, his hands relentless—grasping, roaming, owning.
“Make me forget, Nick,” I whispered, breathless.
A low growl rumbled from his chest. In one swift motion, he yanked down my pajama pants and panties, his fingers digging into my skin. I barely had time to catch my breath before he unzipped his jeans, freeing his already hard cock.
“I’m going to make you forget,” he rasped, “by making you come right here, right now.”
He lifted me effortlessly, my legs wrapping around his waist like second nature.
“What about J—”
Before I could finish, he thrust inside me, deep and hard, and I choked on a gasp.
His grip tightened on my hips. “Don’t you dare say another man’s name while I’m inside you.”
Then he started moving—fast, relentless, like he was trying to erase every doubt, every hesitation.
“You. Belong. To. Me.”
Each word was punctuated with a thrust, his cock filling me so deep I could feel it in my stomach.
“Touch yourself,” he commanded, voice ragged.
I obeyed without thinking, sliding a hand between my thighs, circling my swollen clit as pleasure built sharp and hot.
“Don’t stop,” I pleaded, my voice breaking.
Nick didn’t. If anything, he moved faster, harder, his grip bruising, his body relentless. My skin burned, my nerves on fire, my entire body trembling as heat coiled tighter, tighter—
“I’m—”
“Say it, princess,” he growled.
His name tore from my lips as pleasure crashed over me, shattering me completely.
Nick followed, his body tensing, his breath ragged against my skin as he buried himself deep, groaning my name.
For a long moment, we just stayed there—panting, tangled, spent.
Then he brushed my hair back, his lips grazing my damp forehead. A slow, wicked smirk curved his lips.
“If you weren’t pregnant before,” he murmured, “you are now.”