Chapter 45
Andilyn
The past two and a half weeks have crept by at a snail’s pace.
We’ve barely left the firehouse, and to say we’re going a bit stir crazy would be a massive understatement.
To keep me as safe as possible, the guys have been taking turns accompanying Hudson to his therapy sessions.
I had my next OB appointment, which required Mia to run interference.
She donned an oversized jacket, pulled the hood over her head, and had Dayton escort her to his Jeep, all while Raiden got me safely to his truck.
I thought it was a bit overkill, but then Dayton called to let us know that they were being followed.
They drove directly to the precinct, which caused the person surveilling them to high-tail it in the opposite direction.
The added anxiety over their safety had my blood pressure spiking by the time we made it to my doctor’s office.
When Raiden introduced himself as my boyfriend to Dr. Baker, I thought she might’ve been having a stroke.
And then she giggled and shot me a wink.
I had to stay for an extra hour, hooked up to a slew of monitors to ensure everything returned to normal after my initial reading showed my numbers were elevated.
Raiden stayed by my side the entire time, staring in awe at the sonogram picture Dr. Baker had printed for him.
Like me, he decided he didn’t want to know the baby’s gender, but the moment he heard the heartbeat, his eyes filled with tears.
I also had my second visit with Doreen. It was strange, being back in Raiden’s apartment and pretending that everything was business as usual.
I hated being dishonest with her, but I couldn’t risk her knowing the truth and deciding that Hudson would be safer someplace else for the time being.
Perhaps he would be, but I think it’d do both of us more harm than good to be separated from each other right now.
However, as Raiden was doing a cursory walk-through before Doreen arrived, he discovered that Hudson’s window appeared to be tampered with.
After inspecting it further, the guys found a speck-sized camera that had been attached to the top corner of the glass.
All those nights he spent waking up terrified and inconsolable were likely due to someone scaring him with the noise they were making.
How can a person be so desperate to invade a stranger’s life that they take no issue in causing a child duress?
Wonders never cease. Afterward, the guys did a thorough inspection of the firehouse, ensuring that no other cameras had been planted.
Thankfully, Mia took the one we found and promised it’d make its way to the Deputy Director as evidence.
We’ve spent our remaining days locked inside, decorating for Christmas.
Since we can’t go out in public yet, we’ve resorted to shopping online for all of Hudson’s presents.
I’ve certainly put my newly acquired funds to use, but having never experienced a Christmas myself, I feel I’m allowed to go a bit overboard.
As fun as it’s been to spend our evenings watching holiday movies and baking cookies, I’m growing restless.
Rita claims I’m nesting, but I think it’s more to do with not seeing the sun for days on end.
I’m officially thirty-nine weeks now, and at least once a day I contemplate why women willingly put themselves through this.
I ache in places I didn’t know I could ache, which means the guys have become my de facto masseurs.
I fear my pelvic bone will never know what it’s like to be without pain ever again.
I’m ornery for no apparent reason, and I genuinely fear for the safety of anyone stupid enough to eat the last blueberry scone from the bakery that Dayton got me hooked on during our early morning drives to the football field.
Poor Colsen had no idea what was in store for him when he snagged the lone baked good on his way out the door for work yesterday.
It started with a very profane phone call and ended with me sobbing over the lost pastry.
He felt so guilty that he left the job site he’d just arrived at and drove across town to buy me a dozen more.
In big black letters, he’d scrawled Andi’s Only across the front of the box.
I’d thanked him by dragging him to his bedroom and attempting to suck his soul out through the head of his cock.
In less than ninety seconds, he was coming down the back of my throat.
My mood swings are making me crazy, so I can only imagine how they’re affecting the guys.
One minute I’m angry, the next I’m crying, and let’s not forget the spike in my libido that crops up at the most inopportune times.
I’m pretty sure Colsen arrived back at work yesterday looking thoroughly ravished and slightly confused by the direction his day had taken.
It wasn’t even noon, and he’d already been verbally assaulted and treated like a piece of meat for me to have my wicked way with.
I’m currently bundled beneath a mound of blankets on the guys’ couch, using Briggs’ laptop to search the internet for every known method of naturally inducing labor.
I’m determined to have this baby before my actual due date.
Being born on or around Christmas Day would make for a really shitty birthday.
I’ve paced the apartment a million times in lieu of exercising, including going up and down the spiral staircase.
Last night, Raiden brought home a pineapple, and I ate the entire thing by myself.
The guys have massaged all of my pressure points to no avail.
We’ve eaten a plethora of spicy food for nearly every dinner, which hasn’t produced any results worth noting.
There’s only one thing I haven’t tried. Sex.
I bite my lip, realizing that Dayton and I have the entire apartment to ourselves right now.
Colsen took Briggs to see his therapist, surprisingly at the latter's request. Being cooped up for so long has done a number on Briggs’ depression, and instead of choosing the bad habits he once relied so heavily on, he chose the healthy option for a change.
I’m so proud that he’s being an active participant in making decisions that improve his well-being, and I know Colsen is relieved not to be running interference.
Raiden’s at work, as usual, and Mia decided to join him so they could go over everything Belmont Astor has managed to dig up on the group of sympathizers he infiltrated, hoping that something they’ve previously overlooked could help them identify the person they believe is secretly meeting with Ada Stillwater.
Deputy Director Denvers made the call to alert the facility she’s being housed at, in hopes of them returning and being apprehended on the spot, but so far it’s been eerily quiet on that front.
I’ve given Raiden explicit orders not to tell me anything until they’ve uncovered something concrete.
I can’t handle getting my hopes up, only to have them crushed a short while later when their leads don’t pan out.
Being the saint she is, Rita offered to take Hudson for the day.
Per her last text, they were leaving the indoor jungle gym and headed to visit Royce at one of his job sites.
By my best guesstimate, we should have at least an hour before anyone makes it home.
Climbing free of the nest I’ve made, I waddle up the stairs and down the hallway in search of Dayton.
He told me earlier that if I needed him, he’d be in his bedroom, grading a massive stack of homework.
One could argue the definition of need, but I think this qualifies.
I lightly tap his door before easing it open, taking a good look at the brawny man seated at his desk, tapping a pen against his chin.
My panties grow damp at the sight of him and how focused he is, but I want that intense concentration on me.
I step closer, finally clueing him in to my arrival, and reach beneath the hem of my oversized T-shirt to pull my underwear off.
Dayton’s eyes flare with surprise, his light blue irises getting swallowed by the rapid expansion of his pupils.
“Butterfly?” Dayton raises an eyebrow in question, spinning his chair around to face me.
His thighs spread of their own accord as he fully takes me in, his gaze traveling over every inch of me and missing nothing.
He observes my flushed cheeks, the way my chest is rising and falling at an increased rate.
The way I’m pressing my legs together to relieve the ache his mere presence is causing.
“What do you need?” His voice has grown husky, the way it does when he’s turned on and barely holding himself back from taking what he wants.
But the last thing I want is for him to show restraint.
“You,” I admit boldly, sliding my shirt up so I can crawl onto his lap unhindered.
“Is that so?” Dayton leans back, the chair reclining with him as he braces his hands behind his head. I slide forward, placing my hands on his chest as I rock my hips against the erection his sweatpants are barely containing.
“Very much.” I nod enthusiastically, reaching between us to pull his cock free, but his hand clamping around mine stops me in my tracks. I dip my brows in confusion, feeling rejected and self-conscious all of a sudden. As I move to stand, Dayton slides his arm around my back to hold me in place.
“Not so fast, sweetheart,” he chides, leaning forward to peck the tip of my nose. “I don’t want to risk hurting you.” His face pinches with regret, likely thinking about the scare we had after the first and last time we’ve had sex. In fact, he’s barely touched me since, a fact I’m all too aware of.
“Is that the reason you haven’t tried to fuck me since the rooftop?” I question, tilting my head to the side as I study every microexpression that crosses his face.