33. David
33
DAVID
I was a ticking time bomb ready to explode at the slightest thing and I walked a rut into the carpet in Lauren's living room trying to contain myself. The last thing I wanted was to go off and hurt her in any way because she was going through so much already, but finding out by the hospital board that she'd been hiding a pregnancy from me was the last straw. I refused to allow another woman to keep a child from me again.
"It's all so overwhelming, and I just think that if you'd have talked to me, we could have worked something out." My volume rose with each step, though I hated that I was losing control. I raked my hands through my hair and continued walking and ranting. "This got way out of control, and now they've fired you, and even though the charges were dropped, I'm facing disciplinary actions and?—"
"Whoa, bud, sit down or something." Lauren walked toward me with one hand held out, trying to calm me, and the other holding the towel around her body. I hadn't even taken time to notice how gorgeous she was all soaking wet. I was too upset to think like that. I couldn’t let my affection for her change my focus because too many things were swirling through my mind already.
"No, you know what? I got angry but I wasn't angry. I was hurt. You should have said something." I was smart enough to know that anger was a secondary emotion. It sprouted up when I felt out of control or vulnerable. I stopped pacing and rubbed my face, then sank onto the couch and buried my head in my hands.
"David, please talk to me. I know things are sort of messed up right now and it's chaotic for both of us, but I don't even know what’s happening." Lauren moved silently, almost imperceptibly, until I felt her presence near me. I didn't even look up.
"When were you going to tell me?" I asked as I lowered my hands from my face and looked up at her. There was confusion and pain in her expression as she sank to her knees on the carpet and pushed the coffee table away. Then she crawled closer to me and forced herself between my legs. It was intimate and uncomfortable. I was upset. I didn’t want this close contact right now, but I didn't want to upset her to where she pulled back and kicked me out.
"David, first I need you to calm down. We can't have a rational discussion when you're so upset." Lauren took my hand and held it against her chest. The moisture cooled my skin, but nothing could cool my temper. I scowled at her.
"I'm fine."
"Alright, well, let's start at the beginning. When was I going to tell you what?" she asked, and the way she looked right through me made me melt.
I sighed hard and couldn't even speak. I'd spent all my words in my own head on the drive over. It was a good thing she hadn't answered or we'd have been fighting, but her mere presence was disarming, pulling me back to my love for her. I couldn’t stay angry.
"You mean about Jason? Everything happened so fast and?—”
"I mean the baby." My blunt statement made her blanch. Her eyes searched my face and then her face fell. It didn’t appear to me that she was trying to willingly deceive me. Maybe I'd had it wrong.
"I had suspicions that I was pregnant a while ago." She pressed her lips together and swallowed hard but continued. "I've been nauseous and emotional, if you couldn't tell." She sighed. "I took the test and wanted to surprise you, but you were in such a bad mood that night. I worried that you were pulling away or that you were too stressed. I was afraid telling you about the baby would make you think I was being pushy about telling the board.
"I got depressed and scared that you'd hate the idea of having a baby, or that it would ruin your career. Then Jason…" She stopped short, and I watched tears well up. "I didn't know what to do, and now he's in the hospital, and well… The board called me in. What was I supposed to say to them, David? I can't let you go to jail."
Everything she said was true. I couldn't blame her for not wanting to tell me that night when I came here and practically used her body for stress relief. I'd been so moody and out of my mind with worry, and while she seemed upset too, I thought it was about her brother. I had no way of knowing it was about a baby. If I hadn't been so bent out of shape, I might have noticed the symptoms and asked her.
In fact, looking back, it seemed odd to me that she never had a period, that we just went along like nothing had happened that night we had sex and I blew in her without a condom. It made sense, and I had been the one too distracted and busy to notice that she needed me.
"You weren't trying to hide it from me?"
"David, you told me what your ex-wife did to you and I saw how it hurt you. I could never do that to you. I want nothing more than to have a future with you and raise this baby together. I thought you'd be upset." The way her bottom lip quivered cut through my tough-guy exterior, and I pulled her against my chest and eased the ache both of us had been feeling.
"If I hadn't heard it from the board in such a chastising way, I think hearing that I was going to be a father again would have been the best news I'd ever heard in my life. It hurt having to hear it that way." I was backtracking on my fit of anger because context is everything. "I've been so out of it mentally for days that all I could do was worry about you and our future."
"What?" she asked, pulling back to look in my eyes. "David, no job is worth your going to jail. Not ever."
I cupped her cheeks and shook my head. "I'd have done it to save your reputation and career. Lauren, you mean everything to me. I see the way you're struggling, and I hate that. I know you need that job."
"It's nothing I can't handle. But what I can't do is raise a baby with a felon. You did nothing wrong, and you were being taken advantage of." She blinked and tears rolled down her cheeks. "I love you."
"How far along are you?"
"Are you angry I told them?"
The questions, asked at the same time, made us both pause. The board knew about us, and though my slap on the wrist would be frustrating for a while, it was nothing compared to how badly she was going to suffer. Which suffering I had already decided to help with as much as she would let me.
"How can I be angry, love? You did the right thing. The thing we should have done sooner together. I'm only sorry I couldn’t protect you, which is the only reason I wanted to keep it a secret anyway… They probably won’t tell you until you're back from all this mess with your brother, but they're going to fire you. And I'm on probation."
Her face dropped again, but I forced her to look up at me. I would leverage every single contact I had, pull strings and ask favors if needed. I would find her an amazing job, but I'd go further than that. Just the crushing disappointment in her eyes before any of the actual events took place to do real damage was enough to strengthen my resolve.
"I know how important being a doctor is to you, and you're really good at it. I want to help you. And I don't want you to struggle. Move in with me… You and Jason. Let me take care of his rehab and his outpatient treatment. Let me support you financially until you find the perfect job. You won't have any stress, and the baby can grow and be healthy."
More tears poured from her eyes, and she nodded. "Yes, okay…" she mumbled, and it was the sweetest sound I'd ever heard. We had more to discuss, but the pain of fearing losing her was over, and the joy of knowing we were going to be a family—a real family—took over.
I pressed my lips to hers, and she accepted the kiss, returning it with passion as she reached up and grabbed my biceps. I felt the towel fall from her body and land on my shoes, and she moved closer to me.
"I've missed you so much," I whispered, my lips brushing her ear as my hand moved to her belly protectively. She wasn’t even close to showing yet, but that life growing in her womb was mine, and I had never wanted anything more.
"I know," she breathed, running her fingers through my hair. "I've missed you more."
We stared at each other for a long moment before I cupped her cheek, wiping away the remaining tears. "I'll do anything. You know that, right?"
"I know," she grumbled, her eyes softening. "I love you."
With a smile on my face, I leaned down and kissed her again, this time deeper, more passionate than before. The fire between us was still there, and the desire in her eyes set me on fire. It had been too long since we'd last made love, and I wanted her so much right now. Pulling away from her lips, I looked into her eyes. "I love you too."
Taking her by the hand, I led her back to her room. I didn't know when our next chance would be, and I couldn't wait any longer to feel her against me again. Gently laying her on the bed, I took the time to admire her naked body under my gaze. She was more beautiful than ever, and I took my time unbuttoning my shirt and sliding it off.
"You're so beautiful," I whispered as I undid my belt and let my pants fall to the floor. Her eyes widened with want as she bit her bottom lip, and I could tell she was just as ready as I was. I stepped out of my shoes and let my clothes pile there before slipping my boxers off and crawling across the bed. Her eyes watched my swelling cock bounce until I was nestled between her thighs.
“I’m so sorry I didn’t tell you right away, D. I was so nervous about how a baby would change things.” Her honesty refreshed me. I kissed her softly and let my weight rest partially on her curvy frame.
“I’m sure we both regret things we’ve said or done in the past ten days. What’s important now is what we do moving forward.” I parted her lips and slid my tongue against hers and felt her arms wrap around me.
“I love you so much,” she whimpered against my mouth. I started kissing her neck, trailing down to her collarbone and beyond until my mouth found a large swell.
“I know,” I said gruffly, sucking her nipple into my mouth and laving it with my tongue. Her back arched off the bed and her hands dug into my hair. “I just want to take care of you,” I whispered, kissing my way down her belly until I reached her wet core. My mouth watering with anticipation, I teased her entrance with my tongue, relishing her moans above me.
“Oh, God, David,” she gasped. “Don’t tease.” I chuckled and nipped her clit before engulfing it between my lips. Her legs fell open farther, and she ground herself into my mouth, urging me on. Her taste was just as I remembered, sweet and addictive.
I worshiped her for several minutes, her juices coating my face and chin as she moaned and twisted in ecstasy. “I’ve missed this,” I said between kisses. “I’ve missed this so much.”
“I missed it, too,” she panted, her hand in my hair. “I don’t want to ever be apart again.” Her fingernails clawed at my scalp as I licked and sucked and drank her juices in. She was so responsive, moaning and writhing under me. The addition of two fingers into her moist slit made her shudder and clench, and I had her eating out of my hand in seconds.
“I want to feel you inside me,” she whined, her thighs trembling.
“Mmm,” I grunted in protest, aching to feel her coil snap on my face before I even thought of touching myself.
“Please, David. I want to feel you inside me.”
I pulled back with a groan, teasingly running my fingertips along her slit and up her stomach. Her pretty moans and pleas spurned me on, and I had never been so hard in my life. “But I want to hear you scream my name to prove to the world that you’re mine and always will be…”
“Is that an order?” Lauren asked cheekily, and all I could do was smirk as I dived back in.
My lips met her clit with an intensity she wasn’t quite ready for. I sucked hard, thrusting two fingers into her pussy as she bucked and clenched. Her coil snapped around my fingers, squeezing me as she came apart in my mouth. “David!” she cried, her nails raking my shoulders and head. Her body jerked, and her hips came off the bed in an orgasm so powerful she was breathless and unable to even whisper my name.
When she calmed, I lapped every drop of her juice up before kissing a trail of boiling kisses up her belly and to her ear. “Damn, I’ve missed that,” I said against her ear, my voice hoarse with lust. Her hand was already on my dick, stroking me. She wrapped her legs around my waist and guided me to her core. It felt like forever since I’d been there last.
I slid inside her with one long, slow thrust, our moans mingling together. “Oh, God,” she moaned against my lips. “That’s it.”
“Feels so good,” I mumbled, starting at a slow pace, rocking inside her. Lauren's walls gripped me tightly as if she never wanted to let go, and frankly, neither did I. “I love you so much.”
“I love you too,” she panted, her nails digging into my back as our hips met in a harmony I'd longed for.
“You’re so wet,” I groaned, picking up the pace. “I’ve missed this. Missed feeling you around me, missed hearing your moans in my ear.”
“Don’t stop,” she gasped, her back arching off the bed as her next orgasm approached. My thrusts increased in speed and force as Lauren's moans grew louder.
“Oh, God, baby, I’m close.”
“Me too.” She panted, her nails digging into my shoulders. “David, I'm coming…”
Her tight pussy spasmed around my cock, milking me dry as we both moaned each other's name. Stars exploded behind my eyes as I came deep inside her, marking her as mine. I hadn’t even stopped to enjoy the sensation of her skin touching mine, her warmth hugging my dick buried inside her. But we had the rest of our lives to spend enjoying that now.
I pulled out, soaking in the sensation of our sex dripping from my dick and the air chilling it, and pulled her against my body. "Now…We have a lot to talk about, but first, you need rest. And then you need to eat, and then we'll sort out the details."
"It's a lot…" Her breathy tone didn't discourage me.
"We'll get through it together. Okay?" I kissed the back of her shoulder.
"Is that an order?" she asked, already yawning.
"Doctor's orders," I whispered, and then I pulled the blanket over our bodies and curled around her. A weight was lifted off my chest and I knew it would never return. Life was messed up, but we were finally getting somewhere good.