All In: Betting on a Full House (Gambling With Love) (14 page)

"Fine," he grumbled, turning back around and heading to the sink.

"Then I want to kiss you."

"Oh hell yes," he said. Holding me with one arm he put toothpaste on the travel toothbrush I'd laid out earlier and handed it to me. I brushed vigorously then Tyler tipped me sideways toward the sink to spit, which made me laugh.

"You can put me down. I can walk you know."

"I don't want to put you down. I want to take care of you. Be there for you. Give you everything you could ever want."

"I don't want anything," I told him but had to look away from the warmth and sincerity in his eyes.

"Then let me give you what you need," he said, his fingertips tipping up my jaw, making me look at him.

"I don't need anything either."

"You're wrong. You need everything you've always wanted, but never had. A safe home, a happy family, unconditional love."

"And what do you want?" I asked as the tear ran down my cheek.

"For you to actually believe me when I tell you that I’m falling in with love you, and for you to feel the same way about me."       

I grabbed his face and pulled his mouth down to mine, melting into a hot, needy puddle of longing. My arms went back around Tyler's neck to hold his lips to mine. He carried me to the bed and laid me down, covering me with his body, never lifting his mouth from mine.

He must have undressed me earlier when he brought me home, putting me in one of his t-shirts before tucking me into bed. That and panties were all I had on. Tyler was in nothing but boxers, which he quickly discarded before pulling the shirt over my head and my panties down my legs.

While our kiss deepened he entered me gently, and then made love to me. That was the only way to describe the soft, tender way he held me to him. We weren't urgently and franticly trying to find a release like usual. That wasn't why our bodies were intimately connected in this moment. Our needs weren't physical but emotional. We needed to feel, to use our bodies to show each other how much we cared.

When I came it was almost overwhelming. Our simultaneous climaxes felt like the joining of our souls, a shift when we suddenly became more - more than a fling, more than a distraction from heartbreak, more than an obligation.

Looking up into Tyler's eyes I knew without a doubt how he felt about me, and I was certain that he could see just how much I wanted him and needed him.                                                                

"I love you, Jess," he said. "Only you. All of you."   

"I love you, too."

He kissed me, pulling me under until it felt like the room was spinning and I was floating. When his lips moved down to my neck I gasped for air, and held him to me even tighter. Then he slid lower, kissing across my stomach.

"We may not have loved each other when we made them, but I love you and these two as much as I would have if we were married and having them years from now. We're not going to be together for them. They're just the ones that helped us realize how good we are together."

He kissed his way back up until his mouth was on mine again, then pulled away with a smile. "I should've realized it that first night you came home with me. Even though I may have technically still been in the middle of things with Lauren and Caleb, there was nothing and no one else with us when we were in my bed. You're right. I wasn’t drunk, and I remember every amazing second with you. God, you blew my mind. I'm sorry it took so long for me to open my eyes and finally see you."

"Me too," I told him with a smile.

"Now, as much as I want to stay in bed with you, kissing you and making love to you, you need to eat," he said, climbing off of me to find my shirt and panties then handing them over. "But after you eat I may not let you sleep until sunrise."

"Race you to the kitchen," I joked, throwing on my clothes and reaching for the door, but Tyler was right behind me, his hands above my head holding the door shut. His body was pressed against the back of mine, and he was already long and hard again. I squirmed to direct him lower when he rubbed against me.

"Tyler?"

"Yeah, baby?"

"I want you to fuck me right now, and make love to me again later."

"God yes. Hands on the door and spread 'em," he ordered. His fingers plunged into my sex from behind, making me relax against the door with a moan. His other hand came up and covered my mouth, muffling my sounds while his fingers rubbed my clit. Only his body against mine held me up as all my limbs turned to liquid, and I shuddered through my orgasm. Before the last tremors quaked through me Tyler moved my panties and entered me with a quick thrust forward, banging the door on the hinges, as he moved in and out.

"Come for me again," he said as his hand sought out and found the spot that caused another explosion.

"
Oh fuck
," he groaned, then I felt his hot release fill me. His hand slid away from my mouth and I felt his head lean forward against my shoulder.

"I think you forgot a condom," I joked, remembering bits and pieces of our drunken hookup, aka "the conception."

"Shit, I knew I forgot something," he laughed.

Tyler

After riding an emotional rollercoaster, getting only a few hours of sleep, and then ravishing Jess the rest of the night, I should have been tired. Instead I was wide awake and deliriously happy.

I strolled into the kitchen around ten o’clock. My mom had laid out a full breakfast buffet, so I went along piling up my plate. Tired I wasn't, but hungry I definitely was.

I said good morning to everyone already awake and sitting around the dining table, except for Jess who was sound asleep. I couldn't help but smile thinking of how I'd worn her out.

After I crammed a pancake in my mouth I felt their eyes on me. All of them. "What?" I asked around my mouthful.

"Jess okay?" Jonathan asked looking worried, and then I remembered the last time all of them saw her she was balling her eyes out or passed out.

I nodded until I swallowed, then washed down the cake with orange juice. "Yeah, she's great. Those pregnancy hormones can be a bitch, wreaking havoc on her. Sorry we missed the game," I told my parents, but they didn't seem the least bit upset.

"Oh, don't worry about it. App lost anyway, so you didn't miss anything," my dad said.

"Did you guys have fun?" I asked Jon and Nathan.

"Oh yeah," Nathan said with a grin. "College girls are hot."

"Yeah, I remember," I laughed. "I went to State for two years."

"You went to State?" Jon asked.

"Uh-huh," I told him, shoveling more food in. 

"Why only two years? Party too hard?"

"Nope, although, I did do my fair share of partying. The first two years were awesome. I was there on a full scholarship, academic not athletic, although I probably could have walked onto the football team. I met a ton of people, joined a frat, and made some great friends. Then I met this girl in chemistry, Stacy Williams, and she was like a genius. She was an all-around sweet girl, that everyone loved, and she wanted to be a pediatrician. One night two thugs kidnapped her from campus, and after taking her money and everything else they wanted, they killed her."

"Oh damn," Nathan muttered.

"It was horrible, and she of all people didn't deserve that shit from some worthless assholes. The police caught the idiots a few days later when they tried to use her debit card at an ATM, and now they're serving life sentences. After all that, partying just felt like a waste. Classes felt pointless. I didn't want to sit there for two more years listening to bullshit that I'd never use again, so I dropped out and joined the academy to actually do something. But don't get me wrong, I'm not saying you two shouldn’t go to college. I just realized it wasn't for me, you know?"

I wasn't sure my parents even knew why I'd dropped out and gave up my scholarship. They probably thought I was out of my mind at the time, but I've never regretted my choice.

"And we're proud of you for doing what was best for you sweetie," my mom said, reminding me of what Jess had told me the night before. How her parents had never been proud of her, and never loved her and Jonathan.

"Thanks. For everything," I told them. "So give me the game highlights," I said needing to change the subject.

A few minutes after we started talking football, Jess wandered quietly into the kitchen.

"Good morning, Jess. Come on in and fix you and my grandbabies a plate," my mom said, before she jumped up and started into motion after first giving Jess a quick hug. Jess smiled when her eyes met mine.

"Good morning. Thank you, Mrs. Evans."

"Oh, call me Carol, honey. Did you sleep okay last night?" my mom asked, and Jess blushed.

"Yeah, the bed is so comfortable. I slept great."

"After she woke up sick," I interjected.

"Oh, you poor thing. What do you think you might be able to eat? I can fix you something else if you'd like," my mom fussed over her.

"The pancakes look great actually. Thank you."

I thought my mom was going to offer to cut them up and feed them to her. "Mom," I warned her, and gave her a look that said tone the hovering down a notch.

Once Jess sat down at the table to eat, I tried to distract them so they'd leave her alone.

"So we've got a doctor's appointment tomorrow morning. I'll call and let you know how it goes."

"That would be great sweetie. And you two let us know if you need anything, okay?"

"I bet they’re boys," Jonathan said with a grin.

"Really?" I asked with my own smile. "I'm guessing a girl and a boy."

"No, I think they're going to be sweet, little girls," my mom said.

"Oh God, could you imagine living with three women?" Jonathan asked.

"That's nothing. If it's boys I'll be living with four messy guys," Jess laughed. The fact that she mentioned me living with them made me ecstatic, and I leaned over to kiss her cheek.

"I'm not going to have to change diapers, am I?" Jon asked.

"Oh yeah, but only the really gross ones," she joked.

"Nathan, can I come live with you in about seven months?"

"Ha! My six-year-old sister would have you running away in less than a week," he joked with him.

...

After breakfast we helped clean up the kitchen, and then it was time to say goodbye to head back to Greensboro.

"It was so nice meeting you, Jess, Jon and Nathan. We hope you'll come back and see us again."

"Thank you for having us, Mr. and Mrs. Evans. Tyler's lucky to have you," Jess told them.

"He's lucky to have you too," my dad replied, then I had to drag her away from them.

"Love you guys, and see you again soon, I promise."

"Call us to let us know when you get home safely, and call us tomorrow after the doctor's appointment," my mom shouted and waved as we pulled out the driveway.

Once the house was out of sight we all exhaled.

"Sorry. My mom can be … intense."

"They're really nice," Jess said.

"Yeah, your parents are awesome," Jon said from the backseat, and then he and Nathan pulled out their iPods to play one of their game.                         

Five minutes later Jess was asleep. During the quiet ride home I couldn't help but think about what she'd said the night before. About beatings, and pictures, and God only knows what other fucked up things. I wanted to go after her bastard father and put him away, but I wouldn't without her permission. She'd have to give the prosecutor all the details of what he'd done and when he'd done it to convict him. Hell, there was a chance he'd go to trial and then she'd have to testify in front of everyone. There was a reason victims decided not to come forward, because it was like going through the hell of their pasts all over again.

"Hey baby, we're home." I rubbed Jess's arm until she woke up after we pulled up to her apartment.

"Oh, crap. Sorry I slept the whole way," she said, sitting up and looking around. "Where's Jonathan and Nathan?"

"They had some game to play at Nathan's. Jon said Nathan's mom or dad would bring him home by ten tonight."

"Oh, okay. Are you going to stay tonight?" she asked.

"Hell yes, if you want me to?"

"I want you to," she said leaning over to kiss me.

"How about you go on up. I'll run back to my apartment and grab my uniform and all for tomorrow and be back in half an hour."

"Umm-huh. I'll be ready and leave the door unlocked. Actually, I can't stand to leave it unlocked even for a few minutes," she said with a shiver, pulling out her key ring. She'd never said anything, but I wondered if she still worried about their father finding them. All the more reason we should live together. "Here's my spare key. Let yourself in and
come
find me."  

She was out the door before I groaned in anticipation.