Club Scars (4 page)

“You pissed on the floor,” he said dryly.

She gave him an indignant look in the mirror.

“That was
your
mess, sir. Don’t even try to blame that on me.”

“I thought something was fishy.”

Kat burst into helpless laughter again, leaning against the counter as she gasped for air. She slid to the floor and swatted at his leg.

“You’re awful. What in the hell are we going to do when the baby gets here?”

“Then there’ll be two of you pissing on the floor.”

“I didn’t pee on the floor!” she protested, still laughing.

Grabbing up a towel, Crux hauled Kat to her feet and herded her toward the bedroom. Giving the hardwood floor a swipe, he spread the towel on the wet spot and nudged his still giggling wife into bed. Admiring her hard nipples, he reluctantly searched the floor for her nightshirt. Tossing it to her, he turned off the light and flopped down beside her. The bed springs squawked in protest and Kat laughed again.

“You need to oil these bed springs and do something about that Braveheart bellow of yours.”  

He turned to regard her in the dim moonlight.

“Braveheart?”

“It sounds like a war cry,” she gasped. “As sexy as it is, it might be alarming to our child.”

He roared with laughter. When he could breathe again, he bounced experimentally, and chuckled at the squeak.

“This noise I might be able to do something about.”

“We might need to invest in some sound proofing to go with our child proofing.”

“I’m sure as hell not giving up sex, no matter what the other fathers say on the subject.”

“Awwww! Have the other daddies been telling you horror stories?”

“A couple of them. With tales like that it makes me wonder how anyone ever has more than one.”

“Yeah, well, remember that the horrors of marriage were highly touted as well and the milk didn’t dry up because we said
I do
.”

Crux winked at her and leaned down to give her a kiss. “I’m sure there’s going to be some changes, but we’ll get through it like everything else. We’ve wanted this rug rat for a lot of years.”

“About time your super sperm kicked in.”

“Hey! I wasn’t about to go straight to baby factory and miss out on my playground days,” Crux said, spooning around her.

“I’m glad that we had some time to ourselves. At least we have the house all broken in.”

“We’ll wait until he’s a teenager to tell him that we did the deed in his bedroom. By that time the little fucker will have done it in ours so we will be even.”

Kat rubbed at cheeks sore from laughing and squeezed his hand that was resting on her belly.

“Do you think we’ll be good parents?” she whispered in the dark.

Crux pushed up on his elbow so he could look over her shoulder.

“Are you serious?”

“Don’t you ever wonder?”

He shrugged. “I guess I wonder about me sometimes, but I never worry about you. You’re going to be a fantastic mom.”

“Why do you say that? I mean, I was so young when my mom died, and my dad, he’s just…”

Crux turned her toward him and cupped her face.

“You’re going to make a fantastic mother. Who is the best mom you know?”

“Gin.”

“That’s right, and you’re her best friend. You’ve been right there beside her all these years. If you needed any training that didn’t come natural, you’ve got it. Besides, I’ve heard her say a hundred times since I knocked you up that you’re going to be an incredible mother. If she’s worried about anyone it’s me. What if I give the fucking kid nightmares with this face?”

Kat gasped, her eyes widening in horror before filling with tears.

“Oh my God, baby! You’re not seriously worried about that are you? She picks on you about the Halloween mask and shit, but she’s not serious! Gin loves you and our baby is going to love you! Shit, I don’t even notice it anymore unless someone says something.”

Crux shrugged. “I mean, I’m sure he or she will get used to it, but what about when they get in school? You know what evil little bastards kids can be. They look for any weakness.”

“Our kid will just kick their ass or tell them not to be such pansy asses,” Kat said, shaking her head and tracing light fingers over the jagged scars that crisscrossed his face. “You’re a handsome man and a couple of scars can’t hide that.”

Crux watched Kat’s eyes as she stroked his face. Tongues lied, but eyes rarely did. Only love shone from those emerald orbs. God, he loved her eyes. Sometimes they were a warm caramel he wanted to drown in, and other times an intense green that they shared. He brushed a knuckle over her cheekbone. How could someone so beautiful love him? He asked himself that question every day, and yet there wasn’t another soul that he felt so comfortable with.

Their lives had started out vastly different, but she was living proof that abuse touched the rich as well as the poor. She’d been on the run from her father when they had met. Her car had broken down and Crux was a mechanic. It was funny how fate worked. He’d judged her on sight, money and beauty being two things he had little of and hated. His libido hadn’t been listening. When it had turned out she was a little short on money, he’d taken the chance to invite her to dinner even though he knew he had no shot.

Used to the seedier side of men, she had expected the worst. He’d watched the inner battle play out on her beautiful face, letting her dance on the end of the line before setting her free. He remembered how offended and then relieved she’d looked when he’d told her not to pride herself, dinner meant dinner. They had ended up talking until The Lantern closed. As it turned out, neither of them had been opposed to a little dessert after all, and she had never left.     

He kissed her finger tips as they brushed his lips. She smiled.

“There are some seriously fucked up, evil people in this world. My father and uncle, the sick bastard your mom let do this to you, people like that can rot in hell. We’re going to protect our baby from that kind of shit and he’s going to grow up healthy, happy, and loved,” Kat whispered, understanding where his mind had gone.

He nodded, smiling softly. She was right. He would protect his family and they would give their child the love they’d both been denied. The wind rattled the downspout outside their window, the late season storm refusing to abate. Whether it was the sound or a sudden chill, Kat pressed into him. Pulling the covers up around her slender shoulders, he nudged her back down into the pillows and settled around her. She sighed as he rubbed a slow circle on her belly.  

“I know you’re not real fond of Aiden. What do you think of Camden?” she murmured around a yawn.

“We could shorten it to Cam. That’s manly.”

“Cam Croston,” Kat said, letting the name roll off her tongue. “I kind of like it.”

“Holy Mary Mother of God, the rug rat has a name.”

Kat rolled her eyes and elbowed her husband. “It would’ve gone a lot faster if you hadn’t been so bullheaded.”

“It would’ve gone a lot faster if you hadn’t insisted on picking sissy names.”

“Why do you have to make everything so hard, Croston?”

“This is your fault,” Crux said, rubbing against her ass.

“How could it possibly be my fault? Was I just looking too damn sexy nine months prego and wearing flannel?”

“Yep.”

Kat laughed and snuggled her ass deeper into the cradle of his hips. “You’ve got it bad.”

“And it feels so good,” he purred in her ear.

Three

Kat swiped the last onion ring from Ginny’s carry out box and bit into it with gusto.

“I swear all I do anymore is eat,” she mumbled around the bite, rolling her eyes in delight. “Or have sex. Am I supposed to be this damn horny at nine months? Thank God Crux is a brave soldier.”  

“It’s the hormones,” Ginny said with a laugh. “Lord, I miss you.”

Kat blinked at her best friend in surprise as she stood to clear the table. Gin’s voice had sounded so wistful on those last words. She licked her lips. “What do you mean?”  

Rinsing a dishrag, Ginny didn’t turn away from the sink but she shook her head.

“I know it sounds crazy, but a half a dozen times a day I turn around to tell you something and you aren’t there. When we’re together, it’s not like work. I love the other girls, but it’s not the same.” She stepped over to wipe off the table without meeting Kat’s gaze. “We’ve waited so long for you to get preggers and now I feel I’m losing you.”

Kat reached out and caught her arm as she started to turn back to the sink. “Jesus, Gin. I’m right here. You aren’t losing me,” she choked out, tears welling. “Damn. I don’t even know what to say to that.”

“I don’t know what to say to that either,” Ginny said with a shaky laugh. “I’m sorry. I don’t know what my problem is. Which one of us has pregnancy hormones?”

“Well, they say we do everything together,” Kat said with a grin.

“Bite your tongue! Zeke would kick my ass,” Ginny said, her hazel eyes widening to saucers.   

“If it makes you feel any better, being home all day by myself is driving me bat shit!”

Ginny laughed.

“Trust me. Camden and I are coming back to work as soon as possible.”

“Camden?” Ginny asked, biting her lip in excitement.

“Yep.  Cam Croston. We finally decided on a name. Do you like it?”

“I love it!” she squealed, hugging Kat tight.

“I think Crux just likes the fact that it can be shortened to some sort of greasy engine part. He said most of the names I liked were sissy names.”

“Men!”

“You want a cappuccino? Do you have to get back?”

“That sounds wonderful. I told them to expect me back when they saw me; that I was going to have lunch with my BF.”

“With this weather, cappuccino and a good ol’ gabfest is just the ticket! Did you hear about the college boy that they had working the weld booth while Reaper was off work?”

“I noticed he wasn’t there when I dropped off lunch. What happened?”

“I guess he threatened to take Reap’s job within earshot of my husband. He also dropped where he was going to be Friday night. Next thing I know, Crux decides we’re going out to Hillside for date night where he knows this kid is going to be. I don’t know what his plan was, but he chose that black, v-neck tunic with the rhinestones for me to wear and next thing you know, I’m sitting at the bar and Junior is asking my sign and has his hand between my tatas.”

“You’re shittin’ me!” Ginny said, her eyes widening in disbelief.

“I’m serious. I had no idea who this kid was and he comes up to me and starts asking about the Cat’s Eye necklace you bought me for my birthday. It was hanging down between the girls and he just reaches right in!” Cat said, shaking her head. “Who the hell hits on a prego and how the hell did Crux know the college geek would go for the girls?”

“Well they’re pretty spectacular in their pregnancy grandeur,” Gin said with a smirk and then shrugged. “Crux is resourceful. If the moron hadn’t taken the initial bait, your old man would’ve come up with another reason to kick his ass. Is the kid still breathing?”

“Crux roughed him up a bit, but I think he just wanted the kid out of the shop before Reaper came back to work. He’s been real worried about him since the shooting.”

Ginny’s forehead furrowed, sadness flickering in her hazel eyes. “I think we’ve all been worried about him. No one is used to Reaper being down, least of all Reaper. I talked to Lee the other day and she said he’s been going stir crazy. I think she was more than ready for him to go back to work. She said she wants to start picking up some shifts at The Lantern again with him back on his feet.”  

“That’ll take some pressure off you with me out.”

“Oh, yeah, because you’re so damn indispensable,” Ginny scoffed. “Toot your own horn a little more why don’t you?”

“You were the one sniveling earlier how much you missed me,” Kat shot back, trying to hold back laughter as she handed her a cappuccino.  

“That’s the shit I miss. No one else talks to me like you do.”