pdf - Eye of the Storm.PDF (27 page)

His brother snorted. "Uh-huh, try Attila the Hun. I heard you tell Keely to stay put until we got back."

"I meant not to follow us to Florida." He was pissed when the others nodded their agreement with Trey's statement. "Of course, now that she's pregnant, she'll need to stay closer to home unless I'm with her to protect her. No more fighting for Keely."

"Oh, geez-fucking-Louise," muttered Tweeter. "That won't wash, Ren. You want to live in peace, you'd better let Keely make those decisions. Give her some credit for being smart enough to know what will and won't hurt her or the baby."

Ren skewered each person with a narrow-eyed glance. "She is not fighting anymore.

Period. No guns. No knives. No hand-to-hand. Nothing. She can nest, as the doctor calls it, but that is the limit of her physical activity. I'm asking all of you to help me ride herd on her."

Lacey laughed and grabbed Quinn's hand. His third-in-command smiled and shook his head.

"What?" Ren couldn't help scowling. Quinn and his wife were laughing at him.

"Ren, women aren't helpless or weak when they're pregnant, especially women as strong and healthy as Keely." Lacey sent a teasing glance to her husband. "Ask Quinn.

He tried the do-nothing approach when I was pregnant both times and failed…"

"Both times." Quinn chuckled and kissed Lacey on the mouth. "Yeah, take the advice of an old married man and father of two." He raised his wife's hand to his mouth for a gentle knuckle-nibble. "This woman even chopped wood. Rode horses. Did bench aerobics, yoga and weight-lifting. All of that plus rearranging the damn house four times."

The older man shook his head, his lips twisted into a wry grin. "Hell, the day she gave birth to our first, she was in labor for eight hours before she told me. She fucking played tennis—and won—then calmly came home and took a shower, during which her water broke. She got dressed, came out and got me up from a nap, and then announced we were having the baby. I went ballistic—she fucking ended up driving us both to the hospital."

"Keely will do what I tell her." Ren's heart was in his throat, where it had been since the doctor told him he was going to be a father. "She's tiny—and needs to be more careful."

"The doctor tell you that?" Trey asked, his eyes smiling.

"No, but…"

"Then I expect that Keely will do what she wants while she's carrying my niece or nephew," Trey said. "I also know she's smart enough to be careful and monitor her own activities without your help."

Vanko nodded, joining the chorus against him and his edicts. "My sister is much like Keely, and she cut back on her own during her pregnancies. She also did that to make her husband happy. I expect Keely will do so to make you happy, Ren. So don't worry about it. Women have been having babies for thousands of years and managing to survive."

"Yeah, look at our mother," Tweeter added. "Mom's smaller than Keely and had a set of twins and four others."

"Twins?" Ren gulped and reached for a glass of water, all of a sudden sick to his stomach. "No. She can't have twins. That would be too much."

"I'm not having twins, but if I were, you couldn't do much about it after the fact, big guy." Keely's soft voice came from behind him. He whirled around and pulled her to him, his face pressed to her stomach over where his child lay. He let her go only long enough to pull her onto his lap.

"Baby, you sure you should be up?" He looked around for a nurse. "Where's your fucking wheelchair? You shouldn't be walking around."

She snuggled her face into the crook of his neck and shoulder. "I escaped after the nurse took out the IV. She helped me get dressed. Then I waited and you didn't come back. So, I came to find you."

"Shit, Keely. You have to be careful. You fainted, baby." He rubbed her back as he kissed her hair, her ear, her cheek. "We're getting married right away."

She raised her head and glared at him. "Why? Because I'm carrying your baby?"

"You're carrying
our
baby," he corrected. "I already had the ring and planned on courting you, but the timetable just got advanced a month or so."

"You have the ring?" Her face brightened. "Really?"

"Yep. It's back at Sanctuary—in the safe. Three-carat solitaire, princess cut for my warrior princess, set in platinum. I was going to give it to you after I softened you up to the idea."

"Consider me softened." She leaned into him and kissed his jaw, then snuggled her head back on his shoulder. "You happy about the baby?" She sounded meek, worried. He couldn't have that.

"Ecstatic—and scared. You?"

"The same." She rubbed a hand over his chest. "So, when?"

Everyone at the table watched and grinned. Ren could feel the love and support from his friends, his brother, and his soon-to-be brother-in-law. "That's what I was trying to find out from these yahoos before they started lecturing me on the care and feeding of pregnant warrior sprites."

"All you have to do is love me, Ren." Keely kissed his cheek and nuzzled him along his jaw. "The rest will fall in place."

"God knows, I love you, Keely Ann Walsh." He kissed her reverently on the lips; it was a promise, a pledge that he would love and care for her forevermore.

Keely opened to his kiss, setting his libido aflame. He pulled her into his body, taking control of the kiss from her, his tongue thrusting into her mouth, reclaiming what was his. His little warrior sucked on his tongue, tangling hers with his, and showed him right back that she also burned with the desire to reclaim what was hers.

"Yeah, we'd better get these two hitched and find them a room." Lacey laughed. "No waiting period or residency requirements in Idaho for a license. Just money for the fee and a birth certificate and a driver's license as identification."

"Good." Ren nuzzled the side of Keely's neck, inhaling her sweet musk. "We'll go to Grangeville and get the license after you rest up, baby."

"I'm fine. Just the morning sickness seems to come whenever it frick-fracking feels like."

Everyone laughed at her disgruntled tone.

"Like I said, we'll go when you
feel
up to it. Shouldn't take long to do the paperwork." Ren pulled her even closer into his body. He was content. She was safe in his arms. "Do you want to be married in a church, sweetheart?"

"Not really." Keely stroked a hand over his chest. "When we get the license, let's see if a judge can marry us right then and there." She frowned and sighed. "Well, maybe not.

Mama would kill me for eloping. She always wanted to see Daddy walk me down the aisle."

Ren squeezed her waist. "No problem, sweetheart. Call your family. We can fly them out here for a private ceremony at Sanctuary. We'll have a Christmas wedding; it's only a week away and you won't be leaving my side anyway. Besides I'd love to see you dressed up like the fairy princess you are."

"I love you." She smiled, a glorious smile that warmed him to his soul, then kissed him. She lay her head down on his shoulder and yawned. "Take me home, Ren."

"Just what I had in mind, baby."

Two and a half months later

Waking, Keely stretched, her foot sliding down the hairy calf of her lover—and husband of over two months. They'd gotten married on Christmas Eve, white dress and all. She smiled as sunlight reflecting off her rings caught her eye. She was married, pregnant, and finally free of the debilitating 24/7 morning sickness with a clean bill of health for her and the baby after an ultrasound the day before. Now all she needed was some hot and heavy sex with her man before she got to the waddling and swollen ankle stages of her pregnancy.

Ren had other ideas. While he wasn't going without sex, he was being super-careful of her. Slow build-ups. Lots of petting and oral. Shallow thrusting in missionary style where he controlled all penetration. And while she always had mind-blowing orgasms, she wanted more. She wanted some deep thrusting, multiple orgasms and varying positions—the kind of sex her man had given her after she forced the issue with him the first time. The kind of sex that had gotten her pregnant. And she sure as heck wasn't waiting for it until after the baby was born.

Recalling the doctor visit that had assured both of them the baby and she were both fine, she smiled. Ren's awe-struck expression as he viewed their little jumping bean of a baby on the monitor had been priceless. He'd almost burst his buttons—and had shown the screen shots to about everyone at Sanctuary after they'd gotten home last night.

"Baby? You okay?" Ren's sleep-drowsy voice had her sex clenching and her nipples puckering. His big hand covering her stomach made her melt. He was so protective, so loving, and far too careful of her welfare since the pregnancy. She'd allowed him to get away with it because she'd had morning sickness. But that was gone—and she wanted her alpha male back.

"I'm … well…" she trailed off, all of a sudden shy about asking for raunchy sex when the sex they'd been having had been wonderful—vanilla—but still probably better than a lot of other women ever had.

Ren leaned up. "What's wrong, Keely? You sick again?" His concerned gaze swept over her face as his hand massaged the place where their child grew.

"No," she turned into his body, her hand reaching for his cock lying hard and firm between them. "I'm horny. I want sex—and I want to be on top." She blushed, but managed to make eye contact.

His nostrils flared and his grey-blue eyes turned smoky grey with lust. "You want me to make love to you, baby? My pleasure."

He moved to pull her under him. She shoved his shoulder, tipping him onto his back.

"No. I said I want to be on top this time. Then later tonight you can take me from behind.

No more missionary unless I ask for it. I want the sex life we had before you found out I was pregnant."

"Keely … sweetheart…" His tone was the kind a parent used to reason with a recalcitrant two-year-old.

Cutting off his next words, she managed to contain her anger at the paternal attitude, but just barely. "No! I'm an adult." She climbed over his nude and highly aroused body, trapping his outer thighs between hers as she settled her butt on his tight quads. Then she pulled out her ace in the hole. "I called my mom last night. I asked her about deep, balls-to-the-wall sex during pregnancy. And she said go for it. Like you, my Dad was hesitant at first, but gave in, and Mom said he never regretted it. I'm asking you to give in to me."

His hands grabbed her hips and pulled her forward until her wet cleft snugged his throbbing cock. "I called your Dad—at your brother's suggestion." He threw her a sexy, but cheeky, grin. "Your Dad told me to stop being a candy-assed wuss and take you like the dominant male I am."

She threw back her head and laughed. "Neither one of us will ever be able to look my parents in the face again."

Ren pulled her down until her breasts touched his chest. "Kiss me. Take me, my little warrior."

Keely braced herself on one arm and tipped his chin with the other hand. "I love you." She nibbled at his lower lip until he let her into his mouth. Frenching him, she wiggled her ass until she felt his tip lodged at her opening. Breaking off the kiss, she said,

"Put your cock in me."

His mouth tilted upward as his smoldering gaze captured hers. The sensual promises she read in his eyes had her shivering in anticipation. He reached between their bodies and nudged the head of his cock inside her very wet sex. "Like that?" His lips brushed hers in a sweet, tender kiss.

"Oh yeah. Just like that." She kissed him once more, a deep kiss of love and claiming. Her vaginal opening clenched and unclenched around the tip of his cock. The rhythm matched her ever-escalating heart rate. Letting go of his mouth, she sat up, arching her back, rising slightly to change the angle of penetration. She let his cock head slide out just a bit, then took him back in, settling ever more firmly upon his turgid length until he was seated completely.

"Oh fuck. You are so tight." His face was strained with passion. His breaths came heavy and fast. His body, rigid with the effort not to move. "Take me, love." He reached for her hips.

"No hands." She moved them to the side of his head. "I'm in charge here. Just lie back and enjoy while I do all the work for a change."

His gaze on her was intense. "What about your pleasure?"

"Oh, don't worry about that, big guy. I'm so close right now I'm worried I'll come before you."

"Sweetheart. Do it. I'm ready to burst."

She smiled. "Then we don't have an issue, do we?" Bracing her hands on his shoulders, she watched his face as she began to ride his cock. God, he was gorgeous in his passion. His ardent gaze never left her. She saw his pleasure reflected in his smoke-blue gaze. His sculpted cheeks flushed with his increasing arousal. His mobile lips opened as his breathing became harsh, erratic. She leaned over and took his mouth, letting him breathe for both of them.

As she increased her pace, his hips rose to meet her downward movements. Her clit rubbed against his pelvic bone and set her to quivering with each thrust. His groans punctuated her moans and gasps as they strove to reach the heights of passion together.

His impending climax transmitted itself to her as his body arched to meet her and his hands fisted by his head as if he could hold off his eruption until she came.

"Let go, big guy." She licked his lips, trailing her tongue to his ear. "When you come, I'll come. I promise."

Her whispered words did the trick. His roar as he climaxed echoed around the high-ceilinged bedroom. His hands grabbed her hips, holding her to him, taking control as he pounded into her from below. As his cum flooded her sex, she ground her pelvis against him, giving her clit the pressure she needed to soar. She screamed as she peaked then tipped over the edge. She rode him hard and fast—and deep, squeezing every iota of pleasure from their journey—and a fabulous journey it was. In that ultimate moment of connection, she had all of her man—heart, body and soul. It was an experience she wanted again and again for the rest of their lives.

As Ren's body relaxed into the bed, she continued to ride him, a sinuous rhythm and motion that brought them down, her body reluctant to give up his solid warmth. When his cock finally slipped from her, she trembled at the loss. Ren pulled her to him until she lay flat on top of him, her barely-there baby bump nestled between them, then gently shoved her head onto his shoulder. He stroked her from neck to bottom. "You okay, baby?" He kissed her sweaty forehead.