Pierced: Pierced Trilogy Boxed Set (117 page)

“'Cause it not nice.”

“And?”

“'Cause we bigger dan dey are.”

“That's right. It is a very,
very
bad thing to do! And I don't ever want you to do it again, do you understand me?” His eyes fill with tears as he nods his little head at me. I suddenly feel a pounding in my head, and I know that this incident, coupled with the strange pictures at work, are really getting to me. “Apologize to your sister,” I say softly.

I watch as he steps over to the couch where Sam sits cradling Livvie in her arms. She wipes her face and looks at her brother as he approaches.

“I sowwy, Wivvie,” Leo says with a quivering voice. And I run both my hands through my hair with a sigh as I listen to her apologize for taking his toys.

Over half an hour later, I stand in the doorway of their room, watching them sleep and silently praying that I can keep them both safe. And that I can teach my son how to be a man without screwing him up. While I'm stewing, I feel a light tug at the back of my shirt, and I turn to see Samantha motioning me out into the hall. Quietly, I close the door of their room, then wrap my arm around her as we walk across the hall to ours.

“Josh, I know you're upset about what happened downstairs, but you have to remember that he's just a little boy. He's only three and half years old,” she says to me. Something about her words strike an uneven chord with me, and I look at her in disbelief.

“I don't give a shit how old he is,” I tell her, my voice full of frustration. “Do you think that I didn't realize what was going on with my parents when I three, Sam? Because I did. I may not have been able to fully understand it back then, but I knew that it was wrong, and I knew that he was hurting her! I knew that she was terrified of him. You heard Leo down there! He understood the questions I was asking him, and he knew the answers. He is not too young to learn that hitting a woman is never acceptable behavior!”

My voice has risen to a low rumble, and Samantha stares at me with an inscrutable expression for a moment.
What is she thinking?

“Okay,” she says softly.

She gives me a small, sad smile but says nothing more as she goes about the task of getting out of her clothes and pulling on a nightie. I run a hand through my hair before I silently, follow her lead, stripping down to my briefs. Then I join her in the bathroom at the double vanity to brush my teeth. We're both silent as we climb into bed, and my mind is clouded with thoughts of Leo, and images of my parents fighting, and the photos sitting in an evidence bag at the station.

My old man was a son of a bitch. Mean and nasty just for the sake of being a bully, and my memories of him beating the shit out of my mother go as far back as I can remember. Danny Pierce was not a man, he was a monster, and I never want my son to be anything like him. I want him to be good, and strong and honorable. I want him to be more like the father I
wish
I'd had. That's why I named him after the best man that I know. The man who's been more like a father to me than a friend.

Thinking about Lee Parson brings my mind back to him sitting in my office this morning, talking about the pictures, and my troubled mind keeps spinning. Who the hell sent those pictures and what are they trying to tell me? Maybe Lee was right and I should put some security on Sam and the twins. There has to be a way I could do that without Samantha knowing.
Lucas.

I know that Lucas would do it in a heartbeat, with or without Sam's approval. Maybe I'll do that. First thing tomorrow, I'll call Lucas from the office and tell him what's going on. He'll get some of Martin's team to tail Sam and the kids, and she'll never know about it.
Should you do that, Pierce?
Fuck. Should I do that? Maybe I should just tell her what's happening. That way I won't have to hide the security and she and kids can have a proper close protection detail.

I am so deep in thought that I don't notice Sam moving until she straddles me and her chestnut hair falls down around us like a veil as she leans down to kiss my lips.

“Sam,” I whisper distractedly, but she brushes a finger across my lips, silencing me.

“I wish you would tell me what's bothering you,” she whispers.

I take an unsteady breath as I gaze into her eyes. But she doesn't give me a chance to respond. Not that I have any clue what that response would have been.

“But since you don't want to talk about it, would you at least let me try and take your mind off of it? Just for a while?” she asks.

Without another word, my fingers tangle in her beautiful hair as I grab her and kiss her deeply, holding her head in place as I hungrily devour her mouth with my own. Her hands roam down over my chest and I can feel her fingernails lightly scraping through my chest hair.

She moves down, planting soft kisses as her mouth travels from my chest to the base of my manhood, pulling down my briefs as she goes. I inhale sharply at the warm sensation of her mouth as she takes me in, tongue swirling deliciously around me. My hand fists in her hair as her lips glide over me, and I can't take it anymore. I reach down and pull her up, kissing her lips as I pull her to me.

“I need you, Sam,” I whisper between kisses. “I need you so much, baby.”

She moans softly as my hands move over her silky skin, underneath her nightgown, as I lift it urgently. I move into a sitting position and we are suddenly face to face as her nightgown hits the floor. My lips move greedily over the skin of her neck and her shoulder. And her moans get louder when my tongue latches onto one pert, sensitive nipple. I feel her shudder from the sensation and her reaction fuels my growing desire.

With fumbling hands, I lift Sam a fraction as I maneuver a bit and we move together as I enter her, burying myself as deeply as I can and eliciting a cry from Sam. I search her eyes for signs of pain, but all I see is desire and passion, so I charge full steam ahead, letting go as I lose myself in her. We move rhythmically, our bodies grinding together furiously, rocking with a steady, throbbing, hypnotic pulse as we climb to the summit of ecstasy and plunge, blissfully, irretrievably over the edge. My body goes rigid as she calls my name, and she trembles endlessly on top of me. I hold her to me tightly as we struggle to breathe. Then slowly, I lay back onto the bed, bringing her with me, and she lays her head on my chest.

“Better?” she asks softly, still panting.

My arms tighten around her and I kiss the top of her head. “Better,” I whisper in the dark.

Chapter Two

Samantha

Feeling slightly nauseous, I climb back into the car with a smile still on my face after dropping the twins off at preschool. I swear they say the funniest things sometimes. They are so completely adorable, and the smartest kids on the planet, if I do say so myself. And he may only be three minutes older, but Leo has been the perfect “big” brother this morning, going out of his way to be nice to Livvie after their blow up last night. And I have to admit that Josh was right about one thing. He is obviously old enough to understand that what he did last night was not acceptable behavior.

I feel the shadow cross my face as I pull out into traffic and head toward the doctor's office. Josh was so upset when Leo smacked Livvie last night. I don't think I've seen him that angry in a long time. And I hate to even think it, but for a brief moment, I was frightened. The sound of his voice, and the look in his eyes … I was worried for a minute. Not that I believe for a second that he would ever raise his hand to me or the kids, but he was just so shaken and I was worried about him. And Leo looked so little and scared. But Josh saw it too. I could see it in his eyes, that moment when he realized he was scaring our little boy, and I watched him rein in his emotions as he talked to Leo. His restraint was incredible. As was his passion when we talked about it later. I know that he worries that Leo might somehow take after Danny Pierce someday. He thinks a lot about that 'nature vs. nurture' debate sometimes. It makes me sad that he worries about it so much.

I think about my boys on the entire drive to the doctor's office as I hum along with the Christmas Waltz on the radio, and once I pull into a parking space and step out of the car, I take a deep breath and let the crisp, damp air fill my lungs. The morning sickness subsides as I slowly exhale. Morning sickness. With the twins it seemed nearly constant. This time around, it hasn't been bad at all, thank goodness.

I smile to myself as I think about the fact that I will soon be a mother of three. That thought blows my mind a little bit. Especially when I think back on the night Josh and I first learned we were going to be parents. We were both so freaked out; I wasn't even sure I wanted to be a mother at all at that point. I was terrified. I think we both were. But now, Leo and Livvie are the center of my world, and Josh has become such a wonderful father. He is so patient and loving with them. And watching him set aside time each weekend to alternate daddy dates with Livvie and boy's only outings with Leo is so incredibly sweet. He puts a lot of thought into each of their outings, and I'm not sure exactly who has more fun, the kids or him.

I can't get Josh and the kids off of my mind as I walk from the parking lot into the medical building, and I think about how quickly my life changed after Josh and I met. We fell in love so fast and so deeply, it almost felt like a dream. He still makes me feel that way. Like I'm living out some impossibly romantic fantasy where the heroine ends up with the most perfect life.
Yes, you're a lucky bitch, Samantha Colby Pierce!
My subconscious smirks at me, but she's right. I am lucky to have the most wonderful man in the world. And I'm blessed with 2.5 beautiful, healthy children. You couldn't knock the goofy smile off my face with a blowtorch right now.

It was a small challenge at first though, learning to balance work and home. After setting up the art scholarship in Daddy's name, I really wanted to find more ways to support the artistic endeavors of other young people. Starting the foundation just seemed like the natural next step, and I wanted to be involved in every part of running it. But I also wanted to be with the twins. When they were babies, I would work from home. But now that they're in preschool four days a week, I use that time to go to the office. Josh is always going on and on about how I handle the twins and the art foundation without missing a step, but the truth is that I would never be able to if it weren't for his mother.

Olivia has been an absolute angel and an invaluable source of help where the twins are concerned. Their day at preschool only lasts for four hours, so if it weren't for her picking them up at noon I don't know what I'd do. I come home at three in the afternoon each day to find my babies happy and well cared for,
and
she usually has dinner started to boot! The woman is a saint. But lately I can't help feeling like I'm taking advantage of her. Megan and Karen both have a full-time nanny, even though they both only have one child. Granted, Meg is expecting her second child now, but she's employed a nanny from the beginning. Josh and I never wanted to have a nanny taking care of our children, but now that tiny human number three is on the way, perhaps we should revisit that subject. After all, relying on Olivia all the time isn't really fair to her. I sigh as I push those thoughts aside for now and step through the door of Dr. Lake's office. I'll worry about my childcare issues later. Right now, I have an ultrasound to prep for.

I sign in at the front desk and sit impatiently in the waiting area as I listen to Dolly Parton sing about hardship at Christmas. Glancing at my watch for about the hundredth time, I wonder what's keeping Josh. And I wonder briefly what had him so preoccupied when he got home from work yesterday. He said he'd had a bad day. I wonder if there's some new case that's troubling him.

I'm called into an exam room, and I am undressed and lying on the exam table waiting for Dr. Lake when the door opens and Joshua finally sticks his head in.

“Hey, baby. Sorry I'm late,” he says as he steps in and makes his way to my side.

“Busy morning?”

“Yeah. You could say that.”

He smiles at me, but I can tell that he's still just as preoccupied as he was last night. And at breakfast this morning. It's not like him to keep things from me. Usually, he talks freely to me about his job and the cases they're working. Normally, when he's had a bad day or a difficult case, talking about it seems to help a little. But right now he just seems so frazzled, and it puzzles me.

He takes my hand and leans down to kiss my forehead, just as we hear the soft knock on the door. Dr. Susan Lake steps into the room and greets us, and we get underway. The procedure doesn't last long, and in no time at all we confirm that I'm sixteen weeks pregnant and that it definitely is not twins this time. This news is met with relief from both of us. And Josh smiles at me and lightly squeezes my hand when we hear the baby's healthy heartbeat.

“Do you want to know the sex?” Dr. Lake asks us, and I watch as Josh's bright smile morphs into anxiety. He looks back at me with questioning eyes.

“I'm going to leave it up to you,” I smile at him. “Your call.”

“You don't mind?” he asks softly.

“Nope. You decide.”

He looks back at the doctor. “You can tell already?”

She glances back at the monitor and then at him. “I can tell definitively,” she says. Josh hesitates for a beat and then nods his head, indicating he wants to know. “It's a boy.”

He stares at her in disbelief for a moment, as if he's not sure he heard her correctly. “It's a boy. You're sure?” he asks. Then he looks back at me and says, “Did you tell her to say that?”

I giggle at him as he smiles at me. This is the most genuine I've seen him since yesterday at breakfast, before the weird stress of last night and this morning. “No, I didn't tell her to say that! Congratulations, Daddy. You got your wish,” I say, smiling at him.

He laughs and kisses my hand. And we're both still smiling as we leave the doctor's office hand in hand. He wraps his arm around me and pulls me into his side as he walks me to the car.