“I love that you love it at the clubhouse,” he admits.
I shrug. “Those guys have grown on me. Everyone has, even Allie that bitch.”
Dex laughs. We’re silent for a few minutes, lost in our own thoughts.
“I miss Mary,” I whisper. “She didn’t deserve to die.”
“I know,” he replies. “She was a good woman.”
“Too good,” I say on a sigh. I hope she’s in a better place. They say death is easy, it’s living that’s hard. I love my life, and I wouldn’t say it was hard. But I understand when they say death is easy, because those people who pass away don’t have to live with the sadness and the pain of losing someone.
When we arrive at the clubhouse, my mouth drops open as I see the women standing there with pink balloons.
“What the hell is this?” I ask, excitement coursing through me.
Dex wraps his arms around me from behind. “Baby shower. This is my clue to leave. Brothers and I will be at the bar.”
Then he and anyone with a penis, within a one kilometer radius, leave the clubhouse without a backwards glance.
We walk into the living area which has a table full of wrapped gifts. Tears well in my eyes. “You guys!”
Allie smiles sadly. “Mary was planning it before…”
I give her a shaky smile then look to Cindy, Jess, and the others. “Thanks, all of you.”
“You’re welcome,” Cindy says. “Now let’s eat then play some baby shower games.”
I grin and follow them into the kitchen.
* ****
“Where’s Arrow?” I ask Dex later that night when all the guys came back to the clubhouse.
Everyone goes deathly silent. “What?”
“You didn’t tell her?” Jim asks Dex.
“Tell me what? Oh my god! What happened to him?” I ask, walking up to Dex and grabbing onto the lapels of his leather jacket. “Is he okay? You said he was okay?”
“He’s in jail babe, I didn’t want to stress you out any more,” he says, putting his hands on my stomach.
“Why is he still in there?” I ask. “What priors did he have?”
All the men exit the room. What the fuck?
“He didn’t get take in on gun possession, he got taken in on murder charges,” Dex says, his eyes betraying the casualness of his tone.
“What?” I gasp, shaking my head no. “No. No this is not happening.”
Arrow? My mind races.
Flashbacks.
Him cooking breakfast naked. Him smiling at Mary. Him staring at my stomach like I was contagious.
“Club lawyer is on it,” Dex says. “Let him do his job.”
“When I’m the club lawyer, no one is going to fucking jail,” I mutter, my voice cracking.
Dex grips my chin. “When?”
“When.”
He lowers his head and gives me a possessive, lingering kiss that makes my head spin. “Baby shower’s over yeah?”
“It can be,” I reply against his lips.
“Good,” he replies. His eyes touch every feature on my face. He pushes his hips against me, letting me feel how hard he is. “See, triple chin, and I’m still hard as a fuckin’ rock.”
I gasp. “You ass—”
Another kiss cuts me off. He walks me backwards into our bedroom, mouths still attached.
Soon, our clothes are on the floor, and Dex is right where he belongs.
Chapter Twenty Nine
“I like this whole waddling thing you’ve got going on,” Tracker says, eyes laughing at me. I’m now almost nine months pregnant, and the whale jokes are getting old.
“You guys are such jerks,” I say around a mouthful of ice cream.
“And I can see why Sin is so whipped,” he says, watching my tongue lick the top.
I pause. “You’re a sick bastard, you know that?”
“I don’t get any complaints,” he adds, rubbing his chest with his palm.
“How’s Allie?” I ask nosily, wiggling my eyebrows.
His expression doesn’t change. “Why don’t you ask her?”
I lick my ice cream and pout. “Fine don’t have a deep and meaningful conversation with me.”
“You want it deep?” he replies in a low tone.
“Is that your sex voice? Hot!” I reply, fanning myself.
He doesn’t look impressed, but I think I see a lip twitch. “There’s a danger in loving someone too much…”
“That’s a song!”
“What?”
“That line is from a song,” I say, shaking my head. “I’m a hundred percent sure it is.”
He stares at me for a few tense seconds. “I’m going to get a drink.”
As he walks out of the living room, I feel something.
Shit.
I walk into my bedroom, looking for Dex. I hear the shower on, so I open the bathroom door. The room is filled with steam, and he’s singing the lyrics to an Incubus song.
“Dex…” I call out. The shower curtain opens and his head sticks out, still covered in shampoo.
I look down my legs, to where my water’s just broke. “I need to go to the hospital. It’s time.”
I speak to him in a calm tone, but as soon as the words penetrate I can see the panic fill him. “Now?”
He turns the shower off and jumps out. “Babe, wash the shampoo out first.”
He runs a hand through his hair then jumps back in, not even waiting for the water to get warm. I walk back into the room and grab my already packed overnight bag, and the smaller bag which is packed for Clover. When he runs out and starts to get dressed, I get into the shower and breathe through the contractions. Dex slides open the curtain. “How are you doing?”
“Okay. Can you call the hospital and let them know we’re on our way?”
He nods and leaves the bathroom. I turn the shower off and dry myself. I’m putting lotion onto my skin when Dex stops in front of me.
“Really? Do we have the time for this?”
I hide a smile. “I’m ready; I just have to put on my dress and some panties.”
He helps me dress, then we walk out of the room. Tracker walks towards us, drink in hand. “You okay?”
“She’s having a baby, no she’s not fuckin’ okay,” Dex growls.
“Dex,” I snap.
Tracker’s eyes go wide, and he starts to stare at my crotch like the baby is going to drop out at any second. “I’ll go get the car ready.”
Rake walks over and holds my other side. “Say goodbye to your tight…”
“Do not even finish that sentence!” I snap at him. “Dex please hit him for me.”
“I will afterwards,” Dex replies, opening the front door for me. Tracker is standing by the car, with the doors wide open and the engine running. Dex helps me into the front seat and fastens the seat belt for me. Rake and Tracker both take turns kissing me on the forehead and wishing me good luck.
“You okay?” Dex asks as he reverses.
I breathe in and out. “So far so good. Luckily the hospital isn’t too far away though.”
Dex reaches over and takes my hand in his.
We’re almost at the hospital when I cry out. “Fuck!”
“What?” Dex yells, panicking.
“That contraction hurt. Oh my god! It hurt!” I say, trying to breathe through the pain.
Dex starts cursing. “We’re almost there babe.”
“This is all your fault!” I yell, looking for someone to blame for the pain I’m in.
“Babe, we’re here. You can yell at me all you want let’s just get you in there.”
And yell at him I did.
*****
Thirteen hours later, I hold an eight pound Clover Mary Black in my arms. With her father’s black hair and my hazel eyes, she is absolutely adorable. She has chubby cheeks and little pouty heart-shaped lips.
She’s perfect.
“You were amazing,” Dex tells me, blue eyes sparkling. “That was… something else.”
“Scarred for life are you?” I ask, trying not to laugh.
He scrubs a hand down his face. “You didn’t see it! A thick head of black hair stretching the shit out of your…”
“Dex!” I growl when the nurse starts to give him dirty looks.