24. Talia

"Are you sure you're feeling okay?" Talia asked, sitting on one of the benches dotted around the gardens. A Japanese acer tree brushed against her shoulders, its red colour almost matching the shade of her hair.

Mia rubbed her side, letting the back of the bench take her weight. "Just give me a moment to catch my breath."

Nodding, Talia didn't want to make a fuss. To the side of them, the long, flowing branches of a willow tree swayed with the wind. It was Mia's turn to choose their destination this week, and she'd chosen a Japanese garden island hidden away in Regent's Park.

It was beautiful, with the constant rush of the waterfall before them and the birds twittering around them. The rest of London was bustling with people, but the Japanese garden was a tiny oasis in the middle of all of it.

She smiled. Perhaps she could come here with Jensen and Felix. The two of them were at soft play this morning, whilst Reggie was with Cameron's mother. All of which meant that, for the first time ever, both she and Mia were childless this morning.

"Ooh," Mia exhaled, palming the base of her stomach. "That was right in my bladder."

Well, externally childless anyway.

"He's still breach then?" Talia gave her friend a grim smile.

"Unfortunately." The edge of Mia's lip twisted briefly. "The obstetrician tried to turn him this morning but no luck." She blew out an unsteady breath. "On top of everything else."

Talia put an arm around Mia's shoulders, trying to offer what little comfort she could. "Cameron didn't deserve you. He never did."

"It feels like my entire world is crumbling away beneath my feet," Mia wiped away a tear threatening to escape. "I couldn't sleep last night—even more than usual. I just kept going over and over the video in my head. And the worst part is that I know this is how that home-wrecking bitch wanted me to respond. She sent it to me because she wanted him to herself. Who even does that? Sends a video of themselves sleeping with a man to his heavily pregnant girlfriend?"

Talia's lips curled in revulsion. She couldn't even imagine how Mia was feeling right now. The last month of pregnancy was bad enough without adding a shattered heart to the mix. "Scum. That's who."

Mia hugged her stomach, looking like the loneliest creature on earth. "I really thought Cameron loved me. Loved us." More tears slid down her cheeks, but she didn't bother to wipe those away. "You know what the worst thing is?"

"What?"

"My midwife had me take an STI test," she sniffed, letting out a hiccup. "She said he could have given something to me and the baby."

Anger surged through Talia. As if Mia didn't have enough to worry about, Cameron had to add insult to injury. "What did Cameron say when you confronted him?"

Mia shrugged sadly. "Blamed me. Said parenting stresses him out, that he never wanted to be a father. All while Reggie slept in the next room, and he worships the ground Cameron walks on. He asked me this morning why Daddy wasn't there and I didn't even know what to say."

She dreaded the answer, but she had to ask. "Are you going to take him back?"

"No." Mia's voice was soft, almost defeated. "Not this time. Even his mum has washed her hands of him after it all came to light. She says she's on my side."

"You're making the right decision—and so is his mum," Talia assured her. "If you ever need help with anything—Reggie, the new baby, cooking, cleaning, a back massage, a jar you can't open, anything—I can be at your front door in thirty seconds. And I know for a fact that I'd be better at all of those than Cameron."

A small laugh escaped Mia. "You're not wrong. I remember asking him for a back massage when I was in labour with Reggie and he did the most limp-wristed wipe imaginable for 15 seconds before giving up. The midwife ended up taking over." Mia did a little giggle, then. "I loved her actually, that midwife. Cameron ended up fainting when I was pushing and she just looked at him in disgust and carried on."

Talia's snort tore across the lake in front of them, sending a nearby pigeon flying. "Serves him right."

"And then there was the time he picked a fight with some guy at the pub. The landlord called me to come pick him up, and when I arrived he was sitting on the curb bleeding. And then a few months later…"

By the time they left the idyllic gardens, the two of them were giggly with mirth. Talia didn't realise just how many embarrassing moments Cameron had had, but they lightened her day tremendously. The gardens helped—thick, lush greenery lighting up with the pinks and reds of early summer.

They'd talked through Mia's birth plan as well. The midwives had given Mia an outline to work with, allowing her the opportunity to add her own wants and needs, and Talia had been more than happy to type it up for her.

But now Mia had broken up with Cameron, there'd be a few changes. The most recent adjustment would be to remove Cameron, but Talia was ecstatic to be promoted from assistant birth partner to sole birth partner.

They were nearly at the car when Talia noticed a jogger making his way up a path perpendicular to theirs. He was kitted out in all black, with a baseball cap pulled low over his brow. Baseball caps were a common sight when she was in New York, but at home they stuck out like a sore thumb.

Perhaps that was what made her take a second glance at the jogger, or maybe she subconsciously recognised something about him. His gait, maybe?

But then he turned onto their path, heading directly towards them—and stopped dead in his tracks at the sight.

Quinn's eyes widened, flicking to her and Mia as his chest seethed with exertion. He no doubt looked as shocked as she did. "Talia? Why are you here?"

"Me? Why are you here?" Next to her, she could sense Mia's confusion. Not wanting to add to her burdens, Talia hadn't told Mia what truly happened between her and Quinn. All she'd said was that they'd fallen out.

Quinn laughed, pointing at a red brick building they could just about see through the dense woodland. "Did you forget I live right there? I have every right to be here."

Shit. Whenever she'd visited Quinn at his student accommodation previously she'd driven in on a different road. But now that she looked at the building more closely, of course she recognised it.

"Actually, Talia, I need to talk to you," he took off his baseball cap, his eyes pleading. "I'm sorry about that night. I was drunk—"

"And I don't want to discuss it," she replied firmly, taking Mia's elbow and walking on. As the seconds passed, she realised how acutely vulnerable they were. Quinn had been the only person they'd seen since arriving here. Trees and bushes crowded them from all angles, concealing them from the outside world. "We're leaving. Jensen is waiting for us by the car," she bluffed.

Quinn's expression changed in the blink of an eye. He snagged her by the wrist with a derisive, self-satisfied sneer. A flash of memory came to her, of his hands on her body, the feel of a freezing cold wall behind her. "Don't lie to me. Do you think I'm a fucking idiot?"

Fear stuttered her breath. "Quinn—"

A high, pained shriek sliced the icy stillness, making both her and Quinn jump. Mia doubled over, clutching her stomach with one hand and blindly pawing at Talia with the other. "The baby," she panted, letting out another cry of pain. "I think the baby's coming."

Adrenaline surged through her. "Do you need me to call an ambulance?"

Mia shook her head, breathing in through her nose and out through her mouth. "The car's only over the—"

Another cry of pain shook Mia's shoulders, but Talia didn't need to hear the rest. "Come on then." She slipped a supportive arm around her friend's waist. Half debating asking Quinn to lend a hand, Talia turned to face him.

Only to find he'd disappeared.

Fucking coward.

She expected it to take an age to get to the car, but Mia shuffled over surprisingly quickly. When she'd been in labour, Talia could barely make it to the en suite and back without wanting to keel over. She put Mia in the passenger seat, hurrying around to the driver's side.

But as soon as Talia got in, Mia hit the locks. All sign of pain disappeared, replaced with suspicious glances around them. "Let's get out of here quickly. He could still be watching."

Putting her foot down, Talia rocketed towards the exit as her mind caught up. "You aren't in labour at all, are you?"

"No," Mia gave her an apologetic grimace. "Sorry if I scared you. I thought if I screamed it would freak him out."

Talia let out a laugh, more relieved than amused. "It did. He just vanished. Did you notice?"

"I saw him going down a small track whilst you were facing me," Mia snorted. "I didn't realise he'd disappear altogether."

"Thank god he did."

Despite knowing the danger had passed, Talia's heart still raced. The journey home wasn't long—twenty minutes at most—but it took an eternity. She hoped Jensen was back from his outing with Felix.

She needed him. She needed him to take her in his arms and tell her everything would be okay.

Mia broke her chain of thought. "You didn't exactly tell me the whole story with Quinn, did you?"

It took her a second to reply. "At the time, I thought I told you the truth, that I'd kissed him while drunk. But it was the other way round."

"He kissed you?"

Talia pressed the brake pedal as they came to a standstill, joining a long line of traffic heading south. Her voice was quiet. "Quinn tried to force himself on me whilst I was drunk."

Mia's sudden gasp somehow cut deeper than her scream.

"I'm okay," she carried on, refusing to look at Mia. "Jensen found us and stopped him. He brought me home and looked after me. That was the video I showed you."

Mia took her hand, giving it a soft squeeze. "I'm glad he found you in time."

"Me too." She didn't like to think about what could have happened if he didn't.

Back at the mansion block, Talia bade farewell to Mia, tapping her foot as the lift took her up to the top floor. She'd seen Jensen's car in the underground car park.

He was here. And she desperately needed him right now.

Talia didn't remember getting out of the lift, or unlocking her front door. All she knew was the blinding, consuming need to see him.

Jensen sat at the dining table on his laptop, his fingers flying over the keyboard and a look of exasperation on his face. He glanced up as she entered, his expression shifting when he caught sight of her. "Talia," he murmured, getting to his feet. "What's wrong?"

She couldn't hold in her bravado any longer. That brief shock of memory from that night at Celestial had done more damage than she realised, and the encounter with Quinn had almost finished her off.

Talia rushed towards him, trying to outrun it all. She leapt into his embrace with a sigh of relief. He caught her, as she'd known he would. Wrapping her arms around his neck and her legs around his hips, she produced a sob, quickly followed by another, and before long she found herself weeping freely into his neck.

All the while, Jensen whispered words of comfort into her ear, his hand making soothing passes up and down her spine. Through her tears, she couldn't hear exactly what he said, but at the centre of it all lay a simple fact.

Safe. She was safe now.

Much later, Talia woke to find herself on the sofa, sprawled over Jensen. Through the window, she could see the encroaching blue-black of night chasing away the last of the day. The steady, comforting beat of Jensen's heart thumped in her ear.

He was awake, in the middle of typing one-handed on his phone. A tinge of envy hit her as she watched; if that wasn't proof that mobile phones were designed for men, she didn't know what was. His large hand practically engulfed the phone, tapping all the buttons effortlessly.

If Talia tried that, she'd end up dropping the damn thing, with her comparatively tiny reach.

She gave a long stretch, scrunching up her toes. The last thing Talia remembered was putting on a film she wanted to watch, but a brief glance told her the TV was now turned off. She hadn't seen much of it, then.

Jensen stroked her back. "Hello, you."

"Hey," she smiled up at him, his heart still beating in her ear. "Getting some work done?"

"Checking in on a friend's flight. How are you feeling?"

The reminder of her day dimmed her good mood slightly. "Better than I was earlier. Thank you for being here."

Jensen kissed her temple. "I'm always going to be here for you." His thumb swirled over her shoulder in rhythmic circles. "Do you want to talk about it again?"

Talia shook her head. Going over the encounter with Quinn once had been difficult enough.

Perhaps he knew that, because he changed the subject. "How did Mia like the birth plan you typed up for her?"

"She loved it," Talia answered proudly. "Now she's broken up with Cameron I'll have to change a few things, but she mentioned a few other adjustments. She originally wanted to give birth at home but they still haven't managed to turn the baby."

He gave a sympathetic grimace. "That's a shame. I know she was really hoping they could. What about a water birth? Wasn't that one of her ideas?"

"She won't be given the option if she's breach, even in hospital." She weaved her fingers into his. "But she wants me to be her birth partner now instead of Cameron."

Jensen shot her a genuine smile. "You'll do brilliantly, baby girl."

Talia hoped so. "What if I don't?" she whispered, giving in to a moment of self-doubt.

He let out a half-concealed snort. "Well you could practically trip over the bar Cameron set. As long as you do better than him, you'll be fine."

"True," she grinned. "But I did want to mention ahead of time, births can sometimes take days. Would you be okay looking after Felix by yourself?"

Jensen did his best not to look offended. "Of course. There's plenty of breast milk stored in the freezer. Whenever Mia goes into labour, I'll take care of things here and you focus on her."

Relief eased over her spine. It hadn't registered until precisely that moment that she wasn't alone any longer. She was used to carrying all of the burdens of parenthood solely on her shoulders, but for the first time in months she could take a breath.

Jensen was no longer just Felix's biological father. He was his dad. His parent.

"How many weeks pregnant is she now?"

"Thirty-six. She's full-term at thirty-seven." A bubble of excitement grew within her. "Is it weird that I'm looking forward to it?"

"No, I know you're excited to meet the baby."

"True, but it isn't even that. I've loved helping Mia through her pregnancy, and I love the birthing process even more. I heard other medical students talking about the course at university and they were soexcited to learn about the human body, and I couldn't relate. But I feel that kind of excitement for pregnancy and childbirth. Even the postpartum period is fascinating to me."

Jensen listened with rapt attention, his eyes soft. "You've found something you're passionate about."

"I have," she realised, a little wiggle passing over her shoulders.

That buzz stayed with her through the rest of the evening and, as Jensen made dinner, Talia used it to zoom through a list of tasks that needed doing. She quickly typed up, printed, and laminated several copies of Mia's updated birth plan, reorganised some of the books on her bookshelf, replied to a few messages from Darcy, and she sorted through and folded a load of Felix's washing, silently tip-toeing into his bedroom to put it away whilst he slept.

Dinner still wasn't done when she finished, and so she glanced around the flat looking for something to do. Her gaze landed on the parcel Jensen had accepted yesterday—the mini bookshelf she'd ordered for Felix's birthday.

After getting Jensen to carry it into her bedroom, she sat down to unbox and wrap it.

It didn't take her long to notice that something was very amiss with the bookshelf.

Beneath the packaging, she touched a soft leathery material instead of the solid oak she'd been expecting. That couldn't be right. She grunted as she unearthed it, unprepared for just how much it weighed.

It was just… a black leather square, with a partition line three quarters of the way up. It wasn't a bookshelf. That was for sure. But it was her name and address on the label, so it had come to the right place. Had Dad or Darcy ordered a gift for Felix without telling her?

Holding below the partition line, she turned the section above it—and finally got somewhere. The top was weightier than she'd expected, and she could feel objects moving around inside as she spun it.

Was it some sort of toy box? She untwisted the top section and eagerly looked inside.

And her jaw hit the floor.

Oh no, this is not a toy for children.

Recognition hit her like a sledgehammer, taking her back to Lux, to her night with Jensen. The way it had all started, with him sitting fully-clothed in an armchair and her straddling a footrest completely naked.

A Sybian.

What had Jensen called it? A vibrating saddle.

With some difficulty, she pulled it out of what she now realised was its storage box, settling it on her bedroom floor. It sat there innocuously, looking every bit like the footrest she'd once assumed it to be.

The top third of the storage box—the lid—wasn't empty either. A mesh lining held in its contents, and Talia unzipped it to discover it was stuffed to the brim with attachments for the Sybian. Some were simple pads, like the one she'd used at Lux, but others had dildos of varying sizes—and shapes.

She surveyed it all with wide eyes, sighting a dark blue envelope at the bottom of the empty cardboard box it came in. She slid it open, knowing it could have only come from one person. There sat a message, printed in an angular, ornamental script:

Think of me when you use this, baby girl.

"Jensen?" she called, unable to stop looking at the attachments. All she could think about was the devastating orgasm she'd had on the Sybian at Lux. It made her thighs clench even now.

She thought about the simple vibrator in her bedside table, hidden underneath her silk bonnets. She might as well retire it here and now; there was no way it could hold its own against something like this.

Jensen's head poked round her bedroom door. "Everything oka—oh." He blinked, letting a leisurely smirk climb across his jaw. "That isn't a bookcase."

Talia almost laughed. "Nope."

"What do you think?" His voice was dark with sensual amusement. "You didn't hold up your end of the deal at Lux."

"Deal?"

"You were supposed to buy one of these with the money from your auction."

Her eyebrows almost disappeared into her hairline, and she gestured in the direction of Felix's bedroom. "I've been a bit preoccupied!"

"I know," he murmured, prowling towards her. "So I thought I'd save you the trouble. It took its time arriving."

"How long ago did you order it?"

"A couple of months." Jensen knelt, leaning back on his thighs as he inspected the wide array of attachments. "After that night in your bathroom, where I fucked you in front of the mirror." He touched her chin, tilting her head to look up at him. "After you admitted to wanting me to fuck you senseless."

The memory of that night sent heat between her legs, and a desperate little moan escaped her before she could stop it.

Jensen's smirk grew. "Now you're going to be a good girl and come and eat the dinner I prepared, aren't you?"

Talia nodded, her body lighting up with arousal.

His touch found her hips, moving downwards, until he came dangerously close to her pussy. "And then we're going to come in here and see how many times I can make you come on this, aren't we?"

She nodded again, anticipation surging through her veins.

"Stand up." His gaze was predatorial as he watched her follow his instruction. "Now take your clothes off."

Weren't they skipping a step? Slowly, Talia obeyed, a questioning look on her face.

"Your underwear too. I want you naked—there we go," he purred, as her clothes hit the floor. Jensen went up on one knee, taking one of her nipples in his mouth and sucking hard. She moaned at the suction, at him swallowing her milk down, his hands digging into her hips. The sudden pleasure was intense, but he quickly moved to the other.

His lips passed over her skin, slowly working downwards in tantalising flicks, against a chorus of her sighs and gasps. With every second that passed, her hopes raised that they were skipping dinner. Dinner could be postponed, but the wetness between her legs was growing exponentially.

And, as Jensen pushed her against the wall and slung her leg over his shoulder, she assumed he wanted to verify that for himself.

Instead of heading straight for her centre, he nipped her thigh, travelling upwards until he met the crease at the top of her leg. The stubble on his jaw abraded the soft, delicate skin, and a ticklish giggle erupted from her chest.

"No!" she laughed, fisting her hand in his hair to pull him away.

Thankfully, he took pity on her, shooting a devilish grin upwards before he lapped at the glistening arousal bathing her skin. He worked inwards slowly, building her anticipation until she was arching off the wall, eager to help his tongue bridge that final gap to—

Jensen pulled away, running his thumb along the edge of his bottom lip. He got to his feet, the smug amusement never leaving his expression.

"What are you doing?" He'd been so close to giving her that final bit of stimulation to push her over the edge.

"I told you. Dinner's ready." His hand took hers, pulling her away from the wall.

"But I'm naked."

Jensen lifted her chin, tipping her head back. "And you're going to stay that way all evening, aren't you?"

An embarrassing squeak left her, her thighs clenching and her nerves crying out for more.

Oh god.This was going to be torture.