Chapter 24

Chapter

Twenty-Four

March 26th

5:55 A.M.

A peace he'd never experienced before had filled Panther the moment Elle had told him she was giving them a second chance.

It was still there more than twelve hours later.

He hoped it would last forever.

Although he was lying in bed, he hadn"t slept a wink all night. Elle had been taken to the hospital at his insistence to get the wound on her arm cleaned and bandaged, and to get thoroughly checked out for both her sake and their baby's. At Elle's insistence, both children had also been checked out at the hospital and were thankfully uninjured.

Uninjured only because of the woman lying at his side.

Elle had literally saved Andy and Ruthie's lives, and even if he spent the rest of his life showing her how grateful he was it would never be enough.

She'd been scared terrified but she'd done what she needed to do. As soon as she was healed he was getting her and the kids some self-defense lessons so at least they wouldn't be as vulnerable in the future.

Bringing Elle and Ruthie back to his home had taken a little convincing. Elle wanted them to move slowly this time, not jump all into being a readymade family like they had before. While he wanted them here with him he knew she was right. So they had agreed that she and Ruthie would spend the night here, but in the morning move into the main building on the compound. That would give her and Ruthie some space and independence while they worked on rebuilding trust but also gave them a safe place to stay where they weren"t haunted by bad memories.

Which was why he'd laid awake all night watching Elle sleep, stroking her hair, her cheek, her arm, and any part of her he could touch without waking her. More often than not, one of his hands was resting on her stomach, wondering at the miracle of their baby growing inside her. When he wasn't holding Elle or watching her, he was checking on the kids, and making sure they were both still asleep in Andy's room.

Every time he did he thought about the future. When Elle was ready to move in here the cabin would need to be extended. They needed another bedroom up here, at least one more, maybe two. Andy and Ruthie might be happy to share for now, so Mrs. Pfeffer's room could become the nursery, but as they got older the kids would want their own space. Downstairs, he was thinking of extending the playroom to make it suitable for three kids as well as enlarging his office so he could fit more in there and work at home more when he and Bravo Team weren"t out on an op.

"Mmm," Elle moaned and rolled over, blinking open sleepy eyes. "You been watching me while I slept?" she asked when she saw him propped up on one elbow.

"Yep," he agreed. "Don't want to waste time sleeping when I can look at you, touch you, hold you, know that you"re mine."

Her face softened and she gave him the sweetest smile. "I can"t believe I slept so well."

"You were exhausted."

Elle nodded. "Pregnancy makes me tired, and …"

"And you haven't been able to sleep at your house," he finished for her, knowing she didn"t want to say it and make him feel bad. Which he did. Hurting Elle and Ruthie hadn"t been his intention, but he couldn't deny he knew they would struggle alone. As much as he wanted to go back, he couldn't. All he could do going forward was show them that he would never let them down again.

"I was afraid of nightmares, of waking up alone, of scaring Ruthie, but knowing you were here beside me and that my daughter would feel safe in Andy's room, I guess I felt free to let go and rest."

"You are safe here, Elle. You and Ruthie both. I won"t hurt either of you again. I swear. All I want to do is prove to you that you can trust me to be there for you when you need me." If there was a way to flip a switch and convince her he'd be all over it. But there wasn't. It was going to have to be a one step at a time kind of thing.

"Yeah?" Elle lifted a hand and trailed a fingertip over one pec, then traced the lines of his abs. "Here for me when I need you, huh? That sounds perfect because I need you now."

"Babe," he groaned, that wasn't what he'd had in mind. "You were shot, and you"re pregnant."

"Not our first rodeo, we both know that sex isn't going to hurt the baby. And you heard the doctor, I was lucky, the bullet didn"t hit anything important. I"m not going to lie and say it doesn't hurt because it does, but I don't see that it will stop us from having sex."

Was he really going to argue about it when all he wanted was to sink inside her, join their bodies together, and prove to himself that she was there and she was his?

"You let me do all the work," he told her as he rolled them so she was spread out beneath him.

"I think we've had this conversation before," Elle said with a chuckle that turned into a moan when he pushed her panties aside and slid a finger through her slick heat.

"Wet for me already, sweetheart?"

"For you, always," she said, moaning again as he thrust a finger inside her, stroking deep, adding pressure in the place he knew would make her squirm for him. Which she did.

Elle like this, in his bed, free from any inhibitions, opening herself up to him, was a gift he treasured. This Elle wasn't worried about pleasing others, wasn't worried about anything at all, she was just being, just feeling, and he loved that he could make her feel safe enough to be free with him, let her guard down, and be her true self not the woman she thought others required her to be.

Adding a second finger, he stretched her, and increased the pace as he pumped them in and out. His thumb found her bud and worked it as he brought his lips to hers, making love to her with his mouth. Their tongues dueled, his fingers continued to brush across that special spot inside her with each thrust, and he pressed harder on her bundle of nerves.

When she came apart for him, Panther swallowed her cries of ecstasy so the kids didn"t hear them, and without giving her any time to recover, with her orgasm still rolling over her in waves, he moved down her body, pulling her panties down with him. As tremors still rocked her body, he swiped his tongue along her center making her moan. Then he began to suck, and lick, eating her with the hunger of a starving man.

Panther suspected he would always be starving for this woman.

This woman who filled a hole left inside him by past neglect, who stepped so seamlessly into the role of mother to his son that it was like she was born to do so.

Her fingers tangled in his hair as he ate at her, working her quickly toward a second orgasm. This time when she came he watched her teeth sink into her bottom lip as she tried to keep her screams of pleasure from waking the two children sleeping down the hall.

Two orgasms wasn't enough.

With her taste on his lips, he shoved off his pajama pants, and sank inside her in one smooth thrust. Her internal muscles were still quivering with pleasure, and she moaned as he filled her.

Knowing he could easily get a third orgasm from her, Panther crushed his mouth to hers, kissing her with every bit of emotion he had to offer. One hand balanced his weight so he didn"t crush her, the other stroked her sensitive bud, and as soon as he felt her come he allowed himself his own release.

It felt so big.

So strong.

Nothing like he'd ever experienced before.

It felt like love.

As the last remnants of pleasure shuddered through his body, he carefully pressed closer to Elle. "I love you, my favorite Elle," he whispered in her ear.

Her body startled in surprise at him saying the words, but when he looked down at her she was smiling and tears shimmered in her eyes. "I love you, too, my favorite Rafe."

Smiling, he pulled out of her and quickly pulled his pants back on in case they had visitors before stretching back out beside Elle and pulling her into his arms. "Good, because I"m hoping I"ve earned your trust back enough to marry you before this little one makes his or her appearance."

"I hope that too," Elle whispered, snuggling close.

"Dad."

"Mom."

Two little voices called out moments before the door to the bedroom was flung open and Panther was glad he'd put on his pants right away. While Elle discreetly reached for her discarded panties, stuffing them under the bed, he distracted the kids.

"Morning, my favorite son, and my favorite one day daughter," he greeted.

"One day daughter?" Ruthie asked as both kids clambered up onto the bed. "What does that mean?"

Elle narrowed her eyes at him, but she didn"t look all that annoyed. "It means that one day Rafe and I would like to get married, and that would make me Andy's stepmom, and Rafe your stepdad."

Ruthie's eyes lit up. "I'd have a dad?"

"You would," he told her, settling the little girl between him and Elle while his son bounced about.

"And I"d have a mom!" Andy said excitedly.

When he looked at Elle, asking a silent question, she nodded her approval. "You two will also be getting a baby brother or sister. Elle is pregnant."

Both kids let out excited squeals, and began asking a million questions which Elle tried to field while also attempting not to get squashed by Andy's bouncing, and Ruthie's wriggling. There was no way Panther could wipe the grin off his face even if he wanted to.

The family bed had just become his favorite place in the world because it was filled with his favorite people. The woman he was going to marry and the baby she carried inside her, his son and the little girl who would soon be his daughter. His family. The place he belonged.

Never again would he feel unwanted.

Not when he was surrounded by this much love.