41. Harper

41

HARPER

I woke feeling lighter than I had in months. With so much pain and heartache constantly pushing down on me, it was a relief to let it all go. Our reunion didn't go quite as I expected. There was absolutely no sex. Where I thought he would ravage my body, instead, he begged me for every scrap of information on how I was doing, what had happened with the baby, and how I had been doing. He ran his fingers down my spine, checking for any tender spots, then decided when we returned, we would visit the doctor—just to be sure I had no problems since I recovered from the accident.

It didn't matter what I told him, he insisted I get checked out. After that, he insisted on going to bed, stating that I needed my rest. But it was him that fell asleep within minutes of laying down. His body was cocooned around mine and his breathing evened out just minutes later.

I studied his face, the way lines bracketed his eyes and how his cheeks almost looked hollow. It didn't take long to realize it wasn't only his face that had changed. It was as if he lost muscle mass everywhere. What used to be a hard body was now soft in spots I never expected. If I had to guess, I would say he hadn't been sticking to his normal regimen. But I would be very willing to force him to work out and watch every pull-up to make sure he was doing them adequately .

I pressed my lips to his and got out of bed when he didn't wake up. Since morning sickness had passed, I was just starving when I got up every day. I pulled on my robe and stepped into my fuzzy slippers to fight the cold seeping in from the floor. I thought Kansas was cold in the winter, but it had nothing on South Dakota.

I wasn't even surprised when I saw FNG and Dash sitting at my kitchen table, helping themselves to every piece of food in my house. I sat down and stole the plate from Dash, eating one of his slices of toast.

"Hey! That was mine."

"It's actually mine. I paid for it."

"But I cooked it."

I raised an eyebrow at him. "Fine, take food from a pregnant lady. I dare you."

He narrowed his eyes at me, crossing his arms over his chest. "That's not fair."

I shrugged. "I never said it was."

"Where's Edu?"

"Still sleeping. He looks like he hasn't slept in a while. Or done anything else, for that matter."

Dash glanced at FNG, then back to me. "Well, he spent all his time looking for you."

"But he still worked."

He shook his head. "Hasn't been to work since you left. His house looks like one of those missing persons boards."

I was shocked to hear that. "Then why didn't Rae tell him where I was?"

"Because she wanted to be sure he wasn't going to flake out after finding you."

I had no idea Rae was so committed. I assumed Edu hadn't come back because he wasn't ready to. I never imagined someone else was looking out for me in that way.

Movement outside the window caught me by surprise and I rose to my feet. Dash must have seen it too because he was on his feet a second later, storming toward the back door. Yanking it open, he yelped as he was pulled through and tossed onto the hard ground.

"Fuck, did you have to be so rough?" he groaned .

I wasn't sure what was going on, especially when a man in a pristine suit stepped through the door. His eyes were dark and dangerous, as was the air swirling around him. I bit my lip, unsure what to say or do. As for FNG, he just sat there chewing his bacon.

"Who are you?" I snapped.

"IKE," he said, his eyes wandering around the house.

"Okay…and what are you doing here?"

He walked over to the window and looked outside, then yanked the curtains closed. "Rae sent me. She said you had a bit of an issue that needed to be…corrected."

My jaw dropped in shock. Corrected in the OPS world could only mean one thing. Did Rae send him down here to take out Edu? That didn't make sense. "I won't let you have him," I said sternly, or as sternly as a pregnant woman could when she was still eyeing the bacon.

"It's not your decision."

"What is it with everyone coming here and telling me what I can and can't do? It's my life!"

He stopped looking around and his sharp eyes trailed over me. "I doubt you could stop me."

"I could try. It's not your decision or Rae's if I choose to be with Edu."

That gave him pause. "Why would I give a shit about you and Edu? Fucking take him. Doesn't matter to me."

"It…what?" I asked in confusion.

"Rae asked me to come down and take care of your neighbor."

"Oh…" I had no idea Rae was going to do a thing. But I was grateful she seemed to have a plan in mind. "What are you going to do?"

"For now? Go out to breakfast."

"But…she's over there now."

"And she'll be there after breakfast," he said, his eyes narrowing on me.

"Harper!"

I spun and ran to the base of the stairs at Edu's frantic calls. I was about to run upstairs when he appeared at the top and looked down at me in relief. He was in front of me in seconds, grabbing me and holding me to him.

"I thought you were gone."

"Why would I leave my own house?"

"Fucking swear to me you won't leave."

I wasn't sure I could swear that. I wanted him more than anything, but I was serious last night when I said I would leave if he ever spoke to me like that again. There was no going back to the way I felt that night.

But the way he looked at me, the pleading in his eyes, was my undoing. "I promise."

"That's fucking beautiful," IKE said. "Can we get breakfast now?"

"What the fuck is he doing here?"

"He's here for my neighbor. Rae sent him."

"What?"

"My neighbor is being abused. Her husband is?—"

"Your neighbor? Christ, Harper. You should have called for someone to get you. What if you got wrapped up in that shit? What if you were hurt?"

I covered his mouth with my hand, my eyebrows shooting up as he glared at me. "You need to stop right now. I called Rae. What more did you want from me?"

His jaw clenched hard, but he didn't say anything else. "We'll talk about this later."

"Much later," IKE muttered. "Some of us are hungry."

"Go get dressed," I grinned. "We have to feed our tagalongs."

"I could just take you upstairs and eat you. That would be more than satisfying."

A gagging noise came from behind us. Dash was bent over, dry-heaving and coughing. "Fuck, would you point that dirty talk somewhere else? I was eating!"

"You're married," Edu said incredulously.

"Yes, and I can talk to my wife that way, but I don't say it in front of others," he pointed out. "Hell, I'm gonna need therapy to wipe that shit from my ears. "

"Food, people," IKE snapped. "Some of us drove all night to get here and need food."

We didn't keep him waiting any longer, quickly dressing and stopping to kiss only a few times. By the time we made it downstairs, IKE was even more worked up than before. I was curious about the man in my house, but got the distinct impression that questions were not permitted and would most likely put me on his shit list. I wasn't sure he even worked at OPS, but everyone else seemed to know him well enough.

The moment we stepped outside, he lit a cigarette as his gaze wandered around the neighborhood.

"That's their house," I pointed across the street diagonally.

"I'm aware."

Geesh, I was just trying to help. I took Edu's proffered hand and walked down the steps to the minivan. But before we could get inside, screams filled the neighborhood. My heart jumped in my throat as I realized they were coming from Willow's house. But I didn't have to even ask for the guys to help. They were running across the street with only Edu sticking by my side. I watched as IKE kicked in the door.

Shouting and glass breaking had me tightening my grip on Edu's hand. I was pretty sure the guys were fine, but I was worried for my friend and her little boy. I shouldn't have been. Five minutes later, FNG and Dash walked out whistling and joking with each other.

"What happened?" I asked, running over to them.

"He won't be bothering her anymore. IKE is taking care of it."

"What does that mean?"

They exchanged a look, then shrugged. "Do you really want to know?"

I wasn't sure I did, but I desperately wanted to know that Willow was okay. "At least tell me Willow and Cody are fine."

Dash grinned at me. "They're fine."

"They would have been fine if I had been in charge," FNG grumbled.

Dash clapped him on the shoulder. "Relax, there was no need to fake die today. "

I had so many questions, but decided against asking them as we piled in the minivan for breakfast.

I hadn't seen Willow since the day IKE arrived at my house. I assumed she was fine because I knew Edu wouldn't allow for anything else. Two months had passed with Edu doing nothing but taking care of my every need day in and day out. He forced me to quit my job, stating that no woman of his was going to spend her pregnancy on her feet.

I gladly obliged. After all, I didn't really like my job anyway. But I was growing restless, needing to get back to see my brother. I was bored with my days spent in the lap of luxury. Even reading had become boring when that was the only thing I had to do.

Well, that and have copious amounts of sex with Edu.

I giggled as Edu slid down under the sheets, trailing his tongue down my body until he was lapping at my pussy. Moaning, I greedily accepted all the attention he was paying me. Even though we'd made love all night long, he was still ready for more.

"Edu," I panted, unable to take any more of his punishment. "Please."

His low growl pushed me over the edge, leaving me boneless and at his mercy. When his head popped up from under the covers, he grinned at me, then pressed his lips to mine.

"Ready for more?"

I shook my head. "No, I can't take any more."

"You can always take more."

"Not when my bladder is threatening to burst because a baby is pressing down on it."

I kept waiting for him to flip out when I mentioned the baby, but if anything, it only seemed to get him riled up. He pressed his hand to my belly, rubbing it gently. "And what does the baby want this morning?"

"Lots of food. And orange juice. And maybe some steak. "

He barked out a laugh, shaking his head at me. "Anything you want, baby."

He got out of bed and slid on his boxers, then stalled by the nightstand, his hand hovering over the drawer.

"What is it?" I asked, leaning on my elbow.

He slowly turned to me, his eyes full of anxiety and fear, which only made my heart pound harder. "Harper…you know I love you."

The smile dropped from my face and I swallowed hard. This was the moment. He was going to tell me he loved me but he was leaving. I didn't want to hear it and climbed out of bed, pulling on my robe. "Do you want some breakfast?"

"Harper, I want to talk to you about something."

"In a little bit. I'm really hungry."

He stalked around the bed and grabbed me by the arm, forcing me to face him. "Harper, this won't wait."

My lip quivered at the intensity of his words. "This is it, isn't it?"

"What?"

"The end," I whispered. "You're going to leave me."

The sheer devastation on his face was enough to question my original thought. Sighing, he pulled me onto his lap and kissed me hard. "Pookie, I could never leave you again. I love you. Haven't you figured that out by now?"

"I thought you loved me before."

"I hadn't even quite figured that out myself. How would I have admitted that to you?"

He rolled me onto my back and crawled across the bed to the nightstand, pulling out a box. Holding it out for me, he pressed his lips to mine. "What I wanted to talk to you about was this."

"Is that a note?"

"In a ring box?'

"A nightlight?"

"Harper," he growled.

"Maybe the tiniest license plate in the world."

He rolled his eyes and popped the lid open, turning it to face me. It wasn't the original ring. It was something completely brand new and absolutely beautiful. With a single stone in the center of a platinum band, it was so simple and elegant.

I slapped him as soon as the waterworks started.

"What was that for?" he cried out.

"For making me cry," I whimpered. "Don't you know better by now?"

He frowned. "Well, I'll put it away and try for a day when you're not so hormonal."

"Don't you dare!" I snapped, grabbing the box out of his hand. I slid the ring on my finger and stared at the beauty of it.

"I think that was supposed to be my job," he muttered.

"Shut up. I'm daydreaming about my ring."

"You could be daydreaming about your amazing fiancé, but what do I know?"

I bit my lip and giggled to myself as I stared at it. It was absolutely perfect, just like him. Well, how he was now. There were definitely some questionable choices before I came along and set him straight.

"So, I take it that's a yes?"

"Did my face not say it?"

"It did," he grinned. "But I'd still like to hear the words."

I pressed my hand to his cheek and smiled at him. "Yes, I will allow you the honor of marrying me."

He chuckled and slid his hand up my thigh. "Are you ready to go home?"

"My place or yours?"

"That depends. Will James Earl Jones be staying with us?"

I was never going to live that down.