Down Fall (Fallen Duet 2)

Now I was exhausted and ready for my bed, but considering it was only 7 p.m. I didn’t think it was right to go to bed this early, so I lay down on the sofa, telling myself I’d just rest for a little while. And that was when I felt it. A slight fluttering in my stomach, but there was no way to mistake it for nerves. I locked my muscles, and stayed very still, staring at the ceiling with wide eyes to see if it would happen again.

I counted to two hundred, and just when I was sure I’d imagined it, I felt it a second time. I spread my fingers over my stomach, a gasp escaping my parted lips as I reached for my cell with my other hand.

“Lola?” his deep voice asked.

“Brody.” My voice was barely a whisper.

“What’s wrong?”

I smiled, imagining him standing up and already collecting his things to come to me. And I wanted that, more than anything, but not for the reason he was probably thinking. “I”—I felt it again, just a small flutter—“I felt the baby.”

“You…” His voice trailed off, silence ringing out in its wake. “I’m coming over.” The line went dead, and I grinned wider than I ever had before.

It was all becoming so real, my belly just starting to protrude a little bit, feeling the tiny flutters, and the sickness starting to ebb away. My calendar told me I was sixteen weeks along, and the internet informed me the second trimester was the one where you started to feel more like yourself and enjoyed being pregnant.

I didn’t move off the sofa for twenty minutes, only turning my head when the door opened, and Brody walked inside. It was on the tip of my tongue to ask where he’d gotten a key, but I rolled my eyes at myself. Of course he’d gotten a key. He was Brody, a DEA agent. There wasn’t anything he couldn’t get.

The door slammed shut behind him, and he darted over to me, getting down onto his knees beside me and placing his large hand over mine. “You won’t be able to feel it,” I told him, my eyes burning at the sight of his glazing eyes. “It’s only a small flutter.”

“I don’t care,” he choked out, pushing his face closer to mine. “I’m not missing this moment.” He rested his forehead against mine.

“It just happened again,” I said, my smile turning shaky. “I can’t believe this is happening.”

“Can’t believe what, darlin'?” he asked, pulling away slightly. I moved my hand from under his, loving the way his rough palm felt against my stomach, and placed my hand on the side of his face. His scruff itched across my fingertips.

“This. That you’re here. That I can feel our baby. That I’m still here.” I didn’t want to say it out loud. I didn’t want to admit I wasn’t sure I was going to make it, not after everything that had happened, but I was still here. I was lying on this sofa with the man I loved more than anything at my side.

“Believe it,” he growled out. “Because I’m not going anywhere.” He paused and ran his knuckles over my cheek. “Ever.”

“I love you,” I whispered, needing him to hear the words.

“Darlin'”—he pushed his face closer, his breath hitting my lips—“I love you, too.”

He pressed his lips against mine in a soft, gentle caress, and that was my undoing. I could handle hard, caveman Brody like a pro, but gentle Brody? He snapped something inside my chest and cracked it wide open.

His tongue swiped along the seam of my lips, and I opened up for him, letting him in and relishing every second of it. His hand trailed over my stomach and up to my breasts, not stopping in any one place as he felt all of me. It had been so long since we’d been like this, only this time, there weren’t any lies between us. Everything was out in the open, and I felt closer to him than I ever had.

It hadn’t been easy to get to this point. God, it had been hard. And I was honest with myself when I was waiting for the other shoe to drop. But maybe it was because of the things I’d been through. Maybe I was always expecting the worst because that was how it had always been?

It was time to embrace the good, so I lifted into a sitting position, wrapped my arms around his neck, and whispered, “Take me to my bedroom.”

“I didn’t come here to—”

I shook my head. “I know you didn’t.” I stared into his dark-brown eyes, seeing nothing but admiration in them. “But I want it. I want you.”

“Fuck.” He curled his arms around my waist and stood. I wrapped my legs around his hips, not able to look away from him for a second. “I never thought I’d hear you say that again.”

“I want you,” I repeated, just to hammer the point home.

He took five steps into my bedroom but didn’t let me go as he sat on the edge of the bed, our hips aligned, and chests pressed against each other. “I want to spend the time worshipping every inch of you,” he ground out, gripping the edge of my shirt and pulling it over my head. He unsnapped my bra. “But I gotta be honest.” His hands moved down to my jeans, his fingers skipping over the open button, and instead, undoing the zipper. “I’m not sure if I can go slow right now.”

I ran

my hand through his hair, pulling on it to get his attention. “I don’t need you to go slow.” I rolled my hips, groaning at the feel of his erection. “I just need you.”

His hooded eyes didn’t move off me as he lifted me up and twirled me around to deposit me on the bed. He didn’t look away as he pulled my jeans off, followed by my panties, and finally, my socks. I was laid bare for him, and the way his eyes soaked in every inch, made me feel like the most beautiful girl in the world.

He grabbed at the back of his T-shirt, pulling it over his head in one swoop and revealing his defined chest and abs. His long fingers moved to the button on his jeans, unhooking it. His jeans fell low on his hips because of the weight of the things attached to his belt, and I could see the V that led down to something I wanted so much right now.