“I know it’s a drastic move but the claiming can’t be reversed if you’re pregnant with my child.”
Pregnant with my child. Shit.
“I haven’t had a birth control pill in three days. I guess it’s possible I’ll ovulate two weeks after the first day of my last period.”
“Where are you in your cycle?”
“Day thirteen.”
“You’ll ovulate tomorrow. Well, today, since it’s almost midnight.”
“Hormonal birth control is a crapshoot. I’ve been on the pill for years so who knows how my body will react to the sudden interruption?”
“I want to try.”
“Even if the moon and stars align perfectly and I get pregnant, we won’t know if we conceived until another two weeks. Kieran is coming in three days.” Time is not on our side.
“We take a gamble and lie. Kieran will want his own heir. There’s no way he’ll take a wife who’s already pregnant with another man’s baby.”
“What if we lie and then I’m not pregnant?” I have no doubt there’ll be hell to pay. Even I know Thane won’t take well to being duped.
“I’ll heal from endurance and then go back and take double penance for betraying my leader. Keeping Kieran from taking you as his wife will be worth whatever I have to endure.”
“That still leaves Westlyn and Evanna as choices.” I can’t stand the thought of either being married off to that evil man.
“I have three days to come up with a plan to safeguard them from him. I’ll think of something.”
“Claiming. Marrying. Even the baby . . . I like your plan for us.”
“I thought you might.”
I deserted my life in the U.S. nine months ago so I could be near my sister and the babies. I thought I was leaving everything behind. My possessions. My career. My friends. My past. My present. My future.
I was wrong.
Everything I ever wanted and needed is right here in Scotland. In Jamie Breckenridge. He is the strong, loving man my father wanted for me. My husband. Father of my children.
I want this so much it hurts.
Jamie opens my towel and lets it fall to the floor before gripping my hips and pulling me close. “Come on, Mac. Let’s make a baby.”
Let’s make a baby. I hear those words come out of Jamie’s mouth and I immediately feel all kinds of tingles between my thighs—like my womb is throwing a celebration. “Yes.”
Ellison puts her arms around my shoulders. Her mouth drags along my jawline, leaving kisses in its path until warm breath tickles my ear.
Fuck. Am I seriously about to try and get a woman pregnant? On purpose? While I’m both sober and thinking straight?
This is madness in its most extreme form. Ellison and I have known one another almost a year, but we’ve only been together a short while. A baby shouldn’t be on our radar.
But it is.
We started out as acquaintances. She was Bleu’s sister from America, and I was Sin’s cousin from The Fellowship. A friendship was formed. I tried to fight it, but that friendship quickly turned into full-blown desire. I can’t say exactly when it happened. One day she was my friend. The next day I’m looking at her and imagining myself shoving her against the wall and fucking her raw.
My desire for her grew into something else. I developed a deep, profound, true love for Ellison. I kept that endearment secret for months because I thought I wasn’t right for her.
I was wrong.
I am the mate for Ellison. I am the husband for her. I am the father for her children. Our children.
A pregnancy may be our only solution for the problem with Kieran, but I don’t look at it like that. We would eventually have children anyway. It’s just happening a little sooner than we would have chosen if not in this situation.
This baby isn’t a mistake despite the reason behind conceiving it. I’m sure of it.
“I think these need to come off if we’re going to do this.” Ellison unbuttons and unzips my pants while I pull my shirt over my head. Teamwork.
Fucking love getting my cock inside her but this time feels different. I’m having the oddest impulse. The drive to come inside her is so strong I fear I may get one stroke in and blow. Today is our best shot at making a baby happen. There’s definitely a lot of pressure to be successful but I still want it to be special.
My final piece of stripped clothing hits the floor and Ellison crawls up to straddle me. She gently touches the dressing over my shoulder. “You took a bullet while protecting me.”
“It was nothing.”
“It wasn’t nothing.”
She shifts her body so we’re pressed skin to skin. “I didn’t think I’d ever get to feel your naked body against mine again. And now I’m going to get to feel it for the rest of our lives as husband and wife.”
“We’re going to be so happy together.”
“Yes, we are.”
She places a quick kiss against my mouth and then moves to sit on her bum in the middle of the bed. She pulls her wet hair over her shoulder before she lies on the bed—feet apart and knees closed. She looks so timid and innocent, but I know better. My girl likes being touched. Licked. Sucked.
Fucked hard.
I kneel and place a hand on each of her knees to push them apart. She lifts her arms over her head and arches her back as she grasps the edge of the mattress. It’s crazy how seductive she looks—sexier than any woman I’ve ever seen in my life. And she’s for my eyes only. My touch only. I covet that.
“I want to try something.”
Ellison grins as a giggle leaves her mouth. “Honey, I know all guys want to try anal but that won’t help us get a baby.”
I push her legs together and roll her to the side so I can spank her bum. “Such a bad girl.”
“Mmm. I guess I am a bad girl because I don’t mind you smacking my ass like that at all.”
“I know it’s a very clinical and unromantic conversation but we need to talk about what we can do to make conception more likely.” The stakes are high.
“You’re the doctor so I’m open to suggestions.”
“I think we should try using the upsuck theory.”
“Upsuck theory? That’s a new one on me but I guess it should be since I’ve never tried to get pregnant.”
“It’s not new. You just didn’t know it had a name.”
“Explanation please.”
“The back of your vagina has a bowl that will catch my semen. If I come first and then bring you to orgasm, your cervix will move up and down, sucking—or uptaking—my sperm. Of course my swimmers have a chance of getting to your egg all on their own but this could increase the chances of conception. Won’t hurt to try it.”
“You had me at orgasm.”
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She pulls me down so she can kiss my mouth and I whisper against her lips, “I love you.”
“I love you too. And I really want you to put a baby inside me.” Her voice is soft and sweet.
Hearing her ask me for a child changes everything. It rips through my tough, hard Fellowship exterior and brings out the tender side of me that I didn’t know existed until she came into my life.
I’m hovering above her, careful to not press too much of my weight against her. She allows her knees to fall apart and I move into position. “This baby we’re about to make will be loved.”
She watches my eyes as I enter her. “It already is.”
Ellison doesn’t take her eyes from mine as I move in and out of her. Everything about this moment feels so intimate, like she’s seeing straight into the depths of my soul. Makes me feel exposed from the inside out. I love the deep connection I have with Ellison.
It’s time to claim her. Say the words that make it official. “Into me, you see.”
She smiles as she places her hands against each side of my face. “Into me, you see.”
We’ve never discussed them but she knows those words and what they mean. I know by the love I see on her face. “You are my mate. Soon, you’ll be my wife and eventually the mother of our children.”
“I want that so much.”
I’m sliding in and out of Ellison slowly when her legs come up and around my waist. She digs her heels into my arse, coaxing me to thrust harder. Of course, moving harder and faster brings me closer to coming. But it’s okay. This is only the first of many times I’ll have her.
“Fuck. I’m already about to come.”
“My womb is prepared to receive thy child.”
I chuckle as I push her legs back and apart. “Fuck, Mac. Don’t make me laugh while I’m trying to do this.”
She locks her legs around my waist as I thrust one last time. “Fill my vaginal bowl with your baby batter so your bun can bake in my oven.”
“Damn. You have to stop making me laugh.”
She loosens the hold of her legs around my waist and giggles. “Mmm. Baby making is fun.”
“You little shite. Baby making is supposed to be romantic and special. Not comedy hour.”