He grinned.She’d usually fall asleep after they made love.That hadn’t changed.
But she was pregnant.She’d confirmed what he’d suspected but hadn’t been willing to explore.Until now.
He had mixed emotions.Sad the baby wouldn’t biologically be his, but happy that Jenna was having a baby and he would take full responsibility.The baby would be his in every sense.He loved the kid already.
Slowly, he withdrew from her and then cradled her into his arms, one hand sliding to settle over that little bump and his heart just burst with love.The tiny swell beneath his palm made his throat tighten.This was real, this was happening, and he already felt connected to the life growing inside of her.
Little kid, I am your daddy and I love you already.How cool is that?
Jenna shifted against him and mumbled an I love you in her sleep.
The words hit him like a blow.Soft, unguarded, truer than anything spoken awake.
“Love you, too, babydoll,” he whispered back and he truly meant it from the core of his heart.
They lay there, naked, and exposed.
He thought about moving from her side and draping the sleeping bag over her, but he didn’t want to disturb her.He would be her blanket tonight.
He let his gaze roam over her body and studied the way her hair was fanned out on the pillow just like a waterfall, her face serene in sleep, her pretty lips parted every so slightly.He studied her like a man starved, memorizing every freckle, every breath, every piece of the woman he’d thought he’d lost forever.And the freckles on her shoulders.The freckles she’d never liked until he told her they were so beautiful and he loved them.
Oh man, he had really missed this.
How in hell had he survived twelve years in prison?And now it was over and Jenna was his reward.
The old guilt slithered back as it always did when he found some semblance of happiness.He’d killed a man.He hadn’t meant to, but his anger had just demanded justice for his dad being paralyzed by thugs looking for protection money and his dad refusing to pay.They’d beat him to within an inch of his life.He’d wanted to do the same to those bastards.
Killing hadn’t been a part of the plan.Hell, who was he kidding.Anger never had a plan.It was entirely his fault and Jenna had paid the price too.
Axel inhaled deeply, loving Jenna’s succulent scent as it mixed with the sweet smell of hay and the fragrance of old wood.He listened to the sounds of the barn settling, the occasional rustle of something wiggling around in the hay nearby, probably a mouse or a racoon or something else, the soft nickering of the horses below.It all wrapped around him like a warm cocoon.With Jenna warm against him and his hand resting over her belly, he felt something he hadn’t felt in years.He had hope.
Slowly he drifted off to sleep.
* * * * *
Nick watched Axel and Jenna as they slept.The sight hit him low in the gut.It was peaceful, intimate, a world he wasn’t part of and probably never would be.It was quite obvious at what had happened up here last night and he’d known it was coming.
He had harbored secret feelings for Jenna.
When he had come here, he had hoped he would have a shot with her.But his hopes were now gone.
She belonged to Axel and he had reclaimed her.
Nick should be devastated, so why wasn't he?The absence of heartbreak startled him.It was like expecting a serious wound and finding only a bruise.
He was glad for Axel, but sad for himself because he had lost both Axel and Jenna.
Damn, but they looked so good together.
He would have liked to have been a part of their reunion.Heat crept up his neck.That thought was wild and reckless, but it pulsed through him all the same.
“Mind if I join you?”
His heart lurched as the question slipped out of him like a secret escaping before he could cage it.His thought was supposed to be just a thought, but he had said it out loud and Axel's eyes suddenly opened.
He froze.His pulse hammered as he waited to see if Axel had heard the truth he hadn’t meant to speak.
He watched as Axel stretched and yawned.
