Forgotten Awakenings (Awakenings #2) (19 page)

The door to the office opened and Elle looked up, smiling when she saw Callum walk in wearing a dark suit.

“What are you doing?” he asked. “Are you working? Elle! You’re supposed to be getting ready to party.”

“I am ready, lover,” she scoffed, closing her emails and shutting down her computer.

Gripping her cane, she stood up, giving herself a moment to adapt to her heels. Her leg had ached all day, and she’d considered going barefoot rather than wear the pumps she’d brought to go with her red, strapless, asymmetrical cocktail dress that was made of the finest silk.

“See?” she said, walking around her desk. “All ready!”

Callum inhaled a sharp breath as his eyes roamed over her body, gliding his tongue along his bottom lip. “You look beautiful, baby.”

“Thank you.” Elle felt her skin flush with heat. “You don’t look so bad yourself, handsome.”

Callum laughed softly as he walked over to her, placing both hands on her hips and pressing his body against hers. “Have I told you today that I love you?”

Elle nodded. “This morning when you woke me up by licking my pussy. And again when you fucked me in the shower. But I never get tired of hearing it.”

Callum groaned, lowering his lips to just below her ear. His fingers inched the skirt of her dress up her legs. Callum slid his hands around to her ass, moaning as he toyed with the seam of her lacy panties.

“Black or red?” he asked.

“Why don’t you check for yourself?” Elle purred.

Growling against the side of her neck, Callum turned her so that her black was facing him and placed his hand on the small of her back. He pressed down gently, encouraging her to bend forward.

Elle’s heart was racing as she felt his hands return to her hips. He gathered her dress between his fingers, sliding up and over her ass.

“Black,” he murmured, gripping the sides of her panties. “My favorite.”

And before she could say anything, Callum slid her panties down to her knees. Elle heard the sound of him unbuckling his belt and when she looked over her shoulder, she saw him unbuttoning his pants.

“What are you doing?” she asked.

“What does it look like I’m doing?” Callum pushed his pants and underwear down to his knees, sliding his hand up and down his cock. “You don’t know how many times I’ve wanted to bend you over your desk and fuck you.”

Elle whimpered, her knees weakening. Callum slid one arm around her waist as he placed himself just outside of her pussy. Then, grabbing her hip, he slowly filled her.

“Oh, my God,” she cried.

“Hold on tight, baby,” Callum told her.

“To what?” Elle laughed, which quickly turned to a moan when he pulled back and thrust into her hard. “Jesus, Cal!”

“I told you,” he snickered, setting a quick and hard pace.

Elle braced herself against the edge of her desk, unable to keep from moaning, groaning, whimpering, and almost weeping with each thrust of his hips. He was fucking her with restless abandonment, and she loved it, need it, craved the way he was taking her.

“Come for me, baby,” Callum begged. “Please, come for me. I need you to come, Elle.”

“I . . . I’m close,” she whimpered, feeling her orgasm building, but unable to let it take over her. “Oh, fuck, fuck, fuck.”

Callum wrapped his hand around her throat and pulled her body up against his. The change in angles had her trembling as her climax washed over her. Callum covered her mouth with his hand to muffle her scream, his hips pressed against her backside as he found his own release.

“Holy shit.”

Callum and Elle whipped their attention to the door to their office, where a stunned Derek and Sadie stood, watching them with their mouths hanging open.

“Shut the fucking door!” Elle snarled, prying herself out of Callum’s arms and trying to tug her panties up without falling on her face. He reached out for her, but she pushed his hands away. “Pull your pants up before the entire floor sees you ass!”

Callum laughed as he yanked his pants up. Derek shut the door behind him and Sadie, the two of them smirking.

“If we’d known the party was in here, we wouldn’t have just spent the last twenty minutes mingling,” Sadie said, her lips twitching. “Was it as good as it looked?”

“Better,” Elle mumbled, feeling her skin pinking as she tried to get her panties back up. Huffing, she said, “I need help.”

“Here, I —” Callum reached for her, but stepped back when Derek sprinted across the room and fell to his knees in front of her. “Or not.”

“You got to fuck her, I get to clean her up,” Derek told him.

Before Elle could utter a sound, Derek wrapped his fingers around her thighs and pressed his mouth against her pussy, sucking and lapping at her sensitive skin.

“Oh, my God,” Elle whimpered, tangling her fingers in his dark hair. “Jesus, Derek!”

His response was muffled. “You and Cal mixed together like this taste so fucking good, beautiful.”

“I wish I was the one feasting on her pussy,” Sadie said, wistfully.

Derek leaned away from Elle, tugging her panties up before he scrambled to his feet and walked over to Sadie, wrapping one arm around her waist, and placing the other hand on the back of her neck before leaning down and kissing her, giving her a second-hand taste.

Breathing heavily when Derek ended their kiss, Sadie brought her fingers to her mouth. “Mmm, tasty.”

“Right!” Derek laughed and looked back at Elle, winking. “I’ll finish you off tonight.”

“You got me all worked up, and you expect me to wait?” Elle groused. “That’s not fair!”

“What’s not fair is that motherfucker,” Derek pointed to Callum, “fucking you this morning and just moments ago. Now, I want my turn, but you’re going to earn it, beautiful.”

Elle gasped. “You’re cruel.”

“And you love me for it,” he chuckled.

“God help me, I do. I really fucking do,” Elle mused. “Okay, let’s get through this party. I’m ready to go home already.”

Derek, Callum, and Sadie burst out laughing as Elle led them out of the office and out onto the floor, where many of their co-workers were already beginning to mingle. The office had been buzzing all afternoon, the excitement of completing one of the biggest projects that company had ever handled had everyone ready to celebrate, and from what Elle had seen, it would be one hell of a party.

Thanks to Lydia, crates of champagne and tables of food had been delivered, music was already blaring from the sound system Derek and Callum had spent the afternoon setting up, and two hundred people were mingling.

Lydia had her arm draped around Samuel’s arm; the sound of her laughter trickled over the crowd. Next to them, stood Lucia and Aaron, much to Elle’s surprise. Gabriel and Regina were on the other side of the room with Nick and Ivy.

“Callum!” Lydia exclaimed, leaving Samuel and rushing over to where the four of them stood. “It’s about time. We were about to come knocking, but we were afraid of what we’d . . .  um . . . interrupt?”

“Mom!” Callum’s cheeks turned bright red as several people around them laughed.

“What?” Lydia asked, but instead of giving him a chance to say anything, she turned her attention to Elle and Sadie. “Oh, my sweet girls, I had the privilege of walking through one of the houses in Alvarez Park, and I am . . . Well, I’m impressed. They are gorgeous.”

“Aw, thanks, Lydia,” Sadie whimpered, bringing her hand up to her lips as tears filled and tipped down her face. “Sorry.”

“Oh, sweetheart, don’t apologize!” Lydia chastised. “Come sit. You shouldn’t be up on your feet like this.”

Sadie threw Elle a look, but allowed Lydia to lead her across the floor to a small couch.

“You’re moms kind of pushy, Callum,” Derek said.

“Duh,” Callum scoffed, turning toward them. “I’m going grab a drink. You two want one?”

“Yes,” Derek said, but Elle bit her lip and shook her head.

“Someone has to drive us home, and preggo can’t reach the wheel anymore.”

“Then you drink, and I’ll drive,” Derek said, and when she began to protest, he held his hand up. “It’s your project, beautiful. You should be able to let loose and celebrate.”

“I thought you said we had to wait till later to do that.” Elle smirked as she walked away from them, making sure to give a little extra swing in her hips.

As the evening wore on, Elle smiled and chatted, accepted praise and said ‘thank you’ more times than she could count. The champagne flowed and the food disappeared faster than the servers could deliver.

Sadie hadn’t moved from her position on the couch, though she’d had to deal with the fawning of numerous co-workers, most of whom were women, who wanted to touch her belly. Her annoyance showed and more than once Elle expected her to snap at some poor woman.

Derek and Callum split their time between Sadie and Elle, always making a point of placing their hand on the smalls of their backs.

“You look bored out of your mind,” Samuel teased, slipping the champagne glass out of Elle’s hand and replacing it with a new one.

“Not bored,” Elle said, smiling. “A little overwhelmed. I’ve never been one for shindigs like these.”

“This is nothing,” he laughed, but before he could say anything else, the elevator dinged and someone shouted, “Lucia! Lucia, where the fuck are you!”

A deadly silence filled the room as everyone’s attention turned toward the partition that separated Greta’s desk and the rest of the floor. With dirty, greasy black hair that hung in his face, the man who screamed for Lucia looked around the room, a menacing expression on his face. Broad in the shoulders, his clothes were as filthy as his hair; each knee had large rips in them, his white T-shirt had several holes, and he had a grungy flannel shirt over it.

“Lucia!” he yelled, searching around each of them until he spotted her standing in the back of the room next to Aaron, who looked murderous as she shielded her with one arm. “Get your ass over here, slut!”

“The fuck?” Derek snarled, pushing himself off the couch next to Sadie and standing up. “Who are you?”

The man turned his glare onto Derek. “Dex, not that you need to know. I’m just here for that little bitch.”

Dex started pushing his way through the crowd, knocking Kim from accounting into Dave from legal.

“Stay away from me!” Lucia cried, gripping the back of Aaron’s shirt as she cowered away.

“You’re mine!” Dex snarled.

“The fuck she is,” Derek seethed, tackling the deranged man to the floor.

Several people screamed as they scattered away from the brawling men. Elle saw Derek throw several punches to Dex’s face and gut before the other man elbowed him in the nose and scrambled away from him, searching once more for Lucia, who’d ran down the hallway leading to Elle’s office.

“Leave her alone!” Derek yelled, grabbing the back of his shirt and slamming him against the wall.

He went to punch him again, but stopped when Sadie screamed, “Stop!”

Derek kept Dex pressed against the wall as he looked over his shoulder at Sadie, who’d managed to stand up and was cradling her belly. “Stop.”

“He hurt her,” Derek gritted through clenched teeth.

“I know, sweetie, but I’ve called the police, and they can deal with him,” Sadie said, stretching her hand out to him. “Please, don’t. You’ll only get yourself in trouble.”

Derek blew out a harsh breath as he pushed Dex down onto the floor. “Fine. The police can take out the trash.”

“The police ain’t gonna do nothing to me,” Dex muttered, shifting so that he was sitting against the wall as three security guards rushed into the room. “She ain’t turning me in. That bitch loves me.”

“No, I don’t.” Everyone turned and looked at Lucia, who was partially hiding in the entrance to the hallway. “I never did. From the moment we met, you treated me like shit, always complaining about who I talked to, what I said. Telling me I was stupid, and only good for sex.”

“You stupid, son-of-a-bitch,” Derek snarled, reaching for him, but two of the security guards pulled him back, while the third grabbed Dex by the arm and dragged him to his feet.

“Don’t waste your time on him, Der,” Lucia said, stepping out of the hallway. “He isn’t worth it.”

As the three security guards pulled Dex into the stairwell, Derek crossed the floor and pulled Lucia into his arms.

“You’re amazing, sis,” he whispered. “I’m so proud of you.”

“Thanks, brother,” she wept. “For everything.”

Eighteen

Elle sat nervously on the examination table; a thin, paper gown barely covered her breasts and a blanket draped over her legs. As most exam rooms always seemed to be, the air was cold and the sound of the clock ticking annoyed her, a constant reminder of where she was.

She looked down at her watch and sighed. “A fucking hour,” she muttered to herself. “Why does it take them a fucking hour to see me?”

“It’s office policy.” Startled, Elle threw her hand up to her chest and turned toward the door, finding Dr. Kemp standing in the doorway. “Sorry, but I did knock.”

“It’s fine,” Elle quipped, turning back around. “Do you have my blood test results?”

Dr. Kemp closed the door behind her and walked around so that she in front of Elle, sitting on the round, rolling stool that were a trademark of every doctor’s office.

“You’re pregnant,” she said. “Around five weeks, give or take.”

Elle inhaled a sharp breath and nodded, figuring as much. Her period, which she had always been able to time to the day, hadn’t shown when expected, and after three days, she took a home pregnancy test. The two pink lines showed up in less than thirty seconds, and the plus sign in the second test she took, not trusting the first one, sprang up even quicker. And now, Dr. Kemp was confirming that Elle was indeed pregnant.

“Where are Sadie, Derek, and Callum?” Dr. Kemp asked, concern lacing each word. “Do they know you’re here?”

Elle shook her head. “I didn’t want them to worry. Sadie’s been so miserable lately.”

It wasn’t a lie. At thirty-nine weeks, miserable was putting it mildly. Sadie hadn’t been able to sleep, but she was exhausted all the time. She’d taken to roaming the house at all hours of the night. Plus, she had been nauseous for days, her back hurt, her head throbbed, and she had to pee every five minutes.

“I take it this baby wasn’t planned?” Dr. Kemp asked.

“No,” Elle scoffed, which turned into a sigh. “Do you ever feel like you’re too needy?”

“Sure, who doesn’t?” she replied.

“I’ve been in love with Sadie since I was sixteen years old. She’s . . .” Elle paused, her tears threatening to fall. “We’ve been through a lot together. Our parents, ex-boyfriends. Some who weren’t very nice. I never thought I’d love anyone the way I love her. But then we met Derek and Callum, and I found myself falling for them. And I was confused because Sadie was my world, you know?”

“I do,” Dr. Kemp said, softly.

Elle placed her hand on her thigh, over the scars that had haunted her for the last eight months. “I’ve been so angry, just so fucking angry, because instead of getting to be there for Sadie when she dealing with morning sickness and holding her hair back, I was stuck in the hospital.”

“Have you told them?” Dr. Kemp asked, and when Elle shook her head, she asked, “Why not?”

“Because everything in our relationship has been about me,” Elle cried. “I fought against our relationship from the beginning, and just when I had let go of all my fears, someone tried to kill me.”

“That’s not your fault, Elle,” she said, grabbing a few tissues out of the box and handing them to her.

“No, I know.” She wiped her face clean. “But instead of being the partner they needed, I was fighting for my life, fighting for my sanity. They’ve been so patient with me, so incredibly patient.”

Dr. Kemp smiled and leaned against the counter behind her. “I’ve been practicing for almost ten years, and in all my years, I’ve never seen anyone love the way the four of you do.”

“I don’t doubt their love for me,” Elle insisted.

“Then why aren’t they here for you right now?” she asked, leaning forward.

Elle smiled. “Because Sadie’s having a baby, and I won’t take the attention off her.”

Dr. Kemp grinned and opened Elle’s file, but before she could say anything else, the phone in the examination room rang. Sighing, she reached over and pressed the number one.

“Yes?” Dr. Kemp’s eyes widened as she looked at Elle. “Okay, how far apart are they? . . . Mmhmm . . . And you’re sure her water’s broken?” Dr. Kemp laughed. “Okay, okay, I’d say that’s sure. Get her to UCSF Medical Center. I’ll meet you there as soon as I can.”

Dr. Kemp hung up the phone and looked over at Elle. “That was Derek. Sadie’s on her way to the hospital.”

Elle’s eyes flew open as she scooted off the table and limped behind the curtain to change. “Is she okay?”

“She’s hanging in there. Are you okay to drive yourself? Or do you need to wait for me?”

Elle stuck her head out of the curtain and smiled. “I’m fine. We’re having a baby today.”

Dr. Kemp grinned. “You are. I’ll be about an hour. Gotta get everything settled here. Are you going to tell them you’re pregnant?”

“Not today. Today’s about Sadie.”

Nodding, Dr. Kemp walked over to the door and gripped the door knob. “I’ll have them reschedule today’s appointment for a few weeks from now. Congratulations, Elle, on both your babies.”

“Thank you,” she whimpered, and ducked back behind the curtain. As she stripped off the paper gown, she couldn’t keep the smile off her face. Today, they’d meet their daughter.

—FA—

It took Elle almost forty-five minutes to get to the hospital, and when she did, she had trouble finding a parking space. Aggravated, she ended up using the valet service the hospital offered and rushed inside.

A little old lady, with tightly curled grey hair, was seated behind the information desk. She had a pair of bifocals perched on the tip of her nose and she was studying the daily crossword.

Elle cleared her throat, pulling her attention away from the newspaper.

“Oh, I’m sorry, dear,” the woman pratted. “I didn’t see you. How can I help you?”

“I, um, I’m looking for a patient’s room. Sadie Will . . . I mean Davis. Sadie Davis,” Elle rambled.

The woman smiled and turned her attention to the computer, pecking on the keyboard. “Oh, labor and delivery, eh? Friend or family?”

“Family,” Elle told her with a smile. “My wife, actually.”

“Oh, I see,” she mused. “And now you’re having a new baby. How sweet. She’s on the fifth floor, room five-o-six.”

“Thank you.”

Elle pushed away from the counter and rushed to the elevator. As the doors opened and she stepped on, she spotted Lydia and Samuel running into the building. Elle held the door open and waved at them, drawing their attention away from the woman behind the desk.

“Oh, sweetheart,” Lydia cheered, throwing her arms around Elle. “Isn’t this exciting?”

“It is,” she agreed with a laugh and reached around the woman to press the button for the fifth floor. “But I can’t really breathe, and I’d like to be there when my daughter is born.”

“Sorry,” Lydia muttered and took a step back.

“It’s fine,” she said, softly. “Just anxious to be with them.”

“Why aren’t you already up there?” Samuel asked, checking his watch. “Callum called almost an hour ago.”

“Um.” Elle paused. “I had a meeting.”

“New client?” Samuel asked.

“Now is not the time to discuss business,” Lydia groused, swatting her husband on the arm.

“Oh, yeah, sorry,” Samuel mumbled, but winked at Elle.

“No, it wasn’t a new client,” she told him, knowing that he’d be wondering all day. “It was personal.”

“Ah, okay.”

When Samuel, Lydia, and Elle walked into Sadie’s hospital room, they found her lying in her bed. She had on a pink hospital gown and two bands were wrapped around her stomach: one monitoring her contracts and the other the baby’s heartbeat. Derek sat on one side of the bed, and Callum was on the other, both men clutching her hands and chanting, “Breathe, breathe, breathe.”

“Stop!” Sadie grimaced and laid back against the mattress, and turning her attention to the door. “Elle, you’re finally here!”

“I’m so sorry,” Elle fretted as she hobbled over and sat on the side of Sadie’s bed, leaning her cane between her knees. “Are you okay? Is the pain bad?”

“Eh, it’s all right,” she lied.

“How were your errands?” Callum asked, leaning across the bed and kissing Elle’s cheek. “Did you get everything taken care of?”

Elle nodded. “I did.”

Before she could say anything more, the door to the room opened once more and they looked back to see Dr. Kemp enter.

“Hello, Moms and Dads,” she greeted, smiling as she looked from each one of them, stopping on Sadie. “So, I hear today is your daughter’s birthday.”

“It would seem so.” Sadie cried out as her back arched off the bed. “Fuck, these are really starting to hurt, Doc.”

“Let’s do a quick exam and see how far a long you are, and then we can talk about an epidural,” Dr. Kemp suggested.

“How about we do more than talk?” Sadie snarled, falling back against the bed. “My vagina feels like it’s being ripped apart.”

“And that’s my cue to leave,” Samuel muttered, grabbing Lydia’s hand and dragging his wife out of the room.

“Men,” Dr. Kemp snorted, shifting her eyes to Derek and Callum. “No offense.”

“Offense taken,” they said together, but Elle could tell that neither of them were actually offended.

“Oh, fuck, fuck, fuck,” Sadie cried, her entire body tensing as another contraction struck her. “I need drugs!”

Dr. Kemp didn’t say anything as she put on a pair of latex gloves and sat on the bottom of Sadie’s bed. She gently pushed her legs apart and slipped her hand beneath the blanket.

“Get your fucking hand out of me!” Sadie wailed.

“Wow, you’re, um, you’re ready to push,” Dr. Kemp stated, standing up and pressing the nurses’ call button. “There’s no time for an epidural.”

“What? No, I just started laboring, for fuck sake,” Sadie snarled. “I need an epidural.”

“May I help you?” a nurse’s voice trickled out of the plastic speaker on the bed railing.

“Mrs. Davis is ready to push,” Dr. Kemp said as she began to break down the bottom of Sadie’s bed.

“Yes, Doctor,” the nurse stated.

“No, no, I’m not!” Sadie wailed, her eyes widening as Dr. Kemp began to hook the stir-ups to the bed. “I’m not ready.”

Dr. Kemp sighed and placed her hands on Sadie’s feet. “Ready or not, your daughter is about to be born. You have three amazing people ready to get you through this. Let them.”

Sadie began to weep, so Elle tossed her cane across the room and looked at Derek. “Help me up on the bed.”

“Huh?” he asked, but swept her off her feet anyway.

“I’m going to sit behind her. I can prop her up, while you and Callum hold her hands. Together, we’re going to help her have our daughter,” Elle explained.

Derek kissed the side of her head before helping her get settled behind Sadie, who flopped against her in hysterics. She screamed as another contraction rocketed through her, grabbing Derek’s hand.

“It’s okay, lover,” Elle murmured, brushing her hair out of her face. “We’ve got you.”

Two nurses rushed into the room and started pulling sterile gowns and drapes out. While Dr. Kemp put on one of the gowns and new gloves, the nurses covered Sadie’s stomach in the drapes.

“Okay, Sadie,” Dr. Kemp said, sitting on the small, rolling stool. “With the next contraction, I want you to push.”

“I . . . I’ll try,” Sadie whimpered, tightening her hold on Derek and Callum’s hands. “Shit, shit, shit, here it comes!”

“That’s it,” Dr. Kemp said, calmly ignoring the four letter words spewing out of Sadie’s mouth. “Oh, she’s in a hurry. She’s coming, don’t stop pushing.”

“This is insane,” Sadie growled, panting as she tried to catch her breath. “Labor is supposed to take hours!”

“Not always,” Dr. Kemp told her. “Stop pushing.”

“Stop? I can’t stop,” Sadie snarled. “It burns.”

“I know, I need to get her shoulders out.”

“Shoulders?” Derek asked. “Her head is out?”

Dr. Kemp laughed. “Yep. Do you want to look?”

“No!” Derek cringed.

“Callum?” Dr. Kemp asked.

“I’m good, thanks,” he replied dryly.

Laughing again, Dr. Kemp looked back at Sadie. “One more big push, Sadie.”

“Okay,” Sadie wept, lurching forward. “Arggghh.”

“That’s it,” Dr. Kemp cooed. “Who’s cutting the cord?”

“You’re the doctor,” Callum quipped.

“You do it,” Derek added.

Dr. Kemp clamped the baby’s cord before snipping it. She swept her finger inside the baby’s mouth, and a moment later, the sound of their daughter crying filled the air.

“Meet your daughter,” Dr. Kemp said as she laid the baby on Sadie’s chest.

“Oh, my God,” Sadie cried, holding her tight. Elle immediately wrapped her arms around both of them, unable to keep her tears from falling. “She’s beautiful.”

“Like you,” Callum said, placing one hand over Elle’s. “I’m so proud of you, sweetheart.”