Right Side Up ((MMG Novella)) (13 page)

By the time the show was over, Max was sober enough to take care of Mac while I helped clean up inside. Sarah found me in the kitchen and said Amelia was cranky, so Ibby and Sally were heading home and she was going to catch a ride with them. I gave her a hug and told her we’d be home shortly.

Thirty minutes later, I heard shouting and stuck my head out the door to see what was wrong. Max was shouting on the phone at someone and Cas was pacing circles in front of him.
What in the world?
The second Max ended the call, he started for me. I met him halfway and he pulled me into a hug. “The girls have been in an accident. I need you to drive me to the site.”
Oh no!
Without any questions, I bolted inside to get my purse and diaper bag.”

“I’ve got Mac,” my dad said. Max and I both froze. My dad having our son was one thing. My dad and Nexi having our son was a completely different ball game and, by the look on my husband’s face, it was one he was not thrilled to play.

“Kurt and I can take him, Sam. You enjoy the rest of your date,” Joss said. I wanted to kiss her.

“Thanks Joss,” Max said.

Ignoring the disappointed look on my father’s face, I handed Joss the diaper bag and kissed my son on his forehead. “Be good for Auntie Joss,” I whispered, and took off after Max.

When I got to the truck, Cas and Max were shouting at each other.

“What the hell is up with you and my sister?” Max yelled.

I cut in before Cas could answer. “We don’t have time for this right now, boys. Let’s make sure everyone’s okay before dealing with anything else.”

We all jumped in the truck and sped off. No one said a work the whole way there. Max and Cas bolted from the truck as soon as we reached a line of stopped cars. Up ahead the road was illuminated by flashing lights from several police cars and emergency vehicles. Not sure what else to do, I decided to wait until they came back with news.

A few minutes later, the police started waving us over. I watched three ambulances pass by and said a silent prayer.
Please let Sarah be okay.

Out of nowhere, Cas reappeared. He hopped in the front and told me Sarah was unconscious, Max was in an ambulance with her on the way to the hospital and we were to follow them. The whole way there, he silently stared out the window.

“Cas?”

“Don’t Ellie…just…don’t,” he replied.

I had barely parked the truck, before he was out and running for the emergency room doors. Caswell Ashford apparently had some serious feelings for Sarah, so why was he acting as if he didn’t? I shook my head and sighed.

Max was waiting inside with Isabella’s uncle Charlie, Adam, Bobby and Tut. I assumed since Dillon wasn’t there, he was back with Ibby. Max folded me into his arms and said, “She came to in the ambulance. The doctors think her hand is broken and she has a concussion. They have to do tests to confirm.”

“What about Ibby, Sally and the baby?” I asked.

“The baby is fine, but we haven’t heard anything about Ibby or Sally yet,” he answered.

“Is Sarah okay?” Cas interrupted.

“Are you going to tell me what’s going on with you two?” Max growled.

“We are friends,” Cas quickly replied.

“Is that it?”

“It’s all it can be,” Cas stated.

Max stared at him for a minute before answering. “The doctor is looking at her right now. It doesn’t appear to be too serious, but we’ll know more in a little while. I need to get back to her,” he said to me. “Will you be okay out here?”

“Go, I’ll be fine,” I told him.

Three hours later, Max was back with news. The doctors confirmed a mild concussion and few broken bones in Sarah’s hand. She was going to be all right. Max spent some time talking with Cas, Bobby, Tut and Officer Galvez, before making his way back over to me. He wrapped his arms around me and I snuggled in. As always, he made me feel so safe and protected.

“What did Officer Galvez say?”

He gave me a squeeze and sighed. “Dana Harkins tried to run Isabella off the road tonight. We’re not sure Dana knew it was Isabella and not Dillon, as she was driving Dillon’s jeep.”

My eyes snapped to his and I gasped. “Please tell me you’re kidding?”

He shook his head and continued, “Dana apparently ran off the road and into the gully below. She didn’t survive the crash.”

Holy hell, Dana Harkins was dead.

Joss

‡

“C
an you believe
all the craziness in our lives? First, there was the kidnapping and now Dillon’s attack. I’m afraid to find out what’s next!” Ellie said.

We were having a much needed lunch with Piper at Rooster’s, one of our favorite spots to eat in South Charlotte. I enviously watched Ellie take a gulp of her Bloody Mary. What I wouldn’t do for a Bloody Mary or even a glass of red wine right now.

Piper nodded her head in agreement. “I feel like I haven’t talked to you both in ages. Joss, how’s the pregnancy? Any more morning sickness? Gage and I are never having children, by the way. I hate to puke. I’d rather snot for a year than to throw up.”

The morning sickness had been brutal for the first three months of my pregnancy. The moment I hit the twelve week mark, the sickness magically disappeared and my appetite kicked back in. When the spotting finally stopped, the doctor signed off on resuming regular activities. In non-medical terms, I could stop lying around like a slug and my husband and I could screw like bunnies, something we’d both been taking full advantage of lately.

“Well…I wanted to have lunch with you today because I wanted to come clean about a bunch of shit that happened in my first trimester,” I confessed. Between sips of my raspberry tea, I told them about the day Dr. Cooper put me on bed rest. Then I explained how I’d had spotting and mini contractions off and on until my tenth week.

“Oh honey, you must have been scared out of your mind,” Ellie said.

“Why didn’t you tell us?” Piper asked.

“Honestly? Because I thought I was going to lose it. Plus, you two were going through your own shit.” Piper glanced over at Ellie and I glared at them both. “What? I’m pregnant, not blind.” Ellie flinched at my words. “Seriously, you don’t think I noticed you and Max barely speaking to each other and then screaming it out in my driveway? Or the way Gage won’t let you go anywhere without an escort?” I directed at Piper. I’ve not been the only one keeping secrets,
ladies
,” I scoffed.

Ellie let out a deep sigh. “Don’t be mad, but Kurt confided to Max about your pregnancy a while back. He was worried sick you might lose the baby.” Piper had a guilty expression on her face.
Gee, not obvious or anything
. I gave them both an eye roll.

“Let me guess, you told Piper?”

“Well…I was worried about you,” Ellie admitted.

I rubbed my hands over my baby bump. “The spotting and cramping stopped about a month ago. The doctor is confident I will deliver a healthy baby. Now, enough about me, it’s your turn to spill…and I mean all of it,” I ordered.

Piper started talking about Gage’s overprotectiveness and how, since the bachelorette party debacle, everything was a million times better. Ellie had us in tears with laughter as she told about Project Win-Max-Back. According to both of them, their relationships were back on track and better than ever. When the conversation circled back around to me, I changed the subject to Piper’s wedding plans, which we discussed for the remainder of the lunch.

*     *     *

Two days later

“Enjoy it like
this while you can, because pretty soon I’m going to be too big for you to take me this way,” I playfully said.

My sexy-as-hell husband stood at the foot of the bed with a wolfish smile on his face. Ever since my libido had reappeared, Kurt had been extra adventurous. This morning he decided to tie my wrists to the headboard. Little did he know, all I had to do was yank and twist and I would be free. I didn’t want to be free, though. I loved the look of lust in my man’s eyes when we played like this. I loved knowing I was the only one he wanted.

“Don’t you worry your face my little pixie, when the time comes, I will find a million other ways to take you. In the meantime, I want to look into your beautiful eyes as I plunge into the depths of your warm, wet cave.”

“That was a ten,” I giggled.

Kurt and I moved in together the summer before my sophomore year in college. That’s when he discovered my Romance novel addiction. At first he made fun of me. However, one night, after listening to him blather on and on about how I liked my books more than him, I decided to read him a sexy-hot scene from one. On a scale of one to ten, he gave it a six. From that point forward, he made it his mission to think up horribly cheesy romantic lines and deliver them before, during or after sex.

“It was a good one, wasn’t it?” His eyes glittered with amusement, as he balanced on his knees at the end of the bed.

“The best,” I agreed.

Like a jungle cat, he dropped to all fours and crawled up my body. As he lowered his mouth to mine, I shivered. He teased me with a gentle kiss, before crooning, “I really love your peaches, want to shake your tree…”

“Stop, or I’m going to pee the bed,” I laughed.

Using the tips of his fingers, he lightly traced up my arms and over my shoulders to my painfully erect nipples. My humor instantly turned to hunger. “These,” he said, circling his fingers around my breasts, “are amazing.” As he continued his path across my rib cage, he stopped on my stomach and lifted his eyes to mine. “I love you. I love knowing this is part mine. Call me a possessive Neanderthal, but knowing I put this baby inside you makes me want to beat my chest and howl at the moon. He brushed his fingers down my stomach and gently slid them between my legs. “This is also mine,” he stated in a matter-of-fact tone. A burst of pleasure streaked up my spine, causing me to buck against my binds. I let out a loud gasp as it rocketed through me. “You like that?” he quietly asked. From his muscular chest and hard abs down to his heavy arousal, my husband was an absolute feast to look at.

In anticipation, I half-moaned, half-hissed, “Yes.”

While working his magical fingers between my legs, he wrapped his other hand around his arousal. With a squeeze and a tug, he jacked it from root to tip
. Holy Hotness.
The erotic image of my husband giving himself pleasure was beyond my wildest fantasies. The house could be on fire and I would Let…It…Burn. Nothing could make me tear my gaze from the scene unfolding in front of me. As he picked up the pace, I panted in frustration. His growl of pleasure hit me right between my legs. I wanted more and I wanted it now. The man was going to kill me with lust. Suddenly, it was too much.

“Gahhhh, either put it in me or get off,” I bit out.

With an amused smirk on his face, he dropped between my legs, buried himself balls deep and triggered the mother of all orgasms. Seconds later, he was coming with me.

“Damn!” Kurt panted.

“That was epic,” I said, trying to catch my breath.

“I am epic,” he reiterated.

“And modest,” I added.

“That too,” he agreed, and we both started laughing.

“What time did Ellie say to be at MMG?” I asked. Tonight was MMG’s first annual Fourth of July party and we were responsible for bringing the booze.

Kurt lifted up onto his elbow. “Five or so. Let’s grab lunch and go for a drive. We’ll come home, change and grab the alcohol before we go.”

“Sounds great.”

I laughed when he jumped from the bed and bounded to the bathroom. “I’ll start the shower!” he shouted.

I lay there for a second and reflected on how lucky I was to have him in my life. He and this baby were by far the best things that had ever happened to me. “I will never take you for granted,” I whispered, running my hands over my belly.

“Josselyn, you coming?” Kurt yelled from the bathroom.

With a happy heart, I got up to join him.

*     *     *