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Jeff:
Never mind dude. These girls have weird mind powers. Ells
just texted Ari and told her what’s going on. Why the fuck would
Heather sleep with that douche bag?

Josh:
Gunner, I tried 2 call u. Is Heather ok?

Josh:
Never mind, Talked 2 Jeff & Ari. I’ll call u 2morrow,
dude. Taking Lynda home.

Holy hell, our circle of
friends is a crazy bunch.
I looked up to
see my girl walking toward the truck. She jumped in, leaned over,
and kissed the shit out of me.

“What was that for?” I asked, nearly
breathless.

“That was for booking a room at The Driskill
Hotel, for loving me, for never giving up on me when I was so
stupid, and for being patient with this whole baby thing.”

“I love you, sweetheart. Now, what the hell
is going on with Heather?”

Ellie sat back in her seat and sighed. “Fuck
a duck. Where do I begin?”

CHAPTER
FORTY-FIVE

ELLIE

By the time we pulled up to
The Driskill Hotel, I was emotionally exhausted. This had been such
a crazy night. Earlier at the club, I corned Ari in the bathroom,
and I’d told her I wouldn’t let her leave until she explained what
was going on. I was overjoyed when she told me she was pregnant.
I’d truly felt happy for her and Jeff, but at the same time, my
heart had broken in two.
Why am I not
getting pregnant?
I’d already made an
appointment with Dr Wyatt, Ari’s doctor, and was planning on
talking to him about it.

Maybe everyone was right. I
just needed to push this from my head and not worry about
it.
If it’s meant to be, it’s meant to be.
But what if I’ll never be a mother?
Maybe
God thought I would make a terrible mother since I had no example
of a real mom growing up.

I felt the tears building in
my eyes.
No, I’m not going to go
there
. I looked over at Gunner as he parked
the truck in front of the valet. He jumped out and gave his normal
this-is-my-girl speech to the poor kid who just kept looking at the
truck and me.

Wait for it...

“Sir, you’re talking about the truck,
right?”

Gunner looked over at me and winked.
“Both.”

***

When we got up to the room, Gunner opened the
door, and lifted me up and carried me in. Then, he oh so gently
laid me down on the bed. He leaned down and softly kissed my lips.
Before he pulled away, he grabbed my lower lip with his teeth and
let out a moan.

“I’m going to go run you a hot bath,
Baby.”

I smiled as the thoughts started running
through my head. I would never get tired of making love to Gunner
in a bed, on the floor, in a bathtub, on a beach. I let out a sigh.
Each and every time, he’d made me feel so special.

My smile grew as I thought about the last
time we were in this hotel and how he made me feel on our wedding
night.

“I hope you’re smiling because you’re
thinking of me,” Gunner said in a low Southern drawl.

I felt my body reacting to his voice
instantly.

“Yes sir, it most certainly is.”

I sat up and pulled my knees to my chest.
Just the sight of him standing in the doorway with nothing but a
towel wrapped around his waist was enough to drive me insane.

I lifted my eyebrows at him
as he gave me that damn panty-melting smile of his. His dimple
still gives me butterflies in my stomach.
I love him so much.

“Drew…”

“Yeah, baby?”

“I’m gonna need you to take that towel
off.”

Gunner let out a small laugh and raised his
eyebrows up at me. “Is that so? What are your intentions once I
remove the towel, Mrs. Mathews?”

God, I can’t believe how
much I want him.
I was about to explode.
I’d never imagined that loving and wanting someone so much could be
this magical and special.

“That, Mr. Mathews, is something for me to
know and you to find out,” I said with a wink.

Gunner had been playing with Matthew the
other day, every time Gunner had asked Matt a question, every
response matt had given was, “That’s for me to know and you to find
out, Gunner.” Gunner absolutely adored Matt and laughed every time
Matt had said it to him.

Gunner threw his head back
and laughed. Then, he slowly walked over to me. He reached out his
hand, and I took it as he helped me stand up. My heart was beating
a mile a minute and I felt like I could hardly breathe. He reached
over to the iPod deck next to the bed and hit play. When I looked
down, I saw his iPod in the deck.
When did
he put that in there?

Faith Hill’s “It Will Be Me” started to play,
and I looked back up and smiled at him. My true romancer.

“Dance with me, baby,” he said.

“Always.”

As Gunner took me into his arms, he started
to sing along with Faith. It felt like my knees were going to give
out, and I could feel his arms tighten around me. I loved this man
so much that it hurt my heart in such a good way. I closed my eyes
and just listened to his sweet voice sing to me as he moved against
my body so closely. We didn’t even have to be making love for it to
feel like we were one.

After the song was over, I didn’t even pay
attention to what song came on next as Gunner started to lift my
shirt over my head. I’d had no idea that he’d planned on staying
here, so I was secretly thanking my lucky stars that I’d worn my
new beige-and-black lace bra and panties that Ari and I had bought
yesterday while shopping for her wedding dress.

He slowly started to take off my shorts,
moving them down my body. As he bent over he placed soft kisses
along my stomach, then from one hip to the other, and then on my
upper thigh. My whole body trembled with his touch.

He stood up, and his eyes traveled up and
down my body. Every time he looked at me, it was like he was seeing
me for the first time. The passion in his eyes caused me to tremble
again.

“God, Ells, you’re perfect. You’re so
beautiful and so perfect. I love the way your body reacts to my
touch. I could stand here, staring at you for hours, and still
never get enough of you.”

Oh my..

He took my hand, leading me into the
bathroom.

“Your bath is getting cold.”

Gunner led me into the bathroom and turned me
around so that I was facing the mirror. He stood behind me while he
unclasped my bra and slowly took it off. He placed kisses all over
my back while I watched him in the mirror. Then, his hands moved
down my body to remove my panties.

I already felt so close to
having an orgasm.
How does he make me feel
this way when he’s hardly touched me? I
closed my eyes as he moved his hands softly back up my body.
Then, I felt his body pressed up against mine, and my eyes flew
open. My blue eyes captured his in the mirror. We just stared at
one another.

“I love you, Ellie, more than life
itself.”

“I love you, too, Drew, more than you’ll ever
know.”

He turned me around and kissed me with so
much passion that every ounce of doubt and worry about a baby just
melted away. It was just him and me…together. All we needed was
each other, and if we were blessed to have a baby someday, it would
just be a bonus.

As Gunner led me over to the bath-tub, he got
in first, and then I followed. Just lying there, with my body up
against his in the hot water, was the most relaxed I’d been in
months.

The way he stroked his hands
all over my body just about had me begging him for relief. He
slowly moved his hand down between my legs.
Holy hell,
His finger tips were like
magic. Then, he spread open my legs even more as his fingers
entered by body. I threw my head back against his chest and let
myself go.

I finally came back down from one of the most
intense orgasms ever.

Gunner whispered in my ear,

“I’m going to make love to you now,
Ellie.”

“Okay.”
Jesus.
After that one word came out
of my mouth, I wanted to die, but it was the only word my brain
could think to say.

Gunner helped me out of the bathtub. While he
dried me off, he continued laying kisses all over my body. He
picked me up and carried me to the bed where we spent one of the
most amazing nights of my life making love to each other. I wasn’t
sure how he was able to do it, but he gave me two more orgasms. He
made love to me so slowly and so beautifully that I found myself
praying to God that this night would never end.

***

I woke up to the sun shining
on my face. I grabbed a pillow and pulled it over my head.
No!
I just wanted to
sleep in for once. I moaned as I rolled over and reached out for
Gunner.

Nothing.

I sat up and looked around as I called out
his name. I saw his clothes were gone, so he must have gotten up
earlier. I stretched out and could feel every muscle I had used
last night. I smiled at how I was a little bit sore. I’d never been
on top as much as I was last night…or when Gunner woke me up at 4
a.m for another round.

Just then, I heard a key slide to unlock the
door. I pulled up the covers over my chest as I watched the door
open.

Gunner walked in, and he smiled as soon as he
saw me. “Good morning, baby. How did you sleep?”

Sitting up straight, I purposely let the
covers fall away from my chest. The look on his face caused me to
let out a small laugh.

“I slept very well, thank you. Better than I
have in ages!”

“Good. You’re gonna need your energy for
today.”

When I raised my eyebrows at him, he
laughed.

“Not for that, but I’m more than ready if you
want to skip this yummy breakfast I just brought you.”

Laughing I reached over and grabbed my shirt,
and I slipped it over my head. Gunner sat down next to me and
pulled out a bowl full of fresh fruit, a strawberry-banana yogurt,
and an orange juice. This was my favorite breakfast as of late.

***

I was shocked at how fast I ate everything. I
must have been starving.

“So, what’s the plan for today? I see you
thought this through” I nodded my head toward the overnight bag
he’d brought in and set down on the chair.

“I thought a trip out to Enchanted Rock
sounded like fun. Are you up for some hiking and climbing today,
babe?”

“Yes! Oh my gosh, I love Enchanted Rock.” I
reached over and gave him a hug.

“I already called Jeff and Ari, and they’re
down for it as well. At first, I thought it would just be you and
me, but since that bastard brother of yours stole my idea, and
they’re here as well, it might be fun having them go with us.”

“Sounds perfect. One thing though, can I ask
Heather if she’d like to come? I feel so bad for her, Gunner. She’s
been through so much, and I’d never seen her cry so much as she did
last night. I hate that she keeps calling herself a whore. God, it
just tears me up. I knew something was wrong. I just knew it.”

“Of course, ask her. My heart hurts for her.
She deserved to have her first time with someone she truly
loved.”

“Yeah...and she doesn’t even remember it,
Gunner. That’s what makes me so sad. Then Josh came and found out
the next day. He must have been so heartbroken. Do you think things
will ever be the same between them?”

“I’m not sure, baby. He and Lynda seem to be
getting closer and closer. Although, I don’t know how he puts up
with her ass. She might be my cousin, but holy shit, she’s
demanding and treats him like shit. I never thought Josh would end
up with someone like that.”

I shook my head as I looked
at Gunner.
Shit, I’m so lucky he never
gave up on me.

Reaching down into my purse, he pulled out my
cell and handed it to me. “Call her, Ells. She needs her friends
right now. Then, get dressed. Jeff and Ari are meeting us in the
lobby in fifteen minutes.”

After ten minutes of convincing Heather that
she needed this, she finally agreed. I hung up and smiled. Being
around friends who loved her would be good for her. Hopefully, we
can take her mind off of Josh and Jerry-the-asshole.

***

When we pulled into the state park, Gunner
saw Jeff’s truck and parked next to it. Ari and Jeff were leaning
up against it, and Ari looked so happy. I smiled, knowing that she
was going to be a mom soon. June fifteenth was her due date, so it
looked like we would be spending our one-year anniversary with our
niece or nephew.

When Gunner opened the door, I jumped out of
the truck, walked up to Ari and hugged her.

Just then, I heard another
voice.
Josh?
Fuck
a duck. Are you kidding me?
I pulled away
from Ari to see Jeff slapping Josh on the back. I glanced at Gunner
to see him staring at me with a panicked look on his
face.

Turning around, I grabbed Ari and walked her
away from the group.

“What the fuck, Ells. What’s wrong?”

“Oh my god, what is Josh doing here?” I
started to look around the parking lot.

Heather would be here any minute; she was
only ten minutes behind us the last time I’d talked to her.

“Jeff invited him. Why?”

“I invited Heather to come along. She’s going
to freak!”

“Oh Jesus, Mary, and Joseph. Ellie, is she
okay? I mean, I called her last night, and she told me everything.
My heart is breaking for her. I can’t believe she had sex with
Jerry-the-fuckwad.”

“Never mind that right now. Is Lynda
here?”