Spike (32 page)

****

* EEVIE *

“Baby girl. You need to stop,” Aidan pleads.

I couldn’t stop if I tried. “I can’t, it’s too much,” I say, wiping my wet cheeks. I suck in a shaky breath as Aidan smooths my damp hair from my forehead.

“You did it,” he says shaking his head from side to side and chuckling. He holds both of my hands tight as a single tear runs down his cheek.

“Yeah. I did.”
It nearly killed me, but I did it
.

Two sets of cries echo from the corner of the small delivery room, and I know now that everything is going to be okay. Crying is good. Crying means they’re getting oxygen.

Grace, the midwife, my guardian angel over the last however-many hours, brings over two little white-clothed bundles and hands one to me. “Ten fingers, ten toes, and both have a hell of a heartbeat,” she says and winks at me. I wanna squish her damn face and smother her in endless kisses. Midwives totally rock. I’ll never forget what this remarkable woman has done.

“Grace … you.” I sigh deeply, trying to get my thoughts in some kind of rational order. “Thank you. I … I couldn’t have done this without you.”

“Yes you could’ve, honey. Anyone would think you’d done this before. You’re stronger than you think.”

Grace hands the other bundle to Aidan, and he takes hold of it like it’s the most precious thing he’s ever held. Eyes wide, his body stiff, he looks terrified.

Their faces are so squishy, and they’re covered in this white stuff and blood, but they‘re without question the most beautiful babies I’ve ever seen. And they’re much tinier than I expected. Like little porcelain dolls.

“Fuckin’ unbelievable,” Aidan breathes. “They’re perfect. Absolutely fuckin’ perfect.”

“Yeah. We made these,” I mutter in disbelief. Small miracle.

“Two boys,” he says, cocky as anything, waggling his eyebrows up and down, in a ridiculous display of male bravado. I can’t help but laugh.

The little one I’m holding has fairer hair than the other, but they both have deep-blue eyes. I know they say the eyes change colour over time, but I just know they’ve been blessed with Aidan’s sparkling blues. Man, are these boys gonna be trouble. Heartbreakers.

“So, now we have our little treasures, are we ready to give them their names?” I ask. “I think this one should be Grady.” I bring his little face closer to mine, and kiss him on his forehead.

“Yeah, I think you’re right. And you, little fella,” Aidan says, kissing the bub in his arms on his tiny button nose, “you can be Josh. Joshua Aidan Stone.” Aidan grins like a crazy man. I’ve never seen him smile so bright.

Tears start to roll down my face. “Are we gonna use the other middle name we talked about?” I ask.

“Yeah.” Aidan leans over and ever so lightly sweeps his thumb over Grady’s tiny forehead. “You, little man, are Grady Ryan Stone. Welcome to the crew, guys.”

Grady’s little eyes widen, as if in recognition of his daddy’s voice. They should both know it well. For a while there, Aidan was talking more to my stomach than he was to me. Anything from fishing, to camping, and of course, motorbikes.
Always
with the bikes.

Aidan leans down and kisses me hard on the mouth. The tears just keep on coming. It’s ridiculous. The floodgates have opened, and I don’t know if they’ll ever stop.

My heart is bursting with love, for the Stone crew.

Keep reading for a sneak peek at Strike, book three of the Spark series.

Sneak peek at Strike, book three of the Spark series:

PROLOGUE

* SPENCER (
Jones
) *

My head pounds, alerting me to the fact that I’m alive. Barely. I run my hand over my bare chest to find a set of fingers clad with rings. The hand tightens, sharp nails scratching my skin as they sweep over my ribs. I shudder with the realisation that she’s still here. That was not part of the plan.

Her hand continues over to my hipbone, and curls around my side. I turn to see her face buried in the pillow beside me, a cascade of fiery red curls tangled down her back—a strong contrast to her pale skin.

I strain to lift my head off the pillow, and there he is. Ryan. On the far edge of my king-sized bed, face down, bare arse and all.

Fuck.

I’m here again. My life on repeat.

My liver screams out its hate for me, and my body aches in silent protest. And why the fuck is my arse sore?

I wriggle to release myself from her hold.

I don’t like them to stay, but Ryan and I were obviously too fucked-up to care. I must’ve passed out, because normally I deal with their exit.

I don’t do mornings. I don’t do awkward. I like simple hook-ups, and then “see ya”; No expectations, no complications.

This here looks complicated.

Walking naked across my bedroom, the floor littered with condom wrappers and clothes, I pick up a rogue black leather shoe and throw it at Ryan’s arse.

He chokes on his snore, and stirs. “Hey, what the fuck, man?” He rolls over, thankfully tugging the tangled sheets with him to shield his dick. I don’t need a vision of his giant cock in the back of my head today.

“What’s up is that you and Princess Redhead need to leave, buddy. I gotta get to work,” I whisper loudly. Working for Dad today is totally gonna blow.

Ryan swings his legs off the bed, and stretches his arms over his head. “Well, you never fail to disappoint, man. Guess I’ll catch ya next time I’m in town.”

I take a white crumpled towel that I must have left on the floor yesterday and wrap it around my hips. “That depends, mate. If you’re the reason my arse is sore, then this was the last time. Oh, and you might just get the shit kicked out of you.”

He chuckles quietly to himself. “You don’t remember?” He grabs his jeans from the floor in front of him, and slips them on.

“Remember what?” Oh no. Ryan did not go there. I’ll kill him. On instinct, my teeth grind against each other, and I breathe out heavily through my nose as I stalk towards him.

He holds up a hand. “Relax,” he says, as he juts his chin towards the redhead. “Miss Ginger Sex Fiend over there brought toys.”

“Fuck,” I gasp. I’ve seriously gotta lay off the drink.

“Now, get outta here. I’ll take care of Ginger.” Ryan winks, and runs his hands through his mussed up sandy-coloured hair.

ACKNOWLEDGMENTS

So this time around there are no tears, no ugly-crying. Well, except for the tears of joy I shed giving Aidan and Eevie the Happily Ever After they deserve.

A big thank you, to my hero/husband, Ben. Your love and support means everything to me, and I thank you for being patient, being the best father our kids could ever hope for, and as always, for being my best friend. This new venture, takes up a lot of precious time, and I’m grateful that you kick my arse from time to time, reminding me that there is a world outside of writing.

Thank you again to my critique partner, Lorraine Eljuga, for the long chats, for critiquing
Spike
, and helping me get it to this point. Your help has been invaluable in nutting out the set-up of the
Spark
series. I’ll never forget that moment in the café, where I was trying to work out how to link Ryan and Jones so they had a reason to be together in book five? Remember? I do. Boom! Menage a trois! Seriously, you have helped me more than you know, even if you think we were just shooting the breeze.

Belle Aurora, your arse-kicking has made me work harder, and made me look at
Spike
in another light. Big hugs and thanks, pumpkin pie, you inspire me to do better.

Thank you to Rebecca Berto from Berto Designs, for giving me such a beautiful cover, yet again! I may just be your biggest fan.

Thanks to Max Henry from Max Effect Author Services for formatting and design, you’ve really nailed my vision for a beautiful book, and a uniform look for the series. Love your work!

Big thanks, with lots of exclamation marks to Lauren McKellar (#LaurenMcStellar). You’re a gifted woman, and I’m blessed to have you as my editor! Thank you so much, for helping me accomplish all that I wanted to with this book. You know just how to get inside my character’s heads, and I know, without question, that my writing has improved from working with you. I look forward to working with you on the rest of the
Spark
series, and many more after that.

I’d like to make a special mention to my other betas, Leanne Hawkes, Kristine Barakat and Karen
Rohde Færgemann. Your comments and enthusiasm have made the writing of
Spike
such an enjoyable experience, and your support warms every damn cockle in my heart. I shall reward you shortly with more of Detective Ryan Clark, and you get to devour him before anyone else.

To my family and friends, bloggers, fellow authors and dedicated fans who have helped me along the way: I wouldn’t be where I am without you, so thank you for helping a girl reach her dreams.

Lastly, to you, the reader. I am deeply honoured that you chose my story to read. I hope that if you enjoyed it, you’ll tell a friend. And I’d be forever grateful if you posted a review.

Jennifer x

ABOUT THE AUTHOR

A sexy imagination, a life-long love of books, and a sucker for romance, Jennifer Ryder couldn’t stifle her creativity any longer. Writing steamy adult romance has become her new focus.

Living on a rural property in New South Wales, Australia, she enjoys the best of city and country. Her loving husband is ever willing to provide inspiration, and her two young cherubs, and sheep that don’t see fences as barriers, keep life more than interesting.

For news on my future releases, you can contact me in the following ways. I’d love to hear from you!

Twitter: @jenniferryder01

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