Lexi, Baby (15 page)

Just then, the nurse rolled me away down the
hall, up the elevator and straight into the ultrasound room..

I stared hard at the monitor.

“Well, there’s no IUD and I’d say you’re
about five weeks pregnant,” the nurse said.

What a relief. For once, something went
right. And five weeks! What a coincidence.

“Thank you for everything,” I told the nurse
and smiled at her.

Now all I had to do was figure out how to
tell Landyn. And when.

“Mama, can we get something to eat? I’m
hungry!” Layla yelled as soon as Lan finished buckling me up. I
turned to face Lan who was standing in my door. “Is it okay if we
pick something up?” He reached out to grab my hand and placed a
kiss on my palm.

“Yes, baby. Layla, what do you feel like
eating?” he asked.

“Chicken nuggets!”

“Done.”

As we pulled away I stared unseeingly out
the window. I was deep in thought.

I’m pregnant. Another baby. Landyn’s baby.
Layla was going to be a big sister. Am I excited? Yes, I was very
excited, but nervous. When should I tell Landyn? How should I tell
him? What if I get sick like I did with Layla? That would be
horrible! What if it doesn’t work out between us again? Maybe I
should give this more time before I spill. But I don’t have much
time because now I’m moving in with him! Would he think I got
pregnant on purpose? No. He said he wanted more babies, but was he
ready now?

“I’ve never been to your place before,” I
said out loud as soon as the thought came to me. “You talk about
your place all the time, but I can’t believe I decided to move in
with you without ever having seen it.”

I must trust him more than I realized.

“You’ll love it, baby. At least I hope you
will. Layla has a huge bedroom and ours faces the lake.” He smiled,
but I saw the concern he hid. “It sounds wonderful, Lan. I’m
excited.”

I really was.

When we pulled up to the house I assumed was
his, my heart started racing. It wasn’t a mansion, but it was still
a huge ass house on the lake. “This is so cool!” Layla shouted from
the back. “Is this where we live now?”

“This is home now,” Landyn answered.

“This is all yours?” I asked uncertain. I
couldn’t believe we were about to live here. “No, it’s ours Lexi,”
he warned.

“But... But... it’s huge. You’ve lived here
all by yourself?” My eyes instantly narrowed on him when I asked
that question. I didn’t want to think of him living with anyone
else in a house we were about to share.

He grinned at me and then got out of the
truck. He ignored my question. I watched as he lifted Layla out the
back and she took off like a rocket. Then Lan came around my side
and opened the door.

His hands went to my knees. He pulled me to
the edge of the seat and opened my legs for him to snuggle between.
He kissed me soft and quick. “Yes, baby. I’ve lived here all by
myself. I’ve never had another woman in the bed you’ll be sleeping
in,” he whispered against my lips. “The only other women that have
been here are my mom and the maid, and she’s married with five
kids.” He paused. “But it’s nice to know you’re just as jealous as
I am.”

Whatever.

“How can you afford this? Wait, that was
rude, you don’t have to tell me.”

Now his eyes narrowed. “Lexi, we’re getting
married. What’s mine is yours. When I joined the Marines all I did
was save money. It’s a long story, but I’ve made some lucky
investments and the bar does well on its own.”

“Oh,” I said quietly.

“Let’s get you inside baby. You need to rest
and I’m sure Layla can’t wait to run around and break things.”

I laughed at that. “You make it sound like a
good thing,” I told him.

“She can do whatever she wants as long as
she’s always around and always happy.”

Ugh! He was so sweet. “Please don’t make me
cry. I’m sick of crying.”

Just then Layla ran up. “Daddy, there’s a
water fountain!” she yelled. Like Landyn didn’t know he had one.
“Can I throw a penny in it for good luck? I don’t have a penny, but
can you give me a penny? Is there a pool?” She was so excited.

“Here’s a penny,” Lan reached in and pulled
one out of his pocket. “And yes, there is a pool. Let’s go inside
so I can show you around, then I’ll take you swimming.”

“Yay!”

The house was even bigger inside. The style
was rustic and manly. The kitchen was gigantic. There was a
breakfast room, dining room, living room, family room, game
room/theater room, three spare bedrooms, Layla’s room, the master
and three and a half baths. Layla said “wow or cool” at every
turn.

“Is this mine?” Layla asked fascinated, her
eyes wide, taking everything in. “It is, go check it out,” Landyn
answered. Her room was amazing.

“When did you do all this?” I asked in
astonishment. It was painted pink and white. It had a huge mermaid
mural on one wall. There were dolls, games, stuffed animals and
balls scattered throughout the room. There was an easel and a table
covered in tea cups and saucers in the corner. There was a near
life-size rug of Ariel covering the floor.

The closet was filled with clothes and
shoes. None of this stuff was even from my apartment.

The waterworks started coming.
Again!
“Don’t Lexi.” Landyn took me in his arms. “Don’t cry. The moment I
saw Layla’s face I had this done.”

I shook my head. “I always knew you’d be a
good dad. I knew you’d love her. I can’t believe I was so selfish.
I’m so sorry,” I whispered because I didn’t want Layla to hear.

“Baby, don’t do this. Maybe we should move
on to the master bedroom. I guarantee you will be very
disappointed.” That was funny and a giggle slipped from my lips. “I
highly doubt that.”

“Daddy, this is so cool! Thank you!” Layla
yelled and took a running leap into Lan’s arms. “I’m glad you like
it precious. You can stay in here and play while I show your mom
our room if you want.”

She wiggled down from Landyn. “Okay!” she
shouted and ran off.

The master bedroom was nice, but Landyn was
right. It was too masculine and plain for my taste, but the balcony
and scenery made up for it. There was an incredible view of the
lake and the pool in the backyard. It was peaceful.

“I love it here.” I leaned against the edge.
Landyn’s arms surrounded me and he placed a kiss to my cheek. “You
can do whatever you want in this room to make it ours. Actually,
you can change whatever you want in the house, it’s yours. We’ll
get you set up on my account tomorrow so you can buy what you want.
Just please stay away from anything pink or purple. Or flowers,” he
pleaded.

He was perfect. It touched me that he was
treating me like we were already married.

“Why me Lan? You could have anyone else. I’m
nothing special,” I whispered. His arms convulsed around me.

“Don’t start with that shit, Lexi. You’re
more than special to me and you know it. I’ve always loved you.
We’re starting over.”

“I know, I’m sorry. This is all a little
overwhelming. I love you too.” I angled my head up to kiss him.

“Let’s go inside. I want you now.” Landyn
said harshly.

“But Layla...”

“We’ll be quick. After everything that’s
happened, I need to feel you around me. I need to feel that your
mine. Are you hurting too much?” His hand lifted to caress my
bruise.

No I wasn’t hurting. I was on fire. I loved
every time he spoke like that. I whipped around and headed straight
to the bed. Fortunately, I was wearing the sweat pants and an
oversized t-shirt that Trish had brought to the hospital for me.
They were easy to remove.

“I’m not sure I’ll be able to hear Layla if
she needs me,” I said while continuing to undress.

“I locked the door behind me, but I’ll be
quick. There’s a baby monitor over there that I can turn on low.”
He walked over to it and started pressing buttons. I stood naked
and stared at him.

When he turned around he caught me. “What’s
wrong?” he asked.

I shook my head. “Nothing. I just can’t
believe you bought a baby monitor.” He constantly surprised me.

“I saw it in the baby department. I know
Layla’s not a baby, but it felt like the logical thing to buy. I
know her room is next door to ours, but the rooms are big. It seems
like an invasion of privacy I guess, but I just wanted to be able
to hear that she was okay.”

I smiled at him. “Well, since she’s only
five I’m not sure how much privacy she needs. But it was really
sweet of you to buy it; very thoughtful.” He stalked back toward
me, discarding his clothes as he went.

He was ready. His rock hard erection was
more than ready. I was more than ready. I climbed on the bed and
fell to my back. He climbed on top.

I could vaguely hear Layla singing in the
background.

I looked to my tattoo on his side and I
slowly traced over them with my fingertips.

So damn sexy.

The moment I met Landyn’s eyes he entered
me, completely. There was no foreplay, no hesitation, not that I
needed it.

“I knew you’d be ready for me,” he whispered
in my ear. I could feel his cock throbbing. I pulled him tightly to
me and kissed him. Our tongues tangled and he began pounding into
me. “God, I love you,” he groaned against my mouth.

His movements became quicker and he took
care not to touch the bruise on my face or neck.

I bit down on his shoulder to keep from
crying out and he moaned as we came simultaneously.

“I told you that would be fast,” Landyn
breathed against my shoulder just before nipping me with his teeth.
I drew lazily on his back.

“Daddy! Mama! I think Aunt T is here!” Layla
shouted. Landyn lifted his head and gave me a quick kiss.

We hurried to get dressed.

The second I hit the bottom of the stairs
Trish threw herself at me. “Your face! I can’t believe that asshole
did this to you.” She was blubbering.

“It’s okay T,” I said while rubbing her back
for comfort.

“No, it’s not okay. Why would he do
something like this?” She took a breath, but not long enough for me
to say anything. “I’m just so glad I heard you scream or there’s no
telling what would have happened.” She slightly pulled away from
me. “Your cheek is bruised,” she hiccupped.

“It’ll be okay T. My face will heal, it’s
just sore.” I looked back at Landyn who was standing right behind
me. “Someone is supposed to call me, or Landyn, and let me know
what’s going on with Ryan. At least he won’t know where to find me
when he gets out.”

Trish quickly turned her tear streaked face
up to Landyn. Out of the blue, her eyes narrowed and her nostril
flared. “I hope you realize that this is because of you. Everything
that happened to her is because of you,” she hissed at him.

I was completely taken aback. What the hell
got into her? “Trish, stop...” I started softly, but she cut me
off.

“No, Lex. I won’t stop,” she looked back up
and spoke. Her voice was haunted. “If you wouldn’t have been such a
self-centered dickhead and fucked around on her in the first
fucking place, this never would have happened. She never would have
even met Ryan! And to top it off, when she hurt you
poor little
feelings
yesterday, what did you do? You fucked up
again
and left her alone to defend herself! She could have been
killed!
” she shouted. Her chest was heaving and she was
trying to catch her breath. I was stunned.

I looked at Landyn and his expression was
that of utter agony. His head was bent and he kept running a hand
harshly through his hair.

This was not Landyn’s fault so I told her,
“Trish, you know damn well that this isn’t his fault.” My voice was
unyielding.

Her eyes swung my way.

“He left you alone to fend for yourself
again, Lex. You guys had a fight and he left you again. I bet he
didn’t even call you before you ended up in the hospital, and now
that something tragic nearly happened to you, he’s all over trying
to make it right. Don’t you see? He’ll leave you again when things
get rough and I don’t want to see you hurt anymore.”

In more ways than one I knew she was right.
But it didn’t feel right.

My head was pounding and I couldn’t think
straight. I didn’t know if it was my feelings, the baby or both
that were making me queasy, but there was no doubt I was going to
throw up. With a glance at Lan, my hand flew to my mouth and I
muttered “excuse me” right before running to the closest
bathroom.

Once I finished puking up everything in my
stomach I sprawled out on the bathroom floor. I didn’t care if it
was dirty or not. I felt miserable.

I was going to assume Landyn would take care
of Layla while I was out of commission for a bit, and Trish was a
big girl; she could take care of herself.

That much was obvious
.

I got up on my knees slowly and turned on
the water to take a nice hot bath. I needed to relax.

Ugh!
I can’t take a hot bath
because of the baby.

Whatever, warm bath it is.

I checked the closet and found what looked
like very expensive towels. I pulled out what I needed. As I
started to undress there was a knock at the door.

“Baby, are you okay in there?” Lan asked. I
didn’t want to answer, but I knew if I didn’t he might come in here
and I needed to be alone.

“I’m fine. I’m just going to take a quick
bath.” Wow, even I could hear the lie in my own voice so I knew he
would too. He didn’t respond. I got in the water and put a rolled
up towel behind my neck.

Eventually I passed out.

I woke feeling weightless and cold. I was
shivering. I opened my eyes and saw that I was in Landyn’s
arms.