Total pages in book: 79
Estimated words: 80074 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 400(@200wpm)___ 320(@250wpm)___ 267(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 80074 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 400(@200wpm)___ 320(@250wpm)___ 267(@300wpm)
“I love you, Rudolph. I love you in a way I didn’t know you could love anyone. I love you for the bully you are, the stubborn pain in my ass, the controllin’ alpha who drives me insane. I love you for your kind heart, your contagious laugh, the way you love Bailey since the moment you knew I was pregnant. I love you for never thinkin’ she wasn’t yours, I wasn’t yours. For fightin’ for me, for her, for our family. I love you for all the times you made me cry, and all the times you wiped away my tears. I love you for puttin’ up with me all these years. I’m sorry for hurtin’ you, blamin’ you, makin’ you feel like I didn’t love you when I never stopped. I couldn’t, I wouldn’t... I belong to you, Jackson Pierce. Mind, body, and soul. We aren’t a lie. I’m your wife. You’re my husband. Bailey is our daughter. You’re her father. You’ve always been her daddy.”
In true Jackson form, he shocked the shit out of me when he asked, “Harley Josie Pierce, will you marry me? Again.”
<>Jackson<>
The nights.
The days.
The months.
The years.
They all tethered into one to bring us to this moment.
Together.
Forever.
At last.
Even with the bruise and cut on her face, she was still the most beautiful thing I’d ever seen. I reached up and placed a strand of hair behind her ear, kissing the scrape on her forehead.
Slowly, I leaned forward, never breaking our intense stare. Every fiber of my being raged to touch her, but my heart was in my throat. My pulse quickened, waiting for her to reply.
She licked her lips, and our eyes never wavered from one another as she reached over to touch my heart that I swear was beating a mile a minute.
“On one condition.”
“Anything.”
“You’ll read the results of the test.”
Wanting to give her everything she ever wanted, I didn’t falter in responding, “Only if you’re there with me.”
“Always. No matter the results. I will stand by you, even if it means I hold you in my arms till you take your last breath. ’Cuz that’s what love is, in sickness and in health I’ll be by your side.”
My mouth collided with hers. Her lips parted against mine. I brought her closer to me, but not nearly close enough. Slippin’ my tongue into her waiting mouth, I wanted no space or distance between us.
Savoring every last touch.
Every last push and pull.
Every last movement of her tongue in sync with mine.
She was made for me.
Only me.
So intense.
So consuming.
So powerless against her.
Beep.
Beep.
Beep.
The machines went off, matching my rapidly beating heart.
“I want to make love to you,” I murmured in between claiming her mouth, like I wanted to claim her pussy.
“I want you too, but not in this hospital room.”
Nothing compared or even came close to the feeling of my girl. To the sensations that only she stimulated within me. My cock ached to be inside of her.
“When can I go home?”
“Tomorrow.”
“Fuck that, I’m discharging myself after I stop kissing you.”
“You’re not goin’ home till tomorrow.”
“You’re so fuckin’ bossy.”
“Don’t stop kissin’ me.”
“Gremlin, I’m going to break this machine if I don’t.”
“Shhh... stop talkin’.”
“I love you.”
“I love you too.”
Beep.
Beep.
Beep...
And just as I predicted, it broke.
Not that it stopped me.
Nothing could when it came to her.
Chapter 30
<>Jackson<>
I sat on my bed like a man on death row with the envelope Harley gave me almost a decade ago. My fate literally in my hands like a ticking fuckin’ time bomb, waiting to detonate.
“You okay?” my wife questioned, sitting on my legs with her arms firming placed around my neck. Holding me together.
“As okay as I’ll ever be.”
“Do you wanna wai—”
“No. We’ve waited long enough, Gremlin.”
My mind was spinning on its axis, fighting with the demons to keep them at bay.
Each day was a struggle, battling with the inner turmoil I didn’t talk about. No one knew what it was like to constantly be thinking about one thing or another...
What I did that morning.
If I missed anything throughout the day.
When I last ate.
Left my office.
Went to the bathroom.
Continuously at war with myself, making sure I remembered important dates.
Birthdays.
Anniversaries.
Meetings.
Holidays.
I’d change on the daily.
Just last week, for the entire day I repeated birthdays in my mind. Month. Date. Year.
Nothing had changed about my morning routine since I was a boy, still recapping my day ahead. Shower. Breakfast. Meetings. Workout. Practice.
Over the last few years, I started counting my steps. Incessantly stimulating my brain into overdrive, wanting it to stay alert at all times.
My OCD tendencies didn’t stop there. PTSD over my mother’s death and the uncertainty of what the future had in store for me. It was never-ending. I overanalyzed everything, from as little as forgetting where I left my keys, to as big as forgetting where I parked my car.
Was this the day?