A Bundle of Joy 2: The Baby Proposal (BWWM Interracial Romance) (9 page)

“Good. Because the fucking
is
about to begin.”

Chapter Nine

Three months later…

“Honey, I’m here.” Selene turned to put her hand on Triston’s back, and felt the tension emanating from his muscles. She’d woken to the sound of murmured cries. She rubbed his tense, hard muscles, not making a sound. Any unexpected noise could compound his anguish. And it made her heart bleed. She’d woken up many times to witness him going through the agony of being gripped in a horrifying nightmare. “Everything’s all right.”

Ove
r the past three months, she’d seen him like this many times. His therapist claimed it was a combination of nightmares and the memories he revisited. The war had been tough. Seeing people die, facing death every day, and living in a world that was strange and scary couldn’t have been easy. Triston, and many others like him, would have to live with the scars of those memories forever.

She didn’t know how he did it, how anyone could do it.

He settled back down. “
I woke you again?”

“It’s a
ll right.” Selene smiled. “Seems like you woke the baby, too.”

Triston put his hand on her belly, moving it in
a circular motion so that he could detect some movement. He was rewarded with a feisty kick. “Yep, she’s kicking up a storm,” he murmured in a sleepy voice.

“L
et’s hope she has a better schedule when she finally makes an appearance.” Selene curled her fingers around Triston’s upper arm. He was still tense, edgy. “Want a sleeping pill?”

“No. I’m fine.”
He’d been prescribed medicines by his doctor, but he was adamant that he was going to make it through without them.

“What about some peppermint tea?”

Triston shook his head.

“Maybe, you should make an emergency appointment to see the therapist?”

“Listen, babe.” Triston planted a kiss on her belly. “You’re the only therapy I need.” He placed another kiss on her belly, and then rested his head gently on it. “Can’t you see it?”

“But…”
Selene ran her fingers through his dark hair.

“No worries.”

“Want to talk about it?”

He was quiet for
so long, Selene glanced at him to see if he’d fallen back to sleep.

“S
ame old sequence of events. We were on a reconnaissance mission.” He gulped, took a deep breath. “I was behind them on rear protection duty.” He gulped again. “Saw a trash can against a mud wall. Tried to get their attention, but…they didn’t hear me.” He took a moment to compose himself. “Before I could get to them, it blew up…I…I couldn’t save them.”

Selene winced, not because she hadn’t heard it before, but because he’d actually experienced the harrowing ordeal. It was real,
not a figment of his imagination. Four of his friends died in that incident. Another lost a leg. Triston had escaped unscathed but he lived with those dark, bloody memories that plagued him almost every night.

“You couldn’t do anything.”

“That’s what the therapist tells me.” He sighed as he turned to face her. His dark eyes were filled with pain and regret. “But if I’d seen that trash can a few seconds before…if I’d…” Triston scooted backwards until his back rested on the teak headboard

Selene reached over and straddled his hips.
“If is a dirty word,” she said. “All of you were trained to look out for these things.” She wrapped her arms around his neck. “And I’m so sorry you all missed the clues that something wasn’t quite right.” She rubbed her forehead against his. “If anyone’s to be blamed, it’s the people who make such wars necessary. Not you, not your friends who sacrificed everything.”

Triston rubbed the spot on her belly where the baby had kicked. His mind was clearly els
ewhere. She wished she could take away his pain, but it was a slow, healing process. It would take time
.

In the meantime, she could do something else to distract him.
As she lowered her head towards his, he pulled her in and kissed her, his lips hungry as they moved over hers. Selene pressed herself against his lean body, her skin on fire. Her fingers trailed from his shoulders, right down his chest, to his six-pack abs, enjoying the sensation of his warm skin under her finger pads. He was so fit, hard, and lean.

His hand
s moved to her buttocks, and he squeezed them. His fingers brushed against her opening, making her squirm as a lance of desire shot through her. Pregnancy did that to her, she found herself getting aroused more quickly than ever before. She simply couldn’t get enough of him. Heat and desire settled in her core as her fingers traced his lips.

When Triston slid his length
inside her already wet center it was like she’d only taken a sip of one of the finest wines, which only whet her appetite, making her crave another taste. Triston groaned. His hands cupped her heavy breasts, eased down to her round belly, and settled on her hips. Selene moved up and down, enjoying the sweet, tingling sensations that began to build inside her. A ball of heat lodged in the pit of her stomach, making her insides turn into liquid jelly as she picked up the rhythm.

A whirlpool
of excitement twisted through her veins, and her breasts heaved with the breath that was hitched in her throat. Selene leaned towards him, so that her nipples could brush against his smooth chest, again and again. His scent, sweet and spicy, hit her nostrils, making her more aroused. She nipped his bottom lip. His breath came out in a sharp gasp, which she captured with her mouth. His hands squeezed her butt, urging her to move faster and faster. Ready, hovering on the edge of mindless passion, Selene straightened and then bored down ruthlessly. She wanted him to be consumed by her. Her body erupted with the ferocity of the climax that rippled through every fiber of her being.

Even as she trembled in its aftermath, Triston set
a pace that once again carried her over the crest. She moaned as hot, slick need slithered inside her. Once more, pressure began to form, inducing a sea of flaming, sizzling, sensations in her belly. Twirling curls of desire coiled around her in their tantalizing grip.

And then
he came inside her, a hot geyser of sin washing over her womb, and triggering a second orgasm, not as intense as its predecessor, but equally satisfying.

As far as she was concern
ed her life was perfect.

****

Triston eyed the grocery bags on the counter as he entered the large kitchen where Selene was stirring a cooking pot with a wooden spoon. The aroma of curried chicken wafted through the air. With long strides he made his way to her, and watched with grim humor when she dropped the spoon into the pot and spun around to face him. The determined tilt of her chin and the challenge in her eyes spurred him on. Without saying a word, he grabbed her rear-end with both palms, drawing her against him, and burrowed his way through her bosom, the low V-cut of her blouse making it easily accessible. Her answering groan stoked his fire, but he needed to get some things out of the way first.

“Babe?”

“Hmm?” Selene lifted her chin so he could get better access to her cleavage.

He stopped the trek along her neck.
“Didn’t I tell you, you can text me whatever you need, and I can pick it up on the way home?” His journey along her neck resumed.

“I was out anyway. I went on an
interview with this new publisher, Crossword, who’s opening up shop in the next month, or two.” A groan escaped through her lips, her palms rubbed his shoulders seductively. “They’re looking for freelance editors that can work from home. The pay is not steady. They’ll pay me per piece, but at least I’ve control of the number of hours I work each day.”

Triston bit his bottom lip in order to stop himself from saying the first thing that came into his head. He di
dn’t want her to work, at least not until the baby was a year old. But he didn’t want to come across as a boar.

“Why don’t you
give the job hunting a rest until after the baby is born?” he suggested.

She gazed at him, her eyes narrowed in annoyance.
She twisted around to face the stove, even while she was still in his embrace, which forced him to release her and drop his hands to his sides.

“Haven’t we talked about this already?”

“I don’t want you looking for work when you’re eight months pregnant.” Frustrated, he dragged his fingers through his hair.

“I don’t see what the fuss is all about.” Gingerly, she picked up the wooden spoon, to avoid getting curry on her fingers
. “It’s not like I’m the only pregnant woman who’s job-hunting.” She stirred the curry vigorously. “What about those pregnant women who have to make it on their own?”

“That’s exactly my point.” A heavy sigh escaped his lips. “You’ve got me, babe. You’ll never be alone. That’s a promise.”

Selene gave him the side eye, her lips set in a stern line.

To counteract her stubbornness and the anger directed to him, he took a few steps over and put his arms around her, his body pressed against her back, her derrière.

“Babe, you know that I’m happy to be the provider for as long as you want. So, ease off a little. You don’t have to be superwoman.”

Selene shrugged out of his embrace
, and turned to face him. If only she’d recognize that all he wanted was what was best for her and the baby, she wouldn’t be so pissed off with him right now.