Christmas With The Houstons (Acceptance #4) (3 page)

“How did you get all this information so fast?” I’m amazed she knows so much already.

“Her grandmother’s friend, who was here, filled out the incident report and gave their address. Believe it or not, they live on the same street as the Robinsons. Actually, they live directly across the street and Denise Robinson knew Mia’s grandmother very well. The circumstances are tragic but the timing couldn’t have been better.”

“How so?”

“Denise has an opening and since she’s our number one choice for cases like Mia’s, it’s already a done deal. Denise has a key to Mia’s house and she’ll slowly help her move her things over, but she did go over there and get a few things for now.”

“That’s incredible.” Denise Robinson is the best foster mother I have ever met. She has been taking kids for twenty years and has a gentle but firm touch. Kids bond with her quickly, and she usually keeps in touch with them all even after they are adopted.

Mia opens her eyes and looks at me with her sweet little sad face. “April, can I go home now?”

Oh, my heart.
I’ve never wanted to take a kid home with me and make their world better like I wish I could for her right now.

“Mia, this is my friend Marie. She’s going to take you to your neighbor’s house for a while. Do you know Denise Robinson?”

Mia nods. “Mrs. Robinson is my best friend, Hannah’s, foster mom. She makes us cookies after school and watches me until my nana gets home from work.”

For a child with no family, this could not have worked out better. “Marie will make sure you get settled in at Mrs. Robinson’s house and I’ll come by and check on you in a few days.”

Mia nods her head and slowly stands, grabbing her bear and box. Marie takes her hand and they head out.

“Need a hand?” Derek asks once they are out of my line of sight. Before I have the opportunity to answer, Jake is in front of me, pulling me up.

“We’re good, man, thanks,” Jake replies coolly.

“See you later, Derek.” I wave as Jake leads me out. He’s tense. I can tell he’s pissed and I’m really not in the mood for his possessive bullshit right now.

Surprisingly, the ride home is pretty quiet. I’m lost in thought most of the way, wondering if there really is something to my boss’s reasoning about not working traumatic cases while pregnant. I’ve never felt as drawn to a child as I do to Mia.

When we walk into the house, we’re immediately greeted by Luvbug and his happy dance. God, he’s adorable. His paws are huge and he’s such a roly poly, he can barely control his movements. He comes running up and slams into my leg because he isn’t exactly coordinated enough yet to stop when he wants to.

“Hey, Luvbug, did you miss us?”

Jake bends down and picks him up, handing him to me. He knows I like to give him a hug when we get home.

“Such a pussy-ass fucking name for a dog.”

“He picked it, Jake, so complain to him.”

When we brought Luvbug home, we tried calling him a few different names and most of the time he just stared blankly at us. As soon as I jokingly called him Luvbug, he came running. Jake insisted it was a fluke but sure enough, every time we said it, he came. Jake tried for almost two weeks to get him to come to Tank but no luck. Finally, he gave up.

“Luvbug, you’re going to be a big, fat,
manly
English Bulldog. Your head is going to be huge, your body is going to be buff, and all the other dogs at the dog park are going to make fun of you because of your pussy-ass name. Remember when that happens it was
your
choice.”

I’m laughing as I pass him to Jake. “Can you let him out, please? I really have to pee.”

He kisses me on the cheek. “Sure thing, but then we’re talking about Derek.”

Yeah, I knew that was coming; I was just hoping I’d get lucky.

By the time Jake comes back in, I’m comfortable in our bed. I’m so tired; I just need a small nap.

Jake lies beside me and pulls me close, placing kisses along my neck as he rubs my belly. Of course,
now
that I want to sleep, Jaxson starts to kick against Jake’s hands. We haven’t told anyone his name yet—we’re keeping it a surprise. We both really loved the name, and when we realized it began with JA, we knew it was perfect. Jake and April created Jaxson.

Jaxson Noah Houston. We can’t wait until we finally get to meet our little guy. My eyes grow heavy as Jake continues to rub my belly.

When I wake up, Jake is no longer curled up behind me. I wish he would have stayed. Actually, I wish he would have made love to me like he said he was going to. I’m thirsty, grumpy, and know immediately from my mood I slept way too long.

As I make my way into the kitchen, I hear pounding coming from the front of the house. When I look up at the clock on the stove, I realize I’ve been sleeping for two hours.
So much for a power nap. No wonder my mood plummeted.
After grabbing a bottle of water, I follow the noise out into the yard to see what in the world Jake is doing out there.

My breath catches as I open the door and my eyes land on my husband—shirt off, body glistening with sweat, and giving the neighborhood stroller patrol a hell of a show.

Back off, bitches, he’s mine.

As I waddle my way out to him, I flash a fake smile and a wave to the three bitches openly ogling my husband. Two of them have the decency to blush and walk away, but the last one lingers long enough for me to narrow my eyes at her. Jake looks up and his eyes follow my glare; only then does Malibu Barbie begin to move.

“Hi, Jake,” she says with a smile and a wave as she walks by, shaking her tiny little ass and pushing her stroller as seductively as she can.
Bitch.

“Hi Jake,” I mimic as she passes, and Jake laughs good naturedly, which pisses me off even more.

“April, stop. You know I only have eyes for you. Although, I’m not sure the same can be said for you after meeting Derek today.”

He
did not
just go there.

I don’t want to argue with my husband right now. He looks hot as fuck and it’s obvious he’s been working his ass off out here. Our yard now looks like a Halloween wonderland, complete with a graveyard. It doesn’t matter, though; if he’s going to push this Derek issue, we’re
going
to fight.

You know what? I’m not even going to dignify that with a response. I’m grumpy, hormonal, and it won’t end well. Instead of responding, I turn around and go back into the house, slamming the door behind me.

God, that felt good.

It’s rare when Jake and I fight, and I’ll typically try and avoid it at all costs. Fighting with Jake is emotionally draining. We’re both stubborn and at times won’t talk for days on end. Our fights leave me feeling uneasy, scared for our future, and sad. We haven’t had a bad fight since before the wedding and I’m not looking to have one now.

“What the hell, April?” Jake bites out as he storms in the house, slamming the door behind him.

It doesn’t feel so good when he does it.

“Exactly, Jake!
What the hell?
Do you
see
me? I’m as big as a house! I waddle, I’m emotional, uncomfortable, MARRIED to
you
, pregnant with
your
baby, and you have the
audacity
to jump my shit about Derek? Really, Jake?”

I will not cry. I will not cry over Jake and his neanderthal antics.

“Pregnant with
our
baby,” he corrects sharply.

“Well, you seem to be forgetting that part. How
dare
you accuse me of wanting Derek when I spend every day growing an extension of our love inside of
me
?
How fucking
dare you,
Jake Houston?!”

“How dare
me
?!” he roars, inching closer, placing his hand on the small of my back and pulling me firmly into his embrace.

“He touched you here. This is mine, April.
Mine.
”

My pulse races as he grips me tighter. I’m so mad at him… but I’m also
really
turned on.

“Maybe I need to remind you of all the ways you’re mine. We can’t have you forgetting who you belong to, April. Especially when
Derek
smiles at you as if you’re his one and only because we both know you belong to me and only
me
.”

“Jake.” My whispered plea is captured by his lips. Those lips fit so perfectly against mine—there’s no way God didn’t intend for them to be there for eternity. His tongue meets mine in a synchronicity which can only exist between us. A fire burns deep inside my soul, one only he can light.

Within minutes, Jake has managed to get us both naked, into the bedroom, and onto our bed. His mouth descends onto my breasts and his tongue flicks against my hardening nipples. “Mine,” he growls, and his mouth drops lower, his lips blazing a trail of kisses across my entire belly while his hands worship every single inch of it. When he whispers “
ours
” so reverently, it almost brings me to tears.

Progressively, he moves even lower, spreading my legs and kissing my most intimate place all while emitting groans of desire. My hands immediately go to his hair, tugging lightly as he brings me to the brink of orgasm. When his tongue flicks against my clit, sending me over the edge, I cry out in ecstasy as he laps up every bit of my release.

“Yours, Jake. Only yours, forever yours.”  These are the most honest and truthful words I’ve ever spoken. He climbs my body, kissing every part of me he can reach with his lips and his tongue before he finally meets my lips.

“And I’m yours. Only yours, forever yours,” he repeats before kissing me senseless. He enters me slowly, filling me completely, and makes love to me the way only Jake can. His beautifully sculpted body hovers slightly above my giant belly, but he loves me so completely you’d never know there was a slight obstacle in the way.

His tongue teases me, his lips capture me, and his cock…
fuck,
his cock possesses me with every single stroke until we both come—loudly, breathlessly, and wholeheartedly.

Jake rolls over and pulls me into my favorite position—my back to his front—and nuzzles my neck.

“That was so much better than fighting,” I say on a sigh.

“Were we fighting? I’m pretty sure I was doing something nice and you had a minor pregnancy freak out.” I know he’s joking, but it irritates me.

“If you wouldn’t have been giving Malibu Barbie and the stroller patrol a show, I would have thanked you instead of freaking out,” I answer sarcastically.

Shit, now I’m starting the fight. Damn it.

“Well, if
you
had put Porky Pig in his place instead of letting him fawn all over you in front of your husband, maybe I wouldn’t have needed to get my frustrations out in the form of manual labor,” he answers back just as snottily, and it’s as if the last thirty minutes never happened. We’re both just as pissy as we were before we had sex.

I roll over so I can look him in the eye and notice the lines on his face are a little more pronounced. His usually clear grey eyes are stormy, much like his mood, and he’s tense.
God, he’s so tense.

After placing a soft kiss on his lips, I tell him to turn over and he begrudgingly complies. At first, I’m quiet and take my time massaging his shoulders and his back. After allowing myself to calm down for a few minutes and waiting for Jake to relax, I finally speak.

“Derek isn’t anything for you to
ever
be concerned about, Jake. I’ve never really noticed much of an attraction on his part before today.”

“So you admit you noticed it?”

“Yeah, I guess so. There’s nothing I can do about it, Jake. Everyone knows how I feel about you. It’s
your
ring I wear on my finger. You own me, Jake. So if Derek has feelings for me, that’s
his
problem, and they’re not reciprocated. I’d never encourage him, but I’m not going to be mean to him, either.”

“April—” he bites out, but I cut him off.

“I rarely see him. We have to be working the same case at the same time in order for Derek and me to even cross paths. Police calls are as random as social worker calls. It can be any officer and any worker at any given time. There have been six-month stretches where I’ve never even crossed his path. But there have also been months where I see him on almost every case. It’s just the luck of the draw.”

“So quit.”

“What?!” My shriek echoes through the room and I’m flying up out of bed and scrambling to put on clothes. This is
not
a discussion I’m going to have with him naked. This isn’t a discussion we should even be having at all.

Jake’s jealousy is going to tear us apart one day.

“Did I stutter? Quit your job.” Now he’s standing in all of his exceptionally sculpted, naked glory, looking like the biggest fucking asshole who ever walked the planet.

I’m so beyond pissed I just want to cry because that’s what I do. When I’m so angry I’m about to explode, instead of screaming I cry. It makes me feel like a weak woman and I am
anything
but weak… and he knows it.