This Game Called Life (Kingdom Book 4) (2 page)

Chapter 3

Getting MacKenzie
into a bath and then into bed was easier than Aviva thought, given her near
breakdown.

First thing first.
Aviva had to get out of her wedding dress. She was determined to keep it
pristine for any walks she decided to take down memory lane. Once that was
accomplished, she hurried downstairs to the sitting room.

Why Jackson
thought she was the right person to attend to MacKenzie’s needs was completely
lost on her. Her emotional state was almost at the same level of anxiety as the
expectant mother. All she wanted to do was stand in the middle of the room,
grab her hair and scream.

Aviva knew her
apprehension of their current situation nowhere equaled that of MacKenzie’s. Therefore,
when she rushed through the sitting room door, she was more than a little taken
aback by the sight of all the Kingdom men huddled together.

“What’s the plan?
I know you big brain men have thought of something; because there is no way I’m
delivering MacKenzie’s baby!”

“Don’t worry,
Angel. We’ll sort everything out.” Jason said the only member of the Kingdom
clan to pay her any attention.

“What have we got?
Please tell me we have a plan.” Aviva pleaded.

A few moments later
the men broke away from each other. Only then did Jackson’s voice cut into the
silence.

“It’s quite simple
really; we need to get MacKenzie to a medical facility, so that is what we are
going to do. Aviva, you are going to stay with MacKenzie. Hope, and Steve are
going to pack. Since they both want to get back to LA as soon as possible, we
are going to take two cars; one to the hospital and another will travel to the
airport. Given the weather conditions, the drive is going to be treacherous; so
I’m sure I don’t have to tell you all to be careful.”

Everyone nodded
their silent understanding of their roles, indicating their willingness to play
their part.

**********

The drive to the
hospital was even more hazardous than Aviva could have ever imagined, but they
got there in one piece. After sliding across the road for the umpteenth time, she
stopped paying attention to the weather and concentrated on her friend’s
wellbeing.

By the time
MacKenzie finally gave birth, twelve hours after their arrival at the hospital,
Aviva’s nerves were shot.

“Aviva?”

“Hmm?”

“Thank you for
being such a good friend. I don’t know if I could have done this alone.”
Leaning over, MacKenzie gave Aviva, who sat beside her on the bed, a kiss on
the cheek. Then they looked at each other and smiled.

A knock on the
door pulled their attention. Standing in the doorway were Jason and Jake.

“Do you guys want
to see her?” MacKenzie asked the serious looking men.

**********

Both men hovered
just outside the room as though unsure of her question; identical looks of uncertainty
plastered on their faces.

With a slightly
jerky movement, Jake was the first to take a step forward. When he realized his
brother wasn’t following him into the room, he stopped and turned his back to
the women and looked at Jason. The look of uncertainty on Jason’s face told him
that he was probably wearing the same expression, and he grinned at his twin in
assurance. Turning around, Jake finally walked into the room with Jason a few
steps behind.

When Jake reached
the side of the bed, he stood looking down at the baby as though he had never
seen one before. In all honesty, the only child he had ever seen at such an
early age had been his younger brother. Peeling back the folds of the blanket
MacKenzie showed off her brand new baby.

Jake stared at the
baby for such a long time, and it took him a while to notice that he was making
MacKenzie uncomfortable. “May I hold her?”

“Um, yes... I
guess. If you really want to.”

“I really want
to.” Reaching down, Jake was never more aware of the size of his hands.
Compared to the size of the newborn child, they looked huge. But something
compelled him to take the baby.

With delicate
care, he lifted the child, one of his large hands cupping her head and the
other secured beneath her rump. That was all it took, one look and he was
smitten. He didn’t know nor did he care about other babies. This baby was
perfect.

Cradling the newborn
in his arms, Jake moved to a corner of the room, his attention only on the tiny
baby girl. Unaware that all eyes were firmly fixed on him, he retreated into a
place that only had room for the child in his arms.

“Hello, little
one. Do you know that you’re special? No, maybe not, but you are, and you will
know it. I’m Jake, and I welcome you to the world.”

Jake had no idea
that the words he directed at the child were witnessed and affirmed by all who
heard them. His words hadn’t been spoken for the benefit of others. They had
just seemed right, and they came from the heart.

After long moments
of looking down at the baby, he became aware that the room had grown silent. He
and the baby were the center of attention, yet the realization didn’t bother
him. Turning, he looked at each of the people gathered around MacKenzie; his
penetrating stare daring anyone to make a comment. No one did.

Just then the baby
demanded his attention, emitting a cry that only a new-born could. Pulling her
closer to his chest, Jake murmured words of comfort. His voice seemed to soothe
her. Her cries ceased as though she knew she was safe and protected while being
held securely in his strong yet gentle arms.

Walking towards
MacKenzie, Jake lowered the baby into her mother’s waiting embrace. “She’s
beautiful.” Jake somehow managed to pull his eyes away from the now pacified
child long enough to look at her mother. The smile on his face was also
reflected in his eyes, which had darkened to the point that their usual green was
almost gone.

“Do you have a
name for her?” Jake asked.

“As a matter of
fact I do...” MacKenzie paused for dramatic effect.

“For goodness
sake, MacKenzie what’s her name?” Aviva interjected, voicing her impatience
when MacKenzie didn’t immediately begin speaking.

“Her name is
Christmas Day Leah.” Jake watched in stunned silence as MacKenzie lowered her
head at the shocked silence that overtook the room.

“Are you out of
your mind?” Jake demanded, “Christmas Day Leah! Do you want this kid to hate
you?”

Jake’s outburst
was met by an almost unnatural quiet as everyone stared at MacKenzie as though
she had lost her mind.

“Calm down, Jake,
she’s kidding... right?” Aviva tentatively asked, giving her friend an
uncertain look.

“Relax, Jacob. Her
name is Noelle, Ava, Leah Braithwaite,” turning to Aviva, MacKenzie smiled, “
Ava
for her godmother who got me through the most frightening day of my life.”

Chapter 4

Deciding not to
risk the drive back to the house they all checked into the Kingdom New York
hotel. Having dropped Steve and Hope off at the airport, Josh and Jackson bypassed
the hospital and went directly to the hotel.

The only things
Aviva had on her mind once they were in their room were a shower and cuddling
up to her new husband. Once in their room, as if by silent agreement, they both
stripped out of their clothes and headed for the shower. With the same care and
attention he always showed her, Jason soaped his wife’s body, then his own.
Enfolding her in his arms, he allowed the soothing spray to wash over them for
a few minutes.

When Jason lifted
her into his arms, Aviva offered no protest. Even if she wanted to, she knew it
would fall on deaf ears. Giving herself over to him, she allowed him to carry
her into the bedroom. There he laid her down with gentle care and massaged
lotion all over her body.

His task completed,
Jason pulled back the covers and Aviva slid beneath them. Switching off the
lamp, he joined her under the comforter.

She must have
dozed off because her next conscious awareness was the pleasure of being held
in her husband’s arms. The word
husband
still felt unfamiliar, but it also
felt right. Unsure of how long she slept, her first instinct was to check on
MacKenzie. Then she remembered that her friend was safe at the hospital with
Jake standing solitary sentinel. With her recall, Aviva exhaled and relaxed.

“Are you awake,
Angel?” Jason’s words were barely a whisper, as though he didn’t want to
disturb her if she were still asleep.

“I’m awake. How
long have I been out?”

“Not long,” Jason
said, his voice still a lowered murmur against her ear.

Shuffling
backwards, Aviva wiggled her backside against Jason and was immediately
rewarded for her efforts. The sound he made vibrated against her spine and sent
a shiver all the way through her body.

“So, what does a
girl have to do to get her husband to make love to her?”

“All she needs to
do is keep wiggling like that.”

“You mean like
this?” Moving again, Aviva rotated her backside first one way and then the
other, ensuring she made full contact.

“Just like that!”
Jason said as he brushed her hair out of the way to place butterfly soft kisses
against her face. The arm that was draped around her body began a wonderful
languid caress that brushed over her thigh, up her side and over her arm to her
throat.

Resting a palm
beneath her chin, Jason turned her face and kissed her. As their lips touched,
Aviva sighed at the sheer bliss of how wonderful it felt whenever she was with
him. The kiss they shared was a tender exploration of each other. Nothing about
their actions denoted haste. Every touch, every caress, every swirl of their
tongues was a motion of slow deliberation.

Lifting her arm,
Aviva ran her hand over his face loving the rasp of stubble that caught at her
fingers. As she pushed back against him, Jason’s hand roamed her body coming to
rest against her heavy breast. Massaging the globes, he gave them the attention
they both loved.

Inserting a powerful
thigh between her legs, Jason opened her up for his touch. When his fingers
reached their goal, just as before, he took his time rediscovering every inch
of her body.

Throughout their
slow lovemaking, their lips were never more than a hair’s-breadth apart. When
their lips touched, their kiss was yet another silent declaration of the love
they had for each other.

When she was
ready, Jason slid smoothly into her body. As their bodies connected, he said
only three words. “I love you.”

His words and the
care he took with her filled Aviva’s eyes with tears. Unable to stem the flow,
she allowed them to fall.

“Why are you
crying, do you want me to stop?” Jason asked, concern in his voice.

“I love you so much,
and I never want you to stop loving, and making love to me.”

“I never will.”

Moving with
languid ease, Jason slid in and out of her body. Aviva felt as though they were
the only two people in the universe. It didn’t matter how they made love; the
feeling was always the same. A gradual build up sent tingles of sensation
running through her in endless shivers.

“Do you know how
much I love you, my angel?”

“I know.”

“Do you feel how
much I love you?”

“Yes... yes!”

“Tell me you love
me, say it. I need to hear you say it.”

Jason didn’t move
any faster, yet his tone deepened and carried with it a note of urgency, so
much so it increased her arousal.

“I love you, only
you, always you.”

Aviva could feel
the reaction her words had on his body as he grew even harder within her. His
hand moved to her core and stroked with precision, and she gasped for breath.

“Come for me my
Angel. I want to feel you come for me, all over me.”

The feel of him
around her, within her, the sound of his deep baritone whispering against the
shell of her ear was her undoing. Connected to her man, mind body and soul,
Aviva was stormed by sensation after sensation. As her body contracted around
his hard cock, she dug her fingers into the muscles of Jason’s arm and allowed
her feelings to take complete control.

Feeling Jason
stiffen together with the rush of heat that gushed inside her body was all
Aviva needed to know; this gentle loving was one of the best experiences of her
life.

With their bodies
still entwined, Aviva pulled Jason’s head towards her own and placed kisses
across every inch of his face that she could reach. To her delight, Jason all
but purred. She knew her baby loved it when she petted him, and whatever he
wanted, as far as she was concerned, it was his.

Chapter 5

When Jake walked
into MacKenzie’s room, she looked as though she was in pain, and it worried him.
He could tell MacKenzie was aware of his presence, but she didn’t look at him. That
she didn’t want him there was obvious. When he saw tears trailing down her cheeks,
he knew he had to step in.

“What can I do to
help?”

Finally, she
looked up and met his gaze. “I don’t think she likes me. This is the second
time I’ve tried to feed her, and she keeps turning away.” On a broken sob,
MacKenzie continued, “Jake, what if my baby doesn’t like me?”

“Of course she
likes you.”

“But what if she
doesn’t?” She asked as she continued to cry.

“Okay, the first
thing you need to do is calm down. I think she can sense when you’re upset.
Give her to me for a few minutes while you get yourself together.”

Taking the baby,
Jake rocked her in his arms while MacKenzie took deep breaths in an attempt to get
her emotions under control. After a short period had elapsed, she tried to feed
the baby again with the same result.

“No more tears,”
Jake warned as tears again began to pool in her eyes. “We’ll work this out.”

Jake hoped he had
infused his voice with enough certainty to ease MacKenzie’s concern. Taking the
baby, he took a couple of steps backward and came to a stop. Jake grew still as
his mind frantically searched for a solution to the problem. As he rocked the
baby to soothe her, he was unaware of the look that came over his face. His
eyes rapidly flashed from side to side as though he were reading a book that was
imprinted in his mind.

When he thought he
had a possible solution for their problem, Jake looked directly at MacKenzie,
who watched him, a shocked expression on her face. Realizing what he had been
doing, Jake felt heat rush into his face. Although he was embarrassed that she
had witnessed something he had long ago mastered, he didn’t offer an
explanation.

“I want to try
something. Hold her for a while.” Passing the baby off, he opened a closet and
removed a bed sheet. Ripping it apart with his bare hands, he folded it to his
liking and returned to MacKenzie.

“Lay her down on
the bed.”

“But she’s
crying.”

“Then the sooner
you do as I ask, the quicker we can stop her from crying.”

With the baby
resting on the bed, Jake wrapped the material crossways around MacKenzie’s
upper body and tied the ends together on top of her shoulder. Lifting the child,
he placed her inside the sling he had constructed.

“Okay, try again.”

After a moment of
hesitation, MacKenzie tried again to feed her daughter. It worked; soon Jake
could hear the sounds of the nursing baby.

“You did it!” MacKenzie
exclaimed, her face alight with relief.

“I told you she
liked you.” Jake smiled, glad he was able to help.

“How did you know?
No, don’t tell me, you checked the database you have stored in your brain,
right?”

“Um...?”

“That eye flashing
thing is really weird, Jake.” MacKenzie laughed.

Jake squirmed in
reaction to her laughter.

“I heard tales
that you and your brothers are classified as geniuses. “Gotta tell you though,
until you pulled this off, nothing on this earth would have convinced me of it.”

“You don’t think
it’s... odd the way we are, my brothers and I?”

“Not really,”
MacKenzie answered without embellishment.

Expecting her to
say more than her matter of fact response, Jake waited. When she only shrugged,
he finally exhaled, unaware that he had been holding his breath in readiness
for an adverse response.

“Thank you for
saying that.”

“No thanks
necessary. I should be thanking you, and I do, thank you that is.”

“You’re welcome,
MacKenzie. I’m just glad I could help.”

An awkward pause
followed where they both looked at each other as though unsure of what to say
next.

“Honestly Jake,
you don’t have to stay. I need to figure this parenting stuff out on my own.”

Jake thought her
choice of words odd and decided to probe deeper. “Why do you have to figure
parenting out on your own?”

“Are you trying to
get up in my business, Jacob?”

The way she said
his name told Jake that he had hit a nerve. Although he hadn’t spent a lot of
time in her company, he had a pretty good handle on MacKenzie.

“What do you
think?”

“I think I hate it
when my question is answered with a question. I also think that my business is
none of your business!”

“Want to know what
I think?” Jake asked, suppressing a smile at the way MacKenzie tilted her head
and narrowed her eyes at him, a look he was quickly beginning to recognize. “I
think you need to rein in that attitude of yours before you give that kid
indigestion.”

“Screw you!”
MacKenzie silently mouth and then looked down at the baby as though checking
whether she had reacted to her curse word.

Jake laughed at
her automatic reflex to her bad language. Just then a telephone began to ring.
The sound startled the baby who immediately began to cry and sent both
MacKenzie and Jake into a flurry of action in an attempt to locate the ringing phone.

Since MacKenzie had
her hands full, Jake rifled through a stack of clothing piled on top of the
phone and snatched it up. Paying no attention to who was calling, his only
intent, to stop the harsh sound that filled the room.

“Hello?”

“Who the hell is
this?”

“Jacob Kingdom. Who
the hell is this?”

“This is Carlos
Ernesto.”

Jake had
immediately known it was Carlos from the first word he had uttered. However, he
took a form of perverse pleasure in rankling the man. “It’s Carlos,” Jake said
as he handed over the phone to MacKenzie.

The polite thing
to do would have been to leave the room so MacKenzie and Carlos could speak
privately. Jake didn’t feel particularly polite so he stayed exactly where he
was. He also chose to ignore the dagger glances MacKenzie shot his way.

By the end of the conversation,
Jake was pleased he hadn’t left. He learned much more from the one-sided
conversation than he ever could have done by questioning MacKenzie. Carlos had
neither asked about MacKenzie’s health nor had she mentioned the birth of their
daughter.

Moments passed
before she finally looked in his direction, when she did; Jake was waiting for
her. Holding her gaze, he watched her as emotion after emotion passed across
her face.

“Don’t say
anything.” MacKenzie at last tossed in his direction.

About what?”

“About anything!”

“Do you still love
him?” Jake wanted to know.

“I thought I just
told you not to say anything!”

“I’m not very good
at doing what I don’t want to do, MacKenzie.”

“Ya don’t say!”
MacKenzie responded sarcastically. “You won’t go away when I ask you to, and
when I ask you not to say anything, you go right ahead and do exactly that, ask
me questions that are none of your damn business!”

“Why is that such
a difficult question? You just gave birth to his child and when he called you,
you didn’t even mention it, why?”

MacKenzie was
silent for so long Jake knew he’d pissed her off, so much so that she had
retreated into silence. It certainly wasn’t the first time she had behaved in
this manner with him, and somehow he didn’t think it would be the last.

“Would you please
help me out of this sling?”

“MacKenzie...”

“Not now, Jake,
please. I can’t do this now. I just want to get the baby settled and then I
need to sleep.”

Jake felt like an
absolute heel for pushing her when she had been through so much during the
course of the day. As he drew closer to the bed, he noticed two things about
MacKenzie: One; she broke eye contact with him, and two she ran her tongue
across her lips as though she were nervous.

Whether her
nervousness stemmed from the fact that he had asked a question she would rather
not answer, or because he unnerved her, Jake was unsure. What he was sure of,
however, was that the answer to his question was very important to him. He was
also sure that he would get his answer, one way, or another.

Once Jake had
released her from the folds of material he had constructed, MacKenzie moved
away from him so quickly he couldn’t help but be pleased. She was aware of him,
and for now, that realization was enough.

His task complete,
Jake took a seat and watched as MacKenzie settled first the baby and then
herself all without once acknowledging his presence.

“Is it still
snowing?”

Jake rose, parted
the blinds and was confronted by the snowfall that had yet to abate.

“It’s still going
strong.”

“I like it when it
snows,” MacKenzie murmured.

“Do you like the
snow even when it holds you captive?”

“That was kinda
dumb, right!” She said with a small laugh.

“Dumb, no, funny
as hell, yes. Plus, it made me feel all fuzzy inside that you thought I was a
match for the elements.”

“What are you
talking about?” MacKenzie asked with a frown.

“There was a
blizzard outside yet you hold me in such high esteem as to suppose I had the
power to control nature.”

Vexed that she was
being reminded of her loss of control, MacKenzie gave him a dirty look. She
wanted the look to be enough to show her exasperation with him, but she was
unable to remain quiet. “What is the matter with you, Jacob?” She asked the
annoyance in her voice only too apparent.

“MacKenzie, if I actually
told you what was wrong with me, I’d have you running out of this hospital,
storm or no storm.” Jake chose his words with careful consideration. He wanted
to see if she would take the bait and ask him for clarification of his cryptic
statement. Jake wasn’t surprised when all he got was silence. “Coward,” he said
just loud enough for her to hear.

“Damn right I am!”
MacKenzie whispered into the quiet room.

“MacKenzie, I
should tell you that I have exceptional hearing.” Jake didn’t expect an answer
and he didn’t get one.

MacKenzie remained
quiet for such a long time, when she spoke, Jake was more than a little
surprised at her words. Laying on her side, a hand resting on the pillow, it appeared
to Jake that her eyes had glazed over when her words began to flow around him.

“Carlos and I
broke up months ago. I guess you were sort of right about my getting pregnant—”

“MacKenzie, I
didn’t—”

“It’s okay, Jake.
I know you were just mad at Aviva and me when you said the things you did. In
hindsight, I guess I deserved your anger. It was a stupid stunt, but there was
no way I was going to let my girl go to that house alone.” After a brief pause,
she continued to speak in the same soft voice.

“Carlos and I met
and hit it off. Everything was just supposed to be casual, and it was. But
although we used protection, something went wrong. When I realized what had happened,
and I told him about the pregnancy, he accused me of attempting to trap him. He
said a few other things that I’m not going to repeat, because I’m sure you can
probably imagine what they were. I left for a while and I met you shortly after
that.”

MacKenzie paused,
as though reliving her former experiences, and Jake felt embarrassment at the
way he had treated her in the past. He didn’t dwell on it though because he
knew, where the two of them were concerned; everything was about to change.

“Go on.” Jake
urged.

“He apologized, I
accepted. We tried to make a go of things. It didn’t work out. The end.”
MacKenzie finished in a rush.

“Only it’s not the
end is it, MacKenzie? You just brought a child into the world, and Carlos is
the father. Yet, when he just spoke with you, you didn’t tell him that he was a
father, why?”

“Because he didn’t
ask.” MacKenzie’s response came with no real anger. “He called to let me know
his latest song was Christmas number one in five countries in Europe, and his
manager has booked engagements for the New Year. He wanted me to know that he
wouldn’t be around for the birth of our child. So I didn’t mention she was
already here. I suppose I didn’t want to be the reason he missed out on what he’s
been working towards for years.”

“I don’t
understand why you’re okay with this. That little girl is both of your
responsibility.” Jake was honestly baffled at how calm she sounded that Carlos thought
it acceptable to be absent for the birth of his child.

“Neither of us
were really thinking about being parents, Jake. It happened, and it was my
decision to go through with the pregnancy. Therefore, I take full
responsibility for my baby’s wellbeing. I have no doubt Carlos will be a good
father, but I doubt he will ever be a dad.