To Cherish and To Hold (Love of a Rockstar #1.5) (15 page)

Being a doctor, I’m sure he’d seen his fair share of neurotic mothers, but that didn’t mean I liked being one. It couldn’t be helped though. The neurotic gene implanted itself into your chromosome makeup once you gave birth.

“Would you like to see your child?”

Our beaming smiles answered Dr. Adma’s question. He paged for a technician to do an ultrasound. Then after asking a few more preliminary questions, he left.

The technician named Veronica lifted my t-shirt and squirted cold gook on my lower abdomen. I shivered at the sensation.

“Sorry,” she said as her eyes remained on the monitor.

“No worries. The outcome is worth it.”

Luke and I stared, riveted at the black and white ultrasound screen. Veronica jiggered the wand over my skin and stopped on a certain spot. With a few click of buttons, the view changed to a close up.

Veronica’s finger swiped over a fuzzy mark. “This right here is your bladder and this right here is your uterus.” Another click of the buttons showed a different angle. “And this is your little peanut. The fluttering circle is its heartbeat.”

Luke peered closer. “I can’t believe it.”

“He’s so tiny.”

“He?”

Although, you couldn’t tell the gender, I had a gut feeling our baby was a he. The hard kicks, the fighting mentality. Yes, our baby was defiantly a he.

“Mother’s intuition,” I said cheekily.

Laughing, joy lined Luke’s mouth. A far change from minutes ago when a black rain cloud hung over both our heads. Lost in the moment of sheer relief, we hadn’t noticed Veronica had gone silent. Her fingers flew across the keyboard, her lips pursed. Trepidation crept back in.

“Is everything ok?” I asked.

She remained mum while she continued punching different keys. Luke and I shared a worried glance. Eventually, an ear splitting grin spilt apart Veronica’s cheeks.

“Just like I thought. Lucky number two,” she said.

“What do you mean?”

Pointing to the monitor, she wiggled the wand to the left where another blob was. “You are having twins.”

“Twins?!” Luke exploded.

My hand flew to my mouth as a shocked laugh bubbled out of my throat. “Seriously?”

“Yes. Congratulations.”

The monitor printed out a sonogram picture. Handing it to Luke, Veronica wiped the gel off my stomach and helped me to a sitting position.

“Good luck, you two,” she said. “You are gonna need it.”

Luke gaped at the black and white picture of our two little miracles. With tears shining in his eyes, he glanced up.

“We are going to be a family of five.”

My heart exploded with jubilation as he jumped from his seat and hugged me tightly. I buried my nose in the crook of his neck. Luke and I had our fair share of boulders thrown in our path but I would have done it all over again. Because in the end, it had led us to here. A happy ending with an unexpected twist.

“When I said I wanted to have a million babies with you, I didn't meant it literally,” Luke joked.

“Yeah and guess who is gonna be on diaper duty?”

He cradled my face in his hands while his features softened with love. “I’ll do whatever you want me to do. This time I’m not going anywhere. You’re stuck with me forever…”

“Till do death do we part,” I said.

His eyes as black as the the devils tongue

His melodic voice more tempting than a siren’s call

Three years ago, Camille Barker was held at knife point but her attacker wasn't the one who haunted her dreams. No, it was the man that stood a-washed in the yellow glow of the street light, his stare observant but heedless. A witness to the senseless act. The venom that dripped from his twisted lips saved Camille's life and set her soul ablaze. Reemerging from the ashes, she set upon the well worn path her parent’s always dreamed she would take.

That is until rock n roller, Matthew Lee, shows her that you can only bask in the sun so long before the monsters come out to play.

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Broken Lullabies
(Love of a Rockstar #2)

S
tanding under the streetlight awash in a yellow glow, his steel colored eyes glinted. I wanted to scream—I wanted to run, but my legs remained rooted to the spot. Danger floated in the breeze and it smelled like death. His lips twisted into a cruel smirk as his gaze drifted over my shoulder. Glancing back at the endless stretch of city landscape, my breath hitched. A deep scraggly crack had formed in the cement and was approaching fast. If I didn’t move, it would swallow me whole. Our eyes locked. Mine filled with desperation, his vacant. I licked my dry lips as they opened to beg for mercy. A strangled croak emerged instead. The crack grew closer. His bone chilling laughter rose into the starlit sky.

Darkness reached up and grabbed me, pulling me feet first into the chasm. I clawed at the dirt-encrusted walls. How could this be the end of my story when it hasn’t even begun yet? The fight leaked out my body like a deflated balloon. The grim reaper danced in my line of sight when suddenly, a hand gripped my wrist.

It was him.

My savior, cloaked in the devil’s clothes, pulled me out of the hole and into his waiting arms. The vacantness that shadowed his eyes cleared. Flecks of blue were etched into the steel. They were beautiful, just like he was. A strange surge of warmth that felt a lot like desire flooded my veins.

“Who are you?” I whispered.

He tipped his lips to my ear, his intoxicating scent drifting under my nose. I inhaled deeply—August. He smelled like the peak of storm season.

“Run.”

His voice was as tempting as a siren’s call; it took me a moment to register his words.

“Run,” he repeated more forcefully. “Run, you stupid girl.”

His fingers dug into my shoulders and shoved me in the opposite direction. I stumbled, but caught myself before my knees met the ground. Tears streaked my dirt-smudged complexion.

“Run, you stupid, worthless girl. RUN!”

Panic slammed into my chest. I sat upright in bed, breathing heavily. Sleep clogged my mind while the dream world faded into the distance and reality seeped in. I kicked the duvet off my legs. A breeze from the open window cooled my sweat-soaked body. The faint hum of my refrigerator whirled in the suffocating silence. I didn’t have to glance at the clock to know what time it was.

Three a.m.

My nightmares were nothing but punctual. I swung my legs over the side of my bed and padded into the kitchen to grab a glass of water. Frustration nipped at my nerves.

I thought I was past this.

I thought I’d moved on.