Текст книги "Aflame"

Автор книги: Penelope Douglas

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Chapter 15

Tate

Jared took my keys, unlocking the front door of my house—or his house, now that I knew he had put in an offer—and I was so thankful that it was dark outside.

My dress and underwear were in pieces somewhere in his car, and I wore only his suit coat, while he trailed into the house behind me in his black pants with his shirt hanging open, since I’d ripped off the buttons.

“I can’t believe you bought the house,” I said, folding my arms over my chest to keep the coat closed. The only time I wasn’t modest was during sex.

“You didn’t have to do that,” I continued, keeping my voice gentle, even though I kept having to blink back the tears as I looked around my home.

“Don’t start looking for something new to worry about.” He closed and locked the door, coming up to wrap his arms around me. “You’re going to Stanford,” he stated, “and who the hell knows where we’ll settle, but I just couldn’t let the house go yet.”

He looked around, a thoughtful expression on his face. I felt the same way. I wasn’t ready to say good-bye, either.

“If we sell it later,” he appeased me, “then it’ll be our decision when we we’re ready, but—”

I darted forward, cutting him off as I wrapped my arms around him and squeezed him tight. “Thank you,” I choked out, tears lodged in my throat. “Thank you so much.”

I knew he was worried about what I thought. Did this mean we were settling here after med school? Did this mean I wouldn’t be able to entertain the possibility of practicing medicine elsewhere if an opportunity arose?

But I wasn’t worried about that. He was just assuring me we didn’t have to make any decisions yet. The house was ours to do with when we were ready, and we weren’t losing it unless we wanted to.

My dad would get a new place with Miss Penley—Elizabeth—and while I’d get used to it, I knew it would feel strange visiting him in a place I’d never lived in. Holidays might never feel the same way again.

Now—I looked around at the warm walls and shiny wooden floors—I’d always have the house I grew up in to keep my memories alive.

Our first Thanksgiving, when we’d invited Katherine and Jared over, and Jared ate my vegetables for me so long as I took his cranberry sauce, which he hated.

The hot summer day my dad chased us out of the house when Jared and I set out to prove that nothing was really nonflammable.

The mornings in junior high when he’d sneak back through the tree to his own room after having slept over, only to show up a half hour later to walk me to school.

I sighed into his neck, smiling. “I bought something for you, too,” I said in a sweet voice.

“You did?” He sounded amused. “Today?”

I shook my head and leaned back, looking up at him. “About a year ago,” I clarified. “I saw it and immediately knew I had to have it for you. I’ve been saving it ever since.”

His sexy mouth curled into a smile, a curious look in his eyes. “I’m a hard guy to shop for,” he warned.

I backed away. “Come up in five minutes.” And I turned around, jogging up the stairs.

As soon as I entered my bedroom, I tossed his jacket on the chair in the corner and went into the bathroom to freshen up.

He’d made a mess of me. My hair was tangled, my body was sore, and I had red marks on my hips from his hands.

But I’d be lying if I said I didn’t love it. Jared devoured me like food. No one loved me like he did, and I lived him. And loved him.

Jumping into the shower, I spent maybe fifteen seconds rinsing the sweat and sex off, before jumping back out and brushing through my hair.

Going to the top drawer of my chest, I reached into the back and pulled out the lingerie that I knew he never needed me to wear but would definitely love.

The black lacy top was a cross between a tank top and a corset—however, while traditional corsets laced in the back, this one laced in the front. I stepped into the matching G-string and slipped my arms into the top, lacing the long, black silk ribbon through the loops, so that they crisscrossed in the front, leaving the skin of my stomach exposed through the ribbon as it threaded upward to tie between my breasts.

I’d always been embarrassed to try stuff like this. Jared was low maintenance, and he never gave the impression he wasn’t perfectly happy with my pajama shorts and tank tops. And I had been intimate with Gavin so rarely that I never got around to experimenting with lingerie.

But Juliet inspired me. She and I had trailed into a shop one day, and then the very next day we had to go back, because Jax had destroyed the nightie she bought and gave her his credit card with instructions to replace the negligee and to buy some more as well.

I was jealous at the time. Her giddiness and happiness made me long to feel that again.

I glanced up, seeing a light fall across my floor, and I stepped over to the window, peeking through my sheer curtains to the house next door. Jax pulled down Juliet’s dress to expose her naked back, and then he reached behind her to pull the curtains closed.

I smiled to myself, remembering the day almost two years ago that I’d had to tell them, “Hey, I can see everything. Would you mind . . . ?”

Since then, they’d been careful about making sure the window was closed—because they were loud, too—and the curtains drawn.

I was glad Juliet had her happily ever after, but I also knew it was past time for my own. Spinning around, I walked for the bedroom door, not wanting to waste another second of the five minutes I’d told him to wait.

***

“Tate, baby,” a sleepy voice whispered against my hair. “Your phone.”

Jared’s arm tightened around my back and jostled me gently awake. I blinked my eyes open, realizing that my phone was ringing on the nightstand. I lifted my head off his chest and looked down at him, my dreamy cloud not lifting from my brain as I smiled at him.

His head lay to the side, facing the French doors, and his eyes were closed as he breathed peacefully.

Reluctantly turning away, I held the sheet up to cover my chest as I reached over to grab my phone.

“Hey, what’s up?” I answered, seeing Juliet’s name on the screen. Glancing at the clock, I saw it was only six thirty in the morning. Jared and I had been asleep for only a couple of hours.

“Sorry,” she shot out. “I saw Jared’s car over there, so I’m sure you’re . . .” She hesitated just long enough to make an innuendo. “Busy,” she finished.

A grin tugged at my jaw. “Nooooo,” I drawled out. “I was sleeping. What do you want?”

She cleared her throat. “I know you wanted to work out today, but I need to cancel. I’m drained this morning, okay?”

“No problem,” I sighed, twisting my head at the sound of thunder rolling outside. “I’m not going anywhere, either. Would you text Fallon to let her know?”

“Yeah, sure.” She yawned.

If it was going to rain, then it would be a bad day for an outdoor workout anyway.

“Are you okay?” I prompted, noticing that she sounded unusually tired for a morning person.

“Yeah,” she reassured me. “Just up too late. See you in a while.”

“All right, see you later,” I told her, shivers lighting up my skin as Jared’s hand trailed up the inside of my thigh.

“Bye.” And she hung up.

I put the phone back down and looked over, seeing Jared still half asleep, his wandering hand creeping farther up my leg.

Nuzzling back into his arms, I traced the lines of his jaw and lips with my eyes. Trailing my hand down his chest and farther to his abs, I took in the script tattoo on the side of his torso that he’d gotten when I was in France five years ago—Yesterday Lasts Forever, Tomorrow Comes Never—and the Until You he’d had Aura, his tattoo artist, add more than a year later when we finally got together senior year.

He’d added more tattoos since we’d been apart.

There were two feathers on the other side of his torso, one inscribed with Trent and the other inscribed with Brothers.

And looking up on his left pec, I raised myself up, struggling for shallow breaths as I read the script.

I exist as I am, that is enough.

Right there, my quote inscribed over his heart. Happy tears sprang to my eyes. I couldn’t believe it. He’d remembered the poem.

Lowering my head, I rested over his chest, promising myself that I’d never let him go.

His hand came up and started caressing my hair as he began to stir, and I felt him brush against my leg, his arousal growing harder.

I leaned over the side of the bed, picking up my now useless lingerie, which had two hooks ripped off because he got impatient fiddling with the ribbons in his mad rush.

“I liked that stuff,” he mumbled, making me drop the lace. “Who knew I’d like you in clothes more than I liked you naked?”

I leaned up over him, shooting him an insulted look.

He barked out a laugh. “I didn’t mean that exactly,” he backtracked. “But it definitely enhanced your points of interest.”

I rolled my eyes and swung my leg over his body, straddling him as the thunder cracked through the sky.

I leaned down, whispering over his mouth. “Let me see what I can do to enhance your point of interest.”

And I snaked my way down his body, hearing him suck in a breath and grab my hair as I took him in my mouth.

***

Jared stood at the kitchen sink, looking even sexier doing dishes than he did when he worked on his car.

I’d made breakfast, and afterward he started cleaning up, just like he always did. As a kid Jared grew self-sufficient, and he was good about cleaning up, even when we had lived together for a couple of years in college. Thank goodness that hadn’t changed.

I joined him at the island and placed my dishes in the sink.

“Jax borrowed my cooler last month,” I told him, holding his hips from behind and kissing his back softly. “I’ll be right back, okay?”

We were off with a group of other drivers today for a nice cruise up to Chestnut Mountain for lunch. Even with the light drizzle outside, nothing was stopping me from making the trip. Jared with me in a car. And a long drive with music. In the rain.

A perfect day.

He twisted his head, kissing me. “My duffel is in my old room,” he muttered between kisses. “See if he can grab me a change of clothes, would you?”

I nodded, sinking into his mouth again before pulling away to leave through the back door.

My clothes got pummeled as soon as I stepped off the back porch, but I didn’t speed up into a run. I never ran in the rain. My bootcut jeans covered my legs, but my toes were bare in my black flip-flops, and while my fitted black polo shirt wouldn’t go see-through with getting wet, my arms—bare in their short sleeves—already glistened with the light drizzle.

Stepping through the gate, I traipsed across Jax and Juliet’s revamped backyard, complete with a finished deck and a landscaping scene. Fallon had used her engineering and designing expertise to experiment with their space, making it even more beautiful and inviting.

I opened the back door and called out, “Jax!” I stepped in, closing the door behind me. “Juliet!”

“In here,” I heard her voice from the bathroom off the side of the kitchen.

Thunder rippled outside, and I bit back my smile as I damn near bounced to the bathroom.

But I stopped short, seeing Juliet leaning over the toilet, coughing.

“Whoa, are you okay?” I rushed to hold her up.

“Oh, I’m fine,” she grumbled, flushing the toilet and leaning back up and wiping her mouth with a hand towel. “One drink. One damn drink last night,” she complained, “and I wake up feeling like crap. Why am I such a lightweight?”

“You are.” I laughed, drawing her a glass of water. “I remember high school.”

She arched a brow, glaring at me. “I don’t want to relive that. You looked hot, and I was trying to be nice.”

“By throwing a beer on me?” I shot back, handing her the glass. “To cool me off, you said?”

She snorted and shook her head at the memory of how tipsy even a little liquor got her before taking some water. She’d never been a big drinker, which was probably good, because neither was Jax.

“I need to grab my cooler,” I told her over my shoulder as she followed me out of the bathroom. “I assume it’s in the garage?”

She nodded, setting down the glass and righting her dainty red peasant blouse, loosely tucking the hem into her jean shorts.

“And I need to get a change of clothes for Jared. Is Jax in the bedroom?” I inquired, not wanting to walk in on him.

“He’s in his office.” She jerked her chin to the stairs. “You may as well grab Jared’s whole bag. He probably won’t be spending any more nights here,” she teased.

Yeah, probably not.

I turned to leave, but she caught my hand.

“I’m happy for you,” she said, her tone even and serious. “You and Jared . . . I didn’t always think he was good enough for you, Tate,” she admitted. “But there was a time when I didn’t think I was, either.”

I stood there, happy that she’d surprised herself.

She squeezed my hand. “He’s a good man.”

I smiled and kissed her on the cheek. “Thanks.”

Running up the stairs, I stepped into Jax and Juliet’s bedroom and spotted Jared’s black duffel in the corner by the window.

Quickly stuffing the spilled clothes inside, I lifted the bag by the straps and flung it over my shoulder, thankful that his time in ROTC had at least taught him how to pack light.

I made my way for the door but stopped, spotting a circular black leather box on the dresser.

My jaw tingled with excited energy as I picked it up. I knew I shouldn’t open it, but I had a feeling that Jax was going to ask Juliet soon. And if the ring was just sitting out, then he must’ve already asked her. I wanted to see it.

But then if he did, why hadn’t she told me?

I glanced at the door, seeing no one in the sliver of hallway visible, and looked back down, cracking open the box.

My heart pitter-pattered in my chest, and I felt a rush of excitement in my limbs.

The ring was on a platinum band encrusted with small diamonds, while the centerpiece was a princess cut surrounded by smaller chips. I didn’t know about carats, but the stone had to be nearly as wide as her finger.

“Wow.” I brought my hand to my mouth, covering my whisper. “Holy—”

“Shit?” I heard Jax finish and looked up to see him stepping into the room.

I smiled at him through the happy tears in my eyes. “Are you asking her to marry you?” I inquired. “Or have you already asked her?”

I was so excited for Juliet.

He looked away, the words caught in his throat. “Yes, actually,” he stammered. “But that’s not the ring I’m using.”

At my confused look, he shut the door behind him and spoke low.

“That’s Jared’s,” he told me. “He left it here when he came home a year and a half ago.”

Jared’s . . . ? What?

“He left it here when he came home to propose to you,” he finished, the solemn look on his face clearly waiting for my reaction.

My lungs emptied, and I just stood there. I couldn’t move.

Jared came home more than a year ago to propose to me?

I dropped the bag, leaning against the dresser, and closed my eyes, walking myself through what he must’ve felt when he saw me with someone else. Buying a ring, coming home still as in love with me as when he left, and seeing . . .

Jax grabbed my face, turning me to look at him. “Look at me, Tate.” Our eyes locked. “Stop, okay? You did nothing wrong. As with everything, it was bad timing.” His hands cupped my face firmly, and I breathed in and out, trying to move past the ache of regret. I’d never wanted to hurt Jared. But he’d hurt me when he left, and I’d had to push him away.

“You are the love of his life,” Jax continued, “and there was never any question that he was going to make his way back to you and fight for you sooner or later. What’s important is that you both move on. You’ve got a life to live, memories to make with each other, and babies to have.” He shook my face with his last words, bringing me back. “Don’t waste another minute.”

He was right. He was always right.

I could spend hours or days feeling bad about Jared wanting to marry me long ago, but I hadn’t meant to break his heart. I was simply trying to protect mine.

Now he was here. He loved me, and I loved him. And we were happy. Case closed, and no looking back.

“Jax!” Juliet yelled from downstairs.

He dropped his hands, running into the hallway.

“What’s wrong?” He peered over the railing.

“Check your phone! Madoc just texted,” she said, sounding worried. “Katherine just went into labor. She’s having the baby now!”

Chapter 16

Jared

We dove into the elevator, Jax and I with the girls at our sides, and my phone about to crack under the pressure of my fist.

After Madoc’s text, Tate had come through the backdoor carrying my duffel, and I had her go start the car while I slipped on some clothes. Jax and Juliet had sped off right away, while I swung by Madoc’s house and picked up Pasha. She’d been keeping pretty busy, hanging out with Jax at the Loop and hiking with Madoc, Fallon, and Lucas—their little brother from the Big Brothers Big Sisters program—this past week, but for some reason, I didn’t want to leave her out of things.

So I took a small detour, picked her up, and hit the road.

And of all the fucking inconveniences, my mother was in Chicago for the weekend with Jason, since her city friends had convinced her to go to some baby exposition bullshit when she should’ve been resting.

We sped the entire drive and caught up with Jax.

Once inside the hospital, I sent Pasha to the gift shop to buy flowers. I considered making sure my mom and sister were all right more important than personally picking out her floral arrangement. So while she did that, the rest of us raced up to the third floor.

My muscles tightened in anticipation, and I could feel a trickle of sweat trail down my back. I didn’t know why I was so nervous.

It wasn’t worry or discomfort. It was definitely nervousness. I rubbed my mouth over my T-shirt on my shoulder, wiping away the thin layer of sweat.

What was I supposed to do with a baby? It was doubtful there would be any connection. Our differences in age would most likely prevent us from bonding.

And it was a girl. What was I supposed to do with a girl?

Luckily, she was little, and it would be a long time before she really interacted with anyone.

But part of me was also depressed by that fact, too.

Madoc, and even Jax, would no doubt catch on very quickly how to play with her and talk to her, but entertaining, much less tolerating, people was never my strong suit.

But I did want her to be close to me. I just had no idea what the hell to do to make that happen.

Madoc had texted that my mom was in suite seven, and since it took us nearly an hour to get to Chicago, navigate traffic to the hospital, and park, the baby was already here and so were Madoc and Fallon, since they’d left before us.

I didn’t knock. Barging into the room, though, I slowed, seeing Madoc standing by my mom’s bed with the baby already in his arms.

“I got her first,” he teased. “Sorry.”

He wasn’t at all sorry, judging by the shitty-ass grin on his face, but it was okay. I stared at the tightly wrapped pink bundle in Madoc’s big arms, looking like nothing more than a little loaf of bread, and I tried to wrap my brain around the fact that that was my sister.

I couldn’t even see her, she was so buried in blankets.

Tate stayed at my side, and I could feel my mom watching me as Jax veered around to go to Madoc’s side.

“Hey, Quinn Caruthers,” he sang, putting a gentle hand on her head.

Madoc looked at her with awe, already in love, while Jax loomed at his side, and I could tell he was itching to get her into his arms.

I didn’t know why I felt like a third wheel. I glanced at my mom, who was watching me with patience.

“All of her brothers.” She reminded me, urging me with her eyes to go get a closer look at the baby.

I inhaled a deep breath and walked over, flanking Madoc’s other side as I dropped my eyes and took in the little bit. The little bit of nothing who was already succeeding in making my knees buckle.

“Isn’t she perfect?” Madoc said holding her up on his forearms in front of his body, so we all could see.

And everything inside of me gave way.

My chest splintered in a hundred different cracks, my hands tingled, and what I felt was almost a craving to hold her.

Her glistening eyelids covered her eyes in sleep, so I couldn’t tell their color, but the rest of her had a reddish tint that made her look like she’d been through the ringer today.

Her plump new cheeks looked soft and fragile, her nose was no bigger than my pinky nail, and the little triangle gap between her lips as she breathed—every little thing—felt like it was digging its way into my heart. I reached out, unable to resist slipping my finger into her fist.

How could anything be so little?

The tiny fingers—as frail as matchsticks—wrapped around my finger, and my throat swelled, and I tried to swallow against the painful ache, but it was too much.

“We’re your brothers, little girl,” Jax cooed.

“Yeah.” Madoc laughed. “You’re so screwed.”

Everyone laughed, high off the rush of a new baby, but I was falling. The blanket shifted, and I looked down to see her little feet nudge their way out.

“Jesus, she’s little,” I breathed out, amazed. I looked up. “Mom, I . . .”

But my mom was crying, tears streaming down her face, and I immediately felt like shit that I hadn’t gone to her first.

“Are you okay?” I asked, trying to slip away from Quinn’s little fist, but it was no use.

She shook her head clear, smiling. “I’m on top of the world,” she assured me. “The picture I’m looking at right now couldn’t be more perfect.” And she started crying again, looking at Madoc, Jax, and me. Jason brought her head into his chest, looking completely disheveled himself.

“She’s going to be a blonde,” he pointed out, referring to his new daughter.

“How do you know?” Jax asked, curious.

“Because she’s practically bald. Just like Madoc was.”

Madoc snorted and shot his dad an annoyed look.

I put my hand on top of her head, amazed at how it fit in my palm. I felt Tate watching me and looked up to see a smile in her eyes.

“You want to hold her, Jared?” my mom spoke up.

I shook my head. “I don’t think—”

But Madoc was already on me, handing her off. I brought my arms up, feeling them shake under the weight of her weightlessness.

“Oh, shit.” I breathed hard.

“Language.” I heard my mom’s faint mumble.

Madoc took his arms away, slowly lowering her head into the crook of my arm, and even though she weighed nothing, I was afraid I wouldn’t be able to hang on to her.

Different from any other feeling I’d ever had.

I pinched my eyebrows together, studying every little inch of her sweet face.

“She’s so small,” I said more to myself than to the others.

“She’ll grow,” Jax commented, peering over my shoulder.

I shook my head, not believing that I was once that little. “So helpless . . .”

Tate finally appeared at my side and kissed her forehead. “A girl with you three as her brothers will be anything but helpless.” She laughed.

My chest suddenly shook, watching as her mouth opened in a little oval as she yawned, and—holy shit—I was going to die. Could she get any cuter?

I laughed so I wouldn’t cry. “I feel like my heart is breaking, and I don’t know why. What the hell?”

“It’s love,” I heard my mother say. “Your heart isn’t breaking. It’s growing.”

Tate wrapped her arm around my waist and leaned her head on my arm, both of us watching Quinn.

I leaned down, brushing a kiss on her cheek and inhaling her baby scent.

Jesus, I was pathetic.

“My turn,” Jax shot out, nudging in.

Reluctantly, I handed her off, careful to support her head. I was unnerved by how much I didn’t want to give her up.

Hell, I even hated the thought of ever having to leave Shelburne Falls again.

“Oh, God!”

We all turned, stunned out of our baby trance as Juliet dove for the wastebasket and vomited, turning away from us to hide her display.

“Juliet!” Jax shouted, handing the baby off to our mom as he and Tate rushed over to help.

“Baby, are you okay?” he asked as Tate pulled back her hair.

“Oh, my God,” she groaned, dry heaving over the garbage. “I’m so sorry. I don’t want to make the baby sick if I caught something.”

“Here.” Jax handed her some Kleenex to wipe her mouth and supported her body with his arm.

She pushed him away, lurching again and emptying just about everything else she had in her stomach.

“Oh, no.” A nurse walked in, shoving the water pitcher at me as she rushed to Juliet’s side.

“I’m sorry,” Juliet mumbled, holding her hand over her mouth, a pink blush settling on her skin.

I put the pitcher down on my mom’s little dinner table and poured some water for both her and Juliet.

“No harm done,” the nurse soothed. “Come with me.” And she placed a hand on her back, guiding her out.

Jax and Tate made a move to follow, but Juliet stopped them. “No, you stay. Both of you,” she ordered. “I’ll be fine. Stay with Quinn. I’ll see you in the waiting room.”

“You’re not fine,” Jax shot out.

“Stay,” she commanded. “Please, I’ll feel bad. I’m just going to the bathroom, anyway. I’ll see you in a minute.”

Jax stood at the doorway, watching her go, and the rest of us took seats on the couch, laughing at Madoc taking selfies with Quinn.

***

“Looks like the cruise is shot,” I commented, noticing that the time on my phone already read after four in the afternoon.

By the time we’d gotten to the hospital and visited with my mom, Jason, and Quinn, it was nearly time to head home for Tate’s race tonight.

Thankfully, the weather had cleared up, so Jax was expecting a full crowd.

“It’s okay.” Tate nuzzled in under my arm, wrapping her arm around my waist. “This was a much better day anyway.”

She looked over at Jax on her other side and then up at me. “Your sister is a very lucky girl. You both know that, right?”

Jax and I shared a look, laughing to ourselves.

“What?” Tate looked back and forth between us.

I shook my head, knowing what she meant, but . . .

“Well,” I started, “my first thought was that she needs other kids to grow up with. She’ll be lonely.”

“Yeah,” Jax chimed in, lifting his water bottle to his lips and agreeing with me.

“Well,” Tate argued, “you may be surprised at how much you’ll all make sure she’s not lonely.”

“Good point,” I added. And she was probably right. My mother was spot on about our roles with our sister.

As soon as I held her fragile, helpless body, I’d known that I would run into the middle of a stampede for her.

“Hey.” Jax approached the nurse’s station. “My girlfriend was sick. A nurse took her somewhere, but I haven’t seen her or heard anything.”

“Juliet Carter?” she said right away. “Yeah, she’s in room two.”

“They put her in a room?” he asked, confused, and Tate shot me a worried look.

The nurse nodded and gestured to the left with her hand.

I dug in my eyebrows, a little worried.

Even though I’d grown pretty fond of Juliet, she was still normally off my radar. Her interests, hobbies, and well-being weren’t high on my list of priorities, so I’d never paid her much mind. But I had to admit she was head over heels for my brother, as well as loyal and nurturing. And she worked hard, never expecting things to be handed to her.

She deserved him, and he deserved her.

Jax barreled for room two, pushing open the door, while Tate and I quickly followed.

“Jesus,” Jax cursed as soon as he entered the room. “Is she okay?”

We rushed in, seeing her asleep on top of the covers, looking peaceful and still wearing the same clothes as before.

He rushed to her side, looking her up and down. “What the hell?” he whispered, turning to the nurse who had trailed in behind us.

She stopped, a stunned look on her face. “I’m sorry, sir?”

“What’s wrong with her?” I said softly, careful not to wake Juliet.

Tate had stepped up next to Jax, looking down at her friend.

“I just came on duty,” she explained. “As far as I know, though, she’s fine. They just wanted her to rest and get hydrated.” She looked around to all of us. “She’ll be fine to leave in a bit. No worries.”

“Well, is something wrong? She’s my girlfriend.” Jax’s worried eyes were trying to connect the dots just like the rest of us. But with no luck.

“Not at all.” Her voice sounded light. “It’s very common to have a hard time holding anything down in the first trimester. She’ll be fine. Just make sure she drinks as much water as possible.”

Jax’s eyes nearly bugged out of his goddamn head, and I almost choked on my breath.

“Tri-what?” I forced out.

“Jax,” Tate gasped, looking between us, smiling with her hand over her mouth.

“I’m sorry.” Jax shook his head, zoning in on the poor young nurse. “What the hell did you just say?”

Realization dawned, and she straightened. “Oh,” she said, looking caught. “I’m sorry. I thought a doctor spoke to you.” She inched up to the bed, embarrassment warming her face.

“She’s pregnant?” Jax blurted.

The nurse nodded, checking the water pitcher on the table. “Yes, about five weeks. From what the other nurse said before she left, it doesn’t sound like your girlfriend was aware, either.” She turned to leave and then faced Jax again. “And I am sorry again. I thought you were informed.”

She left the room, and Jax leaned down on the bed, staring at Juliet. Tate squeezed my hand, and I felt a sudden need to get her alone. It had been a crazy day.

Jax brought up his hand, caressing Juliet’s face, and then placed it on her stomach, looking like he was trying to wrap his head around the news.

“Let’s go,” I whispered to Tate. My brother needed to be alone with his girl right now.

Keeping hold of Tate’s hand, I led her out of the room and walked down the hall, finding the single-person restroom. With all the chaos today, not to mention that we still had her race tonight, I needed to steal a few minutes with her.

Pulling her inside, I backed her up to the door and took her by the neck, crashing my mouth down on hers.

She moaned, surprised as she slipped her hands under my T-shirt to hold on to my back. Her mouth was so warm, and I nibbled her lips, too damn hungry to get my mouth on the rest of her body.

“So,” she tried speaking between kisses, “a kid for Quinn to grow up with. Just like you wanted.”

I unbuttoned her jeans and slid them down over her ass and grabbed her naked flesh in my hands as I continued attacking her lips.