“Listen, Mom, I have to go. Please tell Jenna that I called and checked in on her. I’ll stop by tomorrow.” She didn’t wait for her mom’s response and just ended the call.
“He hit you before.” Drew’s breathing grew harsh. Drew was standing in the doorway, his whole body vibrating with tension, anger pouring off him. She nodded, and Drew turned and punched the wall, leaving a hole in the drywall. “Fuck.” He shook his fist, obviously in pain.Stupid men.What was up with all this hitting? As if realizing what he’d just done, he strode across the room to her, eyes wide. “Baby,” he said in a soothing tone as he gently touched her battered face. “I’m sorry. That was stupid of me. I would never hurt you. I would never do what Jake did to you. I just want five minutes with that fucker.” Karlie barked out her laugh, and Drew froze in place.
“You had two minutes with him, and you just about disfigured him. I can’t imagine what you’d do in five minutes,” she teased.
“I’d kill him.” Drew’s stare was deadly, making her shiver.
“That’s what I’m afraid of. I just found you; I don’t want to date you while you’re in prison.” She tried smiling to lighten the mood, but Drew was having none of it. He paced the floorin front of her, his hands bunched into fists. “Drew, everything Jake did to me is in the past. Don’t let it ruin our future.” Drew stopped in front of her and kneeled, his face level with hers. He reached for her, then hesitated. “It’s okay, Drew. I know you would never hurt me. I need you to touch me. Please don’t make me beg.”
Drew cupped her face. “I don’t know what to do here. I don’t know how to react to everything that happened tonight. Tonight, Karlie, not the past. Jake hit you tonight, and I want to fucking kill him. Please tell me that you are going to press charges. At least that asshole will be in jail for a while, and we won’t have to worry about him coming after you again.”
“I told my Mom I am going to press charges, and I intend to. I can’t believe that my parents don’t want me to. I think they are worried about the baby. They don’t want my nephew growing up without a father, or worse, having a father who’s a convict.”
Drew climbed into bed behind her and pulled her down into his arms. She could hear the beating of his heart through his chest. He wasn’t wearing a shirt, and she loved to run her hands all over his chest and abs. She couldn’t get enough of him. She had gone from a woman who had only had one orgasm in her life to a woman who couldn’t get enough sex with this man. “What are you thinking?” she asked hesitantly.
“I’m thinking that I’m hungry.” He grinned down at her, mindlessly rubbing his fingertips up and down her back. “So, a nephew?” Drew pulled her in closer. “That’s pretty cool. I have always wished that Ryan would settle down and have a kid. I would make a pretty good uncle. Shephard is just too young to settle down. He still has a year of college left and still has some growing up to do. My little sister, Madison, is only eighteen. If any guy ever tries to touch Maddie, I’ll break his fucking neck.”That made Karlie giggle again. She winced in pain from her cracked lip.
“It’s just me and Jenna,” Karlie whispered. “I always thought that I’d have a baby before her. She’s only twenty, she’s just a baby herself. I worry about how she will do it without a father for her son. But I know that Jake doesn’t deserve to be in my nephew’s life, and if I have to be the one to make sure that he stays the hell away from him, then I will.” Drew kissed the top of her head, and Karlie rolled on top of him and faced him. He gently kissed her lips and pushed back her hair from her eyes. She was surprised that her scalp hurt a little less now.
“How about you?” she asked, “Have you ever thought about having kids?” She didn’t realize she was holding her breath until he nodded. She smiled down at him, “That’s good to know. I want them too. A lot of them.” Again, Drew’s eyes widened. “Does that scare you?” she asked.
Drew thought for a minute. “No, it doesn’t scare me too much—more like surprises me. But now that you have said it, I can see you with a few rug rats.”
“Rug rats?” She pinched his side, making him squirm. “My children will not be rug rats. They will be angels.”
“Yeah, good luck with that, sweetheart.” He chuckled. “If they are anything like you, you’ll have your hands full. We both will.” They both stilled with his last statement. She wasn’t quite sure what to say. Had they gotten to that point? They had both admitted to falling in love with each other, but talking about kids together?
He leaned his head up and kissed the side of her mouth. “Don’t think too much about it, baby. Just go with it because it’shappening. You’re mine, and that means forever. I didn’t want to scare you off before. I was worried that you would try to run. I told you that I’m in love with you. You said that you’re falling for me.” He gave a wolfish grin. “So, you’re stuck with me—you’re mine.” She jumped at the pounding on Drew’s front door, startled by the intrusion. “Who the fuck?” Drew jumped up and pulled on his jeans to answer the door. Karlie slid on another one of his T-shirts and was right behind him as he answered the door. Honestly, what else could go wrong tonight? Drew opened the heavy glass front door.
“What?” he barked. The poor man on the other side looked scared enough of Drew to jump out of his skin.
“Um,” The man cleared his throat. “I’m Dr. Meadows. Karlie Angel?” he asked, facing her.
“Yes, I’m Karlie.”
“Yes, um, well, your father sent me to take a look at your wounds from earlier this evening.” The man was studying her bruises. Drew asked him to come in. Her father cared enough to send over their family doctor.
“You were just with my sister?” Karlie questioned. “How is she? Is she still okay? Is the baby—is he still good?” She was so worried about them that her hands were shaking. Drew reached down, taking both hands in his.
“Yes, she and the baby are fine. I recommended bed rest and gave her something to help her sleep tonight. She was quite distraught, just as I am sure you are. May I take a look at your face?”
“I don’t see much point, I’m fine.” Karlie tried to smile, but the cut on her lip cracked again and started to bleed.
“Baby,” Drew said quietly, “just let the doctor look at you. It will give us both peace of mind, and I’m sure he’ll be gentle.” Drew raised a brow at the doctor.
“Yes,” the doctor nervously agreed. “I will be very gentle. Please just let me take a look, and then I will be on my way.”
She felt ganged up on. “Fine,” she said, “but there isn’t much to look at.” An hour later, the doctor had cleaned up her lip. It needed a stitch, and he gave her a round of antibiotics to take, just in case of infection. He told her that if she experienced any headaches or nausea, to call him immediately. She agreed, just wanting him to stop poking and stitching her up. Drew asked what they owed him, but the doctor told them that Karlie’s dad had taken care of everything. Hmm, had he had a change of heart about her pressing charges against Jake? Did her father feel bad about asking her not to go to the police? The doctor finally left, and Karlie felt exhausted.
Drew turned and hauled her up into his arms, making her squeal. “Food, medication, and bed.” Now, that was a plan that she could get behind!
Chapter Seven
Worried about Karlie, Drew woke up before dawn. Had he gone too far, telling her how he truly felt about her? He was worried that she might run, but she hadn’t. Ever since their discussion about kids, all he could think about was the children that they would have together. He wanted everything with her—marriage, children, love. He told her what he wanted, and she hadn’t run; that was a good first step. Now he just needed to move on with the rest of his plan. He needed her with him, in his bed, his home, his life.
He needed her to understand that letting her go was not an option. He pulled her closer, and she moaned in her sleep, but he couldn’t help himself. He needed to be as close as possible to her. They were both naked, which was fine with him. He usually slept that way, but judging from Karlie’s tossing and turning and complaining that she was cold, she wasn’t used to sleeping in the buff. She’d have to get used to it; he didn’t want any barriers between them.
As if she instinctively knew, she wiggled her sweet, curvy ass against his cock, and he groaned. He wanted her to sleep a littlemore. Drew didn’t intend on waking her—she needed rest to heal properly, and he knew that as soon as she got up and started moving, she’d demand that he take her to see her sister. She called Jenna’s name twice during the night. She also woke up screaming a few times. He couldn’t stand to see her so worried and afraid. It gutted him to know that he could do nothing to take away that pain from her. She stretched against him, waking up. His hands automatically went to her breasts, cupping and tugging.
