“Break-in?” She was quickly realizing just how far Jake had gone to make sure Drew wouldn’t get to her in time.
“Yeah, Jake called the police while Ryan and I were waiting at Jenna’s house for the locksmith. He was watching us, waiting for us to leave you alone. I guess he thought that it would buy him some time, keeping us at Jenna’s house for a while,” Drew explained.
The officer agreed, asking Karlie to go on with her statement. “Did he have a weapon when he found you in the hall?” he questioned.
“No,” Karlie continued, “he took me by surprise, and his hold was so tight, I was afraid to struggle because I was scared he would hurt my baby.” She reached down and put her hands on her belly. “He told me that he was going to hurt us both. I didn’t want to make him angry enough to do that.”
Drew growled again, “I should have killed him when I had the chance.”
“Well, you just about did. I’d call knocking him out cold and dislocating his shoulder a pretty good second choice.” The officer grinned at Drew.
“When I saw Drew, everything happened so fast. Drew was trying to talk to him while Jake was moving me closer to the elevators. I knew that if he got me on them, I’d be gone. So, when he kissed me, I fought back. I guess I surprised him because Iwas able to get away.” Drew was holding her tighter; she glanced over at him and saw so much anger on his face. She eased a hand down his cheek as if trying to take some of the anger from him. “I’m fine, Drew. He can’t get me now, right?” She turned her attention to Officer Peterson. “He can’t hurt us now, right? You have him, don’t you?” She could hear the worry in her voice.
“He’s in custody, Miss Angel. He won’t be able to hurt you or your family for a long time.” Karlie breathed a sigh of relief.
“When I saw Jake in the back of the cafeteria, I realized he must have gotten back in through the kitchen. I saw the gun in his hand, and I just started running. My only thought was to run. Well, at least until I saw him shoot Drew. Then, I could only think about getting back to him. I couldn’t let Jake kill him. I—I need him too much. I love him.” She looked over to Drew, unshed tears in her eyes. He brushed them away with his thumbs as they fell down her face.
“I love you, too, honey.” His voice was gruff with emotion.
“Officer Peterson, if you wouldn’t mind, I’m feeling very tired now.” Karlie felt fine; she just needed to be alone with Drew. She needed to tell him how she felt; how much she needed him. She knew, at that moment, that Drew would never hurt her as Jake had. Drew wasn’t Jake—it was that simple. All those months of not completely trusting Drew wasn’t fair to him. He did nothing but prove, over and over, that he loved her and would never hurt her. She wasn’t going to let a jerk like Jake ruin the rest of her life with the man that she loved. If she did, then Jake would win, and she couldn’t let that happen.
“Of course, if you think of anything else, please give me a call.” He walked to her bedside, handing her his business card.
“Yes, thank you, for everything,” she whispered. Officer Peterson left, and the room was quiet, except for their baby’s heartbeat. She concentrated on the steady, strong beat and knew what she needed to say to Drew.
“Yes,” she whispered, looking into Drew’s eyes.
“Yes?” He seemed confused at first, but when he understood what she was saying yes to, his whole face lit up, starting with his beautiful, green eyes. “You mean, yes, you will marry me, honey?”
“When I saw you lying on the floor bleeding, all I could think about was that Jake was going to kill you. I panicked. I couldn’t imagine my life—our lives,” she whispered, touching her belly, “without you. I will marry you, Drew. I love you so much. I don’t want to spend my life without you.” She pulled his face to hers, framing it with her hands. “The baby and I both want to spend the rest of our lives with you.” She smiled at him and kissed him gently at first until he took control, deepening the kiss.
He pulled back from her, leaving them both panting for air. “Baby, you mean it? You’re going to marry me?” He seemed so hopeful that she couldn’t help her giggle.
“Yes, I mean it,” she said. His very loud, “Yahoo!” scaring poor Nurse Grumpy so bad that she just about dropped their food tray on her way into their room.
“Sorry.” He winced, “She finally agreed to marry me!”
Nurse Grumpy didn’t seem as happy about their news: “I thought you said she was already your fiancée?” She looked at Drew, suspicion on her face. Drew smiled his sexy smile and shrugged. Karlie laughed, throwing her head back, holding her baby bump. Yeah, she could get used to being this happy. Karliewanted her happily ever after with him. He was her forever.
Epilogue
Drew couldn’t believe how beautiful Karlie looked in her wedding gown. The day had been perfect, just a simple ceremony with family and a few friends. Karlie had insisted that they get married in the backyard of their house. She had loved that house since she was a kid, and now he could give her the gift of her dream wedding in the backyard of her dream house. She, of course, had already started adding her touches to the house. They bought a few pieces of furniture together. He wanted her to feel like it was her home, too. She was so excited when he took her shopping for the baby’s crib. While they were in the hospital, after the attack two months ago, she had a sonogram that confirmed her suspicions. They were having a little girl, and he couldn’t have been happier. He loved the idea of a little girl who looked just like her momma.
Karlie just glowed, her belly big and round. She demanded that they get married before the baby was born. She wanted them all to be an “official” family before her due date. So, everyone pitched in and got everything ready for the big day. His only regret was that they couldn’t wait for Ryan to get leave, but his brother had insisted that Drew and Karlie not wait for him.Ryan was still out at sea and couldn’t get home for the next few months. He still checked in every two weeks, asking about Karlie and the baby, but always sneaking in a question or two about Jenna and Zac. Drew told him to just call her. Jenna asked about Ryan just about every time she saw Drew. It was obvious to him that the two had feelings for each other, but they were just too stubborn to admit it. Maybe it was for the best, as Ryan pointed out, Jenna had a new baby and a husband to divorce. She didn’t need any more complications at this moment. Still, Drew couldn’t wait to see how everything between his brother and Karlie’s sister played out, because he knew that eventually, it would. And he was betting that it would be a lot of fun to watch.
The party was over, and most of their guests had left. Some of Karlie’s family had lingered to help with the clean-up. Drew couldn’t wait to start their honeymoon. He wanted to take her up to their room after the ceremony, but, dragging his new wife to the bedroom to make love to her while all their friends and family were there was even too “caveman” for him. Still, he couldn’t keep his hands off her the whole night, and he had a raging boner to prove it.
“Everyone is gone.” Karlie waddled into the family room where Drew was cleaning up some of the cake plates. “Just leave that. My mom and Jenna said that they’d be back tomorrow, not too early, to clean up everything for us. We have a honeymoon to start, Mr. Jackson.” She started to loosen his tie, pulling him onto her lips for a deep, hot kiss. Drew dropped the dishes on the table, and Karlie giggled.
He pulled her into his now free hands, finding the zipper for her wedding dress. It was so simple and elegant. So—Karlie. “You look beautiful in this dress, but baby, I need you out of it, now.” Drew started running the zipper down her back, slowly teasingher. When he finally got it down, he grabbed her ass, squeezing it in his big hands and pulling her close.
“Mmm, baby—I still think this is my favorite part of you.” She squirmed and wiggled in his hands, and he tapped her ass, “Saucy,” he chided, causing another laugh from her.
“How about you carry me over the threshold of our bedroom and show me how much you love all my parts,” she teased, running her hands down his now open shirt, resting on the zipper of his slacks. His cock stood at attention as trying to get her to take notice. She smiled, running her hands over the outline of his shaft. “I want my wedding present now,” she whispered, running her greedy hands over his throbbing cock. He moaned and thrust into her hold, needing more.
“Deal,” he promised, lifting her into his arms, making her squeal. He kissed her, demanding and needy. His tongue slid easily into her welcoming mouth. He carried her into their bedroom and laid her on the new king-sized bed that he bought for her. He slipped her dress down her body, over the baby bump, revealing a sexy little bra that barely covered her nipples and panties that were tiny, white, and already drenched. And her heels—they were so fucking sexy. “Keep the shoes on, baby,” he rasped. “You look so sexy; I could just eat you up.” She moaned and squirmed, anxious for him to begin. She sat up, her crafty fingers shooting right to his zipper. She opened his slacks, and his eager cock sprang forward. She moaned and licked the pre-cum from the tip. Drew closed his eyes and leaned into her, needing her to suck him deeper.
“Yes, baby—that feels so fucking good. Just like that,” he moaned as she sucked him into her hot mouth, playing with his balls with her hands. He ran his fingers through her hair, tangling them up, taking some control of her mouth. Shemoaned around him, and he just about lost it. He pulled out, his dick protesting at the loss of her hot, wet mouth.
