Blue Lines: The Assassins Series: A Loveswept Contemporary Romance (43 page)

“Hi, little guy,” she whispered as she cried, “I’m your mommy.”

As a nurse started to wipe him down, Piper glanced over to see Erik completely white,
with his mouth hanging open. She wanted to laugh but Dimitri was screaming his head
off and she couldn’t stop looking at him. He was so beautiful.

“All right, Daddy, snip right here,” Dr. Richards said.

Piper watched as Erik looked at the doctor and then the umbilical cord before looking
up at Piper. When a big bright grin came across his face, she couldn’t stop the sob
that escaped her lips as he reached for the scissors and cut their son from her. When
he appeared next to her, he laid his big hand on Dimitri’s back before kissing her
temple.

“You did it,” he whispered before kissing her again. “You did it, baby. God, he is
so beautiful.”

And he was. Little but beautiful. He didn’t even need more than the regular prenatal
care. He was perfect and she couldn’t believe that she had done this, that they had
made such a beautiful, sweet baby. Kissing Dimitri’s head, Piper wiped her tears from
her face before looking over at Erik.

“No,
we
did it.”

He smiled, kissing her lips before looking back down at Dimitri. It was like she was
looking at her future and when she looked up into Erik’s eyes, she knew that she needed
him to
be there, too. She had no doubt that she could raise this baby by herself, but she
didn’t want to. She wanted Erik with her; she wanted Dimitri to have his mommy and
his daddy.

Suddenly a nurse appeared and said, “We need to check him out.”

Piper nodded as they took him and watched as Erik went with them, standing only inches
away. She never thought she could love Erik more, but she did. He had been amazing
during the labor and perfect throughout the delivery. He was attentive, sweet, and
amazing, everything Piper needed. She couldn’t have done it without him, and she knew
that he had to love her. He might not have the words but he had the actions and that
was enough.

Closing her eyes, tears leaked out as she listened to her little guy cry. Everything
had happened so fast and she couldn’t believe that just a few hours ago she was celebrating
her best friend’s union and now here she was, a mommy. How did this happen and why
wasn’t she scared? She had been so worried when they first got to the hospital, feeling
like she couldn’t do it, but she did—and a pretty damn good job, if she did say so
herself. And she knew it was all because of Erik.

Glancing over at Erik, she watched him watch their son like he was tracking a puck
on the ice: sharp and attentive. He was going to be the perfect father, and she had
known that since the beginning. The great thing was that he was finally realizing
this.

She knew that there was still a lot to figure out between them, but at that moment
she was surprised she could even keep her eyes open. Her body was exhausted, and she
felt as if just moving her arms would take everything out of her. She felt loopy,
like she was flying, as everyone started to move and poke at her. When she glanced
down at Dr. Richards, she whispered, “I’m about to pass out.”

“I wouldn’t doubt it. They gave you some pain meds, so go to sleep. I’m finishing
up some of your sutures,” Dr. Richards said.

Piper opened her eyes to see that Erik was still standing near Dimitri. Looking back
at her, he smiled and said, “I won’t leave his side.”

She nodded slowly, and thought she said she loved him, but she wasn’t sure because
the next thing she knew, she was out.

“How do I hold him?”

Piper’s eyes fluttered open to find Erik standing beside a nurse, their backs to her.
She sat up, very slowly, since she was still sore everywhere. She felt like she had
competed in a
Ninja Warrior
competition and hadn’t slept in days, but when she glanced up at the clock, she noticed
that she had slept through the night. Moving her hands through her hair, she blinked
as she took in her surroundings. The table beside her held bouquets of flowers, along
with a little stuffed whale. A small smile came across her face as she reached for
it and saw that Dimitri’s name was along the tail, along with a tag that said, “From
Daddy.”

“I’ll place him in your arms.”

Piper watched as the nurse placed her little man in Erik’s arms. Dimitri was wrapped
up in a little white blanket, looking like a little burrito, and when Erik turned
there was a grin on his face that only grew when he saw Piper looking up at him.

“Look, bud, Mommy is awake,” he said softly as he came toward her.

“Do y’all need anything else?” the nurse asked.

Erik shook his head. “No, ma’am, I think we are good.” He then asked Piper, “Sweetheart,
do you need anything?”

Piper shook her head. “I just want to hold my baby.”

Erik carried the baby over to Piper, who was sitting on the edge of the bed, and leaned
against her. Piper rested her head against his shoulder and moved the blanket from
Dimitri’s face.

Man, he was beautiful.

Cute little button nose, with sweet little rosy cheeks. Looking at him, she felt this
unbelievable jolt of love for her child. She never knew a love like that existed,
until that moment. She was overwhelmed with happiness as she moved her finger along
his little lips, and when she glanced up at Erik, she felt like her heart was going
to burst from her chest.

She loved them both so much.

With a smile, she said, “He looks like you.”

A confident grin went across Erik’s face before he looked over at her. “Yup, he’s
gonna have all the girl babies hollering at him.”

She giggled as she leaned her head against him while moving her fingers along Dimitri’s
cheek. “He’s perfect.”

“Sure is; you did good, baby, real good.”

She smiled at him. “You helped.”

He chuckled before turning his head to kiss her cheek. “How are you feeling?”

“I hurt a little, but not like before,” she said softly, cringing from the memory
of intense fire between her legs.

Next time she was going for the drugs from the get-go. She’d sit at the hospital until
she went into labor if she had to.

“Good. They said he is doing great and that as long as he maintains his temperature
and you are okay, we can leave tomorrow.”

She looked up from her beautiful baby and into the eyes of the man she was going to
love for the rest of her life. “We?”

Erik looked down at Dimitri and then back up at her. His face curved into a grin just
as a knock came at the door. Tearing her eyes from his, she watched as Reese popped
her head in and said, “We come bearing gifts!”

Erik let out a long breath before slowly laying Dimitri in her arms. Looking back
up at her, he leaned over and kissed her lips before whispering, “We will talk soon.
I think everyone is here.”

Her eyes stayed locked with his as he backed away. She didn’t want to see anyone;
she wanted to know what he meant by “we.” Was he coming home with her? Were they going
to be a family? Did he love her? To her, all the answers were
yes
, just from the way he had been acting toward her, but was that all because of the
baby? She didn’t want to believe that; she hoped he wanted her just as much.

Because their beautiful baby, Dimitri, needed both of them. Together was more desirable
but if that wasn’t God’s plan, then she would find a way to cope, because no matter
what, she was going to be the best mom imaginable. She only hoped that she would have
Erik there to help and encourage her to be the best she could be. They would be great
together; she just needed him to realize that.

Reese leaned against the bed to look at Dimitri and let out a little “aw” before saying,
“My ovaries are tingling. He’s so cute.”

Piper giggled. “He is.”

“I kinda want one, but then again, I kinda don’t.”

Piper laughed, startling poor Dimitri but thankfully he didn’t start crying; he only
flung his arms up before nuzzling back against her hand.

“I’ll just love him extra much,” Reese declared before taking his little fist in hers.

“Sounds like a good plan,” Piper said, leaning her head against her sister’s.

“How much did he weigh?”

“Six pounds, ten ounces, and twenty inches long. They said it’s a good thing I didn’t
go full-term, because he would have been huge.”

“Ugh, yeah, God, that’s what you get for making babies with a huge hockey player!”
Reese laughed.

“I wouldn’t change that decision for anything,” Piper whispered as her mom and Harper
came toward the bed, cooing over Dimitri.

“So what’s his full name?” her mom asked.

“Dimitri Blake Titov,” Piper said with a grin before leaning over to kiss her little
guy on the head.

“So sweet,” Rowan said, staring down at her grandson. “He is perfect. Great job, honey.
I heard it wasn’t easy.”

Piper shrugged her shoulders. “It was horrible, but worth it. I am thankful Erik was
here. I probably couldn’t have done it without him.”

“He has really changed,” Harper said softly.

Piper looked up at her older sister; she was still a little upset with Harper because
of the way she had acted during Piper’s labor. With a curt nod, Piper said, “He has.”

“I think I owe you an apology,” Harper said, looking Piper in the eyes.

“You do,” Reese said from the side, receiving a smack from Rowan. “Well, she does!”

“Hush,” Rowan said as Harper rolled her eyes.

“I’m sorry, Piper, I was wrong.”

Piper accepted the apology and reached out to hold her sister’s hand. Everything was
crazy and Piper was sure she had probably been acting a little nuts, too.

“It’s fine; now come see your gorgeous nephew.”

Harper smiled as she came closer and with a laugh said, “God, he looks just like Erik!”

Piper laughed. “Yes, he does.”

When the door opened, Piper looked up to see Elli, Fallon, and Audrey, all smiling
as they entered.

“Audrey! You are supposed to be on your honeymoon!” Piper complained as they came
toward the bed with flowers and bags in their hands.

“Like I would leave without seeing you first!” Audrey said with a wave of her hand.
“Oh my goodness, he is perfect!”

Piper nodded as she smiled proudly up at her girls. “He is.”

“I went to your house and got everything you needed. Erik didn’t want to leave y’all,”
Elli said, placing the things on the chair before coming toward the bed.

“Oh my stars, look at him,” she gushed as she grinned back at Piper. “Gorgeous, just
like his daddy, but he’s got your eyes.”

“You think?” Piper asked with a grin.

Everyone nodded as Elli said, “I wouldn’t be surprised if they turn blue. My goodness,
he is beautiful.”

“Thank you,” Piper gushed as she looked around the room for Erik. She was going to
ask if he thought Dimitri had her eyes, but he was gone.

Where’d he go?

* * *

Erik was on cloud nine, but he was sick and tired of people interrupting his time
with Piper. He knew it was expected with the new addition to the family, so he tried
not to be that mad, especially knowing that he and Piper had the rest of their lives
together.

Or at least he hoped they did.

Coming out of the room, Erik found himself almost running right into Shea. Looking
up at his captain, he smiled before asking, “Did you get that for me?”

Shea nodded. “Yeah, Elli got pissed because she didn’t want to stop by the store,
but I explained that you didn’t have time to get it.”

Erik smiled as Shea handed him a bag that held something for Piper. “Thank you.”

“No problem; make sure you consider what we discussed, okay? Elli will need to know
and I think you’d make a great alternate captain,” Shea said before reaching for the
door to Piper’s room.

“Thanks, Shea. I’m thinking yes, but I’ll talk it over with Piper first.”

“Sounds like a good idea,” She said. “I’m going to go check this kid out, and hopefully
he’ll be my right winger for the next generation of Assassins.”

Erik laughed as Shea disappeared into the room. With Piper’s gift in his pocket, he
looked to the left to see his father standing with Blake.
Just the man I was looking for
, he thought as he made a beeline. Blake looked up and smiled as Erik approached.

“Gorgeous boy, Erik. He’s perfect,” Blake said as he grinned at Erik. Blake and Erik
had always gotten along but he still felt there was tension between them. He figured
there was a lot of reason for that and he was ready to take the steps to make things
good between them, because he wasn’t going anywhere.

“We are so proud of you two,” Cooper said.

“We really are,” Blake said, squeezing Erik’s shoulder.

“Thank you, but I need to ask you something,” Erik said to Blake.

His eyebrows came together as he nodded. “Sure.”

“My father always taught me that when you meet that girl, the one that would make
it hard for you to breathe, you should marry her but not to forget to ask her father
first.”

Blake looked confused but nodded. “That’s good advice.”

“It is, but I didn’t do it,” Erik said, his eyes never leaving Blake’s. “And I know
that bothers you.”

Blake nodded. “It did, but it’s no big deal now, son. You are family now, and also
a good man for my amazing daughter.”

“I am becoming one and that is because of your daughter, but I wasn’t before. I’m
ready to make things right, Blake, and first I want to ask you if I can have your
blessing to marry Piper.” Erik paused and swallowed loudly. Cooper stood by, a small
smile pulling at his lips as Erik went on. “I want to marry her. I can’t promise that
I’ll be the best husband. I might do something to make her cry, or I might not say
the right things or tell her everything I’m thinking. But I’ll love her, I’ll wipe
her tears, and I’ll apologize when I say those things I shouldn’t. I’ll
love her until my last breath, and I’ll make her happy. Or at least I’ll try.” Erik’s
hand moved to the pocket that held his gift for Piper. “I just want to love her for
the rest of my life. I want to be the father I’ve been raised to be, and I want to
be the husband your daughter deserves. I just want your blessing to do that.”