Granting Wishes (16 page)

Dom sat in stunned silence. Here he’d been thinking she was about to tell him she didn’t want to be in a relationship any longer because of his son. He couldn’t have been more wrong.
A father.
In the span of a few weeks Dom had managed to become a father not once, but twice, or at least he was on his way to being a father for the second time. That had to be a record of some sort. A three and a half year old and now one on the way. The difference was, this child he would forever be a part of its life from day one instead of day thirteen hundred and twenty six. And it was with the woman he loved with all his heart.

“Dom?” she squeezed his hand and he felt her tremble. It wasn’t until then that he realized he had yet to say a single word. He’d been staring at her stomach, feeling the undeniable urge to put his palm there as if maybe he could feel the life within.

Chelsea watched as he stared at her. Well, not at her as much as her stomach. He stared so intently that it made her squirm under his gaze. His expression was unreadable and it set her nerves on edge again. The tender moment when his big, strong palm covered her belly was something she would never forget. With his hand staying on her stomach, he stroked his fingers through her hair and covered her mouth with his. All the worry and fear left her and he replaced it with a loving heat that spread through her like a warm summer rain. How had she ever doubted him? This gorgeous man that had a heart the size of Texas picked her up in his arms like she was light as a feather and cradled her to his chest like his most prized possession. When he broke the kiss, her lashes fluttered opened to find him smiling tenderly down at her with tear-stains on his cheeks.

“I love you,
Princess. You’ve made me the happiest man in the world.”

Good gravy, she loved his man. It felt like she’d swallowed a frog, the lump in her throat was so big
, and she practically croaked when she told him so. As embarrassing as the sound was, it was worth it to hear him laugh and hug her tighter against him.

“You’re rea
lly happy? I know the timing is probably less than desirable.”

“Stop it. Of course I’m happy. I’m having a baby with the woman I love more than anyone in this world.” He kissed her forehead and sat down with her on his lap, rocking her against him.

“I know it won’t be easy, with you just learning about Peyton, and Jade being so sick. I don’t want to cause more problems.”

Dom tilted his head to the side when he looked at her, “Peyton isn’t a problem, you and our baby
aren’t problems either. Hell, Jade isn’t even a problem, it’s just a really sad situation she’s in, but we’re tough and we’ll get through it all. Everything happens for a reason.”

She nodded her head, wanting to tell him of her fears and hesitation about Jade, but not wanting to sound like a horrible person for still having hard feelings for someone that was dying. So she bit her lip and kept her mouth shut. Instead, she buried her face against his neck and breathed him in, letting his warmth and the woodsy scent of his skin sooth her. Dom began stroking his fingers through her hair, relaxing her further.
Little time passed before she was yawning, blushing when he chuckled at her.

“You’ve
really not been sleeping well have you?”

She shook her head, yawning again. “I’ve had a lot on my mind.”

He laughed, running his palm down her hip, squeezing the curve of her bottom. There was a thoughtful look on his face. “The med student in me knows the statistics of unprotected sex, but I wanted you so bad I didn’t even consider the consequences.”

Chelsea stiffened, taking offense. “So, what are you trying to say? You think of our baby as just a consequence?”

Dom swatted her and laughed again. “Whoa, calm down, little mama. I’m not trying to say anything. I was only pointing out what you do to me. You make my brain go numb while the rest of me does something else entirely.” Dom pulled her against his groin, showing her exactly what she did to him.

“Oh,” she gasped, her fingers grasping the front of his shirt. His mouth covered hers hotly, taking her breath away and setting her on fire in a flash of desire. She found that even though her bottom stung from the swat, she wouldn’t mind another.
How risqué was that? Something about the stinging heat turned her on even more. Turning on his lap, she straddled his waist, pressing her chest against his. When he started to break the kiss, she sucked his bottom lip between her teeth and bit it sharply.

He pulled back, with a grunt, popping her on the rear again. “Getting rough with me now huh?” He laughed, rubbing her bottom as she squirmed on his lap.

“You deserved it,” she murmured, licking his bottom lip. “Besides, I like it when you do that.”

“Do what?” He arched his eyebrow at her, a ridiculously sexy grin on his face and a
twinkle in his eyes. “Pop your sexy ass?”

“My ass is fat,” she kissed him again. “But I love your hands on it.”

He smacked it again, grasping it firmly with both hands. “Not fat. Voluptuous and sexy. So. Fucking. Spankable.” He swatted her with each word. By the time he was done, she was wet, wanton, and clawing his shirt off. Too bad it was such a nice shirt. Not only were the buttons either gone, or hanging off, but she was sure she heard it tearing. She started to care, but his hand covered her mound and rubbed her firmly and she almost came instantly, hanging precariously on the edge. Arching from the pleasure of his touch, she felt the hard line of the table jammed into her back, but she wanted to come so bad she didn’t care. She would beg if she had too.

Dom had his own ideas. Thank the angels in heaven
for that. Everything crashed to the floor and Chelsea was flat on her back on the table where the Chinese food had been just moments before. Her legs were suddenly bare, and in the air while his hot mouth kissed her stinging bare ass. For a brief moment she considered being embarrassed, at least that was in her mind until his tongue lapped over her wet sex and her thought process changed. Who the hell cared if someone saw through the bay window that sweet and innocent do gooder Chelsea had her legs in the air and blushing naked ass on display for the entire world to see. Dom was doing things to her she had only fantasized about and she wasn’t about to give two shits what anyone thought about it.

She stroked her fingers through his coarse
, closely cropped hair, while her other hand grasped the edge of the table. It was happening so fast and the feeling was so intense, that tears sprung up in her eyes and she screamed his name when her orgasm hit like a derailed train. Once the trembling stopped, she went quiet for a moment. Her breath was coming out in soft puffs, and she opened her eyes to see what the sound was she was hearing to her right. There sat her Siamese cat, Mr. Chewy, daintily eating the food that was now splashed all over the dining room floor. Laughing, she turned her head towards Dom to find he was smiling and kissing her inner thigh. “At least someone is enjoying the dinner you brought over,” she teased.

“Oh, I’m enjoying dinner and dessert just fine,” he replied, taking a gentle bite of her thigh before he stood up straight and unbuttoned the fly of his jeans.

Her mouth watered. The thin dark tuft of hair that trickled down his sculpted brown chest into the perfect vee of his lower stomach was like an arrow pointing her in the direction she was dying to go. His muscles flexed under her appreciating stare. It looked like the hard ridge of him was throbbing beneath his jeans. In fact, as she stared she would swear it bumped against his zipper like it was demanding to be released.

“I’m hungry for something else entirely.” She wanted to look into his eyes because she loved seeing the desire there, but she couldn’t remove her gaze from the slow drag of his zipper. How many romance novels had she read that detailed how to give a man oral sex? Enough that she should be able to do it without screwing up
too terribly. Chelsea scooted to the edge of the table intending to drop to the floor and give it a whirl. But, when Dom grabbed hold of her hair and kissed her senseless, she wrapped her legs around his waist, melting when he nibbled and sucked her lips and tongue until she was whimpering again. She managed to dig her fingers in the waist of his jeans and jerk them down his hips, but when she tried once more to slide to the floor and do to him what he’d done to her, he quickly lifted her up and impaled her on his cock.

“Oh good gravy
, baby,” she groaned.

The tank top she was wearing did little to cover her beautiful breasts
, but it was still in the way of his mouth and that just wouldn’t do. Dom turned with her and pushed her ass against the wall, holding her there while he grabbed the hem of her shirt, and with a gruff, “Lift your arms.” He pulled it off as soon as she complied. She watched him as he feasted on her bountiful offering of lily white skin that had a smattering of freckles across the cleavage he would be happy to smother in.

He couldn’t recall ever wanting a woman so much. Dom wanted to claim her so thoroughly, so completely that she would never doubt him again. She was his woman and he was her man.

Slow thrusts into wet, silky depths set the pace. As much as he wanted to unleash his passion, it was more important to him to cherish his woman and sate the desires that she’d only ever shared with him.

Fuck
.

Knowing he was the only man that had ever made love to her made him that much more possessive. Sweet and slick, tight as a glove and gasping with her head tilted back in abandon, Chelsea was stunning and he wanted to drown in her essence. His long fingers entwined with hers and he pinned her arms above her head against the wall. She looke
d at him with starry eyes. Soot colored, feathery lashes hovered over her smoky green gaze. Then she grinned, a smug, sexy look as she began to undulate her hips against his, effectively rising and falling on his pulsing rod. How quickly she turned the tables on him. Now it was he that was gasping for breath. Each sharp inhale was punctuated with the long slide of her sucking wet heat covering him. It was torture and he loved watching her take control.

“Chels,” he said gruffly. He was losing his mind.

“Take me over the edge with you,” she begged.

That was it. He could take no more. Her sweet, sex-coated voice encouraging him tipped the scales and his hips did what his mind was telling them not to ever since he’d pushed her ass against the wall. No more sweet, tender thrusts. Fuck no. That was gone. Now he was
frenzied in passion pumping hard and fast against her until she clawed his back and he shouted her name.

Somehow they made it safely to the floor in a sweaty pile of entangled legs. She snuggled against his chest and for a moment he closed his eyes, catching his breath.

“Chels,” Dom kissed her head. “Will you marry me?” When she didn’t reply, he tilted her chin up so he could look into her eyes. His princess was fast asleep.

“Well, damn.”

A silver shaft of light peeked through the curtains, landing haphazardly across her eyes. The warm pressure of Dom’s hand rested on her belly. So far, each night he didn’t have his son, Dom stayed with her in her small, but comfy, rental on Bluebird Street. Enough weeks had passed that she now had a swelling baby bump, something she was becoming quite accustomed to. Thus far, Chelsea didn’t understand why women got so upset about gaining weight during pregnancy. Sure her favorite jeans didn’t button any longer, and when she wore a tank top or swimming suit the bulge in her belly announced itself proudly. But instead of bothering her, it made her smile knowing that their child was flourishing within her. Come spring time, early March to be more exact, a miniature version her and Dom would be breathing its first breath of sweet Georgia air.

Unsure what caused her to wake
up she eased from the bed to get a glass of water. Dom was sleeping so deep he didn’t move a muscle. Poor guy. He’d been stretched thin splitting his time between school, Peyton, and her, but things were going well. They had sat down with his parents and told them of her pregnancy. His parents were shocked, but supportive and had continued to treat Chelsea like one of their own like they always had. They seemed even more protective of her now. She hadn’t bothered talking to her own parents yet. It had been nearly a year since she’d had any contact with them and if it didn’t bother them, she wasn’t going to let it bother her either.

Last night when they took Peyton to Jade’s to stay the night, Dom thought it a good time to break the news to her. Chelsea hadn’t wanted to, but since the news was spreading already
, he wanted Jade to hear it from them. It seemed like she took it well, congratulating them before they left. But Chelsea could see it in her eyes she wasn’t as okay with it as she said. The two women had walked on eggshells around each other. As much as she tried, forgiveness wasn’t something Chelsea felt in her heart. Dom thought Jade was a changed woman, but Chelsea didn’t quite feel the same way.

Standing at the kitchen counter sipping her water, she saw the message light on her cell phone blinking. When they’d gotten home, she had put it on the charger before Dom had carried her into the bedroom. She smiled for a moment remembering the sweet way he’d made love to her. That man sure knew what he was doing in the loving department.

Upon checking her messages, the smile left her face and she chewed her bottom lip. Jade was requesting to meet with her. She specified she wanted it to be just the two of them. It nagged at her that Jade was asking her to keep Dom out of it. Withholding information was just as bad as lying in her book. But she remembered back to earlier that night when Jade had looked so frail leaning against the door frame when they dropped Peyton off. Actually the last few times that she’d had to be around her, Jade hadn’t said another snide word since that day at the diner.

Against her better judgment, she sent Jade a reply and agreed to have tea with her the following evening. For now, she needed the comforting warmth of Dom’s arms around her. Carrying her glass with her, she went back into the bedroom and managed to slip back under his arm without waking him.

***

Even though she tried not to think about it, from th
e time she woke up until the time she pulled into Jade’s, Chelsea had been nervous. Not knowing what Jade wanted or how she would treat her had been in the back of her mind all day. Even through the rest of the night she was restless and woke up tired. As she got out of her car, she smoothed her hands over her pale pink summer dress that hit right above her knees. She didn’t want to admit it even to herself, but Chelsea had taken great pains getting ready for this visit. Jade had always been so critical of her it made her feel like the unsure teenager that wanted so badly to fit in.

She tossed her long blond waves over her shoulder as she walked up the stairs to the colonial home that had been in Jade’s family for generations. Growing up, they had spent many hours playing on this big porch, and later when they reached their boy crazy years, they spent hours on the porch swing talking about boys. They had planned their fairytale weddings, named future children and plotted their happily ever after’s. That was before Dom had come into their lives and everything changed. Jade blossomed into a tall, svelte beauty, while Chelsea stayed short and blossomed outward instead of upwards, making her figure plump instead. They were total opposites. Chelsea being
quiet and more introverted with shyness, Jade being outgoing and popular. Still, back then they were like sisters. Many times Jade’s home became her get away from her undesirable family life.

Then they met the twins. Chelsea and Lilah clicked, and Dom and Jade became the hottest couple in junior high, staying together into high school in an on again, off again relationship. Through all that, they started growing further apart until it got to the point that Jade was snide and hateful. Making fun of Chelsea’s weight was Jade’s favorite pastime, picking her apart until she felt worthless and humiliated. It still shamed Chelsea that she let Jade have such a negative effect on her in her younger years. Yet here she was, standing at the front door of the home of the girl that
was once her best friend.

Before she had a chance to knock, Jade opened the lily white front door and invited her in. It struck her just how worn down her old
best friend turned nemesis looked. Chelsea felt a pang of regret for all her hateful feelings she’d been harboring towards her but she still kept her guard up. She may be soft hearted, but she wasn’t a fool.

“Thank you for agreeing to meet with me, Chelsea. I have tea service set up in the library if you’ll join me.” Jade waved the way, not that Chelsea needed directions. The house still looked the same as when they were kids except for some up to date decorating.

Walking into the library was like a step back in time. It was always her favorite room in this house. Bookshelves lined the walls from floor to ceiling. Old classics, law books, dusty encyclopedias to current romance novels filled each shelf like loving reminders of the past. Her fingers itched to thumb through them until she found just the right one to pluck from the shelf and curl up to read in the window seat that faced the garden.

“You still love books don’t you?” Jade broke the silence and Chelsea gave a slight nod.

“They were always a perfect escape for me. I could leave my not so perfect life for one that was sure to take me on a journey far away from here, to a place that didn’t hurt.”

They sat down on the floral settee that was older than the two of them put together. She watched Jade with inquisitive eyes as she poured the tea and added two squares of sugar to her own. “I never understood your fascination back then.
I knew things at your house were bad, but in my shallowness I didn’t catch on to why you loved to read so much. I get it now.” Jade stirred her tea while Chelsea added a liberal dose of cream to hers.

“That’s one of the reasons I loved coming here. Your life was so different from mine. You had freedom’s I never experienced until I got to spend nights here with you. This room was my favorite. Stocked full of never ending adventures and romance so perfect it seemed unattainable
, but it was addicting. A fix I wanted each time I walked in the door.”

Jade laughed and took a sip of her tea. “But I didn’t care as long as you were happy. It was one of the rare times you would smile back then.”

“I didn’t have a whole lot to smile about.”

“You do now,” Jade placed her slender hand on Chelsea’s. “I want you to know I’m honest to goodness happy for you and Dom.
It looks like you’ve found your own happily ever after.”

It surprised her so much she clanked her cup against the saucer, spilling a tiny bit of her tea.
Clumsy chubby Chelsea
, she chanted in her head. She sat it the delicate bone china on the coffee table and twisted her hands together.

“Don’t look so surprised. I know I was,” she paused and looked away. “I was less than kind to you so many times. But I loved you, Chels. You were the sister I always wanted.”

Chelsea felt her hardened heart start to soften towards her old friend. “You were mine too, Jade. That’s why it hurt so much. All those mean and awful things you said and did. You humiliated me over and over. I never understood why.” She wasn’t going to cry. Not again.

Jade pulled a tissue from the box on the table and dabbed the corners of her eyes. “I know. I was wretched. I’m so sorry.”

Chelsea wasn’t sure what to think but her tender, loving heart wanted to forgive though she would never forget. This once vibrant woman was now a frail reminder of what she once was. The pallor of her skin was an unhealthy, pale shade stretched across a now skeletal frame that seemed to exhaust her to hold up. Even with all the hell Jade put her through, Chelsea wouldn’t want suffering like this on anyone.

Taking
Jade’s hands in her own, she held them and spoke the words she never thought she would be able to say with honesty. “I forgive you, Jade. The past is in the past and it’s over and done. I’m letting it go and I want you to do that too.”

Jade’s shoulders slumped and she softly cried, leaning over and resting her forehead on Chelsea’s shoulder. “I’m not ready to die, Chels. I’m so scared. I don’t want to leave my baby and not see him grow up. In all the things I’ve done in my life, he is the one
amazing thing I’m proud of.”

She swallowed the lump in her throat and sent up a prayer asking for strength. As she gently stroked Jade’s back, it startled her to feel her bones jutting out as if she didn’t have an ounce of meat left on her fragile body. Her skin had an almost translucent hue, so much that you could see the pattern of each and every vein as it traveled along her body.

“I know it’s a lot to ask,” Jade lifted her head weakly and wiped her face. Taking a deep, shaky breath, she continued, “If I could ever pick a mother to take my place and raise Peyton, I would pick the only woman that had been a true friend to me. That’s you, Chels. And as hard as it was for me to see you and Dom together at first, I can see the love you have for each other. It’s real and it’s beautiful just like the romance books you used to make me read with you.” They laughed a little amidst their tears.

“I know without a doubt in my mind you’ll be the best mother Peyton could ever need or ask for. Please say yes, Chels. Please tell me you’ll help Dom raise him in a loving family.” The tears were sliding down her cheeks and the honesty in her eyes was what made Chelsea lose her battle of holding back a waterfall of tears. She cried for the friend that had hurt her in such a damaging way, she’d never gotten over it. She cried for the woman that was losing her life to a disease that was cruel and unforgiving, whittling her life away from her at such a young age. And most of all, she cried for the darling little boy that was so young, he would barely remember his mother.

Chelsea shook her head yes, unable to speak for the emotion had clogged her throat. It was all so unexpected. Coming here she braced herself for the worst, unable to believe Jade had good intentions. One thing was for sure, when it came to her son, Jade truly only wanted the best for him.

“Thank you,” she whispered, leaning against Chelsea’s offered strength. It worried her when Jade shuddered and her breaths sounded more labored.
It was like their conversation had sapped all her strength and she could no longer sit up on her own. She helped her lie back on the settee and propped pillows up behind her. “I’m going to go get your mom, Jade. I’ll be right back.”

It s
cared the hell out of Chelsea that she didn’t respond, but just looked at her with blank eyes. With her heart lodged in her throat, Chelsea took off in a flat out run, yelling for Jade’s parents.