Lucky Stars (42 page)

He watched her eyes grow warm and felt her hands glide along his skin as she wrapped her arms around him.

Then she whispered shyly and very sweetly, “Okay.”

Jack smiled again before he kissed her, not briefly this time and, after that, together, delightfully, they salvaged the night.

* * * * *

Jack was dead asleep when he felt Belle’s body jerk violently against his.

Seconds later, he was wide awake when he felt her jerk again then again.

In between these jolts, she was shivering uncontrollably in his arms even though her skin felt unnaturally hot.

Quickly, Jack moved away, rolling her to her back while he called her name.

She didn’t wake and instead he heard her make a disturbing whimpering sound deep in the back of her throat.

Jack rolled to his back taking Belle with him and reached a hand out to turn on the light. Then he circled her with his arms and gave her a mild shake.

“Poppet, wake up.”

She jolted again even as her head came up, her face pale, eyes sleepy but cloudy, the look in their unfocussed depths lost and frightened.

“Belle,” Jack said softly, his hand coming up to pull the hair away from her face, “look at me, love.”

She blinked and her gaze came to his.

“You’re awake,” he told her. “You’re safe.”

Rather than be assured by his words, he felt her body trembling and watched her eyes fill with tears.

“Jack,” she
whispered,
her voice husky with sleep but the sweetness was gone. She sounded frightened and defeated.

At her tone, Jack’s arms tightened reflexively around her and he rolled them to their sides.

“Poppet, put your arms around me and hold tight,” he ordered and without delay, she did even as she tucked her face in his throat, her body still shaking. He kissed the top of her head before asking, “Did you have a nightmare?”

She didn’t hesitate with her reply.

“I remembered,” she whispered, her voice hitched on a sob and brokenly she went on, “Jack, I remembered the bus. I dreamed the whole thing.
The whole thing.
Penny, Davey,
everything.
”
The shaking became intense and uncontrolled, wracking her body against his and she went on in a voice filled with horror, “Oh my God, Jack, I remembered everything.
Every second.”

Jack pulled her deeper into him. Keeping one arm tight around her waist, he let his other hand drift up and into her hair, his fingers sliding through it and then back again.

“You just had a nightmare. Talking about it the other night made you –” Jack started but Belle’s head snapped back and she looked at him through tear-filled eyes.

“It
wasn’t
a nightmare,” she spoke fiercely through her crying. “It all came back to me. It was
awful
. I knew I didn’t want to remember it, Jack.
I knew it.
”

“Poppet –” he began again but she jerked her head in the negative and clenched her arms tight around him.

“Now it’s there. I’ll never get it out of my head.
Never.
Never, never,
never,
” she declared, a fresh wave of tears overcame her and she pressed her face into his throat again.

“Hold tight to me, love,” Jack urged and when she did he continued, “It’s over. It’s done. You’re here and safe. It’s finished.”

“Their eyes were open, Jack,” she choked and he felt his own body jerk at her hideous words but she either didn’t feel it or ignored it and went on, “They were staring at me but not seeing me.
Their hair floating.
Their arms adrift.
Oh my God, Jack. It was so terrible. It was unspeakable. Oh my God.
Oh my God.”

She began chanting these three words and rocking in his arms and Jack repeated, “Hold tight, love.”

She shook her head but held onto him.

“Take deep breaths,” he demanded but she shook her head again, forcefully this time, and then tilted it back with a sudden snap.

“What if that happens to Nathan?” she asked hysterically, eyes round with fear and horror. “Oh my God, Jack, what if –”

Jack cut her off by saying firmly, “That’s not going to happen to our child.”

Panic undeterred, her hands moved to his chest and pushed but he held her close as she exclaimed, “Jack, what if he’s smothered in his bed like Myrtle and Lewis?”

Jack gave her a gentle shake in an effort to break through her irrational fear. “Belle, he’s not going to be smothered in his bed.”

This effort as well was unsuccessful.

“We shouldn’t have a baby. Anything could happen,” she declared then suggested wildly, “You’re rich! Too rich! You own a castle, for goodness sakes! No one owns a
castle
. What if he’s kidnapped?
Held for ransom!”

Still attempting to control her rampaging hysterics, Jack rolled into her and covered her body with the warmth of his. “Belle, calm down. He’s not going to be kidnapped.”

“It could happen!” she asserted, voice rising. “It happens all the time!”

“It doesn’t happen all the time,” Jack returned. “In fact, it rarely happens.”

“It
could
happen.” she pushed.

“It isn’t going to happen.”

“But it
could,
” she stressed.

“It isn’t going to,” he repeated.

“But it
could!
” she declared on a near shout.

“So you’re saying we shouldn’t have a child because there’s an absurdly remote possibility that he might get kidnapped?” Jack asked.

She nodded instantly and added, “Or smothered in his bed.
Or drowned in freak bus accident.”

It was then Jack realised she was no longer trembling, crying or pushing at him. Her hands were resting lightly on his chest and she was gazing up at him defiantly.

Because of this, the humour of her words suddenly hit Jack and he couldn’t stop himself from chuckling.

“What’s funny now?” she yelled, again pressing against his chest, now angrily, at the same time declaring, “This is
not
funny, James Bennett. If anything is not funny, this… is…
not
…
funny!
”

He dipped his head and gave her angry mouth a soft kiss before pulling a scant inch away, “Poppet, our child is not going to get kidnapped, smothered or drowned in a freak bus accident.”

“You can’t promise that,” she snapped.

All humour vanished from his voice and he watched the anger fade from her face and fear replace it when he replied, “No, you’re right. I can’t.” He lifted a hand to cup her jaw, his thumb moved to stroke her cheekbone and he went on before she could say a word, “I can’t promise he won’t sprain his ankle or burn his fingers or fall off his horse either.”

“Jack –” she started, her voice trembling but he kept talking.

“I can’t promise he’ll mind us when we tell him what to do or that he’ll get good marks in school or that he’ll bring home only girls we like or that he’ll listen to music that doesn’t drive us mad.”

As he spoke, he watched her face begin to grow soft and the storm started to shift out of her eyes.

After a moment, she whispered, “But I like all kinds of music.”

At her words, Jack grinned. “Odds are
,
he’ll find some you hate.”

She regarded him a moment and her eyes finally cleared.

“This is true,” she told him, the sweetness back in her voice and he saw her mouth form a small smile.

Jack rolled again to his side, moving her to hers and he held her close as his face got closer.

“What I can promise is we’ll do the best we can and we’ll keep him as safe as we can.” His hand tangled in her hair and he pulled her head gently back so he could get even closer before he finished, “And even when he’s pissing us off or we’re worried about him, I can promise you that we’ll be happy we took this risk.”

He felt a shudder move through her body and she pressed tighter to him before she asked softly, “Do you think Davey and Penny’s Mum and Dad were happy they took the risk?”

Jack’s reply was immediate, “Yes.”

She wet her lips before her eyes dropped to his throat and she whispered, “I suspect you’re right.”

He gave her hair a soft tug and her gaze came back to him.

“Are you all right now?” he asked and he watched her blink, her expression turning oddly startled before it cleared.

“I think I am,” she answered, sounding surprised by her own words.

He brushed her mouth with his and said, “Good.”

Then he moved to turn off the light but she moved with him, her hand coming up to grab his forearm and he turned back to her in enquiry.

“I think I am,” she repeated. “I think I’m all right.”

Jack stared at her a moment before he said, “I got that, poppet.”

She shook her head and came up on a forearm to look down at him. “You don’t get it, Jack. I said, I think I’m all right.”

Jack rose to his own forearm to look her in the eyes. “I’m sorry, love, but you’re going to have to explain to me what I don’t get.”

“I’m all right,” she repeated and when she did Jack smiled instead of laughing which he preferred to do but it would likely have annoyed her. Then he wrapped his fingers around the back of her neck, pulling her closer.

“Repeating it isn’t going to help me understand, Belle,” he explained.

“I remembered,” she whispered, her voice solemn. “I remembered something horrific, something I didn’t think I could handle.” She leaned closer, put her hand on his chest and looked directly into his eyes. “And I’m all right.”

His fingers at her neck gave her a squeeze. “I’m glad, my love.”

He started to move to switch off the light again but turned back when she said, “Jack, no.”

His eyes caught hers and he waited.

“I’m not strong,” she admitted softly. “You know that. I’ve never been strong.
Never in my whole life.
If I’d been alone, I wouldn’t have been able to handle that.” Her hand went to her belly as did her gaze before returning to him. “Or this,” she threw her arm out and went on, “or anything.”

“Belle –” he started to disagree but she finished what she intended to say, using words that tore through his system, searing a direct path straight to his soul.

“But I’m all right because I’m not alone. I’m all right because I’m with you. Tonight,
you
made me all right.”

Jack’s body went still, his eyes held hers for a long moment and he forgot about the light. He forgot about going back to sleep. He forgot about everything.

He forgot that he graduated top of his class.

He forgot that he’d been made captain of the rugby team not because of his name but because of his abilities.

He forgot that he’d turned his back on the family business and built his own company from nothing.

He forgot the thrill he felt when he earned his first million pounds through his own hard work.

He forgot when he earned his second.

He forgot all the times he’d bested his brother.

And he forgot the last words his father said to him, telling Jack that he made him proud.

He forgot about everything he’d ever achieved, everything that ever mattered to him and in that instant, thought that if he’d never succeeded in anything again, that would be perfectly fine.

Because he’d made Belle feel all right.

When he came unstuck, he didn’t turn to the light.

He shifted into Belle’s soft body and she readily accepted his weight, his mouth on hers and his hands trailing along her skin.

And although they’d made love in his room four times before. Although he remembered every second of every time, all of them magnificent and one of them life-altering in a way Jack would be grateful for until the end of his days. None of them were as beautiful as that night when he slid inside her as her fingers glided into his hair, her calves wrapped around his thighs, his tongue tangled with hers and that sexy noise slid from her throat into the depths of his.

She was not filled with fear, with panic, with anxiety.

She was filled with him and his child, moaning her desire into his mouth.

And Jack was making her more than all right.

Chapter Sixteen

The Third Ghost

Belle

Belle drove her own car back to The Point, her mother beside her.

Mom had wanted to drive but Belle pitched a rude, un-Belle-like fit.

She hadn’t driven a car in weeks, hadn’t made but the meals she prepared for Jack, hadn’t done a load of laundry, hadn’t even made her own bed.

It was driving her up the wall.

She was pregnant, not invalid!

Therefore, she was going to drive herself and her mother home and no one was going to stop her.