Baby on Board (19 page)

because we’re going to be bringing Jon home soon and all three of us in

my apartment won’t work. Do you think she’d let me buy it?”

“In this real estate market, a sure buy is better than it sitting empty for

months on end. I’ll tell her to call you.” Rafe grinned. “You sure you

won’t be uncomfortable living a few houses away from us?”

“You got your girl, I got mine. Everything else is water under the

bridge.” Reese chuckled. “Though I’m pretty sure you still owe me for

that choke hold.”

“I’ll let you get a punch in,” Rafe teased. “Anyway, gotta go. Thanks

again, and I’ll tell Ivy to call you tomorrow about the house.”

“Great. See you around, Major,” Reese said and turned back to go to

his office.

Rafe stepped out into the night once more and took a deep breath.

Everything was going to be okay. He got into his car and took to the

streets again heading home to his girls—the sexy woman he was in love

with and the beautiful baby girl who could melt his heart with a smile.

When he opened the door to his house, Ivy rushed into his arms. He

pressed his face into her hair and inhaled her scent deeply. Rafe lifted her

off her feet and she wrapped her legs around his waist. Rafe kissed her

senseless, until his breath was labored and his cock throbbed between his

legs.

“God, I missed you so much,” he said huskily.

“We missed you more,” Ivy replied and turned her head toward the

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living room. “Bonnie is waiting up for you.”

He followed Ivy’s gaze and saw his little girl on her hands and knees

rocking back and forth. She made two attempts to crawl and then scooted

on her belly toward him.

“Look at you. I’ve been gone three weeks and you decide to get

mobile.” Rafe chuckled and swung her high. Bonnie gave a high shriek of

happiness and he kissed her over and over again. He preferred her baby

powder scent over the smell of gun oil and the acrid smoke of explosions

any day.

“She’s almost eight months old. She was bound to get mobile sooner

rather than later,” Ivy said. “She started at your parents’ place.”

Rafe turned to Ivy, concern in his eyes. “How are you, baby? Are you

scared to be here? Do we need to sell the house? We can if it has bad

memories for you and you don’t feel safe here anymore.”

“I’m fine. Rafe, this is
our
home. They don’t get to chase us away.”

Ivy cupped his cheek. “You won’t believe it, but even Donna is

being…well, nice. She has come to check on us a few times, and even

asked if I wanted to come by for coffee. That day when they came to the

house, she was there ready to throw down with a garden trowel if she had

to. And then when they broke in, she was actually here comforting me.”

Rafe looked around. “Am I in some kind of alternate universe? You

and Donna ‘Double Ds’ are actually…friends?”

“I wouldn’t say that exactly, but we came to a mutual understanding, I

think.” Ivy laughed and hugged him tight. “I’m so glad you’re home.”

“Me too, and I’m starved. I haven’t eaten since yesterday,” Rafe

admitted.

“Go sit with our daughter and let her show you all the new toys she

got while you were away. I’ll bring dinner to the living room,” Ivy said.

Rafe sat on the floor beside Bonnie while he took his boots off. He lay

down on the soft carpet and let her climb all over him. She got baby drool

on his face as she tried to bite his chin. At the moment, nothing was more

perfect than to listen to baby babble and be covered in her drool. He had

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been a bit of a loner for such a long time that now he couldn’t see past a

time before he had Bonnie in his life. She showed him what he was

missing. Ivy brought him a plate of chicken cacciatore and put it on the

coffee table along with a glass of sweet iced tea.

“Come on, munchkin. Let’s let Daddy eat.” She lifted Bonnie off him

and Rafe sat up. “We’ll get your bath when he’s done and then we can

watch your shows on TV.”

Rafe took the plate and began to devour the food while Ivy bounced

Bonnie on her knees. Then it was bath time with lots of splashing and

giggling while Rafe imitated Daffy Duck. Ivy got her bottle warmed up

while Rafe sat with her in his arms and turned the TV on. Bonnie

snuggled against his chest and instead of watching the television, she

kept her eyes on her daddy. Rafe looked down and bent to kiss her head

as she drank her milk sleepily. The simplest moments were the best—the

ones where Ivy sat next to him while their daughter fell asleep in his

arms.

Later, when Bonnie was in her crib and the house was quiet, it was

their time to be together. Rafe came out of the shower with a towel

wrapped around his waist. Ivy was lying in bed completely nude and

looked at him with desire in her eyes. Need raced through him like a

punch to the gut and his cock instantly hardened between his legs. He’d

dreamt of her every night for the past three weeks.

“Did I mention how much I missed you? I ached right here.” Ivy ran

her hand down her stomach to the mound of her pussy. She slipped her

finger between the slit and she spread her legs wide. Rafe saw that she

was already moist and ready for him. His knees almost buckled with the

desire he felt for her. “You’re not going to make me beg, are you?”

He went to his knees on the bed in front of her spread legs. Rafe ran

one lone finger down the line of her pussy and slipped it inside. “So hot.

Damn, you make me just want to take you hard. Were you naughty and

touched yourself while I was gone?”

“Maybe. Did that make you hard, thinking about me touching myself

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while you were gone?” Ivy gasped and writhed under his touch. Rafe

moved his fingers faster and watched her hips rise and fall to meet his

finger’s movement. “Oh, God, Rafe.”

He rubbed her clit with his thumb and she gasped out his name. Ivy

spread her legs even wider in a silent plea. “You want more, don’t you?”

he asked as he continued to fuck her with his finger and manipulate her

clit. “Say it. Tell me what you want,” Rafe encouraged.

“Yes, please, more,” Ivy panted. She made a soft growl of frustration

in her throat and he smiled. “Do it, baby, please.”

“I’m going to make you come,” he said with arousal in his voice, and

he felt his control waver as he bent to suck her clit into his mouth. He

buried his fingers to the hilt inside her. It caused him to groan when he

felt the hot walls of her pussy contract around the digit and her hips pump

against his hands. He pushed deeper and sucked her clit harder and Ivy

cried out in pleasure. Her hands clenched the thick duvet on the bed.

“Oh, don’t stop, Rafe. I’m going to come hard,” Ivy cried out as she

bucked on the bed.

“You like how that feels, don’t you?” Rafe asked gutturally. “Ah, yes,

baby, just like that. Let me see you fall apart.”

He watched her body tremble and her feet dig into the bed as she

arched into his touch. Ivy reached the summit of her pleasure and cried

out his name. He found the spot buried inside her pussy and he fucked

her with his fingers hard until she came again. Watching her was like

watching living art. Rafe took a mental picture of her and vowed that

any other time he went away he would close his eyes and see her just

like this. Her body shuddered and released its juice, coating his finger.

Her cries of completion were driving him mad with desire. Rafe wasn’t

done yet; he had to taste her fully. He craved it like a drowning man

would crave air. Ivy was his center and he wanted to immerse himself in

her completely.

He replaced his fingers with his mouth and she moaned a long sultry

sound that filled the air. He licked at her velvet sex and buried his tongue

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inside her. Rafe closed his eyes and groaned as her flavor filled his mouth.

He spread the lips of her pussy and sucked her clit with fervor until she

ground her hips against his face and came again under his passionate

onslaught. It was as much as he could take. The need to be buried inside

her became a primal force and he could only follow his instinct to claim

her.

Rafe covered Ivy’s body with his own hard frame and took her lips.

Their kiss was fierce and hot. He dominated her with a smooth thrust of

his tongue. He took her mouth just like he was going to take her body. In

one smooth thrust, he filled her. His cock was thick and her pussy milked

him as he moved slowly inside her.
Jesus, she feels so good!
Rafe bit the

inside of his lip to keep his control. He was going to take her high before

he let himself go. He slipped his hands beneath her and cupped the

smooth cheeks of her ass before thrusting deep once more. Ivy arched and

called his name as he picked up the rhythm of his thrusts.

“Don’t hold back, Rafe. Come with me,” Ivy begged. He felt her

fingers bite into his back and the sweet pain of her fingernails in his flesh

only enhanced his pleasure.

“Oh, fuck. Fuck yes!” he moaned.

Ivy reared up and bit his neck before she sucked on the sensitive skin.

Rafe pounded into her mercilessly. He pushed her back and bent his head

to take one of her nipples in his mouth while their bodies moved urgently

toward completion. He was rewarded with her low cry of pleasure. Their

harsh breathing filled the air and with a smooth roll, Ivy was now on top.

His hands pulled her to him, impaling her onto his steel hard cock with a

desire filled frenzy. They both went over the edge into an orgasm that left

them panting and unable to move. Ivy fell against him and was pliant. She

made small sounds of satisfaction and Rafe chuckled as he gently slid her

over.

“Don’t move me,” she moaned. “Let me lay here just like this.”

“I’m going to get us cleaned up,” Rafe said. “Maybe I’ll wait a

minute… I think I’m a tad lightheaded.”

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“That’s what you get when all the blood rushes from your head to the

little soldier downstairs,” Ivy teased.

“Hey, he’s not little. Don’t insult him.” Rafe slapped her on her

bottom before he rolled out of bed.

“Oh, honey, I would never do such a thing. Were you not just there

with me?” Ivy leaned up on her elbows. “I feel as if I should shoot off

fireworks in the backyard for what we just did.”

Rafe came back with a washcloth and a towel. He took pleasure in

wiping her body down and felt desire burn in him again as he smoothed

the wet cloth over her perky breasts. There was no way he would ever get

enough of her. He’d never known love like he knew it with Ivy. Her fierce

courage amazed him—standing up to Juno and her boyfriend even when

they broke into the house. The way she had dealt with Donna and even

him when he put his foot in his mouth more than once. Ivy was his love,

his life. Fate brought both Ivy and Bonnie to him.

He climbed back into bed and under the covers with her. “This is so

much better than a lumpy thin cot on an aircraft carrier.”

“You should put in a requisition to have me with you when you go

away,” Ivy teased.

“I’d do it if they let me,” Rafe said huskily. “I hated every moment of

being away from you and Bonnie.”

“And I would go with you if they let me,” Ivy said. She kissed him

gently. “I love you, my sexy soldier.”

“Right back at you, baby. I’m yours forever.” Rafe yawned. “The lack

of sleep is catching up with me.”

“Sleep, love.” Ivy pulled his head against her breast and he sighed as

her fingers trailed through his hair.

“If Bonnie wakes up, let me go to her. I didn’t think I would miss

waking up in the middle of the night with her, but I did,” Rafe murmured.

He felt himself slipping into slumber.

“I’ll wake you, darling. Now let go,” Ivy whispered.

He felt her kiss the top of his head as he let all thoughts drift away. In

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the arms of his wife, he was complete. Knowing that whenever he left she

would be waiting for him was the best gift possible. No one in the world