Harrier's Healer (27 page)

Harrier's Healer

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“Later.” Scott spun her around so they were eye to eye. “When

were you going to tell me?”

“I don’t know,” she admitted truthfully. “At least now I know

why you said ‘marry me.’”

Those bedroom eyes of his narrowed. “Don’t start, Alexis. I am

furious enough over the fact you didn’t think I had a right to know I am

going to be a father.”

“I just found out myself a little while ago. And why are you so

damn sure it’s yours?”

He arched a blond eyebrow at that. “Because I know you, Alexis.

You aren’t the kind of woman who sleeps around. Don’t try to pick a

fight because I’m not biting.”

“What if I want to fight?” She shoved against his chest sudden-

ly. Unprepared for the assault, Scott stumbled back and watched as

hysteria filled her normally serene and composed features. “What if I

want to hit you? Scream at you?” Her voice rose to a shrill pitch.

“Then go ahead. Alexis, you can hit, scream, yell, whatever. I’m

not going anywhere. No more games, no more of letting you whine and

push me away.” Scott closed the distance between them again.

Alexis backed up, her chest heaving. The tears had begun to

pool in her captivating eyes. “No,” she said.

“Exactly. No. Every time you push me away it breaks my heart,

even more so because I know you love me. Lex, we’re about to have a

baby together. And you know I love you.”

“I don’t know anything except that I am pregnant. Single and

pregnant.” Her legs gave out and she would have slid to the ground if

not for the quick reflexes of the man before her.

“And I am right here, offering to marry you.”

“That’s the problem. You feel like you need to offer it. I don’t

want to be in a marriage just for the child.”

“If you weren’t carrying my child, I would shake you for that

stupid-assed comment,” he hissed as he set her carefully on her feet. “I

have wanted to marry you since long before this and you know it. Why

are you doing this?” His fingers dug gently into her chin, forcing her to

look at him. “Why can’t you let me take care of you?”

Why can’t you let me take care of you?
That phrase echoed through

her mind as she tried to back away from him. Her mind grew fuzzy and

spots began to swim before her eyes. Alexis could see that firm mouth

of Scott’s moving but she couldn’t hear anything.

C h a p t e r T w e n t y - F o u r

Fear unlike any Scott had ever known flooded his body as he

watched Alexis’s eyes roll into the back of her head and her body

crumple, seemingly boneless, towards the floor.

His body went into automatic mode and he barely managed to

catch her before she collapsed on the hardwood floor of her bedroom.

Grabbing her purse, he carried her, clad in nothing but her robe, down

to his vehicle and drove them to the hospital.

Parking in the emergency zone, he carried her inside the hospit-

al and yelled for help. As orderlies placed Alexis on a gurney and a

resident checked her in, he moved his car to an appropriate parking

spot before going back to stay with her. The longer it took her to regain

consciousness, the more concerned and frightened he became.

It wasn’t possible for Scott to live without Alexis in his life. That

fact grew more and more apparent every time their paths crossed. This

final stint of her collapse only sealed it. They were going to be a couple

and they were going to be together.

A few hours later, Alexis opened her eyes slowly. Blinking, she

found herself looking into a very familiar pair of blue eyes. “What

happened? How did I get here?”

His face was full of concern as he touched her cheek. “How do

you feel? Jesus, Lex, you scared me. You just collapsed! I’ll get the

nurse; just one sec.” He moved away from her only to return moments

later with a nurse.

“How are you feeling?” the nurse asked as she checked the mon-

itors hooked up to Alexis.

“Fine. Can I see my chart, please?” Alexis asked.

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165

“Hon, why don’t you try and relax. The doctor will be here

soon. He can explain things to you.”

“Lady, give me my chart. I’m a doctor, I can read them,” Alexis

snapped.

Perhaps a bit surprised, the nurse nodded and handed over the

chart before she left the curtained area. Alexis didn’t even look up at the

departure, too busy reading the notes.

As she did all of this, Scott watched her, his own heartbeat final-

ly returning to normal. Moving close to the bed, Scott reached out and

ran two knuckles down her cheek, drawing her eyes toward his face.

“What does it say?” he asked, sitting down on the edge of the bed, He

was reluctant to stop touching her for fear of losing her.

“It says,” a deep voice reached them, breaking the look between

them, “that she is very lucky you were around.”

“Gunner!” Alexis exclaimed softly, holding out her hand to-

wards him. “Oh, my God, it is so good to see you! I’d get up but…” She

shrugged.

The doctor walked over to the free side of the bed and kissed her

cheek. “Don’t get up. Lord, Lexi, it is so good to see you.” His hand

captured hers and squeezed.

Scott’s blue eyes narrowed dangerously. They were uncertain as

they took in the doctor, a tall man, with dark brown hair that was in a

close, neat cut. His eyes were startlingly gray. His skin was tanned and,

while Scott knew he was broader, the man wearing the white coat was

no slouch.

“How are you doing, Gunner?” Alexis asked, not even trying to

get him to drop her hand.

“We will talk about me in a minute. What the hell is going on

with you? What brought this on?” His dark eyebrows rose as he

speared her with a glance.

“I was just overly exhausted. I had been doing the whole eigh-

teen-hour, thirty-six–hour thing. You know how it is.” She shrugged

once more. “I’m better now. I want to go home.”

“Of course you do. I am waiting on another test to make sure the

baby is okay. Then you can go. But not alone.” Gray eyes cut over to

finally acknowledge Scott. “Will you be with her?”

“I will stay with her even if I have to kidnap her and put her

somewhere she can’t escape.” Intense blue eyes held Alexis’s.

“Good,” the doctor said. “I’m Dr. Giambi, by the way. Gunner is

just fine.” The two men shook hands.

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Aliyah Burke

“Where do you know
my
Alexis from?” Scott asked.

Gunner grinned. “I’ve known Lexi since medical school. From

your attitude, I am going to assume you are the father?”

“Yes.”

Gunner smiled. “Well, in that case, congratulations…” He

waited for the name to be supplied.

“Scott. Lieutenant Commander Scott Leighton,” the SEAL filled

in, more than a bit arrogantly.

Gunner began to laugh. “Calm down, man, don’t worry. I love

this little lady but I love my wife more.”

Scott visibly relaxed and turned his gaze away from the chuck-

ling doctor to Alexis. She’d fallen back to sleep. Her thick lashes rested

peacefully against smooth cheeks. “I want to take her home. Is our baby

okay?” he asked, watching another nurse hand the doctor a clipboard.

Looking over the sheet, Gunner nodded. “Everything is fine

with your baby. I will write up some instructions for Lexi to follow. She

needs to take it easy for a couple of days. I will say this once.” His gray

eyes grew serious. “The baby will not be fine if she continues to work

herself to the ground
and
keep that much stress bottled up.”

Gunner began to write some things down. “She can work hard,

that’s fine, because she is strong. But all that stress and lack of good

sleep will only make it harder for her body to accept and healthily

maintain the life she is carrying.” Ripping off the paper, he handed it to

Scott. “And that is the most important thing.”

I couldn’t agree more.
“Tell me what I have to do.” So while Alexis

slept between them, Gunner filled in a wide-eyed Scott on the care and

feeding of a pregnant woman. The military man’s often hands strayed

to touch the sleeping beauty between them.

Alexis was so comfortable. Her exhausted body stayed snuggled

into the thick mattress. It felt so good as it cradled her. But no matter

how wonderful it felt, she knew it wasn’t her bed.

Her eyes opened and she didn’t even recognize the room. Sitting

up, she noticed she was totally naked between the platinum silver silk

sheets. Keeping the cool material tucked around her chest, Alexis slid

out of the large bed and stopped as her feet sank into the sinfully plush

pale gold carpet.

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167

“Where the hell am I?” she asked the empty room. “And where

the hell are my clothes?” She pulled open all the drawers in the room

and looked in the closet, not finding anything to wear. “What the hell? I

can’t find a damn thing to put on.”

“And you won’t find any.” The masculine voice stunned her.

Spinning toward the voice, her thick wavy hair floated out be-

fore settling gently around her shoulders. “Scott,” she breathed as her

hands tightened on the sheet.

“Morning, my sexy mother-to-be.” He crossed the room looking

suave in his khakis and black shirt.

Holding up her hand before he could kiss her she spoke. “Where

am I?”

“Give me a kiss first.”

“I have to go to work today. Where are my clothes?”

“Kiss me,” he murmured as his long fingers slid sensually over

the silk barely covering her body.

Unable to resist, Alexis moved easily into his embrace. Her arms

wrapped around his neck as their lips met. It was a gentle, exploring

kiss that rapidly morphed into a heated exchange.

The sheet fell forgotten to the floor as callused hands moved

over the body of the naked woman. “I love you, Lex, please believe

me,” he whispered as his hands pulled her tighter against his own

body.

Her hair tickled the small of her back as she allowed her head to

drop back from the exquisite feel of having his hands on her body

again. “I’m scared to,” she responded in the same quiet voice and her

head slowly moved up so their eyes could meet.

“What are you scared of?” he asked.

“Being hurt.” Her hands moved over corded forearms, follow-

ing their movement with her eyes.

“Look at me, Alexis,” came his order. Slowly, her eyes rose up to

meet his. “I will never hurt you. I could never hurt you.”

“We are too different.”

“Excuses, Alexis. We are going to be parents. I want to do that as

a family.” His mouth settled back over hers, stroking her embers into

flames.

She tugged on his shirt, her message clear. “Love me, Scott, just

love me.” Her words flowed past his lips to settle into his soul.

“For as long as there is a breath in my body I will do just that.”

His clothes were gone in seconds as he laid her back on the bed and

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Aliyah Burke

settled himself between her legs. He said with a half smile, “Guess I

don’t need to worry about protection anymore, do I?”

Alexis narrowed her eyes but before she could form a word in

response he slid fully into her welcoming heat. “
Ohhhh
,” was all she

could say.

“Tell me you love me,” he begged as his body moved within

hers.

“I love you. I love you, Scott.” Her hips rose, drawing him in

deeper as dark fingers gripped the silken material beneath her.

“Again,” he commanded, as he moved faster.

“I love you!” she yelled to the room and her body exploded into

a million tiny little pieces.

Scott drove deep within her one more time and he came intense-

ly into her womb, coating it with his sperm as he, too, shouted to the

room. He fell forward, stopping only because his strong arms halted

him millimeters away from crushing her.

“Is this how you do pushups?” she asked, kissing him lightly.

His mouth returned the favor. “I would do a million of them if

you were beneath me.”

“I can barely do three,” she said.

“I’ll help you. Besides, you said you wanted to learn how to de-

fend yourself.” His tongue traced along the swell of her neck.

Her body shuddered. “That seems like a lifetime ago.”

“Why did you want to learn how to defend yourself?”

“I need to be able to protect myself,” Alexis retorted, hitting his

arms in the joint so he pressed against her fully.

“Against what?” he growled. “And don’t do that. I could have

hurt you or Junior.”

Her eyebrows rose. “Junior?”

“Well, I can’t call my baby an ‘it’, now can I?” He rolled off her

and drew her into his embrace.

“I really have to go,” she said even while her body accepted his

silent strength.

“No, you are on a three-day leave. Doctor’s orders,” he ans-

wered as his chin settled upon the top of her head.

“Well, in that case,” she muttered in a coy voice. “I’m sure there

is something that you promised me, like a full-body massage.” Her

shoulder nudged him in the chest as he grunted almost disbelievingly.