Baby, Be Mine (Life, Love And Babies Book 3) Read online

  Her mind was completely blank.

  “Dammit,” she muttered. “It shouldn’t be this hard.”

  “What shouldn’t?” Jake asked as he walked up behind her, drink in hand, and looking sexier to her than he had earlier. Still in his faded blue jeans and a navy blue t-shirt that he had worn earlier for their photo session, her mouth practically watered.

  “Relaxing,” she said without looking him in the eye. Hopefully he wouldn’t know exactly what she was thinking or that she was lying to him, but why risk it by looking him in the eye?

  “Ain’t that the truth,” he said as he walked around and sat down beside her and took a sip of ice water. “I think of all the times I used to just be chilling out in front of the TV at this time of night without a care in the world. But ever since the twins arrived, I find that this is the time of day when my brain won’t shut down no matter how exhausted I am.”

  Olivia nodded in agreement. Okay, clearly they were going to just shoot the breeze. That was good. That was fine. It wasn’t like she wanted Jake to come out of the kitchen and simply pounce on her. Much. “Well, I’m sure you also aren’t getting much sleep on this sofa. It’s all fine and well for a couple of night, but by now it’s got to be getting old.” Wait? Did she just make a reference to a bed? Her mind raced and she cringed inwardly. Would he take that as her inviting him to sleep with her tonight? Not that she’d mind…but…that was so not the way she would have played it.

  “It’s not so bad actually,” he said, interrupting her inner ramblings. “I had bought the furniture after my parents passed. I knew I was going to be living here temporarily and their furniture was just awful; very stiff and formal. Very uncomfortable. When I went furniture shopping, I did all of the man-cave tests.”

  “Wait…there are man-cave tests?”

  He nodded. “It has to be comfortable.”

  “That’s not a man-cave thing, that’s a human thing. Everyone wants furniture that’s comfortable!” she said with a laugh.

  “No, not just comfortable for sitting, but comfortable enough that you can watch TV for twenty-four hours straight and not have to get up. So I sat for a long time, then I laid down on it. It was an all-day experience.”

  “I’m sure that they must have loved you in the store.”

  “Hey, I bought the furniture,” he said with a shrug and a smile. “It was a win/win for everyone.”

  “I’m sure you didn’t order pizza to the store and see how it felt to eat on it,” she said, cracking herself up and then noticed that he had awkwardly looked away. “You didn’t.”

  He glanced back at her and shrugged again. “I didn’t have pizza delivered but I did ask for a beverage and a snack so that I could see how it would be.”

  She shook her head in disbelief. “Unbelievable. I would never even think to do something like that.”

  “What can I say? If I’m going to buy something as expensive and as important as a sofa, I want to make sure that it’s something I can live with.”

  “Well, to be fair, you had no idea that you’d end up sleeping on it for so long, did you?”

  “Not initially, no. But I have been known to fall asleep on the couch watching TV and then not bother to get up and walk the ten feet to the bed.”

  “That’s just lazy.”

  Picking up his glass, he turned to her and smiled with a mock solute. “That’s me.”

  They sat in companionable silence, and Olivia figured that this was it, this was all they were going to have tonight unless she made the first move. Her mind raced for something witty to say or some way for her to slink across the couch and get closer to him. Unfortunately, in every scenario, she ended up either getting rejected, falling off the couch and or looking and feeling like a fool.

  Talk about a mood killer.

  She was so busy going through all of her imaginary failed-seduction scenes that she didn’t notice Jake moving closer. Or the fact that he had shut off one of the sofa lamps. It wasn’t until she felt his breath warm against her neck that she snapped out of her stupor. A languid sigh escaped her lips as she tilted her neck to give him better access to the skin there. His lips and tongue alternated between kissing her there and nipping and licking her. Chills broke out all over her body and it made her shiver.

  “Too much?” he whispered, working his way up to take a tiny bite of her earlobe.

  Shifting a little so that she could loop her arms around his shoulders, she whispered back, “Not enough.” Her lips sought his and soon he had them both reclined with his body nestled securely on top of hers.

  Yes, yes, yes! Her body screamed. Finally! There was no way for her to act casual or pretend that this wasn’t a big deal. It totally was and as she wrapped her legs around his hips and locked him in close, she smiled at the evidence that Jake was just as crazed as she was right now.

  “I totally tried to stay away,” he said huskily as his lips moved from hers to kiss her cheek and then back down to her neck.

  “Nobody asked you to,” she reminded, her breath ragged.

  “I was trying to do the right thing,” he panted between kisses. “You deserve someone who can make you the center of his world.”

  Well, wasn’t that just the sweetest thing ever? She thought. And as sweet as it was, she still didn’t agree with it. She didn’t want to be the center of anyone’s world. She wanted this moment, this exact moment with Jake more than she’d ever wanted anything else in her life. Olivia considered telling Jake that but didn’t want to open that discussion or pull at that thread. Raking her hands through his hair, she pulled his head back up to hers and kissed him. They had more important things to do.

  Like this.

  Jake was completely on board with Olivia taking a little of the control, and as he kissed her, he did what he wanted to earlier – he let his hands begin to wander until they reached the hem of her shirt. This time, he didn’t hesitate, he didn’t pause, and he simply let his hands slip under the fabric until they found the fullness of her breast. They sighed in unison at the contact and he deepened the kiss as his hands began to knead her aching flesh with a little more urgency.

  Suddenly, Olivia pushed him away, and Jake thought that he had pushed too far, too fast. But once he moved, Olivia crossed her arms in front of her and pulled her t-shirt up and off and flung it across the room.

  Then she pulled him back down.

  “That is way better,” she said right before kissing him again.

  There had only been a flash of white lace before Olivia had brought Jake’s head down to hers, and the need to raise his head and look again was almost overwhelming. Carefully, he disentangled himself from her arms and leaned back to look at her. “Beautiful,” he murmured and looked at her reverently. “So damn beautiful.”

  Olivia had never felt that way, never thought for a minute that anyone else would see her that way. But now? Watching the expression on Jake’s face as his eyes raked over her, she actually felt it. A blush seemed to cover her entire body as his words washed over her, and then his hands began to explore her. She whispered his name to bring his attention back to her face. His eyes met hers and everything inside of her melted.

  “I just can’t believe that you’re actually here,” he said, “and that I’m really touching you.”

  Olivia wanted to beg him to touch her some more – now – but it was very sweet the way he was studying her body with awe and wonder. She reached out and touched his face – cupped his cheek – and smiled. “I feel the exact same way.”

  He was about to lower himself to her again but then stopped. “There’s so much I want to do with you, Olivia, but I don’t want to do any of it on the couch. We’re not kids,” he stood up and held out a hand to her. “Let’s take this inside.”

  As much as Olivia wanted to find out exactly what it was that he wanted to do to her and how good it was going to feel, she was uneasy with his suggestion. Jake saw the indecision on her face and immediately began to panic. “I’m sorry,�
�� he said quickly, “am I moving too fast?” He cursed under his breath. “I just thought that…with the way things were earlier and then how they were tonight that we would…I mean…that we were going to…”

  Olivia held up a hand to stop him. “Jake,” she said and then placed that hand on his chest, “you’re not moving too fast for me. I’m just not comfortable going into the bedroom and doing…you know…what we’re planning to do with the babies in there.” She knew it sounded ridiculous but she couldn’t help it.

  “They’re not even going to know that we’re there,” he said with a nervous chuckle.

  “No, I know. But I’ll know that they’re there. I’ll be afraid of making too much noise and waking them up and…well…I just want us to be able to enjoy being together without any distractions.”

  That was exactly what Jake wanted too, but now he was torn. The thought of making love to her for the first time on his living room sofa was so not what he had in mind. The dreams that had been keeping him awake at night all involved the two of them sprawled out on the king sized bed and there was definitely a lot of noise.

  Dammit.

  “I know that you’re not thrilled with the idea of being out here in the living room,” she said as if reading his mind, “but I don’t mind.” She stepped in closer to him. “I really, really, really don’t mind. I just want to be with you.”

  Well how was he supposed to say no to that kind of declaration? Anxiously, Jake looked around the room and considered his options. The sofa was big enough and he had already waxed poetic about how comfortable it was, but should he go and grab a blanket? Pillows? Should they set up some sort of makeshift bed on the floor?

  Beside him, Olivia chuckled. Reaching out, she cupped his cheek in her hand again and gently forced him to look at her. “Stop thinking so damn hard,” she teased. “I know it’s not what you envisioned, but I promise you, I’m okay with it.” She leaned up on tiptoes and kissed him. “Besides, maybe this will motivate you to get that nursery done faster. Then we’ll have that big old bed to ourselves and be able to shut the door and be as loud and as wild as we want.”

  Just the image of it was enough to bring Jake to his knees. “Done,” was all he said as he scooped Olivia up in his arms and laid her back on the sofa. A sigh escaped her lips, and Jake wasn’t sure if it was because what he was doing felt good to her or that she was relieved that they were finally getting back to business.

  Either worked for him.

  Over and over he kissed her as his hand skimmed her ribcage and up until it cupped one full breast. The satin and lace of her bra was in contrast to his work roughened hands, and it didn’t take long for him to reach around her back to unhook it and peel it away from her body.

  If he thought that the sight of her wearing the lace was sexy, it was nothing compared to her bare breasts. Leaning back, he cupped both of them in his hands and watched as Olivia’s eyes fluttered closed and she smiled. “Yes,” was all she said, and it sounded like a whispered plea so he continued to hold them, squeeze them gently and then finally lowered his head to take one hardened nipple into this mouth.

  Olivia’s back arched off the sofa, and Jake continued to softly torment her tender flesh until she was writhing beneath him. He was taking his time, learning what made her whimper, what made her squirm, when she reached down and pulled at the hem of his t-shirt. He lifted his head and helped her to remove it and watched it sail across the room to join hers.

  Leaning back down, they were skin to skin, and Jake looked into Olivia’s eyes and smiled. “You’re right, that is much better.”

  “Told you so,” she said as she ran her hands over his pecks, down his flat stomach and to the button on his jeans. Olivia’s eyes were sexy and wicked and wild as they met his. “And it’s about to get a whole lot better.”

  ****

  “So let me see if I’ve got this straight,” Jake said much later as they sat in the bed feeding the twins, “you’re not okay with us being here in the bed together to make love, but it’s okay for us to be here together to feed the kids. Is that right?”

  Olivia yawned widely and nodded. “Exactly. And to sleep. It would be totally fine to sleep in here.”

  “With no sex.”

  She nodded again. “No sex.”

  “You’ve got an awful lot of rules in my house, you know that?” he teased softly.

  “One of us has to set a good example,” she teased right back. “I don’t want to be the reason that either of these sweet, innocent children are traumatized and in need of therapy later in life.”

  He looked at her blandly. “Liv, they don’t have a clue about what’s going on around them unless they’re wet, dirty or hungry. As long as we meet those needs for them, they don’t care what we do.”

  “We don’t know that for sure.”

  Jake rolled his eyes and knew he was fighting a losing battle. It was actually kind of sweet the way that she wanted to protect the twins and not do anything inappropriate in front of them. He didn’t necessarily agree with it, but he thought it was sweet.

  Actually, everything about Olivia was sweet, he was beginning to discover. From the way she took care of the kids to the way she went about helping him and even to the way she felt in his arms as she came undone.

  Sweet.

  Leaning over, he kissed her on the cheek before rising to re-swaddle Ben and place him back in the crib. Moments later, Olivia was beside him doing the same with Maddie. They made a good team – the two of them – and Jake couldn’t imagine anyone else that he’d rather be going through this with than Olivia.

  “They always look so sweet when they first go down,” she said quietly. “It’s almost as if they’re smiling; relieved to be back in their beds like they’re exhausted from all of the feeding and changing and snuggling.” Beside her, Jake chuckled. “I can already see that they’re growing. Some of the clothes that we bought just a week ago are starting to get snug or they’re filling them out better. Keeping them in the bassinets has been great, but soon you won’t have a choice but to put them in their own bigger beds.”

  “Do you think they’ll notice?”

  She reached down and rubbed Ben’s tummy for a minute. “Maybe. We’ll have to transition them a bit and make sure that they feel snug and secure when they’re sleeping in a more open space.”

  Jake knew the feeling. He had a feeling that if he let himself, he’d get used to sleeping next to Olivia, and then he’d have to transition to having the entire bed to himself again. Not a good feeling.

  It was too much to think about. Without a word, he took one of Olivia’s hands in his and led her back over to the bed. Then, he turned her around, cupped her face in his hands, and kissed her. Slowly. Softly. Deeply.

  She sighed and relaxed against him. She was exhausted – not only from the long day but because they had made love twice before coming in to feed the twins. And as tired as she was, she wouldn’t be opposed to stripping down and making love again.

  “Sleep,” he said quietly against her lips. “The bed is for sleeping.” He teased her with her own words as he reached down and threw the blankets back so that they could climb in. When Olivia made to protest, he kissed her one last time. “You’re rules, not mine.” With a gentle push, she fell back on the mattress. “Scoot over,” he said and climbed in beside her.

  Not letting her get too far, Jake pulled the blankets up and over them before turning off the small lamp next to the bed. Only the glow of the nightlight on the wall was visible and he was fine with that. Wrapping an arm around Olivia and tucking her in close beside him, he smiled. This was good. This was right. She kissed his chest and hummed her approval. Obviously she felt it, too.

  Unable to keep it to himself he said, “This is good.”

  “Mmm-hmm,” she agreed and snuggled closer to him, one leg draped over his, her hand over his heart.

  “And you’re firm on the whole ‘no-sex’ rule?”

  She nodded. “Stop being such a
baby. Think of it as motivation. I’m really doing it for you.”

  “For me?” he nearly choked and laughed out loud until Olivia pinched him and told him to shush. “For me?” he whispered. “Remind me again…how?”

  “I told you. Now you have motivation to finish the upstairs and get Ben and Maddie settled into the nursery. The sooner their room is ready, the sooner we can have this bed – and this room – all to ourselves.” She lightly traced a circle around one of his nipples with her tongue. “Wouldn’t that be nice?”

  “You’re not playing fair,” he growled lowly. “If you’re going to throw down a no-sex rule, then you’re not allowed to tease.”

  She shook her head. “I do not agree to those terms.”

  He couldn’t help but laugh at her serious tone. “Maybe I need to find a way to motivate you to change your mind,” he challenged.

  Olivia lifted her head from his shoulder and looked at him. “You wouldn’t dare.”

  He smirked. “Wouldn’t I?” He saw her frown and took pity on her. Tucking her head back down on his shoulder, he waited until Olivia relaxed against him again. “Okay, fine. I’ll play nice.” Then he paused. “I guess one of us has to.”

  Olivia pinched him lightly, and they hugged each other close before settling down. Her eyes felt heavy, and Jake’s strong arms around her felt heavenly. She yawned and snuggled so close that she was almost on top of him. Her voice was sleepy and a little bit slurred as she whispered, “Yes, this is good.”

  Chapter Eight

  Two days later Olivia stood back in awe. The nursery was done. And not just done like ‘it’s okay to move the kids in’, but done like…it could have been in a parenting magazine under dream nurseries. The walls were painted a lovely green that gave the room a very calm and relaxed feeling. The bright white cribs made such a beautiful contrast against the walls and Olivia smiled at how perfectly the bedding they had picked out on that first day went with the décor.