Corps Security: The Series (31 page)

“God, no. It’s perfect.” And it is.

The picture is of Axel and me the day he left for boot camp. I still remember the day my mom brought it back from the store. She had a smile on her face and tears in her eyes. They had framed it and given it to me the same day.

In the picture, Axel was hanging out the bus window, one hand hanging on to the window frame and the other reaching down and holding mine. You can just see his broad shoulders dressed in his camouflage and his newly shaved head. I still remember taking my father’s clippers to his silky locks the night before he left. I was standing on the tips of my toes, stretching up as tall as I could and meeting his waiting lips in a sweet kiss. I had bought a new soft yellow sundress to wear that day and it was hanging beautifully from my youthful body.

There was so much love, promise, and sadness in that picture. It is us. It is our past and our future and it is absolutely perfect.

With tears rolling down my face, I carefully lean it against the wall before throwing my arms around his neck and peppering his face with kisses. “I love it, Axel. It is the best gift I have ever received. I love you so, so much.”

“I love you too, Princess.” He kisses me softly and wraps his arms around my back, holding me tight to his body.

We stay like that for just a second, soaking in the peaceful contentment that swirls in the air.

“My turn?” I ask into his neck.

“Not yet, Princess. One more.” He loosens his hold on me, placing my feet back onto the floor, and takes a step back. Reaching into his pocket, he pulls out a small blue box before dropping to one knee in front of me. The tears that stopped from before are back with a rush.

Oh. My. God.

“Izzy, from the first moment our eyes met, I knew you would be mine forever. There wasn’t a day that passed that you didn’t hold my heart. Everything I have ever done in my life was with you in mind, even when I didn’t think this moment would ever come. It was all I prayed for. We might not have had the easiest road to get here, but know, from this day forward, I will do everything within my power to ensure that there is nothing but perfection. The happiness and love we deserve, baby. Will you do me the greatest honor and become my wife?” When he finishes, I can hardly see him through the tears gathering around my eyes, blurring my vision before falling down my face.

“Yes. Yes, a million times over!” I yell and drop to the ground in front of him, throwing my arms around his neck and kissing him with so much love and exuberance. “Yes!” I scream, throwing my head back and smiling wide.

He laughs and opens the box. Inside is a stunning ring. A large round center diamond is set high on the thick platinum band. On each side of the center stone are three rows of more diamonds, the center row being slightly larger than the two on the outside.

It is the most beautiful ring I have ever seen in my life.

He slips it on my finger and brings the hand up to his lips for a soft kiss.

“You’re finally going to be my wife,” he says against my hand, his warm breath tickling the skin.

“You’re finally going to be my husband.” I smile back.

I give him another kiss before pulling away and looking down at my hand.

I can’t help but just think finally, finally, FINALLY.

“Okay, this will be hard to top.”

He offers an arrogant smile before walking over to plop down on the recliner I just left. “Oh yeah, Princess. There is no way you are topping that,” he replies pointing down at my hand.

I smile to myself and start handing him the boxes. He laughs when he gets to the Victoria’s Secret lingerie. “Great minds think alike.” We laugh together and he places the box off to the side.

I hand him the box with the dog tag and watch his face when he opens it. He sits there for the longest time just looking into the box.

His face is void of emotions.

“Jesus,” he chokes out. “Izzy, Princess, this is fucking amazing.” He looks at it for a few more minutes and asks me what the line at the end means.

“Love conquers all,” I reply with a smile.

He fingers the necklace lightly and notices the diamond for the first time. “Is that . . .” He trails off.

“Yeah. I kept it. Locked away but I never let that ring go. I thought it was perfect.”

“It is . . . It is perfect,” he whispers.

He looks up, and the emotion in his depths causes me to stagger a bit. “Wear it always . . . Never coming off,” he says, pulling it from the box and pulling the chain over his head, dropping it to setting against his chest.

“One more,” I say, the butterflies picking up speed in my stomach. “You kind of helped me pick this one out actually,” I add, walking over to the tree and pulling out a small box.

The smile on his face is one of pure bliss. This day has been perfect, and I pray this will be the icing on the cake.

He starts tearing off the paper and opens the lid on the box before pulling out the mug. He has it backwards at first and looks at me with a perplexed expression that turns to a questioning one when he notices my nerves. “Spin it,” I say, twirling my finger in a circle.

He takes the coffee mug and spins it around. I watch when the clouds clear and his jaw drops in shock. He looks up at me, down at the coffee mug, to my belly, then back to my face before returning his eyes to the mug he is holding reverently in his hands. He sits there, his head bowed, and just looks at the mug. I picture it in my mind, knowing what he is seeing, and a small smile tugs at my lips.

The gray mug has a copy of the first ultrasound picture on it, and underneath the picture, it says, ‘#1 Dad—Coming This Summer.’

He is silent for so long that I start to worry. Oh God, I didn’t think what I would do if he isn’t happy about it. I can’t stand the thought of being without him, but if he doesn’t want our baby, I would have to learn.

“Axel?” I question.

He sets the mug down on the coffee table before climbing to his feet. I don’t catch his expression before he wraps his arms around me softly and holds me close. I still can’t judge his mood or feelings about becoming a father. The worry inside me is starting to take root and I feel like I might be sick.

“Princess . . .” he whimpers. His giant body starts to shake slightly under my arms, and I realize he is too overcome with emotions to talk right now.

I hold him and he holds me. I can feel his tears wetting the skin through my shirt. My own are coming freely. He leans back and looks into my eyes, bringing his arms around and wiping his eyes clear.

“A baby? You’re having my baby?” he says in astonishment. “We’re having a baby?” he repeats, a huge smile coming over his face. “We’re going to have a baby!” he booms through the living room and picks me up in a tight hug before spinning me around.

I laugh at his liveliness.

He drops me to my feet again and slams down to his knees, pulling up my shirt and pressing a soft kiss to my flat stomach. Splaying his hands wide across my belly, he whispers to the skin, “We’re going to love you so much, little one.”

I hiccup on a sob and run my hands through his hair. He looks up at me with his bright emerald eyes full of peacefulness and blinding love.

“We’re having a baby.” He wraps his arms tightly around my middle and holds me close with his head against my stomach.

I hold his head to my skin and echo back to him, “We’re having a baby.”

CHAPTER 20

I still can’t believe it. Not only am I engaged to be married, but our baby is growing inside my body. Once Axel was over his shock, we spent the rest of the day in bed, celebrating as he said. I can’t say no to him. He is over the moon, and I want that closeness only he can give me. We fell asleep well after midnight, his arm draped over my stomach, holding my belly with his large hand.

My phone starts buzzing the next morning, reminding me that I set my alarm so I could get up and over to Dee’s before it got too late. Axel and I have plans to go to dinner tonight and celebrate—with clothes on this time.

I lift Axel’s arm off my belly and walk across the room to the bathroom. Pausing to look over at his sleeping form, I see that the dark sheets are riding low on his naked hips. He has one arm over his abdomen and the other stretches out under my pillow. The desire to crawl back in bed and cuddle close is strong, but I need to hurry so I can make my plans with Dee and be home early enough for dinner. Once Dee and I get talking, I know I won’t be home anytime soon.

I pull on my favorite pair of black leggings and an oversized knit sweater. Grabbing my black boots, I walk out of the closet and almost collide with Axel. I look him over from head to rock-hard dick to toe. Good enough to eat.

“You’re killing me, Ax! You know I have to get going before Dee starts knocking the doors down here. It should be illegal for you to look that good in the morning.” I brush my hand down his stomach and grab ahold of his dick, stroking him lightly a few times. “I love how hard you are for me.” I kiss the corner of his lips and step away before he can grab me.

A low rumble sounds from his lips. “You remember this moment tonight when you’re begging me to let you come. Going to keep you right on the edge for hours. Hours, baby.” He swats my butt before walking into the bathroom and turning on the shower. “Call me when you get there!” he yells over the spray of the shower.

“Will do. Love you!”

My phone rings on the way over to Dee’s house. I answer and press speaker before placing the phone back down. “Hey, you! Merry Christmas.”

“Merry Christmas, baby girl.” Greg’s deep voice comes through the line. “Missed you yesterday.”

I feel a little bad about closing our friends out yesterday, but with it being our first Christmas back together, plus one that was so full of special moments for us as a couple, it didn’t feel right to open it up for everyone.

“I know, G. I missed you, too. I’m on the way over to Dee’s house now if you want to come meet us for lunch. I’ve got your gifts in the car. Plus, I’ve got some news for you.” I smile when the line goes silent. I know Greg. Right now he is probably picturing every kind of ‘news’ I could possibly have for him. He might correctly guess one, but there is no way he would guess them both.

“Wouldn’t miss it, baby girl. I got some work to finish up before I head over. Give you and Dee some time to do your thing.”

“Sounds good. I’m glad I get to see you today. I was just telling Ax last night that we needed to have y’all over for dinner.”

“Something tells me Reid didn’t want to share your time, right?”

“Ah . . . something like that.” I laugh, and we continue with the small talk before hanging up.

I try calling Dee to let her know Greg is coming but she doesn’t answer. I brush off the flicker of worry that floats across my skin. Knowing Dee, she is still in the bathroom with the music cranked up to ungodly levels while she gets ready.

I pull up into the driveway of my old home with Dee and climb out. It is a beautiful morning. The sky is clear and blue, and the winter chill is blowing softly. There was talk of snow this weekend, but knowing Georgia weather, it would change a few times before the weekend hit and there would be no snow. My hair flies around my head when a strong gust hits my face, causing me to shiver. Pulling my coat tighter to my body, I walk to the back of my car.

I gather all the gifts I have for Dee, leaving some for Greg to get later. My hands are full enough with the things I have for Dee.

Walking up the small walkway, I pause to pull my keys out of my pocket. If she were up, she would have already come running out the door like a cheerleader on crack. I drop a few of the packages in my arms before I am able to pull my keys out of my waistband.
Shit!
I forgot to call Axel. Pulling my phone up, I press his name and wait for it to start ringing as I push my key in the lock. It clicks, but before I can open the door, it swings wide and I meet the disturbing brown eyes of my ex-husband.

“Hey, Princess,” I hear coming through the line.

Brandon smiles his cold and evil smile.

“You there?” I hear calling from far off. My body is frozen in terror.

“Hello there, Isabelle,” Brandon says. There is so much control in those three words, but they are heavily laced with menace.

All of the packages fall from my arms, joining my phone on the front steps.

“Izzy!” I hear right before Brandon reaches up and slams his fist into my temple, causing the world around me to fade into black.

God! Why does my head hurt? Shit. I roll over but stop when my head starts to pound. Why don’t I remember what happened?

“Ah, Isabelle. Glad you could join us.”

My eyes snap open and I look around Dee’s living room. It all comes rushing back, and my blood turns to ice when I look up and see Brandon standing over Dee. He’s got her arms tied behind her back and a piece of tape slapped over her lips. Her eyes are wide and terrified. I can already see a bruise forming around her cheek and her hair is pulled to the side of her ponytail.

She tries to stay strong but there are dried tear tracks all over her face.

“This little bitch was nice enough to invite me in. Nice to know her manners aren’t lacking. I was just asking her a few questions about my lovely wife when you drove up. Thank you, Isabelle, for making it so easy to find you.” He shakes his head back and forth and begins pacing in a tight line behind Dee. I move my eyes from his face to hers and check on her again. I can see her pleading with me not to do anything stupid. Her eyes are wide and she keeps shaking her head softly.

“Your little boyfriend has been causing some trouble, Isabelle. I warned you what would happen if he didn’t back off. I wonder how long it will take that motherfucker to come riding to the rescue, hmm?”

His pacing continues, and when Dee lets out a soft whimper, his hand shoots out and backhands her hard across the face. She falls back off the couch and doesn’t move.

That was all it took to snap me out of my shock. “You bastard!” I scream and go to move from my spot on the floor but stop short when he trains a gun on me.

“Oh no, I wouldn’t do anything rash. My dear wife seems to have forgotten her place in the world. We can’t have that now, can we? You sit the fuck down and shut up, you stupid whore.”