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“You’re terrible.” I swat at him playfully.

“I can’t wait until everyone’s bunked down for the night, and we can enjoy that big bed of ours.” He brushes his lips against my ear, sending shivers down my spine.

“Oh yeah, what are you going to do in that big ol’ bed?” I grind my ass against his growing erection.

“Put a baby in you.”

“Promises. Promises.” I smile at him until he claims my lips. I sigh into the kiss and wrap my arms around his neck. When he parts my lips with his tongue, I moan.

“Whoa! There are kids present,” Joker says while covering Max’s eyes and ears with his hands.

“Yeah, get a room,” Nitro hollers.

Everyone else laughs, but I don’t miss the blush creeping up Holly’s cheeks. Her gaze has been flitting over to Nitro all day. She’s crushing on him hard, and I’m pretty sure he knows it. I wonder what’s going on between them, but now isn’t the time to ask. I’ll find out later. Right now, the only thing I need to accomplish is getting Scar up to our bedroom, so I can get him naked.

Chapter 28: Scar

9 months later …

Iknow something’s up with Julia when she won’t stop pacing back and forth on the porch. She’s been antsy all day, but when I ask her if everything’s okay, she tells me it’s fine. I hate it when she says that because I know it’s not fine. Every time she rubs her palm across her huge belly, I wonder if the baby’s okay. She’d tell me if something was wrong, but I can’t help but worry. She’s not due for another week, but what if she’s early?

I’m tempted to call Nina to get her ass down here to talk some sense into my woman. It’s late spring, but there’s still snow on the ground. She’s going to freeze her ass off if she doesn’t get back inside soon.

“Julia, baby. Come inside,” I coax.

“I just need to—ooh!” She grabs her stomach and heaves a few rapid breaths.

“What’s going on? Do we need to go to the hospital?”

“No, I’m sure they’re not real contractions. My water didn’t break, and it’s too soon anyway. It’s Braxton Hicks contractions. They aren’t getting closer together.”

“Why the hell didn’t you tell me this earlier? You need to go to the doctor right now. I’ll get the car.” I pull the keys out of my cut.

“No, I just need—”

I freeze as the front of Julia’s tan leggings turns a darker shade of brown. Wetness soaks the fabric.

“I think my water just broke,” she whispers.

“Oh, shit!” I run down the steps to get the car. Normally, I wouldn’t be caught dead in a cage, but I’m not putting our baby on the back of a bike until he’s old enough. Or she. It might be a girl. We still don’t know. Whenever someone asks me if I want a boy or a girl, I tell them I don’t care. I just want a healthy baby.

I pull the car up to the porch and park but leave the engine running. I turn the heaters to full power before jumping out to help my woman down the steps. She’s got her brave face on, but she’s got to be freaking out just as much as I am. We’re about to become parents. I’m about to become a dad.

After getting her settled in the car, I run inside and grab our go bag. I’ve had it packed for months, ever since I got the list of items to bring from the well-baby class we took at the hospital. It contains comfortable clothes, a fluffy robe, snacks, and lotion I can rub on her feet if things take a while, which they might. It’s her first baby, so she could be in labor for hours. I’ve also got stuff for the baby in there, like a go-home outfit. The car seat’s already in the trunk. We’ve got everything ready. We’re ready.

“Let’s do this,” I say as I toss the bag into the back seat.

“You sound like Rambo,” she teases.

“Babe, what you’re about to do is Rambo-level stuff. You’re about to bring a whole new human into the world. A baby. Our baby. You’re a goddamn goddess.”

“I’ll remind you of that that later when I’m screaming at you and cursing through the pain.”

“You can still do an epidural. It’s your choice. Anything that happens today is your choice. I’ll fuck up anyone who says otherwise.” I glance at her for a second, so she knows I’m serious.

“Should I text the guys?” she asks.

“I’ll handle it after we get there.”