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Chapter Sixteen

Jolie

I wake up totally spent, wrapped tightly in Marlow’s arms. I’m almost positive there isn’t an inch of my body he didn’t cover last night, but his erection presses against my stomach, and he laughs when I notice.

“He didn’t get enough last night?” I ask, shifting my hips slightly, causing him to groan.

“Petal, I could never tire of you. I let you sleep after round three because you looked exhausted, and I know you’re being dragged around to look at baby stuff today.”

“I’m pretty sure I could be enticed into a round four,” I say with a giggle, slipping my hand under the sheet to grasp his cock and run my finger over the tip. Precum glides across my thumb.

“Fuck,” he hisses, using his weight to roll me over onto my back. My hand loses its grip, and his cock springs free.

I know sex isn’t as erotic with my stomach getting in the way, but my guys make it look effortless, hovering over me while keeping their weight off my stomach—and Marlow is no exception.

His hair falls across his face, obscuring my view. Reaching up, I tuck it behind his ears, wanting to see his face and the way he smirks when he knows I’m getting close. I especially want to watch him scrunch up his nose when he comes. It’s sexy as fuck.

He lines himself up and pushes inside me, grunting in pleasure, and his eyes fall closed until he is balls deep. I stare at his face—it’s flawless, with the golden glow of his skin, and a slightly deeper colour to his cheeks. He even has eyebrows and eyelashes women would kill for.

“Are you okay?” he asks as he opens his hazel eyes.

“I’m fine. You’re just so damn perfect,” I whisper, not meaning to. “It almost hurts to look at you.”

His throaty laugh has him throwing his head back. “Did you want to punch me in the face and make this a little kinkier?”

“And mess up that face?” I say with mock horror, grasping his jaw and moving his head from side to side. “We can save that for the future when we need to spice things up a bit.”

You know you have found your soul mate when you can have a conversation mid-sex.

“Holy shit,” I groan out of nowhere. “Whatever angle you just did and the roll of your hips, keep doing that... fuck... oh god, yes... right there.”

Our conversation quickly ends as moans escape my lips. He thrusts at an angle that has my entire body trembling, and my legs involuntarily closing, trapping him between them.

“Oh god, oh god, I’m going to come,” I yell, arching my back as the trembles explode through my body right down to the tip of my toes, sending Marlow over the edge with me. He quickly moves off me and my body twitches through the aftershocks. I’m not sure I will even be able to walk today after that. Someone might need to push me in a trolley. Pity I wouldn’t fit.

Marlow gets up to go to the bathroom, and as he comes back in, I raise up on my elbows to take in his form. I swear I could lick him all day long like my favourite lolly.

A manilla folder sitting on my dresser catches my eye. I tried to get it out of my mind last night, and that’s the reason we fucked so much. His goal was to fuck my thoughts right out of my head.

Reading over my file last night mentally drained me. The file went back to before I was born, including the process of him replicating my deceased sister to create me.

It turns out it was always going to be both teams loving me.

There was just a last-minute change with Mr Z using his and Melinda’s DNA to produce me specifically. He had a whole other embryo originally created. In my file, it says the embryo was destroyed, but no other information. There was also a linked file to my sister, Zhavia, and pictures of her at birth. She looked like she was sleeping, but I wasn’t able to discern much more than that. I can’t imagine what Melinda would have felt going through that. I cradle my stomach just thinking about it again.

I sent a picture to Melinda last night to see if it would spark any memories, but she hasn’t replied. Though I know I have to trust that Brennan knows what he is doing, and she will be okay.

“Petal, I can hear your brain ticking over,” Marlow says from where he has sat down behind me. He presses a kiss to the back of my neck.

“I can’t help it—there was so much information in that file. Chester will understand the technical side more, because none of that makes sense to me, but seeing my sister like that and being pregnant hit home. I can’t lose these babies.”

Marlow rests his chin on my shoulder, his long hair falling around his face. “The babies will be fine. The doctor is monitoring you closely. Both babies are strong and healthy, and I’m sure once I get all the files unlocked, we will have one for them and know exactly how this is possible.”

“It just makes me sad I didn’t get to know her, which is stupid because she died before I was born. Melinda doesn’t even remember her.”

“We don’t know that yet—she could have her memories back by now. She probably can’t reach out if it isn’t safe. We don’t know what Ziyon is hiding.”

“I should get up and get dressed before Brennan comes in and drags me out of bed. You know how he likes to be punctual,” I say, clambering out of bed and pulling on Marlow’s clothes. He steps up behind me, lust filling my body with need again.

“Are you sure it’s okay if I don’t come today?” he asks, his breath skimming my neck.

“It will not take fourteen of us to buy baby furniture. I’m pretty sure only a few of the guys are coming. But Annabella, Grandma Betty, and Petra have invited themselves, so it should be interesting.”

A knock at the door makes me chuckle. “Come in, Brennan,” Marlow calls out. The door opens, and Jimmie pops his head in.

“Sorry, I’m early.”

“No, come in, you’re right on time. I’m going to shower and go shopping.”

“Is that what the fuss is about in the living room? Good luck with that—we ordered everything online.”

“I suggested that, but the grandparents vetoed the idea. You boys have fun with your computer stuff,” I say.

I slip from the room, gathering my clothes and heading into the shower. I run the water and wait for it to adjust before stepping in. Not even two seconds later, the door opens and Chester walks in bare chested, a pair of sleep shorts hanging low on his hips, and there is definitely no underwear. Which is confirmed when he pulls them down and steps out of them. I will never tire of seeing this man naked. Is it possible for a human being to be perfect? Every part of him is in proportion.

“Look at you undressing me with your eyes,” he jokes as he steps into the shower.

I turn to face him with a smile. “You can’t undress someone who is already naked.”

“That’s true. Now tell me why we have to go shopping with those ladies. There are lists and a damn itinerary for baby shopping, even including scheduled piss stops.”

“They’re just excited. You don’t have to come.”

His face drops, and he looks mad. “I want to come. If anything, they can stay behind,” he snaps.

“Hey,” I say, placing my hand over his heart before he works himself up. “It’s okay. It will all work out fine. Your grandmother is so excited—how can you tell an old lady no?”

“Easy, I just walk up to them and say ‘No.’”

I laugh at him and shake my head. “We are not telling her no.”

“Who are we telling no?” Case asks, opening the shower door, already naked. Since when has the shower become a public space where we pack in as many people as we can?

“Chester is being a big sook about the babies’ grandparents helping us shop.”

“The lists scared him away. Annabella is adamant she needs them. She and Boston are still arguing about it out there, and Brennan is playing referee.”

Chester squirts body wash on his hands and runs them over my body. Case does the same and washes himself down.

“How much did that shit hurt?” Chester asks Case, pointing to his dick.

“Someone put a needle through my cock, dude,” Case says, and Chester winces. “It hurt like a son of a bitch.”

“That’s what I thought, but Creed fucking says it’s not so bad.”

“You know you can’t have sex for six weeks after,” Case informs him.

I turn to face Chester, my eyes widening at the time frame. He laughs at me.

“Calm down, Little Angel. I was going to do it after the babies are born, in solidarity that you also can’t have sex for six weeks.”

“What are you talking about?”

“Jolie, don’t you know that after you have a baby, the doctor recommends to not have sex for six weeks?” Case says.

“You’re lying, that seems like overkill. We all might die if we have to wait that long.”

Case laughs at me, the asshole, but I’m dead serious. No one told me this.

“It’s in the books. You can bleed for that long too,” Chester adds.

“Well, you all better have a blood kink because there is no way I’m waiting that long. Three weeks will be enough,” I demand.

“We will do what the doctors say,” Chester throws at me.

Well, fuck him. I don’t have to stay and listen to this shit. I push past them and wrap myself in a towel and storm from the bathroom, pools of water left in my wake. When I reach the living room, Boston and Annabella are still going back and forth about today’s plans. Chester runs out behind me.

“Chester,” his grandmother gasps. “Go put your clothes on before coming around company. You were not raised by monkeys.”

“Are you sure? Have you met your daughter?” he says with a snort. “Jolie, we didn’t mean to upset you. I thought you knew.”

“Jolie, is everything okay?” Brennan asks.

“No,” I say, tears welling in my eyes. “Who says you can’t have sex for six weeks after having a baby?” I cry.

Chester finally walks away; he must see that the others can deal with this.

Brennan scratches his chin. He wants to answer me, but is apparently not sure what to say in response. Laughn just laughs at me when I’m being deadly serious.

“Stop laughing, it’s not funny!” I huff. “It’s bad enough this gets in the way, plus I have cankles. And now you expect me to not have sex for six weeks?! It’s ludicrous.”

Annabella closes the distance between us and puts her hand on my arm. “Shhh, it is actually four to six weeks. After birth, a woman’s body needs to heal. You could have stitches.”

My eyes go wide. “Stitches in my pussy?”

“Yes, if you have a vaginal birth, you could have stitches. If you have a C-section, well, I’m sure you know how that’s done. And you’re going to want to spend those few weeks getting to know your babies. They don’t come with manuals, so you will need to learn their cues and try to get yourselves into a routine. Trust me when I say the time flies past, and you will be back in business before you even know it,” she explains.

I nod, somewhat reassured. Maybe it won’t be so bad.

Boston steps between his mother and me, pulling me into his arms. “You should get some clothes on before everyone gets a show of exactly what we will be missing for those six weeks,” he whispers, making me laugh.

“Boston,” his mother chastises. “If I didn’t give birth to you myself, I would swear you were not my son. The things that come out of your mouth.”

He pulls back from me with a smirk. “I learned everything I know from Dad. You have heard his mouth when no one is around, so don’t tell me there is no dirty talk in the bedroom.”

“Creed, how much could I get if we harvested his organs?” she says with a smile.

“He’s worth a hell of a lot more to you that way than alive,” Creed throws back. “You’d be surprised what body parts sell for on the black market.”

“I accidentally bought a wig on there once. Turned out it was still attached to its original scalp,” Davis says. “It’s not my fault Marlow left his laptop open and I had to buy a costume.”

“Okay, I’m going to get dressed before this conversation gets any weirder.”

I leave the main room and head back to my bedroom; I left my clothes in the bathroom, but I find them laid out on my bed. My outfit choice of the day is a long, stretchy white skirt that isn’t as long once it’s pulled over my bump—reaching just above my knees—with a cute mint-green singlet that ties up at the front. I pair it with white sneakers since we will be walking around for a few hours.

Once I’m dressed and my makeup is done, Brennan walks into my room, dressed more casually than I have seen him in a long time. He looks good in the dark-blue denim jeans and a black polo shirt. I give him a once over, and he smirks at me.

“Don’t even think about it. There is no time—we need to go. Mum is already on me about making it on time to stop for food first.”

“If I eat you, does it count as food?” I waggle my brows at him.

He chuckles at my persistence as I stalk towards him, wrapping my arms around his neck the second he is close enough.

“As much as I like the idea, the thought of my mum coming in here and forcing us to leave is a buzz kill. Don’t be fooled by her sweet face—that woman is serious about time management and lists.”

“Brennan, where are you?” Annabella calls, and Brennan looks down with an amused smirk that says, I told you so . “Oh, there you are. Let’s go, I have wrangled the others, and they are outside waiting for us. It needs to be now before your brother starts getting lippy with me again. I swear that boy has aged me. Can you see the wrinkles?” she asks, pointing to her forehead, which barely has any visible lines.

“You don’t look a day over thirty, Mum. That plastic surgeon of yours is worth the money.”

Annabella just stares at Brennan. He pulls back from me and takes my hand as I try to hide my smile. Annabella is a timeless beauty; age just makes her even better looking.

We don’t make her wait any longer, for Boston’s sake as much as hers. Brennan drives with me, his mother, Grandma Betty, and Petra. Everyone else takes their own cars. Annabella took the front seat and directs Brennan where to go. As we pull into the parking area, my mouth hangs open—this entire place is a baby department store.

“Okay,” Annabella says in a business-like tone once we have all gathered in front of the store, “I have made sure the store is open just for us. Here is a list of items we need just in case you want some direction. Make sure you consult Jolie on your purchases. I have put your name on the section you need to focus on. Jolie, you can go from section to section and decide. Any colour preferences?”

“Umm . . .” I shrug. “Black.”

She screws up her nose. “You have been living with those boys for too long already.”

“I would like a white rug and maybe white curtains,” I add.

“Mrs Myer,” Laughn says, throwing his arm over her shoulder and moving her away from us. “I know how important these babies are, and how unconventional our house is compared to how beautiful yours is...”

He continues to lead her into the store. “Are you okay?” Boston asks, coming up beside me, and I nod.

“Overwhelmed. I hadn’t even thought about most of this stuff. Like what the fuck are nipple shields, and why do I need my nipples to go into battle?”

Boston snorts. “I have no idea either, but I would pay to see that. Honestly, though, I would have thought you’d get them from a sex store, not a baby store.”

“Nipple shields are in case the babies can’t latch on properly,” Kai says. “If either of you read any of the new book I left for you, I’m sure all of this would make sense.”

“Kai, with what time would you like me to do that? I don’t have a super brain.”

“No, but he does, so he has no excuses. I thought you liked to be prepared and ahead of the rest of us,” Kai says, cocking his head at Boston before he calls out to Annabella and runs off.

“So what section do you have?” I ask Boston when we enter the store.

He looks at the piece of paper his mum gave him. “Change tables.”

We look at the signs overhead and find our way to the change tables—a whole section of them. I for sure thought we would have the choice between only a handful. Instead, there have to be at least a hundred different types.

“What the fuck sort of shit is this?” Boston says. “Is it just me, or do all of these look the same?”

“It’s not just you,” I whisper as we walk over to the black range. Boston rocks a few and declares them unsafe.

“Oh!” I say. “I really like this one. With the drawers and the gold handles.”

“What do we do when we decide what we like? She didn’t tell us that,” says Boston. “MUM!”

“For crying out loud, son, you don’t need to yell across the store. I was right here.”

“Just making sure you could hear me. We like this one.”

She turns and looks at the one he is pointing at, and she walks up and rocks it just like Boston did before. “Okay, do you want two? Imagine them side by side. I know they will have a walk-in closet, but you can keep all the necessities in here. If we found some black shelving, you could put it between them and stack the nappies and wipes for easy access.”

I nod along with her and agree because I have no idea what you would class as necessities. She scans the barcode on some fancy scanner that she must have been given by a sales assistant.

“Boston, go help your brother while we see if Chester and Creed have narrowed down the bassinets.”

“And where would I find said brother?” Boston asks, a brow raised at his mother. Her lips pull into a tight line, clearly annoyed by him.

“He is looking at cribs,” she says with a fake smile on her lips. Boston walks off muttering about what the fuck could be the difference between a bassinet and a crib.

Annabella and I find Creed and Chester moving around bassinets, and they both smile at me as we get closer.

“Here, you take this,” Annabella says, handing me the fancy scanner. “Just scan the barcode on the one you want. Twice if you want two. Kai is in the breast pump section, and I can see him unbuttoning his shirt. It’s not a try before you buy section.” And with that, she hurries off.

I snort and look past where she is headed. Sure enough, Kai has something in one hand, and he is trying to get his shirt off.

“Alright, let’s pick something before she circles back around. Which ones have you narrowed down?”

“These three,” Creed says. “This Moses-looking basket, it rocks.”

He demonstrates how it works, and I shake my head.

“Okay, what about this one,” Chester says, showing me some space-age looking contraption that resembles half an egg sitting in an egg cup.

“Nope, it looks like our kids would be beamed into space in that.”

“Okay, we were talking to the saleslady, and she...” Creed stops when he notices the look on my face.

“She?!” I bite out.

“Tenshi, she is a forty-year-old soccer mum with five kids and is happily married. She suggested since we are having twins, it might be a good idea to use this portacot. It’s big enough they can both sleep in it together until they are old enough to go into their own cots, and it folds up so we can take it with us if we go on a holiday or if they have a sleepover at their grandparents’ house.”

“I do like it,” I say, feeling the mattress, which is surprisingly thick.

“It’s also adjustable,” Chester says, demonstrating how to move the base up and down.

“It looks like we have a winner.”

I scan the barcode, and the boys both follow me across the room to Brennan. Petra is also with him, and they are looking at the black cribs. Petra is moving the front of one crib up and down, showing Brennan how it works.

“Come and have a look at this one,” she says. “Annabella said you picked out some drawers that had gold handles, and Brennan found this one. It’s solid but has the gold around the top and along the base. And I really like that you can lift this up and down.”

“I love it,” I whisper in awe.

Brennan wraps his arm around my waist, pulling me into his side, and I lean my head against his arm. “Me too,” he says.

“Creed, Chester.” Annabella gets their attention, then tsks at them. “You should be moving onto your next task. We only have so long before they open the store to the public.”

She says “public” in a way that makes them seem beneath her. I can guarantee the clientele in this store have money, though they may not be as wealthy as her. I hold up the tag on the cot and my jaw drops. Three grand for just one?! There is no way the average family would be shopping here.

An hour passes in a blur of furniture, nappies, wipes, breast pumps, and baby baths. I feel like we have bought out the entire store.

Finally, I’m picking out the last item with Trace and Case; they have narrowed it down to between a bouncer and a swing. We are interrupted when, I don’t know why, Annabella pulls Kai by the ear to my side. “This belongs to you. Please tell him that my grandchildren will not be wearing baby crocs.”

“What?” Kai laughs. “They’re cute, and they can match Daddy.”

I shake my head at him. “Stop annoying her. The poor woman is stressed.”

Davis and Laughn trail behind Grandma Betty, their arms full of random items. She drags them up to the counter, and I tell Brennan I’m going to go save them.

“Can you ring up these on top of everything else and put it on my card,” Betty tells the checkout lady.

“Grandma Betty, I can’t let you do that. We can pay for it.”

She turns around to face me. “Child, please make an old lady happy and let me pay for this for my great grandchildren. I might not live to see the next one being born.”

She bats her lashes at me and smiles. With how good she looks, she won’t be going anywhere in the near future.

“Fine,” I say, falling victim to the damn puppy dog eyes. Now I know where Chester gets it from.

She gives me a playful grin and turns back to the register and slides her card across the counter. The young girl rings up her purchases and hands her a receipt along with the bagged-up items. The sales assistant then tells us that everything will be delivered within two weeks.

Two weeks is all we have until this feels even more real. It’s one thing to have the belly, but add a house scattered in baby stuff to that equation, and we aren’t ready.