“Hey!” I pursed my lips and gave a mock scowl.
“It’s something I had to call around to find,” he said.
“Goddammit, Thorne, you’re killing me here. What the hell is it?” I gripped the bars on the bed with my good hand and shook the frame a little for dramatic effect.
It hurt a little, but it was worth it to watch him spring to action.
“Honeybear! Don’t do that. Are you okay?” He inspected me, checked my IV and glanced over my arms, touching them as he went. It gave me chills at the same time my stomach flipped at his term of endearment. “You didn’t hurt yourself, did you?”
I gave him a pitiful expression, then when he was distracted, snagged the DVD from his grip and stuck my tongue out at him.
His jaw dropped, then he grinned and chuckled. “Brat.”
“Asshole. That never seems to change—lobotomy and happy pills or not.” I inspected the case to find out what it was. My whole being stopped when I saw the front.
The 1943 edition of Jane Eyre.
“You know you like it,” he said, looming over me.
“I…I don’t know what to say.”
“Say thank you. That’s what I was told to say after my lobotomy.” He tapped his forehead.
“Thank you. But how did you know?”
It was my favorite of the classics I’d been forced to read in high school, and the only one I liked. I read it over and over and as I devoured the words, I felt like I was reading about myself in some ways. I could relate to Jane—she became my role model—and I hoped one day for my own Mr. Rochester.
In my heart, I knew I’d found him in Nathan even if my heart hurt. I dared to hope, even with as angry as I was.
“I have my ways.” He leaned over and kissed my temple.
Normally, I would have glared at him for doing that, but I was speechless at his gift.
“Teresa?” He confirmed my suspicion with a nod, pressing his lips together. “That woman…” I shook my head, still smiling. I was living with her when I first rented it from the library. She sat next to me when I watched it for the first time, and didn’t mind when I watched it again and again.
“It’s nothing to be ashamed of. We all have our little unmentionable fetishes.” He laughed.
I was pretty sure I knew all of his.
“Well, f**k, if that’s what they teach you after lobotomies, maybe I need to get one, too.” I hugged the DVD to my chest. “Let’s keep this crazy to ourselves.”
“I already told the nurses you’d want to be left alone tonight.”
I grinned. I sure would.
I tucked the case under the covers, the smile unable to leave my face. There was nothing wrong with romantic fantasies, and it had been a long time since I let myself indulge in such things.
The perv loved every minute of my reaction, my face reddening with each passing second. Damn him and his goofy lobotomy grin. There was a resurgence of some feeling in my body, and I knew it had nothing to do with the drugs in my system.
I stared out at the crashing blue waves, my hands sinking into the warm sand. The sun was bright overhead, and in the background I heard laughing.
Not really a laugh, but a giggle, high-pitched and full of glee. I scanned the beach and saw a familiar brown-haired man.
Nathan.
He was off a little ways to my left, chasing a small girl. Her hair was the same light brown as his, reflecting brightly under the strong light of the sun. I moved to stand, to go to them, but my movement was restricted. I felt weighted down, too heavy to properly move.
Looking down, I found my stomach, bulging out from between my hips, round and full. Out of nowhere there was a giggling sound, pulling my attention away from the mountain that my stomach had transformed into. To my right, there was a little boy, clapping as he watched Nathan play with the little girl. The child’s hair was white-blond, and when he turned to me, a warmth spread through me. Those eyes. The same deep blue color as Nathan’s were boring into me. I smiled reflexively at him.
“Daddy and Anna play. I play too!” He squealed in excitement, his words slurred by toddler speech.
They heard him and headed toward us. Nathan was beaming while he watched the little girl run in our direction.
She bounded up to me. “Mommy! Mommy! Look at the shell I found!”
I took the large conch shell in my hand. “It’s beautiful, sweetie,” I said, admiring the colors of the recently abandoned shell. It hadn’t been bleached by the sun and the salt yet. I turned it around in my hands, stopping when a glint of light caught my eye. Looking at my left hand, I found a large diamond ring surrounded by two simple white gold bands.
“Anna, play!” The little boy cried out.
The little girl, Anna, took the small boy’s hand. “Come on, Jackson! Let’s go!”
His little Buddha belly protruded out as he stood, dancing about and unable to contain his delight at playing with his sister. They ran down the beach toward where the waves crawled up the sand.
“Not too far, Anna!” Nathan called out while plopping down next to me in the sand. He leaned forward and captured my lips. “Hello, beautiful.”
“Hi,” I replied, breathless.
“Mmm, you look good enough to eat. Mind if I have a nibble? I’m starving.”
At that, he lowered his head and began licking and nipping my neck. He was making funny growling noises as his head moved back and forth.
I started giggling at his actions. “Nate, the children,” I hissed under my breath.
“Are fine.” His actions slowed, and then his teeth sank farther into my flesh. My eyes widened, and the familiar heat that only Nathan could produce blazed through me. A moan slipped past my lips. “When we get home,” he whispered in my ear, “I’m going to do bad things to you.”
I licked my lips, and my breathing increased as my cheeks flamed. He pulled away, his face lighting up with a sly smirk.
I pouted. “That wasn’t nice.”
His head tilted back, his chest heaving, as a laugh I’d never heard from him came out. He wore a mischievous smile and winked at me before turning his attention to the two little ones who were laughing and running away from an incoming wave.
I felt a kick in my stomach and my hand flew to the spot. Nathan noticed the motion and turned to me, placing his hand on my skin. “My little girl wants to play with her siblings, huh?” He leaned down and kissed my stomach. “You’re not quite done yet, little one. Soon.”
“It’s something I had to call around to find,” he said.
“Goddammit, Thorne, you’re killing me here. What the hell is it?” I gripped the bars on the bed with my good hand and shook the frame a little for dramatic effect.
It hurt a little, but it was worth it to watch him spring to action.
“Honeybear! Don’t do that. Are you okay?” He inspected me, checked my IV and glanced over my arms, touching them as he went. It gave me chills at the same time my stomach flipped at his term of endearment. “You didn’t hurt yourself, did you?”
I gave him a pitiful expression, then when he was distracted, snagged the DVD from his grip and stuck my tongue out at him.
His jaw dropped, then he grinned and chuckled. “Brat.”
“Asshole. That never seems to change—lobotomy and happy pills or not.” I inspected the case to find out what it was. My whole being stopped when I saw the front.
The 1943 edition of Jane Eyre.
“You know you like it,” he said, looming over me.
“I…I don’t know what to say.”
“Say thank you. That’s what I was told to say after my lobotomy.” He tapped his forehead.
“Thank you. But how did you know?”
It was my favorite of the classics I’d been forced to read in high school, and the only one I liked. I read it over and over and as I devoured the words, I felt like I was reading about myself in some ways. I could relate to Jane—she became my role model—and I hoped one day for my own Mr. Rochester.
In my heart, I knew I’d found him in Nathan even if my heart hurt. I dared to hope, even with as angry as I was.
“I have my ways.” He leaned over and kissed my temple.
Normally, I would have glared at him for doing that, but I was speechless at his gift.
“Teresa?” He confirmed my suspicion with a nod, pressing his lips together. “That woman…” I shook my head, still smiling. I was living with her when I first rented it from the library. She sat next to me when I watched it for the first time, and didn’t mind when I watched it again and again.
“It’s nothing to be ashamed of. We all have our little unmentionable fetishes.” He laughed.
I was pretty sure I knew all of his.
“Well, f**k, if that’s what they teach you after lobotomies, maybe I need to get one, too.” I hugged the DVD to my chest. “Let’s keep this crazy to ourselves.”
“I already told the nurses you’d want to be left alone tonight.”
I grinned. I sure would.
I tucked the case under the covers, the smile unable to leave my face. There was nothing wrong with romantic fantasies, and it had been a long time since I let myself indulge in such things.
The perv loved every minute of my reaction, my face reddening with each passing second. Damn him and his goofy lobotomy grin. There was a resurgence of some feeling in my body, and I knew it had nothing to do with the drugs in my system.
I stared out at the crashing blue waves, my hands sinking into the warm sand. The sun was bright overhead, and in the background I heard laughing.
Not really a laugh, but a giggle, high-pitched and full of glee. I scanned the beach and saw a familiar brown-haired man.
Nathan.
He was off a little ways to my left, chasing a small girl. Her hair was the same light brown as his, reflecting brightly under the strong light of the sun. I moved to stand, to go to them, but my movement was restricted. I felt weighted down, too heavy to properly move.
Looking down, I found my stomach, bulging out from between my hips, round and full. Out of nowhere there was a giggling sound, pulling my attention away from the mountain that my stomach had transformed into. To my right, there was a little boy, clapping as he watched Nathan play with the little girl. The child’s hair was white-blond, and when he turned to me, a warmth spread through me. Those eyes. The same deep blue color as Nathan’s were boring into me. I smiled reflexively at him.
“Daddy and Anna play. I play too!” He squealed in excitement, his words slurred by toddler speech.
They heard him and headed toward us. Nathan was beaming while he watched the little girl run in our direction.
She bounded up to me. “Mommy! Mommy! Look at the shell I found!”
I took the large conch shell in my hand. “It’s beautiful, sweetie,” I said, admiring the colors of the recently abandoned shell. It hadn’t been bleached by the sun and the salt yet. I turned it around in my hands, stopping when a glint of light caught my eye. Looking at my left hand, I found a large diamond ring surrounded by two simple white gold bands.
“Anna, play!” The little boy cried out.
The little girl, Anna, took the small boy’s hand. “Come on, Jackson! Let’s go!”
His little Buddha belly protruded out as he stood, dancing about and unable to contain his delight at playing with his sister. They ran down the beach toward where the waves crawled up the sand.
“Not too far, Anna!” Nathan called out while plopping down next to me in the sand. He leaned forward and captured my lips. “Hello, beautiful.”
“Hi,” I replied, breathless.
“Mmm, you look good enough to eat. Mind if I have a nibble? I’m starving.”
At that, he lowered his head and began licking and nipping my neck. He was making funny growling noises as his head moved back and forth.
I started giggling at his actions. “Nate, the children,” I hissed under my breath.
“Are fine.” His actions slowed, and then his teeth sank farther into my flesh. My eyes widened, and the familiar heat that only Nathan could produce blazed through me. A moan slipped past my lips. “When we get home,” he whispered in my ear, “I’m going to do bad things to you.”
I licked my lips, and my breathing increased as my cheeks flamed. He pulled away, his face lighting up with a sly smirk.
I pouted. “That wasn’t nice.”
His head tilted back, his chest heaving, as a laugh I’d never heard from him came out. He wore a mischievous smile and winked at me before turning his attention to the two little ones who were laughing and running away from an incoming wave.
I felt a kick in my stomach and my hand flew to the spot. Nathan noticed the motion and turned to me, placing his hand on my skin. “My little girl wants to play with her siblings, huh?” He leaned down and kissed my stomach. “You’re not quite done yet, little one. Soon.”
