Page 17 of His to Own

“Please, inside me. Now.” Her soft hands grip my cock. I pull her panties to the side, ready for her to slam down on me. I have half a mind to rip the fabric off her, except she’s already rubbing my tip along the slit of her pussy.

“Slide down. Gonna tell you what I need while I’m buried deep, babe.” All along I was worried she’d be pregnant with a girl. My hands practically shook anytime my brothers joked. I’d never been around a little girl, let alone one who I know will look exactly like her momma. Karma works in mysterious ways, and our daughter is going to be gorgeous. I’m going to lose my mind, have a full head of gray hair and heartburn to rival a spaghetti dinner. I’ve held back on a lot of shit for Juniper, mainly because she can’t get with the program and make a decision. I guess with a past like hers and shit for parents, I’d probably be the same way. What dawned on me on the way home is while I’ve been showing her how much I love her, not once have I fucking said those three significant words.

“Oh god, I’m already there.” She tries to slide up, chasing after her orgasm, and while I usually enjoy the show, today is different. I want the buildup, and I want her going off like a firework when she hears what I have to say.

“Hold on, baby, hold on.” My hands grip her hips beneath the skirt she’s wearing. Another few months, and me sitting in this position will be harder for her, so I’m going to enjoy this while I can.

“No, don’t make me wait. Please, Lawson, I’m right there.” She's gripping my hair, arching her back, and wiggling in my grasp.

“Eyes on mine, Juniper, show me those pretty gray eyes, babe.” I lift up, giving her a little bit more of me while holding her steady. “There’s my girl. You’ve given me everything. I didn’t deserve it, yet you forgave me. In doing so, you’re gifting me the greatest gift imaginable—our little girl. Which freaks me the fuck out because you’re you and drop-dead gorgeous. And you’ve given me your love. Now, it’s time for me to tell you, Juniper Lynn Cartwright, I love you, babe. So damn much it hurts to breathe.” Tears are gathering in the corners of her eyes. This time, I don’t try to wipe them away. I’ve got my hands full with another part of her. The palm of my hand moves to her belly. “I love our child, too,” I finish. She remains silent, whether it’s to regain her composure or to plot my murder for stopping the orgasm she was chasing after, I'm not sure. I hold out, not moving a fucking muscle. One way or another, I want her to believe me, and if I have to say it every day, morning, noon, and night for the rest of our lives till she realizes it, well, I’ve got no problem doing so.

“Lawson, I never doubted your love for me or for us. I see it in everything you do, the way you hold me when my thoughts get heavy, wipe my tears away, listen to me when I need to vent. I love you, Lawson, in every way possible.” My mouth touches hers, swallowing whatever else she has left to say. Nothing else matters. Our love is enough. And now I’m going to take my woman how she likes to be taken. Hard, fast, deep, claiming her for my own, and loving every damn minute of it. She whimpers with each upthrust of my hips, her knees sliding out on the seat beneath me. Our kiss goes on and on, my tongue dominating hers, Juni chasing mine, and I can feel her wetness coat more than my cock.

“Fuck yeah, get there, Juni, squeeze me tight.”

“Lawson.” Her long groan surrounds us in the truck. A few more pumps of my hips, and I’m following right behind her. Each jet of cum coats her insides, and while the past fuzzy memories of our night together have become so perfectly clear, I could kick my own ass for ever thinking it was a dream. Juniper is real, and she’s fucking mine.

“Juniper,” I breathe her name. She’s already in the crook of my neck. She’d crawl inside of me and fall asleep there if she could. I wrap my arms around her lower back, coming down from a fast but intense orgasm, and I’m about to push for what I know we both want. “I think you get I like you pregnant, watching your body change, seeing our child grow within you, and you have to know I’m going to make it my mission to keep you pregnant as much as possible. I’d settle on six children, but I think you might have something to say about that.”

“Six? Are you crazy? I was thinking maybe two. Are you forgetting how sick I’ve been carrying your child?” There’s that spark. A grin pulls at my lips. Truth be told, six is two too many. There were a lot of us in and out of the house. Mom and Dad may not have showed they were stretched thin, but I could see it at times. Mom would have dark circles under her eyes, Dad would come home, help Mom out, then he’d fall asleep in his chair.

“I’m willing to negotiate. A solid four wouldn’t be bad, would it?” My cock flexes inside of her. Damn thing is ready for round two while she’s ready to pass out.

“Maybe. I’m not agreeing or disagreeing. We’ll see how the next pregnancy is and go from there. I love our child, and I love you, but being sick for weeks when I didn’t take medicine about did me in.”

“Four it is with the option to renegotiate. Now, how about we take this inside, shower, and nap?” Juni isn’t much for naps since she’s been out of her first trimester. Today, though, it looks like I’ll get my way.

“A nap sounds good, so does a sandwich with watermelon.” When she realized lunch meat was out of the equation, she about cried until Mom offered to cook a ham or turkey once a week to satisfy her cravings. I keep the fridge well stocked with her favorite fruit, and all is well.

“You shower, I’ll make lunch, then we’ll crash for a couple of hours,” I suggest.

“What if I want you to join me in the shower?”

“Babe, you should know by now, your wish is my command.” She stays planted on my cock the entire time as I take the keys out of the ignition, then grab her purse and cup. Looks like I’ll be carrying her around for the foreseeable future. Though, it’s a damn good thing my brothers' houses aren’t anywhere near mine, or they’re liable to see a whole lot they shouldn’t.

TWENTY-ONE

JUNIPER

“Hey, Juni,” Birdie greets me as I look up from what I’m working on. It’s time to order supplies for the clinic. There’s been a lot more work lately with summer here. Between dehydration, cuts, and being kicked by an animal of some sort, my stock is dwindling faster than normal. It’s also hay season at the ranch, and that’s a whole other story with the injuries that come with it. These guys get the job done, even if it comes with broken fingers, a dislocated shoulder, or a jacked-up ankle. Still, they work and then don’t come in until their day is over. Lawson grumbles and tells the hands to get fucked and to go into town to be patched up. My glare is strong, and he knows I’ll push him out of my clinic if he keeps up with the drama of him not getting his way. Needless to say, the days are long and the evenings are longer. When Lawson suggested we take the afternoon off after my doctor’s appointment, I was more than ready for the break.

“Hi, Tully, Birdie. This is a pleasant surprise.” I push away from my desk to greet them. We’ve gotten closer since Lawson and I announced my pregnancy, and while they’ve tried to before, I tended to push them away or come up with an excuse anytime they’d ask for me to join them for book club night. That whole wall around my heart really was tall and thick. It’s a good thing they won’t take no for an answer now. They invite me over for girls’ night, where Catherine usually makes an appearance. We’ll joke about the guys and their overbearing ways. And while I may not read like Birdie and Tully do, they always make me feel welcome.

“You may not think that after our intervention,” Tully says. There’s a spiciness to her tone. Maybe this isn’t the type of conversation to have this early in the morning. I’m down to one caffeinated drink a day, and I’ve already finished my iced coffee. What I wouldn’t give for another one. I’d probably make it, too, if my earlier drink wasn’t as massive as my water cup.

“Something tells me I’m not awake enough for this.” I straighten my scrub top once I’m standing. The jeans I once wore are now in the back of my closet. Who knows if I’ll get back into them, but I figure instead of donating my full closet while pregnant, maybe a few pieces will work with my after-baby body. Though the way my hips are growing, I’m thinking any of the bottoms will be a hard pass. Needless to say, if it’s not stretchy, I’m not comfortable, and I’m not wearing it. Before I went shopping with Birdie, Tully, and Catherine, I put on a pair of leggings to wear to work, but Lawson was not having that. Apparently, too much of my body was showing, and he wasn’t going to be around as much. I wouldn’t budge. Lawson thinks he can run the show, but when I refused to change out of my black leggings and black tank top, he groaned and grumbled. Then he used his master negotiating tactic, stopping at his place on the way to work, where he put me in one of his flannels. I called it a win and then made plans to update my wardrobe with the Johnson women. Now I’m the owner of maternity scrubs in various colors. Today, however I’m wearing pink, and when Lawson saw me come out of the closet in them, I had to make a run for the front door. Of course, that set off another conversation where Lawson groaned about how pregnant women shouldn’t be running. One arch of my eyebrow had him shutting up. Riding horses was now out of the equation, as well as being too close to some of the younger, more rowdier horses. Yeah, he was not taking running away from me or I’d likely wring his neck.

“We brought a gift.” Tully shows me the iced lemonade and signature box from Whisked Away. She’s trying to butter me up, that’s for sure. Birdie gives me a hug first, then Tully does the same, but with her arms full it’s kind of more like an air hug.

“Are those my favorite?” I've had a few cravings lately— watermelon, sandwiches galore, and lemon anything when it comes to sweet treats. Everything else is just okay in my eyes.

“They are, but there’s a caveat. You see, we still don’t know where you and Lawson will eventually call home.” Tully walks us back to where my desk is, Birdie is pulling the chairs around my desk, and I do the same with mine. I’m not sitting behind it like some stodgy businessperson when my friends or, well, family is here.

“And I need to make a decision in order to get the dessert Maeve would have brought me anyways?” My house isn’t near Lawson’s, which in turn means I’m not near their place where they reside with their men. Each brother has a house, trees act as a barrier, and while you can walk to every house, it still takes a little bit.

“Because, dang it, it’s almost baby time. We’re trying to plan a baby shower. Which is hard to do when we have zero hints on theme or style or size. No offense, but Lawson’s place is bigger. More baby stuff, more shopping for us to spoil him or her.” Tully is expressing her opinion, and she’s not wrong at all. I already know where we’ll eventually end up together, except the first person I’ll tell will be Lawson, not his sisters-in-law.

“Also, just putting it out there, the brothers are free this week. There are no rodeos, things are finally settling down for the hay season, and it’d be the perfect time.” Birdie opens the box. Unlike Tallulah, who was holding the lemon-flavored cupcakes hostage, she doesn’t.

---