Page 66 of What A Croc
My arms felt empty without the sweet weight of Hudson, but I knew they had to do all their things with him. Didn’t mean I had to like it.
Finn finished up with me just before they finished up with the baby. Chelsea placed him in the crook of my arm, diapered and swaddled, and I brought him up to get a whiff of his baby scent.
“Did I hear this little one’s name is Hudson?” she asked.
Nodding, I couldn’t take my eyes off my new son. He was staring at me with big eyes, just taking it all in. “Hudson Levi Sobek.”
Jackson gasped, and I peeked at him. I hadn’t discussed giving the baby Levi’s name with him, but it seemed like the right thing to do. It was a way to honor the man who had loved Jackson before me. Who had given me another son in Aiden. Whose death had led Jackson to me. “Is that okay?”
He swallowed hard, nodding. “It’s…wonderful. Thank you.”
He stretched out on the extra wide bed, made specifically so alphas could stay with their omegas. Wrapping his arm around my shoulder, I leaned into him, my head resting on his chest. Stifling a yawn, I mumbled, “I’m exhausted.”
“You were amazing,” but he stood, taking the baby from my arms, and placing him in the bassinet. The nurses had lowered the lights for us, giving us time alone with the baby. “Let’s try to get some rest, before his first bottle.”
We had opted to keep Hudson with us rather than go down to the nursery, which was so different from when I had Wyatt. He had been whisked away, and when we had realized my milk wasn’t coming in and he would need tobe bottle fed, they had kept him in the nursery even for feedings.
Now, I realized Jane likely had something to do with that, but at the time I hadn’t realized that was what was happening.
Jackson lay down next to me, wrapping me in his arms. “How’s your pain?”
“I’m okay.” They had given me something not too long ago, and it was working well. Yawning, I mumbled, “Did you let Wyatt know?”
“Yep.” Jackson yawed loudly. We were both exhausted. “They’ll be by later and bring Aiden. He said they’d give us a couple of hours of peace and quiet.”
“Thank you,” I whispered into his chest, and he raised his head up. Looking up at him, I saw him giving me a questioning look.
“Thank you for Hudson,” I told him. “Thank you for not letting me let any of my reasons for us to not work get in the way. Thank you for being the gentle, patient, kind alpha that you are. Thank you for loving me. And thank you for not eating me that day in the woods when your crocodile charged me,” I tacked on with an impish grin.
Jackson chuckled, squeezing me tighter. “It was your scent, I’m telling you. It still makes me go crazy. I love you, Robert Cooper. Thank you for bringing me back to life and making me feel again.” He bent his head, his lipsbrushing over mine in a kiss that was as gentle as it was possessive.
“I love you so much, Jackson. You’ve given me everything I ever wanted. You’ve made me happier than I ever knew was possible.”
“You’ve given me the world, Robert.”
Epilogue
Robert
Ten Months Later
Waving my hand in front of my face, I tried to stir the blistering air in front of me to create the semblance of a breeze. Why had I thought getting married in August, outside, was a great idea again?
Spoiler alert–it wasn’t a great idea at all.
It was hot. Blazing fucking hot.
There were bugs.
The sun was blinding.
And my oldest son, who was supposed to be walking me down the aisle and giving me away, had just turned green, slapped his hand over his mouth, and took off back into his house like the hounds of hell were nipping at his ankles.
Leaving me standing on the porch in my pale pink suit that I was slowly sweating through, trying to corral Julianna and Aiden, while every single person we had invited turned in the white chairs set up in the yard and stared at me.
Jackson gave me a confused look, and for a moment I forgot all the chaos that had suddenly erupted around me, just enjoying the sexy sight of him standing at the altar in a black tuxedo. A pale pink rose was pinned to his lapel, and he looked even more handsome than he usually did.
Becks shot from his chair and came running down the aisle, taking the porch steps two at a time. “I’ve got this. Be right back.”
