Page 56 of Protected By the Bikers Next Door
She nods, smiling that radiant smile that undoes me every damn time. “More than okay.”
Wolf wipes a hand across his mouth, his eyes blazing. “Kitchen’s done.”
“Living room next,” Harper teases, voice hoarse, and we all laugh, the sound rough but real.
I glance around at the boxes, the fresh paint, the mess of our new home, and I can’t stop the grin that spreads across my face. This house is ours now, every inch of it. Claimed in the only way we know how.
Chapter 32
Harper
Four Months Later
I’m in the nursery when my water breaks. It takes me a moment to realize what’s happening, that I haven’t just wet my pants, and that the baby is coming. It’s coming too soon. Panicked, I cry out for my men, who come running immediately, their faces masks of concern. They spring into action as soon as they realize it’s time.
“It’s okay, Harper, it’s just your water breaking,” Bear says calmly.
“No. No. I’m not ready. We’re not ready. It’s too soon. We’ve got another month,” I ramble, looking at each of them in turn, my eyes wide with fear.
“I know. But our baby is ready to meet us,” Wolf says.
Hawk is rushing around to gather everything we need, while the other two usher me outside to the car. Though they appear calm and unconcerned, I can see the fear in their eyes. I clutch Wolf’s hand tightly as the contractions ripple through my body, trying to focus on Bear’s soothing voice as he guides me through my breathing like we practiced.
The following hours are a blur of pain as my body takes charge. I’m barely aware of what’s going on, just focusing on the labor. Even having done it once before, I’d forgotten what it’s like. The pain is all-consuming. As I’m waiting for them to tellme I can start pushing, I notice the concerned glances between the obstetrician and midwife as they examine me.
“Ms. Collins, I’m afraid there’s no easy way to say this, but the labor isn’t progressing as quickly as we’d like.”
“What? I don’t understand,” I reply through gritted teeth as another contraction hits.
“You aren’t dilated enough to deliver,” Bear gently explains, smoothing the hair from my sweaty forehead.
“Your friend is right. I’m afraid we’ve got no other choice but to perform an emergency C-section. The baby is getting distressed and there’s a risk the oxygen supply will be compromised.”
All of my concerns over the risks and what it means for me go flying out of the window at the idea that my baby might be in danger. “Do whatever you have to do, just save my baby!”
“You heard the woman,” Bear says, prompting them into action.
As they start to wheel me to the operating theater, they stop the guys from following. “It will be okay, Harper,” Bear calls after me.
“We love you,” Wolf cries.
“Be strong, lioness,” Hawk adds.
When I wake, my men surround my bed, their handsome brows furrowed with relief, concern, and love.
“Where’s my baby?” I ask, ignoring the pain in my stomach as I try to sit up. My mind is filled with terror that they didn’t make it. I wish now that I’d found out the sex of our babysooner, instead of keeping it a surprise so that I could ask for them by name.
“It’s okay, Harper, calm down,” Bear says, his voice calm and soothing as he guides me to lie back down.
“We have a baby girl,” Wolf says proudly.
“She’s in the NICU, but she’s okay, just a little premature,” Bear assures me.
Hawk kisses me on the forehead. “I’ll go fetch the nurse so we can take you to see her,” he says before leaving, knowing what I want without my asking as usual.
“How are you feeling?” Wolf asks, looking me over with concern. “You scared us there for a moment. We thought we’d lost you.” I can hear that he’s desperately trying to hold it together, not to cry.
I look up at him and allow him to take my hand. I squeeze his hand. “I’m fine. It’ll take more than that to take me away from you,” I reply, using his words following his near-death experience.
