Reckless Temptations (Tempted #4)(112)

Pea’s little cry filled the room and hopefully Lauren’s ears.

“Lauren, do you hear that? That’s your son, Kitten, your little boy,” I said, replaying the video again.

“He needs his mom,” I added.

“So do I…please, wake up, Lauren,” I begged. “Listen to him, listen to me, we need you, Kitten,” I rasped, watching intently as her eyelids twitched in response. “Lauren?”

My eyes traveled the length of her looking for another sign of movement. I took her hand in mine before diverting my eyes back to her face.

“Come on, Lauren! Damnit, please wake up,” I cried.

She squeezed my hand. Startled at the movement, I glanced down at our joined hands and saw her squeeze me again. My eyes widened as I lifted them to her face just in time to watch her eyes slowly flutter open.

I blinked, unsure if my eyes were playing tricks on me but when my eyes re-opened they found Lauren’s.

I dropped my phone onto the side of her bed and lifted my free hand to the side of her cheek as I hovered over her, staring into her wide eyes.

“There’s my girl,” I whispered hoarsely, swallowing hard against the lump in my throat, trying to smile at her. I wanted to look into her eyes, touch her all over, just so I knew she was real and not a figment of my imagination.

I can admit it now, looking into her eyes, but I was beginning to doubt I’d ever look into the eyes of the girl I fell in love with. I was nervous she wouldn’t ever know how I felt about her or how grateful I was for all she’s brought to my life. And most of all I was heartbroken she wouldn’t get to see the boy she brought into this world.

But there she was, looking back at me with uncertainty in her eyes, my ferocious kitten. She came back to me.

To us.

She reminded me that she wasn’t a quitter, sure, she gave up on the whole nursing school gig but that’s because she was meant to be something more than being another face in the ER, she was meant to be my one and only. In a world full of faces, hers would always stand alone in a crowd; those eyes would always find mine and remind me of a dream that came true, one I never even knew I wished for.

“You’re really awake,” I stated, attempting to hang onto this moment for as long as I could before I had to share her with everyone else. I bent down, pressing my lips to her forehead, careful of the tubes and wires, pulling back to look at her some more. “I knew you’d come back to us,” I rasped.

“She’s awake? Why didn’t you call us?” Maria questioned from the door. “Nurse! Get the doctor. My daughter is awake,” she shouted over her shoulder before she charged into the room, toward the other side of Lauren’s bed.

“She just woke up,” I explained.

“Oh, thank you, Saint Anthony,” she exasperated, making the sign of the cross ten times before she leaned over Lauren and kissed her. “We were so worried about you.”

Lauren’s eyes shot back to mine, still wide but not with confusion as she slowly lifted our joined hands, bringing them close to her stomach. The machine beside me started beeping, causing me to glance over and see her heart beat spiked.

I turned back to her, squeezed her hand as I leaned close to her ear, nuzzling her slightly.

“It’s a boy, Kitten, we have a son,” I whispered, giving her the answer to the unasked question shining in her scared eyes. I pulled back, staring at her as tears escaped the corner of her eyes.

“He’s small but he’s perfect. Really, perfect,” I said. “Thank you,” I added as I winked at her before turning to Maria. “Tell her, grandma, how great our little guy is,” I urged Maria, as I bent down and kissed Lauren’s hand.

“Oh, my God, he’s beautiful, Lauren,” she said, as she ran her hand over Lauren’s head. “And this guy here, has been taking good care of him, waiting for you to wake up,” Maria said, meeting my eyes.

“Thank you,” I mouthed to the crazy woman that I was beginning to like as two nurses and a doctor charged into the room.

“We need you both to step outside for a moment,” the doctor ordered, walking to the machine reading Lauren’s stats.

I tore my eyes from Maria’s to Lauren’s and shook my head.

“I’m not leaving her,” I growled over my shoulder at the doctor.

The doctor proceeded to insist I was in the way and that he needed to thoroughly check Lauren out. I knew logically they weren’t requesting something so crazy and that they could have my ass kicked the fuck out of her room by security but I didn’t want to leave her. I just got her back and maybe a part of me still didn’t believe she was really awake.

The funny thing about dreams is once you believe in them you don’t know when you’re dreaming or when you’re really living the dream.

Especially, when your dreams are Lauren and you know she’s too good to be true—and a man like me doesn’t deserve goodness like her.

But I’ll take it anyway, I’ll take all the goodness that comes with Lauren and work my ass off to be worthy of it.

Lauren…

The girl next door with the killer rack and pretty eyes.

The girl who took a chance on a guy like me.

My Kitten, who took the detour and got reckless with me.

One reckless night that resulted with the most perfect boy.