Defenseless (Salvation, #5)(88)

“Oh, boy.” Dominic laughs.

What the hell is with him?

“Thanks, Mom . . . I think.”

“Mark, come here.” She embraces him. “Thank you for having the patience of a saint.”

She is out of her freaking mind. Does she not realize the crap I deal with? “I wouldn’t go that far. He’s not exactly a walk in the park.”

“Oh, hush. I lived with you for twenty years. You’re no angel either.” She heads back to her seat and Dominic lifts his chin with a smirk. “What the heck are you two giving each other looks for?” she snaps.

Here goes nothing.

“Mom . . .” I release a heavy breath. “There’s more.”

Her eyes narrow and I know I’m in for it. She’s going to blow her top. On one hand, I’ve always taken joy in giving her a headache, but on the other, this might put her over the edge. “Out with it, Charisma.”

“We’re having a baby.”

She doesn’t say anything. Instead, her gaze shifts from me to Mark then back at me again. Her face is stoic, but I can see the wheels turning behind her eyes. “You’re pregnant?”

“That would be how we’re having the baby.”

“And you’re sure he’s the father?”

My jaw drops as Dominic snorts. “Mom!”

“Well, I don’t know what you do on these trips.” She shakes her head.

“I’m not a whore.” Mark grips my hand beneath the table. His thumb grazes my skin as I try to keep calm.

She stands and walks over as I turn my head to look over my shoulder. “Charisma,” her hand presses against my cheek. “I never thought you were. You’re going to be an exceptional mother.”

Moisture pools in my eyes as she pays me the nicest compliment ever. “Thanks, Mom.”

“Now . . .” her tone shifts as her hand drops. “You’re to be married within the month. I won’t have my unwed daughter traipsing around with her love child. I mean, what would people think?” She talks to herself as I watch her mind spin behind her blue eyes. “We can’t have that kind of scandal in this family, so you’re to be married soon. It’ll be grand so get your protests out now. You will not deprive me, and we need to have this happen quickly so we can explain you just delivered early. The less time we waste the better”

Mark laughs, Dominic sits there with a shit-eating grin, and I groan. She apparently has forgotten who I am.





One Month Later

“Hello, Mrs. Dixon,” Mark says as he strips out of his suit.

“No one can know we did this,” I say with a grin. My mother was driving me crazy with this wedding. Mark didn’t want to hear me bitching anymore, so he got the jet from Jackson and we flew to Turks and Caicos. Just us. We got married on the beach with no fanfare, exactly the way we wanted it. A couple who was walking along the beach stood up for us.

My mother will murder us, but since I’m pregnant, she may hold off. I’m sure people will be disappointed, but I don’t care. This wasn’t about them. This wedding was about us.

“It’s our secret.” He smirks and unbuttons his shirt.

I step closer in my tea-length red dress. I grabbed the first thing I saw, and threw it in the bag. I couldn’t have cared less what I was wearing as long as it happened the way we actually wanted.

Mark’s eyes watch me as I slide the zipper down the side. The dress falls at my feet. I was at least conscious enough to grab a matching bra and sexy underwear. Since I still have my body for now, I decided to go a little skimpy.

“Well,” Mark says as his eyes travel up and down. “I think my wife needs some attention.”

“She does,” I agree as I walk closer in my red heels. “She really needs to see that her husband still has it. That his old age hasn’t affected a certain piece of anatomy I love so much.”

I know how much he loves a challenge, and we’ve been having a lot of fun with my new sex drive. Not that we were tame before, but I can’t get enough since I’ve been pregnant.

His arms slip around my back and pull me flush against him. “I’m about to blow your mind, wife.”

“Prove it, husband.”

I need him. I burn for him. I know he’s about to make good on his promises. His lips hover above mine, and my breathing goes shallow. He toys with me, makes me earn his kiss, and I love it. I need the challenge, to be pushed for more, and Mark is more than happy to give it to me.

After a few seconds of breathing each other in, his lips collide with mine. I can’t rationalize the passion between us, but then again, I don’t want to. I want it to always remain this way. I want the kind of love my parents had. One where after years of marriage, they still wanted each other.

His tongue delves into my mouth as he kisses me without apology. It’s sexy, raw, primal—and he’s in control. Our tongues tangle even as his hands roam my skin. My fingers dive into his hair to hold him where I want him.

Mark breaks the kiss. His eyes devour me as he pushes me back against the bed. “Let me see you.”

I recline back, lift one leg, and call him over with my index finger. “Touch what’s yours.”

His eyes flame and my body ignites. “That’s right, baby. Say it again.”