“What the fuck?” I growl. “Does that mean all of this shit was for nothing?”
“No,” Connor says. “Angelica had the talk with everyone over coffee. When Marcus stormed off, she bagged his coffee cup, and she’s bringing it with her. He might not want to give his prints willingly, but we’ll find out if it’s him one way or another.”
“Wow,” Hudson says. “I wouldn’t have taken Angelica for a forensics enthusiast. I didn’t think she bought into your plan.”
“I guess when she saw Marcus balk at the idea, she started to get suspicious too.”
“So we’ll find out soon?”
“I guess we will. There are prints on the cards left with the underwear and a partial print left on the water bottle. If they can get enough prints from the coffee cup, they’ll have enough evidence to arrest him.”
“That’s if he sticks around,” I say. “Now he knows things are closing in on him, he might get on the next plane.”
“If he does, the U.K. police will contact the U.S. He won’t get away with it, but it could end up being much more complex to deal with.”
“Whatever happens, at least we’ll know who we’re dealing with.” Connor rubs his face, the stress of the past few days showing in his gray pallor and the darkness around his eyes.
“What would the charges be?” Mo asks.
“Harassment, maybe? And something to cover the water incident. I don’t know what that would be called here? Crime definitions aren’t the same world over. We’ll just have to wait and see. We don’t know it’s him yet. His refusal to have his prints taken could just be genuinely about not wanting to have his personal identifiers on record. I get that.”
“And then we’d be back to square one.”
Connor sighs, glancing around at the rest of us. “Whatever happens, we’re keeping Luna under our protection. It might not be official anymore, but we’re fathers to her baby. We’re family now. No one can stop us from being with our girl.”
“Our girl,” I say softly, letting the feeling wash over me.
Smiles form on the mouths of my friends. “Look at Jax getting all sentimental about his feelings,” Ben laughs.
“Hey, you’re forgetting that this idea was mine in the first place, and you all thought I was crazy.”
“To be fair, you only told me about that,” Hudson reminds me. “And yes, I did think you were crazy for even hoping that Luna would look in our direction.”
“Not so crazy now,” I smile.
“So, what are we going to do now?” Elijah asks.
“We’re going to go see our girl,” Connor says, already striding in the direction of the door.
We find Luna curled up on a chair in her hotel room, reading a book about pregnancy that she must have ordered in. Her long chestnut hair is swept over one shoulder, and her sweet little nose is wrinkled in concentration. When she looks up to find us gathered in the doorway, her smile is one of pure joy.
“Did you know the baby’s heart will start to beat soon? They can see it on a scan this early?”
“No, I didn’t know that,” I say, slumping into the seat next to her. “What else did you find out?”
“That morning sickness can last a long time, but ginger can help to settle my stomach.” She points to a steaming mug of yellow-looking liquid and a plate of cookies.
“Sorry about the sickness,” Asher says. “But the cookies look good.”
“And you’ll be pleased to know that there are no problems with having sex either.”
“Pleased is an understatement,” I say, rolling my eyes theatrically.
“Of course, Jax would be more concerned about his cock than anything else,” Connor says. “Don’t worry about sex right now, sweetie. Just concentrate on you and the baby.”
Luna blinks, her face falling like she’s a kid and someone just stole her teddy bear. “But what if I want the sex?” she says softly.
“Then we’ll be more than happy to give it to you.”
“GENTLY!” Connor shouts, his military training coming out. “Gently, and not all at the same time. We need a schedule.”
“I’m not breakable,” Luna says. I can see this is really affecting her, and I understand it too. She might be having a baby, but she’s still a woman. The part of her that wants to hold onto herself is there, fighting to keep at least something the same.
“No, you’re not breakable,” I say firmly. “You’re the strongest woman I know. What Connor is saying is that we’ll take it slowly and see how you feel. Everything’s new for all of us, and that’s okay. Being with you is what counts. We don’t need to swing from the chandeliers for it to feel fucking amazing.”
“Thanks, Jax, for that eloquent and touching summary,” Elijah says. “Luna, we’re yours. You tell us what’s good and we’ll deliver. That’s how it is now…it’s how it will always be.”
“Now that’s profound,” Mo says. “But he’s right. We’ll do everything we can to keep you safe and happy, and if that means sex, then we’ll put aside our own feelings and just do it.”
There’s a rumble of laughter, and even Connor seems to relax a little.
“So, when’s the sex happening then?” I ask.
“For fuck’s sake,” Hudson mumbles, but he’s quick to shut up when Luna stands, dropping her soft white robe to the floor and revealing her beautiful – and very naked – body beneath.
“Now, that’s what I’m talking about,” I say, tugging off my shirt in one fluid move and stalking Luna like prey.
“Jesus,” Connor says.
“I don’t think this is his scene,” Elijah laughs, but he’s following me anyway, his trousers already unbuttoned.
“Just remember, to be careful,” Connor says, but he’s shirtless too, his hand rubbing his tattoo in that way he always does when he’s thinking about life.
I’m the first on the bed, crawling up to cover Luna with my body, her frame so tiny in comparison. She reaches for me as though we’ve been doing this for years, and we kiss as if our life depends on it. Around us, the bed adjusts to the weight of other eager men, taking their places so they can show our girl just how much she means to us. I nuzzle my nose to hers. “You know we love you, right?”
Her pretty green eyes blink slowly, my words taking some time to settle.
“We love you,” Elijah says, taking her hand and bringing it to his lips. The kiss is sweet and tender, a reminder of the gentleness she needs right now.
“And we’ll love the baby too when it arrives,” Ben says, resting a hand on Luna’s shoulder.
Luna’s eyes well with tears, but she’s smiling, so they must be good ones. “You know what’s awesome?” she says, running her hands down my spine. “We don’t have to use condoms anymore.”
“I’m going to be the one to point out that we weren’t always great at doing that in the past,” I say. “Kind of what got us into this awesome predicament in the first place.”