First and Only (Callaghan Brothers #2)

“Yes, Lexi. Jesus. Ride me, baby.”


Lexi placed her palms on his chest and began to move. She rocked her hips forward and backward, lifting up and then impaling herself again. It only took a few strokes for her to begin to lose herself.

Lexi tossed her head back. Ian was inside her. Ian was inside her. Nothing had ever felt better, more right. She was so tired of worrying about what was going to happen next. Right now, at this moment, she had her man inside her, and all was right with her world.

When she came, she came hard. Ian held her in place and pumped into her from below, one, two three thrusts before lifting her up and pulling out. She collapsed on his chest, feeling the hot jets of his release shooting across her behind, up onto her back. It was one of the most erotic things she’d ever felt, but it was disappointing, too.

“You pulled out,” she said quietly, after their heartbeats had begun to return to normal.

“Yeah.”

Her finger traced little circles against his chest as she lay tucked beneath his shoulder, her body half covering his.

“I didn’t want to,” he said.

“I know.” And she did know. Just as she knew exactly why he had done it. Because another pregnancy right now would probably kill her.

Ian’s hand moved slowly up and down her back. As if sensing her thoughts, he said, “I want more kids with you, Lex.”

“You do?”

“Hell, yes. But if it’s not right for us, then I’m okay with that, too. As long as I have you and Patrick, I don’t need anything else.”

Long moments of silence passed between them. Michael had told her that if the new treatments were successful, there was no reason she couldn’t live a fairly normal life, including having more children – something she had been terrified she would not be able to do.

It wouldn’t be easy; she would have to be extra-careful, even more cautious than usual, but it would be worth it. And she definitely would like Patrick to have a little brother or sister someday. Maybe several. But in order to make that happen, she had to do a lot better than she had been.

“I love you, Ian.”

“I love you, too, Lexi.”





Chapter Thirty




“Lexi, baby, time to wake up.” Ian’s big body was curled around hers. She hadn’t slept much. She’d drifted in and out of slumber, half-expecting Ian to be gone if she allowed herself to fall asleep too deeply. It was exceptionally difficult. Wrapped in his strong arms, suffused with his warmth, her body melted against him, feeling safe and secure.

Her mind, on the other hand, refused to relax. If he left again, she wanted to know right away instead of thinking everything was okay when it wasn’t. But Ian hadn’t left. He’d stayed right there beside her throughout the night. And when she reached out to him in the darkness, he didn’t turn away. After getting up to check on Patrick – something she still did several times a night – he’d been waiting for her, pulling her into him as if she’d never left.

One eye peeked open, expecting to see sunlight. The bedroom, however, was still dark. The glowing numbers on the nightstand clock read four a.m.

“What’s wrong?” she asked, her mother’s worry spiking across her consciousness. “Is Patrick okay?”

“He’s fine,” Ian assured her, pulling back the covers gently and planting a kiss on her shoulder. Even that was enough to have her stirring.

“Oh, no,” he chuckled at her sensual moan. “Not this morning.”

No sex? Then what was the point of getting up this early? Lexi grabbed the bedding and pulled it right back up to her chin, burrowing into her pillow with a little growl. “I don’t get up till seven,” she informed him, her voice muffled by the down.

“Not today you don’t,” he said, yanking the covers down again. “Coffee, a light breakfast, then you’re due at the fitness center by five.”

“I don’t belong to a fitness center,” she grumbled. “But please, feel free to go on without me. Wake me up when you get back.”

“Doesn’t work that way, baby,” he said, the smile evident in his voice. He slipped his arms beneath her body and lifted her like a doll. She curled into his chest, burrowing her face into his neck. The next thing she knew a blast of cool water was streaming down over her.

“Ian!” she shrieked, clinging to his body for warmth against the sudden shock of cold.

“Sshhh,” he warned. “Everyone else is sleeping.”

“Of course they’re sleeping,” she said through gritted teeth. “It’s still the middle of the night.”

The corners of Ian’s mouth quirked as he slipped out of her grasp. “You’ve got ten minutes,” he told her, holding her under the water. Then he was gone, leaving Lexi to wonder how difficult it would be to shove a bar of soap up that arrogant yet delectable ass of his.