Baby Wishes
By: amkp
Chapter 1-Time for Change
Disclaimer: No, they don't belong to me, well at least not the most important one…Ranger! They are products of Janet Evanovich. Anyone you don't recognize from the books is mine, all mine! LOL.
Author's note: Well, welcome to the next story in this series. I hope I can keep you entertained, and don't disappoint. ;) I look forward to hearing from all of you, especially my beloved plot-players! You, babes, rock!
My special thanks to all who have encouraged and supported me with my writing. Cara, thanks, Babe! Love ya! The real-life Isabella…what to say? It's been an adventure, hasn't it? Including Las Vegas! Thanks for faithfully standing by me, playing secretary when called upon and all your never-ending support! Xoxos!
I'm so blessed to have such wonderful friends met through this site, Jen, Tracy, Kathy, Sharon, Kricket, and all of you!
Last, but certainly not least, I'm pleased to tell you that Super Beta Jenny has renewed her contract and signed on as editor of this story, too! The terms were really crappy-all work and no pay. LOL! Trust me, we all reap the rewards of her fine talent. Thanks, Babe!
SPOV
Three years ago today, I became Mrs. Carlos Manoso. The wanna-be Wonder Woman had married her real life Batman. I've never been happier.
Oh, that's not saying it's been blissfully happy all the time. We've butted heads, on more than one occasion, on various subjects. We both have strong ideas about how things should go. Even when I wanted to grab him and shake him until his teeth rattled (yeah, he's probably felt the same way towards me), our love has never wavered.
The disagreements never last long, and of course, there is always make-up sex when things are resolved. Honestly, though, those arguments are few and far between. For the most part, we get along great. We've been friends for a long time now, and we generally just enjoy each other's company.
We've traveled over the past years. Boy, have we traveled! There'd been all the 'normal' places most people only dream about seeing, and there had been some places I didn't even know existed. Countries I'd never heard of. Carlos seemed to enjoy those the most!
While trooping through the jungle or backpacking up mountains weren't my favorite things to do, he was really in his element. I didn't complain too much, because I always felt safe, and seeing how happy it made him, well, it wasn't that difficult to do. Plus, it was a compromise of sorts for all those times I made us do silly things that he really didn't enjoy as much.
It was all about the deals. And wow, we were good at that! It was a common joke between us now. We'd become experts on wheeling and dealing with each other to get what we wanted.
We leaned on each other through the sad times, too. Grandma Rosa had passed away six months after we were married, and last year, my dad had, had a scare with cancer. During those difficult periods, Carlos and I stuck close, drawing comfort from one another.
And now, we were getting ready to change our lifestyle in a big way. I looked down at the album in my lap and the picture of us walking down the beach together on our wedding day. Lightly, I traced Carlos' silhouette with my fingertip. I felt the tingle a moment before his warm breath whispered on the skin of my neck.
"Happy Anniversary, Babe."
"Same to you, husband. How was your swim?"
He wrapped his arms around me, and the moisture from his bare wet chest transferred on to the thin material of the robe I was wearing.
"Lonely," he said, before kissing below my ear.
"Hmm," I replied, tipping my head to the side, allowing him better access to my neck. "Can you believe it's been three years?" I asked a little breathless—his kisses still made me that way.
"It seems like yesterday, Mrs. Manoso." His talented hands found their way into my robe and began teasing my nipples.
Looking back to the album, I sighed at the picture of Isabella and Raphael. Carlos settled his chin on my shoulder, while he looked at the picture with me.
"I can't believe they didn't work out," I commented.
"Yeah," Carlos agreed. "It took Raphael almost six months to come out of it."
"Do you think he's completely over her?"
I could feel Carlos shake his head. "No, not really. We Manoso brothers fall hard."
A giggle escaped before I could stop it. "You're not going to hear any complaints from me about that."
"Babe," he drawled, running his hand down to find my clit, where he began a slow leisurely circle—not quite touching one of my favorite spots. "Have you talked to her lately?" he asked softly.
His question barely penetrated my brain; his fingers were causing things to short circuit in my mind. "Who? What?"
"Isabella."
"Oh her! Yeah, she emailed the night before we left, to wish us a Happy Anniversary."
There had been a big drama while we were on our honeymoon. From the bits and pieces Carlos and I had been able to put together from each of them, it seemed that they'd gone back to Raphael's the night of our wedding. One thing had led to another, and Isabella had woken up the next morning minus her virginity.
Raphael had surprisingly proposed before they'd even left the bed, but Isabella declined. She told me she'd felt he'd only offered because, 'he felt bad about things going too far.'
He'd denied it, and said he'd asked because he truly loved her. Things went downhill from there, and a big fight broke out, with ugly words exchanged on both sides.
Raphael's solution was to bury himself in work at RangeMan, logging eighteen or more hours a day and driving everyone around him crazy. The guys told us Tank had threatened to come down to Miami and kick his ass more than once.
And Isabella disappeared.
Raphael had frantically searched for her, got in a fight with her brother trying to get information out of him, but in the end, couldn't find her. Her name was not something you said in front of him, unless you were prepared to deal with one angry man.
He and Carlos had made more than one trip to the mats trying to help him 'handle' her disappearance. It bothered me that Carlos was sometimes sore for a couple days after these encounters, but he never complained. He said he'd beat the shit out of Raphael—and Tank, for that matter—more than once on his trips to Miami when I was with Morelli. It was their way, and I'd never understand the male mind. Never.
Ironically, Isabella had ended up in Las Vegas, running the club that Niko had owned. She and her brother had bought it for a steal when Niko needed to flee the country, and Isabella was looking for somewhere far away from Miami. She'd sworn me to secrecy regarding her whereabouts, but still occasionally asked about Raphael.
The robe was lifted from my body and tossed behind us. I felt the warm breeze hit my naked skin.
Carlos absently stroked my belly with his right hand.
"It's going to feel like heaven to be inside you again without a condom."
We'd had to start practicing 'safe sex' when my OB/GYN had stopped the birth control pills, in preparation of us getting pregnant. It had been a long couple of months, as both of us hated having the barrier between us.
"We're ready for this, right?" I questioned, a touch of panic in my voice. This was going to be a big, irrevocable step for us.
"Babe, are you having doubts?"
"No," I said softly, and then a little firmer. "No. I just figure it'll only take one time. Ya know, Batsperm, and all that."
Carlos shook his head slightly, and he might even have rolled his eyes—I was wearing off on him! His erection was hard and pulsing against my back, while two of his fingers tested my core.
I moaned.
He bit lightly on my earlobe. "You won't mind if we do it more than once, will you?"
He added another finger and stroked faster.
"Okay, maybe twice," I teased, before all logical thought was gone.
The first orgasm arrived quickly. As soon as it was over, Carlos lifted me easily and lay me down on the large, circular couch that sat on the wide front porch of our island home. He brushed my hair from my forehead, and then began kissing down my body. He laved each of my breasts, blowing lightly, which turned them into hard pebbles.
Carlos positioned himself at my entrance. I could feel the rock hard, velvety softness of him probe gently. His beautiful, chocolate brown eyes pierced mine, as he searched my face before moving any further.
I lay my hand on the side of his face, while giving him a little smile, offering him the reassurance that I was ready for this.
He leaned into the caress for a moment, and then clasped my hand, kissed the palm, and entwined our fingers.
In the next instant, he was inside me, stretching my inner walls and filling me completely. Carlos stilled, and we both sighed, savoring the experience of being one again without any restrictions. He rested his forehead on mine, and I buried my fingers into his hair, holding him in place.
It was just us; the outside world slipped away. When he finally began to move, it was with long, deliciously hard strokes. With most of his weight supported by his left arm, his right hand was free to travel my body. He alternated light pinches to my breasts, with slow flicks to my clit.
I wrapped my legs around his waist, deepening his penetration. My head tipped back, and my eyes shuttered close as the sensation became almost too overwhelming.
Carlos' lips began kissing down the column of my neck, his breathing becoming heavier.
The curling in the pit of my stomach began, and I knew I was close. Slow wasn't going to cut it anymore. I groaned loudly, dug my nails into his ass, and commanded, "Faster. Harder."
"Patience, Babe."
"No!" I snapped, and in a fit of passion, used all my weight to flip him to his right side. With my ankles locked tightly around him, I was able to keep our intimate connection as I rolled with him through the rotation.
Carlos was not going to complain. He loved to watch me ride him.
I began bouncing up and down, determined to get fast and hard with or without his blessing. My breasts bounced rapidly with the force. Carlos clasped both of them firmly, holding them, while tweaking the nipples.
I leaned back, placing my hands high on his strong, muscular thighs, and brought my knees up to my chest. In this squatting position, I was able to slam down harder and harder. I was panting in between my cries of pleasure.
The next orgasm was a thriller when it arrived. Carlos forced his hips up and continued the thrusts, while I became lost in my explosion. As soon as it started to smooth out, Carlos flipped us again and drove himself home, with my name a growl on his lips as I felt his release pump inside me.
For the next few minutes, we lay sated, with a light sheen of sweat covering both of us, and the warm tropic breeze caressing our naked bodies. The peace and tranquility of the moment settled over me, and I knew somewhere deep down in my subconscious that we'd just made our first child together.
RPOV
There was no greater moment than being buried inside my wife, and soon-to-be mother of my child. I'd spent most of my adult life preventing impregnating a woman, especially after the surprise that was Julie, and now I was actively trying to do just the opposite. Hoping, even, that it happens. How weird is that?
I looked down into her gorgeous, sapphire blue eyes and felt like I was seeing her soul. Both of us were lost in our thoughts, contemplating the magnitude of what we're doing and how our lives together would change based on our decision to start a family.
I'd be lying if I said I wasn't a bit nervous. But my main emotions were joy and excitement. I was looking forward to seeing a physical reflection of our love.
Would the child have the curly hair and blue eyes of its mother, or would they be more like mine? Would it be carefree and spontaneous like her, or more serious? One thing was for sure; he or she would be loved and protected.
Stephanie gave a little sigh, and I shifted my weight, easing out of her body to lie down next to her. We snuggled together, her head resting on my chest. I traced random patterns on her back using just my fingertips.
"So do you think we're pregnant?" she asked with an eager expression on her face as she looked up at me.
I laughed softly. "You do have a lot of confidence in my virility, don't you?"
She nodded and smiled sweetly at me.
Reaching for her hand, I laid it gently over my heart and rubbed at it gently. "Stephanie, I know that it's the right time in your cycle, and it should be all systems go, but I don't want you to be disappointed if this doesn't happen right away."
She blew out an exasperated sigh. "I know that…logically. It doesn't make it any easier, though. Now that we've decided to have a child, I want it to happen."
"All in good time, my impatient wife," I murmured as my hand trailed down her body. "I can promise you this. If we aren't pregnant after our time here, it isn't going to be from lack of trying."
Within minutes, I had Stephanie sufficiently distracted from any worries and solely focused on finding her next orgasm.
Later that night, as she slept in my arms on the couch, exhausted from our many rounds of lovemaking, I enjoyed the quiet of the evening.
I had spoken briefly to Tank when we were last in Trenton about Stephanie and me trying to get pregnant. Tank had become a father about eight months ago. He and Susan had only been married three months when they found out they were expecting.
It had hit him like a ton of bricks. I'd never seen him so nervous. As Susan's delivery date approached, we'd had to pull him off street duty and restrict him to paperwork. He was a danger to society; he was wound so tightly, ready to snap at any minute.
We'd actually stayed in Trenton for nearly a month before and after the birth of his daughter, Mikaylla. That little girl had my friend wrapped around her finger from the moment he laid eyes on her. It was a sight to see. The big, bad-ass, take-no-shit-from-anyone guy morphed into a gentle giant when he was with his daughter.
I disciplined myself right now not to appear as soft in public with our child. The men had been merciless in their teasing of Tank. He'd taken it all in stride, choosing to wear an expression that said, 'You'll be here someday, and you'll understand.' Looked like my day was coming fairly soon. In roughly nine months, if Stephanie had anything to say about it.
This experience was going to be so different than Julie. I was detached from her birth and the early years of her life. It angered me now that I'd shrugged it off all those years ago. Young, prideful, focused on your career, and invincible, my subconscious reminded me. Yeah, that was my lifestyle back then.
I'd tried hard to repair my relationship with Julie. She'd luckily had a great father figure in Ron, so she didn't hold much against me. It had worked out all right for everyone.
Since Ron's death, we'd grown even closer; well, that is, until she'd discovered guys. Now we tended to argue from time to time over the subject.
At sixteen, she's a beautiful, budding young woman, who has attracted a lot of attention—much to my displeasure. Rachel and Stephanie say I need to be more forward thinking and not put such firm restrictions on the topic of her dating.
What they fail to understand is that I was once a sixteen year old boy, and if I was dating a girl back then that looked like Julie, there'd only be one thing on my mind!
Julie had begun defense training about a year ago at RangeMan, and was excelling in martial arts. It was some comfort to know that she'd be able to take care of herself, should she ever get into a bad situation.
It was getting late, and the day had been a pleasurable one, spent mostly making love to my sexy wife. I picked her up and carried her into our bedroom, placing her in the center of the big king size bed, and then crawling in next to her.
Being that was so warm here; we only used a thin blanket at night. I pulled the cover over both us, fitted my body behind hers, and stifled a groan when she wiggled her ass against my now hard-on.
I took a moment to consider making love to her again, but tamped it down quickly. At this pace, neither of us were going to be able to walk by tomorrow.
So I comforted myself with a vision of Stephanie round with our child. What a beautiful sight! This was going to be a wonderful experience to share with her, and I looked forward to all the change that was about to happen between us.
TBC
Author's endnote: As with Birthday and Baby Wishes, I will try my best to post weekly, probably on Wednesdays.
Please leave a review. I plan on keeping the plot-player questions going in this story, too. I enjoyed hearing everyone's opinions, and honestly, the reviewers made Best Wishes a much better story. Thank you! See ya next Wednesday!