“Honey, I know that, but a dress isn’t something I can do remotely. It has to be something that I can get to cover the baby bump and if needed can easily and quickly be altered when I get bigger, which I will do over the next two months. That means I need to find it in person,” I cajoled. He frowned harder. I kept quiet.
I could see the internal struggle within him. He wanted to give me what I wanted, but he was concerned about my safety. I was too. I didn’t want to do something that put me or the baby in danger. I waited for him to think it through. While he was, he waved over Bull, Rebel, and a few others. They joined us and looked at him expectantly.
“The women said they need to go to Nashville to find Jessica’s wedding dress. What do you think?” he asked them.
Bull was the one to answer him first. “Ajax, a dress like this is something almost impossible to do without trying it on, and Jessica is pregnant. That needs to be taken into consideration in the fit. I know you don’t want her to be in danger. None of us do, but I think if we go with them and take a big crew, they should be fine. It’s not like she’s going out all the time. Hell, we could go tomorrow after the Marauders leave. I won’t leave the compound unprotected, but if all the women are with us, there shouldn’t need to be a big bunch left behind.” I wanted to hug Bull. He shot me a wink.
Ajax groaned as he looked at me. He crouched down beside my chair. “Baby, if we do this, you have to stick with me and the guys. No wandering off on your own. You need to be with us every second. And if I tell you we have to leave, you do it. If I tell you to run or hide, you do it. Understand? I won’t allow you to do anything that could put you or our daughter at risk.” I caressed his wrinkled brow.
“I promise, honey. I will do exactly what you guys tell me. I don’t want to risk us either. But I do need to get the dress. It has to be one that can grow with me unless you want to wait until after she’s born.”
He shook his head adamantly. “We’re not waiting until after she’s born. You will be my wife when she’s born. Period. Okay, we’ll see who wants to go with us tomorrow. In the meantime, you need to get some rest before the Marauders get here. I don’t want you too tired to have some fun.” I tried to protest but he was again not taking no for an answer.
I felt better when I heard Ace, Rebel, and Bull insisting on their women doing the same. They even said they’d help watch the babies so they could get a nap. I loved to see how protective and loving they all were. I headed off to our room. Ajax went with me to get me settled before he went to check everything was in order for the party. The others would be here around three o’clock.
When I woke up from my nap, it was already two o’clock in the afternoon. I hurried to get ready. After a shower, I dried and curled my hair. I decided to leave it down. On my face, I added some blush, lipstick and darkened my lashes with mascara. I tended to go natural, so I added taupe color to the crease of my eyes and along the lower lashes. On the upper lash line, I drew a thick black line which I flicked up on the end to give me a cat-eye look.
I finished off with getting dressed. I’d raided my closet earlier in the week. I couldn’t wear anything too sexy. My belly made that impossible, though Ajax thought I should wear a tight tank. He loved to see my belly for some reason. I’d chosen a baby doll style top.
It molded my larger-than-ever breasts which I had to admit looked amazing with the hint of cleavage showing. Underneath them was a band which cinched in tight and had rhinestones on it. The top itself was a dark pink. It softly draped down over my stomach. It wasn’t overly loose, but it wasn’t skin tight either.
For pants, I had on a pair of maternity jeans the women had helped me find. They weren’t your average maternity ones and looked amazing, hugging my ass. On my feet, I had on low-heeled sandals. A final look and a spritz of perfume had me sliding on my property cut to head out to see where everyone was. Ajax had reminded me earlier not to go anywhere without the cut on. He kept insisting he didn’t want to hurt any of his friends. The man was crazy. Out in the hallway, I could hear loud voices coming from the common room and background music. It sounded like our guests were already here. I hurried toward them.
I’d barely made it halfway down the hall when I ran into a mountain of a guy. He stood well over six feet and had shoulders almost as wide as Ajax’s. He stopped to check me out. His eyes ran up and down me. I had to admit, I was taken aback but he wasn’t leering or being slimy about it. His eyes held a look of appreciation. He whistled.
“Damn, it looks like another Warrior has found himself a beauty. Just like those Dublin Falls bastards. Who’s your old man, beautiful?”
I smiled back at him. “Hello, Ajax is my man. My name is Jessica. And who are you?” He pointed to the front of his cut to his name.
“I’m Animal. Why don’t you let me escort you to the rest of the party? That way no assholes bother you. Tell me, do you happen to have a sister?” I hooked my arm through his and laughed.
“No. I have a stepsister but she’s a bitch. I wouldn’t wish her on my worst enemy. I see your cut says you’re the VP. Have you been with the club long?” As we walked along, he answered. We’d barely made it to the common room, when I found us surrounded by more men I didn’t know. It would have made me nervous, except I knew they were friends of the Warriors and none of them would let someone inside the compound who would harm me.
“Who is this, Animal?” One guy I saw was named Mad Dog. He was grinning at me.
Another cut in, “She’s obviously needing a better escort. How about you let me be yours, sweetheart?” a guy named King asked. I was trying not to laugh at their antics. Before I could answer any of them, a hole appeared between two guys with Styx and Sinner on their cuts. There stood Ajax. He came barreling over to me. He wrapped his arms around my shoulders.
“Get back, you mangy bastards. She’s taken in case you didn’t see the cut. She’s mine and I’ll beat any of you who tries anything,” he growled. They all laughed at him. I patted his chest.
“Baby, they’re fine. No one can compare to you, Ajax. They were just being nice and introducing themselves to me. I was about to let the others know my name when you came over.” He looked a little mollified.
“Fine, I’ll let them live. But if they know what’s good for them, they’ll behave. Guys, this is my old lady, Jessica, and our daughter.” He molded his hand over my stomach. The guys looked down in surprise. I guess they hadn’t really noticed I was pregnant. One of them whistled. I think it was Styx.
“Shit, you didn’t waste any time, did you? When are you due, darlin’?” Animal asked.
“I’m due at the beginning of June.”
“And you know it’s going to be a girl?”
“Yes, that’s what the doctor said.”
He looked at Ajax and shook his head woefully. “I’m sorry, man. You’re never going to have a moment of peace with an old lady this gorgeous and now a daughter. You know she’s going to look like her momma. Let us know if you need us to send you more guns.” I laughed then noticed they all looked serious. I would never understand men as long as I lived.
We stood talking for a while longer before we went to join the others. I thought it was shaping up to be a fun and interesting night. I wondered what else might happen with this crazy bunch.
Ajax:
The party was in full swing. Everyone seemed to be having a good time. I loved to see Jessica relaxed and laughing. The guys from the Marauders were in top form. When I found her surrounded by a wall of them, I wanted to punch some faces. She was looking radiant and too damn sexy for her own good. Even though she had on my property cut and they were respecting it, I could see the admiration and interest in their eyes. If she wasn’t taken, they would have done their best to snag her for one of them.