One final note...

And that's the end.  I'm a little sad and will definitely miss them being a part of my everyday life, but that's all Richie and Allegra have to say for the time being.  They're going to enjoy some much deserved Happily Ever After for a while.

Now that it's over, you might ask if I would have done things differently?  Yes, some things I would but you've got to remember I was a babe in the woods when this started - it was truly a first attempt at writing for me, fan fiction or any other fiction.  I've lived and learned (hopefully) enough to maybe craft something a little better next time around.

It's been an incredibly journey for me these past eighteen months, and I'm so thankful that you all joined in and fell in love with my characters almost as much as I did.

A special thanks to each and every one of you who contributed to this story in one way or another.  I could list names forever, but you all know who you are.  So many times inspiration came from the most inconsequential places - a tweet here, a random comment there, a quirky observation.  You answered questions, you offered opinions, you guided this story to places it wasn't originally supposed to go.  All of you combined together to help weave the fabric of Richie and Allegra's life.

I'm also especially thankful that I found an audience in a small group of self-proclaimed "Jon girls".  I never expected to have the dedicated Light Siders in my reader list! I'm just hoping my Richie girls will be kind enough to follow me when this next story takes place on the Light Side. (After all, I'M a Richie girl...  You know Jon's not going to get off easy! :D )

So beginning March 1st (sooner if I get impatient), a new tale unravels - Learning Patience.

I hope you all will tag along for the ride!

And who knows?  Maybe Richie and Allegra will start knocking again, asking for a sequel.

It could happen...

Always Jovi-ally yours,
♥ Carol

Epilogue

Beams of sunlight streamed through the plate glass window of the same Seattle body art studio that had served Allegra so well on two prior occasions.  Brightly colored tinsel and lights laced the edges in anticipation of the Christmas holiday that was just two days away.  The impromptu detour on their way home to LA was a little crazy, but she’d felt compelled to do it just the same.  This may or may not be the last time she would need Jack-the-tattoo-artist’s special skills, but the visit would at least finish up this particular piece of artwork.

Lying there staring at the ceiling as she waited for him to complete her masterpiece, she absently fingered the sapphire pendant at her neck.  It had been a gift from Richie to celebrate Faith’s birth and happened to match the earrings he’d given her on their wedding day. 

“It was just a lucky coincidence that Bug’s birthstone is the same blue that matches your eyes,” he had told her the day he returned from Australia, eyes twinkling and a huge stuffed koala bear wrapped in his left arm. 

“And who’s your new friend,” she asked dryly, as though she didn’t know it was the first step in his plan to spoil his younger daughter rotten.

“This…”  He presented the stuffed creature, holding it before him with both hands.  “Is Wally.  I bought him as soon as we hung up after the delivery.  He’s Bug’s birthday present.”

Shaking her head ruefully, Allegra reluctantly accepted the fact that Richie Sambora was an absolute sucker for his kids.  It was a good thing there were extra bedrooms in the house for the multitude of treasures she felt sure would make their way home.

“What are you thinking about with that sneaky little grin on your face?” the devastatingly handsome man in question inquired from his station on the other side of the room.  He carelessly rocked the fuzzy pink bundle that had scarcely left his arms in the three days since they’d ‘met’.  Reluctantly, he allowed Allegra to feed her, but only because his breasts weren’t equipped to do the job himself. 

“Just hoping that next time it’s a boy,” she confided, thrilled when his eyes widened with surprised pleasure.  “You need a son, too.”

“Two weeks after delivery and you’re already talking about another one?  Not that I’m trying to discourage you,” he hastily tacked on.  “I’d love as many kids as you’re willing to have.”

“I’m glad to hear you say that, because I desperately want a little boy with his Daddy’s sparkling eyes and mischievous nature.  And at my age, waiting isn’t really the best idea.”

Motherhood agreed with – and came effortlessly to – Allegra.  The pregnancy and delivery had both gone amazingly well ‘for a woman of her age’, Dr. Shively had assured her before warning not to wait too long if Allegra intended to add to her family.  She would be celebrating her fortieth birthday in a couple of months and Richie would be fifty-two this year, so time wasn’t their friend.

Apparently satisfied that he’d completed the design to her request, Jack handed her the mirror so she could see his handiwork a little better.  Breast feeding had boosted her bra size enough to interfere with the view of her little dove tattoo. 

Inspecting the reflection carefully, Allegra saw that he had seamlessly incorporated ‘Faith’ along the graceful arch of the dove’s second wing.  Faith, Hope and Love were now all represented in her tattoo as well as her life. 

“Perfect,” she approved with a wide smile.  “Richie, what do you think?”

Her husband rose from his seat against the wall, gently rocking their daughter in her pink fuzzy blanket as he came to investigate the finished product.  The soulful eyes she fell in love with all those months ago swept over the latest embellishment and his face dimpled.  “It’s looks complete now.  Doesn’t it, Bug?” he cooed.  “Look how pretty your name looks in Mommy’s dove.  Now Mommy and Daddy both have your name with them forever.”

Her eyes misted as he bounced the baby contentedly, patting her bottom as he hummed Puff the Magic Dragon.  Of course his Faith tattoo had been on the scene long before she or the baby had come along, but to emphasize it, he planned to have a cherub put under it, matching the one beside Ava’s name on his opposite shoulder. 

She grinned to herself. 

He was liable to have a whole cherub choir by the time they were finished, if she had her way.

With a nod, Jack slathered the ink with a little petroleum jelly to keep her skin soft and tore off a piece of plastic to seal it.  He was just taping the plastic wrap in place when Allegra’s cell phone pealed from her purse.

“Richie, can you grab that?  I’m almost done.”

“Yes, dear.”  He dug out the instrument echoing with the standard issue iPhone ring that his wife used for calls not in her contact list.  “It’s an out-of-state number,” he remarked, juggling Faith into the crook of his arm so that he could swipe his thumb across the screen.

“Hello?” he answered, waiting for the caller to identify themselves.  “It’s Sambora, not Castanelli, and this is her husband.  Who’s calling?”

She shook her head with a smile, loving how possessive he could be, wanting everyone to know they were his.  She hadn’t told him yet, but she was going to get another tattoo just for him.  Not his name – they’d had that conversation long ago and she knew he wouldn’t want her to do that.  No, this one would be a little tropical sunrise, with “You Are My Sunshine” scripted under it.  It was about as marked as she could get, aside from the autograph he’d laughingly suggested ages ago.

“Sunshine?”  He frowned, holding the phone out to her.  “It’s the Detroit Medical Examiner’s office.”

She absently thanked Jack, who obligingly slipped out of the room, and buttoned her jeans before taking the phone with a matching frown.  “Hello?”

Faith was starting to get a little fussy and Richie paced the small room with her, murmuring soothing nonsense against her cheek while stroking the downy head colored so much like her mother’s.

“Mrs. Sambora?”

“Yes…”

“My name is Dr. Christopher Higgins and I’m with the Detroit Medical Examiner’s Office.  We’re in the process of cleaning up a backlog of files and ran across your name in a file awaiting closure.  You were the victim of a sexual assault last March?”

It seemed like it had been a lifetime ago, not just over a year.

“That’s correct, but the man who did it is dead.”

Richie’s eyes snapped up with concern and Faith began to whimper at the unfamiliar tension in her Daddy’s body.  “Shhh…  It’s okay Bug.”

“Yes ma’am, I’m aware of that, but in order to tie up the loose ends, Philly PD forwarded his DNA sample so that we could compare it to your medical reports and officially close the case.  Somehow this got pushed to the bottom of the pile over and over, and I’m just now getting to it.”

Allegra was still confused, and her brow was furrowed when Richie’s fingers curled around her free hand.  Faith was cradled in his other arm, which he was jiggling lightly to pacify her. 

“Okay, so what does that have to do with me?”

“Well, I’m not really sure how to tell you this.”  The man was clearly uncomfortable with the news he was assigned with delivering.  “But when I compared the DNA sample to the semen sample from the rape kit, it didn’t match.”

Her heart stopped.  Didn’t match?  What did that mean?  None of them had gone to actually see the body.  Was it not Felix?

“What does that mean?  The man who raped me isn’t dead?”

“What’s going on?” Richie whispered, but she shook her head to shush him so that she could hear.

“I didn’t say that ma’am.  The DNA matches up with Felix Oswego in the Federal system and the photos in the file also match the deceased.  The man you identified as your rapist is definitely dead.”

“In that case, forgive me for being impatient, but could just tell me whatever the hell it is you’re telling me?”

A sigh came echoing over the line.  “I need to ask if you had unprotected intercourse with anyone else in the twenty-four hours preceding the rape.”

The most beautiful sex of my life.

“Yes, my husband.”

“Okay, well that’s good.  The files indicate that semen was presented from only one donor, and the deceased suspect was not that donor.”

“The deceased suspect was not that donor…”

Her heart began to race with excitement and her eyes welled with unshed tears, causing Richie to finally burst out, “Dammit, what is it?”

She shook her head again, ponytail whipping with the vehemence.  “Wait a minute.  My daughter was conceived during that time, but we elected not to do a paternity test.  Are you saying…?”

“We’d have to do a confirming DNA test, but based on what you’ve said and the test results in my hand, I’m ninety percent certain that it would positively identify your husband as the father.  And the ten percent doubt is eradicated by the piece of evidence that appeared after Mr. Oswego’s death.”

“What evidence?”

Richie was growing impatient and agitated, Faith becoming accordingly disgruntled as her father squeezed a little more firmly than usual.  At her squeak of protest, he murmured, “Sorry, Bug.”

“A surveillance video of the employee break room surfaced about a month ago.  No one really bothered to review the footage since the case was unofficially closed, but because of the unusual lab results I thought someone should look at it.”

“And?”  Allegra was getting impatient now.  This guy needed to spit out everything he knew before she came through the phone and pulled it from him one word at a time.

“First of all, totally off the record, I’d like to express my admiration for your bravery and fortitude.  You put up a hell of a fight, and I’d say that’s why he wasn’t able to… finish what he started.”

“He didn’t finish?  You mean…?”

Slipping back into professional mode, the medical examiner stated, “The perpetrator was physically unable to complete the act of sexual intercourse.”

Her eyes darted to Richie, who had been burning her with his stare during the entire course of the conversation.  She smiled radiantly into his scowling face.

“Dr. Higgins, I can’t tell you how much I appreciate your call.  Is there anything else you need from me?”

“No ma’am, I just wanted to make you aware of the final findings before the case was officially put to rest.  Happy Holidays to you and your family.”

“Yes, I believe they’ll very happy.  The same to you.”

“Well?”  Richie didn’t even wait for her finger to disconnect the call before pouncing and demanding, “What the hell was that about?  Who was that?”

“It was God,” she told him, placing a tender palm against his worried face before glancing Heavenward and smiling serenely.  “Rewarding our faith with a little gift.”

Shifting her gaze down to their now content daughter, Allegra laughed out loud seeing that Faith had just bestowed her own gift upon Mommy and Daddy.  Her first smile – complete with a dimple in her left cheek.

  

The End

One Hundred Seventy-Nine

Eight hours later, Allegra was scared, in pain and wishing for her husband.  “Richhh-ieee,” she cried, clamping down on Dot’s hand with what seemed like the millionth contraction.  Bug had gone from zero to active labor in no time, making sure Mommy knew she was coming and coming now.

His voice was instantly in her ear, exactly where he’d been for most of those eight hours thanks to the speaker function on the phone beside her head.  “I’m here Sunshine.  I know you have to be worn out, sweetheart, but it won’t be much longer now.”

Sweat trickled down the side of her face as she slumped with exhaustion.  “I can’t do this anymore.”  Epidural or not, she was being ripped in half by a stubborn baby who evidently was suffering from a case of stage fright.

“Yes you can, Legs.  We’re all pulling for you,” David’s voice echoed over the line.  The band had been with her off and on, too, lending their moral support when Richie ran out of encouraging words.  “That little princess is just waiting for the perfect moment to make her royal entrance.”

“Well, I wish she’d hurry up already,” she mumbled around the ice chips Dot was feeding her. 

“What middle name did you finally settle on bella?” Tico’s rumbly voice took its turn.

“At the moment it’s Mary, Mary quite contrary.”

His deep roll of laughter nearly camouflaged Jon’s contribution to Operation Pep Talk.

“Babydoll, she’s gonna look like you and be absolutely gorgeous.  The first time you see that scrunched up little face, every bit of this will have been worth it.”

“Okay, Jon, like you’re the voice of experience.  As soon as they jerk a person out of your butt, come back and talk to me.”  The fatigue was making her short-tempered, even though she knew they meant well. 

“Funny that’s what Dottie told me the last time, too.”

Everyone chuckled, except for Allegra and Dot who just rolled their eyes at one another.  Unhappy at no longer being the center of attention, Bug made her presence known again.  “Ohhhhh! “

She’d never experienced anything like this…  this torture a woman had to go through to bring a new life into the world.  Allegra was now firmly convinced that child birth was penance for good sex – and it wasn’t looking good for her, considering who her husband was.

“Okay Allegra, this time give us everything you’ve got,” Dr. Shively ordered from her position in the catcher’s seat.  “A couple more good pushes and you’ll have yourself a baby.”

“I AM pushing!” she panted irritably, bowing up with the force of her exertions.

“Come on girlfriend, you’ve got it in you,” Dot coached her, brushing the sweat-soaked tendrils of hair away from her face.  “Longer pushes mean fewer pushes.  Hold onto it.”

She held onto it with everything she had until Dr. Shively spoke again.  “That’s good Allegra.  Rest for a minute and we’ll try again.”

Considering that permission to collapse, her head and shoulders wearily hit the table and she tried to catch her breath.  “Rich…  Sing to… me.” 

Without hesitation he launched into “Lean on Me” in a sure, sweet voice.  Dot gave her a few more ice chips as she lay there with her eyes closed, smiling tiredly when he reached the chorus and Jon and Dave softly harmonized.

Drawn like a magnet to her daddy’s singing voice, Bug grew impatient again and the mother of all contractions bent Allegra in half as Dr. Shively, Dot and four male voices all encouraged her to push.  The cacophony of voices barely filtered through the sound of blood loudly rushing through her ears as she strained to relieve her body of its extra passenger.

“Aaannghhhh!”  The air fled her lungs in a giant whoosh with the easing of the contraction.

“Great Allegra!  The head is out.  Once more and the shoulders will follow.  It’s all downhill from there.”

Richie’s voice washed over her to the exclusion of everything else and soothed her drained body.  “I love you, baby.  You’re doing amazing…”

The rest of his praise was lost in the wave of the next contraction.  Bearing down with all her might, Allegra could feel the intense pressure and then… 

“Waaaaa!”

“Oh- Oh- Oh my God,” she exclaimed weakly, tears sliding down her cheeks at the baby’s lusty first cry echoing throughout the delivery room.

 

“It’s a beautiful baby girl,” Dr. Shively announced proudly over the wails.  “We’ll get her cleaned up and right to you, Mommy.”

“Richie?” Allegra sobbed, turning her face to the phone.  “Can… can you hear her?  She’s singing to you…”

“I hear it, Sunshine,” he assured her, pride and watery emotion filling his voice.  The men around him were pounding one another’s backs and laughing delightedly, nearly drowning out his next words, but they rang through to Allegra as though they were the only sound in the room.  “It’s the sweetest melody I’ve ever heard.”

“Oh my gosh, that’s it.”  Her exclamation thick with her own emotion, she had trouble enunciating enough to make herself understood.

“What’s it?”

“Her middle name,” she sniffed, gulping back a sob.  “Melody.  Faith Melody Sambora.”

Dot nodded with a smile of support as Richie and the guys all were vocal in their approval.  In the mix of voices she could swear she heard David say something about the next one being named Harmony.

“Well…”  The nurse swept in with a pink swaddled bundle and settled it into Allegra’s arms.  “Allow me to be the first to introduce Miss Faith Melody Sambora.”

“Richie,” she breathed, fresh tears dripping from her eyelashes as she visually devoured the perfect, miniscule person that had just been passed into her care.  “She’s so tiny and pink.  Such itty bitty fingers and a little button nose.  And so much hair for such a little person.”

“Richie, she looks just like Allegra,” Dot supplied with a wide grin as Faith blinked into the bright overhead lights.  “Big blue eyes and hair that’s almost black.”

“Of course she does,” David’s wise-ass voice piped in.  “Sambora is nothing but one big recessive gene.”

Silence blanketed the room for an awkward handful of seconds as everyone silently thought what no one was willing to say out loud – that meant they still didn’t know for sure if Faith was his.

“Dammit D, don’t just sit there.  Send me a picture,” Richie broke the moment with his gruff request.  “I need to see my baby.”

“Okay, okay,” she acquiesced readily.  “Give me a second and I’ll snap a couple of pictures.  I need something to show the grandparents in the waiting room anyway.”

Posing Faith’s little face next to her mommy’s, Dorothea captured the requested photo and took a second of the baby by herself.  Both were immediately sent across the oceans so that the men could get their first look at the newest member of the Bon Jovi family.

Dr. Shively pulled off her mask and circled around to the side of the delivery table with a business-like approach.  “Allegra, we’ll be running a couple of routine blood tests on the baby.  I’d like to go ahead and include that paternity test in the mix.”

The men had all been clamoring to see the photo, but their squabbling ceased when Richie heard the doctor’s request and loudly shushed his friends. 

“Allegra,” he told her solemnly before she had the opportunity to reply.  “I know you still have doubts, sweetheart.  If this is what you want, do it.  The only request I have is that you not tell me the results.  I don’t need or want to hear them.”

Smiling serenely at the tiny girl now quietly nuzzling against her breast, Allegra brushed her fingertip along the whispery soft skin of Faith’s cheek.  The peace that wrapped its arms around the two of them was unlike anything she’d ever felt and Allegra would be hard pressed to explain it to anyone.

But she knew what it meant.

There was no need for a paternity test.  The little miracle in her arms was no accident, and her heart swelled with something that had been missing for far too long.  This baby was the product of the love she shared with her husband.  Their daughter was living proof that, although circumstances may seem entirely screwed up at the time, something good could still come of it.

“No.  There will be no paternity test.” She cooed to the precious bundle of pink,” No there won’t, will there darling baby girl?  We don’t need no stinking paternity test to know who your Daddy is, do we?”

“Allegra, I strongly recommend-“

Icy blue eyes lifted to meet the doctor’s determined gaze.  Dot stood to the side, smirking, because the look in Allegra’s eyes was one she was as familiar with as the back of her hand.  It was her husband’s trademark Stink Eye.  “Dr. Shively, God did not put me through the last year of my life to find out that this child doesn’t belong to my husband.  He IS the father.  End of discussion.”

The doctor hesitated, visibly biting her tongue before nodding her understanding.  There was no doubt that she disagreed with the decision. 

Too bad for her, I guess.

“Awww jeeez, Legs,” came David’s whining loud and clear.  “You’ve got him crying like a damn baby over here.  How the hell are we supposed to deal with that crap?”

“Give me the phone, moron,” Richie growled through a subtle sniff.  A door slammed in the background and the echo over the line led Allegra to believe he had gone into the bathroom to be alone.  “Sunshine?  Take me off speaker.”

Gesturing for Dot’s assistance, she cradled the phone in next to her ear and watched her friend trail after Dr. Shively and the nurse out of the room.  Dot would give the news to Therese, Michael, Joan, Carol and John that everyone was well and bring them back to visit after Allegra had a chance to talk to Richie. 

“Okay, no speaker.”

There wasn’t a moment to breathe before his tender words came rushing at her.  “Do you have any idea how much I love you and how proud I am of you?  You stepped up and claimed your faith, baby – along with your baby Faith.  I’ve been praying for months that it would find its way back into your heart and make you whole again.  I’d just about given up hope.”

She unconsciously rocked the baby as a fresh wave of tears pooled in her lower lids.  “Richie, thank you for being patient and believing in me – for me.  I don’t know that I ever would have gotten to this point if it hadn’t been for you.  I love you, and am absolutely over the moon about this sweet little girl of ours.  The only thing missing from our perfect life is you.  She’s anxious to meet her daddy and we can hardly wait until you get home.”

“I know sweetheart, I know.  I hate that I’m not there to shower you both with all the love and affection you deserve, but I’ll be there as soon as humanly possible.  I promise.”

Allegra smiled and held the baby a little closer.  The world seemed a little brighter today than it had at any one point in the past year.  Not that she was complaining about anything.  It was just that, as amazing as her life had become since meeting Richie, it had just taken a turn for the better.  An integral piece of the puzzle had just gotten turned around and locked into place.  Now everything had fallen into perspective and she knew that, while the scenery along the way may not have always been the prettiest, she was exactly where she was supposed to be and ready to face the dazzlingly bright future that lay ahead.

No matter what came with it.

Thank you, God.  It’s good to be back.

----------------------------------------------

And that's just about it.  The epilogue will post Tuesday, February 14th, along with a note from the author.  Enjoy what's left of your weekend!  :o)

Chapter 178

“Dot?”  Allegra asked, rubbing her back as they meandered through the baby department at one of the city’s upper-end department stores.  “What else am I going to need?”

Feeling exceptionally energetic, Allegra had convinced Dot to spend their Saturday buying ‘necessities’ for the short time she would be in New Jersey after the birth.  Uncle Tico had thoughtfully provided every starter set that his children’s clothing line offered, but there were still diapers, wipes, a bassinet, car seat, baby wash, powder, and on and on.

“I think you have plenty and should probably call it a day.  You’ve only got two weeks until the baby’s due.  Why don’t you take the chance to rest while you still can?”

Allegra shook her head.  “I feel remarkably well today and I’d like to get this all finished.”

Dot looked upon her friend with a critical eye.  She was bright eyed and didn’t seem to be fatigued, but she kept rubbing at her back.  Jeans and tennis shoes prevented inconspicuously checking her ankles for swelling.  Allegra wouldn’t mention it even if they were.  An intervention was in order.

“Honey, you are finished,” she told the younger woman, wrapping an arm around her shoulders, guiding her toward the registers with her armload of soft pink assortment of sleepers, socks and the like.  “Faith has everything she’ll need and if we think of something else, we’ll have it delivered.  Let’s go home.”

“Are you sure?”  Worried eyes darted over the racks of baby blankets, hats and mittens.  “What if it snows?  Won’t she need a little coat?”

Dot laughed.  “If it snows, you wrap her up in a blanket or two.  Trust me, she doesn’t need a coat yet.”

Reluctantly agreeing, she put her purchases on the counter with a groan of frustration.  “Ugh.  I have to go to the bathroom again.”  Withdrawing the debit card from her wallet, she passed it to Dot asking, “Can you pay for this while I go to the ladies’ room?”

Waving away the card, Dot assured her, “I’ve got it.  Aunt Dot hasn’t gotten made a contribution to her wardrobe yet.  Consider this my gift.”

With a smile of gratitude, Allegra tucked the card back in her purse and shuffled off to the ladies’ room as fast as her rounded shape would permit.

The purchases were quickly paid for and placed in bags, leaving Dot to wait and watch for Allegra.  Leaning against the wall outside the restrooms, she fished the phone from her handbag.  She figured Jon was up by now and she wanted to relay her suspicions.

“Hey, baby,” he greeted her with a happy lilt to his voice.  “How’s life in the northern hemisphere?”

“Hey yourself.  Life in the northern hemisphere is about to get more interesting.”

“Not until I get home in another coupla weeks it’s not,” he told her with a sultry chuckle.  The man, just like every other man, could turn anything into a sexual reference.

“Get your mind out of the gutter, you perv,” she griped good-naturedly.  “It’s not all about you or sex.  I called for a totally different reason.”

“What’s more important than me and sex?” was his mock-wounded response.

“Listen Horndog, I’m placing you on red alert.  Unless I miss my guess, you’re going to be an uncle slash cousin again very, very soon.”

“What?”  She could hear something clatter in the background and briefly wondered what he’d knocked over.  “Rich told me the doctor says she’s on track for Christmas Eve.”

“That was on Monday.  A lot can change in a week, and I’m telling you the baby’s dropped and she’s got back pain and boundless energy.  She’s nesting Jon.  I bet the first labor pains hit within twenty-four hours.”

“Jesus,” he groaned, implicitly trusting his wife’s assessment after four trips to the delivery room.  “What the hell am I supposed to do when he finds out he’s gonna miss this and turns into a basket case on me?”

Sympathy wasn’t something Dorothea dispensed without a good reason and her husband’s inconvenience didn’t make the cut.  Her reply was immediate and brooked no argument.  “You get him the charger for his phone and quiet corner, because he’s going to be phoning it in.”

♥ ♥ ♥

Allegra was in the shower the next morning when the first pain hit.  It felt like a muscle cramp in her abdomen but, while it hurt, it wasn’t overwhelming. 

That can’t be a labor pain.  It’s not time yet.

Inhaling deeply a couple of times, she resumed washing her hair, opting to wait and see if it was just a fluke before she panicked.  After the suds had been washed away and she soaped and rinsed her body without so much as another twinge, Allegra dismissed it as a random occurrence.

Probably those Braxton-Hicks things I read about.

The second, more pronounced pain, struck when her hair was nearly dry several minutes later.  This one slackened her grip on the hairdryer and it nearly escaped a dunk into the sink.

“Faith, don’t do this to me,” she murmured, putting the appliance away and massaging the underside of her belly.  “Daddy isn’t home yet, so you just go back to sleep and enjoy the waterbed of Mommy’s bladder until he gets here.”

Padding into the bedroom, she flipped through the closet for her most comfortable elastic-waist pants and a soft, long-sleeved sweater to slip on.  Her grand plan for the day was to launder the newly purchased baby clothes and spend the day at the main house with Dorothea and the kids.

Suspiciously eyeing the overnight bag in bottom of the closet, she wondered at Dot’s practically forcing her to pack it last night after their shopping trip.

If she did, the woman is psychic.  There’s no reason to believe I’m going to the hospital any time soon.

Shaking her head, Allegra gathered up the tiny sleepers and socks from the bassinet that had been positioned alongside the bed.  She had no more tucked them all into the crook of her arm and taken half a dozen steps across the room when the impact of the next pain allowed them to tumble in a heap to the floor.

“No, Faith, no,” she whispered, rubbing her hands soothingly across her belly, heartbeat aflutter with panic.  “It’s not time, baby.”

This had to be false labor. 

Where’s my phone?  I’ve got to call Dot.

Moving as quickly as her condition allowed, she located it on the living room table and quickly dialed the main house.

“Bongiovi residence,” Sophia’s professional voice answered.

“Sophia, it’s Allegra.  I need to speak to Dot.”

“Just a moment ma’am.”

The wait for that calming no-nonsense voice on the other end of the line seemed interminable, but eventually it came.

“Good morn-“

“I think I’m in labor,” she interrupted the greeting anxiously.  “What do I do?”

Dot seamlessly assumed control of the situation, surprised only that it had taken this long for the call to come.

“The first thing you do is stop and take a deep breath.  Don’t panic.  Everything is going to be fine.”  She covered the receiver with one hand and instructed, “Steph, you’re going to have to help Sophia and watch the boys today.  I’m taking Allegra to the hospital.”  Her voice became present and clear again when calmly questioning, “Allegra, how far apart are the pains?  Has your water broken yet?”

“I guess about fifteen or twenty minutes.  No, I don’t think my water’s broken.”

“Okay, that’s good, because you would definitely know if it had.  Grab your bag and I’ll meet you in front of the guest house in five minutes with the car.” 

Orders issued, Dot disconnected from Allegra, grabbed her cell phone and placed her own call as she stepped into the garage. 

“God Dot, it’s four in the morning.  Didn’t you check the time zones?”

“I don’t care what time it is there,” she informed her groggy and, no doubt, bleary eyed husband.  “Because it’s baby time here.  Wake Richie up.  He’s going to be a daddy today.”

♥ ♥ ♥

His eardrums reverberated with an incessant pounding that was giving him a headache.

Damn, I must have a hangover.

Richie shook his head against soft, down pillow as consciousness began to seep in. 

I don’t drink anymore, I can’t have a hangover.  What the hell is that noise at… He checked his phone.  Four o’clock in the morning?

Finally his sleep-addled brain cleared enough to realize the pounding was coming from the front door of his hotel room.  Just about the time his bare feet hit the floor and a pair of shorts slid up over his hips, the phone started vibrating with an incoming call.

Jon.

Ignoring the phone, he went for the door instead.  There was no doubt both callers were one and the same.

“What the fuck, man?” he growled at the man standing on the other side of his door with nothing but a pair of jeans and a serious case of bed head.

“Call your wife,” he commanded, barging in with no thought of asking permission.  “It’s time.”

“Time?  Time for what?”   Richie scratched his head, shoving his overlong bangs from his eyes.  He was so not a morning person.

“Time to have a baby, buddy.”

His eyes rounded and he trailed after his friend to the sofa.  “Excuse me?  She’s not due until Christmas.  Bug doesn’t even have a middle name yet.”

“She may not have a middle name, but your daughter has her own timetable.  Imagine that – Allegra having a headstrong baby.”  He chuckled at the image of a gray headed Richie trying to referee mother and daughter when they butted heads down the road.  “They’re on their way to the hospital now, and I have a feeling your wife would like to hear from you.”

“Dammit!” The cushions bounced under his weight as he collapsed on the sofa.  “This wasn’t supposed to happen.  She was supposed to wait until I got home.”

“Yeah, well I’m sure Allegra’s saying the same thing.”  Jon scooped Richie’s phone from the nightstand and tossed it to him.  “Call before Dot has my head.”

One Hundred Seventy-Seven

“We’ll see you in a week for your next appointment, Mrs. Sambora.  That’s December fifth,” the perky young receptionist at Dr. Shively’s office informed Allegra, pushing an appointment card toward her.

Accepting the card with a cordial smile, Allegra offered her thanks and waddled toward the elevator.  December fifth would be her three month wedding anniversary.  Unfortunately, she and her husband would be observing that milestone from literally half a world apart.  She didn’t mind all that much consider that it looked and felt like she swallowed a beach ball.

Today was the Monday after Thanksgiving, the band having left only two days ago for two shows in Japan and Australia.  Their last performances would be back-to-back shows in Sydney on the eighteenth and nineteenth, getting them back home on the twenty-first – only three days before Bug’s due date.

Patting her daughter affectionately, she silently reminded, We’re waiting until Daddy gets home to make your grand entrance Miss Faith.  Don’t forget that.

As the elevator began its descent, her mind reflected upon those three months as Mrs. Sambora.  To her utter pleasure, things had been…  well, chaotically normal was the best way to put it.

On the day after the wedding, she and Richie had trekked back to Honolulu so that they could see the family off and talk to Allegra’s parents.  Astoundingly enough, her mother took the news of Joseph – the Bishop – almost serenely.

“I knew in my heart that he would turn up some day,” she told Allegra with a comforting pat of the hand.  “Once you found out about Frannie and the adoption, I figured it was just a matter of time before you found him too.”

After a lengthy explanation of how she never went looking for him, and the story of the journal, Therese was still calm.  “You should talk to the man and get to know him more as a person than as a Bishop.  Even if you decide you don’t like him, Frannie sent that Sister to you for a reason.  She obviously wanted you to know who your father was.”

“Mama, he may be my father, but Daddy…”  She reached to Michael for a hug. “Will always be my Daddy.  Now more than ever, I understand the difference.  You two are my parents and nothing will ever change that.”

“We know that Allegra,” her father assured her.  “While you were growing up, we worried about the possibility of this happening and you wanting to leave or some other such nonsense.  But you’re a grown woman who has her own life, and has for some time.  If this man can find a place in it, then that’s all the better for you.  His presence isn’t going to erase the fact that you’re the daughter we loved and raised.”

“But I would love to see Frannie’s journal when you get home,” her mother added.  After promising to forward the journal to her, Allegra saw her parents off with Therese’s promise to tell John and Carol about the adoption.  She felt as though she now had her parents’ blessing and was free to pursue an acquaintance – relationship was too serious a word yet – with Joseph.

After a leisurely week of fun, frolicking and relaxation in their tropical paradise, they reluctantly left paradise behind, taking with them memories for a lifetime.

She and Richie went home to LA and comfortably settled into the mundane details of married life.  She found an obstetrician and physician.  He had her added to bank accounts, his will, the house and everything else he could think of – amid her protests.  Protests that went entirely unheeded, as her wallet was now full of plastic – a debit card and at least three credit cards.  Not that she’d used any of them more than once or twice, but they were there just waiting to be called into service.  It made Richie happy to know she had them and that was reason enough for Allegra to carry them.

The situation with Heather had… stabilized.  Allegra took Richie’s suggestion and made the super-human effort to be more than civil to the woman.  It had stunned the actress at first, but there were only so many times she could imply that Allegra was a gold-digging bitch while Allegra nodded and smiled through clenched teeth.  The novelty was wearing off and nowadays, there was no need for a referee when the two were going to be in the same room.  Heather offered no more than a curt nod and a suspicious look when they were forced into proximity. 

It wasn’t good, but it was better than it had been.  From Allegra’s perspective, that’s what was important – for Ava.

While the band was in South America for a couple of weeks, Allegra made a concentrated effort to get comfortable in California and try to make a home for herself.  She grew even fonder of Carmen, and they forged a friendship of sorts.  Really, Carmen bossed Allegra around like a mother and she allowed it.  After all, she had no one else out here. 

And that echoed in her head like a haunting phrase when she was alone at night.  Alone was fine for now, but when she thought of being alone nearer to Bug’s arrival she became decidedly uneasy. 

So uneasy that she mentioned it to Richie several times after he returned from South America – sometimes several times a day – until he finally said with an exasperated laugh, “Baby, I get it.  You want to be home in Jersey while I’m gone.  Your mom, my mom, Dot and Lexi are all there in case you need anything.  Truthfully, it would make me feel better if you were surrounded by our families that close to your due date.  But here’s the problem – I don’t leave until the end of November and you can’t fly then.”

The new doctor strongly discouraged air travel during the last month of her pregnancy, and she knew that.  She even accepted it willingly.  But she also had the foresight to make a contingency plan. 

“You have to be in New York in a couple of weeks for that Best Buy show, and that’s still in my eighth month.  I could come with you and we could stay for Thanksgiving.  Then Ava could fly out and join us for the holiday before you go to Japan.”  She turned pleading eyes on him.  “Couldn’t we do that?”

He shook his head with a wry laugh before wrapping her up in a hug.  “I don’t know why I thought that was going to stop you from getting what you wanted.  Yes, Sunshine, if that will make you feel better, we can do that.”

She’d managed to find plenty to occupy her time since she’d come East.  Two more classes were knocked out of the way, and two more should be finished before Bug made her appearance.  That meant she would receive her Computer Science certificate sometime in the Spring.  Now that Bon Jovi’s social media presence had been established, it was a minimal effort to maintain it, but it was something that needed tended to nearly every day just the same.

She’d also had a couple of stilted phone conversations with Joseph, and one awkward lunch.  He was honestly trying, but there was no way to replace almost forty years with a handful of friendly conversations.  Joseph was a nice man, she’d come to realize, but he was just that – a man.  Despite her feelings, Allegra would continue to make the effort mostly because she felt sorry for him.  He’d given up his entire life as he knew it and was living in a small apartment near Newark, floundering with all the idle time on his hands.  So in addition to juggling her own activities, she found herself searching for a distraction for him – and thought she may have found something.  The Soul Kitchen.

When Allegra’s life had taken her away from the Soul Foundation, the Soul Kitchen project had lain dormant for a while, until Dot had stepped in and picked up the pieces.  She took the notes and detailed schematics of the proposal Allegra left behind and began making her own mark on the project.  Since Allegra had come to live in the guest house again, she’d been helping Dot steer her vision into a reality.  There was tons of bureaucratic red tape and paperwork, but they were sifting their way through it one piece at a time.

It created a wistfulness in Allegra, missing both her work at the Foundation and, strangely enough, Sister Mary.  She still hated the way she’d parted with the nun and felt a twinge of remorse every time her name arose.  It was time to do something about that, and she had some free time on her hands this afternoon.

The elevator chimed her arrival on the ground floor and she spied her hired car outside the glass doors.  Thomas, who had been recalled into service as her driver while she was here, was watching for her and hurried to open the back door and get her out of the cold downtown wind.

She had no more gracelessly hoisted herself into the car when the strains of “Feel Like Makin’ Love” wafted out of her coat pocket.  Smiling, she fished it out and slid her finger across the screen with a breathless, “Hey, sweetie!  Hang on just a second.”  Tucking the phone under her chin, she asked Thomas, “Could you take me to the Soul Foundation building please?”

With a congenial nod of his head, he started them on their way.

“Sorry,” Allegra apologized to Richie as she leaned back in the seat, searching for a comfortable position.  “How’s Tokyo?”

“Dark.  I have no idea why I’m up this early.  Damn jetlag,” he grumbled in a sleep-roughened voice. 

“You know exactly why you’re up this early,” she called his bluff, her voice liberally laced with amusement.  “If I had to guess, I’d say you set an alarm so that you could find out what Dr. Shively said as soon as I walked out the door.” 

Richie was borderline obsessed with the baby and its impending arrival.  He couldn’t keep his hands off of her belly for more than five minute at a time, and was always talking or singing to the baby, especially at night.  Allegra had been serenaded to sleep more nights than she could count as he sang and petted her stomach.

“Maybe,” he conceded reluctantly.  “What did she say?”

She loved her husband.

“Everything is perfect.  I’ve gained fifteen pounds altogether, which she says isn’t unreasonable, and we’re looking good for an on-schedule delivery.   Christmas Eve in the hospital.  Sounds like fun, huh?”

“But what an awesome Christmas present.  Hey, maybe her middle name could be Noelle.  That’s Christmasy.”

“Noelle’s nice,” she agreed. “We’ll keep it on the list.” They still hadn’t found Faith’s middle name yet, but the list of possibilities continued to grow.  They were plenty of perfectly acceptable options, but nothing that screamed ‘pick me’.  They still had time, so Allegra didn’t mind being patient awhile longer until the perfect name presented itself.

“You’re feeling okay?” he went on to probe, pillow rustling.  She could imagine him flipping onto his side and tucking it more firmly under his head, as he so often did.

“Yep, I feel good.  Not too tired yet, so I’m going to drop by the Soul Foundation on my way home.”

“Yeah?  Any particular reason?”

“Catholic guilt,” she told him ruefully, watching pedestrian traffic pass as the car crept through noontime traffic.  “All this stuff about the Soul Kitchen with Dot brings to mind Sister Mary and the way I left the Foundation.  I’ve let this linger too long.  It’s time to apologize.”

“It wouldn’t be easier to just avoid her for the rest of your life?” he teased.  They’d talked about Sister Mary more than once, and Allegra had jokingly told him that was her plan, rather than subject herself the Nun Look of Disapproval.

“It seemed like a good idea at the time, but it turns out to not be easier on my conscience.  She was really good to me and I want to make things right.”

“Do you have any idea how proud I am to be your husband?”

“If it’s anywhere close to how proud I am to be your wife, I’d say we’re in for a long, happy marriage,” she laughed, looking out the car window to see that they’d arrived at her destination.  “Oh.  We’re here.  I have to go sweetie.  Call me every time you get a chance?  I love you.”

“I will.  Love you too, baby.  Tell Bug the same.”

Indulgent smile covering her face, Allegra tapped the phone to end the call just as Thomas opened the door and offered his hand.  “Thank you,” she told him sincerely, stepping onto the sidewalk in front of the tall building that had employed her for a short, but significant part of her life. “I shouldn’t keep you waiting long.”

“Take all the time you need, ma’am.”

Moving steadily through the lobby, Allegra reflected that everything seemed familiar, yet alien.  This part of her life seemed worlds away from where she was now, and she suffered a little pang of longing.  The Soul Foundation had represented her independence.  It was the first job she’d gotten solely on her own merits and made a difference.  In actuality, the only ‘real’ job she’d ever had.

Sighing as she pressed the call button, she wondered if she’d ever get used to feeling like a kept woman.  Maybe it would be different once the baby came.

The doors whooshed open and swept her up to the Foundation offices, where she found Nadine at her usual post.

The girl looked up with surprise, and Allegra greeted her with a genuine smile.  “Hi Nadine.  How are you?”

“You’re pregnant,” she announced baldly, staring at the pronounced lump in the front of Allegra’s coat.

“That I am,” she agreed.  “Is Sister Mary available?”

“Uh.  Just a minute.”  Nadine scooted her chair back and scurried around the desk to disappear inside the Sister’s office.

Shaking her head, Allegra realized she hadn’t missed all aspects of working here.  Nadine was a sweet girl, but a bit rattle-brained sometimes.

“Allegra,” the commanding voice greeted from behind her.

Spinning toward it, she pinned on a determined smile, only slightly dreading the conversation that loomed ahead.  “Sister.  It’s nice to see you.  Do you have a moment that we could talk?”

The older women gave her the once-over with a speculative eye before nodding.  She gestured toward her office, indicating that Allegra should precede her.  Once inside, she quietly closed the door and made her way around the desk and the rolling chair behind it.

“I trust you haven’t come to ask for a job again,” the nun said dryly as Allegra placed her coat across one guest chair and seated herself in the other. 

“No,” Allegra chuckled with the shake of her head and swept a hand across her distended abdomen.  “As you can see, I have another job looming ahead.”

She didn’t crack a smile.  “Then why are you here?”

Never one to mince words, the Sister certainly hadn’t changed her ways since Allegra’s departure.  Taking a deep breath of fortification, Allegra cut right to the chase.  “I came to apologize for the circumstances under which I left.  I lied to you in an effort to serve my own purpose, but it was a purpose I believed strongly in at the time.  Has Jon told you anything?”

“No, he hasn’t.  On the few occasions we’ve crossed paths lately, I don’t ask and he doesn’t offer.  It seems easier to leave your name out of our relationship.”

Ouch.

“Then, if you would allow me, I’d like to explain.”  Scarcely waiting for Sister Mary’s agreement, she launched into the recount of her unexpected pregnancy, the details that led up to it, and the uncertain paternity.

After a moment’s silence to absorb the information she’d been presented, the Sister asked thoughtfully, “So am I to assume that you’re still carrying the burden of that uncertain paternity?”

“Yes.”

“I also am to assume that you and Richie are married, based on the rings you’re wearing?”

Glancing down at the diamond winking on her left hand, Allegra couldn’t believe she’d neglected to mention that.  “Yes.”

The nun leaned back in her seat and steepled her fingers in front of her chin.  “And what does he have to say about it?”

Feeling as though she were being interrogated, Allegra repeated the answer they’d spouted over and over.  “He’s the father.  Period.”

“Something tells me you’re not quite so convinced,” Sister Mary remarked with a skeptical lift of her brow.

“Sister, you know the circumstances that led me here to start with.  It cut me deeply, and my wounds are still healing.  My faith in a higher power has yet to be restored.”

“I’m sorry?” she asked quizzically, as though she couldn’t believe what she’d heard.  “You say that like you’re waiting for Triple A to bring you a gallon of gasoline for your stranded car.  Why should there be some magical occurrence that replenishes what you’ve allowed to become drained?”

Allegra cocked her head in surprise.  “I didn’t allow it to become drained,” she protested.  “My trust was stolen.”

“No, you simply chose to place it in what you could see instead of what you knew in your heart,” was the staunch reply. 

She couldn’t believe Sister Mary was going to debate the point with her.  There was no debate.  Facts were facts.

“I knew in my heart that the God I was serving wouldn’t allow an innocent child to die.  God is supposed to protect the innocent and the children!”

“Perhaps this was His way of protecting her.  Did you ever think that her path was headed toward an even darker future?”

Momentarily taken aback, Allegra’s jaw opened and closed silently.  Was it possible that Tessa had been on her way to greater grief and pain than she’d already suffered?  That God had been sparing her?  It was a painful prospect, but it was also the first explanation that didn’t make her soul scream out in frustration.  Still…

“Why would He choose that instead of just fixing things?”

“Allegra,” Sister Mary sighed.  “You know I can’t answer that.  None of us know what the divine plan is; we just have to trust that there is one.”

“I’ve tried, but I just can’t seem to regain that kind of trust.”

The nun shook her head in disappointment and pondered her next words for a moment, wondering if it weren’t more a case of obstinacy than anything else at this juncture.  To that end, she tried a different tactic.

“While that’s strictly between your heart and God, I would like to point out one very important thing:  Your lack of faith isn’t your problem alone.  It steals your joy and replaces it with discontent, drawing concern and worry from those around you and robbing them of their own joy.  I would think that would be incentive enough to try a little harder.”

Chapter 176

Pushing the door open with his foot, Richie stepped across the threshold of their Hawaii house with his arms full of Allegra, heart full of love,  and body full of raging testosterone.  Depositing her in the center of the tile floor, he nuzzled her ear growling, “I promise to do the tender, romantic making love thing later, but first I need to have down and dirty sex with you about half a dozen times.  Clothes off.  Now.”

“No.”  She pushed away from him with an amused smile.

Richie was not amused.

At all.

“Excuse me?” His eyebrows lifted in blatant disbelief and he presented his left hand.  “I’m pretty sure this ring means we’re married.  Wasn’t that the condition behind this ridiculous abstinence I’ve endured for the last thirty-five days?  Marriage equals sex on a regular basis?”

Not the least bit affected by his attitude, she teased her fingertips along the column of his neck, burrowing them into his hair.  “Just a little longer,” she begged prettily with a butterfly kiss against the pulse beating at the base of his throat.  “Pleaaase?”

Cupping the back of her skull, he tugged lightly on her hair, leaning back to look into her face.  “This is never going to happen again.  Do you understand that?”

“Our wedding night?” she chuckled, elevating on tiptoe to touch his lips.  “Yeah, I get that.”

“No.”  Richie pulled away with a frown, mentally searching for a way to get his point across without being an asshole.  He was wound tighter than his Fender the time Ava had ‘helped’ by turning every tuning key with all the strength in her little three-year old fingers.  Inhaling deeply, he pushed down the impatience and irritation and brought his thumb around to stroke Allegra’s jawline, speaking quietly.  “I willingly put up with this – without a damn good explanation, by the way –  because I wanted everything about your wedding to be exactly how you dreamed it would be, but that’s it baby.  There aren’t going to be games and withholding intimacy in our marriage.  Agreed?”

Wounded eyes went wide as she pushed against his chest in an effort to separate herself.  “It wasn’t a game, Richie,” she contended, arms coming to cross over her stomach.

“It doesn’t matter what it was.”  He reached for her elbow to pull her near again, but she stubbornly dug in her heels.  “Look,” he sighed.  “I’m sorry.  I’ve handled this badly.  All I want is for us to be on the same page going into married life.  I want sex to be a natural, easy extension of our love and affection for one another.  Something that we fall into without a second thought, not some planned or contrived event.  Don’t you?”

“Yes,” she agreed quietly, eyes cast toward the glass wall and the ocean beyond it.

Dammit, so much for everybody being happy on our wedding day!

He tucked a loose fist under her chin, inching it upward.  “I want you.  All of you.  I want to fuck you on the kitchen table, make love to you on the couch, shatter your world in the shower.  And I want to know that you’ll be receptive to any and all of that plus more.  That’s all I’m trying to say.”

She blinked and he thought he saw the hurt dim.  “I should have explained earlier, but I thought you would think I was being stupid.”

Pulling her into his embrace, he tucked her under his chin and spoke into the top of her head.  “Tell me now?”

Sighing heavily, she lifted her arms around him, settling her clasped hands in the small of his back.  “How many women have you had sex with?”

Jesus H Christ, no.  Please don’t go there.

“I dunno,” he mumbled, praying she wouldn’t be obstinate and demand a head count.  Not that he could provide one anyway.

“It’s a lot though, isn’t it?”

“More than I can count on one hand,” was all he would admit to.

Her laughter was humorless, shaking his chest with the one sharp breath she needed to force it out. “Take that unknown number of women and multiply it by three.  Even at a conservative two, it’s more than the average man.  Which doesn’t mean anything to me.  I was never naïve when it came to your past, and I’ve never had a problem with it.  It’s your past, not your present.  But this is our wedding night Richie.”  She craned her neck at an angle that she could see him.  “There’s no question in my mind that I’ll remember tonight as long as I live.  Is it so unreasonable that I wanted to make sure you would remember it too?  That it would stand out as something special in your mind?”

Stuffing down the urge to berate her for her lack of faith, Richie was still astounded that she’d think so little of herself.  Leading her over to the breakfast bar, he lifted her on the counter and stood between her knees, an open hand splayed over each bare thigh.  His thumb traced along the edge of her cotton shorts thoughtfully.. 

“Do you think I don’t remember in vivid detail the first time we had sex on your birthday in Seattle?  The first time we kissed on the beach in Hawaii?  The first time we made love in Jon’s guest house?  The first time I took you from behind in Las Vegas?  The first time you took me in your mouth, also in Las Vegas?  I could graphically describe each of those encounters and dozens more.”  Lifting her left hand, he turned it over to kiss the palm.  “So what makes you think I wouldn’t remember the night I make you mine forever?”

“You remember all that?” Again, lack of faith had skepticism drawn all over her face.

“Every sweet moan and whimper,” he huskily assured her, breath hot on her cheek.  “Everything is different with you, Allegra.  It has been from the start.”

The slightest turn of her head brought their lips together.  He could feel the uncertainty in the catch of her breath, wanting to believe him yet reluctant to buy in.

“I’m not lying.”  His lips brushed hers as he spoke.  “I’ll never lie to you.”

She opened herself to him, a mute invitation into the warm recesses of her mouth accompanied by a gratified sigh of acceptance.  Devouring her mouth with a groan of desperation, he imagined that he could still taste the lingering flavor of mango on her tongue and wedged himself more tightly between her thighs, hands roaming her back and pulling her close.

God, he’d missed this… this foreplay.  The kisses they’d shared in recent weeks were sweet, but he’d always known in the back of his mind they wouldn’t be more than a kiss.  This was a promise of something even sweeter.

With a rumble of pleasure, he found the bare skin of her back beneath the soft cotton tank she was wearing.  The soft texture of her flesh beneath his palms was as arousing as anything he’d ever encountered.  Growling deep in his throat, Richie slid his grasp to her hips forcefully bringing her to the edge of the counter and in direct contact with his bulging zipper.

“Richie…” she gasped, tearing her mouth away.  “Please let me – “

“No,” he cut her off, greedy hands wandering without direction over her body, not content to settle in any one place too long.  “I don’t need anything but you Allegra.  But I need you now.” 

She hesitated, tongue darting out to swipe away the moisture from along the full curve of her bottom lip.  This obviously wasn’t in her plans, but he didn’t care.  He wanted his wife under him.  Around him.

“Now.”  He reiterated, snatching the tank top over her head to divulge plumped breasts elegantly bedecked in ivory lace.  “So beautiful,” he murmured reverently, big palms coming to cradle their soft weight.  The seam where the two luscious mounds met begged his attention and with a deep inhalation of the berry scent trapped there, he snaked his tongue out to hotly lick along the crevice.

His hands shifted quickly unhooking her bra, and before Allegra had a chance to register the air brushing across her bare chest, he was laving her nipples with that same hot mouth.  His tongue curled around one beaded nipple, sucking sharply.

“Ohh!”

“Hurt?” he asked, cool breath causing the raspberry colored pearl to pucker even further.  Silky locks of hair brushed his cheek as she shook in denial and his fingers pinched at them before swooping in to consume one in a wide-mouthed suckle.  He moaned his pleasure at the fleshiness against his tongue, drawing with a determined force, yet careful not to inflict more pain than would be pleasurable. 

“Oh, baby it feels so good.”  Her body writhed against him, silently begging more of the loving torture his mouth was administering.   “More.”

More than willing to oblige, Richie lightly nipped her with his teeth and moved the same attention to the other side, keeping the first one entertained with his fingers.

Allegra felt as though she’d been sunburned on the beach yesterday.  Her skin was so hot, and beads of sweat were forming at her neckline.  The plans she’d so carefully laid to control and seduce him incinerated and crumpled into a pile of cold ashes beneath her husband’s magnificent sexual authority. 

“Hop down,” was the roughened command that garnered her dazed attention.  Silently obeying, she kicked off her flip flops and her toes stretched to reach the tile floor.  The instant her feet were flat on the ground, Richie pushed his hands inside the elastic waistband of her shorts, shoving them and her panties unceremoniously to the ground.

An upward glance found nostrils flaring with desire as he took in her breasts, belly and hips, all rounded with the effects of pregnancy.  Loving hands cupped the baby bump that was getting bigger every day, despite the scale’s insistence that she’d only gained seven pounds.

“Your body is spectacular.  So lush and full with our baby.”  His gaze burned her skin as he swept the black, sleeveless shirt over his own head and reached for the button on his cargo shorts.  “Jesus, I want to feel you against me so badly that my hands are shaking like a nervous kid.”

Smiling ruefully, she lifted her own trembling fingers for him to see.  “Glad I’m not the only one.”

“You’ve got one chance.  If you want this to happen in a bed, lead the way upstairs,” he informed her tightly, stepping out of his shorts and boxers.  “Now.  Otherwise I’m going to fuck you standing up against the wall.”

Goose bumps danced up one arm and down the other from the electric charge his words carried.  He made no excuses for his naked desire.  She was his and he would have her.  Period.

“The bed will be there later,” she gasped through empty lungs, the air stolen from them in the instant her shoulder blades hit the cool plaster wall.

“Good answer.”  Bending at the knees, Richie adhered himself to her front side and slowly rose back to his full height.  It was a slow, agonizing abrasion of roughened male skin against its satiny feminine counterpart, coarse body hair against smoothly rounded flesh, and unyielding muscle against pliable softness.

Sensations were larger than life, his breath in her ear roaring with the force of a mighty hurricane, the inferno of their body heat melting them together, his unmistakable scent a cloud of arousal in her nostrils.

The unexpected presence of his finger plunging deep into her hot, wet core wrenched a fevered cry from her and nearly buckled her knees.

“Damn. You’re so wet for me,” he growled, grinding his stabbing erection into her hip.  Staying pressed close to her, he withdrew his finger, skating it leisurely through her drenched folds until he grazed the hyper-sensitive nub that sent shocks through her.

“Oh!”  The thump of her head falling against the wall echoed in Allegra’s ears, temporarily blinding her to the fact that her nails were making deep crescent moons in Richie’s bare shoulders.

“Careful, baby,” he chuckled against her ear, breath stirring the fine hairs masking it.  Passing his fingers back with another light touch, then another had her thighs clamping together to intensify the pressure. 

“Uh-uh.  None of that,” he scolded with a light smack toward her left buttock.  Hard fingers gripped her thigh and jockeyed it up around him, widely separating the thighs that were set to do her bidding.

Allegra whimpered with frustration.  She was glossy-eyed and crazed by his touch.  What had she been thinking to shun even one instances of spine-tingling sex with this man?  Her body craved him.  Craved the way he would fill her – over and over and over…

His fingers did exactly that, pumping deliberately through the molten desire that was seeping from her body.  The friction felt so good.  So, so good.

But it wasn’t enough.  It wasn’t all of him.

“Please…” she gasped brokenly.  “You.  I want you.”

There was no pause in his intimate plundering.  If anything it intensified.

“You’ve got me.”  His voice was no more than a grumble beside her ear, their sweaty cheeks rubbing together with the exertion of staying upright.  Richie’s hips rocked relentlessly against hers without giving her the satisfaction she hungered for.  “You want more, you have to tell me.”

“I am telling you.”  Allegra sunk her nails into his bare buttocks, forcing him against her.  “I want you inside me.”

“Too bad you’re not in charge.”  Letting her leg drop, he pinned both hands above her head, nearly knocking a framed picture from the wall in the process.  Stretching so one of his hands could grasp both of her wrists, the other stole back downward to the slippery playground between her thighs.  “Who’s in charge here, my beautiful wife?  Who’s going to let you come?  Who’s going to make you come?”

Any thought she had of bristling at his presumptuousness faded under a wave of scorching arousal.  The man in charge was something to behold and she knew he would live up to his words.  God, he’s sexy. “You.  You are.”

“Good girl.”  His punishing kiss was all the more arousing for its contrast with the gentleness of his approval.  “I’ll take you places you’ve never been.”

“You already have.”

The only response he gave was to lift her from the floor, ordering that she wrap her legs around his waist.  Slowly, ever so slowly, he eased her down on his erection.  She mewled her approval, clinging to his shoulders while simultaneously wiggling downward in an effort to hurry him. 

Her actions had the opposite effect.  Richie stilled before she was half-impaled and gave her a punishing nip on the tendon between her neck and shoulder.  “You don’t think I know how to make you come?”

“Yes, yes.  You do.  Please…”  Beads of sweat trickled down her brow, past her neck down into the valley of breasts.

One powerful thrust had her crying out and forced her back flush against the wall.

He withdrew and plunged again with a groan of satisfaction.  Holding her firmly, he continued his motion – filling then withdrawing until she could feel the tingle traveling upward from her toes into her thighs.

Nose to nose with him, she could see the sweat trickling down the contour of his cheekbone as he drove them toward a point high in the sky with the intent to shatter and dissolve like a shooting star.  His pupils flared with the declaration, “You’re mine.  Forever.”

Allegra flung her arms around his neck, smashing her mouth into his and whispering.  “Forever.”

♥ ♥ ♥

Moaning complacently, Allegra stretched until her hands met the headboard and her toes wiggled against the soft cotton sheets tucked in around the mattress.  Without opening her eyes, she smiled, taking a moment to enjoy the serenity.  She wasn’t sure why she was smiling and felt so at peace, but it she was going to take the chance to bask in it while it lasted. 

She finally opened her eyes with a sigh, briefly confused by her surroundings. 

Hawaii.  Our house.

A contented grin swept over her face and she turned her head to find the opposite side of the bed empty.  After such an early start this morning and an active couple of hours in first the living room, then the bedroom, exhaustion had claimed her just after noon.  She and Richie had curled up for a nap in their big bed, but she had obviously slept longer than he.  Turning her head the other way, she made out his figure sitting on the deck with his reading glasses on and a book in his lap.

If she was going outside, she should probably put something on, even though it didn’t look like he was wearing much from where she stood.  Maybe a pair of shorts, at most.  Men had it so much easier.

Slipping out from under the lightweight bedding, she located the suitcases Richie had brought upstairs and dug through them to find her oversized nightshirt.  It would cover everything important.  She dropped it over her head and padded toward the sliding glass door and her husband.

Hearing the door sliding in its tracks, Richie lifted his head with an affectionate smile, removing his glasses and setting the book aside.  “Hey sleepyhead.  Have a good nap?”

“Mmm,” she agreed, settling into his lap with a soft kiss.  “Whatcha readin’?”

Slouching down in the cushioned Adirondack chair, Richie smiled and urged her to lean into his chest with the weight of his embracing arms.  Lifting her left hand to admire the rings seated there, he wove his fingers into hers so that their rings were side by side.  “Believe it or not, it’s something that was part of Dave’s gift.”

“Oh yeah?”  She stretched out with her free hand to snag the thick paperback book, perusing the cover before reading aloud, “Awakening the Buddhist Heart: Integrating Love, Meaning, and Connection into Every Part of Your Life.  Okayyy...  That’s interesting.  What else was in that bag?”

 

“A scented candle for relaxation, a book of love poems and a CD of instrumental ballads.”

 

The book hit the deck floor with a thud and he smothered a laugh at her astonished expression.  She and Dave may be close, but Richie had known him a whole lot longer.  “Seriously?  I figured there’d be something pornographic in there.  Perverted at the very least.  I didn’t realize he would actually be thoughtful.”

“You should know he’s not always what he appears to be,” Richie scolded, no longer bothering to hide his amusement.  “And how much he loves to keep everybody guessing.”

“True.  It was a very sweet gesture.  I’ll have to apologize and thank him.”  Leaning backward over the arm of the chair, she scooped up the fallen book and flipped curiously through it.  “So how’s the book?”

“It’s… enlightening.  One of those things that’s right up my alley.”  The hand that was leisurely sprawled across her thigh began to stroke idly.  The book had actually sparked a notion about the situation with Heather.  Un sure as to how receptive she would be, he approached the subject cautiously.  “Can I say something without you getting pissed at me?”

“The fact that you have to ask that has me wondering,” she laughed.  “But I feel so good right now, I’d say your chances are excellent.  What’s up?”

“It’s about Heather,” he said, thoughtfully watching her for any sparks of anger.

“Ugghhhh,” she groaned letting her head collapse on his shoulder.  “Can’t we leave the Wicked Witch of the Westlake out of our honeymoon?  Do we have to do this now?”

He chuckled and brought her further into the circle of his embrace.  “Just listen for a minute.  There’s no doing, I only want you to think about something.”

A disgusted huff breezed across his throat, but he knew it was more for show than anything.  Her body was too relaxed to be all that bent out of shape.  “Okay, what?”

“Well.  There’s a quote in this book that says ‘Hatred is never ended by hatred but by love’.”

“And?” 

“And I still haven’t got a clue as to why she’s being such a bitch, but Heather is never going to be anything but what she is.  It sucks having to deal with her, but your – our – anger isn’t doing anything but feeding her attitude.  Maybe it’s time to try a different tactic.”

“So you want me to be nice to her while she slices me to ribbons every chance she gets.”  It wasn’t a question, and Allegra didn’t appear astounded by his brilliance in suggesting it.

“No.”  He shrugged, with a half roll of his eyes before amending, “Well, yes, but I think of it more as not letting her dictate your emotions.” 

“Why do I have to be the bigger woman here?  Why can’t she just step into the light of reality for a minute and be a grown up?”

“Because you are the bigger woman, Sunshine.  And think about it… you’d enjoy taking the wind out of her sails when she’s spoiling for a fight.”

“Eh.  That may actually be fun,” she reluctantly agreed, wiggling her bottom into his lap under the guise of getting more comfortable.  Richie had a sneaking suspicion that the real intent was to make him un-comfortable.  A suspicion that was confirmed when she said, “I’ll think about it.  While you’re in an exhausted coma after hours and hours of marital bliss.”

He grinned.  “How could I possibly want anything more?”