Chapter 218

Richie awoke when his wife left the bed in a rush. The sounds of her retching had him sitting up, rubbing a hand over his face then rising to fulfill his part in their new morning routine. Much to Tori’s chagrin, what she had hoped was nausea brought on by the dizzy spell had turned into regular morning sickness. Thankfully, it seemed to be fairly mild. She’d throw up once, then after about an hour or so, would recover completely.

Nudging the bathroom door wide, he knelt beside her to hold her head and waited for the spasms to end. When she finally sat back he stood, filled a glass with water and handed it to her. “Morning.”

She glared at his cheerful tone. “Is it really? I hadn’t noticed.” Taking the glass, she rinsed her mouth and sighed. “Sorry.”

Hiding a smirk, he kept silent. He knew the hormone roller coaster was tricky to deal with at the best of times. He shuddered at the thought of what adding the Bongiovi temper to it would do. Reaching for her toothbrush, he squeezed toothpaste onto it and handed it to her.

“Thanks. You can go back to bed now.”

He helped her to her feet, then left her alone and did as she suggested. A few minutes later the bed dipped as she crawled back in between the sheets with a sigh. He opened his arms and gathered her close when she accepted the invitation. Long fingers stroked her back soothingly until he felt her breathing even out and her body sink further into his as she drifted back to sleep.

It had been an interesting couple of weeks since Tori had informed him that he was going to be a father again. Unless you were around her all the time you wouldn’t guess that she was pregnant. Aside from the morning sickness, she had surprisingly few symptoms, and most of those that she did have seemed to be directed at him, which he guessed was only right. Of course, the hormones were just starting to kick in. He sighed. That was the hardest to deal with. He wasn’t sure which was worse, seeing her in tears or being blasted by her temper for the slightest thing. And he knew from experience that it was only going to get worse. He had a feeling that he was going to find out just how thick his skin was. She was still tired a lot, but that was slowly getting better. One of the aspects of pregnancy that he’d always found fascinating – aside from feeling his child moving inside its mother’s body – was the food cravings that emerged. He was curious to see what Tori’s would be. Nothing had really shown up yet, although last night he’d walked into the living room to find her having a snack.



“What are you eating?” He was trying to identify what was in the bowl aside from ice cream.

“Chocolate ice cream.”

“Mmmhmmm, I can see that, but what’s on it?” It looked like some kind of sauce.

“Maple syrup.” She’d answered like it was something so common that he should have been able to figure it out. “Want some?” She’d offered him a spoonful.

“Ah..no thanks.” The combination turned his stomach.



He’d have to watch and see if was an occasional thing or became a regular part of her diet.

The most unsual and also the strongest symptom – at least he assumed her behaviour was due to her pregnancy – was her need to be close to him. If they were sitting on the couch watching T.V., she cuddled up next to him. She didn’t like it if they were apart for more two or three hours unless it was absolutely necessary, and even when they were both home, if he was in a different room for more than half an hour, she would come looking for him. If he was working she wouldn’t disturb him, she just wanted to know where he was. If he wasn’t working…then, quite often she would put him to work….on her. Her ‘surge in activity’ wasn’t restricted to bedtime or morning – or even the bedroom – anymore. Anytime of the day, if she felt the urge he could expect her to track him down and make him aware of her needs. If this kept up she was going to kill him before the baby arrived. Not that he was complaining – especially after what had happened three days ago.




He was sitting in the studio, acoustic guitar in his lap, writing when Tori came running in all excited from her shopping trip with Gail. They had gone to check out a few antique stores in search of furniture for her redecorating plans.

“Honey, guess what we found!” She barely waited until he moved the guitar before taking its place.

“What?” He looped his arms around her hips and smiled at her excitement. At times like this she reminded him of Ava.

“The most beautiful partners desk!” She had been looking for one for the office here, rather than having two or trying to share one – not that Richie used it very often – but this would make it much easier.

He didn’t know what it was, but she was obviously happy and that was all that mattered to him. “When are they delivering it?”

“Tomorrow.” She grinned, one hand rested on the bare skin of his chest, revealed by the open buttons of his shirt, the other played with the hair at the nape of his neck.

He watched her eyes darken and begin to glow. Knowing what that signalled, his blood heated and his body hardened in anticipation. When she leaned forward he moved to meet her. For long minutes they simply tasted each other, licking, nibbling and sucking on each others lips, tongues duelling.

Unsatisfied, wanting more, Tori quickly undid the rest of the buttons on his shirt and ran her hands feverishly over his chest. Breaking the kiss, she slid her mouth to his ear where she continued to lick and nibble. One hand drifted down to grip and stroke his erection through his pants.

He groaned. “Ah sweetheart, if that’s what you’re after, we’d better shut the door, or poor Rosa or Cathy’s may get an eyeful.”

With a chuckle she stood, walked to the door, closed it, and locked it. She leaned back against it for a moment while she studied him. Straightening, she began to strip off her clothes as she approached him.

His brows rose as he watched her shirt and bra land on the floor. “No more foreplay?”

She shook her head. “No. I need you to fill me. Now.” Her jeans hit the floor with a soft plop. She kicked out of them and ease her fingertips under the waistband of her panties.

His lips twitched and he shrugged out of his shirt. “Yes dear.” His eyes followed the scrap of lace as it slid over her hips and down her legs. At her raised brow he grinned, stood and quickly removed his pants and underwear. He spread his arms. “I’m all yours babe. How do you want me?”

She moved to stand in front of him, placed her hands on his shoulders and stroked down over his pecs. There she stopped and gave him a little shove until he sat down again. She nudged his knees apart with one of her own and knelt between them. Leaning forward, she explored his chest with hands and mouth, moving quickly down to her goal. She felt his fingers clench in her hair as she closed her hand around his swollen, pulsing flesh. Her mouth watered when he swelled even more. She used long strokes to tease and caress him.

“I thought you said no more foreplay.” He ground out between clenched teeth.

She shrugged. “I changed my mind.” Holding him with one hand, she cupped his sac with the other and squeezed rhythmically. He groaned. She bent her head and ran her tongue along the big vein on the underside of his shaft from base to tip. Blue eyes locked with brown, she licked her lips, opened her mouth and swallowed as much of him as she could.

His breath hissed through his teeth and his whole body tensed as he watched his throbbing flesh slide in and out of her mouth. The flick of her tongue ripped a moan from his throat. When she sucked, his hips bucked involuntarily and his hands tightened in her hair, helplessly guiding her. His breath came in pants as he neared the end of his control.

“Angel, unless you want this over in the next few minutes…” His Adam’s apple bobbed as he swallowed heavily. “Enough!”

Releasing him, she grinned, stood, straddled him and swiftly impaled herself in his lap. “Yes!” Her cry was pulled from her as he stretched her delicate flesh. She gripped his shoulders and began to undulate against him.

He watched in amazement as she climaxed in mere minutes. He held tightly to his control, knowing that once wasn’t enough for her these days. His hands stroked her back while he nuzzled his spot under her ear. She shuddered, and started to move again. Twice more he watched her peak before he couldn’t hold back any longer. Sliding his hands up her back, he grasped her shoulders and tipped her upper body away from his. She gasped as the change in position pressed him even deeper inside her. Gasp turned to scream when his mouth closed over a hard nipple and suckled. His hips thrust hard against hers while his mouth tortured first one breast then the other.

“Oh! Oh…oh…mmmmmm…yes…oh God! Yes…Richie!!” Her nails bit into his arms as she shattered, this time taking him with her.




No, he definitely wasn’t complaining. He just hoped that his stamina was a good as he thought it was! With a sigh he glanced at the clock to see how long they could nap. They were flying to Philly that afternoon. He was performing at a tribute to Les Paul at the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame the next day. Normally, he would have flown in the day of, but Tori was insisting on coming with him – although if he was being honest, she didn’t have to insist very hard, he didn’t want to be separated from her either – and with her morning issues, he couldn’t expect her to travel in that condition. So they would stay at the condo tonight and travel to Cleveland tomorrow afternoon.

Feeling Tori press closer, he tugged the blankets higher around her, closed his arms more firmly around her and let himself drift off.