by Kylie Scott
“Nothing on my legs,” she said.
“So I see.”
Her limbs were long and shapely and entirely to his liking. She dropped her head, teeth working her bottom lip. Anxious.
“Awkward, isn’t it?” He stalked a step or two forward, wanting to be closer. Looming just a little. “Now you know what I felt like. Keep going.”
She flashed him a shaky smile. “Pay back is a bitch.”
“That it is,” he agreed. Her panties were small and boy leg and black. Surprise, surprise. Aiden breathed deep, needing the extra oxygen. “You have my complete attention. Keep going, Lindsay.”
She licked her lips and her hands smoothed over her hips, fingers clutching the hem of her t-shirt nervously.
“Whenever you’re ready.”
Ever so slowly she lifted the t-shirt high and set it on the table. Waited.
Not a sound came out of her.
He just stared. And stared some more. Stunned.
There really wasn’t enough oxygen in the room.
“Holy fucking hell,” he said, eventually.
She said nothing, hands protectively covering the small round of her belly.
“Lindsay… you’re pregnant.”
CHAPTER THREE
Aiden stared. He couldn’t help it.
The side of her mouth quirked. “Relax, Aiden. It’s not yours.”
Her small round breasts overflowed a black cotton bra, perfect, pale mounds.
Gorgeous.
Pregnant.
“Fucking hell.”
“You already said that,” she noted.
He was kneeling in front of her, gently feeling the swell of her abdomen even before he’d consciously made any such decision. The hard wooden floor was cold beneath him, the air suddenly chill on his skin. “How far along?”
“I think about sixteen weeks.”
And she was on her own. Good, God. “What happened to the father?”
“It was only our third date. Maybe I shouldn’t have put out so fast, huh?” Her laugh was low and rough. “Last time I saw him was Christmas Eve when we... you know. I’m not sure what happened to him. I holed up with a friend but she killed herself a month back. Drank a bottle of bleach.”
“Oh, no. Sweetheart.” His hands rested gently on her hips, thumbs brushing over her small bump.
Her eyes were large and liquid, barely concealing the horror. “It’s okay. These things happen.”
“Yes. Sadly, they do.” He rubbed the palms of his hands over the sides of her thighs, warming her up, distracting her. “So you think sixteen weeks?”
She nodded.
“You’ve been eating alright? No drinking or drugs?”
Her fingers stretched wide, gaze wandering away from him. “I’ve been eating as well as I can. No booze or drugs. Though booze might have helped a time or two.”
“No wonder you’re so fierce.” Her skin was warm and supple beneath his fingers. There was a sprinkling of black stars tattooed on her side, heading towards the curve of her hip. So close. His lips were on the same level as the tempting indent of her belly button. “You’ve been protecting your baby.”
Her mouth opened then shut. Opened again. “That’s why I thought I’d head out west. Hopefully there’ll be less infected. Less survivors to worry about.”
Lindsay out there. Pregnant and alone. No. Absolutely not. Not before and especially not now, no matter how she wanted to play this. “No. You should stay here. With me.”
“Aiden, that’s very sweet. But I’m not your problem.”
“You want to give birth on your own?”
“No.”
“Well?” He raised a brow, waiting, willing her to be sensible.
Her nose scrunched up. “And you know how to deliver babies, do you?”
“I was a paramedic.”
Lindsay stared down at him for a moment, her shock palpable, and then burst into tears. Her hands covered her crumpled face. Poor love.
Aiden got to his feet, picked her up and carried her into the lounge room. He sat on the overpriced couch which Mia had insisted on buying, Lindsay settled on his lap. He held her gently and let her cry herself out. It took a while. He murmured nonsense to her and waited. Tears didn’t discomfort him and she obviously needed the release.
“Are you alright?” he asked, eventually.
Happily there was a box of tissues on the coffee table. She mopped her pink face, bottom lip still trembling. “Sorry.”
“It’s fine.”
“Aiden? You’ve really delivered a baby before?”
“Yes. A couple of times. They didn’t always wait until we get the mothers to hospital.”
She sniffed and smiled at him. “Wow.”
He smiled back. Hoping she didn’t notice the twitch his cock gave because a pretty girl was sitting on his lap mostly naked, grinning at him like he was her hero. “It-it’ll be fine.”
“Wow. Again.”
A stray tear trailed down the side of her cheek and he caught it, wiped it away. “There we go.”
Their faces were very close. He couldn’t actually recall the last time he’d been this close to a woman. Not that there hadn’t been other women since Mia, but still, it had been a while. His cock swelled inside his boxers again, delighted with the feel of her soft ass. Fuck, she had to feel it. Blood was rushing to dick with gay abandon. “Why don’t I you get you something to eat?”
Unfortunately she was too busy blowing her nose. She didn’t appear to hear. “You’re sure about this? About me staying?”
“Of course.”
“I held a gun on you twice, Aiden.”
He clucked his tongue. “Old news. All’s forgiven.”
“Oh, really? You were furious a moment ago.” She shifted on his lap, scraping her lovely bottom against his erection. An odd look crossed her face. Her pink mouth opened and her gaze jumped to his. “Huh.”
“I’m afraid that’s outside of my control.” His voice sounded like it had been dragged a few miles behind a car recently. “You’d better hop up.”
Lindsay gave him a tight smile and climbed off his lap. “Right. Guess you really aren’t that angry at me.”
“No.” Though the truth was, he’d wanted to lick her all over angry or not. But the situation was far more complicated than he had ever anticipated. A baby. Sweet Jesus. Aiden stood, one hand covering the hard-on tenting his underwear for decency’s sake. “We should probably put our clothes back on.”
The side of her mouth twitched and his cock did likewise. Damn it.
Pregnant.
Stranger.
Ice cold water.
With ice cubes floating in it.
She held her hand out to him.
“Come on.” He took Lindsay’s hand and gently brought her to her feet. “Clothes.”
CHAPTER FOUR
Lindsay woke up in the middle of Aiden’s big spare-bed all alone. Feeling… good.
Glowing, even.
Chamber pots were back in fashion. There was something she could have lived without experiencing. She saw to the necessities, relieving the abominable pressure that had built up in her bladder overnight. Washed using the bucket of water of fresh water he’d left in the bathroom, the morning air chill on her damp skin. A fossick in the cabinet turned up a new toothbrush for use.
There were noises coming from other parts of the house. The heavy thud of Aiden’s busy footsteps going to and fro in the hallway. She wrapped herself in a fluffy, grey towel and ventured forth.
Wanting to see him.
Her belly stirred nervously.
He was in the room next door, the store room. There were tidy towers of canned goods. Neat rows of bottles of water and juices. Straight stacks of long life milk in tetra packs and powered form. Boxes of batteries. The display of first-aid supplies was organized to perfection. Aiden might have touched upon a few obsessive, compulsive traits in his time. It was cute.
He was on his knees, arranging bottle
s of something into alphabetical order by the look. Blue jeans fitting his firm ass just right. A black long-sleeve t-shirt pushed up to his elbows. Dark hair neatly combed. Her fingers itched to mess it up. To touch him anywhere, actually.
She was far too fond of him. It wasn’t smart but it was too late to stop.
And life was short. She knew that now.
“Morning,” she said, sounding timid. Which wasn’t her at all.
“Hey. Hi.” He gave her a small smile, rose to his feet. She’d forgotten how tall he was. The warmth in his pale blue eyes chased away some of the morning after nerves. “How are you feeling?”
“Good.”
“Good,” he repeated.
“What are you up to?”
He rubbed his palms on his jeans. “Well, I went into town and grabbed a few things. Your pack’s on the kitchen table.”
“Wow. You’ve been out already.”
He confirmed this with a nod. “You must be hungry. Let me get you some breakfast.”
“That would be great.”
He stepped around her, heading for the door. Bottles of baby food. Cans of formula. Wet wipes. Big bright boxes of nappies. That’s what he’d been organizing. She stared at it all, amazed. Speechless. Tears pricked her eyes. He’d done this for her. Without a word. Without expectations, even.
Her hands fluttered at her sides. “Aiden.”
“Hmm?”
“You’ve been really busy.” An understatement.
He was right behind her, the heat of his body reaching out, deliciously warm. “I hope that’s alright. Thought I’d best get started…”
She nodded furiously. “It’s fine.”
His hand slid into hers, long fingers stroking. “Are you sure? You sound a little shaky.”
She nodded again, not trusting herself to speak. Not crying. Stupid hormones. “It’s great, Aiden.”
“Alright then.”
“I umm… I really appreciate everything you’re doing for me.”
He turned her towards him, a grave expression on his face. “Lindsay. I want to look after you and the baby.”
“In return for what?”
“Nothing.”
“Really?”
His face was solemn. “Really.”
She gave him her best go at a smile. One side felt wonky and something muscle in her cheek was jumping. What to say? She was in awe of him. And yet, he was a good man. Of course he wanted to look after them. So what was wrong?
“I’m not finished,” he announced.
“Uh. Yes?”
His blue eyes were very solemn. “Look… of course I do want to have sex with you. But I also want to get to know you.”
She blinked, thinking she’d misheard for a moment. Her mind wasn’t quite with it. “You want to get to know me?”
“I do.”
Something within her unwound. Unravelled. Some ball of tension she hadn’t even known was there. And what remained was warm and fine. “You do?”
“Yes.” He leant closer. “Would you like to get to know me?”
“More than anything.”
The smile Aiden gave her was the most beautiful thing she had ever seen. She braced her hands on his solid chest, went up on tippy toes to raise her mouth to his.
Lovely man that he was he met her half way.
KYLIE SCOTT’S TITLES
Stage Dive Series
Lick
Play
Lead
Deep
Strong
Closer
Dive Bar Series
Dirty
Twist
Chaser
Trust
Flesh Series
Flesh
Skin
Flesh Series Novellas
It Seemed Like A Good Idea At The Time
Repeat
Lies
The Rich Boy
Love Under Quarantine
Novellas
Colonist’s Wife
Heart’s A Mess
ABOUT KYLIE SCOTT
Kylie is a New York Times and USA Today best-selling author. She was voted Australian Romance Writer of the year, 2013, 2014, 2018 & 2019, by the Australian Romance Writer’s Association and her books have been translated into twelve different languages. She is a long time fan of romance, rock music, and B-grade horror films. Based in Queensland, Australia with her two children and husband, she reads, writes and never dithers around on the Internet.
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