by Franca Storm
“Dan! Stop!”
His clenched right fist loosens slightly at the sound of my voice.
“Not yet.”
“You’re gonna kill him. Let the cops take care of him. Please, Dan.”
Still, he doesn’t step back.
“I love you!” I scream.
He stiffens at my words.
Moments pass.
And then, to my relief, he finally lets out a long breath and steps back from Bryan.
I run to him and wrap my arms around him, pulling him further away, just in case.
He breaks my hold gently, holding up his bloodied hands. “Careful. I don’t want you to touch this.”
“I’ll call the cops,” I tell him.
I see the surprise on his face that I’m actually going to use the phone. “Adrenaline,” I explain.
He nods and crosses to the sink beside the fridge, keeping his eyes on Bryan as he starts scrubbing the blood off his hands. It doesn’t look like Bryan’s going anywhere. He’s down for the count.
“Shit,” I breathe as I shakily pick up my phone.
Dan catches my eye. “It’s okay, angel. Everything’s okay now.”
Chapter 19
~Daniel~
I watch as Harlson’s Chief of Police disappears into the elevator. I sigh with relief.
After an hour and a half of incessant questions, it’s finally over. The fallout of the shit that went down in Em’s hotel room has been handled. Well, the legal side of things anyway. The press is another matter entirely. They’re going to have a field day with this. Well, let them. Em’s okay and that’s all that matters.
But if she thinks I’m letting her out of my sight again, she has another thing coming. Shit, if I hadn’t shown up when I had that fucker could have…no…I can’t go there. Em was already freaked out enough from seeing me lose control with that asshole earlier. The last thing she needs to see is me getting angry again so soon after that bullshit.
I walk back to her. She’s wrapped in my duvet, snuggled in the corner of the wraparound couch. She’s still rocking back and forth. It’s been almost three hours and she hasn’t stopped.
I crouch down in front of her and take her hands gently in mine.
“I’m going to call my doctor, angel. Have him take a look at you, okay?”
She shakes her head. “No, I’m fine.”
“You’re still rocking.”
Her lips curl into one of those cute smiles of hers and she tells me, “Oh, I’m sorry. I didn’t mean to worry you, baby. I always do this when I feel nauseous.”
“Nauseous?”
“Yeah, for the last week, I’ve been like this. Sometimes actually throwing up. I probably just need to get more sleep, because I’m feeling exhausted too.”
I swallow hard, sensing where this may be going. “Uh…okay…anything else?”
She blushes a little as she says quietly, “I’ve been kinda moody. Angry one minute and peaceful the next. Upset then excited. It’s probably just what’s been going on with us.”
Holy. Fucking. Shit.
“What?” she asks, worriedly, seeing the shock all over my face. “What is it, Dan?”
I’ve been through this before. I’ve seen several of the symptoms firsthand. Jesus Christ.
I get to my feet, almost losing my balance, because I’m so out of it. I pull my phone out of my jacket pocket and scroll to Doctor Pitt’s name.
“Dan, what are you doing?” she asks, shifting on the couch.
“Calling my doctor.”
“No. I’m fine. I just told you that,” she protests, struggling to free herself from the confines of the duvet so she can get to her feet.
I hold up my hand. “No, angel. Just try to relax.”
“What? Why?”
I gaze at her for a moment, before I finally manage to get the words out. “I think you might be pregnant.”
***
“How did you do that? How did you get him to bring all that equipment and check me out so quickly?” Em asks me, as we lounge fully clothed on my bed facing one another.
I grin and rub my fingers together. “Money. It can buy you a lot of things, babe.”
“Three weeks,” she murmurs. “I’m three weeks along. It must have happened that first time. So much for the morning-after pill. Shit.”
“It’s not one hundred percent effective. Nothing is.”
“Yeah. You must have super sperm.”
I wink at her. “Did you really expect anything less?”
She rolls her eyes. “Still as arrogant as ever, huh?”
“Always. I know you love it. It turns you on.”
She shifts her legs.
“Mmm, don’t tell me you’re wet already?” I tease. “See my power?”
“Shut up. This is serious. What are we going to do, Dan?” She sits up and runs her fingers through her hair in exasperation. “Shit. Everything is so messed up. Things between us are—”
“Things between us will be fine, babe.”
She shakes her head. “I was considering ending it, Dan!” she yells, catching me off guard.
I actually physically flinch at her words. That’s how much they bite. How much they cut at me. But I’m not mad and not completely surprised at what she’s telling me. We were just going through a rough patch after all. What else was I expecting?
“Why, Em? I get that we were apart, but why, specifically, did you want to end it?”
“Because your life is…it’s…there’s paparazzi. There’s footage of us on the news, Dan! For the world to see. To see us…to see me. I don’t want people to see me. You know that. And…you…I feel like you’re with me, but you’re not, you know? It’s all so…unstable. I…I’m scared. I’m scared, okay?”
There it is. The real heart of the matter. She’s scared. “I am too, Em.”
She cocks an eyebrow in surprise. “You are?”
“Yeah, I am.”
“I thought you were unflappable? Above it all?”
“Of course, because I’ve always been holding back with you. Just enough, so that you can’t hurt me. But…I ended up hurting you. And, as scared as I am, babe, I can’t allow that. I love you. The idea of hurting you in any way makes me sick.”
This is it. Time to lay it all on the line. We’re at that point now. This thing that we’ve built, this thing that I never saw coming and that completely blindsided me, is at stake. Our child is at stake. It’s all or nothing. Now or never.
It’s time.
“So, here’s the thing….” I say, easing myself into a sitting position.
I take her hands and draw her to me, so we’re sitting on the bed, facing one another.
“A little over three years ago, I was engaged to another woman. Her name was Isabella. I loved her. We lived together here in town—the opposite end—close to my parents’ house. I thought she was pregnant with my child at one point. I was working a lot back then, learning everything I could about Alder Assets. My father had been grooming me to take over as CEO. Anyhow, one day I got off work early. I came home to find her fucking some other guy in our bed. Turns out she was celebrating an immensely successful con she’d been running. Me.”
Em gasps and brings her hand to her mouth, gaping at me in shock.
“Yeah, my precise reaction. It wasn’t long before I found out the baby wasn’t mine. It belonged to her partner—the guy I’d caught her fucking. The bitch was good. She got a lot out of me. But for all the monetary shit she scammed from me, the worst of it all was that she took away my ability to trust. To trust women, Em. I never saw you coming, babe. But when you did, you broke down all my walls. And it scared the fuck out of me. I kept trying to hold back, but it was getting harder and harder. When I blurted out that I loved you, I knew I’d failed. I felt completely exposed and I couldn’t handle it. You wanted me to talk about it that night, but now you see that I couldn’t without explaining this Isabella shit to you. And I didn’t want to. I didn’t want to let it go
, because I knew then that there would no longer be any reason to hold back with you. It would mean that I would be completely open again. At risk. But I realized something when we were apart. This—what we have—is worth the risk, angel. So, this is me laying it all on the line. I love you, Em. I fucking love you more than I’ve ever loved anyone.”
By the time I’ve finished, tears are streaming down her cheeks. I reach forward and wipe them away with the pads of my thumbs. “Don’t cry, angel.”
She moves back and pulls her t-shirt over her head. Her bra falls away next. I watch in rapture as she pulls her skirt and panties down in one go until she’s sitting on the bed naked. Silently, she takes my hands and places them gently on her tits.
I’ve never seen such an intense look in her eyes before. But I get it. I know what she’s doing. Somehow, I always get Em. Something about her just speaks to me on a level I didn’t even know existed. She wants us to do this so that there are no more walls between us, because she knows that what we’re about to do will leave us exposed with nowhere left to hide.
All or nothing.
“Yeah,” I say, as I quickly shed my own clothes. “I’m ready to make love to you.”
***
Dan’s eyes roam over me slowly. He takes his time, drinking in the sight of me lying naked and so completely open for him on his bed. His dick is hard and straining to attention, already raring to go. But he doesn’t rush. I know it’s not going to be hard, fast and rough like it usually is between us. This time it’s so much more than the physical act of sex and mind-blowing orgasms. There’s emotion. Openness.
I’m not hiding anymore and neither is he.
His body covers mine and I moan out at the glorious skin-to-skin contact. My body burns for him. It craves him. I want all of him. Everything he has to give. And I’ll give him all of me.
My fingers delve into his hair as his lips brush against mine. He peppers me with gentle kisses, before trapping my bottom lip between his teeth and nipping me gently, claiming me and reminding me that I’m his.
A low rumble of a groan starts in his throat and vibrates through his body as I slide my tongue into his mouth. I savor the taste of him, the toe-curling, languid strokes of the sensual dance of our kiss. His hands sweep over my body, leaving a trail of intense heat in their wake. I whimper from the exquisite torture as he brands me, inch by inch. I’m awash in sensation. He’s everywhere, possessing every part of me. My entire body is on fire. My desire for him climbs to a whole other level.
My core pulses with heat. I can feel my arousal trickling down my legs.
He breaks our kiss and whispers hoarsely, “Look at me.”
I hear his command through my dazed, over-sensitized state.
“I want to see you,” he says. His breath is ragged, strained. He’s right on the edge with me.
As our gazes lock, he buries his dick inside me in one sudden thrust, driving so deep that I can barely breathe. A desperate scream rips from my throat and my back arches off the bed.
My eyes refuse to leave his and I watch him grit his teeth, straining as his dick strokes my walls in a slow, measured pace. I can feel every inch of him. Feel everything he’s doing to me, feel him exploring places I didn’t even know existed. He’s been deep before, but never this deep.
“Ah,” I cry, as he hits that perfect spot, sending sparks of pleasure through me. He picks up his pace, growling as he thrusts hard, hitting right there, over and over again.
I’m lost. Shattered to pieces. Close. So close.
And then he stills, making me whimper in protest.
He chuckles and gathers me in his arms, pulling me up until I’m sitting flush against him. My legs wrap around him, locking in place and letting him know that I’m never letting go. His dick pulses inside me, sending delicious shockwaves through me. He cups my ass and I brace my hands on his chest as he guides me up and down his dick. I clench tightly and he groans. His eyes are hooded. Carnal.
“Angel,” he breathes as I rock my hips, moving in slow circles, teasing him.
The delicious friction against my clit, the feel of him filling me so completely, stretching me wide as my liquid heat milks him, sends me out of my mind. Pleasure explodes through me in a sudden rush of spectacular intensity.
“Oh, fuck,” he moans as my pussy contracts violently, clamping down around him.
He grips my hips and slams me down hard onto his dick. Once. Twice. Oh God! It’s too much and my orgasm just climbs higher until I’m screaming wildly as another wave of bliss crashes over me. A primal grunt rips from his throat and I feel his dick pulsing, his hot seed pumping deep inside me as he finds his own release.
I collapse into his arms, completely spent. He falls back onto the bed, taking me with him.
Chapter 20
~Daniel~
I jolt awake suddenly and immediately roll over to Em’s side of the bed, expecting to find her as I have for the last couple of nights: sitting up in a state of terror. Ever since the incident at the hotel with her ex, she’s been waking up screaming from horrific nightmares about him.
She’s not here. Not in bed with me.
I groan as I force myself to sit up. I’m exhausted. I’ve sat with her and been with her through all of it. Her screams at three in the morning that jolt me awake, comforting her for the hour or so that it always takes her to calm down and fall asleep again.
It isn’t long before I figure out where she is when I hear rustling noises coming from the bathroom. I throw the covers aside and climb out of bed.
“Em?” I call as I approach. “You okay, babe?”
“Yeah,” she responds hastily. A little too hastily. What the hell is she doing in there?
I push open the door and I swear that my heart actually skips a beat. Not in a good way. A wave of terror grips me as I see her standing over the sink, my vial of meds in her hand. It’s open. The lid is resting on the marble counter top.
Instantly, I’m there, yanking the vial from her grip and twisting the cap back on.
“Why didn’t you tell me you had these?” she asks, folding her arms across her chest and giving me that you’d-better-explain-yourself look of hers as she stands there, shifting uneasily in my t-shirt.
“I used to take them when I got really worked up. I haven’t popped any for a while, so don’t worry. I was actually going to throw them out, but I never got around to it.”
I’m telling her the God’s honest truth here. I’d had them prescribed to help me through my meltdown over the Isabella fallout and I’ve needed them once in a while over the last few years. But it’s been weeks since I’ve touched them. I haven’t needed to. Not now that I have Em.
“No, I meant you should have told me, because I would have been able to sleep for the last couple of nights if I’d known.”
What? Oh shit. She didn’t. “Em, tell me you didn’t take one.”
She looks away and tries to brush past me.
I grasp her wrist, stopping her. I pull her into me. “Em. Did you?”
“Just one,” she says, shrugging like it’s no big deal.
“They are extremely powerful sedatives,” I bark at her.
She flinches at my tone, but doesn’t say anything.
“How long ago?” I demand. “How long? Tell me! Now!”
“A couple of seconds before you walked in,” she murmurs, her eyes wide with fear at my intense reaction.
Fucking right I’m being intense about it. “You’re pregnant! They’ll harm the baby!”
“I need to sleep! I need to sleep, Dan!” she cries.
“Not like this.”
I haul her over to the sink, bending her over it and turning on the taps. “Open your mouth,” I command.
“Why?” she asks, fearfully.
“We have time. You need to throw them up. Get them out of your system.”
She shakes her head. “No.”
“If you don’t, I’ll take you to the hospital. Right fucking now.”
>
“You’re overreacting. It was just one pill.”
I snatch up the vial and hold it in front of her face, pointing to the warning on the label. “Not to be taken when pregnant. Stated clearly. You seeing this?”
She nods slowly as realization finally dawns on her and she accepts what I’m telling her. “Oh my God. I didn’t…I didn’t think. I’m so tired, Dan.”
“I know, angel.”
She tries to pull away from the sink, but I hold firm, keeping my arm wrapped around her waist.
“No. I don’t want to throw up. Stop, Dan.”
“Em, please,” I beg. I don’t care anymore. I’ll beg her if that’s what will make her listen. I’ll get down on my fucking knees if I have to. I don’t give a crap about anything but her and our baby.
She shakes her head vehemently.
Shit, this isn’t going to be pleasant. She’s going to hate me for what I’m about to do. And it kills me to have to do it.
I grip her jaw. As I’d anticipated, she gasps in surprise, opening her mouth just enough for me to slide two fingers inside. Before she can fight me, I shove them right to the back of her throat. She gags, but doesn’t retch. I press a little further and then I feel her retch. I pull out quickly, just before she lurches forward and brings up the entire contents of her stomach. I brush her hair out of her face and hold her until she stops heaving.
“I’m sorry, angel. I had to.”
She chokes, spitting into the sink, trying to get the awful taste out of her mouth even as she struggles to catch her breath.
I sweep her up in my arms and carry her through the bedroom and down the hall to the kitchen. I lower her onto one of the chairs around the table and hurry to the fridge. I pour her a glass of orange juice and put it down in front of her. “It’ll take the taste away.”
She sips at it slowly for a while, before putting it down and leaning her head tiredly against her propped up elbow. “I’m sorry, Dan. I’m not a pill popper. I hate taking meds. I don’t like things controlling me. Tonight, I was just desperate, I guess. Sorry I went through your stuff like that.”
