by Lindsey Hart
“I seriously don’t care about his app.”
Amy sighed. “Even up until two and a half years ago- uh- he was struggling. Er- kind of. I think. We- uh- the samples I took were older. So no one would miss them. I- I threw them out and marked them as being expired. I- oh, god. Seriously. There wasn’t a lot of choices. This place is small. Usually, people have to go to bigger cities to do this kind of treatment. It’s just because my boss opened the place up here that it’s here at all. I… oh god… Teela…”
“Amy…” Teela’s heart dropped down into her fucking toes. No, it was lower than that. It dropped past her toes, through the laminated flooring, and into the unfinished basement to wedge itself in the concrete floor that was always cold, even in the summer. Cold. That was her heart. So. Frigidly. Icily. Frostily. Cold. Nothing was okay. Everything was so far from being okay. “You’re saying what I think you’re saying…”
Amy slowly nodded and it was like a noose tightening around Teela’s neck, cutting off all her air.
“If Ross Day is the devil, you’re carrying the devil’s spawn.”
CHAPTER 4
Ross
What could she possibly want now? Didn’t she cause enough trouble yesterday?
Apparently not, because at the moment, Teela was marching in through the front door of his store, his store, damn it, like a blazing ball of fire, like a wrecking ball, like she damn well owned it and he better watch the hell out.
She stormed right up to where he was standing in front of the dairy coolers and god help him, he wished that he’d double-checked that the front door was locked because it should have been, unless she had a key and of course, she had a key because he hadn’t taken it from her before she’d stormed out the day before. She was a real shit storm. The kind a person drowned in. A big festering poop puddle. Fuuuuuuuck, it’s too early in the morning for this.
It was. Far too early. Just after eight. She could have at least waited until nine to blow through the store like a bloody hurricane of rage.
A beautiful hurricane of epically, unnaturally, incredibly, insanely beautiful rage.
“Good morning Miss McDaniels. Or maybe it’s Mrs. What can I do for you?” He kept his tone scathing, purposely annoying since that’s what she was to him. She was a burr in his damn ass. The kind you pick up while hiking and can’t work out of your shoe or your clothes and it rubs and chafes and itches all the wrong way.
Because yeah. He hadn’t thought about her the night before at all. No. Way. He hadn’t spared a single thought for her after she walked out of the building the morning before. He hadn’t thought about her soft velvet hair or her luminous green eyes. He hadn’t thought about what she’d look like naked. His cock had obeyed his commands to lay the hell off and sit the fuck down and remain deflated. He hadn’t had to think about granny panties and his balls certainly weren’t blue.
Teela’s hands flew to her hips. Her pearly top teeth emerged and sunk hard into her bottom lip and god help him, he wanted to bite the spot she’d just bitten. Not to draw blood. Just… just because he knew it would feel just right. His cock, which was already at half-mast, roared to full mast pretty damn fast. He rammed his hands in his pockets, puffing out his pants to hide the bulge before Teela’s eyes had a chance to land on it. There was no way he’d live it down if she called his bluff- aka, his bulge of shame.
“What can you do for me? You seriously have the nerve to ask me that?” Teela crossed her arms, which only served to push up her breasts, which were already spectacular even in her loose-fitting t-shirt. Had any woman ever looked sexier in a t-shirt and jeans? Probably not. The image of her was probably going to fuel his spank bank catalog for months.
“I do have the nerve.” Ross cleared his throat. He did his best to keep his face neutral and his hands over his massively inconvenient erection. “Need I remind you that you were the one who walked out of here yesterday after threatening to ruin me? And you are the one who just busted in here with the key you took with you. Technically you’re trespassing on private property since we’re not yet open to the public, so yes, I have all the nerve that I need.”
Teela’s nose crinkled up like she’d just smelled something toxic, him namely and what she’d no doubt term his bullshit, but it was absolutely adorable. It took all of Ross’ effort not to crack a smile. And he didn’t often smile. He had no trouble being intimidating when he had to be. Thanks to all the naysayers and doubters, all the people who stood in his way, all the people against him and all the people who’d used him, he had a pretty thick skin. He was tougher than a leathery old boot. Museum quality. A century old.
So how the hell could Teela pierce so easily through his armor?
“Okay, well… I’m here because- because- uh- we need to talk. Now. Alone.”
Okay, so he certainly wasn’t expecting that. Ross nearly fell over. She’d stunned him completely. Good thing his ass was pretty tough. He recovered by cracking a joke that he probably wouldn’t have used even amongst guy friends on a night of beers and steaks.
“I’m sorry, you’ll have to excuse me. You took me by surprise. I didn’t realize we were on that level yet. If you want to jump from the not even friends level to the- well- more personal one, I’m in.”
Teela huffed. “You’re disgusting. That’s not what I meant. I need a word in private. That’s it. You stand on one side of the room and listen. I stand on the other and do the talking.”
“Right.” He indicated the back of the store where the break room was with a sweep of his hand. “After you.”
“No. Not here.” Teela’s eyes danced around like she was a hardcore wanted criminal and he had the cops hiding in the back room.
“Uh- where then? I highly doubt you’re going to invite me back to your place, given that you’ve made it perfectly clear that that wasn’t your intention.”
“Actually- yeah. My place. That’s probably the best. No one to overhear there. It’s only ten minutes away.”
Teela inviting him back to her place for any reason got his mojo going. Big time. As if it wasn’t already. His balls clenched hard and jumped from his stomach right into his throat. Which would explain why he was momentarily speechless and choked all at once.
“Uh- yeah- I- what the hell could you possibly have to say to me that can’t be said here? Unless you’ve booby trapped your house and plan on maiming me and making good on your threats. Or maybe you have an angry mob there. Did you get a petition with a whole bunch of signatures demanding that I leave town immediately?”
“Grow up,” Teela snapped. “This has nothing to do with this place and your level of dickery.”
Dickery. He liked that. He liked the word on her lips and the inventiveness of the term. Had she just pulled that out of her ass? The ass that looked real nice in those tight fitting jeans? Damn it. I did not notice how well her jeans fit. Okay, well… maybe I don’t care. Definitely don’t care.
“You need to hear what I have to say,” Teela forced out, a little less sure of herself, when he didn’t immediately respond.
“So, you’re trying to help me now? Warn me about something? I thought that went against your principles.”
“This is different.” Teela was practically gnawing her lip. Something about the uncertainty tugged at Ross’ heart. Or at least the few splinters that were left.
He was more than a little shocked to hear himself give in. “Alright,” he sighed. “Take me to your place. Do your worst. Skin me alive. I’ll greet the mob with a smile.”
“There isn’t any mob. This isn’t about yesterday. It’s not about work at all. Just to be clear, I still think you’re an asshole and your corporate plan is horse shit, but this is bigger than this.”
“Do you also think that my eyes are nice, and my smile is charming?” Ross deadpanned. He was rewarded by the way Teela rocked forward on the balls of her feet before settling back on her heels. He’d unnerved her, even if her face remained perfectly composed into a mask of distaste. Li
ke he actually smelled like horse shit. He knew he didn’t. He’d just showered that morning.
“I certainly don’t,” she hissed. “This isn’t about that. No matter how full of yourself you are or how confident you are in your skills and stated charm, it’s not about that. It’s not going to work.”
Ross decided to humor Teela. What was the harm? Oh, there’s harm, alright. He knew perfectly well what the harm was. It didn’t have to do with petitions, threats, or angry crowds. Nester Falls was his home too. Though it hadn’t been in years, he’d grown up here and he knew a few people here and there, remnants from his parent’s generation. Besides, he could smooth talk his way out of just about anything. He was confident in his charm and his intellect, to an extent.
Even though it wasn’t working on Teela.
Though that didn’t matter, because he certainly didn’t want it to.
“If I give you my address, you’ll meet me there? Twenty minutes?”
“If you promise not to maim me in any way, I suppose that I’ll listen to your brand of crazy.”
Surprisingly, Teela seemed to curl up on herself. There went his heartstrings again, playing that rancid tune he didn’t want to hear. His hide wasn’t leather after all. It was like the squishy water bed his mom had growing up. He’d punctured a hole in it once with one of his toys and the thing spurted water three feet into the air. That was him. Pierced and leaking and squishy and pathetic.
“Why? I mean, why would you agree, just like that?”
Ross glanced around the store. He was currently the only one there, the rest of the staff set to arrive at noon. That gave him a good two hours to get his ass kicked by angry townspeople dead set against his corporate brand. And here he thought Cheryl and Bob would be the worst of his problems.
He hadn’t anticipated Teela.
Or last night’s sleepless night. Or his fucking cock that refused to stand the hell down. Or his balls that refused to dislodge from his air passage.
“Honestly, it doesn’t look like I have a choice. I want to keep the threats to a minimum. I don’t want bricks thrown through the store’s windows. Despite it all, I like to run my operations safely and problem free. I do care about my workers, whether you believe it or not.”
“Doubtful,” Teela shot back, some of her verve returning.
Annnnnnnndddd there went his cock, shooting even harder up to the sky.
“Doubtful or not, I have an hour. I hope it won’t take longer than that. After, I require that you surrender your key since the locks won’t be changed for a few more days and I don’t want any trouble and cease and desist from giving the store a bad name.”
“But it deserves it. And I didn’t realize this was a bargain.”
Ross wished he could cross his arms. He couldn’t because his hands were shoved in his pockets, hiding his rock hard joyful joystick. “It is now. That’s the deal. I come to your house and hear you out. You stop making threats and stop being a hater.”
“A hater? Seriously?”
“What? You didn’t think I could use common slang like the average person?”
As Teela turned on her heel and stalked out of the store, he could have sworn she muttered something about him being a troll right before she all but shouted her address over her shoulder.
CHAPTER 5
Teela
Ross was in her house. The devil was in her house. Staring her down. Sitting in her living room. He was actually perched uncomfortably on her well broken-in leather couch and the thing hadn’t yet combusted into flames.
The devil had a pleasing form. Just because he was unfortunately, smoking hot, didn’t mean he was actually smoking hot.
He’d managed to hide his tail and horns beneath another tailored, expensive-looking suit. His hooves were shod in leather shoes he hadn’t bothered to remove at the door, though he had wiped them on the mat.
Maybe in his time on earth, he’d developed a few politer traits.
Okay, who was she kidding? The guy was the father of her child. A child that was at the very moment, growing inside of her womb. She’d conceived his baby and she hadn’t even slept with him. It was unnerving as fuck. Stranger than being abducted and impregnated by aliens in her sleep. Or… maybe not that strange, but it was just a few shades below that.
“I’m not going to offer you a drink. I don’t have anything but water anyway and I’m sure you wouldn’t like that.” Teela sunk down on the uncomfortable upholstered chair that she had in the room for sheer decorative purposes. It had been sat on maybe once in its seven-year life. The springs dug into her ass.
Ross flashed her a smile, and for shit sakes, it was charming. It was flashy and pretty, just like he’d joked about earlier. He was just trying to throw her off her game. She didn’t appreciate it at all.
“Actually, water would be great.”
“Too bad. I’m not getting you one.” Teela pointed towards the kitchen, which was on the other side of the wall that backed the living room. “If you want, the kitchen’s through there. Help yourself.”
Ross folded his hands on his lap. “That’s alright.” He leaned forward. “Maybe we should just get right down to it.”
“Er…” How exactly did one get down to it? She couldn’t just come out and blurt that she was pregnant with his child. She’d done anything but think this through. Amy would be appalled with her. She promised her best friend the night before that she wouldn’t do anything rash, especially where Ross Day was concerned.
“Er? Uh… you’re the one who marched into my store and made it sound like a life or death matter. I only humored you because I saw it as a way to get a promise out of you to stop being a pain in my ass. Now you suddenly have nothing to say?” He winked at her. Winked of all things. “Or maybe you did just drag me here because you wanted to take things to the next level.”
“Nope,” Teela said quickly. Too quickly. She mentally cursed herself. “Definitely not that. I- okay…” she leaned forward as well. She dropped her eyes back down to Ross’ shiny shoes. She could practically see her own panicked face in them. “Here it goes. I know that you were once a sperm donor.”
Her head snapped up when silence filled the room. Ross was studying her, eyes wide. He was completely red. She knew that Amy hadn’t made the whole thing up. She wasn’t wrong.
“I- how would you know that?” Ross ground out. “Who did you have to pay to get that information? I swear, there are laws about breaching privacy. I’m not a poor man. I can afford a good lawyer and I have no problem making people pay-”
“Shove it,” Teela snapped. “Just stop. This isn’t about you and your donated swimmers. Well- not exactly. I’m not going to tell anyone. I- god. This is so fucked up. I shouldn’t even be doing this. I should definitely not be doing this. I- I just happen to know that I got your sperm. Yours. It’s- I- I’m pregnant. It was your sperm. I- you- we… we made this baby.” Her hand fluttered protectively to her stomach at the same time Ross’ eyes shot down. He went from red to white in a manner of seconds.
“How the hell do you know that?” He breathed. “That’s also a breach… someone told you… why? So that you could try and get child support from me? So that you could drag me through the mud? So that you could be the next in a long line of leaches that have tried to suck wealth out of me over the years?” He stood so abruptly that Teela leaned back.
He was a little bit scary when he was angry.
Or maybe that was just the flashback she had to Steven, who used to be a real prick when he was mad. In the form of his fists.
She braced herself, but a second later, angry Ross composed himself and became calm and controlled Ross once again. Unflappable Ross. He stared at her carefully, guardedly, obviously planning his next move.
“This…” he pointed at her. “This is not happening. You can’t get a cent from me. You won’t. Not now. Not ever. If you tell a soul about the sperm donation thing, I promise I will make you pay. You’ll lose everything. You’ll wish that
you never met me.”
Teela let out a low whistle. “Don’t worry.” She flashed him an obnoxiously fake smile even though her insides were in the worst state of turmoil she’d felt in a very long time. She was pretty sure she was going to hurl at any second. She swallowed hard a couple of times, trying to force it back down. She was not going to puke in front of Troll-ass Ross. Not now. Not ever. “This wasn’t about me getting something from you. Believe me, I would never want a thing. It’s not about me telling people you jacked it into a cup for money when you were going through rough times. I don’t care about what you did in your private time. This was about me going against my better judgment and giving you a chance. It was about me thinking you might want to know you had a child out there. Right here. I mean, you probably have like thirty by now if you wanked off all those times, so hell. Why should this matter? It was stupid. And don’t think you’re the only one with friends in high places. If you try and make a big deal out of this, I’ll make sure your name gets dragged through the mud. I don’t have anything to lose, so don’t worry, you can’t take it. I’ll make sure everyone knows you got paid for your sperm. Then all the women out there who have ever used the clinic here will come after you. People won’t buy food from your stores. So, I guess if you go after the clinic for this, you’ll be shooting yourself in the foot.”
Ross stared her down. She stared back. Both of them were breathing hard, their shoulders heaving like they’d just finished a rage marathon. Yup. That’s exactly what they’d just run.
“You- you’re unbelievable,” Ross hissed. “I’m glad you did me a favor and weeded yourself out. Aside from the people I fired, you were the only one who quit. So, don’t be so confident in your friends.”
