Motherfucker!
The trainer for the West quickly helped me up off the ground, and I hobbled to the locker room. My face felt like it was on fire, and I felt like punching somebody. Instead, when I sat down on the bench in the locker room, I slapped my palm on the bench.
"Hey, it's okay," the trainer said, trying to calm me down.
"Not really," I snapped, wishing unspeakable things to befall whoever it is whose job was to keep the floor dry. My knee was screaming. Great. The last thing I needed was an injury. The trainers scheduled me an MRI and told me I was done for the game.
It was literally the All-Star team so there was no need for me to get back on the court that night. Even so, no one wanted to hear that. They gave me some mega-dose anti-inflammatory pills, which I gulped down.
"Can I at least go out and finish watching the damn game?" The trainer looked over at his assistant before nodding. "I don't see why not."
So I sat on the sidelines for the rest of the game. The West won handily, and my thoughts drifted back to the woman I loved and the baby she was carrying.
***
That night, after the game, I hobbled over with Legion and some of my boys to an upscale steakhouse for dinner. Not only had the steaks been phenomenal, but they’d had these insanely delicious cheesy popovers too. Probably not “clean” eating, but those suckers were the best.
Afterward, my knee was hurting so while they continued on to some club, I begged off and limped back to my room. Before I went up I gave the concierge a list of things and asked him to send a courier out to pick them up for me. I’d given Dwayne the night off to have some fun. The guy put up with me all the time. He’d earned it.
A couple of hours later my groceries had been delivered, and I’d just gotten comfortable with my snacks and my knee elevated with a bag of ice, when somebody knocked at my door.
I hopped over on my good leg, and peered through the peep hole to see Dynassy standing in the hall.
Inhaling deeply, I reminded myself that she had my best interests at heart and opened the door.
“Hey, big brother.” She breezed past me.
"Come on in," I said sarcastically. "So, what can I do for you? Got any more baby mama drama you want to throw at me or maybe you wanna step on my hurt leg?" I scowled.
"Don't be like that. Is your knee okay? I saw the game. That looked like it hurt."
"Of course it fucking hurt. Knees aren’t supposed to bend that way." I limped back over to the sofa and sat back down, gingerly placing my foot on the ottoman in front of me and readjusting the ice pack over my knee.
Dynassy surveyed the room, her eyes resting on an open package of cookie dough on the coffee table.
“Eww. What are you—a savage? You need to cook those.”
“No I do not,” I said defiantly, and suddenly we were eight and ten years old again.
"Well, are they taking care of you? I mean does Mom need to get a doctor in here to see you, or did they handle it okay?" The idea of Mommy having to send a doctor for me made me cringe.
"No, it's fine. The staff doctors did a good job assessing it and telling me what to do. I'm flying back to Fresno tomorrow, and the team docs will take it from there. Probably just a sprain or something. It doesn't feel like a tear, but I’ll probably be out for a week or two."
"That's too bad. I know how much you hate sitting on the sidelines. In fact, that's why I tricked you and Eden into being in the same room together. I didn't think you would want to be kept in the dark. I knew you’d want to be involved.”
"Of course I do, but you must've known, Di. How long have you known that she was pregnant with my kid?" It felt like steam might actually be coming out of my ears, I was so pissed.
"Come on, Nick. Eden is my friend. And she's been friends with me a lot longer than she's been screwing around with you, so that sets up a bad situation with me in the middle. I'm not going to go betraying a friend just because you're my brother. I'm sorry you’re mad, but all I was trying to do was make it right. I wanted her to tell you, but it really wasn't my call."
"So you pretty much fucked her over too?"
"Look, you don't have to be a dick about all this. I'm not the one going around knocking up girls I'm not married to."
"Nice. Just what I needed—a little salt in the wound. You want to take a hammer to my knee while you're at it?"
"No, I don't. In fact, I want the best for both of you. You’re acting like such a self-absorbed dingleberry that you may have forgotten that this is my niece or nephew were talking about here. Forgive me if I wanted the parents to maybe have a conversation, and you know, maybe be happy together. Work it out."
She was right. I was being a dick, but I was too angry to care.
"Does Mom know?"
"I have no idea. I haven't told her."
At this point I wasn't sure if I could trust Dynassy not to tell our mother, to be honest about whether or not she had told Mom. But the more I thought about it the more it made sense that if Lucinda knew about this and somehow wanted to break us up, she might've sent me to Fresno just to separate me from Eden. It didn't seem like the kind of thing a grandmother would do, but Lucinda was not a regular grandmother.
"I hope your knee gets better." Dynassy picked up her bag and headed for the door.
"That's it?" For some reason I was spoiling for a fight, and the little spat we'd had so far hadn’t quenched my desire to rip into somebody.
Sensing this, Dynassy opened the door. "I can't deal with you when you're like this. You know you're just as bad as Mom." And with that she slammed the door behind her. And as pissed as I was, I had to give her credit—that was one nasty parting shot.
Something that concerned me was how my mother would respond to the news that Eden was pregnant. But I knew that she would have an opinion about it and probably some sort of plan on how to best handle the situation. There was no way she was going to let Eden run off into the sunset with her grandbaby and not be a part of his or her life. Regardless of what Eden and I decided, Lucinda would have her own agenda, and I dreaded finding out what that would be.
One of the negatives was that Lucinda had the potential to drive Eden even further away from me. If Lucinda caused her a considerable amount of grief, Eden would be less likely to allow me to be a part of my child's life. On the plus side, there was no reason for Lucinda to mistake Eden for a gold digger. The girl was a board-certified physician with an invention under her belt, the royalties of which were considerable.
The more I thought about the situation, the more questions I had. But also, even though Eden didn't seem to want me, I knew that I still wanted her.
Having a child together would give me the chance to prove to her that I am a good man, and that I could be a good father. Show her that I could be a good husband. If it took me the rest of my life, so be it. And our baby would be my ticket to her heart.
For once in my life, I was going to do what I wanted. Not what my mother wanted, or my coach, or my teammates—but what I wanted to do.
I would make Eden mine again.
I wanted her, and I was going to fight for her.
CHAPTER TWENTY-THREE
Eden
I’d been back home from Las Vegas for several days, and it had taken me a while to process what had happened between Nick and me. In hindsight, I wished I told him about the baby when I first found out. We could have figured it out together, and my keeping it a secret wouldn’t be such a dramatic deal that almost dwarfed the pregnancy itself. At least that’s how it felt now. I had no doubt that once the little darling made his or her appearance, my deception would fall way into the background. But for now, my secret consumed me, and I couldn't blame him for being angry with me. It was childish and selfish to keep it from him in the first place.
I’d wanted the situation to be different so badly, and by not telling him I just put off the inevitable rather than facing it head on. I took the coward’s way, and for that I was not proud.
I had just come back from a pregnancy yoga class, something that was becoming more and more challenging the bulkier I became, but it was still fun. In the beginning I'd mostly stuck to taking long walks while I listened to audiobooks, but a friend of mine, a former cheerleader who now had young children, recommended this class, and I actually liked it.
I climbed out of my car, took a long sip of water, and rummaged around in my bag for keys. When I looked up I was surprised to see Nick Barnes standing right in front of me. I actually jumped, he startled me so badly. My hand flew to my belly. "Oh my God, Nick! Don't scare me like that. What are you doing here?"
He held out a hand to steady me. "I'm sorry. I didn't mean… I should have called first, to let you know I was coming, but I wasn't sure you’d see me."
I rolled my eyes. "Of course I’d see you. You're the father of my baby. I don't think I'm going to be able to get rid of you now."
He grimaced. “Is that what you really want, to get rid of me?”
It was the opposite of what I wanted, but I wasn't sure it would do me any good to say so.
"What can I do for you?" I asked, all business.
"Here’s your apartment. Do you think I could come in, and we could talk for a little while?"
"Sure." I found my keys and climbed the stairs to the second floor. Once I got inside, I held the door open, expecting he would follow along behind. It wasn’t until we got to the landing between floors that I realized he was limping. Dynassy had said he’d hurt his knee in the All-Star game. I wondered if that was why he was here.
Inside the apartment I strode into the kitchen, refilled my water bottle and turned to ask Nick, "Want anything to drink?"
"No thanks. I'm good." And just like that, seeing him in my apartment like this, it felt like he'd never left. Like he'd never gone to Fresno, like it was just an ordinary day with the two of us together again. But inside I knew better. Things would never be like that again.
"How are you feeling? I mean, is everything okay with the baby?"
Oh, so this trip was all about the baby. Checking up on me to see if I was eating right, taking proper care of his offspring. Of course it was. For a split second I had gotten my hopes up and thought he was here to see me, but this was all about the baby. It made sense, and I guess it was better that he cared about that than the alternative, but nonetheless part of me was disappointed.
"I'm fine. The baby’s fine. I'm taking my prenatal vitamins, getting exercise. In fact I just came back from a prenatal yoga class."
"Oh yeah? I didn't know they had those."
"Me either, but this one is pretty good."
"When are you due?"
"June 7."
He nodded and I could see the wheels of his brain turning.
"You don't have to be there." I straightened my shoulders. "My mother will help me."
"Well, I appreciate your mother and all, but of course I'm going to be there. This is my baby, and I want to be a part of this."
I squinted at him. "What do you mean?"
"I came here to apologize to you, Eden. I'm not sure what I've done to upset you so badly. When I left for Fresno, I was falling in love with you, and I should have told you that. I know long-distance sucks, but I really hoped that we would stay together. That might have been naive on my part, but now that you're having my baby, I want us to have a family together. I want to be part of your life and this baby's life."
"I thought you were pissed at me."
"I was. And I wish you would have told me this yourself when you found out, but all that is in the past, and it doesn't help us or our child for me to hold a grudge against his mother."
"His?"
"Okay, his or hers. Give me a break. I'm a guy, and I grew up in a house where the guys were outnumbered so forgive me. Do you know the sex yet?"
"No. When I went for my last ultrasound, the tech said that the baby had its legs crossed, hiding everything from view. But I have another one scheduled for tomorrow. How long are you going to be here for?"
"I can stay for that. I'm out for the week, maybe longer with this knee injury."
"Yeah, I heard about that."
"You did? Saw the game?"
I felt the heat rising in my cheeks. "Dynassy told me. Does it hurt very much?" I reached out and touched his thigh just above his knee.
He grabbed my hand and pressed it to his lips. "I'm okay. I've missed you, Eden."
My resolve was melting like hot candle wax. I swallowed. “I missed you too."
Then his hands were on me, and my hands were on him, and I was swallowed up in my need for him. His mouth searched hungrily for mine, and once he found it, we devoured each other.
Before I had a chance to object, he pulled first my shirt, then my bra over my head. I tried to cover my pregnant breasts, but he moved my hands out of the way. “Let me look at you. Don’t you know you’re beautiful?”
With my ever-expanding bust line and areolas and my protruding belly? He had to be nuts.
“How can you say that?”
“Because I love you, and you’re the most beautiful woman in the world to me.”
I watched his face for any sign he was lying or trying to manipulate me, but I saw nothing but genuine desire in his eyes.
“I love you too.” As soon as I’d said it, I wished I could take it back. Because now all my cards were on the table. I’d exposed myself to this man in more ways than one. The man I’d loved since I was a girl, the man whose baby was growing inside of me—now he knew right where he stood with me. I’d handed him my heart, and I was about to give him a child. I was completely vulnerable to him now.
From this point on, he could either make all my dreams come true, or shatter me in a way no one else on this earth was capable of doing.
He stood up and removed his clothes. My mouth watered as he revealed every inch of his well-conditioned body. “I might have to get you to climb on top of me, with this knee.”
“Oh dear! I forgot about your knee. Should we be doing this?”
He chuckled. “I could ask you the same thing,” he said while yanking my pants off.
“No, silly. We can have sex. It’s not going to hurt the baby.”
“You sure?” He pulled me down onto his lap, trailing kisses down my throat as he did.
“I’m sure.” I straddled him, his erection pressing against my pussy. Then my hormones took over, and I ground against his pelvis. My bulging belly was in the way, but somehow I managed to stimulate my clit anyway.
“Here, let me lie down.” Nick lifted me and shifted his position so that he lay lengthwise on the couch, his legs hanging off the end, but it gave me room to ride him without my belly getting squished between us.
“God, you’re so lovely.” He reached up and tweaked my nipples. The sensitivity of my breasts only made the delightful sensations that much more intense, and provided for some wickedly erotic pleasure.
I rose up and came down, enveloping him within my walls. I leaned back, taking him completely inside me and felt the tip of his cock nudging against my womb.
Rocking back and forth I took my own pleasure, and I could see by his expression that he was enjoying watching me. At one point I took hold of the back of the sofa with one hand and balanced the other on his chest, giving me just the right angle to fall over the edge into an exquisite climax. Then he took and held my wrists in his hands, and holding me steady, he tilted his hips into me, thrusting from below hard and fast, making my breasts jiggle and wringing yet another orgasm from my body.
Afterward, I collapsed next to him, and he laughed softly against my ear as he held me close.
“What’s so funny?” I asked, tracing his name lazily across his chest.
“It’s a rare thing not to have to worry about birth control.”
“Yep. I’m afraid it’s too late to close the barn door now.”
He caressed my belly with his palm. “I do believe you are the most tempting pregnant woman I’ve ever slept wi
th.”
I swatted at him playfully. “I hope I’m the only pregnant woman you’ve slept with.” I stiffened.
“You are. I was just playin’.”
I hugged him tight, hoping he was being honest.
CHAPTER TWENTY-FOUR
Eden
"Do you remember that last night, before our dads were killed?" Nick asked.
"Of course." How could I forget? What seemed at the time to be the beginning of something special and incredible to my teenage girl mind, turned out to be the end of life as I knew it.
"I've often thought about that night over the years."
"You have?" I’d thought of it to, but I honestly didn't think Nick would have given it much thought. He had been older than me, and definitely cooler. When he kissed me that night, I thought he was just passing the time. We had been at his family compound. The Barnes had an outdoor cabana next to the pool that was sometimes used for parties. It housed a billiard table, a wet bar, and a big screen TV, so we sometimes snuck out there to get away from the grown-ups. I had been thirteen going on fourteen and Dynassy, Nick, and I had found some Zima in the refrigerator out there. Dynassy decided it would be a great idea to drink it, and she made us drop Jolly ranchers in the bottle. The colorful candies floated to the bottom, making the alcoholic drink taste even sweeter.
After drinking a couple, Dynassy looked a little green.
“I don’t feel so good,” she mumbled. “I’m going back to the house.”
“Don’t let Mom know you’re sick,” Nick cautioned.
“I won’t. I’m just going to lie down,” she said as she walked out the door and closed it behind her.
“Should I go with her?” I remember I was worried about Dynassy, but a bigger part of me wanted to stay with Nick.
“She’ll be fine.” His smile unleashed the butterflies fluttering around in my tummy.
Nick and I had been growing closer all summer, and so I wasn't surprised when he set down his drink and put his arm around me and touched his lips to mine. I'd been waiting all summer, hoping he would do that. Our lips still locked, I clumsily placed my drink on the table and kissed him back. I can still smell his cologne, and to this day whenever I catch a whiff of it in the world, my mind drifts back to that night, to being so close with Nick. My hormones were raging, and I'm sure his were too, but we didn't have a chance to find out what else might have occurred between us because the door to the cabana flew open and his mother stomped in and put a stop to what was happening between us.
The Barnes Family Romances: (Books 1-3) Page 13
