Trent stilled as he sat on the bench. “You know there is a third room in this house.”
Confused by the sudden change in his demeanor, Teal turned to look at him. “Okay, so you have a three bedroom, two bath house.”
He leaned back. “Yeah, it was mainly for storage, and I didn’t even claim it as a room until . . .”
She raised a brow and waited quietly, playing with his tanned skin. Pressing her fingers gently into his flesh, she pulled them away and watched as her fingerprints slowly disappeared.
“It was supposed to be the baby’s room.” Surprising her, Trent sat up and pulled her into his lap. Placing a hand over her belly. “Are you on birth control?”
Shocked by his question, Teal could only nod. She watched as he looked away, then back to her stomach. Teal sat quietly as he caressed her soft belly. Shock and fear spread throughout her.
“It can be a home office for me. It’ll give me more time at home with you.” His added words gave her some relief. Until Trent’s eyes met hers. “Hey, don’t think the baby subject won’t come up again.”
Teal narrowed her eyes at him. She made to move from his lap, but his arm felt like a steel band as he pulled her back, tethering her to him. She growled. “First, kids are a conversation for much further in the future. And second, let me go.” She struggled a bit, before realizing he would not give in.
Trent squeezed tighter. “How far in the future?” His voice unwavering.
Teal craned her head back to look at him. “Way in the future.”
Raising a brow, he placed a hand back on her stomach. “Okay.”
Teal wrestled herself free from his grasp, then leaned in to give him a kiss. “I’m hungry.” As if on cue, her stomach growled.
Trent released her and gave her a light smack on her bottom. “If you’re going to the kitchen, fry me up some bacon. But I can’t promise you won’t burn it to a crisp when I come in there and fuck the shit out of you.”
Teal’s body heated with his erotic words. She took a small step back to lean against the wall. Eying him appraisingly, she took in his sweat-slicked body. “Maybe you can give me something to help with this hunger?” She watched as her statement sent lust and desire straight to his cock. His thin basketball shorts revealed how her words affected him, and Teal approved.
As he made to stand, Teal straightened. “No. Stay there. Don’t move, unless I tell you to.”
Trent’s hands moved back to his sides and gripped the bench. Teal moved her hands to her waist, then slid her boy shorts down her legs in an achingly slow manner.
Trent’s eyes followed the cloth, until she lifted a foot and kicked the shorts up and into his lap. Trent’s eyes met hers in question. His hands remained on the bench, knuckles white from his intense grip, cock straining. His dark gaze bore into her, causing her body to heat and her core to clench in anticipation. He was waiting for permission to take her panties in hand. He’d hide them, like he’d done with almost all of her other pairs.
Teal decided to make him wait, and possibly even beg a little. As soon as the thought hit her, she decided against it. She needed him, and her body would never allow her to forget it. She made her way over to him and knelt down, pushing his muscular legs apart to accommodate her. Leaning down, she pushed her panties off his lap and took the tip of his cloth-covered arousal between her lips, blowing hot breath through the fabric.
Trent shuttered in pleasure, and jerked his hips forward, looking for more.
Teal looked up to make eye contact with him, and the doorbell sounded at the front door. She paused. “This early?”
A low growl sounded in his throat. “Fuck that shit. Keep going.”
Teal glanced to see his hands were still firmly in place. The tent in his shorts bobbed with need, ready for action. She thought to lean over him once again, but a loud knock sounded on the door.
Teal huffed and used his thighs to stand up. “Give me a minute. I’ll shoo them away. Damn, it’s early in the morning.” She made to take a step, then turned. “When I come back, I want you naked and spread for me.”
Trent’s roguish grin made her blood sizzle. She walked out of the room, only to hear Trent yell for her to put some pants on. Teal was way ahead of him, and already in his room. She pulled on a pair of sweats and raced to the door. The faster she got this shit over with, the faster she could get back to Trent.
She opened the door, only to be faced with a rather pregnant, plump blonde, with a black trash bag thrown over her shoulder. “Um . . .” Teal wasn’t sure where to start. “Can I help you?”
The woman glared at her, before hefting the bag to her other shoulder. Thick coats of foundation were spread across the woman’s face, along with tons of lip liner and eye shadow. Upon closer inspection, Teal could see bruising under her left eye, and a split in her lip. But she felt no pity for the woman.
If she carried something as precious as a child, and still let a man put his hands on her, then she was a fool. There were programs for women like her, and Teal knew it firsthand. In her field, she’d often met with the founders of these groups and was constantly amazed by the strides they made offering support to battered women.
Throwing a hand on her hip, obviously annoyed by Teal’s inspection of her, the blonde sighed. “You gonna let me in, or what? This baby’s about to break my back, and it’s already hotter than hell out here.” Wiping sweat from her brow, the woman shifted her weight and stared at Teal as if she were the idiot standing at her man’s front door.
Teal rolled her eyes, ready to slap the cherry-red lipstick off this woman’s face. “Look, I am not about to let your ass in here. I don’t even know you.” She readied herself to slam the door.
Before she got the chance to do so, the woman shoulder-bumped Teal, pushing through the entrance. Quick as a snake, Teal reached out and grabbed the chick by her blonde hair and pulled her right back out the door. As the woman hollered, Teal slammed the door in her face and locked it.
Heading to the faucet to wash her hands, Teal clenched her teeth. She’d been careful not to trip or hurt her, after all, that baby wasn’t the one being a backwoods bitch, but she’d wanted to do more. As if the revelation were a punch to the gut, Teal’s hands stilled under the warm water.
A bang sounded on the door, followed by screaming. Numb, Teal watched as Trent came around the corner, his cock laying thick and heavy between his legs.
“What the fuck?” His face reddened in anger as he looked over her. “Was that you screaming? Who the fuck was at the door?” Trent didn’t give her a second to respond. Heading to the hall closet, he reached up, entered a code into a lockbox, and pulled a shotgun from the top shelf.
Teal still couldn’t bring herself to speak. After everything they’d gone through, she’d believed the reason for their separation was in the past, yet there she was . . . right at his fucking front door.
Trent’s soft caress pulled Teal back to him. “Are you okay?” He leaned in to look her over. Seconds later, he was down the hall and back in the living room, this time clothed.
Shrill screaming came once again from the front door, and Trent froze, the color draining from his face. He looked to Teal, his face a contorted mask of anger, before he handed her the shotgun. “You need to take this. I might . . .” He didn’t finish, as another round of banging came from the front door.
Teal was unsure of what to feel. Trent had proven he loved her, and proven he was a man she could trust, but she knew—just as she knew she was short, round, and black—that it was Shayla’s redneck ass at the front door. A pregnant Shayla.
She rested her hand on Trent’s chest. “I need to tell you—”
“Let her ass stay out there.” He cut her off, his voice seeming almost frantic. “After an hour or so, she usually leaves.” Teal’s eyes widened at this glance into his fucked-up past relationship, and Trent quickly backpedaled. “I used to call the cops, but that shit never went far.”
Placing a hand in his to s
oothe him, she said, “I don’t care if you left that bitch in the heat to melt. What I want to tell you is that she is definitely fucking pregnant.”
Trent’s body went rigid and his eyes heated with malice. Dropping her hand, he stomped to the door and yanked it open.
Teal watched as Shayla’s words dried up in her mouth, as he stared her into the ground. Moving closer, she took in the sight. Following Trent’s gaze, hers moved to the woman’s huge belly, then to her legs, covered in a few old bruises. His gaze swept over her arms, where Teal noticed she’d initially missed the oval shaped marks on her skin. From where Teal stood, they looked like fingerprints.
When Trent’s gaze took in Shayla’s chest, just barely covered by a thin tank top, Teal’s eyes followed. It looked as if there were a bunch of tiny pinpricks across Shayla’s pale skin. Teal moved from the counter to take a stance behind her man. She blamed Shayla’s past on her callousness of the situation.
Shame hit her hard, as she thought back to the female prisoners who’d passed through her doors on a daily basis. A blur of women with troubled pasts, raped and beaten, flashed before her. Teal could empathize with Shayla, but her aversion for the woman wouldn’t be assuaged.
Trent gripped the door, his knuckles whitening with the weight of his grip. Teal took in his tense posture and felt his fury. She placed a hand on his back, hoping her presence would bring him back. He tensed more, before finally, his shoulders slackened and he reached back to take her into his arms.
Trent gripped Teal’s waist and pulled her into the cradle of his side, before he addressed the woman standing before them. “What are you here for?”
Shayla’s eyes widened as she took in the sight. Her red lips lifted into a cynical sneer. “Fucking hell, I thought Jake was just throwing lies in my face.” She paused and motioned to her blackened, foundation-covered eye. “You know, besides his fists.”
Trent’s breathing deepened.
“Anyway, I told him that I am out of there, if he puts his hands on me one more time.” Short, thick legs—not unlike Teal’s, except for the color—shifted as she placed a hand on her belly. Pouting her lips and rubbing her back as if it ached, Shayla shot Trent with a stare that sent bristles up Teal’s spine.
Shaking her head, Teal made a move to cut off Shayla’s attempt at coming onto Trent, but his arm stopped her. Looking up to see his face, Teal was surprised to see the defeat in his expression. Her gaze flew back to Shayla, unprepared for the triumph stamped across her face.
Taking a deep breath, Teal took a mental note of the situation. Shayla, Trent’s ex, was standing on the front porch, baby in belly, looking worse for wear, and worming her way back into his life. A man like Trent would never turn away a pregnant and abused woman, and the bitch knew it.
His stern and unyielding exterior was just a front, and Teal knew that better than anyone. Well, other than Shayla, obviously. That was fine though, Teal could play this game, and she would sure as hell win. Knowing Trent’s mistrust for Shayla and his unwavering love for her, she had all the tools she needed to play whatever games the woman threw her way.
Teal moved from Trent’s grasp and took a step back. “Come in. It’s hot as hell out there.” Adding sugar to her voice she said, “Let me get you something to drink.” She moved away from both of them, before either of them keeled over in shock.
Walking into the kitchen, she opened the freezer. On one hand, Teal would be within her rights to snap at Trent, and spit out ultimatums. And in the past, she might have done that . . . however, she was a grown woman, who wouldn’t throw temper tantrums to get her way.
Filling a glass with ice, she poured some lemonade to the brim, pasted a smile on her face, and headed back into the fray. Shayla had made herself comfortable on the sofa, shoes off and feet propped up on the coffee table. Her big belly was exposed as she lifted her shirt to rub it. Teal placed the cup of lemonade on the table beside her feet, because there was no way she was playing server to the woman.
Trent stood at the sliding glass door, gaze riveted on her baby-filled belly. A sickening feeling stole over her as she imagined Trent’s child inside of that woman. Could that be what he was thinking about? She hadn't thought of it until she observed Trent. There was a light in his eyes that hadn't been there a moment ago. Was he hoping this child was his? What fucking luck that she would tell her man that children were a distant thought, then Shayla knocks at that front door—as pregnant as the day is long.
Shayla looked to Trent and spoke, momentarily quelling Teal’s fears. “It ain’t yours.”
The soft, regretful tone in her voice pulled Teal’s attention to her. She couldn’t imagine Shayla felt sorry for her lies. If anything, she believed Shayla regretted the fact she’d been caught in her lie.
Teal made her way over to Trent. Leaning into him, she listened as Shayla spoke. The first words out of her mouth reminded Teal that she was not dealing with an amateur in this game. Shayla had come back and her aim was to stay—for good.
Trent was floored. He wasn’t sure if this was all real or just a dream, but either way, it was a fucking nightmare.
Shayla propped her swollen feet up on his coffee table. “You know I can’t keep this kid.” She shifted on the couch, adjusting her back. “And I know you wanted a kid, so . . .”
His woman shot forward and right out of his arms. He watched as Teal’s firm backside moved away from him and closer to Shayla. He wanted nothing more than to finish what they’d started before Shayla came knocking and ignore this new development.
“Are you saying you want to give your baby to Trent?”
Shayla’s eyes darkened with anger at the interruption. Placing another hand on her belly, she looked back to Trent. “You know me,” she said, eyeing him with a speculative glint in her eye. “I can’t give this thing a good home.”
Trent’s body went rigid, mind spinning. What if his mother had done what Shayla was dancing around? How would his life have changed in the hands of a capable adult?
“I mean,” she continued, eyebrows furrowed, “do you want this kid growing up in a home like you did?”
Trent cursed himself for ever having confided in Shayla. Though he hadn't told her many details about his past, she’d also come from a broken home. They’d been drawn together like junkies to a needle, and the result was always the same. In the beginning, it was good—great, in fact—then they’d both come crashing back down to earth, in a heap of fucked-up shattered lies and broken promises.
Logically, Trent knew his best recourse would be to put his boot in Shayla’s ass and send her packing. Each time his brain urged him to do just that, something inside brought his attention back to her belly.
Leaning to the side, Trent propped his big body up against the wall. “What the fuck you trying to pull here, huh?” Schooling his features was easy because Trent wasn’t sure how he felt, But a quick glance at Teal told him exactly what was going on in her head. Her stiff posture and the hard lines on her face said she was a ticking time bomb waiting to detonate. She stood close to him in a protective stance, as if she were ready for Shayla to try anything.
Her earlier touch had soothed him and he craved to feel it again. Moving to her, he wrapped an arm around her waist and pulled her warm body into the cradle of his own. The idea that his woman was so protective of him, ignited passion inside of him. Trent was not used to having someone so possessive and defensive on his behalf. This was something neither Harper nor Shayla had ever offered him, unless it protected their own interests.
Shayla pulled her feet from the table, and her voice took on a more serious tone. “I just—I can’t go back to him.”
Trent looked her over. He had to be honest with himself. There was a time when he thought he loved Shayla. Now, having felt the real emotion with Teal, he knew it had been nothing but pity. He was sure she had never experienced true love.
Growing up, she’d been beaten and sexually abused by pretty much every important male role mode
l in her life. And when Shayla found Trent, his thought was to protect her from the past, and anything that planned to harm her in the future. But the one thing he had to learn was, he couldn’t protect her from herself.
Motioning to Shayla’s face, Teal’s face scrunched up. “Who did this to you? Who is this guy you won’t go back to?” Teal turned to Trent, eyes hard. “Is she asking to stay here?”
Shayla cleared her throat in the silence that ensued, unwilling to answer Teal. Watching Trent with an expectant stare, she sat—waiting.
And in that moment, with his eyes taking in her battered body, the gears shifted in his head. The reddened dots peppering her chest and arms. The bruises darkening on her arms and legs as she sat before them. He’d seen this before. The past assaulted him hard and fast. The party, the rape . . . the night he’d met Jake.
His brain scrambled to remember all of the details of that night. His brain through images at him: the blonde screaming, torn clothes, Logan and Jake at the car.
Trent soared across the room, and Shayla flinched as he yanked her shirt farther down her body. Ignoring her gasp and Teal’s questioning curse, he examined her chest and arms. When he glanced up at her face, he saw the mask she wore, hiding her pain. It wasn’t until her eyes flitted to Teal that he snapped back to the here and now.
Realizing how inappropriate it was to have his hands so close to her tits, he snatched them away and stood. Fury made his stomach roll and his chest ache. This wasn’t the first time Jake had taken advantage of a woman. He was sure of it.
The need to hurt someone nearly drowned him. A wicked smile stole across his face at the thought of Jake’s nose breaking beneath his fist, and the crimson red blood that would follow.
Clenching his fists in an effort to save his wall from a hole, he turned to Teal, seeking her out to help sooth his mind. To his relief, she came to him, wrapping her arms around his waist, she kept her gaze steeled on his.
Indelible: Beneath His Ink (Teal and Trent Book 2) Page 11
