The Surprise (Secret Baby Bad Boy Romance)

by Faye, Amy

  “Kate, it’s Luke. Call me.”

  She’s got my number. Its the one that’s already called her three times. Even still, the first two times I left it, just in case she didn’t realize. At this point there’s no reason to think that she can’t reach me if she wants to.

  So instead I keep driving. The radio stays off, because last time I turned it on when I was making a long drive, it led to an unpleasant situation, and I’m not sure that I’m ready to take that kind of risk again.

  Kate should have told me. She needed to have told me. But I don’t know what else I’m supposed to do at this point. If she just told me that she wanted to leave, then I wouldn’t stop her. But the fact that she didn’t say anything, the fact that she never even tried to leave a message…

  It twists up my gut. The fact that Bill Ashley still has my Mustang hurts, too. The fact that I think of them both, and not just about Kate, makes me feel perhaps the worst of all, because unlike the other stuff I actually have to blame myself for it.

  There should be a little voice inside me that says that it’s all going to be alright. It probably will be alright. At least, I hope it will. But I’ve got a bad feelings about all of this, and I’m not ready to take the risk that my gut is wrong.

  So instead, I act as if it’s right, and pray that I’m acting wrongly. I don’t know what I’d do if anyone hurt Kate. But now that I’ve read her last note to me…

  My teeth click together and my eyes shut, only for a second. My jaw tightens more to make up for it when my eyes have to open up to keep them on the road. I can’t imagine what I would do if someone did something to her. But I know that I have to use that as fuel to keep going at this point, because otherwise I’m heading for a crash.

  The road whips by, but my eyes sting badly from tiredness. I need to stay awake, stay focused. If only I’d had more time. If only I’d said the right things, done the right things. If only I hadn’t trusted Bill, or I hadn’t pissed him off so much.

  If only, if only, if only. A thousand ways I could have fixed this situation before it ever arose whip through my head at a speed to match the lines on the street. My eyes are having trouble focusing, and I’m getting foggy, and I need to stop. At some point, I have to. Even if it’s just a coffee, I need something to keep myself going, or the crash I’m going to hit is going to be a lot more literal than I had intended.

  I pick up the phone and use the voice commands again to call Jorge behind me. A minute later his voice, thickly accented, answers.

  “You ready, boss?”

  “The opposite, man. I need to stop for a minute. Pull off at exit… uh… forty three, and we’ll get some lunch, yeah?”

  “It’s your dime, man,” Jorge says. I nod. It is my dime. And that’s fine. As long as I can get myself fueled back up for another few hours on the road. At least long enough to get my car and an explanation. If that’s all I get, I tell myself, it’ll have to be enough.

  There’s a blue sign on the side of the road, the first of several. It says “Attractions” across the top; the only one listed is an Ikea, which I guess is an attraction if you’ve got several hours to kill and wanted some cheap furniture. Otherwise I’d call it a store, but hey. Who am I to judge, right?

  The next one shows a list of hotels. There are three that are apparently worthy of going on a sign; I guess that there are probably others if you go further than a mile in either direction, but if you’re on a cross-country trip then there’s nobody who wants to do that.

  The last is a sign that has two lists on it, one on top of the other. The bottom lists the four gas stations that I can see signs for reaching up even at this distance. The top lists places where you can eat, and there are five of them. I’d rather that they had a donut shop where I can get a real good cup of coffee.

  McDonald’s will have to do, though, because apparently people around here don’t eat many donuts. I ease off the interstate, rub my eyes as I start to look for a lower-down sign that will mark the entrance.

  Instead of finding that, I find a shiny black ‘82 Mustang with a very familiar license plate number, and suddenly my plan to stop at the drive-through seems awfully redundant.

  Twenty

  Kate

  Dad’s mood hasn’t improved. If anything, it’s gotten worse. I don’t know if I’ve seen him move since we sat down. I got him his usual, but apparently that wasn’t good enough this time. It’s not getting cold on the tray; it’s been cold for some time at this point, and not going to be getting any colder any time soon.

  “Dad?”

  He doesn’t look up. The only sign he’s heard me is the slightest possible inclination of his head.

  “You’ve got to eat. Do you need me to go buy you some more food?”

  “Just leave me,” he says sullenly. “There’s nothing I can do for you at this point. You’d be better off without me.”

  “Don’t say something stupid.”

  He shrugs. “Whatever you say, kiddo.”

  “You need to eat. Come on, Dad.”

  “What’s the point?”

  I close my eyes. I don’t know how I’m supposed to help. If he’s going to mope forever, then I’m not sure how I can fix it. But I have to. It’s always been my job, whether I asked for it or not.

  “How can I help?”

  “You can’t,” he answers. I believe him, but it’s not as if I have that option available to me. I have to get him over this mood, or there’s going to be more trouble than its worth. Then again, no matter how much it is or isn’t worth, I’m going to have to deal with it.

  Behind me, the door opens for the dozenth time. And as usual, someone files in behind it. This time is different, though, because this is the first time that they start heading over towards us. I can hear him behind us.

  I turn and there’s someone standing there. Someone I never really expected to see again, and I certainly didn’t expect to walk in behind me.

  “Lucas?”

  It’s not me that speaks this time. Dad’s looked up and he looks, if possible, even more upset than he had before.

  “Bill.”

  Luke’s voice isn’t full of anger, so while I don’t know what happened between them, I guess it probably wasn’t as bad as I was imagining. That, or it was and something has changed. From the look on Dad’s face, I’m guessing it was the first one.

  “What happened? How did you…”

  He doesn’t finish the question. Luke waited for him to continue. When Dad didn’t, he shrugged. “I did what you should’ve done from the beginning, man.”

  “What’s that?”

  “I paid the guy and I left.”

  Dad’s head sinks again. “I can’t keep worrying like this, though.”

  “Then don’t worry. But one thing.”

  “Okay?”

  “Give me my car back, at least.”

  Dad’s shoulders seem to sink into themselves. “Yeah, I guess that’s not fair.”

  “No, it isn’t.”

  Luke settles into the seat beside me. I make no effort to stop him.

  “I guess you’re going to want your money, now.”

  “You don’t have it, though, do you?”

  “I guess not,” he agrees. “But that didn’t stop you before.”

  “I figured out an alternative way for you to settle up.”

  Dad looks up at me. His expression is sad and tired. “You can’t have her. She’s not property.”

  I agree with him silently. Then again, maybe that’s what he should have said six weeks ago.

  “I’m not asking you to give her to me. You’re right. She’s a woman, not a toy. Not some sort of pet that I can just take as I like. Isn’t that right, Kate?”

  I didn’t expect to be called on in this little conversation. I know for a fact that it shows on my face.

  “You what?”

  “I want you. I want to have you around. But it’s not my choice.”

  I blink. “Wait, what?”

&nb
sp; “Mr. Ashley?” Dad blinks as well.

  “What?”

  “I’d like to ask your permission to ask your daughter to marry me, if she’ll have me.”

  My heart’s thumping in my chest so hard that I can barely feel anything else. Dad looks so worn out that he might just fall asleep right there in the booth seat, but he looks scared, too. Scared, or uncertain, or… any number of things. I can’t identify it perfectly, and I doubt that he can, either.

  “Uh…” He frowns. “And that’s it? That’s what you want?”

  “Debt cleared. With one other thing.”

  “Name it,” he says. I can see the glint in his eyes now, as he starts to realize what’s going on. He’s starting to try to figure out how he can make this work to his favor. He’s making a big mistake if he thinks that is going to work.

  “You stop this shit. You want to see your daughter, just come by the house. Maybe call first. You need to settle down, man.”

  Dad nods. His eyes still seem to be searching for something, but he might actually be thinking logically this time. At least, I hope he is.

  “Yeah.”

  “So I guess…”

  Luke waits for a response from either of us. Some indication to continue. He doesn’t get one from me, at least.

  “I need your permission, first. That’s the condition. You have to give me permission.”

  My heart still hurts. Is this what a heart attack feels like? I don’t know, and I don’t want to find out. I can’t imagine anything worse than this.

  “Uh… Katie? Is that what you want?’

  “I’m not asking her, Bill. I’m asking you. You get to decide. Once your debt’s clear, I’ll ask her what she wants. Because it’s going to be her decision in the end, but I want you out of this. And I don’t want to get myself back into it with you. Clear?”

  Dad swallows. “Yeah, we’re clear. I, uh… yeah. Sure. Permission granted.”

  Luke gives him a hard smile. “Good man. Now, Katrina.”

  I stiffen, now that I can’t keep pretending not to be listening. “Yes?”

  He reaches into his pocket and pulls something out. I try not to think too hard about what it is.

  “I know that I’ve been an ass to you. I know that I don’t deserve you. If you want to leave me behind forever and never hear from me again, you’d be well within your rights to ask that of me.”

  “I wouldn’t…”

  “Let me finish, now. You’ve been in my life long enough to know who I am. You know what I like, and you know how boring I can be.”

  I don’t know if I’d call life with him ‘Boring.’ I don’t correct him.

  “So with all that in mind… will you marry me?”

  My heart is beating so loud that I’m not sure I heard him right. I take a deep breath.

  “Are you sure?”

  His eyebrows raise. “Am I sure? Are you sure! Of course I’m sure.”

  “I don’t want you to be saying this just because…” I look down at myself. I hope he gets the idea because I don’t want to discuss it in front of Dad.

  He shakes his head. “I wouldn’t want to, just for something like that. Now, tell me. Yes, or no?”

  My hands are shaking, but I take the box from him. It’s an effort to fight the tears that are threatening to paint long, wet lines down my cheeks. “For as long as you’ll have me.”

  Dragon Mated

  Paranormal Romance

  Amy Faye

  Published by Heartthrob Publishing

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  Here’s a preview of the sexy love story you’re about to read…

  The look in Alex's eyes made Diana shiver. She could feel her eyes threatening to roll back up into her head, just from the weight of that look. She wanted nothing more than to sit there in a subservient puddle on the ground. But he wouldn't accept that and she wasn't going to give it to him and try to hope.

  No, she wanted to challenge him, wanted to overwhelm him, wanted to throw him off his balance the way that he had thrown her off of her own. And she wanted to suck his cock, because... come on, right? The most power and dominance she would ever have in the relationship was when she was between his knees and he wanted nothing more than for her to never ever stop.

  She had his pants off in a hurry, forcing herself to move perhaps more quickly than she would have felt comfortable with, in the post-orgasmic haze that had overtaken her mind, but it would all be worth it when she had him eating out of her hand. When he needed nothing so much as for her to keep doing what she was doing. The way that she had been made to feel.

  His pants caught on the way down his hips, the fabric stretching slightly to accommodate the cock that seemed to sit at just the wrong angle and catch like a hook on the waist of his pants. And then, as she pulled down his underwear along with the trousers, it sprung out and faced her.

  It was big, and longer than she'd expected. Perhaps five inches around, as thick as her wrist, and long enough that she severely doubted her ability to take the whole thing in her mouth. Diana wasn't about to back down from a challenge, though, particularly not when she was high on the smell of sex and arousal and the feeling of his eyes on her as she moved to take his hard cock into her mouth.

  "God, someone's excited," she said, looking up at him as she wrapped a hand most of the way around his length, giving it an experimental pump. The purple head showed more and more as his uncut foreskin pulled away and down the hard shaft.

  "You've got a mouth that's good for many things, Diana, I'm sure. But right now, I'm only interested in one of them, and it's not your opinion."

  She shivered at the brazenness of the comment, at the way that he seemed so at ease with the notion that her opinion, her very humanity, didn't matter more than in passing. She knew one thing that did matter to him, though, and she knew full well that she had the ability to deprive him of it any time she wanted.

  She pumped his shaft again, enjoying the feeling of it twitching in her hands, and craned her neck forward, her mouth open wide, until the fat head threatened to fill her mouth. But she was very careful about one thing: it never touched her.

  She could feel him twitch again in her hand with every hot breath that she let out on his manhood, but a moment later she pulled away, denying herself the chance to taste him. She could feel the sigh of disappointment coming out of him, a sigh that sounded remarkably like victory to her ears.

  And then she felt him dig his fingers into her hair and pull her mouth onto him, and she let him do it in spite of herself. In spite of her better interests, in spite of the control that she wanted to take from him. Control she knew that she couldn't have, no matter how much she wanted it. Control she knew she didn't want bad enough to take it from him.

  His cock filled her mouth, the silky feel of his flesh on her tongue a pleasant sensation, the taste of it a mix of salt and sex. She relaxed her mouth and let him guide her, and he fucked her face like that until the sensation and the building arousal started to come to a head and her hands started to toy with her pussy as he used her for his own pleasure.

  Her body felt practically numb, over-stimulated, but the need was still there, overwhelming her so much that there wasn't much to her any more but the desire to please him and the need to cum, and an inexplicable belief that one would lead to the other.

  Alex's cock filled her throat, his fingers digging into her scalp, forcing her to take it deeper, forcing more of it in, and her throat relaxed to allow it until she could feel him pressing past the back of her mouth, her nose coming dangerously close to the carefully-trimmed patch of hair at the base of his cock.

  Her fingers moved in a flurry, trying to get any and all the stimulation for her pussy that she could possibly claim, and still it wasn't enough. She let out a frustrated moan, stifled by the fullness of her mouth and her throat, and redoubled her efforts to suck him off. Hoping desperately that all
she had to do was please him enough and he would take her all the way, send her a second time into that cascade of arousal that made her lose her sense of self, lose even the most basic control of her body.

  He let out a long, low groan of pleasure, his cock stuffed into her throat, choking the air out of her. She needed to breathe, but that was the last thing on her mind. The less air in her head, the more she got that high sensation back, her mind blank and full of pleasure. Her clit hurt, but she needed to cum again, and she was more than willing to abuse herself to get it.

  There was a sound somewhere above her, and she realized that it was Alex. He groaned and spasmed and stiffened and as her body started to threaten to shut off anything that wasn't essential for life-support, she felt him shoot a rope of thick cum down her throat, deep enough that it bypassed her sense of taste entirely, except for a vague, heady smell of sex and feeling that she'd done a good job.

  He pulled his cock out of her throat and she took in an unsteady breath, her vision blacking out entirely and her body slipping down to the ground. She was happy there. Satisfied. Her body felt good, the orgasm that she'd been craving finally finding her in the stupor of asphyxiation. She wanted it, she needed it, and by God, she had it.

  Strong arms wrapped around her and lifted her up off the ground, and when she started to come back around to consciousness a minute later she wasn't totally surprised to find her nude body curled up in Alex's lap. She fit in surprisingly well against him, her body molding itself to fit his.

  "Good girl," he said. It gave her a sickly pleasure that she wasn't sure how she was supposed to feel about. She knew exactly how she did feel about it, though, and it was more than a little bit humiliating to think how much it pleased her.

  "You liked that?"

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