by Franca Storm
I was going to be a father.
“Fuck,” I rasped.
4
~Natasha~
HE WAS COMING.
Shit.
I was in some major trouble. Trouble I couldn’t save myself from, trouble I couldn’t escape by the skin of my teeth. No, this was far bigger than the usual crap I dealt with.
For once, I needed help.
For once, I needed to rely on people outside of myself.
Unfortunately, it wasn’t going to be the only man I’d ever allowed myself to trust, the man I loved with everything I was.
He’d turned his back.
He couldn’t handle the truth I’d been forced to confess when I’d gotten that awful call.
He’d even accused me of planning the entire thing, of getting close to him because of who and what he was associated with.
The enemy of my enemy.
Basically, he was accusing me of being a whore. Did he think so low of me that he really thought I’d been using him, fucking and faking my love for him just to get something from him?
Tears sprung to my eyes. I wiped them away hastily, but they just kept on falling until I was full-on sobbing. I never let people in, but I’d broken my rule for him. I thought I’d finally found someone who truly understood me, who could love me unconditionally, like I did him. But judging by his explosion of temper when I’d told him that my past had found me, and him storming out with a slew of curses, I couldn’t have been more wrong.
And it was breaking my heart.
The entire situation was.
How could a single mistake stick to me in such a way that it continued to ruin every aspect of my life? My psychotic ex just wouldn’t allow me to escape. Something that’d been little more than a fling on my part had meant a great deal more to him. He was obsessed. He wouldn’t stop coming for me.
“Hey.”
I jerked my head up at the sound of the gravelly voice to find Cole’s best friend and club brother, Mason, leaning against the open door. Wow. I’d been so consumed with my thoughts that I hadn’t even heard him open it. I was surprised the thing was still operational after the brutal way Cole had slammed it behind him earlier.
“Hi,” I eked out, hastily wiping my tears away.
He strode on in, eating up the distance between the door and where I sat on the edge of Cole’s bed really quickly.
“He reacts like that when he feels threatened or betrayed. Can’t help it. It’s a reflex for him,” Mason explained.
“I didn’t, though. I didn’t betray him.”
Mason looked skeptical, folding his huge inked arms across his chest, pressing against his Steel Titans leather cut.
“When we first met and he came to me in my city asking me to run a shipment for him, he wasn’t in club colors. I had no idea he was Steel Titans until weeks later when I’d completed the covert job for him and he paid me with a check from Slade Mitchell. That was when I realized it was a covert job he’d been running for you guys. I don’t pry into my clients’ business. That’s one of the reasons people come to me, for my discretion.” I sighed heavily. “By the time the truth came out, we’d already grown close. I didn’t want anything to mess up what we were building.”
“You had months to tell him.”
“I love him. Why should my past… associations have any role in our relationship, have any impact on it?”
“He’s club, that’s why. We act as one. What he does comes back on us and vice versa. Nik Stone is our number-one enemy. And you’re his woman. Yeah, that’s a big fucking deal.”
“I’m not his woman!” I yelled, before I could check myself. “It was a fling. It meant nothing!”
Mason scoffed, like he couldn’t believe what he was hearing, like what I was saying was insane. “You don’t go in for just a fling with a guy like Nik. He usually only screws around with club whores. Anybody outside of them that he sets his sights on isn’t something to be taken lightly. The last woman he took a liking to was Slade’s Old Lady. It ended up with a brutal fucking war and her put to ground.”
I swallowed hard.
“I’m not telling you this to scare you. Just trying to wise you up to the reality here.”
“I get it just fine.”
“Yeah?” he questioned.
Shit. I knew what I had to do.
Time was running out.
Cole had walked out on me.
His sister, Lucy, had no hope of helping me to get through to him. We’d grown close over the last few months and I knew she’d jump to help me if she could, but Cole never listened to her.
But Mason was here.
He just needed some gentle persuasion to ease up with his defensiveness borne from his security role with the club and be opened up to see things from my point of view.
I felt sick to my stomach knowing what I was about to do.
But the situation was as desperate as could be.
I had to stick to my mantra, which had served me well over the years.
Survival above all.
“Yeah, I do,” I told Mason as I rose to my feet.
I made a show of fixing my low-cut scoop neck top, flashing my cleavage in the process.
Mason’s eyes darted right there. His interest was obvious. I could see a struggle there before he dragged his gaze back to my eyes and shifted his weight uncomfortably.
“I need your help, Mason,” I crooned, stepping closer to him.
Cole had basically accused me of whoring myself out for protection so I might as well actually do it. I had nothing left to lose and everything to gain. I had to get Nik off my back.
“We protect you and Nik will see it as an act of war.”
I reached out and trailed my fingers up and down his arm, tracing his ink with a teasing, erotic touch. “I can make it worth your while.”
His hand shot out and fisted in my hair, making me hiss. “Don’t screw with me, Natasha. The rumors are true, I don’t play nice.” It was a warning, but it lacked conviction, his voice hoarse with clear arousal.
I forced a sexy smirk. “I’m well aware.”
His grip tightened in my hair as he said, “Yeah, you’ve got to be damned durable to go a few rounds with Nik. Way I heard it, he’s more hardcore than I am.”
“Well, I like it rough.”
His eyes burned into mine. “You know, Cole hasn’t claimed you as his Old Lady. Means you can’t qualify for club protection. Somebody would have to go out of their way for you on this.”
“Their help would be rewarded.”
I cringed as the words left my lips. The intensity that flared up the moment they were out there made me want to take them back and abort this whole idea.
I couldn’t.
I couldn’t do this.
Mason stepped closer, making me suck in a steadying breath.
“That temper of Cole’s is his undoing.”
Lately, Mason and Cole had been in intense fight after intense fight about it. They were at odds all the time, because Mason had grown beyond tired of Cole’s extreme anger issues and that volatile, dangerous temper of his.
I swallowed hard. “I know.”
Then he leaned in to kiss me.
Before he could make contact, the thump of heavy, rushed footsteps had the both of us stilling.
“What the fuck?” a voice roared.
The next thing I knew, Mason was ripped away from me. His back hit the wall hard enough to make a dent in the drywall.
Cole loomed over him in the next second, his face twisted with fury as he bellowed at Mason, “Making a move on my woman? Are you fucking kidding me?”
Mason’s brow furrowed. He rubbed his eyes like he was coming out of some sort of trance. “Fuck,” he muttered. “I didn’t mean… I’m sorry. Fuck.” His gaze shot to mine and the ferocity in it had me taking a step away. “Fucking succubus,” he seethed. “You screwed with me.”
“What?” Cole demanded.
Mason’s eyes were fixed
on mine though, stabbing hard at me. “You played to my weakness. Knew I haven’t found anybody who can handle that rough part of me, knew how hard up I’ve been.”
“No, I—”
But his yell at Cole cut me off, “You let her get too close! You let her infiltrate our inner circle! It’s me, you and Luce. That’s all. See what happens when you fuck with that? This shitshow! Nik Stone coming for her while she’s here on our territory risking starting a war. And now her coming onto me!”
I saw Cole taking his words in, saw the war there all over his features. He was being forced to make a choice.
His best friend or his love.
Guilt slashed through me at seeing his struggle up close. I couldn’t do this. Oh God, I’d made a mistake trying to convince Mason to help me in the only way I knew would appeal to him. The threat of Nik coming had made me so desperate that I was losing my mind. It’d taken a hell of a lot to escape him in the first place. I couldn’t stand the idea of being dragged back into all of that. The fear, the control, the abuse.
But I couldn’t stomach hurting Cole like this either, of him losing anything because of me and my troubles.
“Enough!” I yelled, snatching my phone off Cole’s bedside table.
The two of them were surprised enough by my outburst that all they could do was stare as I put my phone on speakerphone mode, dialed, then started packing my belongings into my duffel bag beside Cole’s dresser that I’d been living out of ever since I’d fled my city.
The call picked up quickly as I thought it would and the rough voice on the other end had me shuddering.
“Sugar? This really you?”
I ignored the stunned reactions from Cole and Mason. “Yeah, Nik. It’s me.”
“You realized your mistake in fucking around with that trumped-up errand boy?”
I tensed as Cole seethed at the insult.
“Yes,” I forced out.
“He can’t give you what you need. He’s a fucking kid. You gotta ride a real man who’s got a cock that’s gonna fill you up proper, stretch that tight pussy and ass of yours, ‘til you feel the burn.”
Urgh.
“Say it,” he growled.
“You’re what I need,” I gritted out.
“Good girl.”
Hearing that voice with those words made me sick to my stomach.
“I’m heading back to the city now. I’ll be at Jezebel's by midnight.”
“See you there. And, sugar?”
“Yeah?”
“You won’t be running again.”
He hung up and I squeezed my eyes shut for a few moments, trying to push down my fear and the nauseating sensation in the pit of my stomach.
Like hell I wouldn’t be running.
There was no way I was showing up at Jezebel’s tonight or any other night.
I was going to ground until enough time had passed and Nik was distracted with other things. The impact to my business would be severe, but I had no choice now. I was on my own. I had to resort to extreme measures.
I hurriedly packed up my things in a matter of seconds.
I ignored Mason and brushed past Cole.
Before I could make it through the door, he grabbed my hand.
“Tasha, I—”
“We had a good run, Cole. Sorry if it meant more to you than it did to me. You were right. I was just using you. I’m sorry. I was just trying to survive.”
I jerked my hand free and hurried out of his room, hurrying down the clubhouse corridor, trying to hold it together.
I heard Cole calling out to me, his footsteps coming, but then Mason urged him to let me go, telling him I was more trouble than I was worth, little more than a club whore.
Pain radiated through me.
But I had to let him believe that was the truth.
I had to protect him.
For the first time, something trumped my own survival.
That was when I knew for certain.
I loved Cole Taylor.
We just could never be together.
I blinked out of my thoughts and stared at the view of the city from the balcony of my penthouse.
“I want to see it.”
I started at the sound of Cole’s voice behind me and I turned to see him leaning against the balcony doors, his inked arms folded across his chest.
He hadn’t spoken in almost an hour ever since I’d revealed that I was pregnant. I got that it was a shock. Hell, it had been to me as well. It still was. But for him to stonewall me, giving me absolutely no idea as to where he stood, or anything, was brutal.
“See what?” I asked, giving him a hard glare.
He didn’t address my mood, instead circumventing it to press on with his own thing.
“The sonogram,” he said, surprising me. “I know you. You’re thorough. There’s no way an over-the-counter pregnancy test would’ve been enough for you. You would’ve had it confirmed by a doctor.”
I frowned. “You need proof.” I brushed past him, putting my elbow into it for good measure. “Fine,” I muttered. “I thought we were past the whole broken trust thing after all this time. That incident at the clubhouse with Mason was ages ago and I explained it to your satisfaction. But, whatever.”
I stormed back inside. But I didn’t make it very far before Cole snagged my elbow, stopping me.
He gently tugged me around to face him. “Why the fuck are you bringing that ancient history up?”
“You were the one who—”
“I didn’t say shit. I want to see it because it’s my baby. It’s got nothing to do with proof. I want to see my kid.”
Oops. “Oh.”
He took my hand and stepped up close, his gaze burning into mine. “Show me, yeah?”
His imploring gaze, coupled with his earnestness had me softening. I nodded and guided him, my hand in his, to my study.
I led him to my desk and opened the top drawer. I took out the sonogram I’d stashed there a little while ago.
Watching him closely, I handed it to him.
He studied it for a long time, saying nothing, his expression unchanging. I couldn’t read him at all.
“Cole?” I said, quietly, trying to brace myself for whatever his reaction was going to be. I figured he had to finally show how he felt about it either way now that he held something tangible in his hands.
He blinked. When he looked at me, awe sparked in his eyes. There was a hint of excitement too, it seemed. “Wow,” he breathed. “We made this. A baby.”
A giggle escaped me. “Yeah.”
A wide smile spread across his face. “Our baby.”
He had that boyish expression that came over him whenever he was overly-excited about something. It was the only time I got a glimpse into the happy-go-lucky kid he’d once been before the harshness of life had hardened him, stripped him down, and turned him into who he was now. A man who’d fought so hard to push down pain so great that it couldn’t be contained and came exploding out in an outpouring of rage all too often. A man relishing the violence he committed for his club as their most revered and respected enforcer.
But right now, in this moment, he was none of those things.
He was lit up.
Happy.
I’d thought any reaction from him would be a negative thing for me, but it was so far from that.
It was… beautiful.
And I didn’t want anything to take that away from him.
I didn’t want to talk about how we were going to do this with the way our lives were.
I didn’t want to bring up why the hell he was really here, what Slade had sent him to get from me.
I didn’t want to talk at all.
Not now.
Right now, I just wanted to stay in this moment with him. For as long as possible.
As I saw his expression start to shift and him move to speak, I lunged at him, grasping his biceps, my lips crashing down on his.
It took him a moment to respond, he was so caught
off guard. But then I felt him kiss me back. He reached around me and placed the sonogram picture safely down on my desktop.
He broke our kiss, holding my face between his large, roughened hands. “You sure?” he asked, his eyes burning into mine.
“Yes.”
He smiled then crushed his lips to mine with a growl.
He didn’t waste any time, sliding his tongue past my lips, tasting me everywhere. His hands ran up and down my body, all over.
It was frantic. Wild. Intense.
Tears sprung to my eyes as I realized the significance of it.
He was re-establishing me as his, staking his claim.
I didn’t know how it would work beyond this moment, but I didn’t want to go there. I just wanted to savor every second of finally having want I’d wanted for so long.
The two of us truly together.
“Cole,” I panted, pulling back to look at him.
Adoration bled from him and he nodded. “I know, baby. I’ve got you now.”
Grasping my hips, he hauled me up against him. I wrapped my legs around his waist instinctively as he carried me out of the office and down the hall to the master bedroom.
He stripped me as he went, tugging my top up over my head, then reaching around with one hand and flicking open my bra. The second it hit the floor, I tugged at his tee and ripped it over his head, revealing his ripped torso and the intricate ink there that extended down to his wrists, forming two full sets of tattoo sleeves.
My back hit the mattress before I knew it. Cole shucked off his boots, socks and jeans in record time.
And then he was on me.
His alluring gray eyes blazed with lust as he started undoing my jeans, then pulling them down my legs. He tossed them off the bed and covered my body with his, caging me in.
“Natasha,” he breathed.
He took my mouth before I had a chance to get out another word.
Intense, deep and long.
It was unlike any kiss we’d ever shared before. More intimate, so much emotion and meaning in it. It was far beyond animal need, the usual for us.
It was everything.
My body lit up, all my nerve endings sparking out of control the second he delved his hand into my panties and cupped my drenched pussy. I threw my head back, inadvertently breaking our kiss, a feral cry escaping me.
