Dom Fever (Devlin Black #2)

by Alaska Angelini

  My head jerked up, my eyes blazing. “Watch your mouth.” The last part was a growl and I reached out, trying to catch myself.

  “Sorry. This is just horrible. Look at you. You’re as pale as a ghost.”

  “Ma ma.”

  I glanced up at Ava and tried to give her a reassuring smile, but all I could do was try to swallow past the excessive saliva in my mouth. Chills were starting to set in and my jaw chattered as I tried to get a grip on myself.

  “I think…” I sobbed past the pains and aggravation of being sick again.

  “Shh, it’s okay. Just…” He stood, looking around. “Where the hell are they?”

  Before I could stop myself, I was rolling to my side. Nothing came up, but it didn’t stop the process, which was even worse. By the time I was done, I was so weak, I felt my head lower to the grass. Everything was spinning and I felt so tired. Maybe if I just slept until they arrived…

  “Victoria.” A hand shook me and I barely realized it was Devlin. My eyes fluttered open and I could see his fear. It drew in his eyebrows and left his brow creased. The phone was back in his hand and he was looking at me and then to it, back and forth. My lids closed again and darkness blanketed over me. I liked it here. Dark…like Devlin.

  ****

  Beeping had me shaking my head. I flew forward, my eyes snapping open as I stared around at the surrounding curtain. Devlin jumped up, holding a basin out to me and I grabbed it without pause. There was still barely anything that surfaced. My throat tightened, burning like fire.

  Flashes of the ambulance ride and questions during admission came flooding back. I reached for the water Devlin held and took a small drink. An IV was already in and I knew they were monitoring me. Blood had been drawn and with the hours that had already gone by, I knew it wouldn’t be long before they came in to tell me what I already knew. Damn Mexican food place. I was never going there again.

  “Where’s Ava?” I looked around, feeling panic set in. She’d been here the last time I was awake.

  “Your mom came and picked her up. I told her I would stay until they released you.”

  “Thank you.” I nodded, lowering my head back to the pillow. Death would have been a piece of cake compared to what I was going through. The stabbing in my stomach remained, but not as intense. Still, the vomiting was the worst.

  “She looks like me.” He pushed his hands in his pocket and stared over. “I almost can’t believe how much. I think the only thing she has of you is your mouth. She has both of our hair color.”

  “Trust me, I know how much she looks like you. I saw it from the moment she was born.” I regretted my words instantly. Anger mingled with raw pain flashed over his face and I gave him an apologetic look. “I’m sorry. I truly am. If you would have seen what I did though…”

  He held up his hand. “Don’t even for a second make it seem like I would have done the same thing as you. I wouldn’t have. Why? Because I would have never, no matter how horrible I thought you were, kept something so important from you. So fucking life-changing. God dammit, Victoria.” His hand rose, his fingers running through his hair. “I still can’t believe what you did. Then, when I point blank asked you, not once, but twice, if you needed to tell me about having a child, you lied. Lied,” he exploded.

  The hectic activity outside the curtain seemed to go silent at his yell. My eyes closed, too weak to stay open a moment longer. I forced myself to face him. “I said I was sorry. I had to make sure you had changed for good. Hence, Friday.” The emphasis I tried to apply wasn’t there.

  “This isn’t the time,” he said, lowering his head. “You’re sick and this conversation can wait until later.”

  The curtain was pulled back and we both looked over. Dr. Keller, the emergency room doctor, walked forward. I didn’t know him very well, but we had met on occasion.

  “Ms. Farris.”

  “Dr. Keller,” I said, pushing to sit up. “Food poisoning, am I right?”

  “Salmonella, yes. But…” he glanced between us.

  I looked over at Devlin and then back to him. “It’s okay. You can say whatever you need to. I don’t mind if he hears.

  He nodded. “The bloodwork came up with a decent HCG count. You’re pregnant, Victoria.”

  My lips parted and I jerked my attention to Devlin, whose eyes were wide and blinking rather rapidly. He swallowed hard and turned to me.

  “Anyway, we’ll move you to a room upstairs and keep the fluids going while we monitor you overnight.”

  I nodded, staying quiet as he slipped out of my sheltered area.

  “I knew it,” he said, shaking his head. “Even after the food poisoning was obvious, I still knew.”

  The tears were uncontrollable as they slid down my face. I rolled to my side, pulling the cover up over my head as the sobs wracked my chest. I’d known the consequences when he asked if I was on birth control and yet, I’d still let him continue. Let him make love to me.

  “Victoria.” A hand settled over my shoulder through the sheet and I tried to ignore how his comfort helped. I’d been alone when I found out about Ava. But now…he was here. The father of both of my children.

  “Hey.” He pulled down the sheet, tapping my leg for me to move over. Although my first reaction was to stay where I was, I needed his comfort. Wanted to bury my face in his chest and release my fears to the one man who was the root of them all.

  Devlin crawled up to lie down beside me and the moment his arm came out, I launched myself into him. His fingers brushed back my hair and I held around his chest as tight as I could. Just this once. After the shock wore off, I’d be fine. I’d step up like I did with Ava and put together a plan. But for now, I needed him.

  “Do you not want this baby? Because if you don’t…” He broke off, hugging to me tighter. I knew where he was going and it only made me cry harder. “I know you don’t want it. If you…”

  Again, he got quiet. I pulled back, looking up into his saddened face. He thought I’d abort. It was so obvious by the way he wouldn’t even look at me.

  “I knew what I was doing and what could happen.” My fingers clung to his shirt as I tried to make my mouth work. My words were slurring, raspy from the rawness. “I’m having this baby,” I managed to get out.

  A deep exhale left him and he pulled me back into his body, hugging me tightly. The growth on his cheek pulled at my hair as he rested his face to the top of my head. “Thank you,” he whispered, so much emotion in his words that it only brought more tears. But they didn’t fall. My eyes closed, breathing in his cologne as we held to each other. Just as I was drifting off, the sound of the curtain caused me to jump awake.

  “I’m here to take you to your room.” A male nurse held on to the back of a wheel chair. Devlin stood and a female nurse entered, unhooking the IV. As I sat down and covered myself with the blanket he handed me, I still felt dizzy. And cold. The chills were coming back and I pulled the blanket up. The chair began to move and I prayed he made it to wherever we were going fast. The moment we got on the elevator and he hit the third floor, I felt panic set in. I worked on that floor! I should have known now that I was confirmed pregnant that they’d put me on the maternity floor. Shit.

  Movement left me swaying and I gripped to the arm of the chair, praying I didn’t get sick. Not yet. Not again.

  “You okay?” Devlin grabbed my hand.

  “I don’t know yet.”

  He waved the basin and handed it over. I tried not to look at it as I placed it on my lap. The more I let it get to me, the more my mind would force me to get sick.

  The door opened and the nurse pushed me out, heading in direction of the nursery where I worked. My arm came up, my elbow bending to rest on the arm of the chair so I could lower my head and try to hide as we passed. Luckily, I didn’t see anyone and the automatic doors opened, leading me to safety. Or so I had thought.

  Rita, one of the nurses who worked with me walked out of a patient’s room, wheeling a baby right toward
me. But she wasn’t looking down. She was too busy drooling over the big, bad, famous bachelor behind me.

  I brought my head down even more, trying to swallow against the pressure in my throat. God, where were they putting me? I needed to be in my room before I got sick out here in the hall, in front of the one person who would love to blurt my personal life to the world. She was the leading gossiper in the group, and all I wanted to do was hurry and escape her notice.

  I closed my eyes while we traveled even further. When I opened them, she was gone. In the middle of the hallway, Devlin finally turned, bringing me inside. Another nurse came in behind us and I stood from the chair, nearly collapsing into the bed. As my eyes rose to Devlin, I didn’t miss the uncomfortable way he shifted while he glanced toward the short haired blonde who could have killed him with her glare. What was this? I cleared my throat as they both glanced over to me. The woman’s short hair swung under her chin as she walked forward.

  “I’ll just hook up your IV. Dr. Pena is on duty tonight and he’s already been notified you’re here. He’s ordered a sonogram to check on the baby and make sure everything is alright.”

  Although she talked and fixed the IV, I didn’t take my eyes off of Devlin. His body was stiff, his arms crossed over his chest. The way he refused to look at me, I knew.

  “I’m sorry, I didn’t get your name?” I smiled up at her as she looked over to me.

  “Hannah. Nothing at all like a flower.”

  My head spun to Devlin, who had his lips pressed together. Was he trying not to laugh?

  “I beg your pardon?” A flower? What in the hell was she talking about?

  “Never mind.” Annoyance was still there while she finished up the IV, but she kept quiet during the blood pressure and temperature readings. “That’s it for now. Call me if you need anything. The button’s right there on your bed.” With that, she turned, giving Devlin one last look before she disappeared.

  Still, he refused to look at me.

  “That was interesting,” I said, jealousy thick in my tone. I hated that I felt possessive over him. He wasn’t mine. Never had been. Yet, I couldn’t stop the hurt that threatened to cave my chest in.

  “She…we.” He shook his head, moving to the window.

  “You two had sex.”

  He nodded, but didn’t turn around.

  “I’m sure she won’t be the last we run into.” I lowered the bed and turned on my side, away from him. What was I going to do? Pregnant again, by this man, and now we were going to be under the same roof? How long was that going to last? Forever? Jesus, I hoped not.

  “I can’t change my past, Victoria.” I turned back around as he leaned against the ledge. “If I could take it back, I would. Maybe then I would have at least seen my daughter being born.” The way he said it didn’t sound like a jibe. The tone was too full of sadness, but my guilty conscious became defensive. Instead of saying something that I knew would start another fight, I shut myself off to everything.

  The door opening minutes later stirred me.

  A woman paused a few feet in, the cart holding the sonogram machine stopping with her. She took one look at Devlin and I groaned out loud. Her lips were separated. Her large eyes, wide. Pure shock was registered on her face and I couldn’t believe what I was seeing.

  “Jesus,” I growled. “Let’s just do this.” I sat up, not able to hide the anger. I couldn’t even look at her as she stopped before me.

  “We’re just going to take some pictures of the baby. This shouldn’t take too long.” I lifted the gown, turning my head toward the monitor and away from Devlin and he eased up to my side.

  “Actually.” She lowered the gown to my hips. “We’re going to be doing a transvaginal ultrasound today.” Her voice was low, so soft I could barely hear. But I didn’t miss what she said. My eyes closed, mortified.

  “Sorry,” she whispered.

  I brushed away one of the tears and tried to breath. The sheet was pulled to the side and my knees bent. Still, I couldn’t face what I was having to go through. To have a woman he was or had been involved with placing something in the most intimate place on my body. Completely…humiliating.

  “This will be a little uncomfortable, but I’ll try to be easy.”

  I nodded, only opening my lids when I felt the pressure enter me. I focused on the screen, not willing to look at her or Devlin. I couldn’t deny that she sounded sincere. I felt bad for reacting as I had. It was just too much. Too soon.

  “You see this.” She pointed to what looked to be a small black dot. At her moving her hand to get a better view, I clenched my jaw. “That’s the baby. You’re still really early.” She clicked a few buttons, taking measurements. “About five weeks, give or take a day or two.”

  “I’d say that’s dead on,” Devlin said, quietly. He leaned forward, his eyes squinting as he stared at the screen. “Does the baby look okay? I…” His head moved. “Isn’t there supposed to be legs or arms or something? A heartbeat?”

  The dark haired woman looked over. “The heartbeat typically isn’t detected until the sixth week. As for what we’re seeing, everything looks normal, but I’ll let your doctor have a better look and decide.” She took a few more pictures and handed me a cloth to clean myself as she finished. I almost felt bad for her. How did she know him? Had he hurt her too?

  “Congratulations.” The smile she gave was…genuine. There was no anger like with the last, but still, it got to me. Made my pregnant days with Ava come back to life all over again.

  “Georgia, can I talk to you for a minute? Outside.” Devlin glanced over and I closed my eyes, throwing my arm over my face. Footsteps sounded and I turned away, wiping the tears that started flowing again. I couldn’t do this. How many more women? It was almost laughable. I didn’t even want to know.

  Chapter 3

  Devlin

  Today was just full of surprises. Some good. Some…shit. The timing of my past couldn’t have had a worse time to invade my life. Although, technically, Georgia was my present. She was one of the women who’d answered my ad to start a family.

  As I watched her walk away, I knew I should have felt something. She didn’t want to have anything to do with me anymore and I couldn’t deny the relief that was there, but what about the others? Did I still want to pursue a relationship with one of them? Victoria didn’t want me and I wasn’t sure I could ever forgive her for what she did, but she was the mother of both of my children. God…

  I pulled out my phone, hitting Branson, my best friend’s number. He answered after the second ring.

  “If you’re calling to cancel dinner plans, I’m going to be pissed.” I knew he was teasing, but I didn’t have the strength to laugh.

  “I’m sorry.”

  “Are you serious? Devlin, you promised. Jill went out and brought Charity a new outfit just so she could take pictures of you holding her.”

  Branson’s baby hadn’t been born but a week ago. Although she’d been four weeks early, the little girl had been healthy and had been released to go home after three days.

  “You have no idea what kind of day I’ve had. I’m at the hospital with Victoria.”

  “Is she working?”

  “No,” I rushed in. “She’s the patient.”

  He exhaled. “What the hell happened?”

  “I’ll get to that.” I glanced down the hall at the nurses who sat not far away. “I have a daughter. She’s…” Shit, I didn’t even know her age. “Victoria got pregnant the night we met. That one time. Jesus, Branson, Ava looks just like me.”

  He got quiet. “What are you going to do?”

  My head shook, even though I knew he couldn’t see me. “I’m moving in with her. Not as a couple, but so I can be with Ava. I didn’t leave Victoria much of a choice.”

  “I figured as much. So why is she in the hospital?”

  “Food poisoning. But there’s more. She’s pregnant by me. Again.”

  “Oh…fuck.” He dragged out the words an
d I bit the inside of my cheeks.

  “Yeah. So, if you don’t mind, I think I’ll skip dinner tonight. I need to be here with her anyway.”

  “Absolutely. I hope she gets better soon. Call me tomorrow. I want you to keep me updated.”

  Oh, I would. Lately, we’d been pretty close, even though the last year had been rocky. It didn’t help that I pushed him and his wife away during my self-destruction stage. “Okay. You have a good night. Give Jill and Charity a kiss for me.”

  “Will do.”

  The line disconnected and I sighed as I opened the door. At the sniffling, I headed for the bed. I couldn’t imagine what she was going through. The whole reason she’d stayed away was because of all the women. And here she was, pregnant by me again, and they were crawling out of the woodwork. Not that her withholding from me was excusable.

  “Victoria?” I eased to the mattress, placing my hand on her shoulder. She rolled over to face me, her eyes swollen from the crying. It ripped at my heart. I may have been pissed for what she’d done, but I couldn’t shut off my feelings for her no matter how much I wanted to. I’d spent months looking for her, and it’d been two years before I finally found her again. But never once had I forgotten about her.

  “I’m fine. It’s just the hormones. Really.” She turned back over. “You can go home, Devlin. I’ll be okay. I’m just going to go to sleep. You’re not going to miss anything.”

  It didn’t matter what she said, I wasn’t leaving. “Scoot over.” I was already crawling on the bed before she could argue. “Try to sleep. You have to be exhausted. Plus, I read getting plenty of rest in the first trimester is best.”

  “You read?’ She rolled onto her back. The way she said it almost had me laughing. She sounded shocked.

  “Yeah. I’ve always read. Lately, I’ve focused more on babies. You forget, it’s the main reason I wanted to settle down.” I propped myself up on my elbow and eased the sheet down a little. “May I?” My hand continued to lower even as I spoke. I didn’t want her to deny me. Couldn’t stand the thought. My child was living within her and I wanted full access to what I created.