ROMANCE: BAD BOY ROMANCE: Basketball Daddy (BWWM Alpha Male Billionaire Pregnancy Romance) (African American Unexpected Pregnant Contemporary Romance)

by Ava Walsh

  “This is insane,” he said. “I can’t let you just go home. Not like this. What are we going to do?”

  “Enjoy our time together.” She was surprised at how resigned she sounded about the whole thing. But maybe, after coming so close to losing him, after all that had happened, after finding out about her mother and the town, maybe it was too much for her brain, and she’d feel something later. Maybe in a few hours she’d start to freak out over dying.

  “I’m going to figure something out.” He looked at her with eyes frantic and wild. “There has to be a way.”

  “It’s over, Spence. It’s okay. You’ll be okay.” She kissed him and hugged her arms around his neck so tight that his shoulder choked her.

  “Don’t say that. I’m not going to lose you.”

  She released her arms. “I do want to talk to my mom, though. I’ll text you later?”

  “Okay. And I’ll see you first thing in the morning.”

  “Sounds good.”

  They kissed again and she walked away slowly, looking back at him several times. As she walked home Kiara made sure to notice everything around her. The way the stars twinkled in the sky, the way the trees smelled when she walked by them, the way her legs bent and moved her body forward. How much longer would she experience each of these things? How long did she have? A day? Two? She wanted to appreciate everything she could before she got too sick to enjoy it.

  She paused to look up at her house before unlocking the door. She walked inside and locked the door behind her. Her mom sat in the living room, watching her. She motioned for Kiara to join her.

  “Hey, kid,” she said when Kiara walked in.

  “Hey.”

  “I just talked to Spencer’s parents.”

  “And?”

  “Well, they told me the magical cat is out of the bag.”

  “Yeah.” She let her bag fall to the floor with a thump. “You could have told me sooner.”

  “No, I couldn’t. Mr. James said they explained all that.”

  “I guess.” She slumped onto the sofa across from her mom.

  “So now that you know and we can talk about it, do you have any questions?”

  She swallowed and noticed that her throat hurt. Her eyelids drooped with exhaustion and she wanted to sleep. But this could be the last time she had a serious talk with her mom. Her last chance to get answers to any questions she might have. “How often did you use magic on me?”

  “Oh, often enough. You’ll find that the children of magical parents are surprisingly well behaved.” She chuckled. “You’ll see when it’s your turn. Don’t be mad about it; we all do it. When your baby won’t sleep or your toddler is throwing a fit or your ten-year-old gets made fun of at school. You just want a way to make them feel better, and when all it takes is one spell there’s no reason not to use magic.”

  Kiara nodded. If she’d lived long enough to have her own kids then she probably would have done the same. It seemed like a much easier way to parent. Would her and Spence have stayed together that long? Would they have had kids and grown old together? Tears came to her eyes at the thought and she just wanted to be alone to think and cry.

  “I’m really tired, Mom. And I think I’m getting sick. Can we talk more tomorrow?”

  “Sure.” Her mom walked over to hug her and feel her forehead. “You do feel warm. I’ll bring you something.”

  Kiara trudged up to her bedroom and got into her pajamas, adding a sweatshirt to keep away the growing chills running through her. Her mom came up later with some medicine and water. She cast a spell over her, and it did make her feel a little bit better. But she knew even her mother’s more practiced and powerful magic wouldn’t last long against this curse.

  “I do have one more question,” Kiara said as her mom pulled her blanket up to cover her. “Was Dad a wizard?”

  “Yes, and that’s how he died. A powerful spell went wrong.”

  “What kind of spell?”

  “That’s not important.”

  “Mom. What kind of spell?”

  Her mom sat at the edge of her bed. “When you were little, you fell into the ocean from a fishing boat. He jumped in to save you. You were under for too long and he cast a spell to give you oxygen because you were so far under the surface. It pulled all the oxygen out of the water and surrounded you so you could breathe, like being inside a giant bubble of air. But it took that oxygen from anything close to you. Including your father. He was too far down to make it up in time, but since you were in a bubble you floated to the surface.”

  “He suffocated himself to save me?”

  “Basically, yes. I don’t think he realized what would happen, but he did it to save you, yes.”

  Kiara stared at the wall, where the photo of her and her dad hung. She was a toddler in the photo. She didn’t remember the place it was taken or anything about her father at all. Maybe when she died he would be there—wherever it was she was going—and maybe she’d finally get to know him.

  “Now you know why I never wanted to give you details about how he died. Saying he drowned was a much easier explanation. And technically, that is what happened.” Her mother kissed her forehead. “Get some rest.”

  Kiara’s eyes closed quickly and she fell into a dreamless sleep.

  Chapter 14

  “Kiki, wake up.”

  She heard his voice and peeled open heavy eyelids to see a blurry Spence looking down at her. Her whole body ached. She pushed herself up in bed and covered her mouth, her eyes wild as she realized she was about to throw up. Spence, sitting on the edge of the bed, handed her a trash can and helped keep her hair out of the way while she threw up.

  When she’d finished, Spence handed her a glass of water and took the trash can into the bathroom. The smell in the room didn’t fade enough, though. She could just reach her tote bag on the floor and pulled out her wand, then pointed it at the window and cast a spell to open it. The breeze felt nice on her clammy skin.

  Spence came back in and took his seat beside her again. “Everything is going to be okay.” He beamed at her and handed her a small glass bottle filled with a red-brown potion. “Drink this.”

  “What is it?”

  “Just drink it. It will cure you.”

  “Spence. What is it? Where did you get it? What does it do?”

  He closed his eyes briefly and looked frustrated. “I will explain everything after you drink it.”

  “Well, I’m not drinking it until you do.”

  “Kiara!” He punched the bed with his fist. “I went through a lot to get this, now just drink the freaking potion before I hold you down and pour it down your throat.”

  “You went through a lot?”

  He groaned and rubbed his face. “Yes. I had to convince Sindri to make it, okay? I went to the haven—and boy that was fun—but he made it and he said it’ll cure you.”

  “What did you have to do for it?”

  “I gave him my blood.”

  “That’s it?”

  “That’s it. Now drink.” He pulled the stopper out of the glass bottle and handed the bottle to her.

  She poured the liquid into her mouth and swallowed. It wouldn’t matter at this point if what he said wasn’t true. She was dying anyway. No potion could do worse damage than that. The liquid tasted horrible, and she could taste the blood he’d mentioned. The thought made her want to throw up again.

  She closed her eyes, still holding the bottle in her hand. Within seconds she started to feel better. She smiled at Spencer. “I feel better already.”

  He beamed and kissed her.

  “I can’t believe Sindri made a potion to cure me! Wait, how did you know his name?”

  “Ah, you slipped up once when you were talking about him.”

  “And all he wanted was your blood?”

  “Yup. Well, sort of.”

  She sat up straighter and pushed the covers back. Her stomach didn’t feel like it would turn anymore, but there was a new sense of dread
that settled there. What had he done? “I knew it. I knew it couldn’t be that simple. What did you do?”

  “It’s not that big of a deal, relax. He took my ability to shift. And yours.”

  “What?” She sat back against her headboard, stunned. She couldn’t change into a dragon anymore and neither could he? If it meant she was going to live it shouldn’t matter that much, but this felt like a huge loss. Her heart felt hollow, as if someone had just reached in and ripped out a piece of her. She hadn’t been able to become a dragon for more than a few months, but she loved it and it felt like part of her. She’d been powerful and special. And now she was just a witch again? A witch with limited, human senses and human power?

  “I’m sorry I tricked you. I should have told you, but it was the only way. I was able to convince Sindri to make the potion because none of the dragons liked that I was more powerful and was basically a freak of nature or whatever. So I gave it up and unfortunately they said that because we caused too much trouble together you had to give up your powers, too. Honestly, I think they were kind of happy to make that exchange. Though Sindri said he’ll show up at some point and wipe our memories so we don’t remember any of this.”

  “But I’ll live?”

  “Duh. You think I would have bothered otherwise?”

  She tried to let that sink in. Slowly, little pieces of what this meant came to her. There was one thing that would be better. “And now you can be in the moonlight without having to worry.”

  “True. I guess there’s one positive. And my dad won’t freak out about us crushing nature anymore with our giant tails.”

  “Can we still do magic, though?”

  “Of course. You can’t lose that ability, it’s in our blood. And you were right. I asked my dad. There’s no way to give anyone the ability to use magic. It only comes through the bloodline. Not even a blood transfusion would work because their real blood would replace it, though they could technically do spells while they had the magic blood in them. It’s complicated, but anyway. We’re just a witch and wizard couple now from magical families.”

  “Okay.” She nodded her head slowly. She still felt sad about losing her dragon form, but it meant they would live, and they wouldn’t have this awful secret to keep anymore. And if they could still do magic, it wasn’t that bad. “I can live with that. So long as we’re alive and together.”

  “We’re alive and we’re together.” He leaned forward to kiss her forehead. “I was thinking about something.”

  “What?”

  “Do you know anything about the bonding ritual?”

  “The one that bonds two people forever through their blood?”

  He nodded. “And allows them to better sense each other and know each other?”

  “Yeah. It’s like having a part of that person inside you.”

  He pulled his lips into a sly grin. “Not that I don’t like having other parts inside of you, but what if we did it?”

  “You want to do the bonding ritual with me?”

  He nodded. “It’s more powerful than marriage. Though I guess we could do that eventually, too. If you wanted to.”

  “I wouldn’t dare miss my chance to wear a white dress and throw a huge party.” She giggled. “You really want to do this?”

  “Yes.” He took out a knife and looked at her questioningly. “As long as you want it.”

  “Yes.” She took a long, deep breath. “This is huge, Spence. You know that, right? People get divorced, but there is no undoing this spell. Once we’re bonded, we’re bonded for life.”

  “For all of the eternity, actually.” He winked. “Kiara, I love you more than anything. More than dragons or magic or even life itself. When you were sick, I thought about what it would be like if you died. Then I started thinking of how I could go with you, because I don’t want to live without you. You sacrificed to save me, I sacrificed to save you. It’s clear we’d do anything for each other. I want to be connected to you forever.”

  Tears came to her eyes at his words. She never thought she’d have someone want to be bonded with her. Not even all married couples did it because it was so permanent.

  “I love you, Spence. More than anything.”

  He held her gaze for a long, intense moment before he made a small cut in his right wrist and cut hers in the same place. They pressed their wrists together and said the words of the spell in unison. She felt a new warmth enter her body and then a strange, minty taste in her mouth.

  She raised an eyebrow at him. “Are you chewing gum?”

  He smirked and pulled back his lips to reveal a white clump of gum. “Can you taste it?”

  “Yes.” She giggled. “Wow. So weird.”

  “Drink this.” He handed her the cup of ginger ale her mom had left her earlier. He closed his eyes while she drank. “Wild.”

  “I wonder how it would feel…” She bit her lip and looked over at her bed, then back at him.

  He raised an eyebrow at her. “You sure you’re up for that?”

  She nodded and grinned. “Definitely.”

  He put a hand to her cheek. “I love you. So much.”

  “You gave up power, strength, riches, and increased magical ability for me, then bonded your life to mine. How could I ever doubt your love?” She kissed him and they didn’t let go for a very long time.

  *****

  THE END

  Bonus Book 25: The Shifting Billionaire's Mate

  By: Eliza Moon

  Description

  A curvy bartender at a strip club PLUS a smoking hot billionaire PLUS a secret that reveals itself during the full moon!

  Twenty-two-year-old Lucia James works at a strip club. She is a curvy girl who tries to do the right thing for her little sister Daisy. After their mother died, the little girl had no one else, and the job helps Lucia keep their heads above water...

  Lucia sacrifices everything out of love, but sometimes life just gets her down. She assumes that she can make up for it later.

  But that happens more quickly than she expected when she meets one of the richest men in Atlanta, Remy James...

  Of course, she meets him at the strip club. What kind of man is he? Can she really give into him? She has to consider Daisy as well.

  But their attraction is strong, and Lucia finds it harder and harder to deny him with every day. He is gorgeous and intense, not giving up on his pursuit of her and claiming her as his own...

  But then Remy tells her his secret and shocks her even more.

  Lucia will have to work all of that out in this tale of love and attraction, destiny and fate. Can she look past the glaring truth to the man he really is?

  Chapter One

  I opened the back door to the bar and walked through the hallway. I listened to the chatter in the dressing room between the girls as I rolled my eyes. I didn’t love my job at the local strip club in Georgia but it paid the bills, and that was what I needed right now. I was raising my little sister Daisy after my mom had died a year ago, since Daisy’s father had left when she was just one. Mine stepped out in the form of cancer, so we had nobody, since they were both only children.

  Now she was seven and needed a lot of things for school, and bartending at this dive brought in a lot of money to rent a decent apartment for us and keep our heads above water.

  Yes, I am a bartender at a strip club. I am not a size zero, and I have way too much dignity to get up on that stage and take my clothes off. I make great money selling drinks to the fools that buy them for the girls, thinking that it’ll get them somewhere with them, and we charge a lot for all of our drinks. I guess, as far as this kind of establishment goes, The Goods was a better place than most in this town. I also had a sweet old lady neighbor who watched Daisy in our place after she was asleep.

  “Luci, my girl,” my boss greeted me, as I gave him a dark look. “How are you tonight?”

  “I am peachy, Thomas. I am going to make you a whole lot of money.” He was a bit of a creep, but he left me alo
ne for the most part and bothered the strippers.

  “Good. Amber Rain is dancing tonight, and she should bring in a good crowd. She was just in a series of films that did very well,” Thomas told me, as I nodded and walked behind the bar. I dressed in tight black jeans and a very fitted tank top, which was white and boasted the name of the place over my generous breasts. It was low cut and almost sheer, so I chose to wear some colorful bras underneath to cover my own goods and keep something to the imagination, given the men in here bug me as much as the dancers.

  I locked my purse up in my locker under the bar and hung my jacket up on a hook against the wall before I looked down the long wooden bar. I was working with Jenna tonight, who was a hardworking girl and knew her stuff. It was half full of customers now, and I pulled my black curls into a high ponytail and took a deep breath.

  After I’d helped a few people and got the crowd settled, I took a good look around. Most of the men who came here were middle class and hung out around the front hoping to get lucky, but we also had tables in the back for VIPs. Those guys had a lot of cash and paid well to sit there, and there looked to be a full group gathered at the middle one. That meant a successful night all around. “Who’s over there?” I asked Jenna, as she pulled her hair up before taking a long drink of ice water.

  “His name is Remy James. He’s one of those independently wealthy types that does a little of this and that and makes billions, though I couldn’t name one of his businesses right now. I just know that he is hot, and he tips very well. The man loves to drink and hold court, as you can see,” Jenna said, as she gave me a smirk. She was a bubbly little strawberry blonde with huge green eyes that knew just how to work the crowd. She also had huge tits and wore tiny camisoles under her tank top that left little to the imagination.

  One of the waitresses walked over with an order from the table and, since it was for a crowd of twenty, Jenna and I split the order to make it faster and agreed to split the tips down the middle. She worked here to support her two-year-old son, since his father had taken off, so I respected that. We poured the whiskey and tequila from the top shelf bottles and arranged them on two trays so Bella could carry them in two trips.