Taking His Bride: Baby Daddy University Book 3

by Hamel, B. B.

  Taking His Bride

  Baby Daddy University Book 3

  BB Hamel

  Contents

  Special Offer!

  1. Kylee

  2. Walker

  3. Kylee

  4. Walker

  5. Kylee

  6. Walker

  7. Kylee

  8. Walker

  9. Kylee

  10. Walker

  11. Kylee

  12. Walker

  13. Kylee

  14. Walker

  15. Kylee

  16. Kylee

  Also by BB Hamel

  About the Author

  Copyright © 2019 by B. B. Hamel

  All rights reserved.

  No part of this book may be reproduced in any form or by any electronic or mechanical means, including information storage and retrieval systems, without written permission from the author, except for the use of brief quotations in a book review.

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  1

  Kylee

  I look out over the crowd of people and I’m not sure what I’m doing here. I adjust my dress and take a deep breath as Iris comes up next to me, the blonde girl smiling a huge grin.

  “Cool, right?” she asks me.

  “Not bad, I guess.”

  “Come on. It’s nice in here.”

  I sigh and fiddle with the drink in my hand. I don’t really know why I decided to say yes to this in the first place. I guess I wanted something to do other than sit around my dorm room all night again.

  “Cheer up,” Iris says with a laugh. “It’s a party.”

  “Good point.” I bite my lip and look around. Jenna is over near the bar chatting with her sponsor and looking at him like she’s staring at the most beautiful painting in the world. “I wonder what it’s like to feel that way.”

  Iris follows my gaze and sighs. “Yeah. Same. I’d give anything for a sponsor.”

  “Sponsor doesn’t mean love, you know.”

  She gives me a look. “It’s close enough.”

  I roll my eyes at her but I can’t help smiling. Iris is the only person in this whole school that believes in this system without any irony at all.

  Personally, I think the whole Baby Daddy University thing is insane. I didn’t know about it before I came to Gradus, and when I learned the truth I basically just tried to act like it doesn’t exist. I mean, a bunch of rich, older guys get to basically buy–or, in their language, “sponsor”–young women, and it feels…

  Well, really weird.

  I came here because Gradus has a good marketing department, believe it or not. I guess they still do stuff outside of, you know, setting up rich guys with young coeds.

  Anyway, the sponsor stuff never really touched me until Jenna moved into the dorms last year. She had this whole thing with her sponsor, a guy named Brady. He’s some kind of film director, although I’d never heard of him before.

  They had a tough time at first or at least that’s what Iris told me later. I didn’t know them then, only met them after they fell in love. Jenna’s finishing her degree and Brady’s basically just hanging around campus, waiting for her to be done so he can knock her up and make her his little wife.

  Bleh. Not my thing.

  But Jenna’s great and Brady’s cool too, so I don’t mind it. She’s the reason I’m here, anyway.

  The good thing about being sponsored is you get your own little dorm. It’s a beautiful building, basically an incredibly high-end apartment building with multiple floors, huge multi-room living areas, and common spaces like this absurdly ornate ballroom. When Jenna invited me out to this special dance for sponsors, their sponsored girls, and special guests, I wasn’t sure what to think.

  Well, I knew what I thought. I figured it’d be totally weird and I would hate it.

  I was half right. It’s totally weird. But I don’t hate it, not yet at least.

  The room’s pretty crowded. There are ten sponsors and sponsored girls in each class, so forty in total. I guess each girl invited a bunch of people because this enormous ballroom is packed. There are more men in here than I’ve ever seen at Gradus, which is traditionally an all-girls school. Normally, if you see a man on campus, you know he’s a sponsor or a teacher. But tonight, I’m not sure who’s who.

  I guess it doesn’t matter.

  “Come on,” Iris says to me, grabbing my arm. She grins at me, her blonde hair bobbing as she turns toward the dance floor. “Let’s dance.”

  “Oh, no,” I say, wriggling again. “No way. I’m not drunk enough for that.”

  She rolls her eyes. “Jenna’s out there.”

  “She’s got Brady.”

  “So?”

  “So.” I shrug. “I’m fine here.”

  “Suit yourself.” Iris glances over toward the side wall. “You and Azrael were made for each other.”

  I roll my eyes at Iris as the girl scampers off. Azrael is another girl on our floor and Jenna’s roommate. She’s the Gothiest girl I’ve ever met with pitch black hair, dark makeup, and a perpetual frown.

  I love her. I mean, she’s totally nuts, but she’s great.

  I decide to leave the Queen of Darkness to herself though. She looks like she wants to stab a puppy and I’m afraid she’ll settle for stabbing a friend instead.

  I sip my glass of wine and wander around the perimeter of the dance floor. Iris is shaking her booty with absolutely no hesitation, which makes me smile, while Jenna and Brady dance a little less provocatively. Jenna catches my eyes and waves, which makes me smile and wave back, but I don’t go and join them.

  I will sooner or later. I just need to loosen up a little bit. I don’t know why, I guess I’ve always been a little slow to warm up to parties, but I’ll get there.

  As I move around the room I keep glancing at the people. The women are wearing expensive dresses, glittering diamonds in their hair and on their throats, and it hits me all over again how Gradus was basically built to cater to the rich and elite. I don’t really fit that mold, not at all.

  I come from a boring family. Middle-class suburbanites outside of Philadelphia. Dad worked in insurance, Mom stayed home. I have an older brother and a dog. Pretty much as vanilla as you can possibly imagine.

  I never thought in a million years that I’d end up at a snooty rich school like this… but here I am, three years into my education, and I guess I’ve gotten used to it.

  I suddenly stumble, not realizing I was walking over a long cable connecting one of the speakers to a wall outlet. I reach out and grab something to steady myself before I totally wipe out and find the only thing handy.

  It’s a man, a tall man, with dark eyes and light brown hair. I grab onto his arm and steady myself as he glances down at me with a little smile on his lips.

  “You know, if you wanted to get my attention, you could’ve just said hi,” he says.

  I blush dark red. He’s handsome, really handsome. There are hints of tattoos at the edges of his sleeves and on his neck, totally out of place in a fancy ballroom like this. His suit is dark and fits him perfectly but he’s not wearing a tie and his top button is undone.

  “Sorry,” I say. “God, I’m so sorry. I just tripped on that cable and–”

  “Grabbed onto the best-looking thing you could find. I get it.” He grins at me.

  “Actually, I just grabbed at random, and ended up with you.” I frown at him. “I should’ve tried for a table instead.”

  He laughs. “Why? I’m much more fun.”

  “Doubt it. The
table wouldn’t be such an ass.”

  That really gets him. He grins at me and I grin back defiantly.

  “What’s your name?” he asks.

  “Kylee.”

  “Huh. Nice to meet you, Kylee.” His grin gets even bigger. “I’m Walker. And you can let go of my arm.”

  I blush again and quickly release him. “Sorry,” I say.

  “You apologize a lot for a girl that keeps grabbing me.”

  “I’m not trying to assault you, I swear.”

  “Is it assault if I’m into it?”

  I let out a nervous giggle. I don’t know why this guy is flirting with me or why I’m flirting back, but I guess I’m just out of sorts.

  He doesn’t look like he belongs here, not exactly anyway. Most of the men in this room are upper-crust elite types, the sort with boat shoes and pastel shorts and haircuts like John F. Kennedy. They look like they’re more at home on a boat than on a dance floor.

  But this guy is different. He’s holding a glass of something brown, whiskey by the smell of it, and his eyes are gleaming. He’s not talking to anyone else, just watching the dance floor almost casually. He has a dark bracelet and a dark watch, but neither of them look expensive.

  Nothing about him screams “wealthy asshole” like all the others.

  “Now that you’re here, why don’t you let me get you a drink?” he asks.

  I blink for a second. “Oh, no, I have one.”

  He arches an eyebrow. “Actually, half of it ended up on my shoes.”

  I look down and gasp. Sure enough, I spilled half my wine without even realizing it.

  “Oh, shit,” I say. “Shit. I’m such an asshole.”

  He laughs and shakes his head. “Seriously. It’s fine. I don’t care.”

  “But they’re soaked.”

  “I never wear them. Really, I don’t give a shit.”

  “Oh my god, let me clean them off.”

  He laughs again and somehow his hand ends up on my small of my back. “Kylee, seriously. It’s fine. Let me get you a new drink though.”

  I hesitate for a second, not sure what to think, but finally nod. “Okay. Yeah. Sure. I guess it’s the least I can do.”

  He laughs as he steers me back over to the bar. “You say that like you’re doing me a favor.”

  “Well, I am, obviously.”

  “Right. You are the most attractive girl in this room. It’s my honor to let you ruin my shoes.”

  I laugh and blush again. “You’re welcome.”

  We head over to the bar and he gets me another glass before we drift away. “So how did you end up here?” he asks me.

  “Friend of mine is sponsored,” I say.

  He glances down at me. “You say that like it’s a bad thing.”

  “Not bad, just…” I trail off. “Weird, I guess.”

  “How so?”

  I frown up at him, not sure what to think. “I know it seems normal in here with all these people around but out in the real world, this situation, with drafting girls and getting them pregnant and the school just accepting it all…” I shrug a little bit. “Just totally weird.”

  “You’re damn right it’s weird,” he says. “I mean, it’s a little insane, right?”

  “Right,” I say, relieved he agrees. I know if I said something like that to a lot of people in this room I’d be met with an angry glare or some cutting remark.

  Instead, he’s smiling almost like he’s relieved.

  “It’s basically forcing people to end up together. And don’t get me started on all the power imbalances.”

  “Right?” I laugh and find myself leaning toward him. “So how did you end up here yourself?”

  “Oh, you know. Just wandered in off the street.”

  “Right, in a fancy suit, no less.”

  “This old thing?” He makes a face. “It’s my casual suit. I wear it on Thursdays.”

  “It’s Saturday.”

  His eyes go wide. “Shit. Lost track of the days.”

  I laugh as we end up leaning back against the wall on the edge of the crowd. Azrael is nearby and I shoot her a quick glance just to let her know that I’m okay. Az may be the Queen of Darkness but she’s very protective of her friends, and apparently she counts me among that lucky group.

  Walker runs his hand through his hair and watches the crowd silently for a moment. I watch him, not sure what to think. He seems like he doesn’t belong here and yet there are parts of him that clearly do. The expensive clothes, for one, and the attitude. Plus, you don’t get invited to this thing without having some kind of connection.

  He looks back and must’ve noticed me watching. He gives me a little smirk. “You’re really not interested in this party, huh?”

  “I guess not.”

  “What are you interested in, then?”

  I open my mouth to give him some sly, snotty answer, but decide to close it again. “I’m not sure,” I admit.

  He gives me a short look before turning away. He doesn’t say a word as he stalks back over to the bar. I watch him wade through the crowd, not sure what to make of it, as he reaches the front and glances over his shoulder at me. He winks and reaches over the bar, snatching a bottle and pulling it into his jacket.

  I stare as he walks casually away. Nobody noticed, and if they did, nobody said a word.

  “Come on,” he says, taking my hand.

  “Wait, you just stole that.”

  He laughs. “We’re paying for it one way or another.”

  I let him pull me along the edge of the room and over to an exit. We move through it, stepping out into a dimly lit hallway.

  “Where are we going?” I ask him.

  He doesn’t answer as we head over to a stairwell. We go up a couple flights until we step off into a hallway.

  “They don’t talk about this place,” he says softly as we walk down the carpeted halls. “They don’t like people thinking too much about it.”

  “About what, the sponsored dorms?”

  He nods. “Lots of weird things around here.”

  I bite my lip, suddenly feeling nervous. I don’t know this guy and yet here I am, totally alone with him. “Like what?”

  “Little places to watch people.”

  I clear my throat and a tingle runs down my spine. “Excuse me?”

  “Here.” He stops in front of an unmarked door. “Keep guard, okay?”

  “Keep… guard?”

  I stare as he slips something out from his sleeve. It’s a little rolled up package. He unties and unrolls it before slipping out these long, thin metal tools.

  He slips them into the lock and starts to move them.

  “Are you picking that lock?” I ask, totally incredulous.

  “Yep,” he says casually. “Keep watch.”

  “Wait, hold on. We can’t just break into this room… and how the hell do you know how to pick a lock?”

  He ignores me and keeps working. After a few seconds I sigh and turn away, looking up and down the empty hallway. I can still vaguely hear the party going on somewhere nearby, but that can’t be right. We should be above it now.

  Suddenly there’s a click and he lets out a laugh. “Got it,” he says, opening the door. He slips the tools away and slides the bundle back up his sleeve.

  “What are you, some kind of spy or something?” I ask him. “Who the hell knows how to do that?”

  “Something like that,” he says, gesturing for me to follow.

  We step in through the door and it shuts behind me. The music is a lot louder in here. The room’s dark until he walks forward. I stumble into something hard and curse.

  Light brightens the room suddenly. There’s a big window ahead. Walker pulls it open and gestures down at it.

  I walk over and look down into the ballroom.

  “What is this?” I ask him.

  “Observation room,” he says with a shrug. “Don’t know why it’s here. Found it a while back when I was bored.”

  I gl
ance back at the room. The thing I bumped into is a chair behind a desk.

  “Weird,” I say.

  “Definitely.” He leans against the window and I join him. We must be up near the ceiling of the ballroom, hidden near the ornate carvings. I doubt anyone down there can see us even if they knew where to look.

  Walker takes the bottle from his jacket and sips it. He offers it to me and I take it. I take a swig and cough as I hand it back.

  “I’m not a whiskey girl,” I say.

  “I’m not shocked.” He grins and swigs again. “You know, the party’s a lot better from up here.”

  I had to admit, I agree with him there. From up here, the whole thing looks quaint and fun. What was almost a little sinister down on the floor, with all the implications of the sponsorship program and all that, seems distant from up here.

  I can’t help but watch. People dancing, laughing, talking, flirting. I spot Azrael across the room, Jenna and Brady dancing, Iris nearby. I smile to myself. They all look like they’re having fun.

  “You never told me,” I say suddenly. “Why are you here, anyway?”

  He shrugs a little. “Had to come.”

  “Had to?”

  “Long story but it wasn’t really my choice. I’m here though and I guess that’s all that matters.”

  “Weird thing to force you to do.”

  “Guess so.”

  I hesitate a second. I want to ask him more but he doesn’t seem like he wants to talk, so I let it go. He moves slightly closer to me and I’m suddenly very aware that we’re alone up here, all alone in this strange room overlooking a party.

  “Did you know about all this before coming here?” he asks me.

  “No,” I admit. “I just applied like any other school.”

  “Huh. You know, most girls do.”

  “I’m realizing that.”

  He laughs. “But most of those girls are assholes.”