He made a low, growling noise that had her staring up at him in shock. His jaw was tense. “Did you seriously just call yourself a hippo? Did you think that because Maddox isn’t here that that shit was okay? Do you think I can’t take you to task for putting yourself down?”
Um, well, yeah. She had kind of thought that. He wasn’t a dominant guy.
“Listen. I might not be Maddox. But that does not mean you are allowed to put yourself down, understand me? I might not be able to spank you because of the baby, but there are other punishments I can use.”
“Like what?”
He scratched his chin. “Well, now, Snow, I have no idea.”
Relief filled her. That’s what she’d thought. He was trying to fill Maddox’s boots, but he didn’t actually have any plans on following through.
“But see, there’s this wondrous thing called the internet. Pretty sure I’ll get some ideas from there.”
“What are you going to look up? How to punish pregnant women when they’re naughty?”
“Well, hell, that might return some interesting results. We should do that. Later.”
“Beau, that wasn’t a suggestion.”
“You shouldn’t have said it then, huh?”
She groaned and leaned against his chest. He kissed the top of her head. “I’m going to take care of you, in all ways.”
“What about Maddox?” she whispered. “What if he’s the father?”
“I don’t care who is the biological father, we’re both this baby’s daddy.”
Shit. She realized there was something else she had to tell him.
“And Maddox doesn’t hate you.”
She made a scoffing noise. “Yes, he does.”
“Maddox has some problems with trust, but the reason he reacted so harshly is because he really cares about you. Because he felt something happening between the three of us. He’ll come around.”
She understood why he’d come to the conclusion he had. It had looked bad, her sleeping with him then him finding out she worked for Richard. But he could have let her explain.
“He’s going to be so pissed at himself when he finds out he was wrong. Make him grovel. Yeah, perfect, make him get down on his knees and kiss your feet. I’ll record it and play it back for him when he’s being an ass.”
“Oh, like I made you grovel?”
He slid her off his lap, turning her so her legs were over the edge of the mattress. Then he knelt in front of her. He placed his chin on her knees and stared up at her with his big, blue eyes. “I’m so, so, so sorry for being an ass and stomping on my phone so I didn’t get your texts then getting drunk and hurting my foot and taking so long to get to you. I promise, from now on, I’m with you. I’m gonna be by your side for everything. I’m going nowhere. Please forgive me, my precious, beautiful Snow.”
Yeah. Like there was any question.
“I forgive you, goofball. Do you forgive me for not finding you right away and telling you?”
“How long ago did you find out you were pregnant?”
“Um, I took one of those home tests just over a week ago. My period has never been very regular, and I didn’t even think about the reason why I was feeling so sick and tired. I was going to go find you. I just had some things to do here first.”
“My poor baby.” He picked up her feet and started rubbing them.
Oh, hell. That was heavenly. Her eyes started to close. Nothing had ever felt so good.
A knock on the door interrupted him, and she nearly snapped at the poor busboy who brought them their food.
“Bed or table?” he asked her.
“Table.” She’d barely gotten the word out before she was in his arms again. “Beau!”
“Don’t you dare say it. I’ve got Google and I’m not afraid to use it.”
“I wasn’t going to say anything about . . . about my weight. But I can walk.”
“But why walk when I can carry you?” he said cheerfully as he set her down in her seat. He put a plate in front of her. “I thought a burger was pretty safe for you. I told them no lettuce.”
“I can’t have lettuce?”
“Don’t trust them to have washed it properly,” he muttered.
“How do you know more about this stuff than I do?”
“Told you, my sister-in-law has a baby.”
“You’re close?”
He sat and started digging into his own burger. She fiddled with hers, no longer feeling that hungry.
“We live together.”
“You live with your sister-in-law?”
He shrugged. “Sorta. We own a big ranch. Alec, my oldest brother runs it. It’s his wife, Mia, that just had a baby. Sebastian.”
“Aw, that’s a cute name.”
“Yeah, well. Alec, Mia, baby Seb, and my brother, Jaret live at the main house. My brother West and his wife, Flick, built a house on the property. And me and my other brothers live in the bunkhouse.”
“What are their names?”
“Alec, West, Jaret, Raid, Butch, and Tanner. And Mad too. Obviously.”
“Wow, that’s a big family.”
“You don’t have any, right?” he asked softly.
“No. I’m all on my own.”
“You were all on your own. You have me now. And all my brothers. We stick together and we take care of our own. You’re one of us now, Snow.”
Beau watched her worriedly, aware that she was just pushing her food around rather than eating it.
Well, that shit wasn’t going to fly. He wondered if he should order her to eat. But she had some issues around body image.
Maybe I should just feed her?
Damn it, he wished Maddox was here. He didn’t like having to be stern with his girl.
“Baby, eat,” he cajoled.
“What? Oh, yes. Sorry.” She stared down at the food then took the top bun off the burger before taking a delicate bite.
Okay, at least she ate. That was a Malone baby she was carrying. He was going to need a lot of fuel to grow.
“Hmm, this is actually good. I’ve never been much of a burger fan before.”
“We Malone’s like a good burger.” He winked at her. He tried to keep the conversation light. He could tell how stressed she was and that wasn’t good for her nor the baby.
“Drink your water, Snow.”
She took a few sips. Then managed another bite before putting the rest of the burger down.
“You didn’t eat much.”
“I’m full. And I usually get a sore tummy if I eat too much.”
“Is that why there wasn’t much food in your apartment?”
She nodded. “Haven’t shopped in weeks and I never kept my kitchen well stocked.”
Inwardly, he sighed but didn’t push her to eat more. She was braced as though she expected him to argue with her. But he didn’t want to argue. What he really wanted was to strip her naked, get her into bed then hold her until she fell asleep.
When had he ever just wanted to get a hot woman into bed so he could simply cuddle her? He was pretty sure that had never happened.
But if he could get her to have a good night’s sleep, he’d be damn happy.
“Sit with me while I finish?”
She nodded, relief filling her face. They continued to chat. She told him about her friend, Margo, who was a flight attendant. “She’s going to be away for a week this time. I think she’s going to Singapore then on to Amsterdam then London.”
“That the girl who can’t drive for shit?”
Scarlett grimaced. “Yeah, she’s a pretty bad driver.”
“I don’t want you going in a car with her again. She could have an accident. You could get hurt.”
“But I don’t have a car of my own, and sometimes it’s easier to get around driving. Especially when I have a lot of stuff to carry.”
“You don’t need to worry about that anymore. You have your own personal chauffeur and donkey.”
“Donkey, huh? Yeah, I can see it
.”
“Okay, brat! Just you wait!”
“Oh, yeah? What you gonna do?” she challenged him.
“I see how it is, think you can be sassy because you’re knocked up. He waved a finger at her. “I’m keeping track.”
“Knocked up? Really?”
He grinned. “Would you rather I said that you had a bun in the oven?”
“I’d rather you just said pregnant.”
“Now, Snow, where’s the fun in that?” He chuckled as she rolled her eyes. He held out his hand to her.
She took it and he tugged her out of her seat and over to his lap. He could see her reluctance to sit on him, but he wasn’t having it. If he had to spend an entire day carrying her around just to make her see that she wasn’t too heavy for him or what other bullshit was going on in her mind then that’s what he’d do.
This time, he had her straddle him so he could see her face. He wanted to make certain she wasn’t going to put him off. He ran his hands up her thighs, under the robe. Okay, so the serious talk could wait a moment. It had been nine weeks since he’d had his hands on her. So, sue him for wanting to touch her, maybe sneak a small taste.
“Fuck, I’ve missed you, Snow.”
“Me too. Seems crazy since it was just one night.”
“It wasn’t just one night,” he told her. “And we all know it.”
She glanced away and he knew she was thinking about Maddox. Missing him.
That bastard.
“Hey, look at me.” He tilted up her chin. “It’s going to be okay.”
“Promise?”
She seemed so uncertain and lost, so unsure right then, and he hated that.
“I promise. And you don’t know this, but when a Malone promises something he always comes through. Well, I’m not sure about those New Orleans Malones. They probably promise all sorts of shady shit. But a Texas Malone, you can take their word to the bank.”
“Am I supposed to understand all that?”
“Nah, baby. All you have to know is that I’m going to make everything right in your world.”
“You can’t make him want to be with me.”
“I don’t have to make him want to be with you. He already wants that. Bastard has been texting me nonstop since I got here, wanting updates on you.”
“Really?”
“Really.”
She frowned, her eyes narrowing. “Wait. So how long have you been following me around, Beauden Malone? You’ve obviously seen Margo drive.”
“Hmm, I might have followed you for a few days.”
“Were you spying on me? Why? For him? To see if I really was a deceitful bitch who’d sleep with a man just to get information for her boss?”
She attempted to get off his lap, but he put his arms around her, keeping her in place. “Stop! Stop before you hurt yourself.”
“I wouldn’t hurt myself if you’d let me go.”
“Yeah, but you might run off. Or hurt me. And I like my balls where they are.”
She glared down at him.
“Look, you’re right. I should have come and talked to you right away. I believed in you, Snow. But I was hoping for something to prove to Maddox that he was wrong. I thought if I knocked on your door, you wouldn’t answer. Maybe it was a bit stalkerish. I just wanted to figure out a way to talk to you that wouldn’t end up with my balls in my throat.”
She let out a deep breath.
“Forgive me?” He gave her his best puppy-dog eyes. It had been known to bring women running to him from miles away. But his baby just scowled at him.
Shit. How had he found such a hardheaded woman? He was used to women falling over themselves to give him whatever he wanted.
Yeah, I’m an ass.
“Fine. Maybe you have a point. I probably wouldn’t have let you in the door.”
“And I should have just camped out on your doorstep until you let me in.”
“You’d have gotten yourself arrested.”
“Eh, wouldn’t be the first time. Alec has good lawyers. They’re paid well.”
“I do not want to know what you’ve gotten arrested for in the past. And you’re not to tell any of those stories to our babies.”
He froze. “Babies?”
Oh, shit.
Good one, Scarlett. Why do you keep blurting stuff out to him?
“Um, yeah. See, there’s not just one baby, there’s two.”
“Twins?”
“Yeah, we’re having twins.”
“Twins. Holy shit.”
“Well, I figure that’s your fault. Twins obviously run in the family. See why I’m so worried! I need two of everything! How am I going to do this? I don’t have any family of my own. How will I work with them? I don’t want to put them in daycare for long hours but what choice do I have? What if they both want me at once? I only have two arms.”
“You don’t just have two arms,” he soothed her, grasping hold of her chin firmly.
“Um, I can count, Beau. Definitely only two.”
“You have four now. And as soon as Maddox pulls his head out of his ass, you’ll have six.”
“I don’t want him being with me just because of the babies.”
He sighed. “I’m telling you that he wants you. Bastard has been miserable since that night. Tell you what, we could wait to tell him until after he grovels. Then you’ll know for sure.”
She bit her lip. “You’re so sure he’s going to grovel.”
“Oh, he will. So long as you don’t forgive him too quickly. You do want him in your life?” For the first time, he looked worried.
She studied him, wondering what answer he wanted.
“The truth, Snow,” he told her firmly. “Don’t lie to me. There’s been too much miscommunication between us, from now on we talk to each other.”
“Isn’t it wrong to want two men, though? Won’t it upset you? I don’t . . .”
“Hey, if you’re worried about hurting my feelings because you want my brother as well then don’t. I mean, we both know who’s the best looking, and has the biggest cock, and the most talented tongue. And obviously, I’m also more intelligent since I’m here with the pretty girl on my knee and he’s at home drinking by himself.”
“Drinking?”
“He’s been drinking every night since you left.”
“That’s not good,” she whispered.
“The man is falling apart without you, Snow. Not gonna lie. He’s a total mess.”
“Beau, stop joking about that.”
“I’m not.”
Now she felt terrible even though Maddox had been the one to push her away. Who hadn’t wanted to listen. But she didn’t want him to be miserable. She knew how that felt.
“Mad and I, we’ve always talked about sharing a woman.”
“Really? What would your family think?”
He barked out a laugh. “My family? They’d think you were nuts for taking on not one Malone, but two. Then they’d basically adopt you, take your side on pretty much everything and remind us daily what lucky bastards we are and not to mess it up. But they wouldn’t care that our relationship isn’t conventional. Haven is a special place. We told you a bit about it. How women have rules and consequences if they break them. All of the women are required to have a guardian. Someone who looks after their best interests. And a lot of the relationships are poly.”
“Every woman has a guardian?”
“Yep. If any man abused his woman, he’d be kicked out of town. We take this shit seriously.”
That sounded crazy. And yet . . . it also sounded like people cared about one another. She wouldn’t mind talking to another woman who lived there.
Wait . . . was she thinking about moving there? Away from the city? But this was her home.
But that would mean Beau would have to move. She’d bet he didn’t want to do that.
“And a number of relationships have more than two people in them?”
“Yep, lots of ménage relationships. Even s
ome reverse harems, that’s what they call more than two guys and a girl, you know.”
“I do know, but how do you?”
He grinned. “Some of those reverse harem books are hot.”
“Oh, Lord.”
“You’ll see once we get back to Haven. Nobody will even blink about our relationship. And you’ll have more than enough help with these babies. Not just from me and Maddox, but from my family too.”
He seemed so happy over the idea, that she didn’t want to burst his bubble. But he’d just talked to her about communication so . . .
“Hey, what’s got you so worried? We can do this. We’ll need to make sure that you have a good doctor. One who had experience with multiple births.”
“Beau—”
“And we’ll need a house. Shit. Mad was going to build one on the land he bought, but we need one while that’s being built.”
“Beau—”
“Can’t have you staying in the bunkhouse with us. One of those assholes will probably try to steal you.”
“Beau!”
“Yeah, baby? You need the bathroom or something?”
“Um, no, I don’t need the bathroom.”
“Because Mia had to pee, constantly. At one stage, I told her that she might as well set up camp in the bathroom or start wearing some of those adult diapers. She wouldn’t let me come inside the main house for a week after that.”
She groaned. “Seriously? I can’t believe you told her to wear a diaper.”
“But wouldn’t that have been easier than trying to waddle to the toilet every ten minutes? She was enormous, baby. It must have been a nuisance running around with all that extra weight. At the end, Alec had to help her get on and off the toilet. Then she’d cry.” He shook his head. “Think we should just bypass that and go straight to the diapers.”
“Beau Malone, if you mention the word diapers to me again, I will knee you in the balls.”
“Now, Snow, that’s not a very reasonable thing to say,” he said in a soothing voice.
Oh, he better watch himself right now. She glared down at him.
“Funny, Mia used to give us the same look when we were only trying to help. And when Butch ate the last of the cookies and cream ice cream, damn, we had to pull her off him. I thought she was going to strangle him. There were ten other flavors in the fridge, how was the poor guy to know she wanted that one? And then when he went into town and got her some more, she cried. Then Alec kicked us all out. Telling you, we couldn’t win no matter what we did.”
Twice the Malone Page 15
