by M. S. Parker
She looked at Jalen, an expectant expression on her face. When he didn’t say anything, her mouth twisted into a scowl. “Let’s test that theory.”
She stepped into the bedroom, coming close enough to touch. Jalen reached down and took my hand, threading his fingers between mine. Her eyes narrowed, but it didn’t stop her.
“Remember that night when we got together to talk about the divorce? Without the lawyers. We ordered in and opened a bottle of wine.”
Jalen stiffened, and I knew whatever was coming wouldn’t be easy to hear, but I wasn’t going to jump to conclusions. If we were going to trust each other, it had to begin somewhere.
“Well, sweetie, I don’t know how else to say it, but I’m pregnant. You’re going to be a father.”
She beamed at him while my stomach dropped. I wasn’t going to jump to conclusions. I needed to give him a chance to refute what she was saying, and I kept reminding myself of that as I tried not to look like I wanted to throw up.
“That was more than two months ago.” Jalen’s voice was strained. “You would’ve known before now.”
My hand tightened around his. They’d had sex more recently than I’d thought. Okay, I could handle that. Like he said, it’d been more than two months ago. Before he and I had even met. Hell, I’d slept with Clay less than a week before I met Jalen. If he wasn’t going to hold that against me, it’d be hypocritical of me to be upset about him having sex with his wife.
“Things have just been so stressful lately, you know.” Elise reached into her purse and pulled out a folded piece of paper. “What with you wanting to divorce me and all. I thought that was why I’d been so tired and not wanting to eat, but my doctor ran some blood work just in case, and he called me yesterday with the results.”
I went numb. Elise was pregnant. Jalen was going to be a father.
“I want a paternity test,” Jalen said, his voice cold.
I pulled my hand away. He didn’t believe he was the father. My father had accused my mother of the same thing. Everyone said that was why he’d killed her. She’d cheated on him and gotten pregnant. At least, that was what he’d believed. The DNA test after autopsy had proven his accusations false.
“Jalen, how could you ask that?” Elise sniffed, her bottom lip trembling.
“Are you serious, Elise? How can I ask that? You cheated on me. I have no idea who you’ve slept with in the time we were separated. Hell, I don’t even know who you were fucking when we were still together. I can’t believe anything you say without actual proof.”
A flare of anger went through me at his accusation, but rational thought quickly followed. He wasn’t making baseless accusations. He’d literally walked in on her having sex with another man. It wasn’t something he made up, assumed, or even took out of context. Over the years they’d been together, she’d proven more than once that she couldn’t be trusted.
“A paternity test this early could hurt the baby.” She put her hands on her still-flat stomach. “I couldn’t do that to our child.” She sniffled again. “But if you feel like you have to know right now…”
“I want to talk to a doctor to find out when it’s safe to do one,” Jalen said.
I didn’t want to be here. This wasn’t a conversation I should be involved in.
“Of course,” Elise said, giving him a watery smile. “I asked the doctor about all the things we’d need to do.” She unfolded the paper she’d taken out of her purse. “I have a list of all of our doctor’s appointments. Then there’s the prenatal vitamins and special diet I need to be on. I’ve already talked to my agent, and she said she’ll start setting up maternity shoots for me so I can work until closer to my due date.”
Jalen was starting to look overwhelmed, and I couldn’t blame him. He’d gone from thinking she was completely out of his life to being bound to her forever if he wanted a relationship with his child.
“I’m thinking the two-bedroom suite will be perfect for a nursery and a live-in nanny.”
That was it. I couldn’t stand here and listen to her talk about all the ways she’d be worming her way back into Jalen’s life. I couldn’t argue with her either, not without sounding like some selfish bitch who was only concerned about how things affected me.
I headed for the door, trying to leave as quietly and quickly as possible. I half-expected Elise to stop me, force me to listen to everything, but she didn’t even pause as I stepped behind her and out the door. I practically ran down the steps, shoving my shoes onto my feet, and grabbing my coat before running out into the snow.
Thirty-Five
I was half-way down the driveway when I heard Jalen yelling my name. I frantically brushed at my cheeks, not wanting him to see me cry and take it the wrong way. I ducked my head and kept going, pretending that I didn’t hear him begging me to stop.
Then his hand latched onto my arm, and he spun me around. His expression was stricken, and it cut me to the bone, adding to the pain already growing in my chest.
“I didn’t cheat on you, Rona. I swear it.” He reached up to push my hair out of my eyes. “I love you, and I have my faults, but I’d never cheat on you.”
“I know.” I leaned into the hand he put on my cheek. “And I’m not angry at you. I still trust you, and I love you.”
A shadow crossed his face. “But?”
I reluctantly took a step back. “But you can’t abandon your child.”
“I can’t,” he agreed. His hands opened and closed like he wanted to reach for me again but kept stopping himself.
“That makes me love you even more.” My voice quavered, and I took a slow breath. “But even though it doesn’t change how I feel, it changes things between us.”
“It doesn’t have to,” he said. “Please, Rona.”
I gave him the best smile I could, but I knew it wasn’t even close to enough. “Having a baby changes things. From a practical standpoint, if nothing else. You need to be there for Elise. The two of you have to figure out how this changes things between you. How you’ll parent. Where you’ll live. It’s a lot.”
“I don’t want to lose you.”
I swallowed hard, fighting back a fresh wave of tears. “I’m not breaking up with you, not unless it’s what you want, but you need time and space to decide how your life will look with this new addition to it. And I need time and space to process it too.”
“Rona.” He took a step toward me, and I held up a hand. “It’s not safe for you to be alone. You should stay.”
A shiver ran up my spine as I remembered that my father had escaped. I was here under Jalen’s protection, or should be.
But I needed to go.
I shook my head. “I’ll go straight home and lock up,” I promised. “You need to go back inside. When we’re both ready, we’ll talk.” I turned away and focused on putting one foot in front of the other. I’d call for a cab before I reached his gate, then wait inside the safety of those bars until it arrived. It would be okay. Right now, it was more important to get away.
He called after me again, but I didn’t slow this time, and he didn’t chase me. As much as a part of me wished he had, I knew this was for the best. We might be able to get through it, after all. This wasn’t broken trust or loss of love. It’d have its own set of problems, but nothing the two of us couldn’t manage. We’d gotten through worse.
These were all the things I told myself over and over as I trudged through the snow to the gate. I didn’t know how much time passed before I heard an approaching car, but I was glad for it. I’d used a new app to call for a ride, and they’d gotten here quicker than I’d expected. I ran through the side gate and waited for it to pull up next to me.
When it stopped, I frowned and pulled out my phone to double check my memory. The app had said my car would be a tan Subaru. I didn’t know a lot about cars, but this definitely wasn’t a Subaru. And it wasn’t tan. It was an SUV, and it was dark blue, almost black.
Alarm bells started going off in my head, but n
ot fast enough. A man jumped out of the passenger’s side seat and grabbed me, pinning my arms at my sides. My phone fell on the ground, and he kicked it away. I struggled, putting everything I had into trying to break free.
Then his hand was on my face, a cloth covering my mouth and nose. The sickly-sweet smell I knew to be chloroform invaded my senses, and I tried to scream.
One beat.
Two beats.
My heart echoed in my ears, slowing from its previous frantic pace. My limbs felt heavy, and my eyes closed.
One beat.
Two beats.
Everything went dark and my thoughts faded.
Gone.
THE END
The New Pleasures series continues in the final book, Saved by Him. Click Here to pre-order now.
Also by M. S. Parker
His Obsession
His Control
His Hunger
His Secret
Sex Coach
Big O’s (Sex Coach 2)
Pleasure Island (Sex Coach 3)
Rescued by the Woodsman
The Billionaire’s Muse
Bound
One Night Only
Damage Control
Take Me, Sir
Make Me Yours
The Billionaire’s Sub
The Billionaire’s Mistress
Con Man Box Set
HERO Box Set
A Legal Affair Box Set
The Client
Indecent Encounter
Dom X Box Set
Unlawful Attraction Box Set
Chasing Perfection Box Set
Blindfold Box Set
Club Prive Box Set
The Pleasure Series Box Set
Exotic Desires Box Set
Casual Encounter Box Set
Sinful Desires Box Set
Twisted Affair Box Set
Serving HIM Box Set
Pure Lust Box Set
About the Author
M. S. Parker is a USA Today Bestselling author and the author of over fifty spicy romance series and novels.
Living part-time in Las Vegas, part-time on Maui, she enjoys sitting by the pool with her laptop writing her next spicy romance.
Growing up all she wanted to be was a dancer, actor and author. So far only the latter has come true but M. S. Parker hasn’t retired her dancing shoes just yet. She is still waiting for the call to appear on Dancing With The Stars.
When M. S. isn't writing, she can usually be found reading– oops, scratch that! She is always writing.
For more information:
www.msparker.com
[email protected]
Acknowledgments
First, I would like to thank all of my readers. Without you, my books would not exist. I truly appreciate each and every one of you.
A big THANK YOU goes out to all the Facebook fans, street team, beta readers, and advanced reviewers. You are a HUGE part of the success of all my series.
Also thank you to my editor Lynette, my proofreader Nancy, and my wonderful cover designer, Sinisa. You make my ideas and writing look so good.