Claimed (Passion in Paradise #4.5)

by Sarah O'Rourke

  “You’re positive?” her closest confidante questioned gently.

  Carolina laughed humorlessly, closing her eyes as a wave of nausea descended over her. Lately she seemed to stay nauseous twenty-three out of twenty-four hours a day. This kid wasn’t even born yet, and it already seemed to hate her if the amount of puke she’d been producing was anything to go by. Taking a deep breath, she reached for the can of ginger ale she’d grabbed from the vending machine outside the doctor’s office and took a sip, praying it would settle the little blob of cells in her belly. “Yeah, I’m a hundred and fifty percent certain that I have a little intruder riding shotgun in my womb.”

  “Oh, wow,” she heard Verity breathe, almost like she couldn’t believe what she was hearing. Well, her girlfriend could just climb on board the shocked shuttle to Hopeless Town with her. It was actually happening to Carolina, and SHE couldn’t hardly believe it. She made one incredibly sexy mistake, and God had decided to punish her for the rest of her life.

  “How did you find out?”

  Caro shifted in the leather seat. “I finally took your advice and got a doctor’s appointment with the only obstetrician this tiny town has to offer after I woke up hurling for the eighth day in a row. He seemed fairly insistent that I was knocked up - especially after I threw up all over his pristine white doctor’s coat. Plus, I might have made him check the results more than once,” she divulged unhappily as she looked around the parking lot of Dr. Mack Daniel’s office. The guy had been a dick with absolutely no bedside manner (think Dr. House on a day without his trusty Vicodin), but his nurse, Millie (who also happened to be his wife) had been a sweetheart. During pregnancy tests one and two, the kind woman had held Carolina’s hand supportively while they’d been reading the positive results. Then Millie had barely laughed at all when Caro had insisted they’d simply had to have read the third pregnancy test result wrong and demanded a do-over. Finally, when the last test had been administered and the results had been delivered, Millie had cheered her on when Caro had called her husband a traitorous asshole and accused him of being in league with the Devil. “God, Verity, I’m pregnant! How can I be pregnant?”

  “Well, when a boy really likes a girl, he goes with her on a metaphorical walk through her secret flower garden. But he doesn’t go empty-handed. See, he brings along this really big hose and sprays….”

  “Okay, smartass, I know the mechanics. I mean, how did this happen to me? I was a good girl all my life! You know I was, Ver,” Caro groaned, thumping her head back against the headrest as she shifted behind the wheel.

  “You’re still a good girl, Caro. You just got a little carried away with the hunky fireman stud and his super-sized hose.”

  “Oh, good God,” Carolina moaned, dropping her head against the steering wheel. “Why are we friends again? And how the heck are you so sure Aiden is a hunk? Or that he has an incredibly long hose? You’ve never met; he could be ugly as sin with a teeny tiny ding-a-ling.”

  Verity chuckled. “Oh, please. First of all, we’re friends because I make your life fuller and a much more interesting experience. Second, I know Aiden’s a hottie because as soon as you told me his name, I did my research. The pictures on Facebook do not lie, my friend. That boy has the face of an angel and the body of a Greek god. And honestly, with a face like his, there’s no doubt in my mind that he’s gotta be packin’ one seriously long hose on him.”

  “You are incorrigible. And not helpful at all,” Caro huffed.

  “Fine, how’s this for help. All this drama is not good for the little passenger inside you. I’m serious. You’ve gotta cheer up some, hon. Having a surprise baby is not the end of the world. Look at me. I had two surprise babies at once.”

  “Yeah, but you know without a doubt that Dakota was head over heels in love with you – and only you. Not to mention the fact that he couldn’t wait to make you his wife. And that was before he found out you were growing small people inside you. Finding out you were pregnant just incentivized your man to move at warp speed to get you to the altar.”

  “And if you’d have actually had a conversation with your deliciously hot fire chief any one of the thousand times he’s tried to talk to you and explain things over the last month and a half, maybe you’d already be zooming your way toward marital bliss, too.”

  “Would you please give it a rest? Aiden James is a sleazy, scum-sucking blight on humanity with…”

  “With a super-powered cock fueled by superior swimmers that raided your womb with the enthusiasm that a horny teenager raids Venice Beach on spring break,” Verity supplied helpfully.

  “Vivid description, Ver,” Carolina muttered, lifting her head to stare mindlessly out the windshield.

  “Accurate, too,” Verity returned swiftly, going silent for a moment before continuing carefully. “Caro, you know what this baby means, right?”

  “That I’m going to be fat and miserable during my first summer in the South.” Caro blinked back tears that always seemed just a heartbeat away lately. Damned freaking hormones!

  “Yeah, that, and you’re going to have to finally talk to Aiden,” Verity offered quietly. “It’s his baby, Carolina. He deserves to know.”

  “Oh, he deserves a whole lot of things,” Caro seethed as she thought of the tall, deceivingly gorgeous man that had been dogging her every step for weeks. It wasn’t hard for him, either, considering he was her next door neighbor. It seemed like every time she stepped out of her door, there he was, waiting to snag another opportunity to tell her she was completely wrong about him.

  As if! She’d heard that slut on the phone, and it had only confirmed her suspicions. In her gut, she’d known from the instant she’d laid eyes on Aiden James that he was a player. Nobody that good-looking and confident could be anything but a horndog. How her educated mind had played second string to her hormones, she’d never know.

  “Carolina,” Verity began to chide, “He’s that baby’s father.”

  “That countrified Casanova has no place in either my life or my child’s life, Verity. He was a sperm donor. That’s it.”

  “Yeah, I doubt the man that sends you a bouquet of flowers every Tuesday and Friday is going to feel the same way. C’mon. Hasn’t he earned a chance to prove to you that he can be a good guy? Everybody has a past, Caro.”

  “Sure, they do, Verity. But I heard from his very recent past just minutes after he had his cock buried in me. Do you have any idea how much it hurt to hear that woman going on and on about how good it was between them? I was standing there in front of him, literally stripped down to my birthday suit, while that… that woman talked about meeting up to fuck the man that had just fucked me! I’m pretty sure that’s the very definition of a player!”

  “He said it wasn’t what you thought, Caro,” Verity reminded her calmly. “Maybe it’s time you heard him out and listened to his side of things. There’s more to consider now than just your feelings about him. That baby you’re carrying should get a vote.”

  “Ughhh! I hate when you’re all rational and logical, Verity. Can you just be an emotional basket-case like me?” Carolina snapped.

  “That’s the hormones talking, sweetie,” Verity informed her friend gently. “Don’t worry. I’ve been there. The heightened emotions will eventually pass.”

  “When?” Caro whined, barely resisting the urge to stomp her feet against the floor mats.

  “Hmmm, you’re six weeks pregnant, so…. In about thirty-four more weeks.”

  Carolina fought the scream building in her throat. “Great,” she whispered. “Eight and a half more months of incessant crying jags and irrational anger. Awesome.”

  “You miss him, don’t you?” Verity asked cautiously.

  “How can I miss somebody I never really knew?” she muttered, trying to steady her wobbly chin.

  “You knew him, Caro. Then and now. Besides, he’s there every day. Or, he would be if you’d just let him into your side of the duplex.”

  “Yeah, he’s
there. Looming. Watching. Waiting,” Caro grumbled, thinking about how it seemed Aiden was always close. Whether she was carrying in bags of groceries or she was working late at the library, he always seemed to put himself in her vicinity. At first, she’d complained, cursing him for all she was worth, rejecting his every advice. But as the last six weeks had worn on, she’d stopped actively rebuffing his advances, choosing instead to accept, but not encourage, his proximity.

  It was childish of her, this refusal to simply hear his side of the story. She knew that. But he’d hurt her six weeks ago.

  Well, actually he hadn’t hurt her.

  Hearing that he’d shared himself with other women in the way he’d just shared himself with her… that’s what had been painful. Knowing she was nothing special… that she was just one in a number of women he’d fucked had been agony.

  “Maybe he’s watching and waiting for the day that you’ll actually let him get close to you again,” Verity pointed out.

  “Maybe,” Carolina admitted grudgingly.

  “Caro, you told me the hours you spent in Aiden’s bed were the best hours of your life. You said that being with him in the brief time you were together felt like you’d finally found a place to belong. Honey, I’m here to tell you, those feelings don’t just happen with any-old-body. It’s rare. It’s special. I never felt like that with anyone until my Dakota took me in his arms. You can’t ignore the signs that the universe is giving you.”

  “It was so weird, Verity. It was like my body recognized its soulmate before my mind could get on board,” Carolina confided with a sniffle.

  “Well, your mind has had plenty of time to catch up with what your body seemed to be aware of all along. But let’s put aside what your body and mind think and concentrate on what you’re heart feels,” Verity suggested eagerly.

  “My heart feels like it quit beating six weeks ago when I stormed out Aiden’s front door,” Carolina confessed tearfully, the words finally coming out in a rush. “My heart says that I might have walked away from something that could have been great if only I’d stuck around until Aiden got home that night and listened to what he had to say. My heart wants to run back into Aiden’s arms because his embrace was the last place I felt safe and whole. My heart wants the whole fairytale with him, Verity. Marriage. Kids. A long life spent loving each other. ”

  “Then go talk to Aiden. I’m willing to bet that his heart wants the very same thing.”

  “But what if…”

  “Playboys don’t wait for six weeks for a woman they fucked once to give them the time of day, girl,” Verity stated sharply. “Playboys play. They run around looking for the next woman to score a touchdown with. Aiden might have been that guy in the past, sure. However, I don’t think he’s that man any longer. I don’t think he’s been that kind of man for at least six weeks… maybe even longer.”

  “Shit,” Carolina cursed as the weight of Verity’s words hit her squarely between the eyes. “I think I might have messed up, Ver.”

  “Then fix it,” her friend advised. “Go to him. Tell him about your fears. Tell him about the baby. He’ll listen. Goodness knows the poor guy has waited long enough.”

  “What if it turns out that he doesn’t want the baby? Or what if he feels like I waited too long and he’s decided I’m not worth his trouble?”

  “Then I will happily send my husband to the hills of Tennessee to scalp the son of a bitch. Dakota’s been itching to have a little chat with this guy anyway.”

  Carolina laughed weakly. Dakota Locklear was nothing if not a protective alpha male. When he’d married Verity, Carolina had become an honorary sister to him. And Dakota was a guy that would do anything for his family.

  Sighing, Carolina rested one hand on her steering wheel. “Maybe you’re right and I should give Aiden a chance. I don’t know. I’ll think about it. In the meantime, I need to get by the pharmacy to pick up my prenatal vitamins. Regardless of my relationship with his daddy, Spawn needs two healthy arms and legs,” she declared, looking down at her slightly rounded belly and gently patting the tiny bulge.

  “Spawn?” Verity choked.

  “I’m just trying out some different nicknames. Spawn sounds better than the Alien, don’t you think?”

  Verity’s amusement was loudly audible. “What I think,” she said when she could manage to talk without laughing, “is that when the shock wears off, you are gonna end up being one kickass momma to your little Spawn. Talk to our little Spawn’s daddy-to-be, Caro. Give him a chance to be everything you need him to be. And call me later. I love you.”

  “I love you, too, Verity. Talk soon. Bye.” Dropping her cell phone in the bucket seat beside her, Carolina inhaled deeply and held her breath before blowing it slowly out her mouth. Today, she’d had her world rocked once again by the sexy Aiden James.

  And Verity was right.

  She needed to talk with him about everything.

  But first, she needed vitamins.

  And chocolate.

  Lots and lots of chocolate.

  Chapter Six

  Aiden James was fit to be tied. In fact, tying him up might not be such a bad idea, he thought with no small amount of anger as he stood in the center of his porch. Otherwise, he just might be tempted to wrap his hands around pretty Carolina Mayfair’s gorgeous neck as soon as he laid eyes on her.

  Of course, the uniformed man sitting on the front steps that led up to the wraparound porch of the duplex might have something to say about that. Sheriff Zeke Monroe tended to frown on violence in his town. Plus, there was no way Aiden could ever hurt the mother of his future child – even if the hardheaded minx did have it coming or how much she might deserve it.

  “You gonna calm down any time soon?” he heard Zeke drawl as the lawman glanced up at him.

  “Nope,” Aiden replied, still seething as he continued with his pacing as he looked toward the road again, mentally willing Caro’s vehicle to appear.

  “Workin’ yourself up won’t help the situation here, Aiden,” Zeke counseled the other man, his deep voice calm and steady.

  “Uh huh.” Aiden grunted, barely sparing the sheriff a sidelong look. “And if Honor had hidden her pregnancy from you? How would you handle that?”

  “Not too well considering the face that Honor and I are married and I share her bed every night. However, you and Miss Mayfair share nothing other than a common wall dividing your homes, Aiden,” Zeke tried to reason. “And you don’t know that this poor woman is intending to hide anything from you yet. You might consider giving the girl a chance to tell you herself before you ambush her outside her apartment.”

  “Zeke, I watched her go into Dr. Mack Daniels’ office with my own two eyes this morning,” Aiden growled, still fuming as he recalled her cute little ass sashaying into the doctor’s brick office building. Sure, she’d had to pause at the hydrangea bushes to lose her breakfast, but after that, she’d pranced her shapely body into the building.

  “You weren’t watching; you were stalking,” Zeke corrected with a disgusted shake of his head.

  “Oh, what’s the difference?” Aiden spat, crossing his arms over his chest as he continued to walk from one end of the long porch to the other, frowning and shaking his head when he noticed how sickly the lilac bushes by the driveway looked. He’d seen Caro toss her cookies on those poor flowers more than once this week when he’d stood at his kitchen window and watched her leave for the library in the mornings. He’d had a gut feeling then that she’d been carrying his child. Seeing her pulling into Dr. Mack’s parking lot this morning had only served to add to his suspicions.

  But the phone call he’d gotten from one of the guys he worked with while he’d been eating breakfast with Zeke at the café had confirmed everything.

  “You wanna know the difference?” Zeke retorted. “Stalking comes with a prison sentence.”

  “She’s mine, Zeke. Mine. Don’t threaten me with a bunch of bullshit charges.”

  “I’m not threatening yo
u with shit, but she could if she took a notion. Especially since I doubt that she considers herself to be yours, Aid. In case you’ve missed it, she’s spent the last six weeks refusing to speak to you,” Zeke returned. “I’m surprised she hasn’t come into the station to take out a restraining order yet.”

  “It’s all just a misunderstanding, Zeke. Once I get the little terror to stand still in front of me for five minutes in a row, I’ll make her understand that she’s the only damn woman in the world for me.”

  “Yeah, because you’ve had so much luck in that area up to now,” the sheriff replied sarcastically. “Aiden, man, you’re my friend. I want you to be happy, but you might have to finally give this up. If this woman doesn’t feel the same way as you…”

  “She did! She does!” Aiden replied sharply. “She’s just running scared because of that stupid bitch calling me out of the blue and making it sound like she and I had something going on together.”

  “Ah, yes. The drug rep. What was her name?” Zeke asked as he looked up at Aiden. “Leslie? Lisa?”

  “Lorna,” Aiden supplied flatly.

  “Oh, yeah.” Zeke grinned. “Lorna. Well, In Lorna’s defense, you did sleep with her.”

  “Once! One drunken night that meant absolutely nothing to me. I finally made Lorna understand that the very last time she called. I had to be a bastard about it, but she just wouldn’t listen any other way. Which I could have told Carolina if she’d just kept her ass in my bed that night. But, no! She had to storm off and freeze me out for fuckin’ weeks. God, Zeke. I’ve tried everything to make Caro listen to reason. Flowers. Candy. Notes. Shit, I thought about hiring a skywriter.”

  “Sounds expensive,” Zeke grunted.

  Ignoring Zeke’s statement, Aiden continued. “A thousand times I’ve told myself to give up, that no woman is worth this kind of anguish. But, I can’t. She’s my one. All other women just pale beside her. The only way my dick even gets hard anymore is when I think of her. And it’s even worse since I’ve actually had a taste of Carolina. I know exactly what I’m missin’, y’know? I can’t imagine not having her in my life. Shit, if I’m not working, she’s all I think about. Is she happy? Is she eating enough? Is she getting enough rest? Does she have everything she needs?”