The urge to pee hit me suddenly, and I hurried to the bathroom. “Okay, Blyss, I’ll do everything you told me. I’ve gotta get off here now. Love you. Happy Thanksgiving. Bye.” I ended the call before she said a word as I was about to bust.
The three bottles of water all seemed to be ready to come out at the same time. The stream I let loose easily covered the little stick and I placed it on a washcloth next to the sink.
The next three minutes went by like three whole days. I covered my eyes the whole time until the timer on my cell went off, telling me I could look now.
Moving my fingers apart, I snuck a peek at the stick.
“Oh, shit!”
Chapter 11
Nixon
The day after Thanksgiving Shanna and I left early to get back to the L.A. grind. Only I wasn’t going to be staying in L.A long, or going home at all. No, I was going to Portland to search for Katana Reeves.
Shanna and I lived miles apart, so she took a cab back to her place, and I acted as if I was waiting for my driver to come pick me up. I wasn’t; I’d already told the pilot to take an hour off, then I’d be ready to head to Portland.
Chilling in one of the lounges at LAX, I was sipping on some Scotch. At only a bit past noon, I knew it was a bit on the early side to be drinking alcohol, but my nerves had been stirred up. I had to do something to soothe them.
My cell beeped, letting me know a text had come in. I didn’t recognize the number but opened the message anyway.
Nix, it’s Katana Reeves, from Portland. I don’t know if you remember me at all, but I need to talk to you. Can you call me when you get a chance?
Why would she think I wouldn’t remember her? Shit, it hadn’t been a month since we’d been together. I wasted no time calling her. Her voice was soft as she answered. “Nix?”
“Yeah, it’s me. How’ve you been?” I ran my finger around the top of my glass, picturing her lovely face in my mind.
“Okay. And you?”
“Same. It’s funny you sent me that message. I grew tired of waiting for you to call, so I’m sitting at the airport right now, waiting for my pilot to finish his break so he can take me your way,” I told her and hoped she was going to be cool with that.
“Really?” she asked, sounding as if she didn’t quite believe that.
I held up the phone and asked the bartender. “Hey, buddy, can you verify where I am right now?”
“LAX,” he said without hesitation.
“See,” I said. “I just got back from visiting my family in Texas, and all I could think about was getting to Portland to find you.”
She let out a heavy sigh, as if she were holding her breath. “That’s good to know. I’ve got a lot to talk to you about. When do you think you’ll get here?” she asked and I heard her voice crack a little.
“A couple of hours. I’ll be at the Heathman. I can send someone to get you and bring you over.” I took another drink and waited to see what she’d say.
“I can’t do what we did before,” she mumbled.
My heart fell. I definitely wanted to do what we’d done before. But I didn’t ask why. “Okay. That’s fine. I just want to see you.” I also wanted to find out what had taken her so damn long to contact me. “If I’d had the forethought to get your number, I’d have called you a long time ago. That was my mistake.” I hesitated then went for it, “I’ve missed you, Katana.”
“I’ve missed you, too,” she said, and it made me sigh. She’d missed me! “To be honest, I’ve thought about calling you often. The contract had me holding back. But then I finally realized only yesterday that the contract probably doesn’t matter now that the club is closed It’s nice to hear that you missed me.”
I saw my pilot walking past the lounge toward the gate he’d parked the jet at. “Hey, I see my pilot. I’m going to see if we can take off now. I’ll call you as soon as I get there.”
“K, bye,” she said, then hung up.
I hurried to catch up to Bernie, the pilot. “Hey, Bernie, wait up.”
He stopped and turned to look at me. “Yes, sir.”
I caught up with him. “Are you doing anything? I mean, I’m ready to take off if you don’t have anything else to do.”
“No, we can go. The plane’s been fueled up. Can I ask how long we’ll be in Portland, sir? My wife is wondering how long I’ll be gone this time.”
“You can come right back if you want. I can just call you when I’m ready to come back. It’s not like it’s that far.” I clapped him on the back, and we started walking to the jet. “How long have you been married?”
“Ten years,” he said. “We’ve got three kids.”
“Kids, wow.” I shook my head. “I’ve never even thought about having kids. My sisters and brothers all do. I come from an enormous family. Mom and Dad had six of us. I’m the oldest and I’ve just never found anyone I’ve wanted to settle down with. Tell me how you knew your wife was the one for you, Bernie.”
“She and I clicked right from the beginning. I mean, we had a small stretch of time there where it was a little awkward, but we fell into step with each other pretty quickly. And I’d never felt about anyone else the way I felt about her. For me, it was a no-brainer. Married that girl as fast as I could.”
We stepped onto the plane, and I went to my seat while he went to the cockpit. “Thanks, Bernie.”
“You sweet on someone, sir?” he asked me then winked at me. “Maybe someone in Portland?”
“Maybe,” I said with a chuckle. “And Bernie, do me a huge favor and stop calling me sir. Hell, you’re older than I am. It’s Nixon, okay?”
“Copy that, Nixon. Buckle up now.”
I napped all the way to Portland. Just knowing I’d get to see Katana allowed me to have one of the calmest sleeps I’d had in a month. It wasn’t until I relaxed back in that seat that I realized how pent up I’d actually been.
When I got off the plane, I called Katana to let her know that I’d landed and was hiring a car to pick her up. But she told me she’d drive her own car over to meet me. I just needed to let her know when I had a room, and she’d come.
The fact that she didn’t want to be without her car had me a little on edge. But then again, I couldn’t expect her to be at my beck and call just because I was in town.
Once I’d gotten all checked in and up to my room, I called her, and she said she was heading my way. As I waited, I began to get nervous and thoughts crept into my head that I hadn’t considered in my excitement. What in the hell could she possibly want to talk about?
I mean, I knew what I wanted, and that was another go at her. But I didn’t necessarily have anything I wanted to discuss with her. She had said we couldn’t do what we did last time, and that we needed to talk. So what could it be about?
Had she caught an STD and wanted to blame me?
I knew I was clean. Or maybe now I wasn’t.
Shit!
A knock came at the door, and I walked over to open it, unsure how I’d react to seeing her with my current thoughts clouding my mind.
But when I saw her again, my mind went quiet, and my heart sped up.
Wearing some jeans and a light sweater with a pair of black flats, Katana stood there, looking at me. Her blue eyes ran up and down me. I’d worn jeans and a T-shirt and had kicked off my shoes as soon as had I gotten into the room.
We just stood there, our eyes feasting on each other, until a flurry of movement broke the stillness. I grabbed her, pulling her inside and straight into my arms. Pinning her to the door, my mouth crashed down on hers, and I couldn’t get enough of her.
Clothes ripped as we pulled them off each other, and before either of us knew what the hell was happening, we were both naked. She wrapped her legs around my waist, and I plowed into her soft, hot cunt as we groaned with relief.
I fucked her hard, using the wall to hold her up for me just where I needed her. We both came in a heated rush, and then I carried her like that, with her legs still wrapped ar
ound me, to the bed.
Laying her down, I let our bodies part for only a moment before I was on top of her, my cock growing hard already. I pushed myself back into her, thrusting with a force that seemed inhuman. We looked into each other’s eyes as I stabbed my dick into her still pussy, which was still pulsing from the orgasm I’d just given her.
Her hands moved through my hair and then over my beard. “That looks good on you, Nix.”
I kissed her sweet lips then moved my mouth over to kiss her neck, my thrusts finally slowing to a less urgent pace. Her body arched to meet mine, and we moved as one until both of us were shaking with another orgasm. We’d come together once more. Seemed we had a connection that not even our bodies could deny.
There wouldn’t be any more walking away from her and expecting nothing more. I had to have more of her. And it sure did seem like she had to have more of me, too.
She’d told me there’d be none of this. So I wondered what made her change her mind. But I’d ask that later. For now, I wanted to flip her over and spank her sweet ass while I took her from behind. But when I grabbed her by the waist, it became clear she wasn’t going to let me do that.
It also became clear that she’d lost some weight. I felt the bones of her hips, and when I ran my hands up her sides, I felt her ribs. I hadn’t taken time to notice anything; I’d wanted her too badly.
Her hands caught my wrists. “I have to tell you something, Nix.”
The way her lips began to quiver told me it wasn’t anything good. Was she sick? Dying?
“Tell me,” I whispered as I stayed right where I was, my dick still inside of her. I didn’t want to lose the connection. I couldn’t lose it.
“Nix, I’m pregnant with your baby.”
Shit!
Part Three
Chapter 12
Katana
Silence filled the room. Nix stared at me for a long time then rolled off me and hurried to the bathroom without saying a word. Without a clue as to what he thought about the baby, I lay there and started crying, pulling the blanket up to cover my body.
I’d had no idea how he would take the news. I didn’t know if there was any right way he could have reacted that would’ve made me happy. But this reaction definitely didn’t make me happy.
A few minutes later he came out of the bathroom, a wet washcloth in his hand. He didn’t look at me as he ran it over his face and came to sit on the edge of the bed. “Are you positive it’s mine? I know you told me that it had been over a year since you’d had sex, but people lie. So I need to know the truth.” He looked directly into my eyes. “It’s okay if you lied to me. What’s important now is that you and I both know the truth about everything. If there’s the slightest chance it’s not mine, I need to know. Did you sleep with anyone after me?”
I shook my head and wiped my tears away. “I told you the truth before about not having sex for over a year. And I haven’t had sex with anyone else. I’ve been sick. I thought I had a bug. But yesterday I took a look at my birth control pills. I hadn’t taken them in a couple of weeks, since I first started feeling sick to my stomach. I saw that I’d skipped the week before I met you. I didn’t do it on purpose; I swear that to you.”
He nodded. “I believe you. I recall you telling me you’d had a rough week. It must’ve been one hell of a week.”
“It was. But I can’t believe I forgot to take so many pills. I’m so sorry.” I began to sob and covered my face with my hands so he couldn’t see me ugly crying.
I felt his hands move over mine and he pulled them away, grabbing me up and hugging me, swaying back and forth. “Don’t cry. We’ll handle this. I’m so glad you told me right away. I’m so glad you didn’t leave me out of this.”
He was glad I hadn’t left him out. That was so good to hear. The truth was I’d been worried he’d be mad at me and tell me the problem was all mine since I had caused it.
But he hadn’t said that. He was holding me and telling me we’d handle things. Things were turning out better than I’d thought they would. But I knew I had to pull myself together so I could let him know a bit more.
Sniffling, I pulled back and looked at him. He took the damp cloth and wiped my tears away. “Nix, I just want you to know that I’m not going to hold you to anything. You can have as much or as little to do with this baby as you want. I can take care of him all on my own if you want nothing to do with it. I’m not trying to trap you into a relationship with me either.”
“I’m sure you’re not,” he whispered. “You’ve only known about the baby for a day. You’re sure you want to keep it?”
I nodded. “It may seem like I haven’t thought it all out. But I can’t kill a baby. No matter how small it is. No matter if it hasn’t developed its tiny little heart yet. I can’t do it.” I looked him right in the eyes. “I won’t do it.”
He smiled. “Good. I’m glad to hear that. We got pregnant for a reason. God doesn’t make mistakes.”
He’d used the word we. We’d gotten pregnant. I wasn’t in this alone. He was right here with me. For the first time in my life, I had someone who was going to stick with me.
I sighed. “You don’t know how good it is to hear that, Nix. I promise you I won’t bother you about anything. We’ll figure it all out, and things will be okay.”
“Sure they will,” he said then kissed the top of my head. “Now I understand why you said we couldn’t do what we did before. I have to tell you I was pretty disappointed when you told me that. But now I get it. And I want to tell you that makes me feel very good about the kind of mother you’ll be. A pretty damn great one, I expect.”
I laughed a little. “I guess you should know some things about me, Nix. My mother never knew who my father was. She left me alone a lot and one day she just didn’t come home at all. I was taken to an orphanage, and later an elderly couple took me into their home and fostered me until I turned eighteen.”
“Damn,” he muttered. “That’s rough.”
“I think I should take some parenting classes. It’s not like I know how to care for a baby, or a child for that matter.” I looked down, feeling pretty pathetic.
His hand on my chin brought my face up, and he kissed my lips before he said, “My mother had six kids. I think she’d love to teach you about babies and raising kids.”
His mother?
“You’d take me to meet your family?” I asked with surprise.
“Of course. You’re having my baby. You have to meet the people who’ll love him almost as much as we will.” He kissed me again.
This was all going too perfectly. It didn’t make sense. Things never went perfectly in my world. Something would eventually happen to fuck it all up. But for now, things were going well, and I could enjoy the moment.
When our lips parted, he had more great things to tell me. “I know this is sudden. I mean, we’ve been hit with a lot. But you’re not in this alone. And I want to be there for you just as much as the baby. Come to Malibu. Live in my home. I’m not rushing a relationship or anything like that, so don’t get scared off by what I’m saying here.”
“You aren’t?” I asked. “I mean, I don’t want to force anything either. Do you have enough room for me to have my own bedroom, so we’re not moving things too fast?”
“I’ve got four bedrooms. You’ll have one, and the baby will have one, and we’ll still have one for guests. All of the bedrooms have their own bathrooms so we won’t be getting in each other’s way.” He kissed my cheek. “I mean it. I want to be a part of this whole thing, the pregnancy too. I don’t want to miss a single thing where this child is concerned.”
I was grateful to hear how optimistic he was about this whole thing. But I didn’t want to become a burden to him. “I’ll pay half the rent and all the other bills.”
“Like hell, you will.” He got underneath the blanket with me and put his arm around me. “What is it you do for a living, anyway?”
“I design book covers. I’m a freelancer. I c
an work from home. I’ll never have to leave the baby with a sitter to do my job.” I smiled. The flexibility of my job made me happy. With all the worries I had about having this child, knowing that I wouldn’t have to find a babysitter was a great relief.
“Cool. Not that you’ll have to work. I’ve got more than enough money. But if you want to do it to keep yourself busy, go right ahead.” He gave my shoulders a little squeeze.
“I won’t be able to be your little slave for quite some time. Are you going to be okay with that, Nix?” I asked, as I had no idea what he’d want.
He chuckled. “Yeah, I know. It’s okay. I only get that urge a couple of times a year anyway. It’s not my full-time thing.”
Glad to have heard that, I laid my head on his chest and felt safe in his arms. I’d never felt as safe as I did when he held me. I had a father for my child. A man who wanted to be there for me and our baby.
I couldn’t believe that a chance meeting at a BDSM club had ended up like this.
With me pregnant with a wealthy man’s child, being swept off to Malibu, California, to live for who knew how long. The future looked a hell of a lot brighter than it ever had before.
But that niggling thing inside of me that hated to get my hopes up about anything came to pester me. Things never go right for you, Katana Reeves, you know that. Something will rear its ugly head and make this thing go south. Just you watch.
I pressed my lips against Nix’s chest and tried to silence the nagging voice in my head. For now, everything was going right. For now, I had a man who was going to stand up and do the right thing. This hadn’t been planned, but it had happened, and he’d had the level-headedness to deal with that.
For now, I would be okay.
Chapter 13
Nixon
Katana slept like a baby in my arms the rest of the night. I suppose finally having someone there for her might have had something to do with that. I had no idea what it felt like to be all alone in the world. It must feel terrible. That’s not a thing I would wish on anyone.
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