by Cari Quinn
Sterling stroked Ang’s back. “She’ll be eight months along then. Unfortunately, she won’t be able to fly.”
Ang tried not to bristle. He was right, of course, but the way he just took over speaking for her sometimes drove her nuts.
Mainly because she didn’t want to get too used to any of this. The more he inserted himself into her world, the harder it would be to deal with his loss if he split.
“So drive out to meet us. By then she’ll need a party to cheer her up from her swollen ankles and hemorrhoids.”
“Jesus, Summer.” Jax lightly smacked the back of Summer’s head while everyone laughed. “Can you be any more tactless?”
Ang had to grin. “I have no hemorrhoids right now. Just wanted to put that out there. Swollen ankles?” She peeked under the table. “Yeah, pretty much.”
More laughter.
Conversation turned to Cass’s newly reopened ice cream shop, and the grand reopening celebration she had planned in two weeks. That involved more talk of them hanging out together and being all coupled up and perky. As much as Ang craved that idyllic future, she had too many loose ends to snip off before she allowed herself to dream she could be a regular member of their crew.
Like Pete. She’d left a message asking him for a few more days before she gave him her answer about signing the papers, but he hadn’t gotten back to her yet. She’d mostly made up her mind to sign. That wasn’t the problem.
The problem was the hard truths the family lawyer she’d spoken to had shared about the document’s viability. The only chance they had of making it a binding agreement validated by a judge was if there was a stepparent in place to take the father’s role. Her lawyer had voiced his opinion that it was an antiquated rule—in this day and age, plenty of single parents competently cared for their children—but it was the way of the world, at least in their corner of it. So if she signed those papers, unless she had a new daddy in place, she’d probably be wasting her ink.
The lawyer had asked if she was seeing anyone, and she’d said yes. There was no doubt Sterling would step in if she asked him to. But how could she? She didn’t want to bind him to her in any way that wasn’t strictly voluntary. What if he changed his mind down the road? She’d never trap him with a baby, whether or not it was his.
But she couldn’t let Pete file that restraining order—and she also couldn’t let him hurt her child in any way. If she took the easy route now and signed without making sure the agreement was ironclad, Pete might come back years down the road and try to get custody. Though she’d never wanted this outcome, he’d made his bed. She’d rather her daughter have no contact with an inconsistent father who didn’t love her than for him to drift in and out of her life on his whim.
That meant she had some big decisions to make. Tomorrow.
Tonight, she had to face the really loud music that wouldn’t stop blaring in her head. Maybe afterward, depending on how it went, she’d finally gather the rest of her nerve and fess up to Sterling about her alter ego. It was damned exhausting always trying to hide her back. Even more exhausting fearing what his response to her deception would be.
However he reacted, she deserved it. Part of being an adult was facing up to the consequences of her actions. She was doing that, one bad choice at a time.
Sterling leaned close. “Are you okay? You’re awfully quiet.”
“I’m fine. Just tired.”
“I wonder why that is. Someone kept you up all night.” He slipped his hand under the table and cupped her belly.
Flushing, she glanced around the table, pleased to see the others were occupied with teasing each other and not paying attention to them. The tender way he touched her stomach always set her motor humming. And when he slipped his finger under the band of her unbuttoned jeans—between her dessert of key lime pie and the baby, she’d had no choice but to get some room to breathe—to stroke her bare skin, she couldn’t stop a shiver. “Yes, and you don’t even have pregnancy hormones you can blame.”
“No, but you’re constantly tempting me with your incredibly sexy body.” He brushed his lips over her shoulder.
She took a sip of her lemonade and shot him a sidelong look. “You really think I’m sexy?” she asked quietly. “Even like this.” She hated asking. Hated that she needed that validation. But insecurity seemed to be her middle name lately, much as she couldn’t stand it.
“Oh yes.” His mouth closed over her earlobe. “I’d fuck you right here if you’d let me.” She shot up straight and he laughed, low and rough against her ear. “Did I surprise you?”
“Um. A little.” She swallowed and wiped her finger around the rim of her glass. “So how long do we have to hang out here?” she questioned, obviously more loudly than she’d intended since Summer wiggled her brows in Ang’s direction.
“Aw, man, the lusty lovebirds wanna go flap their wings.” Summer tipped her head against Chase’s. “I miss those days.”
Cass snorted. “Hard to miss them when you’re still having them.”
“No one likes a bragger.”
Chase tugged Summer onto his lap, making her squeal. “You’re not fooling anyone with your woe is me routine, babe.” He rubbed her neck. “Especially with this cute little hickey right here…”
“Hickey my ass. You practically sucked out a vein.” She thumped his chest. “Kinky bastard.”
“I’m so glad that Cass and I have risen above such sophomoric activities.” Jax feigned a sigh and grabbed a chocolate chip off of Cass’s plate.
“Ha. You just focus your suction farther down, Mr. Licker,” Summer tossed back.
Ang nudged Sterling with her leg. “Sometime you’re really going to have to fill me on the backstory with this bunch.”
Sterling laughed and slung his arm around her shoulders. “Trust me, you’re better off not knowing.”
“I wish I didn’t,” Chase muttered. “That licking story is going to follow me to the grave.”
“Be glad that Cass and Jax are going wedding shopping in the city this afternoon. Or else I’d keep tormenting them for all of our benefits for the rest of the day, lover o’ mine.” Summer laughed.
The waiter appeared at their table. “Anyone need anything else? A few coffees, perhaps?”
Ang barely hid her grin as Sterling rubbed his leg against hers. “Check, please.” And hurry.
All the way home, she couldn’t stop staring at him. Even his profile revved her up. That sharp jaw, his aristocratic nose, the full lips. His lashes were to die for.
“I feel you watching me. You’re making it hard for me to concentrate on the road.”
“I hope so. The quicker you’re hard, the quicker you’ll have me bent over something sturdy.” As soon as the words were out, she regretted them. That would be okay as long as she wasn’t naked. Damn that back tattoo. At least it was small and easy to hide.
Damn her stupid lie.
He made a strangled sound in his throat. “Actually, how do you feel about the wall?”
“I thought you didn’t do walls.”
“You’ll be surprised what I’m willing to do now.” His meaning hung heavy in the air, tightening her nipples until she was tempted to cup her breasts to try to relieve the ache.
“So how do you feel about car hoods?”
“That includes sharing the view of your magnificent body with anyone who wanders by.” He cast her a heavy-lidded look. “Not happening.”
She couldn’t help smiling. “You’re sure you don’t need your eyes checked?”
“Talk like that must mean you want to get spanked.” When she didn’t say anything, he added softly, “I remember how you reacted the first time I mentioned spanking that day at the bingo hall.”
So did she. She shifted, pressing her thighs together at the fresh rush of moisture. “I know that’s not your thing.”
“My thing is turning out to encompass a wider spectrum than I ever guessed.” He reached over to squeeze her knee. “Thank you for that.”
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“You’re welcome.” She linked her fingers with his. “But just so you know…I’m still willing to encompass wider spectrums myself. If you want to.” She dragged her nails over his palm. “I’m used to wide with you. And thick. And hard…”
“Sometimes I wonder what I did without you in my life.”
His voice was so somber that she felt compelled to make a joke. “Enjoy all your free time that wasn’t filled with making pregnancy-related flowcharts?”
But he didn’t laugh. “I dated a number of women. Some of them fairly seriously. After an appropriate length of time, we had sex, and everything was cordial and lovely.”
“That sounds horrible.”
He finally cracked a smile. “It was. I had no clue what I’d been missing. Until you.” He shook his head. “Jax always said I was a sad case.”
“I guarantee you have a bigger penis than he does. Take comfort in that.”
“Oh I do.” He grinned. “Hourly.”
The light, easy mood between them lasted until they walked through the front door. Then the atmosphere changed, the air seeming to crackle with an electric charge.
“We have three hours before we have to be to your parents’ house.” He tossed his keys on the foyer table and pinned her with his sizzling gaze. “I want you naked for all of them.”
“O-okay.” Great, Stuttering Girl had returned. She’d missed her so. Not.
His cell buzzed and he took it out of his pocket, scanning the readout. After a moment, he spared her a glance. “Go upstairs and wait for me on the bed.”
Some yearning, soft part of her wanted to instantly obey. Another, more insistent part couldn’t easily give up the reins. Her curiosity won. “Aren’t you coming?”
His jaw tensed. “Angelina. Go.”
She went. On the way, she scattered her clothes, leaving him an erotic trail of bread crumbs. She hesitated when she took off her shirt. She sensed something dark and dangerous brewing inside him, and anything could happen.
Naked, she padded into the guest room to gather her secret weapon. Brandy had selected another set of lingerie for her, a gauzy white robe and peignoir set with strategically placed pink rosettes. Rather than wearing the gown, she opted for her tiny white panties and the robe. She tied the little tie between her breasts before fluffing her hair, ramping up her eye makeup and slicking on red lipstick. She normally didn’t wear a ton of makeup, but for some reason she wanted to show him a different side of her today. She wasn’t just the cute, good-time girl he’d always known. There was a woman underneath.
That woman stared back at her from the mirror in the guest bathroom, her gray eyes smoky, her mouth full and wet. Her gaze traveled to where her full breasts strained against the robe, and then to her round belly. Desire stirred low in her body, heavy and insistent. If she tucked her fingers into her panties right now, she knew she’d find herself already soaked.
A smile curved her mouth. She’d leave that present for him.
She headed down the hall to the master bedroom and knelt on the bed, waiting. Within a moment, Sterling stepped over the threshold, jacket already undone. He’d started loosening his tie, though he stopped when he got a glimpse of her. Her skin heated, awareness sweeping through her and leaving her lightheaded. She’d never wanted a man so much before. No matter how many times she had him, it wasn’t enough.
His jaw locked. “I said I wanted you naked.”
Something about his tone was off. “Close enough,” she said airily, gesturing at herself. “More fun for you to undress me.”
“Take the panties off and get on your hands and knees.” He whipped off his tie and wrapped it around his hand, stalking toward the bed.
Her throat clutched. “Who called you?”
“Angelina.”
With shaking hands, she shoved down the panties, trying not to shiver from both excitement and nerves. What did he have in mind? If he made her take off her thin robe, the jig would be up.
Maybe that was what this was about. He’d get her on all fours, shove up her robe and expose her for the fraud she was.
The fraud who was shaking for him even when she thought him capable of anything.
All right, not anything. Sterling would never harm her for any reason. But the Sterling in this room was riding the edge of something unpredictable, and she wasn’t sure she’d come out unscathed.
If she even wanted to.
She bit her lip as she dropped her underwear on the floor and got into position. She fisted the tidy sheets—housekeeper or no housekeeper, Sterling never left home without making the bed—and inhaled deeply, trying to relax. Whatever happened would be incredible.
He went to the nightstand and took out her tube of lube and a small, rubbery object. Butt plug. Okay then. Her limits were about to be blown, as requested. She rolled her shoulders and widened her stance, the movement enough to cause a draft of air over the wet, aching cleft between her legs.
Silently, he came up behind her and pushed the robe aside, baring her ass. His big hands molded her flesh, squeezing relentlessly. His thumbs met over the hole he’d only occasionally fingered thus far, and her heartbeat accelerated, making her pant. Then he grabbed a couple of pillows, sliding them beneath her midsection, and it took every bit of her self-control not to moan. He uncapped the lube, the sound jolting her, and trailed some over her ass, pressing it inward with a gentle thrust of his finger. “Why aren’t you naked, Angelina?”
She fought a shudder. The only time he called her Angelina was when he slipped into that dominant role he adopted surprisingly well. His tone and touch firmed, mirroring his subtle command, and everything inside her responded to it. The words were right there. The truth. All she had to do was admit what she’d done. This wasn’t the timing she would’ve chosen, but waiting any longer would be worse.
Shame burned her cheeks and convulsed her throat. She had to say it, even if he knew. Whether or not this had been some elaborate ruse to get her to admit the truth, she owed him that and so much more.
She rolled over and faced him, lifting her eyes to his. “I’m GothGeek.”
No response. Just his audible breathing as he studied the way she was sprawled out in front of him.
“I never meant to do it, I swear. All I wanted to do was to get closer to you after that day in the guest bedroom, after you walked away from me. I came in here to speak to you, to—”
“To ream me out for leaving you unfulfilled?”
How could there be amusement in his voice? She didn’t deserve it, not after what she’d done. She shut her eyes. “Maybe I had good reason to be mad at first, but there’s no explanation for how I reacted to seeing DorkyDuck’s name on your screen. I set up my Sole Mate screen name that night.”
“You were jealous?”
“So jealous.” A couple of tears squeezed out before she sucked in a breath and opened her eyes. No more coward’s way out for her. “You were flirty with her right after being with me, and then you went in the shower, and I thought…God.”
“You thought that was about her, not you.” He slipped his hand in her hair and tipped back her head. “You were so wrong, baby. Everything has always been about you. Every choice I’ve made, good or bad, was to get closer to you so I could keep you safe.” He made a sound in his throat. “So I could keep you mine.”
“I want that.” She tried not to shudder as his grip tightened, giving her no choice other than to meet his gaze. “I wanted to get close to you. I never expected any of this, but when I got that first taste, I think it made me mental. As much as I ached to tell you, I was so frightened you’d hate me.” The memory of the first night she’d spent in his house and what he’d said about why he preferred older women pounded in her skull. “You must think I’m no better than those game-playing young chippies you hate.”
“I never said I hated them. And if you think you fit into any predictable category, you’re so wrong.”
“I’m sorry,” she whispered. “So sorry. T
he idea of losing you scared me more than anything ever has, because deep down, I didn’t think I deserved—”
He released her. “Turn over. On your knees, Angelina.”
His gravelly tone and usage of her full name goaded her into responding. When she faced away from him again, he didn’t slide his finger inside of her. Instead he scooped her up, tight to his chest, and pressed his mouth to the side of her neck, his breathing unsteady. “You deserve everything. Do you understand me?” Before she answered, his hand cupped her belly. “You and this child are worth the world. Any man would be lucky to have you in his life. Are you perfect? No. But who the hell wants that?”
She let out a broken laugh. “Don’t you?”
“Absolutely not. I want wild and messy and impetuous and everything that comes with it.” His lips branded her flesh. “You did something impulsive, but you never intended to hurt me.”
“No. I couldn’t,” she said fiercely. “I wouldn’t.”
“I know, Thumbelina.” He kissed her neck again, softly. “I know.”
Oh God, her nickname. She’d never been more grateful to hear it. “As time went on, I half wondered if you’d figured out I was GothGeek. You acted so different with her after we’d been…intimate. I thought maybe you were stringing me along until I came clean. Otherwise I would’ve been jealous of her relationship with you too.” She laughed weakly. When he didn’t speak, she rushed ahead. She’d cross that bridge with him another time. “Can you ever forgive me? I promise I’ll spend the rest of—” She screwed up her eyes. No. Not yet. It’s too soon. “I’ll do everything I can to earn your trust again, I swear.”
“Already done,” he grated out. “But now I need to know if you can forgive me.”
Her skin chilled. “Sterling?”
“The first night we were together in this room, I saw your tattoo. You were right to be suspicious that I’d made the connection.”
An odd sort of relief surged through her. He’d never intended to cheat on her with GothGeek after all. “So you did know all along.”
“Not all along, but pretty close. I should have confronted you. I’m sorry I didn’t. The longer I waited for you to tell me, the harder it became for me to tell you I knew.”