“Lawson.” I parrot, glaring at him, as I take a seat and raise my chin stubbornly. “I’m not calling your secretary every time I need to talk to you. Why haven’t you been to see Cody?”
Don’t get mad, Nic. Don’t get mad. Yelling won’t help the situation, and you swore to be mature from now on.
The pep talk helps. So much so that when he looks away guiltily and clears his throat, I don’t lunge over the desk and gouge his eyes out. It’s close though.
“I, uh, needed some time.”
My temper rises at the thought that he’s willing to neglect our son, but I hold it in, and after a deep breath, I manage to speak as calmly as possible.
“Cody is your son, Law. He’s only just gotten you back. Please, please don’t throw him aside. He’d be crushed if he thought you no longer want him.”
Law blanches and closes his eyes, and I feel a measure of pity for him. Nothing about this mess is easy, and I know that it must hurt him not to be in the same house as Cody after they became so close.
“I wouldn’t,” he whispers, his eyes pleading with me to believe him.
I do, and that gives me a small measure of trust in him. Enough to do what I came here to do.
“Good. Call your son, Law. He misses you.”
“I will. I’m sorry. I…I’m sorry.”
“I know.”
Here comes the hard part, Nic.
“Nic.”
“I have something else I need to tell you.”
Please don’t react badly. Please be the man I think you are.
Law sighs tiredly and scrubs at his face, his fists clenching when he looks over and fully meets my gaze. He looks so tired and worn that for a second I reconsider telling him, not wanting to add to the stress of whatever he’s going through right now.
“Nic, babe, I? Can this wait?”
“No. I swore to you once that I would never lie to you again, Law, not even by omission, and even though we’re not together anymore, I’m going to keep that promise, even if it kills me. So here goes.”
I breathe through the nausea churning in my gut and swallow before looking back up and holding his eyes.
“I’m pregnant.”
Chapter Thirty-four
Law
My world is crashing down around me, and I have no way of stopping the avalanche or picking up the pieces. As the words I’ve longed to hear leave her lips, I feel my feet get knocked out from under me.
My heart stops before it starts racing so hard that I feel its beat in my head, and joy explodes through me in such a great wave that it steals my breath. I’m smiling like a fucking maniac. I’m so happy that I’m up and out of my chair, grabbing her so fast I come to my senses only as my lips meet hers and I realize I’m kissing the hell out of a woman who is not my wife.
It’s wrong, immoral, a slap in Melissa’s face, but I don’t give one continental damn. The moment my lips meet hers I feel like I’ve come home, and when she moans and opens her mouth, kissing me back, my whole world rights itself all at once.
This woman is my home, my haven, my safe harbor, and I’ve seen it too late. What the hell I’m supposed to do now is beyond me, but I know one thing, I can’t let her go.
She’s…
I can’t explain how happy I am at this moment, knowing that a part of me is inside her, that we’re once again connected in the most profoundly basic way a man and woman can be connected.
Just as I decide that I’m in heaven, she pulls away with a groan and shoves at me, her face so pained I feel my heart break anew. I did that. I put that haunted look of pain in her eyes.
No matter. I’ll fix it, just as soon as I get rid of the succubus that stole my baby’s position and do what I should have done the minute Justin told me the news.
“Law, no.”
I look down when she gasps and realize I’m trying to pull her back into my arms while she’s struggling to get away.
“Nic.”
“No. We can’t do this. You’re married.”
Not for long, baby, and if I have my way, I’ll have my ring and name on you before the month is out, I vow to myself, hiding my smile.
“Sorry. You’re right,” I mutter, shoving my hands into my pockets to stop from hauling her back into my arms and kissing the breath out of her.
My cock goes hard when she huffs and rolls her eyes, and I want to laugh like a madman. Melissa can’t get so much as a twitch out of my dick even prancing around in revealing underwear, and all it takes for my angel is a disgusted huff.
“Sooo, you’re pregnant.”
Please be happy, I beg silently. It would kill me if she regrets the little life we made together.
My heart starts tripping when she smiles broadly and looks away shyly, her cheeks turning a rosy pink that makes my dick beg for mercy. Damn woman, all it takes is a smile and I’m ready to rut like a beast.
“Yeah. I found out last week.”
My mouth is smiling again, and no matter how much I try, I can’t stop it. My reaction seems to bring her relief—though I see the confusion in her eyes when she looks at me.
Don’t worry, babe, I’ll explain it all to you once I make a deal with the devil and get my ring off her finger.
“Nic, I can’t tell you how happy I am right now. I know things are messed up, but I swear, I will never abandon our children.”
Please believe me. Please look at me like I’m worthwhile.
She smiles softly and gives me exactly what I need, and I feel…reborn when she grins and twists her lips.
“I don’t want to cause problems for your marriage, so if you want to keep this quiet for a little while I understand. Just…I’m not sorry,” she says, straightening her spine and letting me know that if I say one bad thing right now she’ll probably kick my ass.
If that baby Melissa is carrying is mine—and now that I think about it, I’m not sure—but if it is, I have no doubt that Nic will love him and raise him as her own.
Once I get her back that is.
“Me either. Are you okay?”
“Eh. Morning sickness and some mild dizziness. Otherwise I’m doing…okay.”
I hate that I’m not with her, seeing her through this from the get go, but I will be, even if I have to lock old Mel up till she gives birth and steal my kid.
I’m not giving Nic and my family up though, not after finally pulling my head out of my ass and realizing that I can’t live without them.
They’re it.
She’s the one.
Now I just have to fix things.
“Er. I gotta go.”
I’m not ready to say goodbye yet, but I let her go after promising to call Cody, and then I’m on the phone, making a call I should have made at the very start.
“Cris, I need your help.”
The asshole laughs and says a few things in Greek that I would beat him to death for if I was anywhere near him, before sobering and drawling cockily.
“Lawson, my old friend, you seem to need a lot of help these days. Can you hold your own cock at the urinal or do you need assistance with that, too?”
“I can handle my dick just fine, asshole. At least I don’t have to sit down to take a piss,” I say with a growl, laughing when he curses me through his own chuckle.
“What do you need?”
A time machine. A kick in the balls. A second chance.
“Remember that trip we all took to Monaco with Justin Groves?”
Cris snarls and mutters a few choice words under his breath, and I remember why I like the guy so much. He’s a good judge of character.
“Do not mention that bastard’s name to me. A friend of mine invested in one of his schemes never to hear from the little idiot again. I’m searching for him as we speak, and once I get my hands on him…”
Huh.
“He’s a con artist?”
That gets me thinking, and before I know it, I’ve come to some really startling conclusions. Now I just have to prove it.
“Yes. He lost his trust fund and his father cut him off, so he started playing fast and loose with other peoples’ money. He won’t get far though because I will find him,” Cris snarls.
I could almost feel sorry for the guy, but then again, I have a suspicion that I’m being played myself, so I’m more than happy to give him to Cris and watch him suffer the Greek’s wrath.
“What would you say if I told you he’s here in New York?”
“Tell me.”
“He came to see me a couple weeks ago and let me know that Melissa St. Ives was looking for me. Turns out our one night together resulted in a baby, and I now find myself married to the woman.”
“I would say that that would be impossible, my friend. The woman you took to your room was Trish Boone, a friend of the little blonde I was enjoying. You must remember. They let us suck shots from their—”
I snarl as a flash of memory bombards me.
The details are sketchy, but I recall hanging out with the little brunette and taking her upstairs for a quickie. I was so drunk at that stage that when I came to with Melissa draped over me I’d been confused and a little annoyed to be honest.
She’d been pawing at my dick, no matter how limp it was, and that’s when I told her to get lost and ended up sleeping off a hangover in Cris’s room on the sofa while he screwed the blonde for hours.
Those conniving assholes.
“Please tell me Justin tapped the bitch.”
“I can do you one better, Law. I have the camera footage Drake was taking all night. He caught them going at it in one of the upstairs bedrooms. We still shudder to see it. Skinny women are really not attractive unless you’re drunk, and believe me, with the way you kept looking at that photo of dear Nicolette that you keep hidden in your wallet I do not think you would have given Melissa a second look.”
I’m smiling by the time we make arrangements for him to fly out.
Things are looking up.
Chapter Thirty-five
Nico
“Oh God.” I moan into the toilet bowl, feeling my gut heave again despite the fact that there’s nothing left in me to puke up.
I’ve been hanging out with the porcelain for a good twenty minutes so far, and from the feel of things, I’m not going to be up and out of here any time soon.
I feel so bad that when my stomach finally settles enough to move, I collapse to the cold tiles and close my eyes, intending to spend my time right there on the blessedly cold floor.
This is in no way anywhere close to the easy pregnancy I had with Cody, and I feel awful wondering if this kid might kill me, but honestly who wakes up at four in the morning to puke?
I start when a cold washcloth settles over my face and groan at the bliss, wanting nothing more than to lie just here and fall asleep. It’s been two months since I told Law about the baby, and despite feeling relatively calm about everything, I still resent the fact that I’m doing this alone.
“Nic, babe, you okay?”
I vault up and moan, falling back to the floor when my head swims, and I move the cloth enough to get one eye open. I meet a set of startling blue eyes and feel my stomach dip, this time in a good way, when I see Law on his knees beside me, his face a mask of concern.
“Law?”
The cloth is whipped away, and he’s lifting me in the next instant, his arms cradling me as he carries me to the bed and gently lowers me to the soft surface.
“What are you doing here, Law?”
And please tell me you did not witness me puking a minute ago. I can only imagine what I looked like with my ass in the air, exposed by the t-shirt that I know rode up and exposed my panty-clad ass.
Maternity undies are not sexy, and no, you can’t judge me for thinking about looking sexy in front of Law. The guy might be married, but he’s my baby daddy, too, and I hate the thought of looking like a hippopotamus with my ass in the air as I wretched up my stomach lining.
“Cody, Dad, and I are going fishing.”
Oh yeah, I forgot about the fishing trip.
“Oh. Uh—”
“Nic, don’t take this the wrong way, babe, but you don’t look so good. Are you still getting morning sickness?” he asks, caressing my forehead, as he gently pushes my hair out of my face.
The action is tender and everything I wanted four months ago.
“It’s not as bad as it was in the beginning. I ate cookies before I came to bed that’s all.”
He’s sitting on the edge of the bed, still stroking my face and instead of shoving his ass away and kicking him out, I’m leaning into the touch and sighing in bliss as the action settles me.
“Cookies, huh?” he chuckles.
“Yeah, not a good idea,” I whisper, trying not to breathe as I become aware of the fact that I haven’t brushed my teeth and my breath probably smells like it tastes.
Death.
Er, this is getting awkward, and after a few more minutes of basking in the bliss of his stroking hands, I yawn and look pointedly at the door.
“You should go.”
Law nods and stands, smiling the whole time as he makes his way to the door, turning back to look at me from the doorway.
“I got an annulment yesterday. The baby wasn’t mine.”
He leaves without another word, his smile at my shock so annoying that I look around for something to throw at the door before collapsing back with a groan as I bury my face into the pillow.
Well, how the heck am I supposed to go back to sleep now?
Two things jump out at me the second I allow my brain to think of anything other than the fact that Law is free. One, he got an annulment which means he never consummated his marriage, and two, the bastard is so making a play for me again.
I really hope this baby is a girl because the arrogance of these James men is just ridiculous.
I fall asleep minutes later with a smile on my face that really shouldn’t be there.
*************************************************************
“Mom! I caught a fish and it was huge! It was so much bigger than Grandpa’s or Dad’s, and then they took a picture and we released it back into the river, and Dad says it was definitely much bigger than anything they’ve ever caught.”
I laugh as Cody barrels in, all arms and legs and excitement. He launches himself at me for a hug and kiss before doing the same to Min and streaking off for the kitchen and Rose.
Minnie and I share a grin from our seats on the sofa where we’ve been sitting together to arrange a charity play day for underprivileged kids.
“That kid is definitely mine. Brilliant technique,” Law says, as he saunters in, a huge grin on his face.
“Or just because he’s absolutely focused on size,” I shoot back, laughing when he blushes and throws his head back for a good laugh.
The action makes me tingle from head to toe, and I frown at the happiness that bubbles forth seeing him so relaxed and joyous. I shouldn’t care about his feelings or anything that makes him happy right now. I really shouldn’t, but that day we’d spoken in his office…I hated seeing him so tense and exhausted.
“The two of you are looking fantastic.”
Minnie laughs and pats his cheek when he leans down to kiss her and then comes over to fall down beside me, the picture of paternal pride.
“Whatcha doing?”
I look down at the lists in my hand and raise a brow to Min.
“Lawson, is your father creeping upstairs to prank me while you sit here distracting me?”
He blushes again and throws her a wink, getting a squeal as Minnie leaps to her feet and runs for the stairs.
“What was that all about?”
He leans closer to inspect my work and chuckles when I shove him back and raise a brow.
“Last time we went fishing, Dad made me talk Mom’s ear off so he could put a fish head on her pillow. She knows him too well though and switched her pillow with his before he went to bed.”
We laugh together
for a while, him telling me that Jack has always tried—and subsequently failed—to prank poor Minnie since the dawn of time because she always seems to know and usually turns the tables on him.
“Why did you try again today? Seems he’s just asking for a fish head pillow.” Law shrugs and grins at me, shifting closer. I eye him and scoot over a little, trying to put a little distance between us without seeming to. When I end up pressed to the sofa arm, a grinning Law peeking at me through his lashes, I stop my nervous shifting to glare.
“Is your dad distracting your mom for you, Law?”
He grins wider and shrugs easily.
“Maybe.”
Chapter Thirty-six
Law
I see the way she tries and fails to move away from me, her teeth worrying at her lip when she realizes there’s nowhere to go. It’s a bastard move to crowd her this way, but I can’t force myself to give a crap when the heat and scent of her wrap around me, pulling me in, reforming me.
The last two months have been an absolute torture for me. I managed to not only catch Melissa and Justin in the act, laughing and enjoying themselves as they screwed and discussed plans to swindle me out of millions, but I got to take my findings to a judge and get an annulment.
Melissa confessed that the baby she was carrying is not mine and that Justin had planned the whole thing. Seems that guy hadn’t minded his lover being taken by another man, or that I would raise his kid for the two years that they planned for us to be married.
His goal had been to bleed me dry and then secure a divorce worth millions after Melissa left me with the child and flitted off back to him.
Just the thought of that woman raising a defenseless kid set my teeth on edge, so instead of just crucifying the bitch, I was forced to fly to her family and set everything on the table.
They were horrified, of course, and made immediate plans for the little liar to go back home for the remainder of her pregnancy and delivery—after which they would keep the baby while Melissa is kicked to the curb.
So now that everything’s taken care of, and I am once again a free man, I feel the need to claim what is mine, namely the hot, very nicely rounded woman currently eyeballing the tar out of me.
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