Split - Coffin Nails MC (Contemporary New Adult Erotic Dark Romance) (Sex & Mayhem Book 7)

by Merikan, Miss

  In the darkness, far away from the party lights and with just the moon as a witness, Asty held Hunter’s hands. She’d never felt so happy in her life.

  Asty

  Asty breathed in the artificial aroma in the waiting room at her doctor’s office. Lucky was by her side and one woman sat across from them, but with the size of the room, it still felt pretty private. It was March seventh, her birthday, and Lucky took her out for breakfast to celebrate, but there were no party plans. She didn’t want any of her more casual friends to see her pregnant when she couldn’t even introduce the baby’s father to them without risk. They would just assume she did something stupid and the guy who knocked her up left her. At least she was finally feeling better after the maladies of the first trimester stopped.

  She would have her second ultrasound, and she couldn’t help but sulk a bit that Hunter couldn’t be there with her. Knowing him, he’d try to somehow sneak into the clinic and participate, so she refrained from telling him about her plans for the first half of the day. But as she sat there, nerves were slowly getting the best of her, even though she knew deep in her heart the baby would be a healthy boy.

  “You’re really quiet.” Lucky smiled and rested his elbows on his knees. “I get it, I hate going to the doctor’s too. I have this needle phobia. I get really freaked out.”

  Asty sighed. “It’s not that. I just wish Hunter could be here,” she muttered and stroked his arm. “And don’t worry. They won’t be using any needles.”

  “Ah, I get it. But it’s for the better. Dad’s got spies everywhere, and Hunter being here with you would be super-suspicious.” Lucky nodded. “From what I’ve gathered, Tooth and Dad are still on the lookout. Tooth’s been acting weird about it, too.”

  Asty groaned. “Fuck ... I told him to stop! It’s been four months. How can I ever break the news to him if he’s so agitated?” After a second’s thought, she added, “What did Tooth say?”

  “He was asking me about you yesterday. If you’re seeing anyone, and he had this ‘This is serious, Lucifer’ voice.”

  If this were about anything else, Asty would have laughed at Lucky’s impression of his fiancé, but she just leaned against him with a deep sigh. Her stomach was clearly enlarged now, but the baby doll dress she was wearing had enough volume to hide it. It was so strange to observe her body changing like this. When she saw other women in this state, it didn’t bother her at all, but having been very small and skinny all her life, the change in her own shape came as a bit of a shock. But on top of that, she wasn’t really self-conscious about it. Every time she and Hunter were together, she could see the same lust in his eyes, a fire that seemed to grow even faster than her bump did. Especially now with her breasts hurting less, he could finally play with them more. It was like a strange but very happy dream.

  “But what do they want to achieve? I want to tell them that Hunter and I started dating after I got pregnant, but I’m afraid to even do that when I see Dad so agitated.”

  “I don’t know. I think Tooth is skeptical but sees that Dad isn’t letting it go, and he hopes that if they find the guy, they can put the issue to rest. But with your plan, why don’t you tell him?”

  Asty groaned and rolled her eyes. “I brought this up so many times, but Dad doesn’t want to let me date anyone until the baby is born.”

  “What?” Lucky hissed. “You’re an adult. Oh, my God, he can be such a shithead sometimes. Remember how he kept telling Bell that he should go to the gym more often?”

  Asty shrugged. “I mean, this is more intrusive. He keeps trying to control my sex life. This is such fucking bullshit.”

  “It’s not like you’re gonna get pregnant again.” Lucky snorted and winked at her.

  “I know, but he just won’t listen, and I don’t want him to do anything brash. Hunter’s position at the club is shaky as it is.”

  Lucky nodded. “Yeah, I’ve heard a bit about that. Everyone likes him a lot more than they do Ray, but he’s still looked at with suspicion. He’s got a Coffin Nails patch, but he’s only been around for a few months. He’s handsome and young, so a lot of girls try to get into his pants, but because he doesn’t sleep around, there’s a rumor going ‘round that he’s gay. Especially after that outburst at my engagement.”

  Asty barked out a laugh, which made the lady across from them look up. “Oh, he’s definitely not gay.”

  “I’d say it’s a shame, but I have the perfect future husband, so I don’t care.” Lucky grinned. “But seriously, be vigilant, because it’s easy to slip when you sneak around like that. Believe me, I know.”

  Asty wanted to answer him, but the receptionist came in and walked up to them. “The doctor will see you now, Miss Horton. Do you want the father to be present?” she asked, glancing at Lucky.

  Asty scratched herself on the forehead and chuckled. “No ... that’s ... my brother.”

  Lucky smiled and put his hands in his pockets. “This kind of stuff freaks me out, but I’ll be right here, okay?”

  “See you soon,” said Asty and followed the apologetic receptionist to the treatment room. She was told to wait for the doctor as he had something urgent to deal with, and she eventually sat down in a chair by the desk and picked up her phone to pass the time. She might as well have stayed with Lucky instead of being alone in the treatment room, which, of course, was painted with that creepy shade of green that was supposed to make patients calm.

  Asty’s presence on social media was limited, as she was usually busy with other things, but after checking her e-mail, she decided to have a look at a site she used a lot in high school. As she suspected, there were many notifications from the last few months, but after looking at two invitations and reading a really stupid comment on an old post, she clicked an icon for new photo where she had been tagged. She expected to see an ancient picture from a school trip, but her mind numbed when an image of her leaning against Hunter at the café, which they had visited on their first date loaded on the screen. She could barely breathe. Lilly. Of course, that bitch would mess up Asty’s life even now! Lilly even captioned it. ‘Aww, I met up with Asty today. She’s still in Detroit, but seems to be doing well for herself! <3 #SatanLove’

  Asty’s fingers shook when she frantically searched through the mobile version of the website to find the settings. As soon as she found the option to delete the account, she did so, only to growl at repeated questions asking whether she was certain. “Of course, I’m sure, you stupid fuck. Why else would I even be in that section?”

  “Um … Miss Horton?”

  Asty raised her head, flushing with heat at the elderly doctor, who frowned at her from the door. Crap, he must have heard her. “I’m fine. I’m just ... almost ready,” she said and was glad when the website finally deleted her account and she could breathe again.

  The doctor had her lay on the treatment table, but she was still panicking over the photo online even as she rested on her back and uncovered her belly. The picture was floating somewhere on the Internet, for anyone to find. And it dated three months back.

  “Don’t be nervous, it won’t hurt, it’s just a bit cold,” the doctor said. In all honesty, her belly looked as if she ate a big orange, and it was stuck in there.

  The doctor asked her some questions and explained a few things, but eventually, he spread the lubricant over her bump and started the test. Asty exhaled, trying hard to relax, but she couldn’t get over the fact that Lilly posted the picture without permission after being told explicitly to delete it.

  But her thoughts trailed off when the screen filled with the profile of a head, complete with lips and chin. She exhaled, watching it, mesmerized. The doctor noticed her interest and smiled, adjusting his thick glasses. “That’s what I call a handsome baby. A well-formed skull, very nice,” he said and kept moving the transducer over her stomach, making the black-and-white picture on the monitor morph.

  “That’s the heart,” explained the doctor as they watched a small shape twitch rhy
thmically. He pressed a few buttons, and a graph appeared on the bottom of the screen before a rhythmical buzz filled Asty’s ears. She couldn’t speak, suddenly feeling so very alone. She wished Hunter could hear this as well. She brushed her finger against her wet eye, and the doctor handed her a box of tissues.

  “This happens more frequently than you think,” he commented, unbothered.

  Asty sniffled and dried her eyes, almost sorry when the sound finally stopped and the doctor started examining limbs and other structures. Asty’s anxiety grew, even though each subsequent picture was called normal. She tried so hard to be healthy. She kept a strict regimen of healthy foods, had no alcohol even before the pregnancy, just in case, and yet there was this sinking feeling inside her that maybe she did something wrong. Maybe she distressed the baby somehow and it would suffer because of it? But no, everything was fine, and in the end, she dared to ask about the sex. She knew it was a boy, but she still wanted it confirmed.

  The doctor sighed but pressed the small device against her belly again, looking closely at the screen. “It’s still early, mind you, so maybe don’t buy those color-coded accessories just yet. But I would say it looks like you will be having a boy. Congratulations,” he said with a polite smile.

  Asty grinned and exhaled, the photo completely forgotten. “Thank you, Doctor. His dad will be so happy that everything is fine.”

  “I can imagine,” said the doctor as he handed her more tissues so she could clean herself. “I was on pins and needles the first time my wife was pregnant. It’s very stressful.”

  Asty asked him for some more advice about things she wasn’t sure off and rushed to the waiting room with a few ultrasound printouts in her hand.

  Lucky got up the second she came into the waiting room. “Everything all right?” He smiled and held her hand.

  She nodded, unable to control the smile on her face. “And it’s gonna be a boy. Look,” she told him as she handed over the pictures.

  “I’m so happy for you!” Lucky hugged her tight. “He’s healthy, and everything will go smoothly, I’m sure of it.” He grinned and pulled away to look at the pictures again.

  “The doctor said he’s handsome,” said Asty, bursting with pride, even though she knew the man probably said that to all expecting mothers.

  Lucky nodded as they walked down the corridor. “If he’s handsome, you know Hunter’s the daddy.” He wiggled his eyebrows.

  Asty smirked and nodded, chewing on her lip. She couldn’t wait to see Hunter and break the news to him. She had told him she had something to attend to before they met to celebrate, but now he was up for a surprise. She wanted to see him so badly and watch his face when he saw their baby boy for the first time. “Yes, he is ... pretty amazing,” she admitted with a small smile.

  “You want me to take you to the club, so you can tell Dad?” Lucky asked and began putting on all the layers needed to face the outside world in early March.

  Asty sighed. “No, I’ll tell him later. Can you get me somewhere else?” she asked, putting on her long coat. Hunter was to meet up with her in half an hour.

  Lucky smirked and pulled on a wooly hat. “Ah, someone’s up for some birthday sex ... I’m also having a date night with Tooth. We’re going to Nino’s.”

  Asty grinned as they walked out of the clinic and into the cold. “That’s so cute. Will you be doing the Lady and the Tramp routine?”

  Lucky snorted. “Tooth’s too serious for that. But maybe at home … What do you guys have planned?”

  “He wouldn’t say,” she said as they approached Lucky’s car. I bet it’s something really romantic. Maybe he’ll play some cello for me?”

  “He plays the cello?”

  Asty bumped into the car with her hip. “Oh, fuck. I wasn’t supposed to tell anyone,” she said quickly. “Please, don’t pass that on.”

  Lucky got into the car from the other side. “Okay, okay, I’ll keep it secret. That’s too cute though. He doesn’t look like a classical musician.”

  Asty scowled at herself and joined him insider. “He keeps it a secret because in his previous club, it wasn’t accepted. And he plays so beautifully. After Christmas, when we got back together, he actually serenaded under my window.”

  “Maybe he’ll take you to the Opera tonight. Wear a tux? Oh-em-Gee. I would so want to see him in a tux.”

  Asty frowned. “Have Tooth walk around in a tux. You can make him now that you two are getting married.”

  Lucky gave a sigh and smiled just as he started the car. “Maybe for the wedding. He’d look dreamy.”

  “Good luck. He would look like one of those lumbersexual models.” She on the other hand, wanted to see more of Hunter in corpsepaint.

  Twenty minutes later, Lucky dropped her off in front of a small park, and she rushed between the trees, greedily looking for Hunter’s tall form.

  He was sitting on the backrest of a bench, with his feet on the snow-covered seat, and reading something on his phone. His slouched position reminded Asty of a gargoyle hunched atop a medieval church.

  She smiled and ran up to him over the path that thankfully had been cleared of fresh snow. He put the phone away and threw out his cigarette.

  “Hey, babe!” Hunter jumped off the bench and spread his arms wide.

  Asty slid straight into his arms and stood on her toes to get the first kiss of the day. “Hey...”

  “You ready for a surprise?” He hugged her close and smiled.

  Asty touched the large leather jacket he wore over all the other layers and nodded. She was ready for anything that was coming her way. She could only hope Hunter would enjoy her surprise as well.

  *

  She didn’t know what to expect, but when Hunter drove down into the underground parking lot of a hotel, she was getting a vague idea of what the surprise could be. One of the biggest problems for their relationship was finding places and times where they could meet up without suspicion.

  “I booked something special,” Hunter said with a smile as they approached the reception area after exiting the elevator, and Asty couldn’t help but melt on the inside, because she knew he didn’t have that much money.

  “Mr. and Mrs. Stone?” The lady at the reception smiled, and just as Asty was about to clear up the confusion, Hunter spoke.

  “That’s us.”

  Asty closed her mouth and didn’t comment, though she felt it was a bit silly of him to book them as a married couple after she had rejected his proposal though it did sound nice. She slowly leaned into him and put her hand on his hip, enjoying the sensation of his body supporting her.

  Hunter picked up the key card and led Asty to the fourth floor. He pulled off his scarf once they stood in front of the door and loosely tied it round her eyes. “No peeking,” he said and led her into the room.

  Asty squeezed his fingers and stepped forward, trying to sense something that could give away his plans.

  “Carefully …” He held her hand all the way to what had to be a bed and asked her to sit and wait a bit. There was some rustling as he moved about, then the sound of striking matches, and she chewed on her lip, giddy to see what he prepared for her.

  He finally pulled the scarf off her eyes, revealing a large room drowned in yellow candlelight. She was sitting on a king-sized bed with a tall headboard made of black metal, and all the decor was fashionably modern. By the window, a Ouija board lay on a coffee table between two armchairs.

  “That’s so pretty,” she said and stroked Hunter’s forearm gently. It was so nice of him to think of her tastes, even if he didn’t know much about her beliefs yet. And in fact, throughout the last few weeks, he was quite eager to participate in various cleansing rituals and spells. Once, they even went to the woods outside of town, and they savored some of the powers of the regenerating nature. They drank herbs that she prepared and walked between the trees, and he never once told her any of it was silly. She really appreciated that openness about him, and it was slowly making her confident she c
ould trust him with secrets that were weighing on her heart more with each passing day. Since he used to be religious before and still had hang-ups about hell, it shouldn’t be that hard to make him understand there was more to spirituality than Jesus. If he learned about the ways of demons, they could be together when he died as well, many years into the future.

  “I thought it would be up your street. I also have a few cozy horror movies we could watch.” Hunter snorted and leaned down for a kiss as he joined her on the mattress. “I miss just being able to hang out with you, sleep in the same bed, and wake up without having to exit through the window at the threat of death.”

  Asty chuckled and kissed his lips, breathing in the pleasant scent of cinnamon and ginger that must have originated from the candles. It reminded her of Christmas cookies. “I know. I hate all the sneaking around. It’s only fun when you read about it in a book.”

  “You ready to find out who died in this hotel?” Hunter wiggled his eyebrows and pulled her to the coffee table.

  Asty dropped her coat on the dresser, kicked off her shoes, and sat down in front of the Ouija board, taking her bag with her. She really wanted to tell him something else, and now she had an idea how to do that. “I think we should first ask the spirits something else.”

  Hunter nodded as they both sat by the table. “Sure. What do you want to ask?”

  Asty put her hand on the planchette, knowing she didn’t even have to ask the spirits. An electric current was tingling underneath her skin as she listened to Hunter’s breathing so close to her. “I think we should ask them what we’re gonna have,” she said and glanced toward her stomach.

  “What if the spirits say: Demon?” Hunter put his hand on hers.

  Asty kissed his shoulder and looked at the board. “Go on, ask.”

  Hunter looked toward the ceiling. “To whoever is listening, please come and tell us if we will have a boy or a girl.”