“No worries, woman. Now go attend to your fiancé. I’m pretty sure he was sending you silent messages with the looks he gave you on the way to y’all’s room.”
“He’s insatiable.” She laughs, and Odin makes a gagging sound.
“Don’t wanna hear that shit,” he says around a mouthful of sandwich, and Princess picks up an ink pen that was on a notebook in the middle of the table. He looks at us, and she throws the pen at his forehead.
He ducks, cursing, and we both laugh. She knows how to keep him on his toes, I’m sure of it. If Prissy and Viking do ever have kids of their own, the kids are in for a ride no doubt.
“Goodnight, you guys, see you tomorrow.” I climb to my feet, and Princess follows.
“Yep, I’ll be the pretty one.”
“Oh my God, he’s made your head get bigger since I left,” I retort.
“Shut up! Love you.”
“Love you.” I squeeze her one last time and close the door to the guest room they’re letting us stay in. It’s perfect for us, too; we have a small, private bathroom and a king-sized bed to share.
I take a quick, super-hot shower to scrub the road grime off and then hit the sack, grateful to be snuggled next to my son in my best friend’s house. I missed being around her so much; it even feels good to be back to the place I grew up, even if my life wasn’t the greatest.
Yeah, I’m hurting but on goes the
mascara and lip gloss. That’s right,
I’ll be the prettiest fucking
wreck you’ve ever seen.
- Unknown
“Hey, Bethany,” Viking grumbles while sitting on the couch watching cartoons with my son. “Why’s Maverick look so much like my homeboy?”
My chest tightens at his words.
He means Nightmare, his brother. I knew I never should’ve come here; at least, not with my son. Princess has kept my secret for which I’m beyond grateful. Honestly, I never expected her to be able to keep it from her ol’ man and for this amount of time too.
Deep down I’ve been waiting for the angry pounding on my front door, but it hasn’t come. My big secret could really stir some shit up between them if Viking were to find out who Maverick belongs to. With their wedding in the works, that’s the last thing I want to do. I would never want to hurt or cause trouble between them.
The thing is, Princess doesn’t know just how much has been kept in the dark. I’ve misled my best friend, and I hate myself for it. At the time, it was all I had. I was hurt by Nightmare’s words, and I didn’t want anything to do with him after.
That’s a lie. I’ve thought of him countless times over the years. I have wanted him, every fucking piece of him, but he wouldn’t want my son—our son.
I still remember his words like they were said yesterday.
“I’m sterile and clean,” he rasps against my neck. “I told you this already, the other night when we fucked.”
I’ve been sick each morning since that first night, too. I can’t get ahold of Princess because Viking has her trapped in his room, and her mom never answered her door when I went over. I have no one to talk to about this.
My own mother would just tell me that I’m a whore and kick me out. She doesn’t have time for me; she only cares about her husband. She’s made it abundantly clear many times.
Naturally, I ran back to Nightmare. I’m scared. The doctor says I could be pregnant, but how do I say the words out loud to an outlaw? He’s a Nomad for Christ’s sake. I seriously doubt he’s the type to win a father of the year award; even I know that much.
“You’re sure?” I mutter, my breath catching, waiting for his deep voice to offer some kind of reassurance. But he doesn’t. He breaks my heart instead because I know the truth, I just have to hear him say it.
He plunges inside me deeply from behind as he grumbles, “Of course. The fuck I’m gonna do with a kid? I’m not father material, none of us are. I wouldn’t be fuckin’ you bareback like this if I was gonna knock you up. Clearly, I like my freedom.”
My eyes crest with tears because, just like I knew his words were going to sting, I also know inside that the doctor is right. I have a little life growing inside me. It was created by this man—the one taking my body right now—and he wants nothing to do with any of it.
He wants to take his pleasure and leave me with the consequences.