Total pages in book: 85
Estimated words: 76736 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 384(@200wpm)___ 307(@250wpm)___ 256(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 76736 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 384(@200wpm)___ 307(@250wpm)___ 256(@300wpm)
“It means that you guys made me a promise, and I'm still waiting for you to fulfill it.”
“What was that?” asks Hero.
I sit down on the bed, wiggling my ass a little after I sit, which all of their eyes follow so obviously I almost laugh. There's something intoxicating about having this kind of power over three dangerous men like them. “I know that Hero is named Craig, but I only stayed on the condition that you two tell me yours.” I point at King and Wild Child. “Time to come clean, Herbert and Otto.” I grin up at them.
“Jesus fucking Christ,” moans Wild Child.
King just rolls his eyes.
“It's Ian, okay?” Wild Child seems annoyed to be telling it to me, but not as annoyed as he gets at being called Otto. “Ian. But Ian doesn't fuck you like Wild Child does.”
“But I like it. It's a nice name. It suits you.” I smile at him.
He blushes, which is almost as funny as calling him Otto. To see Wild Child embarrassed about anything is unusual. “It's Wild Child that I am now. Wild for you.”
“Okay.” It's up to him what he wants to be called, obviously, and as long as he keeps treating me like he does, it can be whatever he wants. I turn to King. “Just you left.”
“Maybe I should keep it a secret,” he growls.
“You promised.”
“Did I? You stipulated your requirement, but did I agree?” But there's a hint of a smile at the corners of his lips. When King is teasing, you know the world has gone crazy.
“King! No pussy for you until you tell me.”
Now he's grinning, and it's terrifying. “You can fucking try to stop me, old lady.” And he's right. Because I'll give it up to him every day and twice on Sundays, and he knows it.
That doesn't mean that I don't cross my arms and pout at him.
“Jesus. Fine. It's Declan.”
“Declan? That's sexy.”
“Hey, you didn't say that about Ian,” complains Wild Child.
“Are you all Irish?” I deflect.
King shrugs. “It's a largely Irish neighborhood. Italian further east, but that's more mob country.”
“Craig, Ian and Declan,” I say, pointing at them in turn. “Thanks for sharing with me. Now it's my turn.”
“Finally,” says Hero.
I wet my lips. Up until now, I've been playful, but the truth is that this is huge. The bedrooms of three bikers is nowhere to raise a little kid. Do the guys even want one? I can't imagine them demanding that I give it up, but even though I feel so young to have a baby, it also feels so incredibly right.
I just drop the bomb, because I can't think of a clever way to say it.
“You guys are going to be fathers.”
For a long moment, the room is silent. Even Wild Child. The guys blink at me like the words just blew right past them and they have no idea what hit them. It might not be so far from the truth, honestly.
“Holy shit,” finally comes in a whisper from Wild Child.
“You're sure?” Hero comes a step closer, then stops, as if he's not sure it's okay.
King's gaze is locked on me, but it's hard to be sure of what he's thinking and he's not saying anything.
“I'm sure. Double checked.” I look between them, suddenly worried. “Is it okay? I mean… I'm going to keep it.”
King is the one who steps up and picks me bodily from the bed so he can squeeze me against him with his powerful arms. “Of course you're going to fucking keep it. Jesus fucking Christ. I'm going to be a goddamn father.” His voice is rough, choked, and unable to see his face, I can't tell what he's feeling.
“Is it a good thing?”
“Fuck yeah.” Was that a sob? He clears his nose like he's going to cry, but not King, right? His voice is so gravely. But when he pulls back to smile at me, before letting Hero at me instead, there's a tear running down one cheek.
He doesn't even have to say it for me to understand. We've both gotten plenty of lessons in how not to parent. This is going to be our chance to break the cycle.
Hero squeezes me just as tight as King did. “Fuck, that's insane. And awesome. A little mini-me—mini-us—running around. I fucking love it.”
“It could be a girl, you know,” I say with a laugh.
“Nah, it's going to be a boy. Just wait.”
“You're so sure.”
“I am. You'll see.” And then with a spine-tingling kiss, he passes me on to Wild Child who just laughs.
“Boy or girl, I'll teach them how to drive you up the fucking wall,” he promises. “It's going to be awesome. We'll talk with Eagle-eye. A couple of the compound houses are just used for storage. I bet we can take one of them and fix it up. Get a little space from all the troublemakers in here.”