Page 10

Stassie

He grabs my hands, pulling them away so I can’t continue to scratch myself. “It will be okay. Please stop worrying, it can’t be good for the baby.”

She’s the size of a mango this week, so my app says. And we’ll find out next week for sure if we’re having a daughter or not. We’ve been living in blissful ignorance, living life as if we’re a real couple. My sister is coming home today and I could barely sleep last night. Ryker ended up fucking me into exhaustion. My belly has grown even more, my sweaters and t-shirts catching on it every so often.

“What do you want? Diffuser? White noise? What would help calm you, Stassie?”

I blink, my expression turning to one of awe. “Both.”

He lets go of me to stand, ensuring I’m not going to scratch. “Do you want me to bring them out here, or do you want to wait in your room?”

Looking over the table, I almost tell him to bring them out before Archibald jumps on the surface, stretching out in what can only be called a taunt. And I’m reminded that everything happening is technically his fault. I glare at the little demon.

“You want to know a secret? You’re named Archibald the second , not because it’s an honor, but because you’re a cheap imitation of the original.”

The cat bristles, his tail fluffing up as his slitted gaze turns to me.

“Okay, now you’re insulting our pet. Get up, we’re moving to your room.” He pulls me up by my armpits, and I yelp when Archibald swipes his paw at me as we pass him. Ryker chuckles under his breath and sets me on my bed as he turns on my machines.

“He started it,” I groan, grabbing my pillow and hugging it to my chest.

“The cat insulted you first?” Ryker asks, amused.

I nod, lying on my side to face him as he waits for my answer.

“He broke my diffuser that night. That’s why I was in your room. Mary said I could borrow hers.”

Ryker’s jaw opens and he glances out at the living room. “Huh. So really the cat should be our child’s godparent.”

I gasp, sitting up straight. “Under no circumstances is Archibald II our child’s godparent. I’m not even sure he won’t try to get rid of the child if it annoys him enough.”

He laughs loudly. I bask in the warmth of it, letting it settle over my skin like a cozy blanket. With a smile on my face, I kneel and swing my pillow at him.

“Don’t laugh at me. You can’t tell me that cat couldn’t manage it. I swear he's a human shifter or something.”

Ryker laughs harder, grabbing the pillow out of my hand on my next swing and tackling me onto the mattress. I let out a squeal when he starts hitting me with my own pillow.

“Stop, stop. You can’t attack me with my own stuff,” I say between laughs. I put my arms up, trying to dodge him as I turn on my back, and he straddles my thighs.

“Beg for mercy, and perhaps I’ll concede the battle.” He holds the pillow above his head with a prideful smirk.

I tilt my chin up, unable to stifle my grin. “Never.”

He tosses the pillow, balancing his weight above me as he leans down and kisses me. I groan into his mouth, wrapping my arms around his neck and my legs around his waist. I cling to him like I’m afraid if I let go, he’ll disappear. He rocks into me, moaning as he flips us over so I’m straddling him.

“You’re fucking insatiable. You’re going to ride my cock raw.”

I raise an eyebrow. “Are you complaining?”

“Never,” he sputters out and laughs. “In fact, I think you could up the ante.”

A giggle bubbles out of me, and I shake my head. “My poor pussy. It’s going to be sore.”

His phone rings and both our moods darken. We stare at each other before he slowly climbs off the bed and walks into the living room. I lie there, my heart beating wildly and my stomach turning as I hear him answer.

“Hey, you land already? Yeah, yeah. Okay. We’ll start heading over there.”

I turn onto my side, curl into a ball, and stare at nothing. Our bubble has burst, and I’m not sure I’ll be okay.

Ryker clears his throat. “Mary’s plane landed. She said they’re a little backed up at luggage. We should start heading over.”

Squeezing my eyes shut, I shake my head. “I don’t want to go.”

My bed shifts as he climbs on and his hand rests on my hip. “Why not?”

“I’m not ready to face her yet.”

He sighs. “So you’re just going to stay in your room? For how long?”

“I don’t know, Ryker,” I snap, glaring at him over my shoulder. “I just don’t want to go to the damn airport.”

He watches me for a second, pushing me to turn until I’m facing him. He cups my cheek and pushes my hair out of my face. “Hey, it’s okay. Don’t forget what we discussed. No matter what happens, it’s me, you, and the baby.”

My stomach twists again. “At the expense of my sister. I know it’s too late, but I don’t want to hurt her.”

Ryker lays down, pulling me into his arms. “We’re all going to hurt, but I need you to be a little selfish, okay? I need you to not worry about anything but you and the baby. Can you do that for me?”

I frown, and he kisses the tip of my nose.

“Please try to control your stress for our baby, okay?”

Blowing out a breath, I know he’s right, but it’s not as easy as just turning it off. He kisses my mouth once before pulling away.

“It’s been a minute since you ate. I’ll make you some food and then leave. Why don’t you do some work? At least then Mary won’t find it suspicious you didn’t come with me.”

I smile. “Look at us, professional liars.”

“Secret keepers.” He winks and gets off the bed.

“What are these?”

I look up from my laptop, eyeing the pink bottle in my sister’s hand as dread explodes in my chest. Without a thought, I tug down my sweatshirt and it draws her attention. She yanks me out of bed, sending my snack and laptop to the floor, and I let out a cry as I stumble to my feet. Mary drops the prenatals and bares my stomach to the room before staggering back with her hand over her mouth.

Ryker crashes into the doorway, his eyes bouncing all over and taking in the scene. I rub at where she grabbed me, and his eyebrows furrow when he catches the movement.

“What’s going on?” he asks. The hesitation and concern for me in his tone does not bode well.

Mary slowly turns her head to him, tears forming in her eyes as she picks up the bottle of vitamins again. “Is it yours? Is my sister carrying your fucking baby?”

“Wait. If you’d just let us explain?—”

She throws it at him with a screech, and he blocks it with his arm as she turns to me. I stumble back a step, my arms covering my stomach. Her eyes drop to it before she squeezes them shut and shakes her head. I don’t think my sister would seriously hurt me, but I’m not going to chance it. Ryker walks closer, pushing me to climb onto the bed as he stands before Mary.

She shakes her head again and blows out a breath. “Explain then. I’d love to hear this.”

Ryker and I exchange a glance and he clears his throat. “It was an accident. The first night she needed something from our room, and I thought she was you… and it just happened.”

Mary’s lips press tight and she stares at him with a blank expression before her eyes drift to me. “And you didn’t think to correct him? You just laid there and took it?”

My cheeks flush with heat. “His hand was covering my mouth.”

She barks out a hollow laugh and nods. “Yeah, he does enjoy that. Okay, so say I believe this bullshit story. Why not just tell me the next day?” Her fists are curled at her sides and tears spring up in her eyes.

“I begged him not to. I was afraid you’d kick me out, and I’d just got you back,” I say.

Mary’s eyes shut briefly and her throat bobs with a swallow. “And when you found out you were pregnant?”

“We found out a couple of days before you got the traveling contract…we didn’t want to ruin that experience for you,” Ryker interjects.

Her chin tilts up and she levels us with an exasperated stare. “Ruin that experience? And you didn’t think coming home to my sister’s belly blown up like a balloon wouldn’t do that?” Mary’s eyes narrow as she looks at me. “And you, really? You decided to keep it? I know Ryker would let you do whatever you want, he’s a good guy like that. Loaded enough to pay child support too. So what? You decided ‘hey no big deal, I’ll just have a kid with my sister’s boyfriend’ even though you barely graduated high school, have no job experience, no money. Hell, you’d be on the streets if you didn’t move in?—”

“That’s enough,” Ryker’s stern voice has Mary standing taller, but he continues anyway. “We understand you’re upset, but we feel bad enough. Stress isn’t good for Stassie, and?—”

“I don’t give a fuck what’s good or not for her. How dare?—”

“I do!” Ryker shouts, interrupting my sister again. His hand swings to me, pointing out my stomach. “That’s my child, and I fucking care. And you know what, I care about Stassie, too. So I think we should take some time?—”

“Oh my god. It wasn’t a one-time thing. You guys kept fucking,” Mary blurts out, her hand covering her mouth.

How could she possibly know that? My heart beats an uneven rhythm in my chest and I’m frozen, unsure what to say or if we should lie.

Ryker’s breathing is a little ragged as he stands still in front of me.

Mary nods once, looking between us. “You can’t deny it, can you?”

When her eyes meet mine, I drop them to the bedding. What is there to say? The proof of what we’ve done is growing in my belly.

“Nothing to say?”

My body tenses and I look up at her. “I don’t think there’s anything to say that will help.”

Mary rolls her eyes. “An apology to start? Are you even sorry?”

My attention slides to Ryker as he glances at me over his shoulder. Am I sorry? Kind of.

“I’m sorry I hurt you,” I say meekly, because that’s true. I never want to hurt her, my sister is everything. But…I want this baby, and I want this baby with Ryker. And I think he wants us too, which will hurt her even more.

“Let’s take a moment to breathe. Can we talk?” Ryker says, waving Mary toward the room.

My sister stares at me for a moment longer and moves to walk out before pausing.

“You know the worst part, Stassie?”

“Mary,” Ryker says hesitantly.

My shoulders stiffen, knowing whatever she’s going to say is going to tear me to shreds.

“Mom warned me that you would do this. That there hasn’t been anything of mine you haven’t wanted for yourself.”