Page 34 of Fennick’s Fortune (Sentinels of Apollo #2)

The run-in with the four men wanting to cozy up to Akiva and Cerys was forgotten.

The women had gone back to the dance floor.

My woman and I danced to a couple of slow songs.

I loved having her in my arms. Brax and Cerys had done the same.

The others had danced here and there with a woman, but it wasn’t anything serious.

It might get them a bed partner for the night.

All of us had used Pour Decisions as a hunting ground, so to speak.

In Needles, you only had so many places to find someone unless you went further out to other towns between here and bigger cities like Las Vegas.

During the tourist months, there was a larger selection in our town.

One had to be careful not to hook up too often with the same person.

That helped to prevent them from getting the wrong idea and believing it was more than casual sex.

Again, all of us had run into that despite how careful we were to explain to anyone we had sex with that it was a hookup that most likely wouldn’t happen again.

Sometimes, we’d get lucky and someone would be all for a friends-with-benefits relationship. But those never lasted forever.

And just like that, as if my thoughts conjured one up, I saw someone I’d had sex with.

We’d parted ways when she got too clingy and demanding.

I’d told her at the beginning and more than a few other times that it was nothing but sex.

I stopped seeing her when it became clear she didn’t want what I was offering.

Well, it was clear that Monika was no longer gone.

She’d left town in a huff to stay with her sister for a while. That was three months ago.

“ Loca , crazy alert at ten o’clock,” Banner warned us.

The others covertly shot glances that way without making it obvious. Their eyes all came back to me, and their eyebrows lifted.

“I saw her about two seconds before you did, Gun. It’s too late to leave, so I’ll have to endure it and get rid of her ASAP,” I admitted.

“Yeah, get rid of her before your woman sees her. They don’t like running into women we’ve fucked,” Brax warned me, as if I needed him to tell me that. I wouldn’t want to meet any of the men Akiva had slept with. Even if they didn’t mean anything, it wasn’t something I wanted to do.

I put on a bored expression seconds before Monika reached our table.

Her hand went to her hip, and her mutinous look told me she hadn’t forgotten or given up.

Damn, what was wrong with her? The sex was alright, nothing spectacular.

It was nothing like what I experienced with Akiva.

In all my years, I couldn’t recall it feeling the way it did with her.

More proof in my mind that she was meant to be my mate.

I gave Monika a slight chin lift in acknowledgment. Royal addressed her, “Hello Monika, I haven’t seen you in a while. What can we do for you?” His tone was casual and calm.

“Hi, Royal. I’ve been out of town, as Fennick knows. And there’s nothing you can do for me. I need to speak to Fennick alone. Come outside,” she demanded.

“Monika, I can’t think of a single thing you and I need to discuss, especially outside. If you have something to say, you can say it in front of my friends.”

“It’s private. You’ll want to hear this privately.” Her mutinous expression changed to a satisfied one. Uh oh, what was she up to?

“I doubt it,” I told her.

Monika’s mouth was opening, no doubt to push again, but she never got a word out because she froze.

I’d felt and smelled her approach. Arms came around my neck from behind.

Akiva’s hot breath caressed my ear as she nipped it with her teeth.

That one tiny thing made my randy cock wake up.

Blood began to fill it, bringing it to painful life in no time.

Her tits were pressed into my shoulder blades.

I pushed back into them, causing the minx to rub them back and forth on me.

“I’m back. Did you miss me, lover?” Akiva asked with a throb in her tone. She might be doing it to show Monika I wasn’t up for grabs, but she wasn’t faking it.

I twisted my head and gave her a tender smile. “You know I have. Ready to rest and have another drink? What can I get you?”

“I’ll take—”

Monika cut off Akiva. “Who the hell is this, Fennick?” she snapped.

Akiva straightened and then moved to the side of me. She placed her hand on my chest, and I felt the pressure she was putting behind it. Then, I almost lost it when I heard her voice in my head.

“Don’t say a word. Let me handle this. No doubt an ex-lover. I have a feeling I’ll do this often. You’ll owe me.”

She didn’t sound upset. I was astonished that she spoke telepathically.

“Can you hear me?” I asked.

“Loud and clear. Damn, didn’t expect that. I was just saying it, hoping you’d instinctively know what I meant. Wow.”

“I asked you a question, Fennick,” Monika snipped.

“From what I understand, Fen doesn’t owe you an explanation. However, since you insist and we’d like to return to having a good time, I’ll answer for him. I’m Akiva. I’m his girlfriend.”

Fury spread rapidly over Monika’s red face. I eased forward in my chair. I wanted to be able to get between them if Monika decided to swing at Akiva. I wasn’t worried that my woman couldn’t handle herself. I didn’t want her to maim Monika and end up in jail permanently.

“His what!? This is a joke!” Monika shouted. Even with the loud music, she attracted attention. Heads turned our way.

“Why would it be a joke? He’s my boyfriend. Why is it any concern of yours?” Akiva asked her calmly.

“Because he’s my boyfriend and I’m not about to let some hussy from wherever come in here and cozy up to him while I’m gone and think she’s stealing him out from under me. Fennick is mine,” she snarled.

“Monika, you’re no such thing. The only thing between you and Fen is that he’s had sex with you a few times in the past. There was no promise of anything else. He sure wasn’t your boyfriend,” Keir interjected.

Monika sneered at Keir. “What do you know? Fen and I weren’t telling anyone until after I got back from seeing my sister.”

I’d heard enough. I stood and pulled out the chair next to mine, which belonged to Akiva.

I gently pressed her into it. I then addressed Monika.

“Before you left to see your sister, I made it clear for about the fourth time that there was no us, Monika. I’m sorry you turned a casual relationship into more in your head, but it was never more than that. I told you that from the beginning.”

“But you didn’t mean it. Men say those things, but once you show them what they can have, they settle down. No man ever wants to settle with one woman until they’re shown the benefits of it,” Monika explained as if it were something everyone knew and took as gospel.

“I’m sorry, but he’s not yours. I’m with Fennick, and I can assure you it is serious and long-term,” Akiva told her nicely.

Monika searched our faces to see whether one of us would admit I was lying. When no one did, and they all nodded in agreement with what Akiva and I said, Monika responded.

“Fine. I wanted to do this in private, but since you want to play games and shove whatever she is in my face—for what reason, I don’t know—then I’ll say what I came over to say.

You can’t be with her or anyone else because I’m pregnant with your baby,” she said with a satisfied smile. She glanced over at Akiva and smirked.

Immediately, a wave of relief rolled over me. I knew, without a doubt, she wasn’t pregnant with my kid. For one thing, she wasn’t a bear or shifter. Secondly, she wasn’t a Precious One like Cerys. If she were, our tattoos would be glowing and hot. It was as cold as ever.

“If you’re pregnant, Monika, I suggest you talk to the other men you’ve slept with. One of them is the baby’s daddy, not me,” I told her.

“No, it’s yours. You’re the only guy I’ve been with in a year. I’m four months along. I can show you the sonogram.” She scrambled in her purse.

I waited for her to find it. She thrust it under my nose. I took it but passed it over to Cerys. She’d make more sense of it than I would.

“Congratulations, Monika. It looks like your baby and my twins are due around the same time. I’m sure whoever is the daddy, he’ll want to know and be a part of his child’s life,” Cerys kindly told her as she handed it back to me, and I gave it to Monika, who stood there watching us in disbelief.

“The daddy is Fennick! I told you that. He’s trying to deny it, but I don’t understand why. I know he loves me. She’s done something to him!” she shrieked as she lunged for Akiva. I blocked her.

“You need to calm down. Acting this way isn’t good for your baby.

Akiva hasn’t done anything to me. I’ve never loved you.

We had a casual thing only, and I ended it six months ago.

The last time we spoke was three months ago, before you went to see your sister.

Monika, there’s no way your baby is mine, and even if I had been with you four months ago, I wouldn’t have fathered one with you.

Let us get you a ride home. Once you calm down and think about it, you’ll know whose it is. ”

I sensed another woman approaching. Based on her scent, she was related to Monika. Great, that’s all we needed—two crazy ones. I guessed that the woman was younger than Monika by a handful of years. She studied me and the others with a scowl.

“I gave you time. What’s going on, Mon?” she asked.

“JoAnna, he keeps saying it’s not his! And this bitch is claiming he’s with her. He’s lying, sis,” Monika sobbed.