Page 53

Rachel

I woke up the next morning, my neck screaming in protest as I untangled myself from Dante’s hold, cursing myself for sleeping in such a stupid position.

Once sat up in the small chair, I peeked open one eye, waiting for the inevitable hangover to come crashing into me, mocking me for my idiotic decision to drink so much.

Nothing came, so I opened the second eye, and was happy to note that still no hangover came screaming at me.

I breathed a sigh of relief, realising it was still dark outside.

I glanced at the clock on Bee’s table, seeing it was only a little after six in the morning.

I ran a tired hand over my face but still got up, wrapping my blanket over Dante’s sleeping frame.

I had to go to the hospital today to collect my blood work results and pick up more medication for Bee.

If I went back to sleep now, there was no way I was making it in time.

And considering the amount Dante had drunk last night, he was going to be in no position to drive me.

Besides, he needed to stay near the club, waiting on news from Zach, and I knew if I had allowed him to drive me, he would have found a reason to stay at the hospital with me.

He breaks club protocol for you, came my inner voice, and I both sighed and smiled.

It was true.

Dante had shown me a few times now that he was willing to go against club orders if he felt something in my life took priority. And I suppose that’s all I could ask for. At least he was trying.

I quietly padded over to Bee and checked her forehead, making sure she wasn’t too warm, and then snuck out of the room.

I drew up short outside the bedroom when I noticed a passed-out Crash in the hallway, his gun in his hand, keeping guard over Bee’s bedroom.

I rolled my eyes and then chuckled softly when I saw Vienna asleep at the top of the stairs, his body spread out so no one could get passed him.

He also had a weapon on him – his choice being a baseball bat.

I got a flash in my mind of Vienna annoying me last night and had the perfect idea for revenge.

I quickly jogged to my bedroom, grabbed a dress out of the wardrobe and placed it over Vienna’s body, and tucked one of Bee’s dolls into his arms. He stirred and pulled the doll closer. I pulled out my phone, snapped a picture, and then gently dislodged the doll from his grip, and smiled to myself.

That’ll come in handy when he’s annoying me in the future!

As I made my way downstairs, stepping over bodies of club members, girls, prospects, and hang-arounds, I shook my head at the mess left behind.

There were beer bottles, broken chairs, spilled drinks, and leftover food just about everywhere.

I resisted the urge to blast music as loudly as possible and quietly stepped over body after body as I gathered up rubbish and carried it to the kitchen.

An hour later, I was sitting at the table, cradling a cup of tea and scrolling on my phone, when I heard a crash, followed by a string of swear words, and a murmured grunt of pain.

“What sort of fucking moron sleeps at the top of the stairs?” Dante growled.

“A tired moron,” Vienna responded, his voice a groggy croak. “What sort of man kicks someone in their sleep?”

“I just nearly broke my fucking neck tripping over you.”

“Did you stumble out of the bedroom with your eyes shut? I’m not an easy man to miss.”

“Why are you cuddling Rachel’s dress?”

“I dunno man. Stop lecturing me!”

“Are you seriously going back to sleep?” Dante sounded at the end of his tether already. I brought the cup of tea to my lips and smiled into it.

“It’s the middle of the night!”

“There are two sevens in a day, you know.”

“That doesn’t sound right. Are you qualified to be homeschooling that girl? You can’t even tell the time. And right now, it’s bedtime.”

“Vienna, get the fuck off my leg!” I laughed as I heard a commotion and plenty of swearing.

I leant over as far as I could without tumbling off the chair and was just in time to see Dante trying to dislodge Vienna as he made his way down the stairs.

Vienna was clinging on for dear life, laughing his deranged little laugh.

Dante gave a kick of his leg, and I heard Vienna curse as he was finally kicked free and went tumbling down the remaining few steps.

“You’re getting worse every fucking day,” Dante huffed.

Vienna just let out a yawn and then I saw him making his way back up the stairs. “Your bedroom is free then, yeah?”

“Rachel is in there.”

“She won’t mind sharing with me.”

“Don’t you fucking dare,” he hissed, turning to go back up the stairs as Vienna began to run to the top and down the hallway.

“Dante, I’m here,” I called, before we ended up with a fight on our hands.

“What are you doing awake?” He scowled at me, coming into the kitchen.

“Good morning to you, too, sunshine. Isn’t it a beautiful day?”

“Don’t start. I’m in no mood for your bullshit today,” he hissed at me, heading towards the kettle.

I brought the cup to my lips again, smothering my smile as I watched him make himself a cup of tea. He was shirtless, wearing nothing other than grey sweatpants, and the sight of him was enough to have me feral.

The muscles in his arms flexed every time he moved, the veins in his forearms protruding as he reached up for a cup from the cupboard.

My mouth watered, and I caught myself just in time, as I almost literally fucking drooled when he turned and presented me with his muscled back.

Good grief, I was only human, and the man was built like a fucking God. Who could blame me for staring?

He turned back around, resting against the counter, and my eyes drifted down to the very noticeable bulge in his sweats.

“Are you planning on looking at me all day?”

“I might,” I grinned. “You’re looking very… nice,” my eyes went back down to his bulge, earning myself a wicked grin from him .

“If you’re up for another round, you might want to at least run a brush through your hair, Rachel. You look like shit.”

I rolled my eyes and stood up, making my way over to him, putting on a big show of rolling my hips as I did so.

I heard his sharp intake of breath and bit my inner cheek to keep from smiling.

I pressed my body up against his, rubbing my tits along his chest as I went on my tiptoes and whispered in his ear.

“Oh, sweetie. If only you had the stamina to keep up with my appetite. I’ll be playing with my rose long before I play with you for round two.” I patted his face and shoved my empty cup into his hands. With one quick peck to his lips, I turned away from him and went to get dressed.

Are you done yet?

I rolled my eyes as I read the text from Dante.

I arrived less than fifteen minutes ago.

Did that answer my question?

No, I’m not fucking done yet.

What sort of old lady doesn’t take care of her man when he’s suffering?

It’s a self-inflicted suffering. Grow up.

You’re very needy when you’re hungover. It’s your most unattractive quality.

Your sarcasm is your most unattractive quality, and that rears its ugly head much more frequently than my hangovers.

You love my sarcasm. What you actually hate is your own ability to match it. You’re projecting. Again. Keep your insecurities to yourself.

That felt unnecessary. Did I mention I’m suffering?

I laughed out loud .

Did I mention I was suffering in bed? If you were here, you’d be able to join me.

I was in the middle of replying when a text came through, and sweet baby Jesus, all logical thoughts left my brain when I looked at it.

Dante had sent me a picture, and who fucking knew he was a master of the thirst traps.

He was naked but had pulled the sheet up to cover his lower half, leaving only the V of his hipbones disappearing under the sheet, pointing to my prize. His hand was under the sheet, and the photo cut off in the middle of the very sizable bulge at the bottom.

His other arm was thrown lazily over his head, his muscles bulging, the tattoos covering his arms and chest beckoning me to trace them with my tongue.

You don’t look like you’re suffering, Mr King.

Oh, that’s the first time you’ve ever said my name. Say it again.

My breath hitched in my throat. Why was that so fucking sexy? I knew the mood he was in, and knowing he liked it when I called him by his full name sent a thrill straight through me. I clenched my legs as I began to throb and fired off a reply.

Go and get your kicks elsewhere. I’m busy.

Say it again.

I grinned widely and then looked around to make sure no one was watching me all but salivating over my phone.

No.

Do you know what happens to bad, bratty women who don’t know how to behave?

Do you know what happens to men who issue threats they can’t deliver on?

Say it again.

Make me .

Are you challenging me, Miss Brooks?

Yes, fucking please!

Do your worst Mr… Dante.

Wait until you get home. I’m going to bend you over my knee and —

“Miss Brooks?”

I almost jumped off the chair as my name was called, my cheeks flaming as I hurried to lock my phone and shoved it in my bag. The nurse gave me a funny look, probably wondering why I looked so guilty as I gave her a sheepish smile.

I look guilty because I have a horny fucking God on my phone, sending me all manner of filthy, depraved threats, and I wanted every single one of them!

What the fuck was wrong with me lately? I was like a dog in heat, ready to go the second Dante so much as crooked his finger in my direction.

This was my fault for challenging him this morning and mocking his stamina. I should have known he’d find a way to make me pay for it.

“If you would like to come this way?” the nurse said, interrupting my thoughts as she stepped to the side and gestured for me to follow her.

“Of course,” I said, getting to my feet and following. We made small talk on the way to the treatment room, asking about each other’s day, the weather, and if I was watching Big Brother this year. I was not.

“Ahh, Miss Brooks,” the doctor smiled at me as the door was pushed open. “How nice to see you again. Take a seat.”

I sat down, and he looked behind me, a look of trepidation in his eyes. “That man of yours not with you today?”

“Not today.” I smothered a smile. He was looking at the door as though he half expected Dante to come jumping out wearing a mask and wielding a knife.

Hey now, there’s a thought…

No, stop it, Rachel. Stop it.

“So…” he paused as he scanned my notes. “I believe you were first admitted due to a house fire?”

“Mhm,” I responded, knowing he wasn’t actually expecting a response, and was simply familiarising himself with my notes .

“You were treated for minor smoke inhalation and burns. I trust they’ve healed nicely?” He asked, looking over the top of the notes at me.

“Getting there.”

“Wonderful. There were some traces of blood in your urine, so it was requested that we get some blood work done, just to be on the safe side, as well as redoing the blood test.”

“You couldn’t have saved us both time and read all of this before I was called into the room?

” I asked, a note of impatience in my voice.

All I could think about was getting out of this room and reading the slew of texts that Dante had been sending me.

I could feel my phone vibrating in my bag, and the temptation was calling to me.

“There seemed to be some confusion last time, Miss Brooks, and your partner wasn’t happy about being left in the dark.

I’m just making sure everything is cleared up and we’re all on the same page.

I’m happy to note that everything seems okay.

Your blood work came back fine, although a little on the low side for your iron, but we’ll keep an eye on that. How are you feeling lately? Tired?”

“A little, I suppose.”

“Any strange cravings?” He said with a knowing smirk.

The phone and all the forbidden texts were forgotten.

“If you’re about to say what I think you’re going to say, I suggest you don’t, and we can pretend this conversation never happened.”

“You’re—”

“Don’t.”

“—pregnant, Miss Brooks. Around five weeks. Very early days, but that does explain the blood in your urine. It’s called spotting, and it’s very common during implantation…”

His words were drowned out as my world exploded.

Pregnant.

Me.

In the middle of an upcoming fucking war.

“We’ll give you some prenatal vitamins as well as folic acid and iron tablets…”

Fucking folic acid and iron tablets!

I could feel a bubble of hysteria rising inside of me.

“… booked in with a midwife…”

Oh, God .

This was moving too fast.

“… vital that you get plenty of rest in the next few weeks…”

Rest?!

“But I don’t want to be pregnant,” I blurted out, interrupting his speech. His eyes widened with shock at my outburst, but he quickly regained his composure.

“Abortion is an option, and at your stage in the pregnancy, it would just be a very simple procedure. Have you heard of the abortion pill?”

His words were drowned out again as he ran through my options.

An image came to mind of Dante cradling a baby with my blonde hair and his blue eyes, and I had to shake my head to rid it from my brain.

It was no fucking use.

The picture was burnt into my retinas, replaying as imaginary Dante smiled at the baby, and then smiled down at me, a fierce look in his eyes. He was so fucking large, his arms wider than the baby, and yet he cradled it with such tenderness and love.

Stop it, stop it, stop it!

The doctor was still droning on in the background, but I couldn’t take in a single word he was saying.

It’s not that I didn’t want children. It’s just that I didn’t want them right now.

Now was literally the worst possible time to bring a baby into this world. Our world.

Our cruel, dangerous world.

“Are you okay, Miss Brooks?” The doctor asked, a look of concern on his face.

“I… Yes,” I sighed heavily. “No. I don’t know. I’m overwhelmed.”

“Understandable,” he nodded. “You don’t have to make any decisions today.

I can schedule you to come back in a week's time, if you like? Give you a chance to go home and talk it over with your family. But remember, any decision you make is your choice. We are here to support you, no matter what the outcome is.”

I knew what the fucking outcome was going to be .

I couldn’t get rid of my baby. I couldn’t. That vision had been crystal clear. It was more like a premonition. And it had awakened something within me. Something that, once it had taken root, was impossible to ignore.

I wanted this baby.