Page 32

AURORA

Maybe it’s pregnancy hormones, or perhaps it’s the attention of two attractive men. Whatever it is, being with them is not only electrifying, but fulfilling in a way I’ve never experienced before, as if the shattered parts of me are finally mending.

A rough palm glides up my torso to cup my breast, and I rock my hips, moaning into Jackson’s kiss. Their hard bodies and erections press against me. Fingers pinch my nipple, and a shudder runs through me.

“Are you cold?” Ethan’s hands move to caress my arms. “Let’s get you out. You have goosebumps.”

He withdraws, and I let out a whimper of disappointment.

The temperature is in the seventies, and although the sun is setting over the ocean, the water is heated. I’m not chilly.

Jax brings us closer to one of the swim-up canopy beds—and I feel it.

I gasp and clutch my stomach, which terrifies him.

He sets me on my feet and looms over me, cupping my lower belly. “What’s wrong? Are you hurt? Did I do something?”

“Wait. Wait. I think I felt it.”

Ethan rushes over, panic etched on his features. “What is it?”

I grab his hand to place it where mine was, and there it is! A flutter, then a distinct push or roll.

His jaw drops, and his brows shoot up. “Is that…?”

“The baby.” Tears prickle my eyelids. “He must like the water.”

Jax positions his fingers beside Ethan’s. “For real?”

We all go silent, eagerly waiting. The gentle flutter-roll happens again. My gaze meets Jackson’s, and the emotion in his glassy eyes crushes me.

A gorgeous smile spreads across Ethan’s face, revealing that dimple, and he clasps the back of my neck. “Holy fuck. We’re having a baby.”

My heart hammers and my lips tremble. “Yeah, we are.”

Jax leans down and rests his forehead on mine. “Today is one of the best days of my life. Thank you.”

His voice breaks, and I want to cry harder. Despite everything, moments like these are why I love him.

He straightens to his full height. “I need to make sure the pool temp isn’t too high.”

“It’s not,” I say with a chuckle. “It’s perfect.”

“Still, I have to feed you…and him.” He runs his fingers through his wet hair. “This is so very real now.”

“Yeah, no shit,” Ethan mutters, his tone sullen.

“You okay?” I ask.

He tilts his head skyward and releases a heavy sigh. “We need to talk.”

The mood shifts instantly, unearthing the deep-seated anxiety I had managed to bury.

Ethan

Wrapped in a towel, Aurora climbs into the outdoor canopy bed.

I sit beside her, and she glances up at me with unease, searching my expression for any hint of betrayal.

I know what she’s thinking—that I’ve been unfaithful, or I’m still married, or I got someone else pregnant, or some other outrageous nonsense.

Jackson places a tray of food on the mattress and grumbles, “You’re the worst buzzkill.”

“This pertains to you too, dickhead.” Bile rises in my throat, and I swallow it down. “Your father waited for me in the parking lot after the suspension hearing.”

“Great.” He frowns and plops down on the other side of our girl. “What the fuck did he have to say?”

Aurora clutches the towel, and I reach for her hand, laying it on my lap.

“He said some shit?—”

“What kind of shit?” he demands, his body tense, shoulders squared.

I should’ve talked to him first, without Aurora, but it’s too late now, and I need her to trust us. I can keep Kyle’s threats to myself for now. That way, I’m not setting Jax off and worrying her.

“He’s been doing his research,” I say, steering the conversation. “Has he contacted you?”

“Just his usual fuckery. He wants to negotiate, which means he wants money, but the law firm I hired doesn’t think that’s necessary. It’s my fucking inheritance.”

I nod in understanding. “The sale of the Santa Monica house is finalized. My lawyer is waiting on confirmation of whose name the property is in—yours or the trust’s—or if it even matters.”

“I signed the papers. I’ll text Kyle letting him know I’m moving in, see how he reacts.”

One thing I can say about Jackson is he’s not afraid of confrontation, though that’s typically how he gets himself into trouble.

If his father ever showed up while Aurora was home alone… Just the thought has my stomach churning.

“We need to be certain he has no control over the property. I don’t want him anywhere near there.”

Aurora shrugs. “Let’s live here.”

“No.” Jax’s knee bounces. “You adore that house—the nursery, the backyard, the beach, the pool. It belongs to you .” He clenches his jaw, the muscle pulsing.

“I have a team handling it, but knowing Kyle, he’ll drag his feet.

I’ll talk to him. Whatever he was planning, it failed.

We’re together. I’m returning to hockey.

I’m clean.” His gaze connects with mine, unsure and hesitant.

“I have people to vouch for me if he tries to prove me incompetent.” He takes a steadying breath. “He’ll negotiate.”

“Jax…” I don’t know how to tell him the only thing Kyle wants is for Aurora and the baby to disappear—and that ain’t fucking happening.

So, I move on, deciding to protect them myself.

For them, I’ll do anything. “There’s something I’ve been keeping from you, from everyone. Something your father discovered.”

Aurora slumps and groans. “Please don’t say you have another wife or kid.”

“Or husband,” Jax adds.

I shoot him an icy glare. “No, I do not have another wife, kid, or husband, idiot.”

He arches a brow. “Boyfriend?”

“Fuck off. I’m being serious.” Before he can intrude further, I gather my nuts and face Aurora. “My father is a turned FBI informant serving life in prison. I’ve never met him, few people know, and we don’t share a last name.”

They exchange a wide-eyed glance before staring at me with mirroring shocked expressions.

“He made a deal to keep my mother out of his trial.” My heart races, and I feel a ramble coming on.

“She was his mistress and pregnant, and his wife’s family would’ve killed her.

Only my father’s brothers and the FBI knew.

She waitressed at the diner I took you to,” I say to Aurora.

“That’s how they met. Shorty, the owner, was my uncle, unbeknownst to me then.

After my mother died, he told me about my father and how they’d hidden assets in my mother’s name in a shell company.

Somehow, Kyle found out.” I scrub my fingers through my hair.

“I was somewhat close to Shorty. He’s deceased now, and my lawyer is one of the other brothers, but other than that, I don’t communicate with them. ”

Though that’s about to change.

“Holy shit, dude.” Jax roars with laughter. “This is the best day ever. I can’t even put into words how ecstatic I am that you have flaws.” He shakes his head and smiles. “I didn’t think it was possible.”

Aurora furrows her brows and asks the obvious: “What did he go to prison for?”

I glance at Jackson, who understands better than anyone how grating it is to answer for the sins of your father. It’s much worse for him. I never knew the man whose shadow I’m running from—Jax can’t escape his.

His gaze shifts uncomfortably. Lying hasn’t worked out well for him, and I find it within myself to shake off the unwarranted shame.

“Racketeering, arson, money laundering, and six counts of murder. The media dubbed him Iron Eyes .”