Total pages in book: 76
Estimated words: 71348 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 357(@200wpm)___ 285(@250wpm)___ 238(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 71348 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 357(@200wpm)___ 285(@250wpm)___ 238(@300wpm)
“When the pirates were approaching, Bodie didn’t want me up there. Said he would worry about me too much, and it would make him ineffective,” I tell Jerico.
Jerico shrugs. “So?”
“So, I’m pregnant with his baby, currently fucking him exclusively, and he’s developing feelings for me. This spells disaster.”
“Have you two agreed this was just casual?” he asks with concern on his face.
“We have,” I say with a nod. “But can it really be casual when there’s a baby involved?”
Jerico takes another sip of his drink. When he sets it down, he leans in toward me. “Okay, no bullshitting me, Rachel… everyone knows you’re pregnant and it’s Bodie’s, but I haven’t heard what the game plan is. Are y’all going to raise the baby together?”
Clearly, Kynan has kept some things secret.
I give a shake of my head, and the fact I can’t look at him when I do that seems to suggest to me that I must have some shame in my decision.
“So, what are you two going to do?” he asks curiously. There’s no condemnation in his tone, so I look back to him.
“I um… I’m just not ready to be a mom at this stage in my life,” I tell him softly. “Bodie though… he wants the baby. I agreed to carry it for him, and well… I think he’s going to go back home to Nebraska, so his parents can help. Clearly, he couldn’t stay here and do this type of work as a single dad.”
“It would be tough,” Jerico concurs, his gaze traveling slowly down my front to land on my belly. I lower my face so I can see what has his attention, and I’m stunned to see my hand resting on my stomach, rubbing in gentle, wide circles.
A loving caress right over where my abdomen will soon start extending. I’m already feeling like my pants are a bit tight on me, so I kind of expect any day now to wake up with a baby bump.
My hand falls away. I’m startled by the realization I was doing that subconsciously. I look up to Jerico guiltily, and I see it written all over his face.
Your brain might be saying you’re not ready to be a mom, but your heart may have some different ideas.
Fuck.
Just fuck.
No.
Fuck, I can’t even think like that.
I set the ginger ale I’d been holding with my other hand down and give him a tight smile. “Well, I better go find Bodie. I’m sure he’s wondering where I am.”
“Of course,” Jerico says with a gallant nod of his head. “Enjoy yourself tonight.”
“Oh, I intend to,” I reply a little too rambunctiously, and Jerico snorts.
I turn away from him, tingles already settling in between my legs at the prospect of being with Bodie soon. I stop, though, when Jerico calls out my name.
Looking over my shoulder at him, I raise an eyebrow.
“If you want to talk it through and need an impartial sounding board, I’ve got your back. No judgments here.”
This time, my smile is generous and grateful. “Thanks, Jerico. That means a lot.”
Because one of the things that has been giving me trouble lately is how others are going to view me when it comes to light that I’m giving the baby to Bodie. I’m going to be vilified, I know. How could a woman—a mother—give her child up when she’s perfectly capable of raising it herself?
At least, that’s the question I keep asking myself several times a day. How can I do this?
How will I be able to live with myself after? Will the regrets destroy me? Will my actions destroy my child?
My head swims with the damage that could be done by one decision I’ve made.
I give a mental shake, forcing those thoughts away. They have no place in The Wicked Horse. This club is about forgetting reality for a bit and immersing in fantasy.
That is what I’m going to do with the one man who is rocking my world so hard I’m not sure I even recognize it anymore.
I get my swagger back, strutting from The Social Room to the hub just outside the doors. From there, I can take a number of hallways leading to the different-themed rooms, but I choose the one that goes back to The Apartment.
The private club within a private club and where currently several members of the Jameson Group are all hanging out.
Bodie’s eyes come to me the minute I walk through the door, the bouncer standing there giving me a nod of recognition when I pass by his bulky form. My eyes stay on Bodie while I wind my way through some of the patrons standing around chatting. I sidestep a couple wildly kissing while the woman jacks the man off without a care in the world.
That’s what I want tonight.
Not a care in the world except for Bodie and feeling amazing pleasure at each other’s hands.