eye and a goofy grin, Jamie met my gaze. “Are you sure he’s not mine?”
I rolled my eyes while Vaughn growled. Possessive asshole. “I’m not sure how much you paid attention in Sex Ed, Jameson, but the possibility would have required us sleeping together.”
“And stop cursing around my fucking kid,” Vaughn snapped.
Closing my eyes, I rubbed my temples because they were both idiots.
“What’s the big deal?” Jamie argued. “He can’t even hold his head up much less understand what I’m saying.”
Thankfully, one of the nurses arrived at that moment to remind us that visiting hours were over. As happy as I was to be reunited with my friends and for River to meet his aunts and uncles, I was relieved to see them go. If I’d known when I opened my eyes this morning how long this day would be, I would have stayed in bed. So much had happened in twenty-four hours that I’d need at least a week to recover.
“Come back tomorrow?” I invited when they seemed reluctant to leave. I knew they were all silently worried I’d disappear again, and I hated myself for putting that fear in them. Not one of them had been angry or cruel, welcoming me back into their fold as if I’d never left.
Of course, Jamie was the first to accept. “You bet! Maybe then you can both share with us how this accidentally happened,” he added, using his fingers to make air quotes. I didn’t miss the skeptical look he shot Vaughn’s way.
For some reason, my gaze followed Jamie’s, wondering before waving the paranoid thought away. Vaughn’s surprised reaction to River made it more than clear he hadn’t planned this.
We said our goodbyes and everyone except for Vaughn filed out of the room.
“How did this happen?” Vaughn asked as soon as we were alone. River chose that moment to wake up again and immediately began fussing. After checking his diaper and finding it soaked, I carried him over to the changing table with Vaughn on my heels. “We used a condom. Every fucking time.”
“I asked myself the same question whenever my head ended up in a toilet bowl. Apparently, piercings reduce the effectiveness of condoms—by like a lot.” I glanced over my shoulder in time to see his puzzled look. I ignored the heat creeping up my neck because I couldn’t stop thinking about his dick. Dumb twat. “There must have been a hole in the condom.”
“I think I would have noticed.” His arrogant tone brooked no argument.
“Oh, yeah?” I challenged anyway as I removed River’s soiled diaper. I started cleaning him when I spoke again. “Then how do you explain your son?” When Vaughn said nothing, I met his gaze. “The hole must have been small enough for neither of us to notice and big enough for him to slip through.”
Our gazes flew to River, and was it me, or did he seem a little smug when his lips spread in what resembled a smile? Surprise, bitches! I knew if he could, he’d be laughing right now.
“Maybe you should get on the pill,” Vaughn blurted, blowing out air that I felt curl around my nape and work its way down my spine until I shivered. That was how close he was hovering behind me now. Something told me I wouldn’t be able to take a single step back without running into his chest first. I could already feel the heat. “Or whatever chicks take so that this doesn’t happen again. At least not any time soon.”
We both seemed to freeze as soon as he stopped speaking.
“Here’s a thought,” I mused, recovering from his slip first. “You could remove your piercing. Or better yet, we don’t have sex.” Grabbing a fresh diaper for River, I muttered, “I like the latter option more.”
I felt Vaughn’s hands grip my hips as soon as the diaper was on the baby, and then his hard-on pressed into my spine. “It’s not a matter of if but when, pip-squeak.” His whisper sounded suspiciously like a threat even though I knew he wouldn’t force me. “Sooner or later, you’ll get that itch. You’re in for a surprise if you think anyone’s scratching it but me.”
Recognizing the rabbit hole I’d fallen down once before, I lifted River from the table and kissed his soft cheek before returning him to his crib. Once he was snug as a bug in a rug, I whirled on Vaughn, forcing my lips into a smirk. “It’s been a few months since we