Dirty Desires (Devil Kings MC #3) - Nicole James Page 0,57
is stark, just a couple books and a few posters on the wall.
He steps over to the poster of One Direction and smirks, “Boy bands, really?”
I cross my arms, on the defensive. “I was like eleven.”
“Still.” He peruses the rest of the room, then scans the titles of the books on the shelf. “Harry Potter, hmm?” he turns to look at me.
“What’s wrong with Harry Potter?”
“Nothing. Ever been to that theme park with all the Harry Potter stuff?”
“No, but it's on my bucket list.”
“How old do you think the kid’s got to be before we take him?”
“What kid?”
“The baby.”
My mouth literally falls open. “You want to take our baby to…”
He shrugs. “When he’s old enough.”
“She.”
“She?”
I shrug. “Maybe.” The plan was I’d raise this baby alone; now here he is messing up the plan. I’m so thrown I don’t know how to respond.
“You got a name picked out?”
“I’m not even showing yet, and you think I’ve got a name already?”
“Do you?”
I relent. “Maybe.”
“What is it?”
“Layla.”
He lifts a brow. “Like the song?”
“What song?”
He rolls his eyes. “The Eric Clapton song.”
I shrug, pretending I’m too young to know. “Oh. Is there a song?” Gypsy has no idea that Hayley has a vintage record collection to end all collections ever. She’d slug my arm if I feigned not to know Layla. I fight the giggle, but it bubbles up.
“Oh, I see. Just giving me a hard time, huh?”
“Maybe.”
I’m still standing by the door when he returns to me and backs me up against it. I don’t know what to do with all my feelings. I’ve missed him so, but I’ve spent days, weeks even, hating him… or at least trying to hate him. Now I’m not sure what I want from him. I’ve finally come to terms with the fact that I’ll raise this child by myself. Now here he is, blowing those plans all to hell.
He cups my face and forces me to meet his gaze. Tears sting my eyes at the emotion in his. I try to fight them back, blinking. I try to be strong. I don’t want to let him inside my heart if he’s not going to stick around. The past weeks have been hell.
It sucked to want someone who might never be able to give himself to me.
It sucked loving someone who might never be mine.
He takes my chin in his hand and turns my head to the side. He brushes a fingertip over the fading yellow bruise on my cheek. “Are you all right?”
I nod, my eyes flooding.
“What happened?” he demands quietly. “Hayley told me, but I want to hear it from you.”
“She did?”
“Yup. That son-of-a-bitch hit you, didn’t he?”
The anger’s back in his arctic eyes.
“It’s over now. I don’t want to think about that.”
“When I think about what you did, the chance you took…” He touches his forehead to mine.
“It’s been a hell of a week.”
“Tell me about it.”
I lift my hand to his neck, stroking my thumb along the stubble on his jawline, clinging for just a moment to the dream of him again.
His hands slide to my ass, dragging me closer. “You scared the fuck outta me, Tess. I’m sorry it’s taken me a minute, but I’ve been trying to get my head around us.”
“You’re not the only one, you know.”
He takes my hand and presses a kiss to the inside of my wrist. It’s sweet and makes me melt more than any ravenous kiss could have done.
“Just leave. Please, Gypsy,” I whisper. I can’t help the overwhelming need to push him away. My defense mechanisms are kicking in full force.
“Nope. Sorry. I’m not going anywhere without you.”
My level of exhaustion is increasing rapidly. I frown, tired and not sure what he means. I ache for what he has to give, but I’m afraid, too. Afraid to take another risk, another chance, just to be let down in the end.
But he’s here, and he’s trying. Something I never thought he’d do, and I have to give him credit for that.
I move to the window and stare out, hugging myself, so conflicted. He moves behind me, his palms landing on the tight muscles of my shoulders.
His hands aren’t gentle as he kneads my tight muscles.
Sometimes, when I least expect it, his gentleness takes me by surprise, and my defenses fall like a stack of children’s blocks scattered wide by a child’s fist.
Gypsy has no problem giving me multiple orgasms, but tenderness has been a little harder to pull from him.
Somehow those hands on my shoulders