Forever Bonded (BWWM Pregnancy Romance) (11 page)

Zoë’s
hands cradled her large belly, and Nate never once took his eyes off of her. As
much as Audrey had tried to convince herself that he was living a life far more
miserable than her own, it was obvious that he was far happier than he’d ever
been with her.

Audrey
rolled her eyes and slid back on her sunglasses before making a quick beeline
for the door. Screw the go-see. She had to get out of here.

Once
outside, Audrey exhaled a breath of relief and took a moment to regain her
composure before turning to look back inside the boutique. She hoped that if
she stared at Nate long enough he would catch her looking and give her a
fleeting look of regret, but he never did.

It
was obvious that the only woman he had eyes for was Zoë.

Contest

Hello readers!

I hoped you enjoyed
reading my latest bwwm romance novella. If you read the entire book and would
like a chance at winning a $25 Amazon gift card from my publication company,
Amazing Grace Publications, please send me the answer to the following
question:

What is Nate’s
occupation?

Send your answer to:
[email protected]
.
Amazing Grace Publications will be choosing not one
but
TWO
winners on October 1
^st
based on the pool of responses that
are received. The winner will be notified by email. Last months winner was
Sharon Jackson.

Congratulations
Sharon!

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Forever Bonded
, I would love to extend
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Cleo

Contact
Me

If you would like to
reach out to me for any reason, you may do so by emailing me at
[email protected]
 

About
the Author

Cleo Jones was born
in Detroit but she currently lives in Toronto with her Canadian-born husband
and two wonderful biracial children. Writing has always been Cleo’s passion in
life, and she loves books that profile strong black women. To stay up to date
with Cleo’s publication schedule, be sure to subscribe to her
mailing list
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You can also follow her author page on Amazon
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Bonus

Please
enjoy this free preview of another one of Cleo’s BWWM pregnancy romances,
Double The Love
. If you like what you
read,
you can purchase
the book on Amazon here.
It is also available for free via Kindle Unlimited.

Continue
to the free preview below.

Prologue

 
Jasmine bit down on her bottom lip and gave Liam a coy smile
as he pulled her through the crowd of gyrating bodies that surrounded them. She
was wearing a tight pair of shorts and a tank top, and he couldn’t take his
eyes off of her. As typical as it was for him to be lusting after the girl next
door, he was far too drunk to listen to the tiny voice in the back of his head
that was telling him to stop before it was too late.

Instead, he did what he always did.

He gave in.

Jasmine let out a soft gasp as Liam closed
the door to his bedroom and pulled her into a desperate kiss. Maybe it was the
alcohol, or the years of unresolved sexual tension between them, but it wasn’t
long before she found herself kissing him back. His lips moved slowly and with
purpose, and she watched through heavy lidded eyes as he removed her tank top
and tossed it to the ground, allowing the party unfolding on the other side of
the wall to blur into the background.

“Don’t stop,” Jasmine gasped.

Liam unclasped her bra and groaned when her
full breasts dropped into his palms. “Jazz, you’re crazy if you think I’m
capable of stopping now,” he whispered, pushing her onto his bed and pressing a
trail of wet kisses down her dark flesh.

Jasmine failed to contain a laugh. “We
can’t stand each other,” she mumbled. “I think the fact that this is happening
is crazy enough as it is.”

Liam didn’t refute her statement. He
continued kissing her neck instead, unlatching himself from her just long
enough to pull his t-shirt over his head.

Jasmine didn’t realize they were both
completely naked until his strong body was on top of hers. His touch ignited
each one of her senses, and all she could focus on was the warmth of his bare
flesh against hers. For one brief moment, she let go of her womanist principles
and allowed herself to be owned by him. She was his, and the faint marks he was
leaving behind on her flesh were as clear a representation of that as any.

Jasmine didn’t think about her virginity,
or the fact that she’d never be able to get this moment back. She wanted it,
and as crazy as it seemed given their lifelong hatred for each other, she
wanted it with Liam. His dick throbbed with need, and he took a moment to
search her face for any signs of hesitation before thrusting sharply forward.

Liam groaned as Jasmine’s tight walls
clenched around his length, but he kept a steady pace to keep himself from
finishing too soon. He could tell he wasn’t going to be able to last very much
longer in his current state, but he was feeling generous, something he rarely
ever was, and he wanted her to finish first.

Jasmine moaned and arched into him, clawing
into his back as her pleasure overcame her. It seemed as though each one of his
thrusts were deeper than the last, and eventually the slight pain she was
feeling disintegrated under the mind numbing pressure of her release. “Faster,”
she urged him, gripping at his shoulder blades in an attempt at speeding up
his.

Liam didn’t need the coaxing, however. His
face twisted up with pleasure as he came, and he finished with a few slow
thrusts and a low grunt before collapsing on top of her.

They laid in silence for a few minutes,
both of them basking in the aftershock of what they had just done as a thousand
jumbled thoughts rushed through their heads.

Jasmine was first to break through the
quiet. “Wow,” she whispered, struggling to catch her breath.

Liam sat up and went to roll off the
condom, and that’s when he noticed the small tear in it. “Yeah,” he whispered,
staring down at it in disbelief. “My sentiments exactly…”

Chapter
one

“How are you feeling?”

Jasmine pulled her gaze from her reflection
and met eyes with her publicist. As usual, his expression was laced with concern.
It seemed like all he did these days was worry about her, or more precisely,
whether or not she’d be able to continue writing his paychecks in four months
time.

“I'm fine, Eli,” Jasmine spoke up,
breathing out an elongated sigh as she turned back towards her reflection. She
was getting
so
sick of him asking her
that.

Jasmine rolled her eyes and reached down to
adjust her dress on her waist. She was glad that her stylist followed her
instructions and got her something loose to wear for this performance. It was
becoming increasingly more difficult for her to keep this secret with every
passing day. The last thing she needed was the press talking more than they
already were.

Jasmine tensed when she felt a pair of
calloused hands begin to knead her back. Eli bent down behind her and rested
his chin on her shoulder, keeping his eyes steadied on hers in the mirror as he
spoke. “I'm worried about you. You've bailed on rehearsal every day this week.”

“I'm fine,” Jasmine repeated in a firmer
tone. She faked a smile and picked up a make-up brush to finish retouching her
foundation. “This carrying a child thing is just a little new to me, that’s
all, but I promise you have nothing to worry about. I had the sound assistant
grab me some tea and I took a nap in my trailer. I'll be ready for tonight's
show. You have my word.”

Eli pulled up a chair from the other side
of the dressing room and sat down beside her. “Well you only have a few more
months to go right?”

Jasmine nodded but her expression remained somber.
A few more months seemed like a lifetime.

“See?” Eli continued. “The finish line is
near. You’ll be able to get back to normal in no time.”

“Eli, my life is never going to be normal
again,” Jasmine reminded him for what felt like the millionth time. “I’m having
a baby. Being a mother is a lifelong gig.”

“I know, I know,” Eli said in a cautious
tone.
 
“It's just...have you
thought about how hard it’s going to be? About what it might do to your career?
Jazz, you’re just starting to find your footing in this industry. I just think
you need to explore all of your—”

“I'll cope,” Jasmine spoke up, cutting him
off. She was so not in the mood for this spiel again.

Eli sighed and looked thoughtful for a
moment. “Jazz,” he said in a cautious tone. “I hate to do this to you, but…”

The anxiety in Eli’s voice made Jasmine
turn to meet his gaze. “What?” she pressed, feeling a sick feeling surface in
the pit of her stomach. The only difference was that this time it wasn’t the
baby. “Oh god, you’re not about to
fire
me,
are you?”

“Of course not,” Eli fired back. “It’s just…
he’s
back. A bouncer just spotted him
entering the club, but he has a ticket this time. We can’t just kick him out.”

Jasmine didn’t need to ask who
he
was. “Shit,” she muttered, reaching
up to rub away the tension building in her temples. This was the very last
thing she needed right now.

Eli gave Jasmine a sympathetic look. “I
know,” he said, noting her distress. At this point he was well aware of the
effect Liam’s presence had on her.

Jasmine sat up straighter and struggled to
pull herself together. “Well did he at least come alone this time?” she
questioned.

Eli nodded and Jasmine let out a breath of
relief. At that moment, one of the show runners knocked on her dressing room
door and entered before she could say anything. His name was Stephen, and he
was the sort of man who looked like he’d eaten one too many Twinkies in his
lifetime.

“You're on,” Stephen said to Jasmine
without looking up from his clipboard. “And try to actually seem like you’re
enjoying yourself tonight, alright sweetheart? We aren’t paying you for a
lullaby. We’re paying you for a performance.”

Stephen turned to Eli and pointed a stubby
finger at him. “And last I checked, we aren’t paying you to sit in here and gab
with her. You’re needed backstage.”

Eli and Jasmine both nodded, but as soon as
Stephen’s back was turned, they snickered and rolled their eyes.

“Well, alright then,” Jasmine said as she
dabbed a final layer of gloss onto her lips. “Duty calls.”

Eli waited for Martin to disappear before
grabbing hold of Jasmine by the arm. “I’ll make sure he doesn’t cause any
trouble,” he assured her, picking up right where their conversation had left
off.

“Trust me, you don't need to worry about
Liam,” Jasmine insisted. “I’ve been dealing with him since I was five years
old. He’s like a housefly…annoying but harmless.”

Eli fixed his dark eyes onto hers. “Yeah,
but things are a little different now don’t you think?” he countered, flicking
his gaze down to her stomach, where a small bump was threatening to expose
itself through the silk fabric of her dress.

Jasmine swallowed hard. “I know,” she
whispered, adjusting the material to disguise her stomach. “But this isn’t his
problem.” A sad sigh escaped her mouth before she could reel it back in. “It’s
mine.”

Chapter
two

Stepping on stage to perform in front of
hundreds never got any less nerve-wracking. Each time Jasmine did it, she felt
the exact same way she had during each one of her high school talent show
performances. Of course, the glaring differences were that her singing had
improved by leaps and bounds since then, and her band was a hell of a lot
better too. It didn’t matter that she didn’t know any of them by name.

As talented as they were, they were still
meager session musicians scrapping to make ends meet. Jasmine was a signed
performer. There wasn’t much they had in common, but she envied them all the
same. She could do without having to stress her vocal cords during her second
trimester, but a contract was a contract. There wasn’t any backing out. Not
without a world of legal trouble anyway.

Jasmine would never admit it aloud, but she
was counting down the days until her duties to her record label would be up.
Performing every other night was becoming a little too much for her to handle
in her condition. In an ideal world, she would have retired a long time ago to
concentrate on her studies like most people her age, but she couldn’t. She
needed to make her money while the sun was still shining, because what would
come of her career after she gave birth was entirely up in the air, and the
only person she could really depend on was herself.

It wasn't that Jasmine’s family didn’t care
about her. She knew they did, a hell of a lot actually, but there had been a
strain in their relationship ever since she became famous. She wasn’t about to
go crawling back to them now. Especially since this was her mistake.

Mistake.

Every time Jasmine thought the word, she
silently apologized to the tiny life growing inside of her. The act itself had
been a mistake, but the result? Well, it went without saying that she was
already in love with the little person she was incubating.

Jasmine stepped into the spotlight and
reached up to make sure her mic was securely behind her ear. The band began the
first song of the night and she met her cue without any effort, plastering on a
smile as she began her set, but every movement she made felt stiffer than
intended. She kicked things up a few notches when she spotted Stephen staring
at her from backstage, but it was a lot easier said than done.

Putting on an entertaining show was the
least of Jasmine's worries right now. Her stomach was in knots and her heart
wouldn't stop racing. She couldn’t get over the fact that Liam was in the
audience hearing her belt out one of the many ballads she’d written about him
since their encounter. It was the definition of irony.

Jasmine searched the room for Liam and
briefly fumbled up her lyrics when she spotted him leaning against the bar. The
distressed leather jacket he was wearing pulled at his elbows as he rested them
on the counter behind him, and a tuff of shaggy brown hair failed to disguise
the condescending smirk on his face. She swallowed hard and attempted to act
like she hadn’t seen him, but his eyes latched onto hers before she could. She
tried her best to ignore him, continuing to sing as though nothing was wrong,
but her anxiety was apparent when she struggled to hit notes that usually came
easy for her.