ROMANCE: BIKER ROMANCE: Valentine Biker (MC Alpha Male Pregnancy Romance) (New Adult Valentine Romance Short Stories) (115 page)

CHAPTER EIGHT

Nina woke up the next morning to the feeling of sunlight on her bare shoulders.  She didn’t want to wake up but she knew she had to.  The night before had left an impression on her.  She needed to stop this wedding.  She didn’t want to date her stepbrother but she was going to be with Chris.  There was no doubt about that. 

The morning sun felt good on her skin and she even pushed the top blanket off  and let the sun warm every inch of her skin.  They were in a pickup truck in the middle of nowhere.  It wasn’t like anyone was looking. 

She thought about the position she’d suddenly found herself in and smiled.  She’d never imagined  herself in the back of a pickup truck with a man who could have been a model for  Abercrombie and Fitch.  He was the perfect Southern gentleman.  Nina had always pictured  herself with a rock star.  She decided that this was just as good.

Once she pulled the blanket off she wrapped herself around Chris and leaned up to kiss his neck, enjoying the smell and feel of his strong body.  Chris was already awake, stroking her hair as the bed of the truck warmed up in the late morning sun.  He glanced down at her and smiled, “Morning.  Sleep well?”

“Yeah.” She said, rubbing her own eyes, trying to look more awake and alert than she really was.  

He was quiet for a moment, letting her wake up a little more before he got into the heavy stuff.   “I don’t mean to be a buzz kill, but last night you said something about not letting our parents get married.” He hummed, his accent even thicker than normal. 

She kissed his nose and then his lips, giving him a serious look, “Yeah.  We need to do something.  I am not sleeping with my stepbrother.” She said, sitting up and collecting her clothes so she could dress herself.

Chris looked at Nina and cocked one brow, “You got a plan?” He asked, standing and slipping back into his pants. 

Nina grinned back at him and smirked a little, “Just follow my lead.”

The grin inspired confidence in Chris and he mirrored the look before hopping out of the bed of the truck.  Nina was dressed in her pajamas and Chris' t-shirt and he found himself pining for her all over again.  They climbed into the cab and headed back for the house. 

*  *  *

Chris parked the truck in the garage and they entered the house together.  It was quiet for the most part and Nina and Chris knew that their parents were still sleeping.  They tiptoed into the shower that was attached to Nina’s room and climbed in together. 

Nina abandoned her clothing on the floor.  Chris wasn't far behind, eventually joining her in the shower.  She started to wash her hair but Chris stole the shampoo from her and did it for her.  She sighed and let her head fall back, her hands resting on his hips as he massaged her scalp. 

“What’s your plan?  You had a wicked smile back in the truck.”

“I like the idea of stopping this wedding.” She hummed. 

“You and your mom don’t get along, do you?”

“Who gets along with her?  No one.  She’s a witch and she’s marrying your dad for the wrong reasons.”

“I know.  I’ve tried to tell him but he won’t listen.” Chris said, sounding exasperated. 

“Well, we’re not going to give him a choice.  He’s going to listen this time.” She said firmly.

He stopped washing her hair a moment and looked down at her, “How can you be so sure he’ll believe you?”

“Because we’re going to get a confession out of her.”

Chris wasn’t following her.  His hands fell to his side and he cocked his head, “How do you expect to do that?”

Nina pointed to her arm that was still bruised and frowned, “Mom did that.  She was threatening me.”

“Threatening you?!” The anger that rose inside of him was palpable and she had to admit that she liked it. 

“She told me to stay away from you.  She wanted you.  You were going to be hers.” She scoffed. 

His eyes widened and he shook his head.  “Nina...I never agreed to do anything with that bitter old woman.”

She smiled and patted his cheek, “I know.  It’s actually a good thing that she wants you.  We can use it to our advantage.”

“How?”

She grinned at him and he could see the wheels turning.  Nina was so damn smart.  This plan was perfect and it also served to remind him that he didn’t want to be on Nina’s bad side.  Being her boyfriend was a pretty good way to stay in her good graces, he thought. 

If this plan worked everything would fall into place.  Michelle would be out of their lives for good and this sham of a wedding would get called off and no one would get hurt. 

Nina was looking forward to the look on her mother’s face when they finally outed her and she had nowhere to run.  Michelle had been getting away with this scam for far too long and for the first time, Nina felt like she actually had the power to do something about it.  For the first time in her life, she felt empowered. 

CHAPTER NINE

The wedding was two days away and the clock was ticking.  If they were going to do this they had to act fast.  Nina and Chris had spent the last few days together, getting to know each other a little better.  He was a simple man who wanted to work in agriculture and she had somehow managed to convince him to apply to a school in New York.  Upstate New York had plenty of farms and she was surprised that she could see herself living on one. 

Chris was perfect.  He was for her, at least.  He was kind, smart and devilishly handsome.  When she was close to him she felt like everything was right in the world and she was sad that she’d wasted so much time trying to avoid him in the beginning.  None of that mattered now.  They were obviously perfect for each other and that only made them even more eager to enact their plan. 

The morning was the perfect time to do it.  Her mother always had breakfast in the kitchen, which was separated from the rest of the house by a swinging door.  Inside the kitchen there was a bay window with a little table.  Michelle had her coffee and eggs there every morning while she read the newspaper.  Michelle loved routine and so did Nina.  It made this plan simple and clear cut.  She didn’t expect there to be any hiccups. 

Nina walked in, stretching her arms above her head and yawning.  She was still in her pajamas, though she had on Chris’ favorite shirt. 

“Morning, Ma.”

Michelle eyed her daughter, her eyes narrowing at the shirt.  She knew it well.  “Good morning, Nina.  Where did you get that shirt?”

“Oh, Chris gave it to me.” She hummed, crossing her legs and sitting at the table, stirring her own coffee.

Michelle was quiet for a moment, “You slept late today.” She said, though it was more of a question than a statement. 

Perfect.  Michelle took the bait.  Nina smiled to herself and sighed a dreamy, wistful smile, “I know.  I was up late last night.”

“What in the world were you doing up?  There's nothing to do out here in the evenings.”

Oh, she was so wrong. 

Nina smiled over the edge of her cup and shrugged, chewing her bottom lip, “Chris took me out in his truck...It was magical.”

When that wistful smile came to Nina’s face, her mother’s hands began to shake so badly that the coffee in the cup spilled over the side.  She cursed and stood up, getting a paper towel and glancing at her daughter as she cleaned up the mess.

“I thought I told you to stay away from him.” She hissed, that same venom back in her voice.

The first time her mother had talked to her like that, Nina had been scared.  The sheer amount of anger and possessiveness that had leaked into Michelle’s words had been terrifying.  Now Nina knew that the very anger that was fueling her mother was going to bite her in the ass.

Nina blinked, as if she didn’t understand what had just been said to her.  Her long lashes fluttered innocently and she could see the anger magnify, “Why do I have to stay away from him, Ma?  He’s a wonderful boy.”

“He’s your stepbrother, you idiot girl!” She snapped, though she was speaking in an angry whisper. 

Andrew always worked in the mornings.  He owned a large company and so he tended to his emails early in the morning while he and his fiance were still waking up.  Andrew was right upstairs and Michelle didn't want to cause attention to this little dispute

Nina looked hurt and looked down at her coffee, frowning, “I know, but we aren’t really related so it doesn’t matter, right?” She asked casually. 

Her mother’s fist came down on the table and her eyes went from a quiet anger to something much more animalistic.  She leaned in close to her daughter, talking a bit louder than she had before, though not loud enough for Andrew to hear.

Spittle dripped from her bottom lip as she spoke to Nina, her voice quivering with anger, “Don’t play your games with me.  You think you have power?  You think you're in charge here?” She whispered, putting both of her hands on the table, “I have staked my claims here, you stupid little girl! Chris is mine! This house is mine!” She spat. 

Nina’s voice remained surprisingly calm and she watched her mother closely, “Aren’t you marrying Andrew?”

“Marriage doesn’t mean shit! Just because I’m marrying him doesn’t mean I have to sleep with him! That’s why I’m keeping Chris around.  God, you’re so stupid! Don’t you know anything?!”

She’d raised her hand to slap it on the table when the door creaked open.  Chris had brought his father down to the kitchen when the conversation first started.  They’d been standing on the other side of the door and Andrew had heard everything. 

He looked devastated and Nina felt guilty for a moment but then realized that the poor man was going to figure out her mother’s motives one way or another.  At least he didn’t lose his life savings this way. 

“Michelle…” Andrew whispered. 

Nina’s mother turned slowly, looking at Andrew with wide eyes, “Darling, I…” She stopped, not sure what she could say in this situation. 

There was a long, uncomfortable silence in the room and Andrew finally set his eyes on the woman he was supposed to marry in a mere two days.  His lips set in a thin line and he cleared his throat, “I think it’s best if you leave, Michelle.”

Michelle looked absolutely stunned and shook her head, “Andrew...No...I...You don’t understand."

"Oh, I think I understand perfectly.  I want you out of my house.  You have a week to get your things.”

Nina felt like she’d won the game.  She and her mother had been in this power struggle since she was a little girl and Nina had finally won.  She smirked and raised her hand, giving her mother a casual wave, “Toodles”.

CHAPTER TEN

Nina and Chris left Tennessee together.  Andrew was handling things better than one would expect and he was thankful to his son and Nina for showing him that Michelle had been pulling the wool over his eyes.  He was two days away from burying himself into a hole he couldn’t get out of. 

He was glad to see his son broadening his horizons.  Nina was already having a positive effect on him and he was eager to send his son away to continue his schooling.  All of the money that would have gone into an extravagant wedding got put away in an account for Chris’ school expenses. 

They were able to get an apartment with the money when they returned to New York and with little convincing, Chris agreed to let Petra be their roommate.  The two got on wonderfully and Chris even introduced Petra to the woman who would eventually become her wife. 

Nina had expected some retaliation from her mother after what had happened in Tennessee.  When Michelle accosted her on the street outside school, Nina had been prepared to defend herself.  When Michelle came after her, fists raised and ready to swing, Nina put her down with a little pepper spray. 

She was arrested for assault and got herself a year in prison.  Chris often asked Nina what she was going to do when her mother got out of prison, but that wasn’t a concern for her at the moment. 

Nina wouldn’t see Michelle again for almost ten years.  Her mother would show up on her doorstep one year during Christmas, homeless and lost.  She would bring Michelle into her home and discover a humbled woman who wanted nothing more than time with her daughter and grandchildren. 

But that was years away. 

Nina was focused on the here and now and so was Chris.  They both worked hard to finish their degrees and Nina would become a world famous animator and Chris would eventually get his degree in agriculture and they would buy a farm in upstate New York about thirty minutes from Nina’s father’s home. 

Henry adored Chris.  He was the big strong man he’d always wanted his daughter to marry.  Chris and Nina decided that it was better if they told a bit of a fib about how they met.  Henry didn’t need to worry about Michelle or the things that had happened between Nina and her mother.  So they told him they met at the wedding.  As far as Henry knew, Michelle was married to some banker in Tennessee.

Nina and Chris were happier than they ever could have been apart.  Nina was still a little weird and a little dark and Chris loved her for it.  Chris was still a good ‘ol boy from Tennessee who slipped into that down home accent every now and again and Nina loved every inch of him. 

They were married on Halloween five years after they met.  They had both graduated the year before and had steady jobs and one bun in the oven.  Chris constantly brought out new things in Nina and a desire having kids was one of those things.

Nina didn’t want kids before she met Chris.  The idea of being responsible for the life of a tiny child was intimidating to her.  She was afraid she might mess her kids up the same way her parents had messed her up.  It had taken a lot of convincing, but eventually she tossed out the birth control and they were trying for kids. 

Four years later, Nina was the mother of two wonderful bouncing baby girls with a third baby on the way and she was happy.  It was something she didn’t really think she’d be allowed to have.  Happy families were the product of other happy families, right?  How could Nina possibly have happy children when her own childhood had been nothing short of a wreck? 

She had never been happier to be wrong. 

Lindsey and Lisa were the lights of her life and she knew she’d be lost without her husband and her children.  Her belly was huge and she was ready to pop any day now.  Lindsey, the oldest child, asked a lot of questions about the baby with a limited vocabulary.  She was two and while she tried talking up a storm, it didn’t always work for her. 

She knew she was getting a baby brother and that excited her.  She gave the baby a new name every day even though her parents had settled on Xavier.  Lindsey wasn’t having any of it and today, she was calling her little brother ‘Snoopy’.

“Snoopy play?” She asked, pulling at the hem of her mother’s dress. 

Nina had hated dresses before pregnancy and when she wasn’t eight months along she still hated them but jeans were just so damn uncomfortable during the last trimester.  She looked down at her daughter, Lisa balanced on her hip as Nina stirred a pot of soup.

“Not today, Lin.  He’ll come out and play soon.” She assured. 

Lindsey pouted but her face lit up when the door opened with a crash.  She gasped and turned, running and screaming, “DADDY!”

The still tall, still blonde Chris, swept his little angel up into his arms, bouncing her as she squealed, “Hey there, precious.  Are you helping mommy cook?”

“Yeah!” The little blonde baby sang.

Chris chuckled and walked into the kitchen, stealing a kiss from his wife. 

“Hey there, beautiful.” He hummed, setting his daughter down. 

No matter how many days and nights she spent with Chris, She couldn’t believe that this was her life.  She was happy.  She had a family and she was in love.  Nina set the spoon down and turned to kiss him, cupping his cheeks. 

Lindsey groaned and covered her face, telling her parents they were ‘icky’.  Nina smiled up at Chris as she pulled away and as she stared into his eyes, she couldn’t believe that all of this had started in the bed of a pickup truck under the moonlight. 

THE END

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ABOUT THE AUTHOR:

Cassandra Cole is much like the characters she writes about.  Definitely female, fiercely independent, and hopelessly romantic. She writes romance novels about ordinary people in extraordinary situations with strong feelings and few inhibitions.