The Key West Anthology (27 page)

Chapter Twenty-Two

Easton

“You think she’ll like it?”

I looked up at Jett and grinned. “What girl wouldn’t love an engagement ring? You do need to make sure she takes it off before swimming, though. With that thing on her finger, she’ll surely sink right to the bottom.”

Jett held the large diamond ring between his two fingers, smiling like a fool. The expression looked good on him. “Congratulations, man,” I said. “You found the right girl.”

“I sure did,” he said. “Quinn owns me. She’s my world.”

“So when are you asking her?”

He placed the ring back into the box and tucked it inside the desk drawer. “Tonight,” he replied. “I can’t wait any longer. I’m ready to make her my wife.”

***

My conversation with Jett had me thinking about my future. What would it be like to find that one person who shifts the ground beneath your feet? The one that holds your heart in their hands, who makes you feel as though you’re suffocating unless they’re by your side?

I wanted that. The security of a lasting love.

What I didn’t want was to pull up at my place to find Sarah perched on my front steps with Ray at her side. As I approached them, Sarah stood up and brushed off her pants.

“What are you doing here?” I asked.

“We were hoping that we could talk.” She looked at me with a pleading expression. “It’s really important.”

Without replying I led them inside, took off my suit jacket, and draped it over the back of the couch.

Something red on the arm of the chair caught my eyes. The shirt Harper had worn on the last night she was here was lying where I’d placed it after removing it from her body. Flashes of what we shared after that moment filled my mind, and I smiled, feeling calm for just a moment.

I looked up to find Sarah staring down at the shirt. The expression on her face was easy to read. I had known her long enough to recognize jealousy.

“So what’s so important that you had to drive all the way from Miami to tell me? A phone call would have worked just the same.”

“This needed to be said in person,” Ray said. “I think you should sit down.”

My stomach knotted as I took a seat. The room felt like it was closing in around me as they sat down too.

“I actually should have told you this weeks ago.” Sarah spoke softly as she twisted her hands in her lap. “I know my dad thinks I’ve been running around with Greg again, but I haven’t. I also know I’ve screwed up a lot.”

That was an understatement.

“I’ve been trying to, um…” She looked up at me. “I wasn’t sure how to tell you.”

“Tell me what?” I narrowed my eyes at her, bracing myself for whatever she had to say.

“I’m pregnant,” she whispered.

I stared at her as the words sunk in. A disgusted laugh escaped me. “What, you honestly want me to believe that it’s mine?”

“Unnecessary, Easton.” Ray’s voice boomed through the room.

I had reached my breaking point. “Unnecessary?” Standing up from the couch, I turned to him and pointed at Sarah without taking my eyes off Ray. “She fucked with my life for well over a year. She slept around on me and lied at every turn. Now you show up here and expect me to believe that she’s carrying my child?”

“It’s true,” Sarah whispered. Tears began to fall from her eyes as she reached into her purse and pulled out a piece of paper. “I got this at the doctor two days ago.”

She held the sheet out toward me, and I ripped it from her hands. My stomach dropped as I turned it around. It was a sonogram picture with Sarah’s name and a date at the top.

“This doesn’t prove anything, just that you’re knocked up.” A look of hurt covered her face, and Ray stood and took a step toward me. “We’ve only been together once in the last six months,” I said.

“Yeah, two months ago,” she said.

“I used protection,” I said through gritted teeth.

“Condoms do fail,” she whispered back.

A long pause set in as I sat down on the couch and stared at the picture in my hand.

“I haven’t been with anyone else but you in over three months,” she said. “The timing is right, Easton. The baby can’t be anyone else’s.”

I felt like my chest was caving in and I could barely breathe, like I was going to pass out and throw up at the same time. The mistakes of my past were coming back to haunt me. And even in my moment of agony, all I could see was Harper’s face, her smile, and that look she gets right after I kiss her breathless.

The idea of her pulling back and walking away from me made me feel as if the walls were closing in. Our relationship was still so new, and I was terrified that this would be too much for her to take.

“And before you ask, I’m keeping the baby.”

My eyes locked on Sarah and anger overtook me.

“What the fuck do you think I’d want you to do? The opposite? I’m not a heartless bastard.” I pointed toward her stomach. “If this is true and you are carrying
my child
,
you better fucking back off, Sarah. Because I will not let you terrorize my child the way you’ve fucked with my world.”

I stood up and tossed the sonogram picture at her. “I want proof. That fucking picture and your word will never be enough.”

I spun around and stormed out of my condo. I had to get out of there. I was losing my shit, and I was afraid of where that would lead me.

***

I drove for over an hour, my mind racing, my world crumbling. A kid, with Sarah of all people.

Life could be cruel sometimes.

I’d made a mistake in the heat of the moment because I was lonely, and now I would pay the price. But what would I lose because of that choice? Would Harper be able to handle Sarah carrying my child?

After another hour of aimless driving, I decided to head home.

In my rush to leave, I’d left my phone behind, so I wasn’t surprised to find I had numerous missed calls and texts when I found it on the floor in front of the couch.

Flipping through my messages, I couldn’t help but grin.

I miss you.

So un-Harper-like. But the next one was even better.

I need you.

She had no idea what that meant to me. I needed her more.

I decided in that moment that I wouldn’t say anything about of the possibility of my becoming a father. I would hold on to that information until I knew for sure. I wasn’t willing to lose Harper over a lie Sarah had decided to tell.

Until I had no way of denying the baby was mine, I wouldn’t tell her about it. All I wanted right now was to get lost in Harper and forget about the shitstorm I may be formed to deal with later.

Chapter Twenty-Three

Harper

My phone beeped with an incoming text.

I’m here.

I leapt up from the couch. My quick movements alerted Brutus, and he followed closely behind.

I opened the door to find Easton on the other side. He looked unbelievably sexy in a faded pair of jeans and a snug T-shirt. In a flash he was on me and pinning me against the wall. He gripped my waist as he pressed himself against me.

“Mm,” I moaned as he devoured my neck. “Somebody’s excited.”

“I missed you too, baby,” he whispered as he kissed my chest. “I need you so bad.”

My throat tightened at his words, my stomach fluttered, and my core tensed. “Then take me.”

He needed no further coaxing. He lifted me from the floor, and I hooked my legs around his waist. He kicked the door shut and walked toward my bedroom. Brutus was hot on our heels, and I shooed him away with my hand. He stopped just outside my bedroom, and Easton shut the door to keep him from following.

Moments later, I lay naked on the bed as Easton stood at the end, staring at me. Something was different about him. He looked lost, tense, and distracted. He lowered his jeans and boxers in one swift movement, and in seconds he was hovering above me.

I could feel his erection against my thigh as he ground his hips against mine. “You are so beautiful,” he cooed in my ear. “You make me want so much.”

The entire atmosphere felt surreal. Easton looked at me so intensely, more intensely than anyone ever had. It was something I had never seen before. He began kissing down my chest and circling my stomach with his tongue. When he stopped to place a kiss over my tattoo, my throat ached.

Before I could speak, he was on me, teasing and tasting as he held my thighs apart. I arched my back, gripped his hair, and held him close, losing my thoughts in the pleasure he was giving me. He was ruthless and determined, and my mind was on overload as I screamed his name, falling into a state of oblivion.

When I opened my eyes he was hovering above me, rolling on a condom. He smiled as he slid inside me. It was as if someone had flipped a switch in him, and he was relentless as he drove into me over and over.

“This is real. We are so good together,” he whispered next to my ear as he continued to thrust. My eyes rolled back as a second orgasm began to build. “I want this, I need this.”

I was trying to focus on his words, but the pleasure was overwhelming. “I won’t let you go,” he said.

My body tensed and I screamed out his name, grinding against him.

“Fuck me,” he groaned as he slammed into me one last time. He collapsed against me, breathless and exhausted.

I wasn’t sure how much time had passed, but my limbs were beginning to regain feeling as my blood circulated once again. I could now think a little clearer. Lightly trailing my fingers over his back, I looked down at him. His head was lying on my chest, and his eyes were still closed. I watched his eyelids twitch as he burrowed in a little.

“Is everything okay?” I couldn’t help but ask. Something felt different, but I couldn’t put my finger on it.

“It is now,” he whispered and opened his eyes to meet my gaze. “You make things better.”

I never got emotional, like, ever. Well, at least not in anyone’s presence. But right then I wanted to crawl inside of him and stay there forever. Easton Black was making me feel things I wasn’t sure I was ready for. He was making me want things I had only allowed myself to envy in others.

I chose to keep silent, because I wasn’t sure I could refrain from breaking the tough exterior I’d spent years building. I couldn’t give in, because then I’d become vulnerable, and that was when everything would fall apart.

***

I hugged Jett close and kissed his cheek. “I’m truly happy for both of you,” I said as I released him to offer Quinn a hug as well.

I hadn’t seen them for a few days, and this was my first chance to be able to congratulate them. We were gathered at my parents’ house for dinner and discussing their recent engagement. Jett couldn’t stop smiling, and Quinn was having a hard time keeping the tears at bay.

“You do realize that Mom is going to be throwing wedding dates at you now. She’ll have you married and pregnant within six months,” I said to Quinn, and her eyes went wide.

Of course, all Jett could do was smile. Something told me having Quinn barefoot and pregnant wouldn’t bother him one bit.

“Well, I would hope that you don’t make me wait too long,” my mother said, her eyes gleaming. “All my grandbabies are hundreds of miles away. It would be nice to have a few little ones running around that I could see more often—and spoil.”

“Don’t look at me, I’m not gonna supply any little ones anytime soon. These two are your only hope.” I jabbed my thumb in the direction of Quinn and Jett.

“What about you and Easton?” Quinn stated, and I arched a brow at her. “Hey, it could happen. You never know. Speaking of Easton, where has he been the last few days?”

“He had some things he had to handle in Miami,” I said. “I actually thought he would be back by now. Last night when I talked to him, he sounded exhausted. I just hope everything is okay.” I looked over at Jett. “Have you noticed lately that he seems a little different? I mean like something is bothering him?”

Jett sat quiet for a moment before he met my gaze. “Yeah, maybe a little. The only thing he mentioned was that he was looking for a new manager for the club. He’s probably just stressed.”

“Yeah, maybe.” I still wasn’t convinced, though. It felt like something else was going on.