“See ya, Mathews!” Jerald calls out.
“Later.” I throw a wave over my shoulder as I walk out the automatic doors of St. Margaret’s Hospital. I’m almost to my truck when I see Ryan walking through the parking lot toward me, ready to start his shift.
Not in the mood to shoot any shit, I hit my key fob and throw him a wave, too. I’m about to climb in when he reaches my truck and starts talking.
“Is it true?” he asks.
I sigh and turn around, leaning my back against the bed.
“I heard Zeke’s back.” He leans against the car behind him.
There aren’t enough ways to describe how much I really don’t want to do this. Talk about it, hell, even think about it. It was a struggle to simply get through my shift when every inch of my body is screaming at me to get back to Liv and Rose. To make sure that fucker has stayed away. Christ, I honestly don’t know what the fuck is going to happen now that he’s back. I run a hand through my hair.
“Yeah,” I respond, watching his green eyes glow with disbelief, “it’s true, all right. The idiot showed up at Liv’s yesterday morning. Banging on the door and acting like he had every god damn right to be there.” I laugh humorlessly. Fuck, I wish I’d hit him harder.
Ryan whistles, eyeing the bruising on my face. “Shit, sounds like rough times ahead, man.” His brows furrow. “The hell you gonna do?”
I shrug. “Short of trying to keep him away, I’ve got no fucking idea. But the guy’s crazy if he thinks he can just come back here and act like nothing ever happened. Like he didn’t leave her pregnant and alone to raise a baby all by herself.”
Ryan nods. “Yeah, I’d want the same thing as you. Hell, I do. But …” he trails off, scratching his head for a beat, “I’ve known him for years; we went to school together. None of us ever thought he’d do something like this, especially to Liv. I dunno; maybe he has a reason?” He tips one shoulder up.
I knew they were friends, but shit. What the guy did was so bad that I’d disown his ass in a heartbeat if he were my so-called friend. Dude could’ve acted like Mary fucking Poppins his whole life; it doesn’t make the severity of what he did any better. I couldn’t give a fuck if he had a reason anyway.
“Maybe.” I look away, wanting to leave. To get in my truck and just drive until this chaos cluttering my mind clears.
“Either way, man. I heard you two are pretty serious now, so I hope he doesn’t fuck shit up for you.” He straightens, flicking his chin at me and having zero idea that he’s just voiced my biggest fear. “Let me know if you need anything; friend or not, I don’t agree with the shit he’s put Liv through.”
I simply nod and watch as he walks away.
I climb into the cab of my truck and start it, reversing out and making my way down the main road which branches off the highway that runs out of town. Which, if I’m being honest, is exactly what I feel like doing right now—grabbing Liv and Rose and getting the fuck outta here. Heading someplace where he can’t find us. Guilt assaults me as soon as I think of Rose, though. He’s her real dad, her flesh and blood. The one who helped create the baby girl who owns my heart and soul.
The thought of him and Liv together has me wanting to bash my head against the steering wheel. How he could leave her behind is beyond me; he’s a fucking idiot. But whether I like it or not, he’s decided to come back and try to take back what isn’t his anymore. I can’t let him do that; every fiber of who I am knows I can’t just give in. I know Liv, though. I saw the scraps of a woman he left behind. She might not fall at his feet and praise the Lord he’s back, but she won’t stop him from stepping back into her life at some point.
Because of Rose.
Christ, especially after she grew up not knowing a thing about the guy who had a hand in creating her. And can I really stop her? No. I might be selfish in wanting to keep them both to myself, but I know deep down that even I’m not so selfish as to keep a child from her biological father.
Sure, when I first found out that Liv was pregnant, I was shocked as fuck. I mean I wasn’t only insanely attracted to her—I can’t even describe it really—but something about her just called to something within me. Sunk its hooks in and wouldn’t let go. But I stepped back, fully intending to back off and stay out of something that wasn’t my business. And that might’ve worked if it weren’t for one thing. It was too damn late, and I couldn’t get her out of my fucking head. I never dreamed I’d be lucky enough for her to let me inside her broken heart. I just knew I needed her in my life however she’d allow that to happen. And when Rose arrived? God, it was surreal. That immediate, overwhelming love I felt as soon as I first set my eyes on her was as if she were my very own. I honestly don’t think I can live without either of them.
I flick my turn signal on to turn onto their street. I never usually show up after I’ve pulled an all-nighter, but I’ve subconsciously ended up here anyway.
The sun is just starting to crawl above the horizon as I park my truck on the street. I close my door quietly, trying not to disturb the sleeping neighborhood. Walking in the door, I turn the lock, put my keys down on the counter, and stalk down the hallway to Liv’s room. Stripping out of my clothes, I take my glasses off, climb in on the other side of the bed, and just watch her sleep as my head spins in circles of anxiety.
Her dark lashes rest peacefully above her slightly sculpted cheekbones. Her perfect mouth blows out puffs of air while she’s lost in a world far away from this one. At least I think she is until those green eyes are open and staring straight at me.
“Hey,” she whispers, her voice husky with sleep.
I smile. “Sorry, go back to sleep.”
“It’s okay; I only got up once with Rose a few hours ago. What are you doing here?”
“It just kind of happened. Sorry.”
“Don’t apologize. It’s just that you usually go home after working all night. You okay?” She looks as if she’s just remembered why I might be showing up in her bed at five a.m. in the morning.
Her curious gaze softens as she moves to my chest. Kissing my throat, she whispers, “It’ll be okay.”
I blow out a huge breath, wrapping my arm around her and rubbing my hand over the smooth skin of her back under her shirt.
“How can you be so sure?”
“Because … I’ve got you.”
We lay in silence for a few minutes.
“Fuck, I feel like a dick. I should be the one reassuring you. Making sure you’re okay.”
She laughs lightly, the sound causing my cock to harden.
“You’ve done that for me already, Sebastian. And I’ll get through this, especially with you by my side.”
My gut churns as I think about what’s to come. What he’s going to try to take from me. I know I’m not jumping to conclusions. A man knows when something necessary to his survival is suddenly threatened.
“I can’t ever lose you, Liv.” I breathe into her hair. “But fuck if I know how to deal with this. He’s …” I swallow. “Her dad.”
She raises her head. “Okay, enough.” She presses her lips to mine. “No sense in worrying about what-ifs when we can do that in a few hours after the sun’s high in the sky.” Her voice lowers to a husky whisper. “I’d much rather do something else right now, anyway.” Her hand trails a path over my stomach down to my briefs, where my cock is already hard and waiting. Then she’s disappearing under the covers, pulling my boxer briefs down my legs. Her soft hand wraps around my length, followed by her mouth. My eyes drift closed at the feel of her warm, wet lips and tongue as she starts sucking, taking as much of me into her mouth as she can. I groan and push the covers back to watch her in the early morning light that’s starting to filter through the cracks of her curtains.
Yeah, maybe worrying can wait a few more hours.
I pull her up my body, gripping the hem of her shirt and tugging it over her head. Her brown hair tumbles down to half cover those beautiful tits. My hands cup them, thumbs rubbing softly over the stiff peaks of her nipples as she gazes down at me. I watch as her green eyes cloud over with lust and her breathing picks up. Fuck me; I love that I put that look there.
One of my hands drifts down to rub her through her panties. “Off,” I whisper. She complies, rolling off me a little to drag them down her long legs and flick them to the floor. I pull her back over my waiting cock, a shiver racing down my spine as she starts to rub herself over me.
I can’t take it anymore, and luckily, I don’t have to. Liv aligns herself and slowly sinks down, working me slowly inside her tight, warm heat.
I sit up, needing some semblance of control. I grab her head and bring her lips to mine as my other arm wraps tight around her waist. My tongue desperately seeks hers as I help move her over me. She moans into my mouth, causing another shiver to tingle up my spine and my balls to tighten.
She pulls away. “Seb, it’s … it’s too much.”
Yet she doesn’t stop riding me.
“Want to stop?” I smirk.
Her eyes widen. “No, shit, don’t stop.”
I keep her held tight to my chest, rocking up into her. I move her hair to kiss my way up the side her neck, nipping and sucking as I go until I reach her ear. “The thought of him near you, touching you, trying to take back what he threw away. Trying to take what’s mine … It’s driving me insane. I just want to fucking crawl underneath your skin and erase every part of him,” I rasp.
She pauses her movements, grabbing the sides of my face to meet her burning gaze. “You already have; it’s only you,” she breathes.
I stare into her eyes, eyes that beg me to believe her. And I do. I just pray to God it stays that way. I take her lips in a brutal kiss before flipping her onto her back and pounding into her like a man possessed. Hell, maybe I am; it sure as fuck feels like it. This need to make sure she knows exactly who she belongs to now has me taking her harder than I ever have before. She doesn’t complain—fuck, no. Her pussy begins to clamp down on my cock within minutes as her cries increase in volume. I smother them with my mouth, grabbing one of her still quivering legs to spread her wider and allow me deeper inside. Pounding into her relentlessly as my vision clouds over with the force of my impending orgasm.
“Fuck, yes.” My balls draw up tight; my thrusts start to slow as she rakes her nails up and down my back, and I release every last drop of me inside her. Marking her as mine like an animal trying to ward off potential threats.
She’s soon laying on my chest, drifting off to sleep with my fingers weaving through her hair. And despite feeling better now, with her in my arms, I know I won’t be able to ignore what happened yesterday, and the determination that emanated from every inch of that fucker.