Anger flowed through my veins, directed at two of the four men in this room. One who was warm against my shoulder, the other who I wanted to slap upside the head. What the hell was Riley thinking? This was so much to process. Paxton took my money to protect me from something my brother dragged me into. My mind was still angry while my heart was filled with the warmth of Paxton’s love and concern.

“Look, we don’t know it’s even the…” He looked at Onyx who shook his head once. “...asshole’s kid or mine. I’m not givin’ up my kid, Laurel.”

“Your damn dick wasn’t supposed to be anywhere near Melanie,” Onyx growled out, sending cold chills up my arms. I snuggled further into Pax, needing some of his heat. “Melanie, you fuckin’ signed a contract, and you’d better hope like hell that baby is not the man’s next to you.”

Fear spiked in the woman, and I had an urge to go to her and hug her, but Riley did it instead. “Stop threatening her,” Riley challenged, and Onyx took two strides to get right in front of him, grabbing him by the collar of his shirt. Riley moved to his tiptoes as Onyx’s arms bulged. My instincts screamed to stand up and help my brother. My brain told me to stay seated. Riley got us into this mess, I didn’t need to try to get him out of it. But if Onyx was going to hurt him, I wouldn’t just sit here watching it unfold.

“Let’s me make somethin’ crystal motherfuckin’ clear to you.” I felt myself moving away from Pax, but he wrapped his arm around me, holding me to the spot. His arm or not, I wouldn’t allow my brother to be hurt. “You fucked this up for her. You fucked this up for us. That fancy shit you’ve been buyin’? That’s his fuckin’ money. Money that he’s gonna take out of your fuckin’ hide if that kid isn’t his. And take out of whoever is associated with you.”

It was my turn to feel the fear and horror.

“He won’t just kill you. He’ll skin you a-fuckin-live and make Melanie watch. He’ll still take the fuckin’ baby and put both of you underground. Then he’ll go after the only family that will miss you—your fuckin’ sister, and make her grave next to yours. You fuckin’ want that shit on your shoulders? Too late, you already put it on. Now shut the fuck up.”

Onyx released my brother and stepped away from him. Worry flashed in my brother’s gaze, like he was getting the depths of this situation. Hell, I was knocked back by it too.

“What have you gotten me involved in Riley?”

His stricken face came to mine as Melanie grabbed his hand, getting close to him. I already didn’t like her, knowing it took two to make a baby and she was just as willing as Riley was, I wanted to throttle them both. Judging from the size of her though, she’d pop at any moment and I didn’t need that piled on my shit plate too.

“I’m sorry, Laurel, I didn’t mean for you to be anywhere near this,” Riley told me remorsefully.

“Yeah, she is. Right smack in the fuckin’ middle because you’re both fuckin’ stupid as hell.” Pax shook his head, turning his attention to the pregnant woman. “One job, Melanie. Have a kid. Our guy’s kid, not his, and you fucked it up.”

“I’m sorry…”

Pax threw up his hand, silencing her. The room got eerily quiet, and I had another question. Looking up at Paxton, I asked, “So how did you get hurt then?”

“I happened to be at the wrong place at the wrong time. Enemies located Melanie and want the baby for themselves. They had guns, hence the bullet wounds.” The answer short and to the point. I didn’t like it.

“How did you get away?”

“Damn, I love your questions.” He smiled down at me. “Distractions, babe.” Paxton gave a slight nod in appreciation of my brother. “Riley went to get help, and the guys came. End of story.”

“Oh it is so not the end of the story,” I fired back, pulling away from him. “There’s more to this shit.”

“That’s pretty much it, Laurel,” my brother chimed in, and I felt the urge to punch him in the face, hard. We were always close, but this was the stupidest thing he could’ve done. I felt it. I knew there was more and they just weren’t telling me.

Ignoring him, I turned back to Pax. “So your business is sell babies?”

He chuckled and so did Onyx. The big man looked so much more relaxed for a brief moment.

“Not like what you’re probably thinkin’, angel.” He paused. “Our clients want specific things for their child. We provide them. They pay us, we take excellent care of the surrogate, baby’s born and goes to the parents.”

This baffled me. “So why with all the secrecy? People use surrogate mothers all the time. Even celebrities are going public with their surrogacy stories. Why not just advertise what you’re doing?”

“Let’s continue this upstairs,” Paxton said as Garrett came over and helped him up.

“You gonna make it up there, Pax?” he asked him as Onyx stood by, ready to step in and help.

“Yeah, man. I’ve got this.” Garrett gave a nod, and I rushed to Pax’s side. His arm went around my shoulders. “One thing I should’ve installed in this place was an elevator. That’ll be next on the list.” Chuckles were heard around and when we made it to the door, I heard Onyx barking out orders at my brother. He was safe here, and I needed more answers. Riley I could deal with later.

Helping Paxton to the bed, he went down with ease and let out a calming breath. He was home. He was safe. All the fear I had and emotions while he was gone were calmed in that breath he took.

“Do you need me to get you anything?”

He patted the bed. “You next to me, angel. Fuckin’ missed you.”

I climbed into bed, resting my head on his chest and feeling his breathing in and out. Something settled inside of me finally hearing this after thinking I wouldn’t hear it again. My hand clasped his shirt, and he grunted. “Did I hurt you?”

“Nah, it’s the other arm, just gettin’ comfortable.”

Concern filled me, the instinct to take care of him rode me hard, but I stayed exactly where I was, needing answers. He didn’t speak, and I thought for a moment he fell asleep. “Pax?”

“Hmm.” The sound was as if he was in a daze. He could daydream later. I needed to understand his life. Obviously, there was more going on than his accounting firm.

“Tell me what I want to know.” I poked his ribs and instantly felt horrible about it. Hell, the man just got shot, had surgery, and I was poking him. “I’m sorry.” It was my turn to blow out a breath. I just didn’t know how to handle him, handle any of this.

“Love your fire, angel.” I settled a bit.

“I want to understand.”

“What we do has to be under radar. We have strict rules that everyone must abide by. As you can see in this scenario, those weren’t done and look where we are. Our clients want this hidden for whatever reason they have, and we give them that anonymity. The surrogates and parents do not meet. There are no legal papers being signed and put into the system of adoption or giving up the rights. The surrogate knows going in they’re giving the baby up. That it’s not theirs. They get paid very well for doing this.”

“But how do they explain a baby all the sudden?”

He kissed the top of my head. “Some wives actually wear pads under their clothes so people see them as the pregnant one. Some live their lives normally while others go into hiding.”

“Hiding?” This was all so much to process. The lengths some people went to for a family, a baby, was astounding, but I could understand it.

“As long as they follow the rules, we don’t give a shit how they handle it. Each one of our clients have different reasons for coming to us for help. That’s on them how they play it out. And they do because just showing up with a baby one day doesn’t exactly work.”

“So why don’t they just go the legal route?”

“It’s not as easy as one thinks legally. There are certain legal rights surrogate mothers have for the children even if they aren’t biologically theirs. The surrogate can legally change their mind at any given time during the pregnancy, and even after birth, they have seventy-two hours to change their minds. There are so many legalities to the process. When a couple comes to us, they don’t have this. Everything is laid out, cut and dry. Money is paid, contracts signed, and the process begins. They are given updates on the baby as the pregnancy progresses. After nine months, or whatever term the pregnancy makes it to, they get a call with a location. At that location they are given their baby with the file containing a birth certificate and any other important information. They don’t have to worry about anyone coming back and saying they are the mother.”

“But how is that possible? I know if I had a child I would want to know him or her.”

He shrugged his shoulders. “They get paid very well and vetted before they are considered an option. To this day, we haven’t had a single mother come back and request a child they carried. In Pennsylvania, the law is that a ‘traditional surrogate’ cannot be paid for carrying a baby. The way we do it, they do and well.”

“Wow. That’s crazy.”

“It’s really not. We’re giving babies to families that want them more than their next breath. If you were a child growing up in a family like that, wouldn’t that be a fantastic life for you?”

I lifted up, my chin resting on his chest. “That’s why you do it. Because after your grandma had to surrender you and then died, you wanted other kids to have happy homes.”

He expelled a deep breath. “I think about my reasoning a lot. Unlike some of my partners, I know what it’s like to live in a happy home, then get tossed into a system that gave not one shit. It’s good to have a kid wanted.” He paused like he was thinking hard. “And the money is damn good.”

Pax laughed, and I followed behind.

“It’s like you’re a fairy godmother.”

Pax pulled me down to him, a hairs-breath parting our lips. “I’ll show you exactly how un-godmotherly I am.” Our mouths touched, and sparks ignited in the room so bright it was the fourth of July on crack. Half of my body rested on his as we tasted each other. His lips were so damn soft, completely unlike his hard body.

Wetness pooled below.

“You rubbin’ that hot as fuck pussy on my hip isn’t gonna work, angel. I need inside you.”

Cold water fell on my head. I got so lost in my needs I didn’t think about his injuries. “You just were shot and had surgery. We can’t.”

He smiled wide. “Oh, angel, two shots will never keep me from making you mine.”

He pulled me on top of him and I straddled my legs wide, trying not to touch his hip or leg. It was a struggle, but with him kissing me I lost train of thought.

One of his hands threaded through my hair, giving a tug, and pulling my head back. “Need you to hop off and get us both naked.”

I moved away and stared down at him. God, I wanted him for so long, always knowing this would take root. It was destiny or fate, I wasn’t sure which. Slowly, I removed my clothes, and Pax’s eyes dilated and breathing became harsh. For a large man, seeing him so turned on gave me a power I never knew I possessed.

“Me,” he growled out, reaching down with one hand to start pulling his sweatpants off. I shook my head and moved my hands to his waistband, slowly pulling them down. The large bandage stared back at me along with his hard cock jetting up.

“I’m fine.” He broke through my turmoil on whether or not this was the right thing to do. How he knew me so damn well, I’d never know.

“I don’t want to hurt you.”

“Yeah, you do. The slap didn’t do it, though. Get up here and ride me, angel.”

Instead of listening, I enveloped his cock in my mouth, having to stretch and control my gag reflex.

“Fuck!” he groaned, his hips moving up along with a few sounds of pain. This was a bad idea. I could hurt him more. If I got him off quick with my mouth and let him rest, we could do more when he felt better.

How was it that you hated someone one minute then the next you wanted to fuck their brains out?

A hand grabbed under my arm and hauled me up to his hard body. “Love your mouth takin’ my cock, but right now, he needs inside of you. I need inside of you.”

“Pax, I don’t think …” His finger came to my lips.

“That’s the problem. Stop thinkin’ and start feelin’.”

He moved me down, his cock right at my opening and ready to go in. “Laurel, I’m gonna give you every fuckin’ thing I’ve got.”

He thrust inside of me, my arms going to the sides of his face trying to get some kind of balance. I was so full of him, and it was better than I’d ever imagined. Late at night when I’d be alone, he’d flitter through my head, but nothing, not one fantasy, matched the real thing. We were all grown up now, and this wasn’t my first time that I didn’t know what to think or feel.

His hips pushed up rapidly as sweat covered his face. He hurt. Shit. Taking over and using my knees, I rode him hard, up and down. He watched himself enter and leave me over and over again, the look of pure desire right there for me to see. It was a beautiful sight. Fuck, I was so screwed.

Pax gripped my hips with one of his hands helping me come down hard on him, our pelvic bones crashing together. “Fuck it,” he growled, bringing both hands to my hips, then jetting his hips up in the air. The movements had my eyes falling in the back of my head. The spots inside of me had never been touched before because I’d remember that.

My head lulled back, and it took everything to hold it up. I tried to help, but Pax was in charge. The crest was right there, right in my grasp. Fingers stroked my clit and I burst hard and hot, screaming his name. He pressed hard into me, grunting and unloading himself.

I fell to the side trying to catch my breath, feeling Paxton’s breathing the same. Looking up at him, the smile I’d come to thoroughly enjoy was right there for me, and I kissed him.

When we pulled away, Paxton’s face pinched with pain. Looking over at his dressings, there was blood seeping out of them and down to the bed. “Fuck!” I jumped up, opening the door and yelling, “Onyx, Garrett, call a doctor.”

I tossed a t-shirt on quickly then ran into the bathroom and grabbed towels. Loud stomping came up the stairs, but I already had the wounds covered with the cloth.

“Couldn’t fuckin’ wait, could you?” Garret said, coming beside me. “Fucker.”

“Been waitin’ too fuckin’ long as it is.”

My heart warmed, and I wished like hell he wasn’t bleeding, because I could go for round two.