Chapter Ten
Washing the blood off his hands, Beast stared at his reflection. Someone who betrayed him had to pay the consequences, and the only way to stay ahead was to make sure everyone knew who they were dealing with. He wasn’t a man with much patience.
He changed into a clean shirt, smoothed back his hair, and stepped out of the bathroom.
“The mess has been dealt with,” Caleb said.
“Excellent.” He employed cleaners of the special variety that helped to get rid of bloody mess and dead bodies. Seeing his brother wanted to say something, he paused. “What is it?”
“I got a call from Hammond.”
“Yes.” Hammond was the security detail he’d put on Hope. No matter where she went, someone was near her to keep her safe. He had a lot of enemies. Most of them kept their distance, but he wasn’t willing to take any chances with his woman, so he made sure she was protected at all times. “Is something wrong with Hope?”
“She purchased a pregnancy test at the pharmacy.”
Beast paused. “Excuse me?”
“She’s back at the house. That’s what I’ve been informed, and I figured you should know.”
Pregnant.
He’d hoped she was.
He’d not worn a condom in a very long time. He loved the feel of her naked cunt wrapped around his cock, and he was selfish. He didn’t want to share her with anyone.
Running fingers through his hair, he nodded at Caleb.
“Was this your plan all along?” Caleb asked.
“I think you should stay out of this.”
“I’ve stayed by your side throughout everything, Beast. There’s nothing I wouldn’t do for you. I don’t want to see you get hurt.”
“I won’t get hurt.”
“This girl wants her freedom.”
“You don’t know what she wants, just like you don’t know what that girl wants back at your house.” Beast stared at his brother. He knew all about the girl that was given to Caleb as payment.
It was the same girl Caleb had been asking questions about. “You knew?”
“Of course I knew. I’m not an idiot, Caleb. I didn’t get this far by having people hide shit from me. I’m aware of everything that goes down.” They climbed into the car, and he told the driver to take him home.
“She’s safe when she’s with me.”
“I have no doubt. You’re many things, brother, but a rapist is not one of them,” he said.
Speaking of rapists, he’d already gotten the update that Micah was being taken care of in prison. That fucker had hurt way too many girls, and Beast felt no remorse for sending him down. Some people needed to learn the fucking hard way.
Getting back home, he didn’t wait around, and went straight to Hope’s room. She wasn’t there, and he went to the bathroom, finding the pregnancy test. Moving out of her room, he saw something in the garden, and saw Hope swimming in the pool.
It was freezing cold outside, but he paid to have the pool heated.
Holding onto the stick, he made his way outside, and he nodded at the security guard in the garden to leave. Once they were alone, he moved toward the edge of the pool. Crouching down, he held the test as she swam toward him.
Neither of them said a word, and she just looked at the stick, then at him.
She didn’t come any closer, and he stared at her.
“How did you know?”
“You think I’d let you leave my house unprotected?” he asked.
“I didn’t know.” She stared at the stick. “Someone saw me buying the test?”
“Yes, and I found this in your bathroom.”
She nodded. “I guess it makes sense you finding it. I didn’t know how to tell you, and a text message didn’t seem right.” She frowned.
He put the test down and began to remove his clothes. The chill bit through his body, but he didn’t care. Climbing into the pool was a welcome reprieve as it heated his bones. She stayed still as he advanced toward her.
Standing directly behind her, he placed a hand on her stomach. His baby, their child lay there.
His cock thickened at the thought of her being heavily pregnant with his baby. He couldn’t wait to watch her grow, flourish. The mother of his child.
“We’re going to get married,” he said.
“No.”
“You’re saying no to me.”
“I don’t want to get married. I don’t want this to change anything.”
He pulled her close to him so that she felt the length of his cock pressing against her ass. “No matter how much you don’t want this to change anything, it does. This changes everything, baby. Don’t you get that?” He kissed her neck, sucking on the pulse beating beneath.
She gasped, melting against him.
Tell her.
He’d never told any woman how he felt, and he wasn’t sure he was ready to let her have that kind of power over him.
“I love you, Hope.”
She pulled away from him, spinning around to face him. “No. Don’t say that. Don’t say something you don’t actually mean. I don’t want you to say things you don’t mean.”
Capturing her face, he slammed his lips down on hers, silencing any protest she had. He didn’t want to hear her say shit like that.
Wrapping her wet hair around his fist, he broke the kiss, and glared at her. “Do you really think that I would say shit I don’t mean?”
“I—”
“I’ve never told another woman that I love her. I’ve never given another woman a fucking chance with me. I never loved anyone, don’t you get that? Then you, Hope. I see your nice juicy ass, and you turn to look at me, and I’m fucking lost. I want to see your eyes on me at all times. I crave it, and no woman has ever made me make a fucking fool of myself, and yet here I stand with you. I love you, Hope. You can believe me or not, but you will never tell me what I can and cannot feel. I love you. I’ve loved you even before you told me about the fucking baby. I never knew how to tell you. You’re eighteen. You’re planning a life far away from me, and you think I want to be the lost little puppy?” Tears were in her eyes, and he hated that he’d been the one to put them there. “I’m not a good man.” He stopped. For the first time he felt his own feelings breaking free, rising out of him, demanding a voice, and he couldn’t stop them. “I’ve killed people, and not even thought about it the rest of the day. I’m not a good man, and I know you deserve a hell of a lot better than me, but I can’t give you up. I can do everything else, but I can’t give you up. I won’t.”
He pressed his face to hers. Both of them were panting, and he closed his eyes, stroking the skin at her back near her ass.
Slowly, she wrapped her arms around his neck, and her body pressed against his. The suit she wore covered up everything. “I love you, too. It scares me.”
Taking the straps of her suit, he pulled them down her arms, watching as her tits sprang free.
“You’re mine, Hope. You’ve been mine for a long fucking time, and I’m not going to let you go. Not now, not ever.” He spun her around, placing her hands on the edge of the pool. The sides of the pool were high enough that he didn’t have to worry about anyone seeing her.
Her body belonged to him, and he didn’t want anyone to see how precious she was with her big tits, rounded stomach, and juicy thighs. Not to mention her ass. He fucking loved her ass, and how good it felt nestled against his cock.
“Now, we’re going to get married, and you can still go to college, but it’s going to have to be closer to home so that I can make love to you, and show you just how much I love you. I’m not going to give you up, Hope. Not now, not ever. I don’t want to.” He ran his hand down the front of her body, finding her pussy. Sliding a finger inside her, he discovered how wet she was.
Pulling his finger from her body, he rubbed against her clit. She gasped, and her ass rubbed against his cock.
“Do you want my dick?”
“Yes.”
“Where do you want it?”
“Inside me.”
With his free hand, he grabbed his cock and found her core. Thrusting deep inside her, he teased her clit at exactly the same time.
He thrust inside her, going deeper as he brought her to orgasm. Her tight cunt squeezed him as he filled her. He’d not lied to her.
Beast had fallen in love with her, and now he didn’t want to be without her. Kissing her neck, he breathed her in, knowing he’d do anything to keep her safe within his world.
****
Even though Beast was determined to move fast, buying her a ring, booking the church, Hope didn’t mind. Since he’d discovered she was pregnant, everything had fallen into place somehow. She’d booked a place at the local college, and she liked that she could go home, and not be in a dorm, surrounded by everyone.
She’d wanted to get out of town, but at the same time she didn’t want to leave her mom, and she could go to her graveside, and tell her about the pregnancy. Her plans for Christmas were still the same, and she’d gotten all of their presents.
There were times that Beast still had to go and do his work, and she didn’t question him. She couldn’t.
She loved the man, not what he actually did, and everything felt … perfect.
High school had let out for the day, and she stood waiting for her ride, which was unusual. Normally someone was waiting for her.
Folding her arms across her body, she glanced down at her cell phone and began to play a game.
“So, all the rumors I’m hearing are true?”
Hope looked up to see her aunt, Tay, standing in front of her. She’d not seen her ever since Beast came and picked her up that night. Staring at the woman before her, she didn’t experience any feeling of regret.
This woman had made her life miserable, and she knew her mother had hated her.
“What are you doing here?”
“Came to see what a slut my niece is.”
“You can’t be here.”
“I mean, look at you, screwing around with a known killer. A madman. Your father would be ashamed. Ah, that’s right, you don’t really care about your father.” Aunt Tay cackled. “That’s fine. You see, dearie, that man you’re sleeping with, that man you’re marrying, and that has the whole town whispering behind their hands, he’s the one responsible for losing your mother.”
“What?” She pulled away.
There was alcohol on the woman’s breath, and the stench coming from her made Hope’s stomach flutter. “Your father called me after he shot your mother. I know he shot you, and he told me everything. He told me about his addiction, and that he couldn’t get out. That his skin was crawling, and I asked him who had given him the gun, and he told me Beast Carson had given it to him.”
Hope stared at the woman who’d meant nothing to her. Tears filled her eyes as she saw the joy in Tay’s eyes. This woman got pleasure out of hurting other people.
“I suggest you step away from my woman right now, or I swear to God, I will show these kids just how accurate those fucking rumors are,” Beast said, drawing both of their attention.
She turned to the man she loved more than anything. His gaze was hard, focused on Tay. “Hope, baby, get in the car.”
Nodding her head, she stepped past Tay, who grabbed her arm. “Now you’re having the murderer’s baby.”
She pushed Tay away from her, climbing into the car, ignoring what was going on. Her heart was aching, and her nerves were all over the place.
Seconds passed, and he finally climbed into the car, and she just knew it was true.
He didn’t say anything, and she saw they weren’t heading toward the house but in the direction of the hills out of town. She knew there were cabins that people often rented out to go hunting, not that she’d ever been interested in hunting.
“What’s going on?” she asked.
“I planned to bring you here before Christmas. Work got in the way, but now I think it’s best we have a private discussion with no chance of interruptions.”
She didn’t speak as he drove them toward one of the cabins. Tears fell down her cheeks, and she wiped them away. It hurt her to know that Tay got pleasure out of causing others pain. She’d lived with her for only a short time, but it had been enough to leave a mark.
“Stay,” Beast said, climbing out of the car. She unbuckled her seatbelt, and he was there, taking hold of her hand, and leading her inside one of the luxury cabins. Snow was heavy on the ground, and it looked so romantic, so beautiful, and she felt … numb.
“I think I’m going to be sick.”
He led her toward the bathroom, and she made it just in time as she threw up everything she’d eaten, and a great deal of stuff she hadn’t. Her stomach turned, but after a few minutes, and a glass of water, everything settled down.
Beast made her sit on the sofa as he collected their things. She didn’t have a clue what he’d packed, but right now, she didn’t want to talk about anything. Sipping her water, she watched him bring in two cases before closing and locking the door.
She sat on the chair watching as he held their things, putting them away in one of the bedrooms. Sitting there on the sofa, she felt … strange. Aunt Tay had never liked her. In fact, they’d never liked each other, even when her father had been alive. Tay was such a nasty woman, someone determined to make everyone around her as miserable as she was. She’d even heard the men say that Aunt Tay was great until she opened her mouth, and then everything got spoiled because her bitterness knew no bounds.
Staring down at her hand with her engagement ring, Hope smiled. From that very first moment she saw Beast, there’d been this fire inside her. Even before she realized it herself, she yearned for his touch, desperate for him.
Beast was now hers. She carried his child, and she had his love. They were going to get married, and she didn’t for a second believe it was going to be the most perfect happily ever after, but she believed it was going to be something.
She wanted their life together. She looked forward to being with him every single moment of every single day.
He came back, and took a seat in front of her, taking her hands. She saw the guilt in his eyes, and she hated seeing it there.
“I gave him the gun.”
“I don’t care,” she said, reaching out to touch his face.
She chuckled at the frown and cupped his face, pressing a single kiss against his lips.
“What? You looked so sad.”
She shook her head. “Aunt Tay is a horrible human being. All she wants to do is make everyone around her miserable in a way to justify her own misery. I don’t know. You gave my dad the gun, he paid for it whatever, and he came home, killed my mother, shot me, and killed himself. Do you see the point I’m trying to make?”
“I’m the one responsible for your mother’s death.”
“No. You’re not.” She licked her lips, wondering if she sounded crazy. “It’s … you’re not the one that fired the gun, Beast. It would be like saying that someone who sold a wife her kitchen knives is the real killer of her husband. I can’t think of a really good example right now, but you gave him the gun. You didn’t know what he was going to do. You didn’t think for a second that he was going to go home and kill his wife and try to take his kid.” She smiled at him. “So you gave him a gun. Did you tell him to do what he did next?”
“No. Never.”
“Then you’ve got nothing to feel guilty about. Guns are bought and sold all the time. I don’t blame you. Do I wish you hadn’t given him the gun? I can’t take back what happened. But would I still have my mom? Dad was going to do all those things regardless. It could have been a knife or his hands, or anything.” She took his hand and pressed it against her stomach. “This is all I know. I love you more than anything else in the world, so that I’m changing my life plan to stay with you. I’m going to get married to you, and we’re going to have a beautiful baby. I don’t know if it’s a boy or girl, but I don’t care. I only know that I love you, and I want to spend the rest of my life with you.” She laughed as tears fell down her cheeks. “We’ll probably get a few weird looks. You know, the age gap and all.”
He pulled her close and slammed his lips against hers. “I don’t give a fuck what anyone says, Hope Miller. You are the love of my life, and I’m going to spend the rest of mine loving you, keeping you safe.”
Beast picked her up in his arms and carried her through to the bedroom. “I’ve never belonged to any woman, Hope, but know that I am yours. Every single part of me is yours. I love you more than anything else in the world.”
“Now you’re really making me cry.”
He lowered her to the bed and took her lips as he ran his hands over her body.
“I was just existing before I saw you in my library. Not a moment goes by that I’m not grateful you were tutoring Dwayne.”
She truly believed it was the best decision she had ever made. Her love for this man knew no bounds, and it wasn’t just a crush either. Her future was tied to him, and it was a life she intended to enjoy.