The Billionaire's Reluctant Pregnant Bride: A BWWM Romance Page 12

  I walk right past the hostess to the back of the restaurant. She follows behind, telling me to stop. But I don’t until I’m in his private room in the back.

  I rip open the screen door. Preston is sitting on a tatami mat behind a beautiful ink painting of three mountains.

  “I am sorry, Mr. Easterbrook. I could not stop her,” the woman says.

  “It’s fine, Sakura. I’ll take it from here.”

  She looks at me. “Are you sure?”

  “Yes. Thank you for your concern.”

  Sakura bows and backs off.

  I take off my shoes, glaring as I step into the room. Slowly, I shut the sliding door behind me.

  He folds his hands on top of the table. “To what do I owe the pleasure?”

  “You really gonna pull that shit with me?”

  He folds his hands on his desk.

  “We got off the phone thirty minutes ago.”

  “A lot can happen in thirty minutes.”

  “Not that much.”

  “That’s unfortunate. I was hoping you’d have come to see things from my side.”

  His side? His side? Really? Who the hell did he think I was? A raving lunatic?

  “You can’t do this to me.”

  “I can’t do what?”

  “You can’t kick me out of my apartment.”

  “I just did. Well, you have 48 hours to vacate. I think I was generous considering you were breeding vermin.”

  What the hell! One hamster is not breeding vermin!

  I step towards him. He’s leaning back in his fancy suit. The first few buttons of his shirt are undone. It’s a thin shirt, too. Thin enough for me to see his muscle definition and…

  Oh fuck.

  I am not going there with him? Am I? I glare at him huffing, when I notice it. And once I do, I wonder how I could not have noticed it immediately. The unfocused look in his eyes, the way his hands are tightened into fists, his bobbing Adam’s apple, and, oh yeah, his raging boner that looks like it is going to burst out of his pants at any second like a jack-in-the-box.

  Holy shit.

  This is starting to make sense.

  I glare at him. “Do you want to fuck me?”

  He runs his tongue over his front teeth. “What are you trying to accomplish here, Tachell?”

  “I’m trying to get you to be honest for once.” I look back down at his massive cock. “You want to fuck me. Admit it.”

  He looks up at me, one part reverence, one part irritation. “I don’t think you’d like my honesty.”

  “You’re right. I don’t. Because it’s dirty.”

  His eyes blaze.

  “You want to fuck me bad, don’t you? That’s what this is about. You don’t like Clarence because he’s currently fucking me and you’re not.”

  His jaw clenches.

  I laugh, shaking my head. “I can’t believe I didn’t see it before. All this noble talk about how other guys aren’t good for me. So what kind of sick asshole are you? You into doing and controlling girls you hate?”

  “I—I don’t hate you,” he whispers, choked.

  Sure. I lean over, giving him a nice view of my cleavage which he takes in generously. “I bet that if I offered myself right here, right now, for you to do whatever you wanted with for thirty minutes, you’d take me up on it.”

  His eyes dip to my lips, back up to my eyes. Losing focus. “Are you offering?”

  Suddenly, I can’t think. Why the hell did I bend over? Now we’re too close. I’m losing the upper hand. God, how I hate this man! He means nothing to me. Has never meant anything to me. I shouldn’t be swayed like this, as if he were the one playing me!

  Stay on target. “You’re jealous,” I whisper.

  He tilts his head instead of answering, his eyes moving down my body like he owns it once more.

  “And what if I was?” he asks. “What would that mean to you?”

  “It would mean that you are even more of an asshole than I thought. You can’t have me, so you kick me out of my house? What am I, a doll to you?”

  “No. I’d never think of you that way.”

  “Yeah. That’s not why you’re trying to get me to prostitute myself for my room and board.”

  Anger flashes in his eyes. “I never said that.”

  “Oh really? So if I said I’d fuck you right now if it meant I could stay in my apartment, would you do it?”

  His fists tighten as he takes in my body once again.

  Unbelievable. “You know what, I don’t care. I really don’t. I’m going to go home and figure things out with Clarence. We’re moving to a new place. Where I will be fucking him every single night.”

  With that I turn, ready to leave the room.

  Unfortunately, Preston has other plans. I hear a growl from behind seconds before I’m grabbed, spun around, and crashed into Preston’s muscular chest.

  “Don’t taunt me,” he whispers in my ear.

  I shiver. “Go fuck yourself. I’m in love with Clarence.”

  “I don’t care,” he says. “I’ll buy it.”

  “What?”

  He lets go and steps back, a dark, devilish grin playing across his lips. “If you move with him into a new place, I’ll buy it.”

  “What the hell? You can’t do that!”

  “Oh, Easterbrook Management is interested in expanding its operations.”

  No! “Then I’ll keep moving. You can’t buy the entire city!”

  His eyes blaze. “I’ll buy the entire fucking city if I have to!”

  Things are spiraling downhill, fast! And he’s…he’s…

  Desire radiates off him, making me tremble. I should hate him for this. I do hate him for this. But I’m also turned on. Way more turned on than I have any right to be or should be. There’s something about being the center of this powerful man’s attention that is the biggest aphrodisiac I’ve ever experienced. Most women do not say no to this man, and not because he blackmails them. Women go after him because they want him to look at them the way he’s currently looking at me—like they’re the only thing on his brilliant mind, the only thing he wants to gaze at with those beautiful eyes.

  Oh, he wants me.

  Very, very, very bad.

  And a part of me, a traitorous, dirty, dangerous part, wants to give in.

  Just then, the sliding door opens again.

  “What the fuck is going on in here?”

  Preston and I turn quickly to find Reggie in the doorway.

  I point at Preston, suddenly eager to put as much distance between us as possible. “He started it!”

  Preston looks like he just got caught popping one of my doll’s heads off.

  Reggie knows what side to pick. “What the hell are you doing to my sister?” he asks, voice dark and low.

  Preston sighs, running a hand through his hair. “She and I were discussing a recent acquisition.”

  “Yeah, that’s one way to put it.” I cross my arms over my chest. “He evicted me and Clarence from our apartment!”

  Reggie’s eyes bug out. “What?”

  “She had a hamster in the apartment,” Preston says, and even he knows how stupid that sounds now that he’s in front of my brother. “It was against the rules.”

  Reggie, awesome bro that he is, doesn’t give a shit. “You kicked my little sister?”

  “I offered her a new place, one that allows hamsters,” Preston continues.

  “Yeah, and all I have to do is live there alone without Clarence,” I tell my brother. I leave out the other thing we talked about. I’m going to actually pretend like that other part never even happened.

  Reggie glares at Preston. “Tachell, you and Clarence can live with me until we get this settled.”

  “I think that’s a great idea,” Preston announces.

  What the hell? HELL NO! “Reggie, This has nothing to do with hamsters. Preston is just trying to split me and Clarence up for some creepy reason.”

  My brother’s mouth thins. �
��He’s just worried about you, Tachell.”

  Now it’s my turn to glare at him. “What the hell is that supposed to mean.”

  “Just that you haven’t been interested in a guy before.” He glances at Preston hesitantly. “You two are moving awfully fast.”

  “Fast? I’m an adult. We’re in love. There’s nothing fast about this.”

  “I know Clarence loves you, sweetie. He’d have to be a fool not to,” Reggie continues. “It’s just…sometimes love isn’t enough.”

  I can’t believe what I’m hearing. “You don’t think he’s good for me.”

  “I think he’s got some growing up to do,” Reggie says.

  Preston coughs. “Yeah. Some.”

  I glare at Preston. Damn him! Why does he have to be here to hear this! Wait a minute…I whip my head back to Reggie. “You haven’t been talking to Preston about me and Clarence, have you?”

  Reggie suddenly looks very guilty.

  “I can’t believe this,” I shout. “I can’t believe either of you!”

  My sex life was none of their businesses! This was such a breach of privacy…I just couldn’t believe it. I don’t know what I should feel in a situation like this, so betrayed by two men I loved and cared about. No one man I loved and cared about, another I just happened to grow up with, who I just happened to…

  No. I wouldn’t go there!

  I grab my shoes and race out of the restaurant while Reggie lamely calls for me to come back. II wasn’t going to let anyone think they could get me down. Preston might own the city, but he didn’t own me. And he never would.

  Chapter 19

  Kate rubs my arm. “Tachell? You okay?”

  I’m hugging myself on the couch, shaking. Sexy tattooed pizza guy is there with the pizzas, reassuring me. He, thankfully, threw Clarence’s ass out. I never wanted to see that fucker again.

  However, I wasn’t so sure I wanted to see Reggie or Preston again, either.

  I shut my eyes. “Sorry Kate…I…I just remembered something.”

  “Oh my god! Was it something big?” she asks.

  “Yeah.”

  “And…it doesn’t sound like it was good.”

  I shake my head. “It wasn’t.”

  “Oh no. Was it about Preston?”

  I look up at her. “How did you know?”

  “Something big and not good? Come on, what else could it be about? My brother is an asshole.”

  I take a deep breath. “Your brother is more than that.”

  “Okay, you gotta spill.”

  “Alright, but I’ll do it on the way back. There’s something we need to do.”

  We burst through the doors with the pizza. The men are exhausted on the couch. Sondra and my mother are having a nice iced lemonades with a little umbrellas poking out the top and a long straws. Preston always adds those things to drinks he makes. I wonder if he made it for them—

  I shake my head. No. I would not let him sway me. I’d made up my mind. He and I were gonna talk.

  “Tachell,” he whispers, all sexy and hot, pulling me into his arms and pressing his lips against my forehead.

  I push him away. “Bedroom. Now.”

  His eyes go wide. He glances at the guests. “Are you sure, they’re—”

  “Oh, we are not having sex in there.”

  “You better not,” my brother growls from the couch. “Not until after the wedding.”

  Alright…what the fuck?

  The room goes silent. Everyone’s eyes turn to Reggie, mouths agape.

  Finally, I’m the one who breaks the silence. “What the hell, Reggie? I’m moving in. What do you think that means?”

  “It means that you’re seeing if you’ll suit. Not that you’re…” he shudders. He turns to point an accusatory finger at Preston. “You’re not allowed to touch her until after the wedding, Preston. You hear me?”

  How did this conversation get so weird all of a sudden? Preston looks like he wants to go hide in the closet. My mom looks like she’s about to smack Reggie’s head. Kate is laughing.

  “Brother, I hate saying it like this, but the damage has already been done. I’m pregnant.”

  Reggie straightens his back. “That has nothing to do with the principal of it.”

  Oh dear lord. Here we go! I swear to God, by the time the wedding has come around he’s going to have convinced himself that this was an immaculate conception, and that all our future children would be immaculate conceptions.

  I shake my head. Don’t get distracted by the random crazy. I glare at Preston. “I ran into someone at the pizza joint today.”

  Kate nods. “Yeah. Clarence. And he sparked a very unpleasant memory.”

  Preston and Reggie suddenly look guilty.

  Very guilty.

  And, for some reason, Sondra looks a little guilty too.

  My eyes narrow. Oh my God! This was the big thing she refused to tell me earlier about Preston—the one that she thought might shape my opinion of him. Well, guess what? She was right! He is and was and will always be an asshole, and I can’t believe she purposefully kept this from me!

  “I can’t believe you kicked her out of her own apartment just because she was living there with some dude that wasn’t you!” Kate yells in her brother’s face. “How could you? What kind of man are you?”

  “Hey, why are you so mad at me?” Preston asks Kate.

  “Because you are an asshole!” Kate yells back.

  Sondra stands. “Look, I think we all need to calm down. I’ll be the first to admit that Preston did some really unpleasant things in the past, but his heart was in the right place. Sort of. Well, okay maybe not, but we can all at least admit that he is really into Tachell!”

  Silence.

  Sondra cringes. “Damn, I don’t think I convinced anyone there.”

  My nostrils flare. Normally when I get angry, I control the impulse because it just looks weird. But do you know what? I no longer care if Preston gets nightmares from my angry face. In fact, I’d love it if he did! I glare at him with the power of a thousand suns and boom, “All of you, out! I’m pissed, but I’ll eventually forgive you. There’s only one person who I cannot forgive.” I point at Preston. “You and I aren’t done here. Not even close.”

  Then, my mom starts laughing.

  “Oh boy,” she chuckles. “You got it bad!”

  “Mother!” I scream.

  “Look, what he did was wrong. No one’s gonna say otherwise, sweetie. And it wasn’t just wrong it was unnatural. But…just look at him. All that anguish you put him through is really the best revenge, isn’t it?”

  I tilt my head to the side. “I think he needs a little more anguish. And I also don’t know if I want to be with someone who would do that to another person.”

  My mother nods. “Well, those are good points too. I stand by your decision, whatever it is Tachell. Should we start carrying back down these boxes?”

  “No,” I say. “I’m moving in. Preston can sleep on the couch.”

  Reggie steps forward, beaming. “I think this is a really good idea. I think he should stay on the couch until the wedding, maybe even move out and get his own place—”

  My mom puts her hand on Reggie’s shoulder. “Stop it, sweetie. This is between them. They will work it out, or they won’t. But you just need to stop, son. Preston isn’t the only one here being…unnatural.”

  And that was how Preston and I started sleeping separately before our lives had even really begun.

  Chapter 20

  I’m alone.

  The sheets feel oddly cold. I tell myself it’s silly, that I’ve just gotten used to things being a certain way, but it doesn’t help. The strange thing is, most of my nights since suffering from amnesia have been spent with him. My body is used to his. It takes comfort in his rising and falling chest. In the way he protectively holds my body next to his as we both drift into sleep.

  Maybe it’s because I felt his hand in the dark when I was in the hospital. His fi
ngers entwining in mine, squeezing gently. Maybe before I even saw him, he’d already left an imprint on my soul.

  I sigh. Maybe I’m thirsty? A glass of water. Yes, That’s what I needed to clear my mind.

  I slip into the hallway, careful to keep the door quiet as I open it. I don’t want to wake him. But as I tiptoe down the hall, I see a light from under the door of his office.

  What?

  Gently, I push open the door.

  Preston is bent over his desk. His tight white shirt clings to his body. His white boxers give me a very delicious look at his hard ass and sculpted legs. But it’s what he’s working on that really gets my attention.

  It’s a building. He’s started inking, but he hasn’t finished yet. All I can see clearly is the left side. The entrance looks warm and inviting, and he’s so expertly rendered the trees out front that the leaves seem to be moving.

  I can’t help myself. I must know what this is. “What are you working on?”

  He turns suddenly. “Oh, Tachell. I didn’t realize you were awake.” He wipes his hands on his shirt. “I didn’t wake you, did I?”

  “No. Just couldn’t sleep.”

  He looks down at his work, shrugging. “Neither could I.”

  “So you decided to…start drawing?”

  “Yeah. I often can’t sleep, so I figure I might as well get some work done when it happens.”

  I step towards him. “You slept fine with me.”

  “Yes, I did.”

  My heart starts to ache. Why is he sleeping alone, especially when we both hate it so much?

  Then, I remember how he threw me out of my apartment because he couldn’t deal with the fact that I was seeing someone else.

  My nostrils are in serious danger of flaring. Yeah. I’m still kinda pissed, but not enough to just slam the door on him. I sigh. “What is it? It’s beautiful.”

  “It’s a community center. I’m thinking of putting it near the folk art museum I just acquired.”