Sexy Bastards Anthology: Bad Boy, Biker, Alpha, Motorcycle Club, Contemporary Romance Collection (39 page)

Chapter 21

Lauren

Pregnant.

My life was ruined.

I lay in my bed, staring up at the ceiling, wondering what in the hell I was going to do. I knew that it had to be Taylor’s, since Mark had mentioned that he’d had a vasectomy ten years before ever meeting me. I considered having an abortion, but dismissed it almost as quickly. Adoption also wasn’t an option. Sure, if I was a frightened or confused sixteen-year-old kid, that option would seem more acceptable. But, I was a woman. A woman who’d had unprotected sex with one of the randiest guys in Jensen. I should have at least made him wear a condom. Regardless, the child was my responsibility. Hell, it was both of ours. Somehow, however, I didn’t think Taylor would see it that way.

My thoughts returned back to our conversation the night before. He was definitely not interested in having children. He’d made that very clear. For a man who’s spread his seed all over town, he sure wasn’t interested in cultivating it. Neither was I. Not yet anyway.

But what if the test is wrong
? I thought. The possibility made me feel better. I’d only taken one test and it wasn’t even one-hundred percent accurate. It had said so, right on the box.

Feeling better, I got out of bed and went into the kitchen to make myself something to eat. Grabbing a bag of pretzels and a jar of peanut butter, I went back into the living room. I pulled out a pretzel and dipped it into the peanut butter.

I had to admit – it was a good combination.    

***

I opened my eyes.

It was after midnight and I’d nodded off on the sofa. My heart began to race as I realized that I hadn’t yet heard from Taylor.

I stood up and walked over to the picture-window facing the swimming pool, half expecting to see him standing there in the nude. I smiled at the idea. Unfortunately, the courtyard was empty. Not knowing what else to do, I went into my bedroom and turned on the television. As I flipped through the channels, I found a biker series on cable television that I’d been meaning to watch. I clicked into
Season One
, got under my covers, and began watching.

Chapter 22

Taylor

After arriving at Griffins, we sat down near the bar and began ordering pitchers of beer.

“I can’t stay long,” I said, holding up Lauren’s cell phone. “I gotta get this back to her.”

“Just have one drink,” said Hoss.

“I will,” I said, looking around the bar. The place was hopping, more so than usual.

“Who’s that girl on the stage?” asked Hoss, nodding toward a brunette with a nice rack. She was short and sweet, but definitely not used to dancing on stage.

“Oh yeah, it’s Customer Appreciation Night,” said Tank, smiling. “Any customer who’s willing to get up and take off their clothes for one entire song, gets a free tab of up to one-hundred-dollars. That’s how I show my appreciation.”

“You’re a genius,” said J.T. pulling out some dollar bills. “Hell, I’ll even tip this one.”

“Oh shit,” said Hoss, nodding toward the steps leading to the stage. “Isn’t that Wendy, from the liquor store?”

My heart sunk when I heard the name. I turned around and there she was, smiling at me in delight.

“And look at what she’s wearing,” said Hoss. “Is it me or is that girl aiming for a free bar tab?”

Wendy had on a black teddy, high heels, and was carrying around a stuffed Teddy bear.

“What’s the bear for?” laughed J.T. “If she wants something warm to squeeze, I’ll give it to her.”

“She’s definitely dancing,” said Cheeks, coming up behind us with a couple of pitchers of beer.

“Looks like you get to see what you missed out on the other night,” ribbed J.T.

“Hell, looks like we all get to,” said Hoss.

The current song ended and a new one began. It was an oldie by Def Leppard called ‘Pour Some Sugar On Me’.

“She must have picked that one. The amateurs always do,” remarked Cheeks.

“Here we go,” said Hoss, leering at Wendy as she got on the stage and began dancing around stiffly.

It was obvious she didn’t know what she was doing, but I had to give her credit for trying. Especially when she got up the nerve to push her negligee down, exposing her mammoth boobs. Seeing that they were real, too, all the guys in the joint began hooting and hollering.

“And you gave
that
up,” said J.T. holding up a dollar.

Wendy gyrated our way and took his dollar graciously. She gave J.T. a kiss on the cheek and then looked over at me.

“You want a lap dance?” she called out, smiling.

“Another time,” I said, trying to be polite.

She bent over and wiggled her ass, which made her breasts jiggle at the same time. Even I had to admit, it was almost hypnotic. “You sure?”

My cock wanted it badly, but I knew that I had to get back to Lauren. I pulled out a ten dollar bill and stood up. “Here. You’re the sexiest woman in here and deserve much more than a buck.”

Her eyes sparkled as she shoved the bill under her garter. “Thank you, kind sir. I’m almost done. Meet me outside?”

“I can’t,” I said, grabbing my beer. “I have some shit to do.”

Her face fell. “You always do. What gives?”

“He’s a busy man,” said J.T. “But I’m not at the moment. I’ll take a lap dance.”

She looked at him and smiled. “Okay. Help me down?”

He grabbed her by the waist and took her off the stage.

Wendy sat down on his lap and began grinding against him.

“Oh, God,” he murmured, gripping the sides of the chair as she shoved her tits into his face. “Tank, is there still a law against touching the strippers when they don’t technically work for you?”

“If the woman wants to be touched, by all means, do it. But, you need to take it in back,” he replied, chewing on a toothpick. “This isn’t a brothel.”

“You want to be touched?” asked J.T, his face sweating.

She looked at me. “Yes, I’ve been dying to be touched for the past couple of days.”

I bit back a smile.

“That’s all I needed to hear,” said J.T. picking her up. He put her over his shoulder and she squealed in delight. “Adios, my brothers.”

I raised my beer. “Have fun.”

“She didn’t finish the song. I hope she realizes it,” said Tank.

“Don’t be such a tight ass,” said Raptor, chuckling.

“Speaking of tight asses, where’s your old lady tonight?” he asked.

“In Florida with her mother,” he said. “Some jewelry convention.”

“Who’s got your kid?” asked J.T.

“My brother.”

We all laughed.

“Seriously? The Judge?”

“Just for a few hours. He’s good with him,” said Raptor. “Believe it or not.”

I looked at the time and frowned.

“What’s going on, Tail?” asked Hoss, noticing.

I shrugged.

“He’s anxious about something,” said Tank, noticing the way I was tapping my foot.

“No, I’m not,” I protested.

“It’s that Lauren chick,” said Hoss.

“I don’t know what you’re talking about,” I said, sitting up straighter.

“It’s okay. We’ve all been through it,” said Tank, patting me on the shoulder.

“Through what?” I asked.

Raptor and Tank looked at each and laughed.

***

It was just after one when I reached Lauren’s place. I knocked on the door and when she answered, I grabbed her and kissed her hard on the mouth.

“You’ve been drinking,” she remarked, licking her lips.

“I only had a couple of beers.”

“Where?”

I frowned. “At Griffins. What’s with the twenty questions?”

“You were at that strip club?” she asked incredulously.

“Yeah. We met up there after dealing with Mark. Just for a couple of beers to unwind.”

“I’ve been waiting for you all this time and worried sick.”

“Sorry,” I said, although I didn’t like the way she was drilling me.

“So, how did everything go?”

“It went fine. He’s not going to bother you anymore.”

“He said that?”

“Not in so many words but trust me, he’s never going to step foot in Jensen again,” I said, biting back a smile.

“I hope that’s the case. Did you hurt him?”

“Actually, no. Scared the piss out of him, but rest assured, not one of us hurt him.”

She relaxed. “Okay.”

“So,” I said, sliding my hands around her waist. “I don’t know about you, but I’m ready for another round of mind-blowing sex. What about you?”

“I’m kind of tired, actually,” she said, smiling weakly.

“What?”

“It’s been a long day.”

“I’ve got something long for you,” I said, putting her hand on my crotch.

Lauren smiled. “My goodness, Adams, you are ready to go, aren’t you?”

“Adams?” I said.

“Yes. I prefer it to Tail.”

“How about you just call me Taylor then? In fact, I think you should start screaming it in a few minutes.”

She smiled.

We spent the next couple of hours fucking in every part of her house. I made her cum twice and another time after we took a break to eat some pretzels and peanut butter.

“This is really good together,” I said, impressed.

She smiled. “I know, right?”

“Not as good as my pretzel in your peanut butter,” I said, wiggling my eyebrows.

“Just don’t dip your pretzel into my chocolate,” she replied.

I choked on the pretzel in my mouth. “Are you saying no anal?” I asked, chuckling.

She winked.

Chapter 23

Lauren

The following week, I paid a visit to a gynecologist, who confirmed that I was indeed pregnant.

“Congratulations,” said the doctor, a woman in her forties.

“Thanks,” I replied, trying to hide my alarm. “How far along am I?”

“You’re about nine weeks along.”

“Okay.”

“You’re going to need to start taking prenatal vitamins and…” she continued talking, but I didn’t hear her. I was in too much shock.

***

The next three weeks, Taylor and I spent a lot of time together, most of it in my bungalow and having sex. Eventually, things started getting serious. Nobody was as surprised as I was.

“I love you,” he said, one night, holding me in his arms.

I blinked. “What did you just say to me?”

He grinned. “I love you. I know, it’s crazy, especially coming from me. But, it’s true.”

“Are you sure?”

Taylor laughed. “Am I sure? Yeah, I’m sure. Jesus, woman, you’re all I think about, especially when I’m working.”

“When you’re tearing apart roofs?” I said, smiling in amusement.

“Oh yeah. I think about fucking the shit out of you when I’m nailing shingles all the time,” he said, laughing.

I pulled my hair behind my shoulder. “I hate to say this but it sounds like you’re in love with fucking me and that’s not the same thing.”

“It’s not?” he asked, pretending to pout.

“No.”

He tilted my chin up to his face and stared into my eyes. “Lauren, I love you and not just because of sex.”

“Go on,” I whispered.

“Fuck… I’m not good at this. Okay, I guess what it boils down to is… I love you because you are the only person I want to wake up to in the morning. I love you because you have given me a life outside of the club. I love you because when I’m not with you, I wish to fuck that I was.”

“You do?”

“Yes, babe, and if you want to know the truth, it scares me.”

“Why?”

“Because I have never felt this way before and… I’m afraid that I never will again. Not something this intense.” He stared into my eyes. “I don’t ever want to lose you.”

Stunned, I just stared at him in awe.

“Babe, I want you to wear my cut.”

“You want me to be your Old Lady?”

He smiled. “Yes. It’s all I’ve been thinking about. So, what do you say?”

The truth of the matter was that his club scared the hell out of me and I’d been avoiding all of them. I even made up an excuse not to go to Tank’s barbecue the day he’d invited me. I’d told Taylor that I’d been having horrible cramps and he’d believed me without any questions.

“I... I don’t know what to say, actually,” I admitted.

“Do you love me?”

I smiled. “I think I started loving you back when we were teenagers,” I said softly. “The night you walked me home.”

His eyes widened. “You’re kidding me? Why didn’t you say something?”

“Because we were just kids and I didn’t know how.”

He grabbed my hand and kissed it. “That night was rough but… it brought us to where we are today. I guess it was just written in the stars that we’d one day end up together.”

“Why, Taylor Adams, I had no idea that you could be this romantic,” I teased.

“Neither did I. I guess you’ve taught me a lot about myself,” he said.

“Like what?”

“Like… I’m not just handsome and sexy,” Taylor replied, his eyes twinkling. “Or a god in bed. I’ve got a lot of other admirable qualities.”

“Like being humble?”

“Hey, it’s hard but someone has to do it,” he replied with a cocky grin.

I rolled my eyes.

***

“I have a job for you,” said Taylor the next day. We were in the pool, floating in the water on tubes. “It doesn’t pay much. Not yet, at least. But, if you play your cards right, you might get some hefty quarterly bonuses.”

“What are you talking about?” I asked, feeling hopeful.

“I need someone to schedule appointments, order supplies, and keep my books organized. Do you think you can handle something like that?”

“Are you kidding? Of course I can do that,” I said, excited. “What about benefits?”

His smile faltered. “Babe, I can’t offer them right now.”

“So, no health insurance?”

“No, but I can pay you fifteen bucks an hour.”

Fifteen bucks wasn’t bad. “You mentioned quarterly bonuses?”

“Yeah. Hefty ones.”

I narrowed my eyes. “You’re not talking about sex, are you? Because, don’t get me wrong, I love it but your penis does
not
pay my auto insurance.”

“I bet it would if I was a stripper,” he said. “Did I tell you that someone wanted to hire me to perform, last winter? Said it would have been really good money.”

“You are not showing that cock of yours to any more women in this town. I don’t care how much they pay you,” I said loudly.

“Don’t worry, babe. He’s all yours,” said Taylor, splashing me playfully with his toe.

“You’re still paying me a quarterly bonus.”

He sighed. “Fine. I’ll pay in cash. That means you’re going to have to help with outbound sales. J.T. and I are also going to start plowing snow in the wintertime. We’ll need your help then, too.”

“So, you’ve got the entire year covered. Motivated men. I love it,” I replied.

“I’m feeling motivated right now,” he said, pulling his cock out. “What about you?”

Still sore from our earlier lovemaking fest, I flipped over his floating lounge, sending him into the cold water.

“You bitch,” he said, laughing after he came back up.

“Don’t you dare,” I warned as he moved toward me, grinning wickedly.

“Dare what?”

“Push me under. I’m… I’m pregnant,” I said.

The smile dropped from his face. “What?”

I touched my stomach, which was beginning to look thicker. “I’m pregnant.”

He frowned. “Is it mine?”

“Yes,” I snapped angrily. “Who else’s would it be?”

Taylor’s eyes shifted to my stomach. “How far along are you?”

“About three months.”

“Three months? That means you would have gotten pregnant the night of the wedding?”

I nodded.

He let out long sigh. “It’s not Mark’s?”

“No,” I said stiffly. “He couldn’t have any more kids. Besides, we didn’t usually have intercourse.”

“Okay,” he said, looking away. “You can spare me those details.”

“It’s
yours
. It couldn’t be anyone else’s,” I said flatly.

“How long have you known?”

I told him.

He swore. “And when were you going to tell me you were pregnant? When it was too late to do anything about it?”

“No. To be honest, I didn’t know if I was ever going to tell you about it,” I said, paddling toward the metal steps.

“Why?”

“Because I knew you’d act like this.”

“Like someone being kept in the dark?” he said loudly. “How in the fuck do you expect me to act, Lauren?”

“I don’t know,” I said, pulling myself off the tube. I climbed out of the deep end and walked over to my towel. “I knew you wouldn’t be happy but you don’t have to act like this is all
my
fault. There were two of us. Hell, I don’t even remember having sex with you that night.”

His eyes widened. “Fuck. I forgot to tell you about that.”

“About what?” I asked, feeling exhausted.

He told me about Mark showing up at the wedding and drugging my champagne glass.

“That fucking creep!” I said loudly. “You’re serious?”

“That’s what he said.”

“Oh, my God… what if the baby is…” Touching my stomach, I began to cry. “What if that drug has done something to the baby?”

Taylor quickly got out of the pool and pulled me into his arms. “Hey, everything is going to be okay,” he whispered, running his hand over the back of my hair.

“No it’s not,” I blubbered.

“Yes it is. Look,” he sighed. “We’ll work it out.”

“What do you mean?”

He pulled me away from his chest so he could look me in the eye. “Babe, we’re going to be parents,” he said, a small grin spreading across his face.

I sniffled. “I thought you didn’t want to be a dad?”

“Sometimes what you think you want isn’t necessarily what you
really
want.”

“So… what are you saying?”

He grabbed part of the towel and wiped my tears with it. “I never thought I wanted to be in a relationship with a woman and now look at me? There’s no place that I’d rather be than with you.”

I managed to smile.

“Now there’s going to be three of us,” he said. “And fuck… I’m going to be a father.” Taylor looked up toward the sky, his face filling with joy. “Me! Who’d have thought?”

“You’re actually happy about this now?” I said, squinting.

His eyes went back to mine. “Yeah. I actually am.”

I bit my lower lip. “What if there’s something wrong with him?”

“
Him
?” he grabbed both of my upper arms. “It’s a boy?”

“I don’t know,” I replied, smiling. “It could be a girl.”

He looked down and then slowly ran his hand across my belly. “Whether it’s a boy or a girl, we’ll figure it out together. I promise.”

“Even if it has problems?” I asked.

“Even if it has some kind of birth defect, we’ll be there for our child,” he said.

I sighed in relief. “Okay. What about the club?”

“The club?” Taylor chuckled. “Hell, when they find out I’m going to be a daddy, they’re never going to let me hear the end of it.”

“So, you’re not quitting?”

He frowned. “Of course not.”

The club had been one of the reasons I’d hesitated in telling Taylor about the child. I was still worried about the dangers involved with raising a kid in that kind of environment.

“Great,” I mumbled, looking down.

“Hey. Look at me.”

Our eyes met.

“What are you so afraid of? My club?”

“Yes. I guess I am.”

“You have no reason to worry about a thing.”

“But I’ve heard so many rumors around town about –”

“Don’t listen to rumors. That’s all they are.”

“What about the problems you guys have had with the Devil’s Rangers?”

He sighed. “So, you’ve been doing your research.”

“Yes,” I replied. “I mean, hell, Tank’s father was murdered just a few months ago. Why didn’t you tell me about that?”

Taylor shrugged. “I don’t know. I guess you’ve never really asked me about my friends, so I didn’t think you’d want to talk about any of it.”

“Taylor,” I said, staring up at him. “If we’re going to make this relationship work, you need to be honest with me about everything.”

“Fair enough, but you need to also understand that there are things I can’t divulge to you.”

I frowned. “Well, that seems fair,” I said dryly.

“I’m talking about club affairs.”

“Illegal affairs, you mean?”

“We’re not involved with anything illegal. Yeah, maybe in the past, but not anymore.”

I stared into his eyes. “Are you telling me the truth?”

“Yes. Of course I am! And as far as the Devil’s Rangers go, we’ve settled shit between us. There’s nothing you, or the other Old Ladies, have to worry about.”

I sighed. “Okay.”

“So, this is what’s going to happen – next weekend, you and I are going to throw a pool party here for the club and their families. We’ll barbecue, play volleyball, and maybe even rent one of those inflatable slides for the kids. It’ll be fun.”

“Fun,” I repeated. To me it sounded like a lot of work.

“Yes. I want you to get to know them.”

“And you really want to do this here?” I asked.

“Yes.”

“Mitzy might not approve.”

“I’ll talk to her. Mitzy and I are like this,” he said, crossing his fingers together.

“Okay,” I said, giving in. “Let’s do it.”

Taylor grinned. “You’re going to love the guys.”

I smirked. “I am, huh?”

“Yeah and they’re going to love you,” he said, kissing the tip of my nose. “Almost as much as I do.”

“And what if they don’t? Would you leave me?” I whispered.

His face turned serious. “If they don’t love you, then I’d leave
them
.”