Wrapped Up: A Triple Threat Sports Romance (34 page)

He pulled her close, scooping her onto his lap. He kissed her long and soft. Like she’d become fragile. In a way, she had. She was now carrying precious cargo. A tiny baby growing inside her. His baby.

“Wait a minute, Ryder.” She pulled back. “How do you feel about this? You’ve said nothing.”

“I feel so many things. It’s still a shock,” he said. “But I’m happy. I want to have a baby with you. I wasn’t even sure what I felt until you said you were keeping it and that it was something we made.” He pulled his mouth into a smile. “I’d be so proud to have a baby with you. To make a little miracle that came from you and me.” He chuckled. “I never thought I’d have kids. It’s a really nice surprise.”

She closed her eyes and a slow smile spread across her face. When she looked at him, she had that glow that everyone talked about. He thought it was a dumb, made-up thing people said, but now he saw it. It was some kind of deep down joy that radiated out through her skin, making her look alive and happy. It warmed his chest.

When they came together this time, neither of them pulled back. There’d be plenty of time for talking later. For now, they had to make up for lost time.

Ryder ran his hands up and down her back. She felt thinner, which worried him, but they’d figure that out later. She melted against him, her body hot and ready in his arms. She felt so much more fragile than usual. He had the desire to handle her carefully, despite his desire to want to tear into her and ride her hard. It wouldn’t be like that this time.

He scooped her up in his arms and lay her gently on the bed. He hovered above her, looking into her eyes and running his fingers through her hair. She looked back up at him like she was feeling the same adoration he was.

He kissed her forehead, her nose, her lips, her chin. He kissed down her neck and across her collar bone, sliding the shoulder of her shirt down to kiss her chest and shoulders.

He lifted her shirt over her head. When he returned to kissing her, making his way slowly down, he noticed how much fuller her breasts were. But she’d also said they were sore. He gently caressed them, kissing around them and flicking his tongue over her nipples.

“Does it hurt?” he asked.

She shook her head and closed her eyes with a deep sigh. He looked up at her and saw a tear trickle down her cheek.

“What’s wrong?”

She smiled and looked at him. “Nothing. Everything is just right.”

He continued his path, kissing down her stomach until he reached her pants. He pushed them down and pulled them from her long legs, then pushed her legs open. She let out a moan when his tongue reached her clit. He moved a finger slowly in and out of her, making her wetter than she already was. He slipped a second finger into her ass and she responded by rocking her hips at him and moaning louder.

He couldn’t take it anymore. Her moaning, her shifting hips, the way she looked at him. His dick was going to explore if he didn’t get it inside her soon. But then he thought about the baby in there, so close to where he would be.

He leaned down over her so he could kiss her again. After a long moment, she pulled back.

“What are you doing?” she asked.

“What do you mean?”

“Why aren’t you inside me?”

He’d rubbed his dick between her lower lips, sliding in her wetness. It wasn’t the same, but it was safer that way, he thought. “I just want to be careful,” he said. “The baby.”

“You do know that sex can’t hurt the baby.”

“I figured, but still.”

She sighed and reached down to grab his cock, then pushed it inside her. They moaned together. She felt so good. But he was still hesitant. He moved slowly in and out of her, going gently like he never had before. It was like torture. He just wanted to pound her. It still felt amazing and he thought maybe there was something to the whole slow and gentle love making thing versus hard fucking.

But Pia didn’t seem to agree. She sighed in frustration and said, “Get off me.”

“What’s wrong?” He pulled out of her and moved over to lay beside her.

She pushed his shoulder so that he was flat on his back. Then she climbed on top of him and slid him inside her again.

She grinned down at him, and started bouncing in place on his dick, moving him much deeper and harder than he had.

“Is this a good idea?” he asked. It was still so early in the pregnancy and she looked so weak.

She put her hand over his mouth. “Best idea yet.”

She got on all fours over him and moved her body as fast as she could up and down on his cock. The speed and force of it felt so good. He tried to breathe through it, but in the end, he gave in.

He grabbed her hips and took over, slamming her down on him as hard as he could. She let out a loud moan and sat up so she could rock forward and backward as he pounded her harder.

“Yes! Yes!”

“Shh,” he said. “Your father is in this house.”

She bit her lip, but didn’t stop moaning.

Finally, she dug her fingernails into his chest and moaned into his ear. He felt the rush of her juices and thrust her a few more times so he could finish, too.

She lay down on his chest, his dick still inside her. “Ryder?”

“Yes?”

“Don’t ever try to be gentle again.”

He laughed. “I won’t.”

“Good.” She rolled over beside him and breathed hard. “That was so good. I didn’t realize how much I missed you.”

“Me or my cock?”

“Both.”

He trailed his fingers over her breasts, appreciating their new size and roundness. “They don’t stay like this, do they?”

“I wish. From what I’ve read, they’ll get all saggy after the baby is born.”

“Bummer. Guess I’ll just have to enjoy them now.”

He leaned over to put his mouth around her nipple, sucking in as much of her breast as he could.

“I’m so glad you’re here,” she said.

“Me too.”

Chapter 10

It felt so good to have him here, to be this close to him again. And oh, the sex. She’d missed every part of him desperately. He made her feel good in every way. And the fact that he seemed to actually be excited about the baby warmed her heart. But it also gave her a new dilemma.

When she’d thought of the different ways telling him might go, she didn’t think that he would be genuinely happy. That he would look at her like that. Like she was some kind of goddess to be worshiped. And then when they’d started to have sex and he was so gentle and concerned? Could he be any sweeter? Of course, she’d had to put an end to that. She needed him to go hard. That was what felt the best, but still.

She didn’t think he could be so kind and caring. And now she realized the problem. Everything was going perfectly. He was happy, she was happy, and she was now sure. She was falling in love with him. It’d never happened before. And that was how she knew. She’d never felt this way before about anyone.

She kind of regretted telling him at all about the baby. If she’d lied to her father, or gone with her other plan to go away for a year, she would never have known he could be like this. She could have gone away and had his baby and given it to a nice family and come home and the whole time, she could have convinced herself that not only would he not have been happy, he wouldn’t have wanted the baby, wouldn’t have wanted her like that, and wouldn’t have made a good father. But now, she knew.

He would be a good father and a good husband. He was capable of being a caring guy. That tough act wasn’t an all the time thing. He was tough when he needed to be, when he was protecting her, but when he was alone with her, the tough guy was gone. That was, of course, until they got naked, but that tough guy was her favorite. The one who took her and pounded her so hard and made her come like she’d never come before. She loved that guy too.

But now that he knew and wanted the whole package as much as she did, they’d have to fight. Her father would never be in favor of this. They’d have to fight to get away, and to stay alive. They’d have to fight to keep their baby safe. They’d have to fight to stay together. And she didn’t doubt for a minute that he’d do whatever it took to make that happen.

She couldn’t deny that the simple act of telling him meant someone would die. Either they’d kill him, which she refused to think of, or whoever came after them would die. They might even have to kill her father if he wouldn’t let them go. How could she be okay with that? Be okay with Ryder killing her father who’d given her so much and been the only parent she knew? She had no memories of the mother who died when she was just one. It was always her and her father.

Maybe, though. Maybe if they ran soon enough, it would be okay. If they snuck away before she was showing, before anyone could know about the baby, maybe he would think they just wanted to be together. Which was true, but better than them wanting to be together with their baby. Maybe he would think she’d been kidnapped again. Maybe they could even fake that and make it look like that. Or fake her death. If they didn’t disappear at the same time, that might also eliminate suspicion.

Ryder could get her out, then stick around for a while. Make it seem like he was looking for her while leading them off the trail. Then he could vanish, too. Yes, that sounded like a perfect plan. That had to be the best option.

“There’s something we need to discuss,” she said.

“What’s that?” He pulled her closer and rubbed his nose against her cheek.

“We have to run. If my father finds out that we’re together and that you got me pregnant, he will kill you. And he’ll never let me keep the baby.”

“I know.”

“You do?”

He raised an eyebrow at her. “Pia, I’ve worked for your father for years killing men for doing far less than I’ve done. You think I don’t know what sort of man he is?”

“Okay, so what’s the plan? I thought if we run soon, before anyone knows, that would be best. We could even go at different times to throw them off.”

Ryder shook his head. “If we run, he’ll track us down for sure.”

“But maybe we could fake my death or something?”

“Maybe.”

“We have to figure this out. I’m really scared.”

He squeezed his arms tighter around her. “You have nothing to be afraid of. I won’t let anything happen to you or the baby. We’ll be together. There’s nothing that can separate us now. We’re tied to each other for life.”

“Promise?”

“Of course. You’re the mother of my child.” He smiled and shook his head. “I never thought I’d say that to anyone. And of all the people on the planet, I certainly never thought I’d be saying it to you.”

“But you are happy about this? I mean, you seem happy, but—”

“Yes.” He kissed her and looked at her with an intense gaze. “It’s unexpected, but so amazing. I’m more excited than I thought I could ever be. A little son or a daughter that looks like me and you? It’s going to be amazing.”

“My father won’t agree, though.”

“I know. We’ll figure it out. We have time. How long will it be until you’re showing?”

“I’m not sure. Another month maybe?”

“Then that’s plenty of time to get a plan in place and figure out what to do.”

“What are you thinking?”

He ran his fingers along her arm. “I’m thinking your skin is so soft and smooth.”

“I mean about getting away. What have you thought of so far?”

“Maybe you just move away. Tell your father you want to open another store somewhere far away. Like across the country or something. Then after a while, you just disappear. Your phone numbers are changed and no one has seen you.”

“You think that would work?” she asked.

“I’m still thinking through the details.”

“It takes a while to get a store up and running, though. What about you?”

“You wouldn’t need to actually open a store. It’s easy for me to vanish. I go out to do a job, say I’m hit, then they never find me or hear from me again. They assume I’m dead and that whoever killed me disposed of the body.”

“Okay. That could work.”

“Give me a day or two to work out the details, okay?” he said.

“Okay. Just hurry. I’m afraid he’ll find out somehow.”

“When did you find out?”

“Earlier today. Though I suspected for about a week before that.”

“And you texted me right away after you found out?” he asked.

“Well, it might have been after an hour or so of me freaking out first.”

He smoothed back a piece of her hair. “I didn’t ask. I mean, I assumed since you said you were keeping it, but are you happy about this?”

Her mouth spread into a wide grin and she nodded. “I am. And even happier knowing that you’re happy about it. We have lots to worry about, but it’s worth it.”

“Definitely.”

***

Ryder held Pia close and tried not to let her see his face. He was worried that she might see just how worried he really was. Not for himself. He didn’t care much about what might happen to him. But he could not let anything to happen to Pia or the baby. And if it took his life to protect them, then that was what he would give.

His mind was racing. How would he get her away from Matteo and do it in a way that didn’t lead him to come after them? He needed to find an answer fast. Maybe the ideas they already had would work, but he didn’t feel one hundred percent confident in any of them. He’d never tell Pia, but the only way they’d be safe for sure was if her father was dead. Matteo had too many connections, was owed too many favors by too many people. He would always track them down and come after them. There were only so many places to hide.

Would she hate him if he killed her father? And how would he do it so that he didn’t end up with more people coming after him? There was so much to this.

How he wished this was the type of situation where they could get their parents together for a nice dinner, tell them the news, and have everyone be thrilled. But of course that was Hollywood junk. When did life ever go like that? But his life was always a chaotic mess, wasn’t it? Having a baby was about the most normal thing he’d ever done.

How would he do this? If they left, it would mean leaving his source of income. Not that it would be hard to get paid for hits somewhere else, but what kind of job was that for a father? He’d need a more stable, safer job. Something legal. But how in the world would he do that? Go straight? That was something only pansies did, and when you worked for the mob, you didn’t just quit. The only way out was death.

Maybe they would have to hide forever. Hide from the mafia. Yeah. That would work. His stomach tightened. Was there any way he could pull this off? Any way they could live and be together and raise a family and be safe? There had to be, and he would find it.

He looked down and it seemed that Pia was already asleep. He couldn’t stay in here, much as he wanted to. They would be able to spend every night together one day, he told himself.

He gently eased his arm out from under her, but she stirred. He leaned down to kiss her. “I’ll see you later.”

“You’re leaving?” She sat up, now wide awake.

“Too risky to sleep in here.”

Her face fell. “Right. You’re right, I just…was hoping you could.”

He put his palm to her cheek, then kissed her again. “Soon. Someday soon we’ll have every night together.”

She pressed her lips together and nodded. Was she trying not to cry? He looked away and pulled on his clothes before she could convince him to do something stupid.

“I’ll talk to you soon,” he said.

She watched from her bed as he went to the door. He turned it slowly and peeked into the hall before giving her one final glance and shutting the door behind him. When he was back in the guest room, he relaxed some. No one had seen him.

He lay down in the bed, but doubted he would sleep tonight. Too many things to consider and work through. He got up after a while and paced the room, looking outside to the dark sky to help draw his attention away from his problems.

Really, when it came down to it, he could just keep killing people. If he killed all the guys who cared if Matteo died, then there would be no one left to chase after them. It was a family issue, after all. Matteo had only one brother. It was a small family for the mob. Not too many people around to avenge his death.

He’d likely have to kill Matteo and his brother. Maybe one or two of the top guys. Not too bad. Five, maybe seven guys. That was only a month or two of work. Of course mafia guys like Matteo were harder to kill. Ryder had taught him too much about being careful. That also meant he knew all his tricks. He knew his weaknesses. And right now, he still had direct access to his home.

He could sneak in while he was sleeping and put a bullet in his head, poison his food, cut his brake lines. So many ways to take someone out. And when you slept in the same house as them, it was just that much easier.

This thought gave him a small measure of comfort. He’d simply kill anyone who got in their way. Easy as that. This didn’t have to be tricky. They wouldn’t have to hide. Now it was just a matter of when to do it.

He lay back down and forced himself to sleep.

***

When he woke in the morning, he went downstairs to the kitchen, helped himself to some coffee, and then sat at the kitchen table, hoping for Pia to show up.