Bryce

Chapter 23

Samantha woke up in Bryce’s arms. She hadn’t planned on staying with him when she showed up at his job site unannounced. There was no way she could explain things over the phone, and she couldn’t continue to avoid him. The only thing she could think to do was show up and talk to him in person. She’d only made it through the first half of rehearsal. Most of her parts were in the morning, so she didn’t feel too bad about cutting out at lunch. The secret was burning a hole through her, so she needed to go and talk to him.

“Morning,” he said as he clamped his arms around her, his early morning voice sending a shiver through her.

“Morning,” she mumbled. “What time is it?”

“It’s a few minutes after four. Are you feeling better? I’m glad you stayed.”

“Not really,” she admitted. “What are we going to do? This is a disaster, and it’s all my fault.”

“Sweetheart,” he said before pausing until she looked at him. “I’ve seen plenty of disasters. This is not a disaster. We’ll get through it together.”

He couldn’t resist pulling her close to him in the bed. “Thank you,” she said softly. “I’m glad I stayed. I just don’t know what to do.”

“We can get a paternity test. There’s a blood test that can confirm or rule out paternity before the baby is born if that will make this easier on you,” he suggested.

“Me?” she asked. “What about you?”

“What about me? The only thing I’m worried about is you. You deserve to finally be happy, and I’ll do whatever I can to make sure that happens.”

“And if the baby is Brandon’s?”

He stiffened beneath her touch. “Then we’ll figure it out together.”

“We’ll figure it out? We? You still want to be a part of this if it turns out to be Brandon’s kid? I couldn’t ask you to do that.” She couldn’t believe he was acting like it was no big deal.

Brandon turned so they were facing each other. “Yes. We. I want you and everything that comes with you. You want a family, and I will be part of that family if you let me. So, yes. We’ll figure it out.”

She searched his eyes and saw nothing but honesty. His words didn’t change her situation, but the support made it seem more bearable. Considering she started sleeping with her brother-in-law before the dirt had settled on Brandon’s grave, she was in the situation she deserved.

“Are you going to rehearsal, or staying here?”

Samantha stretched her body, testing out how she felt. Opening night was a week away so she really needed to get to rehearsal. Even though everything was still up in the air, she was feeling better since talking to Bryce. Instead of running, like she assumed he would, he promised to be there for her no matter what. Having someone like that in her life was a new feeling. A feeling she could get used to.

“Rehearsal starts at 9:00. I better not miss it. They took the pregnancy news surprisingly well, so I need to be there as long as I am able.”

“Let’s take a shower.” He stood, and she squealed when he grabbed her to join him.

Holding her hand he led her to the bathroom. She enjoyed the view of his naked back and low-hanging flannel pajama pants. Without letting go of her hand, he turned on the shower, giving it time to warm up as they undressed.

“I like you in my clothes,” he murmured before lifting the shirt over her head and tossing it into the hamper.

Things must have shifted since their talk, because she was no longer self-conscious as she stood naked before him. Her skin warmed under his gaze, and she watched in appreciation as he stepped out of his pajama pants.

“You shouldn’t look at me like that if you want to make it to rehearsal,” he said, his voice husky.

Heat rushed to her face as she looked up and met his gaze. She’d been caught gawking, there was no denying it. After giving her head a small shake, she walked past him and into the shower, standing under the warm current. The warm water calmed her anxiety while waking her up. She had a long day ahead of her, but hopefully, it would be a better one without having to handle everything alone. Bryce’s support made all the difference.

Bryce stepped in behind her and wrapped his arms around her before swapping places with her. He stood under the current but off to the side, so she wasn’t in the cold, and picked up the body wash. “I figured you wouldn’t want to get your hair wet.”

Hormones. That was the only explanation she could come up with for her body’s reaction to that simple statement. In order to distract herself, she picked up the shower pouf to start washing.

“Let me,” he said so softly she barely heard him.

She allowed him to take it from her hand, watching in silence as he added body wash and worked up a lather. Starting at her neck, he began washing her. He moved in slow circles, gently cleaning her as he worked his way down. When he reached her center, there was no stopping the moan that escaped.

“Christ,” he hissed. “You keep that up and you’re going to be late.”

His words only fueled her arousal. Maybe it was the way he was touching her. Maybe it was pregnancy hormones. Maybe it was the fear that they weren’t going to make it through this. Whatever it was, she needed him.

“We can be quick.” Her words came out in a needy plea.

Without hesitation, he shoved her back against the shower wall and claimed her mouth in a kiss, plunging his tongue inside without waiting for an invitation. Heat pooled to her center, and her need quickly turned to desperation. Slipping her arms around him, she gripped his back and pulled him close as her tongue tangled with his.

His erection pressed against her stomach, and she slipped a hand between them, stroking his hard length. “Fuck,” he groaned. “Turn around.”

She turned around and faced the tiles as he ran his hands along her body. He started at her hips, then slipped one hand between her legs as the other hand moved up to her breast. She cried out when he pinched her clit and her nipple at the same time. The sensation was overwhelming. When he slipped a finger inside her, she arched back into him in search of more contact.

“Mmmm,” he groaned against her ear. “Ready for me already.”

Before she had a chance to respond, his hands were gripping her hips as he slammed into her in one hard thrust, nearly sending her over the edge that quickly. He went still for a moment, and she wondered if he was as close as she was. Placing her hands on the tiles in front of her for leverage, she circled her hips before thrusting back into him.

He inhaled a sharp breath. “Don’t do that if you want me to last more than a couple minutes.”

“I’m so close,” she whined.

Without further encouragement, he pulled back and then thrust into her. Hard. He set a punishing pace, and she matched every thrust. She braced herself against the tiles, and before long each breath came out as a desperate cry. Her skin prickled and her legs began to shake as her orgasm hit her like a freight train, taking her breath away. Her vision went blurry and the only thing she became aware of was the pleasure at the center of her body. Leaning over her, he rested his forearm against the tile as he followed her to his own release.

They didn’t move. They stood where they were, joined as one and using the shower wall for support as they caught their breath. She winced when he pulled out of her before turning her to face him.

“You’re going to be late,” he murmured. “Let’s get you cleaned up.”

Without another word, he picked up the pouf and resumed washing her. Once they were both clean, they rinsed, stepped out, then got ready for the day. The last thing Samantha wanted to do was leave him, but she had to. Fulfilling her dream of working on Broadway was the only thing that seemed to be going as planned and she couldn’t ruin it.

What felt like only moments later, she stood at the door not wanting to leave him. As long as they were in their bubble, there was no question of paternity. There were no decisions to make. That was where she wanted to stay. She gave him one last kiss before forcing herself out the door and to her car. Her doctor’s phone number was already saved as a favorite, and she would be calling to schedule the paternity testing as soon as they opened. She could do this. One step at a time.

Bryce walked into his office of the trailer for hopefully one of the last times. He’d gotten everything caught up to the point he could work remotely and only return occasionally to check on things. Lizzy had started making herself scarce since everything came out before Christmas, which was fine. She’d proven herself reliable as far as the work aspect went, so he had no complaints. He trusted he could leave her in charge while he was gone since she only had to work her full-time job at the fire department a couple shifts a week.

“Are you in all day?” Lizzy asked as he walked past her desk.

“Most of it. But then I’ll be packing up my place and heading back to Jersey. Did you need me to do something before I go?”

Lizzy shook her head. “No, I was just wondering,” she said before hesitating a moment. “How’s Samantha doing?”

Caught off guard by the question, he stopped in his tracks. Lizzy hadn’t brought up Samantha or what happened since that day. “She’s doing okay. How are you holding up?”

“I’m okay. I still feel really bad about everything, but my therapist is helping me to realize that while I am responsible for my own choices, I can’t help the lies that helped me make the decisions. That’s helping a lot with the guilt,” she said quietly. “I just wanted to make sure Samantha is okay. She seems super nice and I feel awful about the shit that went down and the way she found out about it.”

Bryce began to see Lizzy in a new light. She’d always rubbed him the wrong way, but it was becoming obvious that she came across as overly confident to hide her insecurities. It was true that no one ever knew what battles someone else was fighting.

“She’s okay. She’s going through some other things right now, but I think that discussion really opened her eyes to everything that was going on. It wasn’t her. It was him.”

“And you?” she asked.

“I’m good. I came to accept who he was as a person years ago. I better get to work if I plan to head back home tonight,” he said as he continued to his desk.

He wasn’t being completely honest when he said he was good. Every day was still a struggle, especially with the constant reminder of how shitty his brother had treated Samantha. She had completely fallen apart when she explained how he didn’t take no for an answer. His heart hurt at the possibility that she was carrying his child, especially when the last time they’d been intimate was against her will. There he was, once again, using his energy on anger toward a dead man. When he closed his eyes, all he could see was Samantha’s tear-stained face. He wanted to hit someone—to break something—but he had to hold it together.

By focusing all of his energy on work to avoid the feelings of anger, he finished up way ahead of schedule. Shortly after lunch, he was gathering the last items from his desk and heading out the door. Lizzy had left the office, so he locked up behind himself and headed to pack up the townhouse.

Samantha’s opening night was just a week away, and he was so relieved that he’d manage to be back at home for it. As far as he was concerned, even New Jersey was too far away from her. Being in Delaware while she was in New York felt like torture.

Thinking back on everything that had happened over the past several days, he wanted to do something nice to celebrate opening night. Broadway was her dream, and it was finally coming true. He wanted her to forget about everything else and focus on that. Even if only for one night. As soon as he finished packing everything up, he picked up his phone to make a call.