The Alpha Bodyguards Books #1-3

Chapter Forty-Three

I heard her cuss through the bathroom door.

Shaking my head, I fucking laughed.

“This isn’t funny!” Her voice muffled, I still heard the trace of fear in it.

I pushed the door open.

She jumped and dropped the box.

I picked it up and stepped into her personal space. “Not a joke to me, babe.”

“I know.” She looked anywhere but at me.

I tipped her chin. “I’m not gonna let you go through anything alone.”

“There isn’t anything to go through.”

There was a fucking pregnancy test on the counter. I stared at her, silently calling her on her bullshit.

She snatched up the box. “Fine. Point made.”

I touched my lips to her forehead and reiterated my promise. “Not alone.” Stepping back, I turned toward the door.

“How’d you know?”

I looked over my shoulder at her. “Know what?”

Looking vulnerable as fuck, she shrugged like this wasn’t a loaded fucking conversation. “How I feel… about being alone.”

I was an eighteen-year-old kid shooting an M4 in Afghanistan before she was making movies. I had my brothers downrange, she had her costars, but the irony wasn’t lost on me that we both flew solo. This shit, her and I, it was the last thing I was looking for. But standing here, I didn’t want to be anyplace else .

Her question, my reasons, the situation, all of it—I could sum it up in three words. “Lock and key.”

“Lock and key,” she whispered, biting her bottom lip.

I had to step back before I said fuck it with the damn test and took her.

“Take the test,” I quietly ordered. Ten fucking days. I needed to be inside her.

With a nod, she shut the door.

Inhaling, I walked across the room, grabbed my cell, and fired off a text to Luna.

Me: Need another week

I rationalized I needed time to bring her back to Miami and get her settled, but in truth, I just wanted to fuck her, sleep next to her and watch her eat with her hands.

Luna replied instantly.

Luna: Copy that. Tell her thanks for the interview

Me: Copy

Luna: You good?

Me: Yeah

Luna: Too early to haze you?

Me: Fuck you

Luna: LMFAO

I didn’t reply. A few seconds later, he sent another text.

Luna: So. Love, huh?

Me: Not having this convo

Luna: That interview was viewed by millions. You ready for this?

Jesus fuck.

Me: Again, not having this convo

Luna: She ok?

I didn’t have time to answer. She stepped up behind me and placed the pregnancy test on the table in front of me.

My heart fucking stopped and I stared.

She was pregnant .

With my kid.

“I, um—” Her voice broke.

I turned and wrapped my arms around her as I let loose with a fucking roar.

She started in surprise then her arms went around my neck and she held me tight.

I stood to my full height and her feet came off the ground. Burying my face in her neck, I fucking breathed her in. Flowers, woman, sleep—she smelled like a perfect dream. “Fuck, woman.” Openmouthed, I kissed her neck. “You’re gonna look sexy as hell knocked up.”

“Falcon.” She burst into tears.

Putting her legs around my waist, I sat on the bed and took her face in my hands. “Hey, hey, hey.” I swiped at her tears. “Talk to me.”

“Do you even want kids?” she cried. “Or are you just saying that to make me feel better?”

I couldn’t fucking help it, I smiled. “You want the sanitized answer or the truth?”

Her breath hitched. “Truth.”

I pushed her hair behind her shoulder. “Two weeks ago, no. I didn’t want kids, let alone a commitment to a woman.”

She inhaled sharply and her back stiffened.

I cupped the back of her neck. “But then I met a fucking hot mess of a woman who’d created the scandal of all scandals, sunk her good-girl rep, and found out she’d been drugged. Which, by the way, that fuck Payne is in rehab, and you need to call your lawyer. He told your asshole agent you wouldn’t press charges against Payne if your agent took whatever severance deal you offered him. Payne being his next biggest client after you, your agent took the deal.”

She looked surprised. “You talked to Peter?”

“Yeah.” Fucker had been calling me daily wanting updates. “I have your phone. You should call him later.”

“Thanks.” She tried to pull out of my grasp .

I held on to her. “I’m not finished telling you about the hot mess of a woman I met two weeks ago.”

“I changed my mind. I want the sanitized version.”

I fought a smile. “You’re not getting it, but I will tell you this. A lesser woman would’ve cracked under the pressure of what happened. But the woman I met, you know what she asked me after she woke up in strange place, with a strange man and couldn’t remember shit?”

“Don’t forget handcuffed,” she added dryly.

I’d never forget that. “She asked me how her ass looked.”

Sighing, she rolled her eyes. “For the record, I was joking.”

“I know.” I swept my thumb across her cheek. “That’s my fucking point. Because that hot mess of a woman I met? She was actually ballsy and mouthy, and best of all?” I gripped her hair and held her tight. “She’s fucking brave.”

“Oh,” she said quietly.

“Yeah, oh .”

Her gaze dropped. “I have a confession.”

“You didn’t care how your ass looked.” I’d already figured that out.

“No.” She barely shook her head then looked up at me. “I still haven’t watched that video. I don’t want to see it.”

“Smart move.”

“Oh God.” She covered her face with her hands. “It’s that bad, isn’t it?”

It was worse, for someone who wanted a career in acting. “You done for good with movies and acting?” I pulled her hands down so I could see her eyes.

She didn’t hesitate. “Yes. Even if I lost all my money tomorrow, I couldn’t go back. I don’t want to. That life was always tainted by the way it began for me.”

I didn’t touch her last statement. If I had my way, we’d have a lifetime to fucking hash that shit out. But right now, I was focused on her admission. “Then the video means nothing, and you don’t need to ever see it.”

She exhaled, but she didn’t look relieved .

“What?”

“What if I go back with you and—”

“No if,” I corrected. “You’re coming with me.”

“What if you don’t like me in a week? A month? What if you don’t want to be with me?”

I smiled. “I’ve got a hot-as-fuck younger woman who sucks dick like a goddess and she’s carrying my kid. What the hell would I have to complain about?”

Worry etched across her features. “I’m being serious.”

I sobered. “Growing pains, stupid shit couples argue about, that shit’s gonna happen. We’d be lying to each other if we said otherwise. But I’m not gonna let that shit come between me and the woman who’s carrying my kid.”

“But it’s not just about learning to get along as a couple.”

“You’re right.” I brushed my hand down her arm and took her hand. “It’s about chemistry, trust and honesty. The first we have in spades, the second we’re working on and the last we need to always remember.”

“You make it sound so simple.”

“Life is only as complicated as you make it, sweetheart.”

She leaned forward and put her forehead on my chest. “I think I really like you, Falcon Gunther.”

I rolled her to her back, pushed her thighs apart with my knee and settled between her legs. “Only like?” I kissed her once. “What happened to falling for me?”