Chapter 12
12
Patrick
I push open the door and drink in the sight of my beautiful girl. Ashley’s still and silent in a rocking chair, looking contemplatively out the window with her long blonde hair rippling over her shoulders. One hand curves protectively around her tummy, and her expression is serious but also serene. My girl is ready to be a mommy, and that’s my baby in her belly.
The knowledge makes possession surge through my veins. A child. I’ve thought of having a family before, but always discarded the idea. I’m a jet-setting billionaire bachelor, and I’ve fucked women on all the continents, not to mention multiple cities. Ladies have always craved my money, my body, and my attention. I saw no reason to change.
But everything shifted once Ashley stepped into the picture. She’s witty, charming, intelligent, with a laugh that sounds like the peal of bells. Her vivacious personality and ability to make me laugh are unparalleled, and I’ve found myself doing things that I never do on my own. Walking the fens. Savoring dinner, instead of bolting down my food. Taking the time to appreciate a sunset, instead of immersing myself in the details of the latest corporate takeover. She’s made me into a better person, which is why her actions are so fucking puzzling.
After all, what the hell is the curvy girl thinking? Does she think she can hide while she’s living under my roof? Does she think that she can be pregnant with my child, and that I wouldn’t notice? Of course I noticed. I notice everything about my girl’s body, and I saw how her color is often flushed. I see how her breasts have enlarged, and how her nipples are especially sensitive. I see how her pussy is hungrier and wetter, sucking me in as she raises her knees to deepen the penetration. Most of all, I see the sadness in her eyes because she wants this child, and thinks that I’ll make her get rid of it.
Therefore, this fucking hare-brained plan. Ashley thinks she’s going to live surreptitiously within the walls of Castle Droghaire. She’s going to raise my baby in secret, relying on the discretion of my staff to bring her food, water, and supplies for the infant. She’s going to spend years cloistered within these black walls, and my child will never meet his father. What the fuck? Nothing happens in my castle without my knowledge and assent. I am the Viscount, and this is my son.
“Ashley,” I growl from my place by the door.
The golden girl startles and then turns to me, her blue eyes wide.
“Patrick,” she stammers, hot circles appearing on her cheeks. “What are you doing here?”
I step into the room, shutting the door behind me. The suite has been outfitted as a nursery, but I can still feel a draft within these thick stone walls. The sunlight from the only window is thin and weak, and I grow incensed knowing that this shitty set-up is what she has planned for my child. Rage bubbles in my chest as I stare at her, a vein throbbing at my temple.
“What the fuck is this?” I hiss.
Both hands are on her belly now.
“What is what?”
“What is this ?” I scream, gesturing to the crib, bureau, and cradle. “What the fuck?”
Ashley stands up, her face pale as both hands curve around her burgeoning tummy.
“I will not speak to you when you’re in this state, Patrick. It’s not good for me, and as you can see, I’m expecting. Come back when you’re calm.”
I huff and take a few deep inhales, willing my blood pressure to go down.
“You’re pregnant. And the baby’s mine.”
A hurt look comes over those beautiful features.
“Of course the child’s yours. Who else’s would it be?”
“I don’t know,” I snark. “Stacks? One of the footmen? Hell, a village man you’ve been fucking on the sly?”
Ashley turns her back to me then, refusing to engage.
“ Leave, asshole,” she says in a tight voice. “I hate you.”
I lose it again.
“That child is mine !” I scream. “And if you think I’m letting you bring him up in this godforsaken setting—”
“This godforsaken setting is your home , Patrick! This is your castle! We’re just living here.”
“Yes, and you were going to raise my child under my roof without my knowledge. You’ve been sneaking furniture in here, and swearing my staff to secrecy about your pregnancy. Are you fucking kidding me? Nothing happens here without my knowledge. Nothing. Nada. Zip.”
Her jaw clenches as she purses her lips into a thin line.
“Okay, fine. I see your point. My plan was underhanded and devious, not to mention a little far-fetched, but I’m not giving up my baby, Patrick. I’m keeping this child no matter what. You can’t force me to have a termination—”
“ Who said I’d force you ? Who says I don’t want this baby? I’m excited to be a father, and the only question is why you’ve been so afraid to tell me! I’ve been waiting for weeks for you to come forward, and instead I find out that you’re planning to live like a fucking hermit within the walls of my own home! What. The. Fuck !?!?” I bellow, the rage overtaking me again.
Ashley’s cheeks are scarlet, but she maintains her calm.
“I didn’t know that. I thought for sure that you’d make me get rid of the baby. We’ve had conversations before, Patrick. You told me about your lifestyle, and how you’d fuck women all over the world. You told me that you hated how you were brought up, and how you resent your parents for dying early and saddling you with responsibility. You’re so into your work, and your lifestyle, that a family would only be a hindrance. But the baby and I will be fine on our own, Patrick. You don’t have to have a role in his life. We won’t ask anything of you—”
This time, I stride forward to seize her narrow shoulders with both hands before glaring into her wide blue eyes.
“This child is mine ,” I hiss. “ You are mine. The hell I won’t have a role in your lives. Both of you belong to me .”
That makes Ashley shut up for a moment, her lower lip trembling.
“Really?” she manages in a weepy tone.
“Really,” I rasp. “Do you hear me, Ashley Finnegan? I love you. You complete me. Yes, I was an asshole, and I still am an asshole, but you’ve changed me. You made me feel things that I’ve never felt before. You made me see things that I’ve never seen, despite them being right under my nose. I want to start a family with you. I want to marry you, and raise our children together. I want you to be the viscountess, and to take my name as your own. Will you? Don’t you dare say no, or I might strangle you with my fucking hands,” I grind out.
She wipes her nose as tears roll down her cheeks.
“You don’t have to do this, Patrick,” she sobs. “You don’t have to—”
“No, I want to,” I repeat with urgency, still gripping her shoulders. “I love you, Ashley Finnegan. What’s so hard to understand about that?”
Then, the beautiful young woman breaks down altogether, a waterfall of tears coursing down her cheeks.
“I had no idea!” she wails. “I really thought that you wouldn’t be interested in a family. That you’d make me get rid of the baby, or banish us to the ends of the earth. I had no idea,” she sobs, collapsing against my massive bulk.
Unexpectedly, tears prick my eyes as I stroke the curve of her golden head. A lump forms in my throat when I think about how close we came to disaster – as if I was ever going to let disaster come to my child. But now, the time has come for forgiveness, and I press my lips to her hair, as understanding replaces my subsiding rage.
“It’s fine,” I growl low in my chest. “But never leave me, Ashley. Be mine, forever. Say you’ll be my wife.”
A heart-wrenching sob escapes her throat again, but this time, she lifts her delicate chin to look at me with blue eyes so innocent that I’m overcome with passion.
“Yes, I’ll be yours, Patrick. I look forward to becoming Mrs. O’Lachlan and starting our life together. I will be the Viscountess.”
With that, I claim her plush pout in a soul-devastating kiss because this is the woman I was always meant to be with. I met a young girl at a Vegas casino, who lost her most precious asset to my devious ways and blackened heart. But never underestimate a charming, intelligent young woman because Ashley Finnegan came out the winner in the end ... with my love as the ultimate prize.