Chapter 63 Jada
I had never felt so utterly rejected and alone as I did in this moment. The room fell completely silent, but I could feel Jude’s denial of my baby and me echoing around us as surely as a cymbal crash.
It thundered, rattling me to my core until I was on the verge of tears, a million nasty thoughts racing through my mind.
Was my baby really in danger?
Or are those the lengths her father would go to for some distance from me?
“Jada,” Bryce whispered.
I looked at him, tears gathering in my eyes. “Yes?” The word came out shaky as my legs were starting to fail. The fact that I was still standing was a small miracle.
“I’m sorry.”
Those were the last two words I expected to hear from Bryce’s lips.
“Sorry?” I echoed, swaying. I was too weak to stand and have this conversation at the same time.
All I wanted was to be enveloped in his arms again, protected from the rest of the world.
“Jude isn’t the man I thought he was,” Bryce said, scrubbing his hand over his chin. “My best friend never would walk away from his child.”
A bitter laugh escaped my lips because that’s exactly what Jude had done.
Both by text message and in person. He left no room for doubt, no glimmer of possibility that he could turn things around and stand by his child.
At least he’d promised financial help—but it felt more like paying for a problem to go away than true support.
The queasy feeling built, and I slid into a chair to keep from throwing up or passing out. Both seemed equally likely at this point. Because now the father would be around, no matter what. Jude wouldn’t leave the company he partially owned, and I’d never ask Bryce to do that either.
Bryce crossed the room, kneeling in front of me. “Can we talk about what comes next?”
Somehow, looking into his light-blue eyes, I felt safe enough to nod and whisper, “Okay.”
“If you were marrying me for my money, you’re off the hook. Jude will get you the money, and if he doesn’t, I will.”
I stared at him. “You think I’m marrying you for your money?”
“No,” he said. “But if it was a factor at all, I want you to know you’re free to withdraw from this engagement.”
“Do you want me to?”
His eyebrows creased. “Of course not. I love you, Jada. And your child. Babies, children, they deserve to be taken care of no matter how they came into the world.”
The dam broke, and a tear spilled over my cheek, then another, and I reached to wipe them away.
“But Jude is right,” Bryce continued. “We need to decide before we leave this room. Is the child mine or not?” His eyes were red, but he hadn’t shed a tear yet.
“I’m realizing that I don’t want to be a bystander in my home.
I want to be part of a family,” he said.
“If we do this, we’re all in. I will be her father in everything but blood.
I’ll be committing to her as much as I commit to you. ”
My heart opened up at the words, more liquid emotion spilling from my eyes. Bryce didn’t see my daughter as an inconvenience. He wanted her. He was choosing her as well as me.
“I’d love that,” I admitted. It was scary to say out loud. I’d only known Bryce such a short time, but I trusted him more than almost anyone else.
I saw the joy in his eyes for a second before he leaned in and kissed me passionately. His kiss was consuming, breathtaking, energizing me so much that I had to stand and meet him with passion of my own.
And yet, a kiss wasn’t enough to capture the feelings racing through me. I needed more from Bryce. He must have needed more too.
He backed me to the wall of books, dragging his hands under my dress, kneeing my legs apart so he could rub the base of his palm over my sensitive parts.
I moaned out against his kiss, whimpered for more. Shoving my underwear aside, his fingers roved through my folds, warming me up, building sensation. I held his face in my hands, kissing him through the tears falling down my cheeks.
It was like every chance he had to turn away from me, he only drew me closer.
He healed parts of me I hadn’t even known were broken and gave me hope for a future like nothing I dared imagine for myself before.
Bryce Madigan had it all—emotional safety, breathtakingly good looks, a family who supported him through it all, and a successful career.
And he wanted… me.
The thought had pleasure building within me as I ground my hips to get more friction, more pressure from his hand.
“Bryce,” I gasped against his lips. “Please.”
Wordlessly, he reached for his pants, undoing the belt and freeing his cock. When he pressed it against my sex, I could feel how hard he was. My pussy ached to be filled with him, and yet, when he pressed into me, I cried out from how thoroughly he stretched me, leaving room for nothing but him.
“That’s it, baby,” he told me, looking in my eyes with a hooded gaze.
“Bryce,” I murmured, basking in the sensation of him, his breath hot on my cheek, his sack slapping against me with each thrust, his tight grip on my knee as he lifted it for access.
“You’re mine.” There was a carnal edge to his voice as he drove into me, long, steady strokes changing to frenzied thrusts.
“I’m yours,” I echoed, holding his face while everything else slipped from my mind. Nothing mattered but him, but us.
And then the dam broke, leaving an orgasm gushing through me in its wake. Bryce’s features contorted with his release, gasping for breath as he came inside me.
For a moment, we were silent, our chests heaving for breath, staring at each other in the aftermath of what we’d done.
Then he slowly withdrew from me, carefully laid down the skirt of my dress, and adjusted his pants. And then he kissed me again, taking his time like it didn’t matter that we’d been absent from his party for too long already.
But when he pulled back, he looked me in the eyes. “Are you sure about this?” he asked. “Once we go out there, there’s no going back.”
Instead of speaking, I slipped my hand through his and walked toward the door. As soon as we got through, Cruz rushed up to us with panic in his eyes, saying, “Where the hell have you been?”