Chapter 50
LUC
It was hard to believe that Kylie was in my arms—or, technically, sitting on my lap. I wanted to pinch myself to confirm I wasn’t dreaming.
Was it too soon to invite her back to my place? It was definitely too soon to ask her to come home with me.
“Can I come home with you tonight?”
Thank Christ.
“Please.”
My voice cracked like a nervous fourteen-year-old boy. But it was the only word I trusted myself to say.
“We should probably go back downstairs and join the rest of the party,” Kylie said, her voice barely above a whisper.
“How long do you think we need to stay?”
“I don’t know. These are your players. Not mine.”
While we were still downstairs, the party was mostly family and close friends, but Sam had invited players and their families to stop by. It was a Crapshoot who would show up; some guys might have preferred a night of partying over a small family barbecue.
“Okay. Let’s make a deal. We eat, have one drink, then leave.”
Kylie looked down at her belly.
“Sure, I’ll take a shot of vodka.”
“Sorry, habit. I don’t need a drink.”
“You can drink if you want to,” Kylie said. “It’s not like you’re going to get hammered.”
“Nah. We’ve had some good times with a bottle of champagne or two, but I’ll save that for when you can join me.”
We both smiled at each other, remembering the first night in my house.
I missed how much fun we had almost as much as I missed our friendship.
Over the years, I had tried to explain how BDSM could fit into a relationship, and many people got lost on the power exchange piece.
With us, we were equals everywhere else, but when we played, Kylie submitted, and I had control.
Well, except when I decided not to tell Kylie everything about my past. And that failure was enough to teach me one hell of a lesson.
Add to the equation that most people correlated the lifestyle with flogging and humiliation, and it left few people I trusted to talk about it.
“Let’s go downstairs, put our faces in, and then we can leave.”
I nodded in agreement until I felt my phone vibrate in my pocket.
Jack: Hey, I’m at Drummond’s. Where you at?
Me: On the roof with Kylie.
Jack: Are you decent? When I mentioned Mom and Molly were in town, Sam invited them too.
Me: Um, they’re with you?
Jack: Yup!
“How do you feel about hard launching our relationship and your pregnancy?” I asked, nervous and worried that this would push Kylie away again.
Kylie searched my face, confused. “Isn’t that what we just did?”
“Jack is here—with my mother and Molly.”
“Wait, Molly and your mother came together?”
“Well, it wasn’t my mother’s choice. Jack and I gave her an ultimatum, and now it’s almost one big, happy family.”
“What are they going to think about this?” Kylie gestured to her belly, which wasn’t something that my mother or Molly would miss.
I could sense the panic rise as her eyes darted nervously to the rooftop door and then towards the street.
“Ky, there’s only one way out of here, and you’re not jumping off the roof. They both know about you and know we split up for a bit. Molly had been a great support for me while I was wallowing.”
“Oh no, Luc. They’re going to think I did this on purpose.”
I shook my head and wrapped her in my arms.
“First of all, they won’t. They know I wanted children, and it didn’t happen. Secondly, they know how much I love you. Molly knows everything—or at least everything up until very recently. They both think I’m sterile, though, so that might be interesting.”
“So they don’t know about the baby?”
“The only reason is that I haven’t talked to her. While we were apart, Jack had enlisted them to check in on me on alternate days. They took turns.”
Even thinking about this past winter hurts. God, I wish I had been with Kylie when she took the pregnancy test. Another thing I would never forgive Skylar for fucking up.
“Hey,” Kylie said, picking up on my mood. “We’re not going to let her steal anymore time from us.”
“Yeah. Let’s not.”