Chapter 21
Stone
The four days in St. John flew by.
We had ourselves a time out there. Yacht rides where Indie laid out in a bikini that had me ready to throw everybody off the boat so I could fuck her right there on the deck.
Jet skis with Indie screaming and laughing while holding onto me, her arms wrapped tight around my waist. Snorkeling in water so clear you could see straight to the bottom.
Couples massages where I had to keep my hands to myself even though all I wanted to do was touch her.
And sex.
We fucked more times than I could count.
In the bed. In the shower. On the balcony overlooking the ocean. In the pool at night when everyone else was asleep. Each time was better than the last.
I never knew sex could be like this. Never knew it could be such an experience until I fell in love with Indie. Fucking someone you loved was a thousand times better than fucking someone you didn’t care for.
It wasn’t just about the nut anymore. It was about the connection. The way she looked at me. The way she said my name. The way our bodies fit together like they were made for each other.
It was everything.
Now we were heading back to the airport for the flight home.
But Indie wasn’t feeling well.
She’d woken up in the middle of the night, throwing up in the bathroom. I’d held her hair, rubbed her back, asked if she was okay. She kept insisting it was something she ate or drank, but I already knew what it was.
She was pregnant.
The way we’d been fucking raw for the past few months, and she hadn’t taken her birth control since before we met, was finally catching up to us. I was confident she was carrying my baby, but I didn’t say anything to her yet. I let her think what she wanted to think for now.
As soon as we got back to the estate, I’d make her take a pregnancy test. I’d already reached out to Ava before we left the villa, told her to have some tests waiting for us by the time we arrived.
Indie sat next to me in the SUV on the way to the airport, her head resting against the window. She looked pale and tired.
I reached over and put my hand on her thigh, squeezing gently.
“You good?” I asked.
She nodded but didn’t look at me.
“Yeah,” she said quietly. “Just ready to get home.”
I didn’t push.
***
During the entire flight, Indie was miserable. She couldn’t keep any food or water down. Every time the flight attendant brought her something, she’d take a few sips or bites, then have to rush to the bathroom.
Aurora kept looking at her with worried eyes.
“You sure you okay, babe?” Aurora asked for the third time.
Indie nodded weakly. “I’m fine. Just something I ate.”
Ishmael was sitting across from us, his face tight with concern. “You need anything, Indie?” he asked.
She shook her head. “I’m good, Ish. Don’t worry.”
But I could see the worry all over his face. Destiny rubbed his arm, trying to comfort him.
Kenzo caught my eye from across the cabin and raised an eyebrow. I just shook my head slightly.
Not yet.
Indie got up again and rushed to the bathroom. I followed her. She was on her knees in front of the toilet, dry heaving. Nothing was coming up because there was nothing left in her stomach.
I knelt down beside her and rubbed her back in slow circles. She leaned into me, her body trembling. “I feel like shit,” she whispered.
“I know,” I said, kissing the top of her head. “We’ll be home soon.”
She nodded against my chest.
We stayed like that for a few minutes before she pulled back and wiped her mouth with a tissue.
“I’m sorry for ruining the end of the trip,” she said, her voice small.
I cupped her face in my hands and made her look at me. “You didn’t ruin shit,” I said. “You hear me?”
She nodded, tears filling her eyes. I kissed her forehead, then helped her stand up.
We went back to our seats, and I pulled her onto my lap, holding her close for the rest of the flight. By the time we landed in LA, Indie was exhausted and miserable. She could barely keep her eyes open.
We said our goodbyes to Aurora and Kenzo in the airport parking lot. Aurora hugged Indie tight, whispering something in her ear that I couldn’t hear. Indie nodded and hugged her back.
Kenzo dapped me up. “Good trip, bro,” he said.
“Yeah,” I said. “It was.”
He looked at Indie, then back at me, a knowing look in his eyes, but he didn’t say anything. Just nodded and walked away with Aurora.
We climbed into the SUV—me, Indie, Ishmael, and Destiny. Javion drove us to Destiny’s house first. Ish walked her to the door, kissed her goodnight, then jogged back to the truck. Then we headed to the estate.
The drive was quiet.
Indie had her head on my shoulder, her eyes closed. Ish was on his phone, texting Destiny probably.
When we pulled up to the estate, the gates opened and we drove through. Javion parked in front of the house, and I helped Indie out of the truck.
“I’m going to my room,” Ish said, grabbing his bag. “You good, Indie?”
She nodded. “Yeah, I’m good. Get some rest.”
He looked at her for a long moment, then nodded and headed inside.
I grabbed our bags and followed Indie into the house. She started walking toward the stairs, but I could see how weak she was. How exhausted.
I set the bags down and scooped her up into my arms.
“Stone—”
“I’m carrying you, Indie,” I said.
She didn’t argue. She just wrapped her arms around my neck and let me do it.
I took her upstairs to our master bedroom and laid her down gently on the bed. She curled up on her side, her eyes already closing.
“I’m just gonna rest for a minute,” she mumbled.
“Okay, baby,” I said, but I wasn’t letting her rest yet.
Not until we confirmed what I already knew.
I walked into the en-suite bathroom and opened the cabinet under the sink. There they were. Several unopened pregnancy tests, just like I’d asked Ava to get.
I grabbed two of them and walked back into the bedroom. Indie’s eyes were closed, but she wasn’t asleep yet. I sat down on the edge of the bed next to her.
“Indie,” I said quietly.
She opened her eyes and looked at me, then her gaze dropped to what was in my hand. Her eyes went wide. Realization dawned on her face like she’d just figured it out. Like the thought hadn’t even crossed her mind until this exact moment.
“You need to take a test, baby,” I said.
She sat up slowly, a panicked look spreading across her face.
“Oh God,” she said, her voice shaking. “What if I’m pregnant?”
I stared at her.
She looked genuinely scared. Like being pregnant with my baby was a problem.
“Why you trippin’, Indigo?” I said, my voice hard. “You don’t want to have my baby? You been letting me fuck you raw, so you had to know this shit was a possibility.”
Her eyes snapped to mine, and she frowned.
“I didn’t say all that,” she said, snatching the test from my hand. “Let me go take this test so we can know for sure.”
She stood up and walked into the bathroom. I grabbed another test from the cabinet and followed her.
I handed her the second test, then leaned against the doorframe.
She looked at me.
“You gonna watch me pee?” she asked.
“Yeah,” I said.
She rolled her eyes but didn’t tell me to leave. She pulled down her leggings and panties and sat on the toilet. I watched her in silence as she peed on both sticks, then set them on the counter. She washed her hands, then walked over to her side of the his and hers sinks. I walked over to mine.
We stood there, facing each other across the bathroom. Neither of us spoke. The silence was heavy. Tense. Indie pulled out her phone and set a timer for three minutes. Then we waited. I stared at her while she stared at the tests.
Her hands were gripping the edge of the counter so hard her knuckles were damn near white. I could see the fear in her eyes. The uncertainty. But I wasn’t uncertain. I already knew.
After what felt like an eternity, the alarm on her phone went off. We both looked down at the tests. Two pink lines on both of them.
Positive.
I stared at those two lines, and something inside me shifted. I couldn’t describe the emotions raging through me. Pride. Possessiveness. Fear. Love. All of it hitting me at once.
Indie was carrying my child.
Our child.
A piece of me was growing inside her.
I looked over at her, and she was crying. Tears streaming down her face as she stared at the tests.
“I’m really pregnant,” she said, her voice barely above a whisper.
She sounded shellshocked. Like she couldn’t believe it.
My jaw clenched.
“Them happy tears?” I asked.
She looked up at me and nodded.
“I’m happy, Stone,” she said, her voice breaking. “I just can’t believe I’m really pregnant. We’re gonna have a baby.”
I walked over to her and pulled her into my arms. Held her against my chest. Kissed the top of her head over and over. She wrapped her arms around me and held on tight. After a moment, she pulled back and looked up into my eyes.
“Are you happy?” she asked.
I stared down at her. At this beautiful, strong, fearless woman who’d changed my entire life. Who’d made me feel things I didn’t think I was capable of feeling. Who was now carrying my baby.
“You got my seed in you,” I said, my voice rough. “Hell yeah a nigga happy. I love you, Indigo. And I’m gon’ love our baby. I already do.”
Her face crumpled and she started crying again, but she was smiling through the tears.
“I love you, too, daddy,” she said.
I kissed her, deep and slow and full of everything I felt for her. When I pulled back, I rested my forehead against hers.
This was it. This was my family.
But before I could say anything else, Indie’s face went pale. She broke free from my grip and ran to the toilet, dropping to her knees. I followed her, kneeling down beside her and rubbing her back as she dry heaved. Nothing came up. She was empty, but her body was still trying.
“It’s okay, baby,” I said quietly, rubbing slow circles on her back. “You gon’ be straight.”
She leaned against me, exhausted.
I held her there on the bathroom floor, my hand never stopping its soothing motion on her back.
As I sat there, holding the woman I loved while she carried my child, I made a promise to myself.
I was about to have a family. A real family. And I was going to make sure Indie had the most stress-free, relaxed pregnancy imaginable. She was going to want for nothing. She was going to be protected, taken care of, loved. Whatever she needed, she’d have it.
Because she was mine, and so was our baby.
And I’d burn the whole world down before I let anything happen to either of them.