Chapter 18
Aurora
Reece kneads the tension from my shoulder, his injured arm resting on the rim of the tub. “A bath wasn’t on my agenda today.”
“Yet, here you are,” I joke. He wasn’t hard to convince either. His fingers work their magic, and I let my head fall forward. “That feels so good.”
The apartment is quiet with Jackson and Ethan out on their scandalous date. I smile to myself, thinking about their photos online. In every shot, they look effortlessly happy, blissfully in love.
Reece digs his thumb into a stubborn knot near my spine, and I wince.
“Sorry, your muscles are tight.”
“Sleep isn’t very comfortable these days.” I glance down at my rounded belly peeking above the bubbles. “I had a body pillow in LA. I need to get another one.”
“Order it. Have it delivered.”
“I’m not sure the bed is big enough for anything else.”
His hand drifts lower to the small of my back. “True,” he mumbles, sounding distant or distracted. “I can sleep on the couch or in the guest room while Harper’s gone.”
“There won’t always be four of us sleeping together.” Soon, Jax will return to hockey, and Ethan will travel with him. Then it’ll just be Reece and me. “I’ll order one.”
Eli stirs inside me, and I press my palm to the spot where I feel a kick or an elbow.
Reece pauses. “Is he moving?”
I nod, reach back, and direct his hand to my side. “I swear, he’s going to be a swimmer—he loves the water.”
The baby bumps Reece’s palm, and he jerks his hand away as if burned. My heart sinks. I shift in the water to study his expression, searching for some clue to explain his reaction.
His gaze drops to my breasts. He grips my hips and guides me to straddle him. “Come here, angel.”
I settle my hands on his shoulders. “I have a question for you.”
He continues to stare at my chest. “Kind of difficult to concentrate right now, but go ahead.”
“Well, focus. This is important.”
He glances up, and, in an instant, I see it—the moment he registers the disappointment on my face.
He straightens. “What’s wrong?”
“What was that? You yanked your hand away. Is it weird for you?”
He hesitates, and dread settles, cold and heavy, in my gut.
“Reece…” I prompt.
Nothing.
My heartbeat hammers in my throat. “Do you not like the baby?”
“That’s not true.” He shakes his head. “That’s not it.”
“But there’s something?” I know my relationship with him differs from the others, but I have no idea how we’ll get past him not loving my baby. The thought is excruciating. “What is it?”
He rakes his fingers through his damp hair and tugs at his lip piercing with his teeth.
“In my head”—he taps his temple, right where my name is inked—“you’re mine.
I just didn’t meet you first. I’ve accepted the other two.
I see how we work. I know my place on this team.
” He tucks a loose wave behind my ear. “But you’re still wholeheartedly mine. ”
“Okay…” I drag out, not fully understanding. If he loves me, then he can love Eli too, right?
“The baby isn’t mine, and it feels wrong to love another man’s child—not that I won’t or I don’t, but that I shouldn’t. Do you see what I’m saying?”
I stare at him, in shock.
It’s safe to assume Reece’s father made all the rules, and his mother followed. His father behaved as if he owned them, even though they’re adults. He became aggressive when Jackson—another man—stepped in while he was vilifying Harper, or when Harper glanced at Reece for help.
Reece has no bond with his mother. He doesn’t talk about her or call her. But he loves his sisters, and he adores Danny. I believe he can love my baby if he’d let himself—I know he can.
“No, I don’t get it. Eli is a part of me. Ethan may have fathered him, but he doesn’t own him. He’ll be a great dad; so will Jax, and you. But no one owns the baby.”
Reece’s expression remains stoic. Maybe I’m not making the right argument. He respects Ethan, respects the sanctity of marriage and fatherhood.
I try another angle. “Tell me, do you think Daniel owns Danny?” I give him a moment to consider it. “Do you believe Daniel can waltz in here and take Danny simply because he’s the father? That Jax isn’t allowed to love Danny because he’s not his father? Or Rocco?”
Reece’s gaze softens, and his rigid posture relaxes. “No,” he finally answers, quiet but firm. “Daniel doesn’t own Danny, and we all love him. I get your point.”
I slip my arms around his neck. “Love has no limits—we can all love this baby.”
He draws me into his chest. “Sorry. I know you’re right. I’m just struggling.”
“Talk to me.” I brush his wet hair back from his forehead. It’s still long on top and shaved on the sides, showing off his tattoos. “This baby is going to love you, climb all over you, want to play with you. I want you to love him, too.”
He inhales deeply and exhales slowly. “I do. I was raised with archaic ideas about marriage and family—about what makes a man. Even the military, which is far from progressive, was a culture shock. It wasn’t until I got to know Lucas that I realized how wrong everything drilled into my head truly was.
My sisters deserved better. This whole thing with Harper is…
She was tricked, passed from one asshole to another, from my father to her husband.
” His jaw clenches, the muscles bulging, and his eyes turn glassy.
“Yet, I still long to marry you, to have a family with you. I’m constantly at war with myself. ”
“Jax and I aren’t married,” I confess, in an effort to ease his mind.
“We have a domestic partnership agreement and what Rocco calls a marriage contract. The agreement protects me financially. I can’t legally marry anyone else without breaking it, but I can have children who aren’t Jackson’s.
At the time, it was perfect. Ethan had made it clear he never wanted to get married again. But maybe—”
“Ethan has security,” Reece snaps, his gaze flicking to my baby bump. “You’ll never leave him.”
I recoil at his harsh tone. “And you don’t?”
“If you do, he’ll hunt you down,” he adds.
“And you won’t?”
His blue eyes freeze over. “I would. I’d go to the ends of the earth to find you.”
The intensity in his stare sends a shiver across my skin, along with the lukewarm water. There’s no hesitation, no doubt in his voice, which leads me to believe this is about security, about trust.
Maybe he feels he’s lacking something the other two have—I can understand that.
Maybe I sparked a reaction when I mentioned Jax and I aren’t legally married, but Reece never let me finish.
I was going to offer to renegotiate the agreement if it meant that much to him.
Now, I’m not so sure what he wants. I’m confused.
I hold his icy gaze. “Then what’s the problem? What are you missing?” I shrug, palms raised. “You claim me as yours, claim you love me. Said you’d always be with me. Are you worried I don’t feel the same? Are you afraid of becoming too attached to Eli?”
“No.” He scoots up. “Let’s get out. You’re cold.”
He’s dodging my questions, and I don’t like it, not one bit. Still, I move off his lap and let him go.