11
EVERLY
He gifted me a nursery.
He listened to my confession and went out and bought me everything that I needed for the baby and then put together a nursery for me in his apartment. Who is this man?
I stare at him with tears in my eyes. No one has ever done something so nice for me before.
The bedroom he set me up in just last night is still in the same beige tones as before, but now there is a bassinet by the bed and a changing table along the outside wall.
There are pacifiers and baby toiletries in a little basket on the dresser.
Everything is in neutral tones. He really listened to me.
He knows that I couldn’t bring myself to find out the sex of the baby, so he got me everything in gender neutral tones.
I walk further into the room to run my hand over the white bassinet and give a watery smile to Rowan as he watches from the door with a nervous expression. This is why he was acting funny when I walked in the apartment.
“I can’t believe you did all of this,” I choke out.
He scratches the back of his neck. “I can’t take all the credit.
I kind of needed Sophie to pick everything out,” he admits.
“And my brother, nephew, and the prospects helped me put all the furniture together. Sophie has some baby clothes in the washing machine right now and there are bottles in the kitchen that are already sanitized. Oh, and I installed a car seat in your Telluride and there is a stroller in the back end.”
I swear I have to pick my jaw up from the floor. “You got me a car seat and stroller too?”
He shrugs like it’s no big deal. “Yeah, you needed them.” I bite my lip to stop the tears that are about to fall, but it’s of no use. Tears begin to stream down my face. Rowan’s face contorts into panic. “Hey, don’t cry,” he says as he rushes forward and wraps me in his embrace.
“I can’t help it,” I mumble into his chest. “Thank you so much, Rowan.”
He rubs his hand up and down my back, “You’re so welcome, Ev.”
Later that night, I’m alone in my room after eating way too much food. Chef is one hell of a cook, and he seems like the nicest man. Tonight, he made a few different types of pasta, and I had a little of everything. A girl’s got to eat.
I climb on top of my bed and grab my phone from the nightstand, pulling up my best friend’s contact information and pressing on the call icon. The phone rings for a while, and just when I think it’s going to go to voicemail, she answers.
“Is it time?!” She asks excitedly. It’s how she greets me every time I call her nowadays.
“Not yet,” I chuckle. “Although, I feel freaking huge.”
“I’m sure you look gorgeous.”
“Whatever you say,” I tell her. “I feel like I have so much to tell you.”
She’s silent for a moment. “Why, what’s happening?”
“You may want to sit down, Nic.”
“Well, now I’m worried. What the hell is going on, Everly?”
“So, first I want you to know that I’m safe and the baby is fine,” I hear her intake of breath and continue.
“I have had some weird things left for me on my SUV. First it was a note when I was in Charolette for lunch with my parents and then a teddy bear when I was in the store the other day. They had threatening messages on them.”
“Threatening? Why would anyone be threatening you?”
I sigh. “That’s why I want you to be sitting down. I found out that Travis had clients that were in a motorcycle club, and he screwed them over. The night of our accident, I saw the motorcycles gaining on us and told him. He knew something was about to happen, Nic.”
“That bastard,” Nicole growls.
“That’s not all,” I hedge. “I know I’ve told you about the Sovereign Sons. I had two of their kids in my class last year and Rowan saved me from the car when we crashed.”
“Yeah..” she trails off. “Aren’t they bikers?”
“They are, but they’re not the ones who have been threatening me. They offered me a place to stay that’s safe for me and the baby.”
She’s quiet once more. “Are you sure you can trust these people?”
“I think I can,” I tell her honestly. “I’ve met the club president and his wife multiple times and they’re both really nice. Rowan is the vice president; he’s the president’s brother. I don’t know how to explain it other than I feel safe around him.”
“Is he hot?”
I burst into laughter. Only my best friend would be worried about what Rowan looks like when I’m being threatened by a biker club that did business with my dead fiancé.
“He’s so hot,” I groan as I flop back onto my mattress.
“I knew it! Only you would find a hot biker to protect you and take care of you in this situation.”
“Don’t get ahead of yourself, Nic,” I mutter. “I’m still reeling over what Travis did.”
“Listen, if that asshole put you at risk, he doesn’t deserve you mourning him while he’s gone. He’s paying the price for his sins, you don’t need to, too.”
She’s not wrong. It’s been eight months; it’s not like it was just yesterday. Still, isn’t it too soon for me to be lusting after the man who has been nothing but kind to me?
“It just feels too soon,” I admit. “Plus, Rowan is probably just doing this to be nice.”
She chuckles. “Sure, babe. Just don’t deny yourself something good out of guilt. You have nothing to be guilty about, okay?”
“Okay.”
“Now, before you hang up, share your location with me. If I don’t hear from you before the end of the week, I’ll show up and find you. Bikers be damned.”
****
One Month Later
I’m huge.
I’m huge and miserable.
If I thought that the eight-month mark was bad, nothing would have prepared me for the ninth month of my pregnancy. Everything hurts and everything is difficult.
I thought that I was just being a little bitch, but my doctor assured me that it’s common for women to deal with a lot of body aches this late in their pregnancy. My hips hurt, my back hurts, my legs hurt. I swear I’m having a ten-pound baby, but my doctor is positive that I’m not. We’ll see.
Oh, and don’t even get me started on the hormones. They are in overdrive. Always. It doesn’t help that Rowan walks around the apartment shirtless all the time, either. He’s literally made of muscles and has tattoos all over his arm, chest, and leg. He’s a walking piece of art and it’s frustrating.
We’ve fallen into a comfortable routine over the last month.
Rowan takes me where I need to go when I need to leave the clubhouse.
We have breakfast together every morning and dinner together every night.
I’ve spent a lot of time around the other club members, too, and I have to admit, this place feels a lot like a home.
I didn’t think that I would fit in here; I mean, I’m a first-grade teacher after all, but the guys have been nothing but welcoming. I spend most of my time with Rowan. Even though, I have no idea why he wants to hang out with a pregnant woman all the time.
We’ve watched tons of tv shows together and the entire Marvel Universe. We’ve played a lot of Uno and Phase 10, but he never seems to get tired of me.
I’m sitting in the living room watching the local news when Rowan walks into the room.
Shirtless . Shirtless with low slung basketball shorts on revealing the dark hair that disappears into the waistband, pointing right toward his impressive bulge.
I immediately look up, hoping he hasn’t caught me staring, but the smirk on his face tells me he did.
“I’m going to get a workout in before dinner, okay?”
“Yep!” I squeak. “No problem.”
His lips quirk at my response, but he doesn’t say a word, he just walks out of his suite.
I flip through the channels on tv, trying desperately to distract myself from how horny I feel after seeing Rowan.
I do not need to get off. I’m not turned on.
After a few minutes of arguing with myself, I give in.
I hoist myself up from the couch and go into my room, making sure to close the door behind me before going in search of my vibrator. My vibrator and I have become best friends lately, I just hope it’s charged and ready for me.
I look in my nightstand drawer and sigh in relief when I find it there waiting for me.
I hit the power button, and it purrs to life, so I slip off my dress and panties and climb onto my bed.
My boobs are too big for my bras right now, so I’m constantly walking around without one, but panties are a must because I never know when I’m going to get turned on and I don’t want evidence of my arousal all over my clothes.
I slide the vibrator through my already wet pussy and slowly insert it inside me, groaning when I turn it back on.
I’m pretty sure this vibrator is called a jack rabbit.
It not only stimulates your clit, but it thrusts inside you.
It’s kind of perfect. Well, you know, perfect when you can’t have the real thing.
My eyes roll back in my head as the vibrator thrusts deep, hitting that magic spot inside me.
The vibration on my clit is almost too much for me to take.
My legs begin to shake and before I know it, I’m coming.
This is the one time I don’t hold back. I’m not quiet.
With Rowan downstairs, I know it’s safe to let go. My vision darkens as I moan my release.
But then my bedroom door flies open and so do my eyes. I squeal when Rowan bursts into the room, a look of panic on his face. His eyes only widen further when he takes in my naked form and the vibrator still inside my pussy.