Mad Addiction (Crazy Beautiful #2) (9 page)

Yeah. Right.

He probably picked it up at Walmart on his lunch break and I’m sure it was cheap. It’s probably not even real. The realization makes my throat feel tight, but I shake it off. I’m just tired. It’s been a long day and I can barely keep my eyes open. I quickly change into some comfy pajamas—a pair of shorts and an old t-shirt—before unpacking my toiletries. I wash my face and pee for the bajillionth time today. As I brush my teeth, I’m entertained by how neat and meticulous everything in the bathroom is. Maybe I expected some dirty, smelly bachelor pad, but I am pleasantly surprised by the tranquil vibe of Ryan’s place. It’s very much a reflection of his personality, and I find it reassuring.

I shuffle over to the bed and slide down between the sheets. I’ve never felt so small in a bed before. I can fully stretch out in every direction and not even come close to the edge. I curl up on my left side and hug one of the pillows tightly to my chest. It smells like cinnamon, and that’s the last thing I remember before drifting peacefully off to sleep.

I’m woken up by the same smell of cinnamon, which is now overpowering. I feel a warm, firm body pressed against mine as a tongue expertly glides across my chest, sending thrills of pleasure down my spine. I run my fingers through the man’s hair and pull his face to kiss mine. At the same time I feel him push his big, hard length deep inside me and I unashamedly moan into his mouth. He tastes delicious. He nibbles my ear before whispering, “Mine. You’re all fucking mine.” I open my eyes and see two dark blue ones staring wildly back at me. I’ve never felt so much pleasure in all my life. My head falls back against the pillows in complete ecstasy. He pounds into me so fast and hard I’m afraid he will split me in two. But it feels so good I don’t really care. Just as he sends me careening over the edge, I cry out “Ryan!” loudly and passionately before I lose all consciousness.

Suddenly I’m running through a dark forest, being chased by someone wearing all black. The wind is howling and whipping around my face while leaves crunch loudly under my feet. I’m running as fast as I can, but every time I glance over my shoulder he’s right there, only a few steps behind. My heart is pounding and I can barely breathe. I trip over a fallen tree branch and fall to the ground with a sickening thud. I try to scramble away, but a jolt of excruciating pain spreads through my ankle. I feel a heavy hand grip my shoulder. I try to scream as the man pulls me up roughly to face him . . .

I jolt upright, sweaty and short of breath. It takes a second for me to realize where I am.

It was just a dream, Kell. A super sexy fantasy turned super scary nightmare, maybe, but a dream all the same.

It just felt so goddamn vivid and real. I can’t tell if the dampness of my shorts is from sweat or desire, but the way my heart is racing and I feel extremely on edge makes me want to run and wake Ryan up. I never got to see the creepy man’s face, which makes it even more terrifying. The lights outside are casting strange shadows on the wall, making my skin crawl. I take a few deep breaths and just as I’m starting to calm down a gust of wind rattles the windows, scaring the ever living shit out of me.

Fuck this.

I scramble out of bed and scurry to the living room where Ryan is asleep on the couch. He looks completely content, lying on his back with his left arm outstretched above his head. The way his chest moves lazily up and down tells me he’s out cold. I slide quietly next to him. As I shimmy my way under the blanket, pressing my body to his so as not to fall off the edge, my hand brushes against something warm and muscle-y. And semi-hard.

Ryan stirs and stares at me through confused, half-awake eyes. “Brooks? What the hell are you doing?” His voice is rough and raspy . . . aka hot and sexy.

I unceremoniously blurt out “You sleep naked?”

He exhales a gravelly chuckle, lightly tugging at the hem of my t-shirt. “If I knew you were planning to sleep with me, I would have told you the dress code.” I poke him in the ribs, which makes him twitch. “Hey, you’re the one who woke me up. Is everything OK?” he asks in a sleepy voice.

I tuck the blanket closer to my legs, creating a barrier between our lower halves. “I had a bad dream. These stupid pregnancy hormones make everything seem so real and your room is too big and quiet. It’s creepy.”

Ryan goes still and for a second I think he fell back to sleep. He leisurely rolls over and drapes his arm over my midsection, his fingers splayed across my stomach. Before he drifts off he slurs, “I’ll keep you both safe, Sunshine.”

When his breathing slows I know he’s fallen back into a deep slumber.

I, on the other hand, lay wide awake for another hour, trying not to read too much into his words. The less I try to attach meaning or feeling to this situation, the easier it will be.

Once I finally succumb to sleep, I slip easily back into dreaming about a certain body part situated beneath the thin covers next to me.

Ryan

I’
m surprised to wake up with a warm, soft body sprawled over mine. I vaguely recall a conversation with Kelley late last night that I thought was a dream. Apparently not.

Her hair is tangled and messy. Her cheek is on my chest. I feel a hot burst of air as she breathes in and out. On every exhale an adorable, muffled snore escapes. I instinctually hug my arms tighter around her. When she melts into my arms, wrapping her leg around mine, my dick springs to life. That’s enough to snap me fully awake and realize this is a bad idea.

A
very
bad idea.

Rule Number One for Keeping Control: remove temptation. Here I have a gorgeous girl—who happens to be carrying my child—living in my apartment—which is a big fucking deal in itself—wearing nothing but a thin t-shirt and short shorts, cuddled against me as my cock threatens to bore a hole right through the blanket.
And I agreed to stay celibate for the next nine months. What the fuck was I thinking?

I maneuver myself out from under the covers and rise off the couch. Kelley starts to move, and I freeze like a fucking deer caught in big, beaming headlights. She settles back down, hugging the pillow in my absence. I take the opportunity to sprint my naked ass to the bedroom. I need some damn pants. And a cold shower.

A short time later I’m clean and calm and walk back to the kitchen wearing a pair of jeans and an old college t-shirt. Kelley is no longer on the couch, but I hear water running in the spare bathroom so I start messing around in the kitchen.

By the time Kelley exits the bathroom and walks over to sit on one of the stools, mumbling a groggy,
“Morning,”
I’m topping off two mugs.

“Morning. Sleep well?” I can’t resist a seductive smirk. She rolls her eyes and I let out a quick chuckle. “I thought we’d have some breakfast and then go to your place to get your car and the rest of your things.”

“Sounds like a plan.”

I extend one of the mugs and she reaches for it eagerly. “Ah, bless you.” She goes in for a big sip. As soon as the liquid reaches her mouth, she nearly spits it out. She manages to choke it down, but sticks out her tongue afterwards. “This is the weakest coffee I’ve ever had.”

“That’s because it’s tea.” I lean back against the counter, taking my own sip.

“Seriously? No coffee?”

“I don’t drink it, but even if I did I wouldn’t give you any. I read caffeine isn’t good for pregnant women. This stuff has ginger or some shit in it, which is supposed to help if you feel sick.” I might have been bored a few nights this week and stumbled across some baby forums online. Sue me.

“I feel sick all right . . .” Kelley rests her chin in her hands. “So, no alcohol and no caffeine. Now I can understand why you gave me such a hard time about
Grind
. What’s your deal, Blake? Are you some sort of health nut?”

I shake my head. “I just prefer not to indulge in addictive behaviors.”

“That’s gotta take some crazy willpower.”

“Nothing sacrificed, nothing gained.” I reach in the cabinet. “Here. I also picked these up for you. I heard it’s a good brand.” I place a plastic bottle on the counter between us.

She picks it up and stares at me accusingly. “Don’t tell me you’re going to be one of
those
guys.”

I raise an eyebrow. “Those guys?”

“You know, the kind who thinks that just because half your DNA is inside my uterus, you have a right to dictate what I can and can’t do.” She slams the bottle filled with prenatal vitamins back on the counter before crossing her arms angrily.

“Jesus, Brooks. I’m just trying to be helpful. Forget the vitamins if they offend you that much.” I pick up the pills to throw them in the trash. Can’t a guy do something nice without getting his head ripped off? I read about mood swings, but shit, it’s going to be a long nine months.

Kelley lunges across the counter to grab my elbow. “Wait, Wait. I’m sorry. I’ll take them.” She slides the bottle from my hands and sits back on the stool. We stare at each other in an awkward silence before she gestures to the carton of eggs on the counter behind me. “I believe you mentioned something about breakfast? Remember, I’m eating for two now. And I plan to take full advantage of that.”

I return her playful smile, confused by her emotional one-eighty, but fucking relieved she’s no longer upset. For now. “Coming right up, Sunshine.”

Yup, it’s definitely going to be a long nine months.

Eleven Weeks

“Tell me again why we agreed to do this?” Kelley frowns as she grabs the foil-covered apple pie she made that’s sitting on the dashboard as I hold open her car door.

“Because Lucas and Eli are family and I always spend Thanksgiving here.” I extend my arm to help her down from the truck. “Plus Luc fucking blackmailed me into it.”

I slam the door closed and we make our way to the door. “Do you think Eli knows the truth?” The hesitation in her voice is apparent.

“Nah. Luc might give me shit but he’s true to his word.” Both Lucas and Kinsley know about the baby, but as soon as we told them about us moving in together they knew the whole engagement thing was a crock of shit. We swore them to secrecy, though, so as far as I’m concerned nobody else should ever need to find out. We’re waiting until she’s further along to tell anybody else she’s pregnant—Eli included—so today is basically going to suck.

I let us in the back door at Eli’s house, not needing to knock. He has always been like a father to me and I hate to fucking keep secrets from him, but it’s all just part of the goddamn mess I’ve gotten myself into.

As we enter the kitchen Eli and Kinsley are sitting at the table talking while Luc leans against the counter nursing a beer. Eli looks genuinely thrilled as he gets up to greet us. He hugs me and then Kelley before saying, “I hear congratulations are in order, huh?”

Kelley eyes me nervously but plasters on a big smile for Eli. We both nod stiffly. I silently remind myself he’s only talking about the engagement, but it doesn’t help that Lucas gets the biggest shit-eating grin on his face and I have to resist flashing him a certain hand gesture. Suddenly Kelley thrusts out her hands and practically shouts, “I made pie!” causing everyone to stare at her outburst. Kinsley not so subtlety hops up to cause a distraction by hugging Kelley. Thankfully Eli doesn’t acknowledge something weird is going on and thanks Kelley for the pie before putting it on the counter for later.