Page 25 of Daddy's Reckoning
When my friends finally left around nine after three whole pizzas, Erin was starting to doze off on the armchair. I shook my head and gathered her into my arms. I shouldn't have let them stay so long, but honestly, Nyla had been right. I'd been a jackass the past few months. I figured I owed them an explanation, and that explanation had turned into a celebration when I shared my news. Our news, I silently corrected myself. Erin may have balked when I tried to make us a ‘we’, but that didn't mean I was giving up. She shifted in my arms and wrapped hers around my neck, whimpering softly in her sleep.
I love this woman and I’m going to do what it takes to make her mine.
She awoke when I laid her in the bed, leaving her in the same lounge clothes I'd dressed her in this morning.
Her eyes popped open as I chucked my own clothes off, laying my slacks and dress shirt on the edge of the bed. When I started to peel off my boxer-briefs, she sat up, her eyes wide as if she hadn't seen what was underneath them a hundred times already. “W-what are you doing?”
“Getting ready for bed.” My answer was deadpan because it was obvious.
She frowned and pushed her body flat against the headboard. “You’re going to sleep in here?”
“It is my bedroom. That's generally where one sleeps.” My answer seemed to be upsetting her, but I wasn't sure why. We’d shared a bed—this bed—plenty of times. Hell, we’d even made a baby in it.
“I knew this was a bad idea,” she grumbled, pushing back the covers and sitting with her feet off the side of the bed.
I stopped undressing and stared at her. “What are you doing?”
“I'm leaving. You can take me home or I’ll call an Uber.”
What the fuck?
“First of all, get your butt back in bed now,” I commanded through gritted teeth.
Her eyes met mine. “Or what?”
I started to answer but she quickly backpedaled. “I'm sorry. That wasn't fair. Theo. I appreciate you, and I'm so thankful you want to be a part of our child's life, I truly am, but that doesn't mean you owe me anything, and it would be too easy to stay here and let you coddle me and fall back into old habits. You know, the ones that got us here in the first place.”
She was on bed rest, for god's sake. I hadn't planned on doing anything more than sleeping. Frustrated and confused, I shoved a hand through my hair.
“So? What's wrong with that?”
Her face shuttered with an emotion I couldn't place. Sadness? Longing? Regret? “Nevermind," she muttered. “Just hand me my phone so I can call an Uber.”
“The hell you say. You aren’t going anywhere. Get your butt back in the bed and under the covers now.” I started to issue a threat but stopped when I realized I no longer had the power to do so. At least, I didn’t think I did.
Erin made no move to obey, crossing her arms over her chest. “Theo, I don’t….”
“Is this because I was going to sleep in my own bed?”
She didn’t answer, but I could see on her face that it was a yes. “You’re a millionaire,” she finally said. “Don’t you have a guest room I can sleep in?”
She knew the answer was no. At least, I was pretty sure she knew that. Didn’t she?
“Forget it. If it's that important to you, I’ll sleep on the couch.” Snatching my discarded slacks off the edge of the bed, I stepped back into them, not bothering to zip or button them. There was no way I’d fit on the couch, and I didn’t have a guest room, but I did have a lumpy futon in my office. And if that was what it would take to get her to stay, I’d happily give up a good night's sleep and buy a new bed tomorrow. Or hell, maybe a new house. One with a guest room.
That would piss her off, I had no doubt, but I couldn’t get the idea out of my head once I had it. A house downtown with a front porch and a backyard, a guest room and a nursery. Maybe we’d get a dog. At least if I got kicked out of my own room, I’d have a place to go. The plan brought a smile to my face, and I blew her a kiss as I strutted from the room. I wouldn’t sleep for shit, but I had house listings to look at.
ERIN
For the third day in a row, I woke up alone in Theo’s bed contemplating life. Particularly today, I was contemplating why in the hell I was making Theo sleep on a lumpy futon in his office when I knew I’d sleep much better with him next to me. But I knew the answer. I didn’t want him to be with me out of some sort of misguided, old- fashioned-thinking sense of obligation. Let’s be real, ours hadn’t been a love match. It had been nothing more than a glorified business arrangement with hot sex. Mind-blowing sex. The kind of sex I feared I’d never experience again.
I needed to get the fuck out of there and away from him before I gave into all my urges.
The only problem with my plan was that every time he checked my blood pressure, it was still high. I was pretty sure that was because being around him raised it, but I wasn’t about to admit that to him.
The good thing was he’d been busy with some secret project the past few days. Everything was hushed phone calls and long hours glued to his laptop. I had to admit I was curious, because there was no part of his job that required so much secrecy and clandestine meetings, but at least he wasn’t hovering over me constantly.
Of course the moment I had that thought, the door to his bedroom creaked open and Theo poked his head in. “Good morning,” he called out cheerfully.