“How many times have we been pretty wasted when we fucked?”

  Leo shrugs. “I don’t know. I mean… A lot?”

  “How many of those times do you think maybe we forgot to grab a condom or were too swept up in the moment to really care?”

  Leo shrugs again. “I guess… A lot.”

  “And don’t say such things about yourself. You’re going to be an amazing daddy. You poor thing,” I say, squeezing his hand and resting my head back against the bed.

  “What?” Leo asks. “Why?”

  I give him a snarky grin. “My daddy’s going to murder you dead.”

  The door to my hospital room opens, and my dad’s head fills the opening. “You up?” he asks, looking me straight in the eyes.

  “Do I look up?” I tease him and place my finger against my lips before ticking my head toward a sleeping Leo. He hasn’t left my side all night.

  “Kid looks like shit,” Dad mutters, coming next to the bed and grabbing my hand. “I was so worried, baby. So damn worried.”

  “We’re okay, Daddy. I knew one of you would find me, and we’d get out of this okay,” I sort of lie. I had faith in them, but whether or not we’d be okay…who the fuck knew.

  “We?” Dad asks, his eyebrows pulling down in the center, causing his forehead to crease more than normal.

  “Don’t freak out,” I whisper.

  My words make his eyes widen suddenly. “Who did what to you? I’ll kill ’em.”

  “Daddy,” I bite out. “You will not.” I move my hand to my stomach. “I’m pregnant.”

  My father staggers backward, his hand on his chest like I punched him. “You’re what? How?”

  I stare at him. “You understand how babies are made, Dad.”

  He shakes his head, trying to regain his composure. “Who?”

  My eyes drift to Leo, and my father’s head turns to the side, following my gaze. I don’t even have a chance to speak before my dad is holding a fistful of Leo’s T-shirt in his hand, ripping him out of the chair.

  “I should fucking kill you,” Dad says as Leo’s eyes open wider, and he goes to swing but misses.

  “Daddy,” I snap. “Stop it.”

  “You touched my little girl?”

  “I… Um…”

  “Dad,” I plead. “This isn’t good for the baby.”

  My dad’s shoulders slump forward, but he doesn’t let go of Leo. “Fuck me,” he whispers. “I knew you two were fucking around. Knew it in my bones. I thought you two were smarter than this.” He shakes his head. “You’re nothing but babies yourself, and I’m not old enough to be a gran—” He stops, swallowing hard at the word.

  “Grandpa,” I say for him. “Surprise, you’re going to be a grandpa.”

  “Like fuck I am.”

  I giggle. “You are.”

  “I’m going to be Tiny to everyone, even the kid.”

  I raise an eyebrow. “Our baby is not calling you Tiny. Don’t be ridiculous. You can be Grandpa, Pa, Pawpaw, Gramps, Grandpappy, Granddad…”

  “Stop,” Dad begs, releasing Leo. “I can’t. This is too much.”

  “Daddy,” I whisper and hold out my hand to him.

  He takes my fingers in his as he moves back to my bedside, leaving Leo unharmed. “I thought I’d never see you again, baby. I thought about all the years I wasted and fucked away.”

  “I’m fine. We’re fine,” I reassure him. “We have the rest of our lives, and you can make up all the missed time you didn’t get with me with your grandchild.”

  He’s green, but he doesn’t argue.

  “You’re going to make an awesome grandpa.”

  “Big Paw.”

  “What?”

  “They can call me Big Paw.”

  Leo rolls his eyes behind my dad, and I stifle a laugh. “Whatever you want as long as you promise to love the baby more than you love me.”

  “Impossible,” Dad says as he leans over and places a kiss on my forehead.

  I’m smiling like an idiot when he turns his face toward Leo. “We’re not done dealing with this between us. Man-to-man. Brother-to-brother.”

  Leo nods, standing tall, but he remains silent.

  “Get some rest,” Dad says to me. “I’ll swing by to see you when you get home.”

  “Thanks, Daddy.”

  “Love you, baby.”

  “Love you too,” I tell him, and I mean every word of it.

  For as lonely as my childhood was, my adult years have been kicking ass, and I can only see more love in the future.

  18

  Leo

  “Lia? Baby, are you awake?”

  I hear Leo’s voice calling to me in my dreams. I squint and bury my face deeper in the pillow. If this is a dream, I want to go right back to sleep.

  “Lia?”

  The familiar squeak of my bedroom door opening lets me know the voice is real.

  “Leo, it’s so…early…” I moan. “Why are you out of bed? You promised me you’d stay here all week long!”

  I’ve only been home from the hospital for a day. Leo has been a wreck ever since we got home. He’s been on the phone constantly, calling Josh for information about Tim. Calling Tiny to check in on the MC. Calling Morris for moral support.

  “Babe, it’s not early,” he tells me. He climbs back into bed beside me, wearing only pajama pants. His chest is bare, as are his feet. “I let the dogs out and fed them. Now I’m back.”

  He slides under the covers and curls up behind me.

  “We should maybe pick a room and share it. Like real couples,” I say.

  “You’re saying we’re a real couple now?” He’s got his mouth against my hair, and his breath tickles my ear. My body zings to life, and he hasn’t even touched me.

  “Well, yeah,” I say. “We said the words, and we’re having a baby together.” I roll over to face him.

  “Sweet Jesus, Lia,” he says, rubbing his forehead. But this time, he doesn’t tear his eyes away from me.

  I curl my lips into a sleepy grin. “You know I sleep naked, bud. You’re getting the full show.”

  I push the sheets away to give him a view of tits. I prop myself up on an elbow and face him. “Are you really okay?” I ask him.

  “My parents were teenage parents,” he shares.

  “Yeah?” I ask.

  He nods. “Tim was an oops.”

  “We won’t have a Tim, Leo,” I reassure him. “But if we do, if our kids have problems with addiction or depression, or hate the color pink—which to me, would be absolute agony—we’ll love them through it. We’ll give them the stable upbringing you and Tim didn’t have. We don’t have to repeat anyone else’s mistakes. We’ll make our own, but we can learn from others and do better.”

  Leo is quiet.

  “Whatcha thinking?” I ask.

  “I want to do better,” he says. “What do you think about us buying our own house? Something new, fresh. Just ours. Something we pick out only for us.”

  “You going into the club today?” I ask, changing the subject because I think he’s overreacting, and this place is home.

  “I don’t know,” he says. “Might. I’ll check with Morris later. See what he says.”

  “If you don’t have to go and clean toilets…” I look down at my chest as I reach beneath the sheet to touch myself. I cup my breast in one hand and lift it so if I stretch my tongue out, I can barely reach to lick my erect nipple.

  “Jesus, woman.” Leo’s breaths come in hard puffs. “The things you do to me.”

  “I have a whole long list of things I’d like you to do to me,” I purr. “Some of them require your fingers, some your mouth.”

  “On your stomach,” he demands.

  “Oh!” I squeal in delight as he flips me onto my stomach. I turn my face so I can breathe and jam a pillow under my stomach.

  Leo moves my legs apart and settles his face above my ass. “God, your body, babe. I fucking love it.”

  He slides two fingers into his mouth, which I can tell he’s done when he strokes me. He palms my ass with his other hand and kneads my cheeks, spreading them wide so he can look at my pussy.

  I don’t know why I love being exposed to him this way, every part of me vulnerable and laid bare.

  I close my eyes and let him work his magic on my ass cheeks, kneading and massaging them until I’m trembling with need. He gets to work with his mouth. He sinks between my legs, and I feel the sweet, soft strokes of his tongue against my clit. He works it lightly and then harder, sucking and stroking until I am pressing my ass in the air like a hussy, greedy and wanting more.

  I flip onto my back and spread my legs wide. “I want you here,” I demand, pointing to my tits. “And here,” I say, tapping my finger against my lips.

  “Any particular order?” he asks with a grin.

  I lift my breast in my hand, and Leo obliges. He sucks me into his mouth, and I see stars.

  I close my eyes, and for a moment, I see the cold, dark concrete floor where I rested my head. I hear the angry voice of Barry, that fuckwad, and his cold-ass skanky girlfriend.

  I take a deep breath and remind myself where I am.

  I’m home. I’m safe. Leo is with me. They can’t get me. They never wanted me. I’m safe.

  “Baby?” Leo releases my breast and meets my eyes. “Where’d you go?”

  “Back there,” I admit. “But just for a minute. I’m okay.”

  He climbs beside me and tugs the covers up to our shoulders. “Barry is in jail, and he’s not going to get out for a very long time. And that woman, Gretchen, she’s an accomplice, but she’s gone too. Women’s prison upstate, probably. They won’t hurt you again, Lia. I won’t ever let anyone hurt you ever again.”

  “I know,” I say. And I mean it. “I’m okay. I know you’re here, and they’re there. It’s just… My brain’s going to need some time.”

  He nods. “Tell me what you need, baby, and I’ll do it.”

  His face looks so earnest. He’s so concerned. But more than just concern for me and my mental health, I see what I’ve wanted to see on Leo’s face for so, so long.

  I don’t think I ever realized how badly I needed it. He loves me. I know he’s said it, but there’s something about seeing that love written all over someone’s face that makes it feel even more real than a house. Even more real than the words. Even more real than the babies we’re going to bring into the world together.

  “Just love me,” I say. “Exactly the way you are.”

  “How exactly?” he asks, reaching between my legs under the blankets. “Are we talking love you like this?”

  He strokes me gently, working his fingers lightly down my thighs, searing my skin with firm movements, kneading, and waking up every fiber of my legs.

  His steady rhythm quickens my pulse. The closer his fingers get to my core, the needier I become. I feel like I’m melting inside, my pussy clenching as molten heat floods my core.

  “That…That’s what I mean,” I croak, wriggling and working my body against his touch.

  He bends his head to reach my breast and goes back to work on my nipples. He isn’t teasing the tender skin this time, but he’s nibbling and nipping, working his teeth against my erect tips. I gasp and clench the sheet in my hands, but he’s not going to slow up on this seductive tease. He alternates his love bites with puffs of hot air, then cool, tingling breaths against my inflamed skin.

  I release my death grip on the sheets and work my fingers through his beautiful, thick hair. I arch my back to bring more of myself into his mouth, and he pulls a hand away from my pussy to knead my breast while he sucks it.

  The sounds I’m making are greedy and loud. I won’t hold back now. He’s my man, and I’m his woman, and I want every touch, every breath to be rewarded with unrestrained me. “Fuck, baby, yes… I love you so much!”

  I open my eyes to see if my words spook him, but they have the opposite effect. Leo’s eyes go black. He jams my tit into his mouth and flicks his tongue, working every inch of my nipple until I’m a throbbing, writhing mess.

  “Baby, please.” I tap my fingers against my mouth. “Get over here.”

  Leo slides out from beneath the blankets and kneels over my face. I look up at his gorgeous body. His thighs frame my face. I reach up and claw my nails down the sides of his legs, and he throws his head back and groans.

  I slip a hand between his legs and cup his balls.

  “Lia,” he gasps, sucking in air.

  “Lower,” I demand.

  When he sinks closer to my face, I lift my chin and flick my tongue gently along the seam of his sac. It drives him insane, and I grip his dick in my hands, gently stroking in time with my licks.

  “Lia… You’re gonna…”

  “I’m not going to stop is what I’m going to do,” I purr against his tender skin. I adjust my neck and motion with my fingers for him to lie on his back beside me. “Too much work this way,” I laugh.

  I straddle his lap and, without any warning, plunge my mouth onto his erection. I stick my booty in the air and suck him in, swirling my tongue on the underside of the tip before plunging him as deep as I can take him.

  He’s completely lost in the pleasure I’m giving him. His body trembles slightly. His eyes are closed, and he gently weaves his hands through the waves of my hair.

  “You good?” I ask, lifting my face from his cock.

  “Ah, um, I…” he mumbles incoherently, an adorable grin on his face.

  “Leo, I love you.”

  “I love you, babe. Now, please, would you fuck me already?” he begs.

  I slide down onto him, and we both suck in air at the sensation that overcomes us both. I’m launched into another dimension when Leo is inside me. I work my hips back and forth, barely rocking so his cock shifts slightly inside me. I like to work him as long as I can, and this gentle start means I’m going to explode hard and fast when I get there.

  I settle him deep inside, rolling my hips. My eyes are closed, and I reach down to lace my fingers with his. I use the leverage to lift myself up slightly and bounce on his cock.

  “Goddamn,” he cries, and I groan at the exquisite pleasure as his length hits the right spot.

  Finally, I have to let the strength of our passion take over. I close my eyes and grip Leo’s hands and ride his hips like I’m a professional dancer, throwing power and grace into every gyration. When I feel that tickle turn into an overwhelming tidal wave, I cry out his name.

  “Oh fuck, Leo, yes.” All thoughts and fears, anything from our past, is gone. It’s like my body knows Leo is mine. Has always known this is not just right. This is everything. Every emotion from love to happiness to relief fills my limbs. My brain is even free, free of worry and fear. All I am is this union, with this man, in this moment.

  I tremble through my climax, my head thrown back and my mouth open. When I finally slow down, Leo grits out, “Don’t move.”

  He uses my hands and the strength of his hips to bounce me hard up and down on his dick. It’s a powerful move and I know he won’t last long, but I savor it. He thrusts into me, and my tits are banging against my chest, bouncing and riding the power that seems to be created by our love. We’ve made love like this before, many times. The move isn’t new, but the feelings, the emotions behind it, make this feel like the first time.

  I’m breathless and wordless and boneless as Leo explodes inside me. I can feel spurt after spurt flood into me as he rides out his climax. His hands are firm, gripping my fingers tightly. I can smell the heat of his body rising with that familiar scent from his soap. Every sense is filled with him, with us. With this new union that’s about so much more than convenience and ease.

  This is us.

  When he’s done, neither one of us moves. I open my eyes. Our fingers are still laced together. His feet dangle off the end of the bed. I don’t think I can speak.

  He’s smiling.

  I’m smiling.

  Whoever said that being roommates with benefits was enough was full of shit. Oh yeah. It was me. I was the one who believed what we had was fine, good, enough.

  I know better now.

  What we have together…

  This is everything.

  19

  Leo

  Seven months later…

  “Your father still hasn’t forgiven me for knocking up his baby.” I’m carrying two dozen rose-gold balloons in one hand and an enormous cardboard poster in the other.

  The only reason I know the balloons are rose-gold is because Lia’s spent the last six months redecorating Canine Crashpad, and I know she ordered rose-gold balloons one month ago when we finalized the grand opening celebration.

  To be honest, I wouldn’t know rose-gold from metallic pink if my life depended on it, but since I think this grand opening is a trial run for the baby shower, I’m putting in the effort.

  That’s how I know Tiny’s never forgiven me for knocking up Lia.

  He’s insisting on hosting the baby shower.

  At the compound…

  I know there won’t be any kids there, but something about hosting a baby shower there takes a little of the badass edge off being fully patched in. I kind of want to enjoy my status in the club for a while. But I suppose if I have to share some of that part of my life with my kids’ grandfather, I might as well let him have his way once in a while. He is the president of the MC, after all.

  “He’s fine with it.” Lia points to where she wants me to set out the balloons. “I hope you’re prepared to name our son Tiny if it’s a boy.”

  “You can’t be fucking serious.”

  “Uncle Leo!” Zoey claps her hands over Mikey the pit bull’s ears. “Language.”

  I nod my apologies.

  “It’s like he knows,” I say. “He thinks he’s king of the goddamn castle.”

  “He’s got to be,” Lia says. “Outnumbered by the girl crew the way he is.”

  She tries to bend down to scratch Mikey’s scruff, but she can’t quite make it to her knees.

  “Zoey,” she calls out. “I need a scratching assistant.”