Page 13 of The Mountain Man's Secret Baby

I nod.

“You’re nurturing and gentle, Emily. You’d be amazing at taking care of animals.” Of course, I don’t add that I can see the curvy girl as an amazing mommy too. She’d be good with kids, soft and yet not too soft, making a baby laugh while entertaining a chubby toddler. A vision fills my head then, and my cock twitches: Emily, her belly swollen with a child, stirring something in a pot before the stove. Her blonde hair is pulled up in a messy ponytail, and I come to stand behind her, pressing a kiss to her neck as my hands slip around her expanding waist. It’smybaby making her grow, and it’smyseed that’s blossomed in her belly.Mine, the voice in my head chants.My family.

What the fuck?A pang hits my gut because I’ve always wanted to be a father. It’s something that I figured would happen, but now in my forties, I wonder if the opportunity has passed me by. Sure, I’m still biologically capable of getting it done, but will I ever meet the right woman? IsEmilythe right woman?

My heart surges with possession and longing as I take in the curvy girl, the new idea wreaking havoc on my equanimity. What the fuck. She’s my ex-wife’s daughter, and we’re supposed to be mortal enemies. Yet I’m dreaming ofbreedingthe young woman, and knocking her up with baby after baby after baby.

I push the image away, but I know I’ll come back to it because it’s an arresting one. Imagine that. Emily, swollen and smilingsweetly with my child inside. Hell, I’d be Christian Degas, a new dad at forty-five! Goddamn, but it feels right.

But I can’t spring this on the curvy girl right now. All this is new to me, and I need time to process the emotions. Still, it’s astonishing how the mighty have fallen. I’ve gone from playboy billionaire fucking a different woman every week to a wannabe daddy and doting partner in a matter of days. Fuck fuck fuck.

I swallow, and merely smile at Emily again, giving no inkling as to my thoughts.

“Is there anything I can do for your career?” I ask in a low voice. “I know a lot of people in Vegas, and I’d be happy to pull some strings if you like.”

She giggles while blushing.

“No, no, it’s fine. I’m just taking classes, and there’s no reason to think I won’t get my certificate. It’s a two year associate’s degree, and I plan on graduating with honors. Except,” she pauses, frowning, “my mom isn’t the biggest fan of my career aspirations. You know that Pamela wants me to be a showgirl like her, right?”

I sigh, slumping a bit in my chair.

“It doesn’t surprise me,” I say. “Your mother’s always been dedicated to her career. Any other woman would be more than happy to give up that life because the entertainment industry is fucking brutal, especially when you’re a woman of a certain age. But your mom has decided to tough it out. Shit, Pamela will be on stage when she’s seventy if they let her.”

“I know,” Emily says in a soft voice, nodding thoughtfully. “My mom’s always been dedicated to her career, but it’s not the worstthing in the world. I know her workaholic tendencies kind of messed up your marriage,” she says with a quick tone of apology, “but it was good for me in a way. You know that my dad left us when I was a baby, right? He basically walked off into the sunset, and I never really knew him. So Pam was on her own with a baby, and she was only eighteen herself at the time. She worked hard to make ends meet, and raised me on her own. So I’m grateful for that.”

I nod darkly.

“Yeah, I think I offered to hunt down your dad in order to wring some child support out of that fucker. But Pam didn’t want to. She was past that phase of her life, and besides, I have so much money that it didn’t matter. I was more than happy to pay for anything you and your mom needed, and that’s what puzzles me. She wanted to work even after marrying me.Andwe married without a pre-nup,” I add in a dark tone. “She could take me to the cleaners if she wanted.”

“I know,” Emily says. “And I know her behavior lately has been atrocious, what with the possession is nine-tenths of the law thing. But Pamela has always been a good mother to me, or at least as good as she could be. She’s been a showgirl her whole life, and the profession has done right by her because she’s thirty-five and they still love her on stage. So in a fucked-up way, it makes sense that she wants me to follow in her footsteps. The problem is that I’mnotmy mom,” the curvy girl finishes with a wry smile. “I mean, look at me. I’m not showgirl material.”

My dark brows descend.

“What do you mean?”

Emily cocks her head helplessly, flushing a little.

“Well, I’m big, Christian. Notbigbig, but I’m bigger than your average showgirl. Those girls are lithe with tight, toned bodies, and you’ve seen me naked,” she says, a bit embarrassed. “I have junk in the trunk and they would never hire me.”

“You’re gorgeous, sweetheart,” I say in a fierce tone before squeezing her knee. “There’s nothing about you that I’d change, and I’ll fucking bury anyone who tries to. But your mom’s not dumb, so why does she think that you’d want to be part of a chorus line?”

My sweet girl goes a bit pale, and looks down.

“Well, of all the people who want me to change, it’s Pamela who wants it the most. She wants me to lose some weight, and then once I’ve slimmed down, she says she has connections in the business. She’ll be able to score auditions for me, and maybe even a role. That is, if I lose the weight first,” she adds in a dark tone.

I growl, angered by this news.

“What the fuck,” I rasp. “What the fuckity fuck.”

Emily merely sighs, her shoulders slumping a bit.

“No, I get it. It’s not that bad. It’s not malicious in any way. This is simply the life my mom knows, and the business has treated her well. She managed to raise me on her salary, and she’s still going strong in middle age. But I think what Pam doesn’t realize is that I don’twantto get on stage. I want to work with fuzzy kittens and abandoned puppies. I want a much more private life that doesn’t involve glitter, feathers and high heels under bright lights.”

“I’ll talk to Pamela,” I say in a low, dangerous tone. “I can’t believe your mom’s so fucking dense. What the fuck.”

Emily merely sighs again before shooting me a tired smile.

“You cantrytalking to her, but I doubt it’ll make a difference. I’ve already tried talking to her maybe ... oh, three hundred times, and it hasn’t changed her mind.”

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