Page 96 of Forbidden Confessions: Vol. 2
“Yes…” I believe him.
“I’m going to marry you and fill the house with our babies.”
The idea of being pregnant by this man who’s only whispered about love in the dark should terrify me. Instead, I’m excited. I’m thrilled with our future. No matter what happens, I’ll figure out how to go to college. How to excel at vet school. But if I have this man and our children, too, I’ll have everything.
“Yes!” It’s the last thing I scream as I claw my nails into his back, earning me a growl of purely male pleasure, before we both give over to the combustive need neither of us can deny.
11
Ransom
* * *
Just before five a.m., I sneak away from Havana, hopefully for the last time. Yeah, I leave her a vague note telling her that I’m getting a few things but to stay put because I’ll be back. I hate to leave as much as I hate to lie to her, but I’ve had it.
This shit ends today.
I find her keys in the kitchen. The kitten I spotted earlier sees me and makes another beeline under the sofa. I refill her water dish and make a mental note to tell Ethan to bring some kitten food before I take Havana’s keys and the instructions my son scribbled on a piece of paper with the various access codes, then I’m flying down the road, through the last of the night.
I don’t give a shit what time it is or where my youngest brother is. I dial him.
“What’s wrong?” He sounds half awake. “Why the fuck are you calling again so soon?”
We try to avoid contact so we don’t blow our covers, but this can’t wait. “I need out. Now.”
“What?” Ridge’s shout doesn’t sound sleepy anymore.
“You heard me.”
“Are you fucking serious? I’ve been working this shit for too long for you to just bail.”
“Look, I hoped we’d be done.” And until tonight, I hadn’t dared to believe that Havana wanted a future with me. “But I’ve got to end my part in this fucking charade. I’m in love.” If anything happened to her because of this shit, I wouldn’t make it.
“You?” He sounds more than slightly skeptical.
That’s no surprise. I’ve been saying for almost two decades that I’d never settle down, never have more kids, and never let another woman have that much power in my life. Ethan’s mom, Lydia, was enough.
Then I met Havana.
As much as I hate to kiss and tell, I can shorten this conversation by being brutally honest. Then we can cut to the chase. “Yeah. I took her to bed last night.”
“Am I supposed to congratulate you? You fucked some woman. Whoopee… You can’t be serious here.”
“She turned eighteen yesterday. She was a virgin. I willingly fucked her bareback—more than once—and she’s not on the pill. That serious enough for you?”
Ridge is silent for such a long moment, I wonder if we’ve lost connection. Finally, he replies. “Shit. You’re not playing.”
“Nope.”
“But she’s your son’s age. You’re a grown-ass man. What are you going to do, finish raising her?”
“Fuck off,” I snarl into the phone. “I called to give you a heads-up. I plan to dust Paul Carboni pronto so he can’t come after me again. I can do Donzelli, too. Since I’m a ‘dead man,’ neither will see me coming and no one will suspect me. God knows they deserve it for selling human beings like sacks of groceries. It will also get you a step closer to getting out of this shitty mess. What you do with the opportunity is up to you. I’m hanging up now.”
“Wait! I didn’t mean to piss you off. I’m just saying Lydia did a number on you, and this girl?—”
“Havana.”
He snorts. “With a name like that, I’m guessing she has a fuck-me mouth and great tits.”
