Page 37 of Ferocious Nightmare

“And if I’m not?”

He shrugged, leaving the back of the bar to put the ladder away. “We’ll figure it out.”

“And what about you?" I followed him, trying to hide the fact that adrenaline was coursing through my veins. That my palms were sweaty. That I wanted to punch his face in.

I'd agreed to this. Why was I so pissed about it right now?

"Are you sure your little swimmers," I gestured to his crotch, "can even make anything?"

"I thought we talked about this.”

"We did but--"

"There's nothing little about me," he grinned, stopping me from confessing that I might want to give creating a kid together the old fashioned way.

Grateful for his interruption, I chortled, skipping to catch up to where he was walking towards the back hallway. “I don’t know. I think I need to perform another test, just to make sure.”

His phone beeped and he pulled it from his pocket, then stilled, making me almost crash into him.

His face had gone pale, but his jaw worked, his fingers tight on the phone.

"Coulter? What is it?"

"My father wants to meet."

My stomach lurched. It wasn't unusual for him to meet up with Nero, but the look on his face told me that there was something different about this time.

"What's wrong?"

He shoved his phone back into his pocket. "He wants you to come along."

Suddenly my feet felt like lead. I could feel my own face paling now.

I didn't want to go. However, there was no way in hell I was going to cower before Nero. I didn't think Coulter would make me, not if I really didn't want to, but Nero would think he had more power if I was too afraid to confront him.

So, I steeled myself. "Fine."

I moved around Coulter, heading down the dark hallway towards the door.

"Aster," he called after me, "You don't have to do it, just because it's what he wants."

"No," I shook my head, blinking in the bright light as I opened the door. “That's exactly why I have to do it."

We were silent the whole way there but, in the middle of the drive, Coulter put out his hand. I'd stared at it for a whole four seconds before realizing what he wanted.

Now he was clutching my hand like he was afraid I was going to blow out the open window.

We didn't go back to his house but instead to a large, corporate building. The inside was filled with black marble and grey tile, and the blonde, blue-eyed gal with large, fake tits at the receptionist desk nodded as we walked past.

"She's got a great rack," I teased Coulter, whom I'd noticed had glanced at them as we walked past.

"I prefer natural," his face was unreadable as he pressed the button to the top floor, "though, of course, she can do whatever she wants."

"Mmm, a mafia man being a feminist.” I stuck my finger in my mouth, making a gagging noise.

The edge of his lips ticked upwards in a partial smile, but it was just as quickly gone as he stood straight and tall in the elevator.

There was a strange tension between us as we waited for it to reach the top floor, and I fidgeted as we got higher and higher.

---