Page 16 of Tempt Me

“You’re pregnant, kitten,” he tells me as all the breath escapes from my lungs and tears fill my eyes.

“I’m so sorry, Jameson. I’ve ruined your life,” I tell him, ripping my hands from his as I cover my face with them and let the tears escape my eyes and slide down my face.

Jameson doesn’t say a word as he lifts me into his arms and carries me out of the bathroom. I don’t look up to see where he’s going as I bury my face in his hard chest and trust him not to let me fall. In a matter of minutes, I feel my mattress meet my back as he lays me down in bed and doesn’t let me go as he slides in next to me. Jameson lets me cry for as long as I need to while he holds me and rubs his hand up and down my back. There are no whispered words of assurance between us as we each think about the two positive pregnancy tests sitting a few feet away in the bathroom attached to my bedroom.

I slowly calm myself as I realize I already love this baby more than I ever thought possible. No, I didn’t let myself believe that I was pregnant since the idea took root in my mind, but now that it’s confirmed that I am in fact carrying Jameson’s child, I will do everything I can to protect and love him or her with every beat of my heart and fiber of my soul. Jameson won’t ever have to worry about his son or daughter growing up feeling unloved or made to feel less than what they are because of the circumstances they were conceived. My parents never did that to me and I won’t do it to the child I now carry.

“Are you okay, kitten?” Jameson asks me, pulling back far enough to look at my face as he wipes my tears away and presses a soft kiss against my forehead.

I close my eyes and get lost in the moment we’re having. Neither one of us move and I can pretend that there’s more between Jameson and I than what’s truly going on here. That we’re in love and just learned we’re expanding our family so it’s a happy time in our lives. Instead, I don’t know how Jameson truly feels about this news.

“Are you okay with this, Jameson? I’m not going to get rid of the baby, but I also won’t force you into a situation you’re not ready to be in either,” I ask him, my voice muffled and barely above a whisper as I try to pull away from him so I can see his eyes to see the truth of his emotions and words.

“Kitten, I’m more than okay with this. If anyone is gonna have my kids, it will be you. I wish we were farther along in our relationship and that I wasn’t tryin’ to win you over because of the pain and hurt I’ve caused you over the years. We’ll get where we need to be, Zoey. For now, we’re gonna focus on our baby and make sure we do everythin’ in our power to make sure he or she doesn’t come out until it’s time. There’s somethin’ else we need to talk about though. Somethin’ I’ve been thinkin’ about since we stepped foot on campus and I realized what’s goin’ on. Why haven’t you told anyone you’re gettin’ bullied at school?” he questions me, his voice full of anger on my behalf as he stares down at me and pushes a piece of hair out of my face and behind my ear.

“You know how my family is. How Kingston would be if he knew. I didn’t want more problems on campus than what I already have. If they showed up and went all biker asshole on the students at school, I’d be the one to suffer when they aren’t around. If you think this is the first time I’ve been bullied, you’ll be severely disappointed. All through high school I was bullied and no one knew then. Not even my brothers and they were in the same school as me. I’ve dealt with this my entire life and there’s nothing anyone can do to stop it,” I answer him honestly, opening myself up for the first time in a long time with Jameson.

“Kitten,” he says, anguish filling his voice at the thought of me going through this shit for so many years completely alone because I didn’t want to burden anyone else with what was going on. “Are you happy here, Zoey? If you were given the chance to stay here or go somewhere else, would you leave here and never look back?”

I think about his question for a few minutes. I’d love to get the fuck out of Benton Falls because of the bullying I suffer daily. However, I still have family here and want to be close to them. Especially with me being pregnant now. This is a loaded question and I really don’t know why he’s asking me this. A small part of me realizes he’s not going to want to be too far from me, but there’s no way he wants me to move to Clinton City. Is there?

“I mean, other than my family, there’s really nothing holding me here. I can finish my degree anywhere if I’m being honest. The tests I took today were my finals for the semester so I don’t have to worry about classes until the next semester starts. I was planning on signing up for some summer classes, but I never got around to it. I could probably still add some if I really wanted to, though. Why?” I return, my voice hesitant as I look up at Jameson and wait for him to respond to me.

“I don’t like what’s goin’ on here, kitten. Not just with the bullies at school. I thought you were in fuckin’ college and not still in high school. Though I guess some things truly never change when it comes to insecure little bitches. They will always find someone stronger than they are and tear them down because it makes them feel as if they’re better and stronger. At the end of the day, that’s just not the case. That skank knows nothin’ about you and how truly amazin’ you are. And I really don’t like the fact that a cop is fuckin’ harrassin’ you every chance he gets. Now, you’re feelin’ as if you’re bein’ watched and hidin’ when you should be able to walk around here with your head held high and a smile always on your face. So, would you be willin’ to come back to Clinton City with me? We can get you set up with a doctor there, you can find a school that will accept your credits, and anythin’ else you want to do there. We can figure out a house. There’s some on the compound, but I don’t want to take over Pound’s house. It’s been offered to me, but that’s his house and should remain empty for him. That’s somethin’ we can figure out once we get there though,” Jameson says, his words rushed as if he’s nervous about my answer to moving with him to Clinton City.

I’ve never known Jameson to be nervous a day in his life. There’s no reason for him to think I’d turn him down. This has nothing to do with how I feel about him and everything to do with our baby. If I’m truly going to make sure that Jameson is in our son’s or daughter’s life, then I need to be close to him. Moving to Clinton City will ensure that happens because we’ll be there together. Plus, it’s not like I’ll be there alone with him. Reagan is there and I miss her more than I let myself believe or feel. She’ll be at my side no matter what happens between Jameson and me. He might be her twin, but she’s pissed at him for the way he’s treated me over the years.

“I’ll move with you, Jameson. I’m not sure I’m ready to move in with you yet, but we can figure something out once we get there. When were you thinking of heading out to go back?” I ask him, a small smile on my face as excitement fills his eyes and he leans forward to kiss me softly on my lips.

“Since you’re now done with classes, we’ll leave as soon as you can be ready. I can go out now to rent an SUV and trailer to move all of your things to Clinton City. I don’t want you ridin’ while you’re pregnant, kitten. Too much can happen and I’m not gonna risk either one of you. I’m not tryin’ to make demands on you, I just have a feelin’ the doctor will agree with me on this,” he says, a grimace on his face as I take in his words.

“I wouldn’t risk riding knowing I’m pregnant. I already feel sick on a regular basis and I don’t want to crash knowing about the life I carry within me. We can put my bike in a trailer and park it somewhere once we get to Clinton City. No one will touch it there, will they?” I ask, knowing I’ve done every bit of work on my bike since the day I bought it. The only thing I haven’t done is the wrap to make my bike the dark blue color it is now.

“No one will touch it. I’ll make sure they all know your bike is off limits and no one’s to be near it. I’m gonna go now to get everythin’ we’ll need for the trip. You start packin’ and I’ll help you when I get back. Is all this furniture yours?” Jameson asks me, thinking about what I have in my apartment.

“Yeah. But, I can have my uncle G and gramps come pick it up. They can store it until I’m ready to bring it to Clinton City or they’ll let someone else in the family use it. I’m fine with either option. Plus, if my dad is still in town, he can take anything back with him that he wants. He’s the one that bought everything in here to begin with,” I answer him, already thinking of what I need to pack for the move I’m about to make.

“Okay. I’ll be back soon. Call your dad and let him know what’s goin’ on,” Jameson says, giving me one more kiss before getting out of bed and leaving my room.

Pulling out my phone, I set it on the nightstand by my bed. I’m not ready to have the conversation with my dad that I need to. For now, I’m gonna focus on packing what I’ll be taking with me and then I’ll call him. My emotions are already overloaded and it’s time for me to take a break and not think or worry about anything else other than the task at hand. So, I put on a playlist and start emptying my dresser before moving on to my closet. I’ve got the totes and suitcases I moved here with so I’ll pack as much stuff in there as possible before figuring out what else I can use to pack the rest of my stuff in. With a plan in place, I get busy and push every other thought from my mind.

Chapter Twelve

Savage

BY THE TIME I get back from renting an SUV and trailer to load everything in, Zoey is almost completely done packing what she wants to take with her. I start taking down the totes and suitcases to load in the back of the SUV before I load up her bike in the trailer. It’s enclosed so nothing will happen to her bike on the way to Clinton City. After loading up her bike, I head back up for another load of things. However, I look around the area completely because I feel eyes watching my every move. No one stands out as I look around and there’s nothing but shadows as I continue to scan the area. I don’t have a good fucking feeling about this shit. I want to get this shit taken care of so we can put this shit behind Zoey. She needs to feel safe and get away from whoever is watching her. Obviously my kitten has a stalker of some kind and none of us have any clue who the fuck it is. That’s a major problem.

“Zoey, are you ready to leave tonight? I want to get the fuck outta here,” I ask her when I make it back in her apartment to find her packing the last of her things in the living room and kitchen.

“Yeah. I haven’t been sleeping so good so I’ll be okay to drive tonight. It’s not that late either,” she answers, shoving her head in a cabinet to reach something on one of the higher shelves.

I want to laugh because my girl is short as fuck and she’s standing on her tippy toes to reach something she’ll never be able to. However, I don’t let my laugh escape because if there’s one thing I’ve learned over the years, it’s that Zoey doesn’t like to be laughed at when it comes to her height. She wants to do as much as she can on her own and won’t let anything stand in her way. I can easily see her climbing on counters and anything else she needs to in order to get what she wants. Instead, I make my way over to her, the front of my body pressed against her back. I reach over her head and grab the remaining items from the cupboard and hand them to her. Zoey glares at me with a look telling me she would’ve gotten them if I’d given her a chance. It’s cute as fuck as I lean down and press a kiss to her lips. I’ll never fucking get tired of kissing my girl.

Before I can do anything else, I take another load down to pack in the SUV and trailer. I’m leaving room for my bike just in case I need to put it in the trailer and drive. There’s still plenty of room for me to load the totes in between the bikes so they don’t crash into one another if we get into an accident or something on the way home. I won’t take any chances with Zoey’s bike. I’m worried about my bike too, but hers is more important. She saved every penny and bought it on her own without help from anyone. I won’t risk something happening to it because I didn’t think things through while loading the trailer.

It doesn’t take me long to load everything up. When I’m done, Zoey’s on the phone with her dad and Playboy. They make arrangements to come load up the furniture and take it to the Phantom Bastard compound to store for now. They’ll be here in the next few days to pick everything up so no one gets a chance to destroy everything here. Tank is gonna pick up the key he gave me. He wants me to hide it outside the door and let him know where I’ve put it just before we get on the road. Before Zoey can hang up, I take her phone and let them know about feeling watched while I load everything. Tank assures me he’ll leave in a minute so no one has a chance to get the key and enter the building and apartment before he can stop them.

After hanging up, Zoey makes one more trip through her apartment to make sure she doesn't forget anything. When she gets back to me in the living room, I hand her purse to her and make sure she’s got her cell phone out in case it’s needed. I’m not about to tell her about the feeling of being watched I just experienced. She doesn’t need to be upset or feel as if she’s never going to escape this shit. I’ll keep it to myself since we’re leaving and no one will ever get close to her again. Not while I’m around.

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