Page 3 of A Brilliant Spring

I shake my head and clear my thoughts.

“I’m pregnant.” I wait for a response, but there’s nothing. He’s just staring at me with hard eyes. I tilt my head, furrowing my brows. “It’s yours,” I confirm. More silence. He finally moves, leaning back into the couch with a rigid posture. His muscles are tight, and his neck is straining. I can tell he’s uncomfortable.

“I want a paternity test.” His words sink my heart like the Titanic. A paternity test. I mean, yeah, sure, but how can he not believe me?

“But you never used a condom when you hooked up with me last; it’s yours.” He says nothing, gets up from the couch and walks over to the door, holding it open.

“I’ll call you when I set up an appointment to get this done. You can leave now.” My mouth drops open. Doesn’t he want to know anything else? I’m floored, and I can’t think straight as I float up off the couch, move toward the door, and slip on my boots and shove my arms into my jacket. I stop in front of Rhys, looking at him, but not really seeing. My stare is vacant, and I can’t believe the conversation, or lack thereof, I just had with him.

My mind is reeling and blank all at once as I step outside onto the sidewalk. I bunch my coat up around my neck to keep me warm, and I realize that I left my scarf at his place. Well, I’m not going back now. The icy wind bites at my cheeks as I walk down the road, staring up at the skyscrapers as I stroll, the late afternoon sun glittering on the snow. People bustle and flow around me as I take my time walking back home.

My eyes flutter closed as my head falls to the back of the couch, and I’m back in my apartment when I open my eyes. It feels like a lifetime ago that this happened, but it’s been only hours since I told Rhys. My shoulders collapse as I exhale a heavy breath and push myself off the couch. My feet shuffle me to my room, and I slip behind the door, closing it with a soft click. My hand slides down the wooden grain of the door as my other hand releases the handle. I press my forehead into the door frame and exhale, then flip the switch on the wall and light fills the room.

I grab my phone off my bed, plug it into the charger, and sift through the clothes on the floor to find my pajamas from this morning. Once they’re on, I switch off the light and climb into bed. As I slide between the cool sheets and the duvet, sadness envelops me as well, and I realize that I’m in this on my own. I’m all alone. Elissa will be too busy with the company and Brandt, and who knows about Rhys.

I roll over and pick up my phone, and I squint into the glow. I scroll through my messages and find the one person in the world that I need: my mother.

Me: I miss you. Love you.

A few moments later, her reply comes in.

Mom: I love you too, baby. Xx

I click my phone off, place it back on my nightstand, and stuff my arm underneath my pillow. My other arm slides down and wraps around my barely bloated belly.

I’ll love you just like my mother loves me. I’m all you’ll ever need.

Chapter

Three

Elissa

Brandt and I excuse ourselves after talking with Riley and making sure she’s doing all right. When I close the door to my room, giant, muscular arms wrap around me from behind as his face nudges my hair out of the way to place kisses down my neck. My skin pebbles under his touch, instantly heating the rest of my body.

“Mmm, Brandt. Not yet, let me go shower. Wash off the smell of disinfectant and death.”

“C’mon, Eli,” he whispers in my ear. “Let me cleanse you with my tongue. I promise it’ll be more fun.” Heat simmers below as his words stoke a fire inside me. I spin around in his grasp, loop my arms around his neck and crush my lips against his, pulling him into a deep kiss. When I pull away, his eyes are still shut and I worm my way out of his grip, then grab his hand and pull him to the washroom.

“I never said you couldn’t join,” I say coyly, batting my eyelashes at him and quirking my lips deviously. He follows me to the washroom like a magnet, and I strip as I go, letting an item of clothing flutter to the floor one by one. His eyes are on me, dark and full of lust. His breathing shifts to heavy, quick breaths. I’m fully naked as I reach the shower and turn on the water, and it springs to life overhead like a waterfall.

Brandt’s standing just inside the washroom door, his muscles flexing and moving as he removes his clothing, and I can see the strain in his pants. He unzips his pants and lets them drop to the floor, then steps out of them and pushes them aside with his foot. His biceps flex as he grasps the waistband of his boxers and drops them, letting his long, thick, hard cock bob free. My eyes are pinned to it, and I lick my lips, desperately wanting to take his length in my mouth.

He struts over to me, his muscular thighs clenching as he walks, until his warm skin is softly pressed against mine and I can see our chests are rising and falling at the same pace. He steps closer, forcing me to take a step back into the shower, and the hot water runs down my shoulders and head as I step under the spray. Steam billows around us, fogging up the glass walls of the walk-in shower. I gasp from the heat beating down onto my back, and reach for the tap, but Brandt beats me to it, turning down the temperature just a smidge.

With a knowing smile, he says, “We’re going to need this to keep us cool.” His stormy green eyes roam all over my naked body. I feel his eyes travel from my clavicle down to the swell of my breasts, his gaze caressing the peaks of each mound. Down further, he watches my toned stomach clench under his stare. He slowly drops to his knees, kissing my stomach as he goes. He kisses the apex of my thigh and hip, his tongue flicking along the wet skin. His mouth trails lower as his hand heaves my leg over his shoulder, pulling me closer to him.

I lean against the wall for more support as he kisses back up my leg from my knee, nipping and sucking as he goes, all the while looking up at me through heavy-lidded, sharp eyes. I stare down at him as my pulse races and my breathing matches my pulse. A quirk of his lips tells me he’s enjoying this slow torture. I roll my hips forward, trying to egg him on; convincing him to put his mouth on my throbbing clit.

He pulls away and I feel cold. A small smile spreads across his face.

“What?” he asks, his voice an innocent, playful growl.

“Please, Brandt.” I jut my hips forward.

“Please what, Eli?” he grumbles into my skin, nipping my thigh between words. I’ve never been more thankful to be in a shower because it’s embarrassing how wet I am right now. I’m sopping, drenched, and eager.

“Please taste me,” I say breathlessly. Something flashes in his eyes, and his smile widens. He grabs my ass with a tight grip and places soft kisses along my pelvic bone. His tongue sneaks out and he places wet kisses on my skin as he travels lower. He finally makes it to just above my clit, then stops. “Ugh! Please, please,” I moan, wiggling my ass and hips desperately. A chuckle rumbles out, and suddenly he dives into me.

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