Page 11 of Not a Tribute

The elevator doors slide open to his penthouse apartment, and he lifts me into the air. Again, my legs wrap around his hips as he carries me inside. I know he is taking me to bed to make good on his promise from earlier.

But he only takes a few steps before freezing. My body is lowered to the ground, his arms a possessive band around me.

“Get behind me,” he whispers. I can feel the anger radiating off him in waves as he pushes me behind his broad back. “What are you doing here?”

I lean around his muscular frame slightly to see a young woman standing in the middle of the kitchen. If I had to guess,she is probably in her mid-twenties. She is pretty, with long blonde hair and dark eyes. She is dressed casually in jeans and a pretty green-and-white top with flowy sleeves.

She stares at Liam for long moments before speaking. “You’re a father.”

My entire world twists on its axis for the second time in less than forty-eight hours. I’m not stupid enough to think that a man as powerful and virile as Liam has never had sex at his age, but this wasn’t something I ever considered.

“You’re lying,” he states calmly. “I haven’t seen you in over a year, Angela. Why now?”

She looks sad and I feel a pang of sympathy for her. “I waited. Once I found out I was pregnant I wanted to know if it was a boy or a girl before coming to you. But I see I have made a mistake. I’ll leave.”

She bends down before walking around the counter carrying a wicker bassinet with a gray lining. Liam stands stiffly as she walks past us, but I grab her wrist and hold her back. The scent of rich coffee and citrus invades my senses.

“Wait.”

Liam turns to look at me, unhappiness rolling off him in waves. What the hell? Suddenly I can sense his feelings? Everything inside my mind is in turmoil, with more questions than answers flying around.

“Seline…” he starts but I cut him off.

“No. I want to see the boy.”

“How did you know it was a boy?” Liam questions.

My gaze remains trained on the bassinet, a thin layer of fabric with little sheep on it barring me from what I want to see. “I just know,” I whisper with a shrug.

Angela looks at me in confusion before drawing back the blanket. The little boy stares at me with eyes like his father’s, his chubby cheeks lifting as he softly babbles to himself. This isexactly what I envisioned earlier. My heart fills with love I have never felt before and then it breaks. Everything in my world snaps into place before crumbling at my feet.

He is not my child, no matter how much I wish he was.

“Why did you come here?” I ask her softly, looking away from the baby, willing myself not to cry.

Her gaze travels to Liam, seeking permission, but I grab her chin and force her to look at me.

“Don’t look to him for permission. I asked the question, not him.”

Something inside me is pushing me to act this brazen. I know what females live through daily and I would never normally treat someone this way. I can’t explain it, but I know I need her to answer me.

“I…” she stammers. “I work in a pleasure house. I can’t keep him. I have nothing to offer, and I know Liam can provide him with a good life.”

“I’ll take him.”

“What? Seline, you don’t know this woman or that he is mine,” Liam interjects, touching my arm. “She could be lying.”

I glare at his hand for a moment before he removes it. He stares at me like I just grew a second head and if I wasn’t so pissed off I would laugh.

“If you can’t tell he is yours then you should see a doctor,” I snap. “He smells just like you.”

“Baby,” Liam says softly. “I need you to calm down.”

“I am calm, you Alpha asshole,” I hiss, not wanting to scare the boy.

Liam opens his mouth to say something, but he never gets the chance.

“Oh my God! You’re a dragon!” Angela exclaims.

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