Page 27 of Hope's Heartlands

I’m so confused at how I’ve ended up in the hot seat when I’m the one that saved her ass. Okay, she had it under control, but I still jumped in and helped. Now she’s holding my hand, bringing it up to her face to inspect my knuckles. They’re cracked and bleeding, but I don’t even feel it. I’m more numb right now than anything. The last thing I’m worried about is my hand.

I try to pull it back, but she grips it tighter. “These cuts need to be cleaned.”

She may be as badass as some of the men of Heartlands, but she definitely worries like a woman. “I’m fine. I’m not worried about my hand. I’m worried about you… and the baby.”

“I’m fine. The baby is fine,” she mumbles before pulling me through the bar, telling Ranger that she needs to bandage me up. He just smirks at me, shaking his head. I stick my middle finger up at him and follow Roxy through the bar. I do my best to not watch her hips sway in front of me, but I can’t take my eyes off of her.

Roxy walks me back to Ranger’s office. She grabs the hidden key and types in the code to get into the office, which means Ranger trusts her a lot. He doesn’t give many people that information. If Roxy wasn’t pregnant, I wouldn’t think anything of it. But for a brief second, it gets me wondering if Ranger could be the father. Shaking my head, I quickly nix that thought. Not only is Ranger so far gone for Ruby, but I also know that Roxy is not the type to mess with someone that is in a relationship already.

She pulls the first aid kit off the shelf and I watch as she takes out all the supplies and starts to clean up my hand. Since I have her undivided attention, I ask her again, “Who’s the father, Roxy?”

She stares back at me, unflinching. She’s stubborn and lifts her chin in defiance.When the fuck did she become such a hard-headed, sexy as fuck force to be reckoned with?

She’s gripping my hand between us and my other hand slides to her knee. Squeezing her leg, I ask her, “Why won’t you tell me? I won’t kill him. I promise.”

She looks down at my hand on her knee and stares at it for the longest time. This side of her I rarely ever see. She always has her guard up and for it to drop, even if it’s only for a second, is unheard of. I don’t want to break the trance she’s in. The urge to kiss her and push her down on the desk and fuck her until she’s begging to tell me everything I want to know scares the fuck out of me. I tighten my hold on her and when she flinches, I release her. She makes quick work of bandaging my hand. Neither one of us says a word to each other and in that silence we seem to say so much.

When she does finally look up at me, I see the desire in her eyes. I swear I’ve never seen that look before on her face. She finishes bandaging my hand and lets it fall easily to my lap. The loss of connection between the two of us has me wanting to grab her hand again. But I don’t. Instead, I ask her again, almost pleadingly, “Tell me, Roxy.”

She blows out a frustrated breath. “Why do you want to know? You going to hold a shot gun to his head and make him marry me? I won’t marry him just because I’m pregnant.”

A thought fills my head and I can’t get it out. It pummels me in the stomach and I put voice to it before I think twice about it. “You love him. The father of your child, you love him.”

She shrugs her shoulders. “Why do you say that?”

My hands itch to reach out for her and pull her into my arms. “Because I know you. I know that you’re not going to give yourself to someone – that way – if you didn’t love them.”

She looks like she may deny it, but I can see the truth shining in her eyes. “Yeah, I love him.”

I do my best to hide the emotion from my face, but jealousy burns in my belly.She’s in love with someone else.

When a tear escapes her eye, I reach out and touch it with the pad of my thumb, wiping it away and cupping her face with both my hands. “I can’t believe he doesn’t feel the same, Rox. He would be crazy not to love you. You know that, right?”

She puts her hand on my forearm in an attempt to push me away, but I don’t let her. I grab on to her hand, lacing our fingers together. I was too late. I came to my senses too late. And now I’ve lost her.

She looks down at our hands and back at me. “You’re wrong. He doesn’t love me… not like that.” Her voice cracks at the end and then I don’t fight it. I grab on to her hips and pull her over to me, seating her on my lap. She fits like she was made for me. I wrap my arms around her and do my best to position her so she doesn’t feel the hardening of my cock against her shapely ass. I hold on to her, hoping that she doesn’t completely lose it on me. I can’t stand it when a woman cries, but I think seeing Roxy upset like this is worse than anything I’ve ever experienced… and I’ve experienced a lot.

I tuck her head under my chin, holding her to my chest. Whispering into her hair, I tell her, “If that’s true, if he truly doesn’t love you, then he’s a dumbass and you deserve better anyway.”

She sniffles and I hold her tighter. It’s as if I think I can cure it all if I hold her tight enough. Belatedly, I remember the baby and loosen my hold on her, but when I do, her arms tighten around me. We sit there for I don’t know how long, but when she finally seems to calm down, I know I need to let her go… before I do something stupid. She’s just told me she’s in love with someone else, but I still want her. I still want to spread her legs, have her straddle me and feel the core heat of her pressed against my hard cock. Man, I know I’m screwed.

When I set her back away from me, into the chair across from me, I immediately get up. She stops me, telling me thank you and I thank her for bandaging my hand. I almost run out of there, leaving Roxy to stare after me like I’m really crazy.

Chapter10

Roxy

Isit and stare at the closed door that Gage just walked through. For a minute there, I thought he felt it too. All the sexual tension that’s been building year after year, I finally thought he felt it too. But he didn’t. I know by the way he set me away from him and would barely look me in the face. I had hoped he couldn’t read the desire and love in my eyes and obviously he didn’t. He left so fast I knew he must have just been passionate about wanting to look out for me… that was it. He’s always looked out for me and I’ve always trusted him, so I know he doesn’t understand what’s going on with me right now. It has to be hard on him that suddenly he’s someone that I hide things from. Which sucks, honestly. I’ve been close to Cat and Stella, but I’ve always felt a bond with Gage. I’ve told him everything. Well, almost everything. I’m a private person but he’s always been somebody that I can talk to and someone that I trust. He calls me on my shit and I do the same for him. To know that’s changing, that this pregnancy is changing our relationship is hard. But I still wouldn’t have it any other way. I cup my hand across my belly and stroke it easily. I’m still early, so I don’t feel any flutters or any kicks, but I still feel him in there. Knowing that I have a part of Gage inside me, that’s what pushes me and gives me the strength to go on.

I get up and put away the first aid kit before heading back out to the bar. We were already short staffed and when I come out, Ranger is out waiting tables and Gage is helping out. When I catch Gage looking at me I smile at him to let him know we’re okay. It’s not his fault that he doesn’t feel the same way toward me that I feel toward him. He’s always been good to me and no matter what he feels, I don’t want to lose him as a friend.

I grab a tray off the bar top and start to walk out to the tables to help with orders. Gage steps in front of me. “Roxy, please, tonight has been rough enough. For me, can you please just work behind the bar? Ranger and I got this.”

Before I can answer, Saint walks up to me and takes the tray from my hand. “I’ll help.”

Any other time I would argue with him, spouting off how I can take care of myself, but seeing how he asks so nicely and the fact that it has been a rough night—I mean, I’ve gotten the man into two fights already and it’s still early—I agree. “Sure. I’ll help behind the bar.” I turn to walk away, and then turn back to him. When I stop, his eyes fly up from my backside to my face, a blush crossing his face.Did I just catch him watching my ass? Surely not.“Uh, tonight. I’ll stay behind the bar… tonight,” I tell him. I don’t want him to think I’m going to be back there every night. A woman has to keep some of her control.

As soon as I walk behind the bar, Cat hits me with her hip. “You okay? Gage looks like he wants to kill someone.”

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