Page 65 of Shark Bait

“I’m on vacation,” he says.

“How convenient for Troy to have you, then.”

“You know my patient?”

“Yes,” I say at the same time that Troy says “No.”

She turns toward Dr. Gruber and says, “I knew a few Mikes back in the States, but he isn’t one of them.”

She won’t give up my real name, but she’s mad and sad, and now I’m her number one enemy. This is what I get for not asking her to marry me last night. Instead, I was too busy sticking my dick in her and making her come on my face. Now I’m suffering the consequences of irrational horny behavior appropriate for teenagers, not men nearing forty.

I could’ve at least tried not having sex with her. I didn’t even try.

In addition, I was avoiding this very situation, where she barely wants to talk to me.

Dr. Gruber clearly senses that something is off between us, so before he starts prying, I say, “Thank you for walking her down for the ultrasound. I’ll take it from here.”

Without further ado, Dr. Gruber leaves, and Troy huffs out a breath.

“What are you doing here?” she asks.

“I’m here for the ultrasound.”

“You’re not invited.”

“But I’m staying anyway.”

“Fine.” She marches toward the exit. Alessio’s guarding it because I asked him to. When she spots him, Troy walks back in, then shoves a hand into my pocket. My dick jumps as if she said,Here, boy. She pulls out a lollipop, unwraps it, and shoves it into my mouth.

“You think you can use Alessio as your backup?” she asks, while I make a face at the taste of the lollipop. What is that flavor? Oh, hell no. I almost spit it out but have enough grace to take it out using my hand.

She snatches it from me and licks. “Ew.” She flicks it into the trash. “What was that?”

I shrug.

“Val!” she shouts.

“No. Don’t,” I tell her, wagging my index finger in warning.

“Valerina!” Troy shouts louder.

Behind me, the bathroom door opens, and Valerina comes out, a paper towel from drying her hands still between her palms. She narrows her eyes at me at the same time that Troy points to the exit. Valerina’s gaze follows and…Alessio’s nowhere to be seen.

“Shark was just leaving,” Troy says.

“I want to be here for the ultrasound, Troy.”

“You should’ve thought about that when you slid a ring onto my finger that I can’t take off.” She wiggles her fingers in my face.

Next to me, Valerina nods. “That’s right.”

“And now I’m going to see my baby.”

“It’s my baby too,” I tell her, leaving myself open to stabbing when she denies it.

I expect her to say that the baby isn’t mine, because she is allowed to say that, but Troy doesn’t. Instead, she says, “Yeah, but he’s inside my body, and you’re banned from my body.”

I look up at the ceiling and curse. No man wants a body ban. That’s a pussy ban, and that sounds like purgatory. “I’m sorry about the ring. I will make it up to you. Just let me see the baby.”

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