Page 26 of Tempted to Rebel

“A few days,” Rebel repeats, a tiny smile pulling on his lips. “Say, Doc, tell me more about this wholeovulationthing. That’s when she’s fertile, right? How do we know when that is?”

Rage grunts. “I’m tracking her cycle. I’ll know when it is.”

My face flames. “Excuse me?” Since when has he been doing that? And why? I know hesaidI was ovulating this morning, but I thought he was bullshitting us in the heat of the moment—notactuallytracking my cycle.

Pulling out his phone, Rage proceeds to show Rebel the period tracker app on his phone, complete with notes about when we’ve had sex. “Each little heart in the corner means we’ve filled her up that day, and this flower here means that she’s ovulating. The best days for sex are these.”

Rebel’s face brightens. “That’s my heart from today?”

“Don’t get your hopes up.I’mgoing to be the father.” Rage takes my hand and squeezes, meeting my eyes. “I made a promise that I intend to keep.”

My breath catches as I’m transported back to the safe house, Rage and I wrapped in each other’s arms as we whisper promises to each other about the future. My heart swells with emotion, caught up in the intensity of Rage’s smoldering gaze.

Although my ex-husband made a similar promise, it felt nothing like this.

I have no doubt that Rage intends to keep his promise.

“What if I wanna be the one to knock her up?” Rebel takes my face in his hands and plants a kiss on my lips, tasting of copper and smoke. When he pulls away, he’s grinning. A smear of blood coats his lips. “See, I’ve marked her. She’s mine.”

I touch my fingertips to my lips and pull them away to find blood.

Dr. Sakovia clears his throat. “Gentleman?—”

Grabbing my hand, Ruin smears my fingertips across my cheek, leaving a wet streak. His voice rumbles low, muttering something in Russian, as he leans in and prods my bottom lip with his gloved finger. He slips it inside my mouth, prodding my tongue with the leather and forcing me to swallow what littleremains of Rebel’s blood. “Good girl,” he purrs, removing his finger to grab my chin and rub his thumb back and forth across my lips, caressing the seam.

Heat blossoms deep in my core, making it impossible not to kiss Ruin’s gloved finger. We stare at each other until Wren clears his throat again, breaking the moment.

“Do you need anything else, Miss Monrovia?”

I look between all three brothers, from Ruin’s strange fascination to Rebel’s mischievous smirk and Rage’s brooding stare. These men are wild, but I’m starting to believe that they’re mine. “I think I’m good, thank you.”

“We’ll take care of her, Doc,” Rebel assures him, turning to slap Wren’s shoulder. “But if you have any pamphlets on pregnancy and ovulation, I’ll take three.”

“Four,” Rage interjects. “Thanatos is staying at the house, and he’ll need to watch for any signs of distress in case there’s an emergency.”

My chest seizes at Thanatos’s name. “H-he is?” The last man I want around my child is the one who said such horrible things to me. My ears ring, and I take quick, shallow breaths to fight off rising panic. “Why?”

“He’s family.” Rage searches my eyes, frowning. “And he’s the best at security within the bratva.”

“She doesn’t like him.” Ruin glances up at Rage. “He said mean things to her.”

“I was there. I already told him to cool the fuck off.”

“No, you weren’t.” My heart beats in overtime, making my hands shake. “When he brought me back to the club, he gave me a parting gift.” A laugh bubbles up in my throat, sounding as unhinged as I feel.Of coursethe verbally abusive asshole would move in after claiming he wanted nothing to do with me. He probably gets off on making girls cry. “He told me that I’d be a horrible mother.”

“That the baby would be better off dead,” Ruin corrects, his tone as icy as the memory. “He made her cry.”

Rage’s hands clench into tight fists. “Hewhat?”

I stand from the chair and blink away tears threatening to rise. “Don’t make me live with him, Rage.” Pressing the flat of my palm to Rage’s chest, I lift up onto my tiptoes and press a quick kiss to his lips. I know we’re not on good terms and that kissing him is a cheap shot, but I need for this to work.

I can’t live with Thanatos.

“It won’t be good for the baby,” I murmur against his jaw.

Rage wraps his arms around my waist and holds me tight. I can feel him shaking as he slips his hands beneath my waistband to hold my hips. Taking a deep breath, he releases some of his anger on the exhale. “Don’t worry, mama.” He presses a kiss to my hair. “I’ll take care of you and our baby.”

I ignore the thread of anxiety tying knots in my stomach as we leave the clinic. As long as they think I’m pregnant, I’m safe. I won’t be put back in the cage for them to fuck every waking moment of the day.

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