Page 86 of Contract of a Billionaire
“So she’s staying this time?” Ricardo wouldn’t drop the subject. He could be such a persistent motherfucker.
“If you say I told you so, I’m going to knock you out with this fucking car seat,” I grumbled.
Four years ago, he left my townhouse just as Autumn showed up. I had a plan of cutting her loose. He disagreed. He thought we should cut my father loose. I was up for killing my father except that it would put Autumn in even more danger. His associates would follow. We would have put her in the midst of it all.
My father didn’t hesitate to send someone after her once. If I would have kept her, he wouldn’t have stopped.
“I wasn’t gonna say it,” he said dryly. “You just did.”
By this point, the cart was full. Car seats, baby gates, safety covers for receptacles, clothes, toys, more clothes. And at the same time, I kept clicking the ‘Buy’ button for things I’d need to build my son a bed like I promised.
“I never told you, I stayed outside your place that day,” he started. There was no need to ask what day. When he came back, there wasn’t a single item in that townhome that wasn’t damaged. The blonde scurried out the back door. She was paid to play a part and nothing else. I never touched her.
“If you are up for reminiscing about the bad old days, I’m really going to shove you into that car seat,” I warned, hiding the turmoil inside me. That day in London haunted me every day. It was me that caused the sadness in her eyes that day. Her lip quivered but she tried to stay strong. She was so full of pride.
He ignored my threat and continued. “When she left your place, I followed her a few steps. Wanted to make sure she got back to her hotel safely. She broke down.” My heart twisted. “Her mother was there to catch her.” No wonder the woman hated me. I was surprised she didn’t come and finish me off that day. After all, I had no doubt her father had taught her how to kill and make it look like an accident. “Autumn was in pretty bad shape.”
And it was me that caused it. She told me she had something important to share with me. Was it that she was pregnant? If I had known, I’d have changed it all. I would have gone after my father, consequences be damned.
But that was the thing. There was no changing what happened. Only our present and future.
* * *
Two hours later,I brushed past two of my men in the lobby and took the elevator up to my penthouse. I’d ask them to bring up the stuff tomorrow. I didn’t want to wake Kol up trying to unpack the bags and boxes filling my Land Rover. If I knew Autumn, she’d probably want to go to her parents.
Once inside my penthouse, I went straight to the bar and poured myself a glass of scotch. The penthouse was enveloped in darkness, the only glow coming from Montréal’s city lights pouring through the floor-to-ceiling windows.
Restlessness ghosted down my spine. Tension coiled beneath my skin, and I knew it had something to do with the raven-haired woman that was currently in my bed.
At least she better fucking be there. I didn’t deserve her. I fucked it all up four years ago. But I still wanted her. It had always been her.
Downing the drink in one gulp, I went to check on Kol in his room. He slept peacefully, sprawled over the entire bed and a soft smile on his lips. He must be having good dreams.
Another thing Autumn did right.
She allowed our son to have peaceful dreams. No fucking nightmares for him. I honestly couldn’t remember ever sleeping that peacefully when I was a kid. Four years ago, during those short months, I slept soundly when Autumn was in my arms. Kuala Lumpur. Japan. Cambodia. It didn’t matter, as long as she was with me.
Kol shifted on his bed and laughed in his sleep. My lips tugged up softly. God, I loved him. So fucking much that it scared me. I’d kill anyone who tried to taint a single speck of his innocence. The curtains were half open and the moon offered the natural nightlight.
My chest fucking ached at the beautiful sight. I bent down and kissed his forehead, then pulled a cover over him so he wouldn’t get cold. Fall temperatures could be brutal here.
Leaving the door slightly cracked, I went to my room. The bed was empty. I wasn’t surprised. Disappointed, but not surprised.
I went to the next spare bedroom. And then the next one. I found her in the fifth one, sleeping soundly on her side facing the windows. I recalled when she loved sleeping facing the window in my bed too. And every hotel we slept in together.
I gently scooped her up and carried her back to my bedroom, placing her on the same side she slept before. She barely stirred as I covered her up.
She stretched one foot, leaving her one thigh outside of the covers. Her lips were slightly parted. Her breathing was even and smooth, her dark lashes fanning her cheeks and making her seem like a fallen Madonna in my bed.
Satisfaction washed over me and my chest rumbled with a feeling I hadn’t felt in four years.
This was where she belonged.
In my bed. In my home. In my life.
Although, I didn’t think Autumn agreed. Even in her sleep, she attempted to put distance between us. She shifted again and scooted so close to the edge of the bed, another inch and she’d fall off the bed.
I strode into my closet and undressed down to my boxers, washed off, then slid under the covers.
