Page 36 of Kinks of a Billionaire
They stared at me blankly, and I waited for their questions to come pouring in. It didn’t take long.
“Are you kidding me?” Aurora hissed. “You were sleeping with both Stuart and Royce, and now you’re pretending the baby is my brother’s?”
I stiffened, my anger flaring instantly and burning my cheeks.
“What the fuck do you take me for?” I snapped, offended that she’d think so little of me. “The only thing I’ve done with Royce is kiss him once, ten years ago. And today, if you count the wedding ceremony.”
When spoken out loud, it sounded stupid. Reckless. A recipe for divorce.
“You guys got married and haven’t even tested the sex?” Sailor echoed my own worries. “What if you have zero chemistry?”
“Impossible,” I muttered under my breath. There was enough chemistry between us to light up a metropolitan city.
The heat from their concerned gazes touched my skin, but I refused to let their doubt take hold of me. I trusted Royce with my life, more than any other man on this planet.
“Royce never did things the normal way.” Aurora sighed, obviously exasperated and trying to wrap her head around my revelation. “So are you telling me Royce knows you’re pregnant? If you haven’t had sex… which, by the way, ew… he’ll figure out that the baby isn’t his.”
I blushed.
“He knows.” This whole conversation was pointless, and I started to regret not sticking to the plan Royce and I had devised. “I don’t know why he insisted we get married. But I trust him, and the idea seemed right at the time… It’s been a long day, you guys.” I rubbed at the spot on my ribs that Stuart kicked, wincing slightly.
“But surely you regret not testing his bedroom skills first?” Sailor whisper-shrieked. “All I’m saying is,” she went on as Aurora wrinkled her button nose, “you have to test the car before you buy it.”
I snorted. “I’m not worried at all. If his kissing is anything to go by, I might die before ever getting to the main course.”
And anyway, there was this teeny-tiny celibacy detail we’d agreed on, even though I wasn’t sure exactly where we stood on that anymore. Things were changing by the minute.
“I don’t want to think about you and my brother having sex.” Aurora fake gagged while Sailor burst into laughter. “It’s probably the best thing for our friendship.”
I tilted my head, my waves cascading over my shoulder. Sometimes it was hard to gauge whether Aurora was upset or not. She had a good poker face, which I knew to be the result of her FBI training.
“I’m sorry if this upsets you and things didn’t exactly end up as planned, but as long as Royce is good with this”—whateverthiswas—“then it’s really nobody else’s business.”
Surprise flared on Aurora’s face at my statement. “Judgment, however fleeting it was, is hereby retracted.”
“And you’re right,” Sailor added softly. “Anything that happens between you and Royce is your business. But we’re here for you, always.”
My throat squeezed, making me teary-eyed, and we hugged tightly.
“We’ll always be here for each other,” Aurora vowed.
“No matter what,” Sailor echoed.
Chapter 16
Royce
The small celebration at the Auclairs’ went off without a hitch, and despite the obvious fatigue marring Willow’s face, she was glowing.
We were almost at the private airfield where my jet was waiting for us when my phone rang. Not recognizing the number, I let it go to voicemail, then flicked a look at the passenger seat where Willow slept soundly, her bruises peppering her ivory skin.
I should have wiped Stuart off the face of the planet. I still had every intention of destroying him, and I wouldn’t rest until I did.
Just as I was about to turn left into the airfield, my phone rang again. I glanced at the screen and noticed it was the same number as before.
“Yes,” I barked into the phone, annoyed that someone was calling me twice in a row.
“Royce?”
