Page 21 of Protected By the Convicts
That saddened her. She’d always wanted kids, dreamed of having a houseful of kids running around, making noise and being happy, so opposite of her memories with Amelia. And having several dads happily watching and loving the kids. . . That would be bliss. She was a fool who couldn’t even get her men to accept one another, really accept one another. Right now, they tolerated each other like neighbors who tried to keep the peace for the sake of the neighborhood while secretly wishing they could get rid of them.
“There’s still a risk,” she said, feeling compelled to tell him. “I could get pregnant.”
“There’s always a risk. Especially since you’re with three guys. Or do you have an implant?”
“An illegal one.”
“Is there any other type?”
That was true, given the high male to female ratio throughout the system, birth control had been outlawed decades ago. “Mine needs to be replaced soon, and I doubt there’s a black market for birth control here. And it’s four guys, not three.”
“Between Vaughn and Sersie, I’m sure they can develop whatever you need. And it’s three. Sersie, me, and that behemoth soldier who arrived with you.”
“And Vaughn. It’s not like we can kick him out,” she said, jokingly.
“Sure, we can.” Ren’s face and voice held no sense of teasing, not in the least.
She sat up straighter. “He’s part of our unit.”
“He betrayed our unit.”
“He betrayed you.”
Ren cocked an eye. “Isn’t that reason enough to kick him out?”
“We can’t kick him out. We’re all registered as part of this unit. That includes Vaughn, no matter what he did.”
“I can keep him out of the house. Just a matter of denying his security access through the gate. We can still cover for him if and when he’s too sick to make quota, if that ever happens. Beyond that, we need nothing from him.”
“I agree. What he did was wrong.”
“Betrayed, Princess. If you can’t count on the people in your unit to have your back, then you’re not a unit.”
Damn, he was right, but they couldn’t just kick out Vaughn. “Vaughn never intended to hurt you or to trap you here.”
“Hebetrayedme.”
She pulled in air fast, starting to panic. Ren was too stubborn, but he was right. . . and also wrong. “This is Vaughn, Ren. Not some random person we invited in for the night. He’s a part of this unit. He’s a part ofme. I can’t turn my back on him.”
Blue eyes narrowed. “He’s not the only one who can give you pleasure.”
“You think this is about sex?”
“Are you saying what we just shared together is only sex to you?”
His tone sounded cold again, like the Ren she’d known for the past six weeks. “No,” she said softly. “I care about you. Very much. And I care about Vaughn, too.”
“You can’t have it both ways. You either support him or you support me on this.”
“I’m not choosing sides. I care about both of you.”
“Choose.”
“No. And don’t try to force me to choose, Ren, because you won’t like my answer.”
Ren’s face tightened. She’d pushed him too far.
“I-I’m sorry, Ren. I didn’t mean that. It’s just. . . I’ve had very few choices in my life, especially since coming here.”
