Page 81 of Bound

“Ah, is that Lilly I see with you, boys?” Julian asks, just like the perfect father-in-law. His eyelid twitches as he takes note of Loki’s arm slung around my shoulder, but his smile doesn’t falter. “Come give your papa-to-be a hug.” He spreads his arms out wide, a challenge on his face as he looks at me.

Adrenaline rushes through me, chasing away any tiredness as I step out from Loki’s embrace, and walk towards him. After what he did to Jax’s mum, and the audio message, I can’t afford to antagonise the man. But I hate him with every fibre of my being. He quickly wraps his arms around me, pulling me inappropriately close when I step up to him. I hear him take a deep inhale.Did he just fucking sniff me? Gross!

I catch Ash’s gaze, which is full of suppressed rage, his cheeks flushed as Julian whispers into my ear, holding onto me for far too long.

“You didn’t heed my warning, darling. About staying away from the other boys. And now you must all learn your lesson, naughty children.” He chuckles like he is a doting father and just doing his job.

Finally, he lets go, taking a step back, but still with that fucking Cheshire cat grin on his face.God, I want to smack it off.I feel sick, a mixture of adrenaline, nerves, and revulsion churning my stomach until my hands shake. Ash steps up next to me, his hand coming around my waist and pulling me into his warm body. I heave a sigh as I snuggle into him, giving no fucks what Julian thinks. Ash plants a kiss on my hair, near my ear.

“You okay, Princess?” he asks quietly, his deep voice laced with concern. I nod.

“Yeah,” I whisper, turning my head so that I’m no longer staring into the eyes ofthatman. My blood boils again at the thought of what he’s done over the past week or so. Just as my tight muscles relax into Ash, Julian speaks again, obliterating any calm I possess.

“I hear congratulations are in order, son?”

Both Ash and I snap our heads up, going utterly still as we stare at Julian. I smell vanilla and Kai’s wooded scent as I feel their warmth at my back, and see Jax come up to Ash’s other side.

“How far along are you, Lilly, darling?” I hate it when he uses my last name as a term of endearment.

“Sixteen weeks,” Ash replies, my tongue unable to move as panic flutters at the edges of my vision. I feel a hand brush my back, my own coming up to my stomach in an instinctive act of protection.

“Wonderful!” Julian calls, his smile getting wider, sending shivers over my skin, the hairs at my nape standing on end. His grin gets a hard edge to it, cutting like a knife. “Although I do hope that it is yours, boy. I won’t tolerate a bastard in the family.”

My breath stutters in my chest, my stomach dropping at his words.

“It is,” Ash says, standing a little taller, straighter. I look at him to see that he has transformed into the Ice Knight, something he does whenever Julian is around.

“Well, we can always get a paternity test when the baby is born, so not to worry,” Julian informs us, like it’s a foregone conclusion. Ash’s hand tightens on my waist, reassuring me enough that I can take a deep inhale.

A knock sounds at the door, my brows dropping.

“Ah, that’ll be Erica. Let her in Loki,” Julian says in a cheery voice.

Loki does as he’s bid, and I turn to see a young woman with short buzzed hair walk in, pulling a small suitcase along behind her.

“Mr Vanderbilt,” she greets Julian, a small forced smile on her face. It’s almost like she doesn’t like him.Interesting.

“Erica. So pleased that you could make it on such short notice,” Julian replies, stepping around us to air kiss her cheek. She shivers, but he doesn’t seem to notice, then he turns to me. “Erica will be your wedding planner, my dear.”

My eyes go wide.

“My...wedding planner?” I question, my hands dropping from my stomach, and finding Ash’s hand waiting, our fingers instantly intertwining.

“Of course.” Julian is back to beaming again. “With your wonderful news, we’ll need to speed things up so that you’re married to Asher before you start to show fully.” He chuckles again like the doting father that he is not. “And with your uncle not giving his permission for your nuptials to go ahead before you turn eighteen, I think May twenty-first would be a good date. Don’t you?”

“But that’s…” I trail off.

“Your birthday, yes. What a lovely way to spend the day,” he says, his face open and oh so sincere. “It doesn’t give us a great deal of time for planning, just over eight weeks, and to send invites etcetera, but I’m sure with Erica’s help, we’ll manage.”

I stare at him, unmoving and in shock. Ash’s grip tightens, his fingers rubbing over my knuckles in a soothing gesture.

I’m getting married on my eighteenth birthday.Shit.

“Well, I shall leave you to it. Whatever she wants, Erica. No expense spared,” he says, pausing beside me to drop a kiss on my cheek. His lips linger for a fraction of a second too long, his fingertips brushing my stomach. “Just think, you could have made me a father again instead of a grandpa,” he whispers in my ear so quietly that I know the guys don’t hear.

Bile rises in my throat as he steps away, tears springing into my eyes as I stare straight ahead. I don’t move as he leaves, my grip tight on Ash’s hand. The door shuts with a loud bang, breaking me from the trance that Julian left me in.

“Excuse me,” I rush out, bolting to the bathroom, and slamming the door behind me as I throw myself down on my knees, just managing to get my head over the toilet bowl in time as vomit spills from my lips.

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