Page 11 of Built for Temptation

Her eyes heated with lust, and her fingers clenched the fabric of my shirt. “Fuck,” she croaked.

Fuck was right. I kissed her again—quick and hard—before I forced myself to step back, putting space between us. She watched as I readjusted my cock in my jeans before she slipped out of the bathroom, sliding her feet into her flip-flops.

“Ready?” she asked.

I grunted, and she laughed, the sound like music to my ears. I grabbed her hand in mine and linked our fingers together before I led her out to the truck, helping her into the passenger seat before I shut her door and crossed around to the driver’s side.

Feeling my unease as I pulled out of her driveway, she reached over and grabbed my hand in hers, linking our fingers together. I gave it a gentle squeeze in thanks.

The intimacy in our simplest touches had a way of settling my soul that nothing else could ever even hope of doing.

Not a damn thing in the world could have prepared me for the sight of our baby on that screen. My hand trembled in Harbor’s as I stared at the grainy black and white image. It still looked a bit like an alien—kind of like a jelly bean with a head, really—but it was ours.

Our baby. Our little munchkin.

My heart had been taken over by Harbor from the moment I met her, but the second our baby popped up on that screen, she was forced to make room for it.

There was no more confusion for me. No more mixed feelings. No more unease.

Protectiveness slid through my veins, rivaling the protectiveness I felt for its mother. I wanted to nurture it. Love it. Hold it in my arms and guard it against all of the bad things in this world.

“Oh, my God,” Harbor croaked, her voice filled with tears. I squeezed her hand before looking down at her. She sobbed, her free hand covering her mouth. “That’s our baby, Elliot.”

“Yeah, Har, it is,” I rasped, my throat thick, making it hard to get my words out.

“Would you like to hear the heartbeat?” the ultrasound technician asked us, a small smile on her lips.

I definitely wanted to, but I looked at Harbor first. It was her body, so her decision. “Yes,” she croaked, her hand tightening around mine.

Tears blurred my vision when the rapid thump of our baby’s heart sounded through the room. I sank into the chair beside the cot Harbor was on, letting those tears slide silently down my cheeks. I wasn’t the least bit embarrassed. This was a monumental, life-changing moment.

I was a goofball about many things. I had to so life wouldn’t get to me. Despite how hard I’d worked to maintain excellent grades in school and stay out of trouble in the hopes that I would one day be adopted once my mom stopped giving a shit about me when I was a toddler, I’d remained a foster kid. The only way to not lose myself in that misery was to not let shit get to me.

But this… I wanted to feel it all. I wanted to feel the all-consuming love I not only had for Harbor but for our baby, too.

It swallowed me whole. Left me reeling. But something shifted in my life.

This baby…this woman…they gave me a purpose.

I rested my forehead on mine and Harbor’s joined hands, my shoulders shaking. She was sobbing in earnest now, her free hand combing through my dark hair.

“Thank you,” I rasped.

“Oh, Elliot,” she cried before her arms wrapped around me, holding me tightly as I finally allowed myself to fall apart.

I might not have gotten adopted as a kid or a teen, but I had found my family within the Storm Hogs MC. And now…I had my own.

And my child would never know the pain of not having their own family.

I’d fucking make sure of it.

9

Harbor

Elliot chuckled and looked up from his phone, his attention moving to me. “Remi just texted me saying Athena and Cecily have cooked a heaping meal and want us to show up. You up for that?”

Honestly, I was always down for food at this point. My appetite seemed endless. I nodded. “Yeah. Just let me change my clothes real quick, and then we can go,” I told him.

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