Page 8 of Cougar

“He’s your brother. Why would you do that to him?” I whisper. I don’t understand the scene we left John in.

“He may be my brother, but you are my daughter, and you deserve more than that little skirt chaser.” He growls, pulling me tighter. I can’t help the chuckle that falls from my lips.

“Dad, this isn’t the 1960s. If you trust him in your club, you trust him with your life. Why is this different?” I ask, pulling back to watch his face. I can see the struggle in his eyes because he knows I’m right, but he still doesn’t like it. “He claimed me—as much as I hate the phrase—he did it. Doesn’t that mean something?”

“He didn’t know your name.” Dad grumbles.

“Okay, yes, but I told him my name was AJ. We rushed into this, but when something feels right, don’t you just want to say fuck it and take a chance?” I plead with him.

“You two have a lot that needs to be said. He needs to know about this, you may have rushed into this like your ass was on fire, but he needs to know what is going on,” Dad presses a kiss to the crown of my head. “You’re my daughter; brother or not, if he hurts you, he dies.” With that, he leaves me there and rides off.

I don’t know how long I stand there, still feeling emotions and anxiety. Doubt starts to bubble as I think about how we have spent less than a full night together, barely talked about anything, and he claimed me. My dad has been in the club life long enough for me to know what that means. I know how big of a deal it is. Are we crazy for jumping in to something that could be explained away as lust at first sight? I know I feel comfortable and at ease with him. When I left him at the side of the road, I felt guilty and nervous that I was leaving something so big to chance. I should have kissed him then. I should have told him to ignore the phone and taken him then and there. I’m sure all of this is pregnancy hormones, and once we sleep together, feelings will change.

As quickly as the nerves and doubt swept in, they leave my body when I feel John get close to me. I feel his presence before he even reaches out and touches me. He comes up behind me, wrapping his arms around my middle, and holds my hands in his over my stomach. I sigh and relish in the comfort he already brings me instead of freaking the fuck out.

“You good, Birdie?” John asks, pressing a soft kiss to the side of my head.

“Do you think this is fast? We’ve known each other for less than twenty-four hours. In the real world, this would be insane.” I say, leaning back into his tight hold. To the outside world, we look funny as he has over a foot on me in height.

“Good thing this is the MC world and not the real world. We love fast and hard here and say fuck the rest of the world. But to ease your mind, Storm said we can go home and figure our shit out.”

John slowly kisses the side of my head to just below my ear. He finishes his trail of kisses where my neck meets my shoulder. I feel him run his teeth along that exact spot. My knees go weak, and my hormone-raging body sends the all-go signals to my pussy. I squeeze my thighs together to find a little relief.

Get your shit together. You need to tell his ass about the third party in this relationship.

“Okay, cowboy, we need to talk. I have a bit of baggage to unpack. If you are sure that this is real, I guarantee that it will make or break it.”

“Let’s go, but please don’t call me cowboy.” he laughs.

***

“Have you been living here this whole time?” John asks me as we walk through the front door of my apartment. “Wasn’t Rambo living here?”

“He was. I showed up one night after my uncle Rob called me,” I tell him. When he gives me a funny look, I correct myself. These mean and their damn road names. “I mean Sever. Sever called me, not knowing that it was occupied. Rambo let me stay here with him and the kids. It was the same night that I met Audrina too. It was an interesting night, to say the least.”

“So…. You’ve been here the whole time? How haven’t I run into you?”

This was the segway that I needed. It’s an easy in for me to say, well, it’s because I was always sick from the little intruder I’m growing, but trying to make the words come out isn’t as easy as I was hoping for.

Instead of saying anything, I make my way to the couch and sit down. I don’t have to invite him to sit next to me. He automatically does it. My hands are in my lap as I twist my fingers together. It’s weird, right? It’s weird that it’s so hard to tell a man who isn’t the father that I’m pregnant. Shouldn’t it be easy?

It’s because you like this one. His heart calls to yours.

I take a deep breath and turn to face him. He gives me one of those smiles that tells me he is trying to be reassuring, but he’s nervous as hell. I don’t blame him. I am too.

“I…. I, uhm,” I let out a breath, “fuck, this is hard.”

“Birdie, I don’t know what you need to tell me, but I promise, you can just tell me. It’s not going to change a thing about how I feel about you. I want a life with you. Nothing is going to change that fact. I promise.”

He grips the back of my head and pulls me toward him, kissing my forehead. I breathe in his scent and mentally scold myself to get my shit together.

“I’m pregnant.”

For a very pregnant, no pun intended, pause, he’s quiet. I’m too afraid to look up at him and see the fury on his face. I’m too scared to be tossed away because he doesn’t want to raise another man’s baby. I would never ask him to. This baby is my responsibility and mine alone. But if he’s ready to bail because of the baby, I’m not ready to be heartbroken. Because shit, that’s exactly what I would be.

What the fuck is this shit?

I don’t know how much time has passed before I finally give up and look at him. His face is impassive, and I can’t tell what he thinks.

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