Page 9 of The Daddy Claus

Intense lust mixes with the nausea, and I swallow both down as I lean back against the wall. “I need a few minutes,” I manage to call out. Maybe if I’m lucky, the floor will open up and swallow me before I have to face Jordan and the rest of the Sterling family.

“You’ve had all the goddamn time you’re getting.” The door splinters as Jordan shoves his way into the tiny bathroom.

“You broke your door,” I gasp as he drops to his knees next to me.

He runs his hand across my heated cheeks and growls, “Fuck the door. Are you okay?”

I swallow down the next round of nausea and shake my head. “I’ve been feeling a little off.” That’s an understatement.

He lays his finger across my lips. “No more lies.” His words confirm my worst fear. He freaking knows everything. “It’s time for us to clear the air.”

I scoopHollie up from the bathroom floor, carrying her to the sink so she can clean up. She looks like she's ready to pass out… or flee into the world and disappear. I'm not willing to let either happen.

Four weeks ago, she ripped my goddamn heart out of my chest when she told me she was in love with someone else. I haven't had a single moment of peace since.

I’ve spent every waking hour torturing myself with thoughts of the motherfucker who claimed her heart. Only to arrive at the absolute certainty that she lied to me the night we got together in Rome's club. I just can't figure out why. She had stars in her eyes when she looked at me that night. She fucking loved every minute of what we did together.

So, why the hell did she lie?

And why the hell didn't she tell me that she's carrying my baby? She hasn't even confirmed it yet, but I know that's what sent her running for the bathroom. I've been obsessed with her body for years. Her breasts are fuller. Her skin is brighter. There's a softness to her that's brand-new.

I grab her a spare toothbrush from under the sink, and she scrubs her teeth while I hover, refusing to even give her breathing room. As soon as she finishes, I scoop her into my arms again, step over the remnants of the bathroom door, and stride down the hall.

"The living room is the other way."

"I'm aware, princess."

She's silent for several moments before she huffs, clearly annoyed I'm not telling her where I'm taking her. She doesn't ask, though. She's too damn stubborn for that.

I let her stew until we reach my room.

"I'm not sleeping with you, Jordan," she hisses. "Your brother and sister are right down the hall."

"So, you would sleep with me if they weren't here?" I can't resist teasing her a little.

She harumphs at me, making me grin despite the situation. She's cute even when she doesn't intend to be. It makes my dick hard when it shouldn't.

I carry her into my room and kick the door closed behind us. Gabbi is nosy. So is Roman, for that matter. I want to talk to my girl in private, not with them listening outside the door.

"Jordan."

"I'm not trying to get you naked and on my cock again, princess. I just want you comfortable while we talk," I promise, depositing her in the bed.

She looks precisely like she belongs there. Her alabaster skin is like silk against the slate gray counterpane.

Her wide, guilt-stricken eyes meet mine. "Gabbi told you."

"Told me what?"

"That I was the one who… that I was there that night…" She trails off, nervously licking her lips. "That I'm the one who seduced you in the club during the masquerade."

"Why would Gabbi need to tell me that, Hollie?" I ask, genuinely confused. And then realization dawns. "Jesus Christ. You think I don't know who I slept with that night?"

"I don't know!" she cries, distressed. "I've told myself a thousand times that you had to have known, but then I think maybe I’m just telling myself that to make myself feel better about seducing you."

Seducing me? What the fuck?

I remember every moment of that night, and her version and mine don’t align. If anyone did any seducing, it was me. I had her coming on my tongue before she even had time to think about what we were doing. But her version of events raises about five thousand questions that have my heart pounding like a jack-hammer.

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