Marcus turned to me, sneering. His eyes bugged out of his head and his lips curled up, showing his teeth. He looked like a rabid dog. How could I ever have thought that he was good looking? “If I get sent away to some dead end place like your old man is planning, I'm coming after you, Jade. I'm going to make you pay.”
“You’ll be dead before you touch my girl,” Ryder said with a steely voice. A shudder ran through me.
Marcus lost it. “You fucking lowlife. An eye for an eye. I'm telling Jade’s old man that she’s fucking pregnant. I bet he doesn’t even know you knocked her up.”
Ryder gripped hold of Marcus by his shirt collar, pulling him within inches of his own face. “Listen to me, fuckface. You breathe one word to anybody, and you’re dead. You forget I have brothers that will take you out in an instant, and with a smile; I just need to give them the word. Stay away from me and especially stay away from Jade. I'm not going to warn you again. Next time I see you, I will fucking kill you. Got that?”
Ryder pushed Marcus backward so that he landed on his ass on the pavement. He shouted obscenities I couldn’t hear because Ryder had closed my door and was rounding the car to get in.
“Sorry, babe,” he grumbled as he put the car into first gear and sped away, his jaw set like granite. We drove in silence for a while, me rubbing my stomach and Ryder glancing at me every few minutes to check if I was okay.
“We have to tell my parents before it leaks out. It's better if it comes from me,” I said, my voice barely above a whisper. Just when things went perfectly, something came along to screw it up. I couldn’t take any more chances; it was time to tell my family.
“From us, Princess. I’m going with you.” Before I could protest, he added, “and that’s final. No arguments. We are in this together—we will face it together.” He took hold of my hand and brought it to his lips.
I nodded. “I'm going to arrange for us to visit my parents . . . so we can tell them.”
Overwhelmed by how things could change so suddenly, I wasn’t in the mood for shopping any longer. “Let’s just go home, Ryder. I’m tired.” I slumped back into the seat, all my energy drained.
“Sure. I think you should take a nap.” He made a turn at the next traffic light and sped in the direction of our house.
As soon as we got inside, Ryder helped me take off my shoes and lifted me into his strong arms. I giggled into his chest at how overprotective he was being—there was nothing wrong with me, I was perfectly able to walk. But I loved being cherished, so I allowed him to carry me to our bedroom and lay me down on the bed.
He pulled the throw at the end of the bed over us and snuggled behind my back, spooning. He held me to his chest, our fingers laced together. A deep shudder followed by a sigh left my body, letting out the stress I’d felt build up since the Marcus encounter.
In Ryder’s arms I felt safe, as if nothing could harm or touch us. Here we were free to just be us. But the moment we stepped out of these doors, things changed.
“Stop worrying. Sleep, Princess,” Ryder murmured, kissing my neck.
“I can’t sleep. I’m wide awake. But it's nice to lie in your arms,” I whispered.
The questions from earlier in the day still rattled around my brain, plus Marcus’s threat really scared me. What would happen if my parents found out and all hell broke loose? I had to get some answers.
“Ryder?”
“Yeah, Princess?”
“Will you still love me when my stomach is so big I can’t see my feet?”
“Yes. I will even tie your shoelaces.”
“And when my body is all out of whack after the baby?”
“I will massage oils into your mommy marks every night. Before fucking you,” he murmured by my ear. Goose bumps scattered over my skin.
I laughed. “Promise?”
“You can bet on it. Both. Every night, Princess, without fail.”
I sighed. So far, so good. “And when I’m old and the kids have left the house? Will you still love me then?” I held my breath, waiting for his answer.
“Then I will love you even more. We will do all the things we couldn’t with a young family. And I’ll get a sidecar for my bike. Just for you, babe.”
I sucked in a breath. “You would?” I could just imagine us—the grey-haired biker with a grey beard and his Princess. But no way in hell was I going grey.
“Princess. It’s you and me, babe. From now until forever. Can’t be any other way. We were made for each other.” He pulled me tighter to him. “Now shut up and let’s make love,” he said as his lips came crashing down on mine.