The MC boys and I had knocked back a few beers, laughing and joking like the old times. But it didn’t feel quite the same—I was deliberately keeping a secret from my brothers and from Cobra and Mia. There was no way in hell I wanted them to know that Jade was pregnant. Not until this whole fucking mess was cleared up.
Hell, they didn’t even know I was living with Jade. The story was that I had to look after Max’s place. I was a man who needed my own space from time to time, like most bikers, so I didn’t think they suspected that I was lying. All I had to do was not talk about Jade and they’d assume it was over. Because that’s how quickly I’d moved on in the past.
I removed the helmet and wiped the sweat from my brow. I was tired of always having to try to keep the peace. For once I wanted it to just be about me, and what I wanted. About what made me, Ryder Knox, happy—without worrying how it would affect everyone else.
Walking to the front door, I quickened my pace. I couldn’t wait to hold my woman in my arms. A part of me was missing when she wasn’t around. I missed her smile, the way her gaze followed my movements, and especially the way they shone when she said she loved me.
My family.
Me, Jade and Peanut.
We were a family now.
Jade’s belly had swollen over the past few weeks, making her radiant and happy. I couldn’t take my eyes off her, nor keep my hands to myself. The more she glowed, the more she pulled me to her like a moth to a flame.
There wasn’t a time I thought I could ever tire of her. Truth was, I couldn’t get enough of her. I wanted to be with her, soaking up her contented happiness as the days passed and Peanut grew inside her.
We fucked. A lot. She’d joked that she may just as well walk around naked because I was always undressing her, making love to her, burying my cock inside her. I’d grinned, agreeing that it was the best plan she’d ever had.
I loved looking at her, especially when she was naked. Everything about her was beautiful, even the small stretch marks that marred her once flawless skin. I’d kiss them, one by one, cherishing the changes her body was going through for the sake of our baby.
Her breasts had been spectacular before, but now they left me speechless. Any porn star would pay big money to have tits like hers. And I reveled in her changing body, loving every inch of her with my mouth, hands and cock. It was as if she got hornier the more her belly grew. Fuck, I'd have her constantly pregnant if that were true.
I pushed the door open, listening for her greeting. She’d always drop whatever she was doing and come to kiss me, telling me how much she’d missed me. The silence that met me now left an empty feeling in my gut.
“Princess. I’m back,” I called, thinking that she was probably in the bath, or outside pottering with her herb garden. I smiled as I imagined her talking to her plants. I’d called her stark raving crazy, but the way her herbs grew and flourished, I had to shut the fuck up, because whatever she was saying definitely made a difference.
Not finding her at the back door, I retraced my steps to the bathroom. Grinning, I pushed the door open. Bubble baths were my favorite. I'd get into the bath behind her, soap up her body and then have her ride my cock, splashing water everywhere as we fucked with abandon.
She wasn’t in the bath. “Jade. Baby. Where are you?” I fucking hated getting home when she wasn’t here. It sometimes happened that she got caught up at the office, working late on some urgent case. I sighed. Just my luck that it would be tonight when I'd so looked forward to holding her.
It was time I met her parents and we faced the world as a real couple. I hated that I was excluded from Jade’s family. All this sneaking around wasn’t how I wanted to live the rest of our life, especially when the baby arrived—I wanted Peanut to have a relationship with her grandparents.
Bill had welcomed Jade warmly and was pleased as hell that he was becoming a grandfather. Surely Jade’s parents would be just as excited to learn about their first grandbaby?
What is Harrison’s reaction going to be when he finds out?
I poured a drink and settled on the sofa. I looked around at the place. Jade hadn’t officially moved in, but she may as well have, because every inch of the place was filled with her: her books, her laptop, even her lip-gloss. She’d placed pictures of us in frames and bought comfy cushions for the sofa. Granted, they were small things, but she permeated the space. I couldn’t imagine life without my woman.
I kicked back and closed my eyes. It was weird how lost I felt without her here. I'd gone fucking soft. My Princess had changed me—and I liked the mellow Ryder. It was time the badass biker grew up and became a man with a family. I smiled at the thought of Peanut. Yeah.