Brothers of Paradise Series

I smile back at him. “I think I’ll be considerably better at Monopoly now, yes. You guys always had the advantage of age.”

“We’ll see about that.”

We reach the parking lot and say our goodbyes, Hayden’s hand on the small of my back.

“See you tomorrow!”

Hayden gets into the driver’s seat and reaches over to put a hand on my knee. “Didn’t know you were going to wait for us.”

“I hadn’t planned on it,” I say, looking down at his broad, tan hand. “But I wanted to.”

“I’m glad.”

“Was it fun?”

He snorts, but his voice is warm when he answers. “Yes. It’s been a long time since all of us were out on the boat together.”

“It has.” I put my hand on his and watch his quiet contentment with a smile. My brothers are Hayden’s, too; they’ve accepted him as my husband as readily as they did when we were children, and Hayden was a new playmate. My family feels whole again.

He shoots me a smile. “Although I prefer just the two of us on a boat… I like your brothers, baby, but I like you better.”

His eyes flash with heat and amusement, his hand tightening on my knee. I bite my lip at the memory-the boat rocking softly amongst the waves, his body on top of mine, warm lips against my neck and his deep, powerful rhythm.

“I prefer that too,” I say.

Hayden’s smile turns a little bit wild, and I can see in his eyes that he has plans for when we get home.

But so do I-and I don’t feel like I can wait much longer. He parks the car and I grab his hand, pulling him inside the house.

“I’m sweaty,” he says, running a hand over my back. “I should take a shower first. Join me.”

“Gladly. But first… I need to show you something.”

“Oh?”

“Yeah.” Nervous butterflies flutter in my stomach, alive with excitement as we head up to the bedroom. I gesture for Hayden to have a seat on the bed, and he scoots back, running a hand through his hair. He would look relaxed if it wasn’t for his amber eyes, fixated on me.

“Is something wrong, Lily?”

“No.”

He frowns. “I can tell something is.”

“Nothing’s wrong.” I head into the bathroom and grab the pregnancy test, still by the sink. The two lines are still as clear as they’d been hours ago.

I walk back into the bedroom, my bare feet sinking deep into the carpet.

Hayden looks at me in silence. “Lily…”Property of Nô)(velDr(a)ma.Org.

“So, you know how we haven’t been… very careful?”

He frowns, but then his gaze sharpens, alert like a predator. “Yes?”

“It’s paid off, so to speak. I think I’m pregnant.” I hold out the test to him, showing the sign. “I took it a few hours ago.”

Hayden stares at it for a long, quiet moment. Then he leans back, arms braced against his legs, and says nothing at all. My heart is beating so fast in my chest that I fear it might leap out and tackle him to the ground. Say something!

“Well? What do you think?”

There’s something warm and excited in his eyes, something that’s growing by the second. “Come here,” he says quietly, waving me closer. “Let me hold you.”

He catches me around the waist, strong arms pulling me along his body, and buries his head against my shoulder. I hold on to his T-shirt and can’t stop myself from tearing up.

“A baby,” I murmur. “Can you believe it?”

Hayden pushes my hair back. Warm lips touch my forehead, my cheek, my nose, finding my lips. I kiss him back through my tears, feeling so happy I might burst.

“No.”

“Are you happy, Hayden? Is this good news?”

A rough hand cups my cheek, his thumb smoothing away one of my tears. His face is so dear to me, the cheekbones, the thick hair over his forehead, the unusual eyes.

“Yes,” he says. “It’s amazing news.”

“Really?”

“Yes.” He closes his arms around my waist, lifting me up and spinning me around. I grip his shoulders and smile down at him, seeing my own joy reflected back at me.

He doesn’t let go when we stop spinning, instead lifting me up and onto our bed. I pull him with me so that we’re side by side.

“Were you afraid I wouldn’t be happy?”

I run a finger along the sharp edge of his jaw. “A little bit. I was scared you’d… I don’t know. That it would freak you out.”

“How little faith you have in me,” he murmurs.

I slide my hand into his thick hair, running my fingers against his scalp the way I know he enjoys. “I know. I’m sorry. It was only a small fear.”

Hayden’s smile fades, even if the happiness in his eyes doesn’t. “But you’re right. I might fuck up, Lily.”

“You won’t.”

He sighs. “What if I do, though? There’s a risk I could become-”

“No, there’s no risk at all. Do you know why? Because I won’t let you.”

He closes his eyes, our foreheads touching. “I know.”

“But more importantly, you won’t let yourself fail. I know you, Hay. You’re one of the most driven people I’ve ever met. I know you better than anyone, and I have complete faith in you.”

“Thank you,” he says dryly, a smile in his voice. “Besides, I know that if I screw up, I’ll have to answer to not one, not two, not three, but four angry uncles, not just the kid’s but my own as well.”

I laugh. “Not scared at all, huh.”

“No.” He kisses me softly, his hand finding the curve of my waist and the still-flatness of my stomach. “With you as my wife? Never.”

****

Thank you so much for reading Rogue!

I hope you fell in love with Hayden and Lily just as much as I did!