Tragic King (The Dominant Bastard Duology 2)

She kept going as though she hadn’t even heard what he’d said. “I’m not even blond.

I’m not tall and skinny like the fancy models that are always following you around, and I’m not...high maintenance enough for someone like you. I don’t even get manicures. And now I’m sick. No guy wants to see a girl like this.”

“Preciosa, if I knew you were sick I would have come back days ago.”

“And missed your meetings?”

He sighed. “Do you honestly think my business meetings are more important to me than you are? I could fucking retire tomorrow and our lifestyle wouldn’t change. It’s not like we need more money.”

“So what? You would have rushed home so I could puke on you? Sexy.”

Annoyed, he growled and pulled her onto his chest. “Oh my god, Minnow. Be a good girl and tolerate my affection, okay? After you’re feeling better we’re going to be having a discussion about all this attitude.”

“Discussion? That word... Don’t turn me on while my guts are churning. If I end up with a vomit fetish it’ll be your fault.”

“I guess you’re not that sick if you still have the energy to be a brat.”

She swallowed hard, looking uncomfortable. “Just don’t put me belly down on your lap, okay? Not without a bucket close by.”

He rubbed her back until she dozed.

When the doorbell finally rang, Severin answered with the dogs in tow. He led the doctor to the bedroom, but mumbled something about work and made a break for the forge.

Dr. Liu was in her early thirties and had been big into the local kink scene until she’d finished med school. Now she tended to the kinky and wealthy in the area, dealing with things people didn’t want to take somewhere as public as a hospital.

“Dr. Liu, this is my fiancée, Minnow.”

The young woman smiled, her. “Minnow? Is that your real name?” She set her briefcase down on the dresser and opened it, revealing med bottles and doctoring shit.

“Um, yes?”

“Cool beans. You want him here for this, or do you want privacy?” the doctor asked.

“We don’t have secrets.”

She nodded. “Okee dokee. What’s the problem?”

“I – I’ve been tired. A bit weak and dizzy. I’m having trouble keeping things down. It’s probably just a flu or a bit food poisoning or something.”

“Hmm.” The doctor examined her and ran through a litany of questions that sounded standard – when did it start, how bad were the symptoms, what had she eaten. She checked her vitals.

“Okay, I have two theories. One is easy enough to rule out.” She went to her kit and grabbed a package, then handed it to Minnow.

“You know how to use one of these?”

Minnow glanced down at the box mostly obscured in her hand, and turned even paler than she had been.

“It can’t be this.” She tried to hand it back.

“You’re abstinent? You don’t do men? You’ve had your tubes tied?”

“I’m on the pill.”

Rodrigo’s legs went out from under him and he sat on the edge of the bed, his first instinct to deny it was possible. “She’s on the pill,” he parroted, not sure what else to say.

“The pill isn’t a hundred percent effective, boys and girls. It’s up to you if you want to take the test or not, but if your symptoms don’t go away anytime soon, you might want to consider checking. If you are pregnant, and have severe morning sickness, it may need intervention if you choose to go ahead with things.”

Minnow’s gaze met Rodrigo’s, and she started to cry again. It was so unlike her – maybe she really was pregnant. He pulled her into his lap.