The Better Brother

“It’s a deal. But I’m not calling you Daddy.” I giggled thinking how ridiculous that would be in front of our friends.

“When we are alone, and you’re naked you will. Deal?” He spanked my ass so hard that a trickle of his cum threatened to drip. I clenched tight to hold it in place.

“Yes, Daddy. I better get to the shower before we both need one.”

He chuckled, and I got up and hurried into the bathroom.

After removing my boot and balancing against the wall, I decided to fill my tub. While the water ran, I dressed in my robe and strapped on the stupid boot to go out to let him know I was going to soak a minute. I didn’t want to take too long if he was starving, but he wasn’t in my room. I walked out, and the living room was empty too, and it wasn’t until I went toward the kitchen that I found him facing away from me against the counter, on the phone. I tip-toed up and stopped in my tracks when I heard his next words.

“No, she can never know about that. I don’t want her to know I knocked her up on purpose. Things are going too good—”

He must have caught a glimpse of me because his face paled and he turned to face me. “I’ll call you back.”

“What did you mean? You knocked me up on purpose?” My hand went to my stomach and tears pooled in my eyes until they spilled down my cheeks. I thought of all those times we’d had sex, the times in the shower when I wasn’t certain he’d been safe. He had deceived me in the worst way. My stomach rolled, and I turned to run for the bathroom, forgetting all about the sprain in my ankle and the bulky boot on my foot.

I hit the floor, and Reed rushed around the counter. When he tried to help me, I freaked out.

“Don’t touch me!” I cradled my tummy and crawled out of his reach. He knelt there, wide-eyed and his hand out like he was approaching a wild animal.

“Are you okay? Did you hurt yourself?”

“Why did you say that you did this on purpose?”

“I can explain, Bella. If you’ll listen and let me help you up, I’ll take you to the couch.”

He approached me slowly, and I hissed, pushing at his arms as he tried to touch me.

“Dammit, Bella. I’m going to pick you up and take you to the couch!” He came at me with such force that I had no time to react, and I had a feeling if I had fought him, he’d have won anyway. I went limp in his arms to make his task harder.

He lifted me up and placed me gently on the couch, and I curled into a ball, inching myself away as he sat next to me.

“Before I tell you what I have to say, I want you to know I love you, and it changes nothing.”

“It changes everything.”

“Hear me out, for heaven’s sake, Bella. Right before I met you, I was hit with a bit of a shocker. I had assumed that when I turned thirty, I’d inherit the bulk of my father’s multi-billion-dollar estate. I’ve been living off of the trust, which will end at thirty when the billions kicked in.”

“Lucky you, so why knock me up. One last conquest? A celebratory challenge?”

“Would you let me finish? I found out that if I didn’t produce an heir by my thirtieth birthday, then I wouldn’t get the inheritance and the money would go to charities and I’d be left with nothing.” His tone had softened, but I couldn’t sympathize. He’d not given me any choice, and it was all for money.

“I don’t care about your fucking money. I wasn’t ready for this. I wanted to have time for myself, and now I’ve got to raise a child and all so you can have your precious money! And you were never going to tell me!”

“I love you. I didn’t want you to think I did this for any other reason. I never wanted to hurt you, Bella.”

“Get out!”

“This is my house, Bella. I’m not leaving you. I love you. This is about so much more than the money now. In the beginning, yes, that was my motivation, but along the way I fell in love with you. I don’t even care about the money for me anymore, Bella. I want something real and lasting with you—with us. We’ve created a life, and I want us to be a family.”

“Is that part of it? We have to pretend to be a family for you to get your money too?” I snapped at him.

He shook his head. “It’s not my money.”

I stopped and looked at him, confused. “I don’t understand.”

“The part of the conversation you didn’t hear in there was me ordering my lawyer to draw up papers giving you full control of my estate once the baby is born. It’s your money now, Bella. Yours and our child’s.”

I nearly passed out when he said those words. I would be in full control of $2 billion. Still, I was so hurt that he had deceived me. All the money in the world wouldn’t fix that.