Dare Me Tonight (The Knight Brothers 3)

Her sibling narrowed his gaze. “This discussion isn’t over but your role in the stadium is.” He stormed out of the room, Olivia rushing after him, clearly hoping to calm him down.

Good luck, he thought to himself. If Ethan sent his sister to Miami and some older asshole had knocked her up, Ethan would be beyond furious. So yeah, he’d cut Dare some slack. But not too much, because as Sienna had said, this was none of his business.

This being a baby.

Holy fucking shit.

Ethan’s jaw stung and his head pounded, his mind reeling at the truth now staring him in the face. Sienna was pregnant with his baby.

He turned to her. She looked very frail and extremely anxious as she faced him.

“That’s why you fainted?” he asked.

She nodded, guiltily.

“And you didn’t tell me because…? Are you not planning on keeping it?” Nausea filled him at the thought.

“Oh my God, no.” She sounded horrified at the suggestion that she might abort their child. “I mean, everyone has to make their own choices, but that never entered my mind.”

The knot that had formed in his gut suddenly eased. He might not have planned for this, he might not have wanted it, but she was carrying a part of him. He was relieved she hadn’t thought about not keeping it.

“Then why didn’t you tell me?” he asked, pulling out a chair and easing her into it.

She narrowed her gaze, clearly not liking him fussing over her. “Because of what just happened! I knew Ian would have a fit and I knew the stadium contract was important to you both. You made it pretty damned clear the other night just how you prioritized things. I didn’t want to get in the way.”

It was his turn to wince because he’d done just that. Told her the stadium was more important than any kind of relationship they could have. He’d devalued her, something he was coming to see more and more as time went on and things around him unraveled.

But she’d known about the baby for almost a week. “So you were never going to tell me? Just let me go home and not know I had a kid?” He ground his teeth together, harder when she rolled her eyes at him.

“Of course not. I was just waiting until you’d finished your company’s work on the stadium. I wanted it to be too late for Ian to hurt your business. Which he now has.” Her brother had made it perfectly clear where things stood between the Thunder Stadium and KTT.

Jesus. Leave it to Sienna to try and protect him despite how shitty he’d treated her.

Pregnant. The word rattled around in his brain and he ran a hand through his hair and groaned. “I don’t fucking believe this.”

Although he really could. He vividly remembered waking up that morning in New York, his body wrapped around Sienna’s, his mind half-asleep as he thrust his hard cock inside her wet heat. He thought he’d come to himself in enough time to pull out and keep her safe from pregnancy but clearly not. Nature had other plans.

“It was as much a shock to me as it is to you.” Her voice grew soft. “I was told I probably would never be able to get pregnant… after the chemo and the treatment.” She rolled her shoulders, her hand coming to rest on her stomach protectively. “This is a miracle for me.”

His gaze jerked to hers, the import of that statement settling into his bones. God, the things this woman had endured throughout her life. Childhood leukemia, vicious treatments, her family’s unraveling, thinking she’d never have children of her own if she wanted them. She was stronger than anyone he’d ever met, himself included, and he admired the hell out of her.

“We’ll figure things out,” he said, unsure of what else to say at the moment. He was still coming to terms with something she’d had a week to accept.

She nodded. “I don’t expect anything from you … when it comes to me, I mean. Because I think deep down you’re a good man, I’m assuming you’ll want to have a role in this baby’s life and I want that, too.”

Her eyes grew damp but she stood up straight, remaining strong in front of him. “But you’ve been perfectly up-front with me about where we stand. I don’t want you worrying you’re going to have some clingy woman demanding you step up and marry her.” Her self-deprecating smile tugged at his heart.

Dammit, he was coming to hate himself more and more.

“Sienna–”

She shook her head. “I have to go. I have work to do.” She stood up and walked out, leaving him alone in his assigned office, reeling.

Chapter Seven

Sienna sat on her sofa, legs crossed, sipping a decaffeinated iced tea, the book What to Expect When You’re Expecting open on her coffee table, on her laptop, articles on cancer patients carrying babies to term on her browser. She had an appointment with an ob-gyn next week, one who specialized in high-risk pregnancies. Just in case.