Ethan and Ava (Redwood Falls 4)

When dinner was over, Ty pulled her into his room. He closed the door and then whispered, "They're going shopping in Dallas tomorrow. Black Friday shit, I guess. I just found out. Dad surprised Mom with the trip. I think he's trying really hard to smooth things over between them. Anyway, they're leaving tonight and checking into a hotel to get a jump on things. God only knows how that's going to save money, but whatever."

As the meaning of his words slammed into her, she threw herself into her brother's arms. It took everything she had not to squeal with pure joy.

Ty hugged her back and then held her at arm's length. "Listen, I'll drive you out to his house after it gets dark so no one knows about it, okay? About ten, all right?"

"Yes! Thank you!" she all but yelled in happiness before anxiety began running through her system. How would Ethan think she looked? Even though he'd been demanding pictures every day, she'd posed this way and that and mostly focused on looking as hot as possible in the pictures, which certainly wasn't as easy these days.

Not much of her pregnancy was showing in her belly, at least through her clothes. She could tell, of course. Her body was changing. Her breasts were getting bigger (like she needed that shit), and her butt seemed to be carrying more weight. She felt swollen all over. Basically, it just looked like she was fat. She hated that but she supposed it was better than the whole world knowing she was pregnant already. God only knew how bad things at home would get when her mom had to endure seeing her daughter's visibly pregnant body every single day.

Her parents continued to talk about finding an adoption agency, but no one ever asked her how she felt about it. Her dad seemed to think it was the lesser of the two, maybe even three, evils.

She'd never give up her baby—it wasn't fucking happening. But thank God, her mother never mentioned a termination again. She couldn't make her have one, Ava was certain of that and so was her mother after the clinic disaster. If her mother ever tried something like that again, she supposed she was prepared to run away from home, even though that sounded incredibly juvenile.

She was seventeen and soon to be a mother herself, but she wasn't eighteen yet so her mom could still make her life a living hell. Everything, her whole life, her and Ethan's entire future, hinged on her turning eighteen and getting out from underneath her parents' authority. Every day got her a little bit closer to April first. Having a birthday on April Fool's Day had always been funny, but this time around it would be no joke. If she could stand it until April first, everything would be okay.

Getting to see Ethan that night was exactly what she needed. She hugged her brother one more time, so grateful for his support. She was going to see Ethan, was finally going to touch him again. She couldn't wait. She just worried that once she had him all to herself, she'd never be able to let him go.

****

Jesus, holding Ava again felt like pure heaven. Ethan blew out a breath and was glad they weren't in his damn pickup truck again. They were in his bedroom, in the damn bed as it was supposed to be, with the door locked. His parents were almost being too good, allowing Ava to stay in his room for the night. He had been hoping they would allow it, and at his request, his mother had glanced at his dad and shrugged her shoulders, as if the horse was already out of the barn. It was all moot at this point, really. What could it possibly harm now?

Ty had promised to come back and pick Ava up at eight in the morning because Ethan had to leave before nine, and none of them wanted to take the chance of anyone in town seeing Ethan with Ava, in case it got back to her parents. Were they all conspiring against the Andersons? Yeah, Ethan knew they were, and no one seemed to feel the least amount of guilt about it. His own parents had become quite possessive about the baby already. Adoption? When his mother had learned about that fucked-up idea (not her word, just knowing for a fact how much they wanted to keep the baby), she'd immediately started doing her own research and had soon laid the adoption idea to rest. It was true, Ethan had legal rights as the baby's father. If Ava wanted to give up the baby (which she didn't), then the Andersons would need him to sign off on the adoption proceedings, which he'd never do. Knowing that really eased his mind. His mom was awesome.

And now, running his hand up and down Ava's silky skin, he had no idea how he'd gone this long without her. And she was insecure about her looks? How could that even be possible? He could barely tell that she'd gained much weight at all—damn, she was just super lush now. He liked what he saw, there was absolutely no question about that. He'd never particularly cared for skinny girls, and maybe that's why he'd always had it bad for Ava. She was soft and curvy, and now she was even softer and curvier. What wasn't to like?

But she seemed to think she'd gained too much weight already. What he knew about pregnancy wasn't much. He hadn't had the time to do any research, but he hoped everything was okay. There was no question, she looked luscious—magnificent, even. But shit, she always looked that way. Her breasts seemed larger, but he couldn't really tell. They'd always been spectacular. He hadn't seen her in months, and the fact that she was pregnant with his child wasn't doing anything to dampen the surge of lust he felt for her. In fact, his baby nestled safely inside her belly was producing a stronger compulsion for sex than he'd ever felt before.

He slid down and pulled her panties off, tossing them to the floor as he'd done with the rest of her clothes. Her eyes caught and held his, even as she burrowed under the sheet more thoroughly. He let out a crooked smile as he shucked his jeans. "Only a few more months," he whispered as he climbed under the covers and settled between her thighs.

"Until the baby's born?" she questioned back in a whisper as she wrapped her arms around him.

"No," he answered, sliding inside of her by infinitely slow degrees, not wanting to hurt her or the baby. "Until we get married—until you're mine for real. On your birthday, Ava."

Her mouth opened just a tiny bit as she took a panting breath. "Promise, Ethan," she whispered, even as her eyes closed and a look of both relief and erotic pleasure lit her features.

His eyes shut as well as he took the first amazing, careful stroke. And then he opened them again, feeling a twist form on his lips. "Yeah, we'll call it a promise if that makes you feel better. Nothing good can come from threatening the mother of my child into marriage."

At his words, her eyes popped open. She gave him an adorable little smile as if he were teasing her. And that was fine with him. Why let her know he was dead-fucking serious?

****

"Hey, Ethan! Are you living in the library now or what?"

"Come party with us, man," a second guy chimed in.

Ethan turned and walked back to the open doorway he'd passed on his way to the dorm's stairwell. He leaned against the doorjamb, hooked his thumb in his front pocket, and smiled easily. "Thanks for the invite, man, but no can do. Got a test to study for. Maybe later, okay?"

They took the rejection well enough, even though they probably knew he had no intention of dropping by later. Between football practice, the game schedule, and his classes, Ethan hadn't been able to spend much time off the field with these guys yet, so he appreciated the invitation to join in. But he really did have a test in the morning and needed to get some shut-eye. He'd spent all day in the library studying; not an easy feat, considering the attention he'd been getting lately because of football. He was proud of his accomplishments on the field, but, damn, it was hard to find a moment to himself without someone wanting to talk to him about their favorite play or whatever—especially the girls.

When he'd gotten to the library that morning, he'd almost managed to avoid one of his roommate's current groupies, Isabel. Cade was a damn whore and his endless supply of chicks infuriated Ethan.

Ethan had almost slipped by her but unfortunately, she'd cornered him in the building's lobby. Irritation consumed him. He hated to be a complete dick by cutting her dead by ignoring her completely, so he'd replied to her greeting with the bare-ass minimum he'd been able to get away with. He

quickly rejected her invitation to lunch, like always, unable to hide his impatience. She probably knew he'd never agree but did that fucking stop her from asking? Hell, no. He'd set her straight a long time ago, the very first time she'd been a little too friendly. She knew he had a girlfriend back home but that didn't seem to slow her down. She never missed an opportunity to let him know her interest in him went a lot deeper than just her perpetual lunch invitations.

And on top of his supreme frustration that this chick wouldn't leave him alone, Ethan felt a stroke of guilt for even talking to her. He knew he wasn't doing anything wrong, in fact, he was doing everything right, but even speaking to her didn't sit well with him. As far as he was concerned, he was a family man now. And he shouldn't even be giving her the time of day. Pretty damn soon, if she kept this shit up, he would cut her dead.

Isabel and Cade were far from exclusive, but Ethan still managed to be surprised by how hard and often the bitch came on to him. Sometimes he thought she seemed more interested in him than Cade, even though Cade was the one she was fucking on the regular. But Cade wasn't the only one, either. The running joke on campus was that Isabel-the-Jezebel was working her way through the entire university sports program. Cade didn't seem to care. When Cade wasn't partying with the guys on their hall, he had a steady stream of random hookups going on at all hours. It had already pissed Ethan off more than once to come back to their room to find his roommate's baseball cap hanging on the doorknob. And of course, that translated to 'go-away-I'm-right-in-the-middle-of-fucking-somebody'. And did these girls have any pride at all? The front of the goddamn cap actually said, 'Got Pussy?'

Other than being a manwhore, though, Cade was a decent roommate. But he sure as hell wasn't the roommate Ethan really wanted. The only person he wanted to come home to was lush and sexy and had curves where curves should be. And she was pregnant with his baby. How could he be so lucky and yet still be so fucking miserable?

Ethan had come away from the library conversation with Isabel with the understanding that Isabel and Cade would be out that evening, most likely at her place on the other side of campus. That would mean a quiet dorm room and some much-needed sleep for Ethan, so he decided the earlier conversation with her hadn't been a complete waste of time.

He was so fucking tired. As he trudged up the stairs, Ethan visualized the next five minutes in perfect detail: walk into the room he shared with Cade the Asshole, drop his backpack on the floor, faceplant onto the bed, and not move a muscle until morning.

"Fucking awesome," he sighed in relief at the sight of the unadorned doorknob that was his one-way ticket to a good night's sleep.

All it took was one step inside the room, however, to see that his master plan had been blown all to hell: Cade and not one but two groupies were going at it on Cade's bed. And of fucking course, one of 'em had to be Isabel.