Hotshot (The Bennett Brothers 1)

My ankles link around his waist, and I tilt my hips at the right angle for him to slide into me easily. When we’re flush together, he leans in and nips at my lower lip before kissing a trail down the curve of my neck.

“Tell me you’re mine.”

“Always,” I moan, letting him take control.

Always…

Chapter 15

Shaw

Another shitty fucking week.

It’s been ten days since Sasha showed up with

the news of her pregnancy and sent my world into a downward spiral. Bizzy knows something is wrong. I can see it in her eyes every time she looks at me. I can hear the worry in her voice and the faint plea with me to tell her. She thinks it’s all work related, and I’ve allowed her to believe it.

I’m the worst kind of asshole, for so many reasons, but I can’t bring myself to tell her the truth until I have scientific evidence. Especially after her heartbreaking confession. I wanted to know more, force her to tell me. Let me into that part of her I don’t know. But it became too much and the only thing I could do was make love to her, telling her over and over again she’s perfect.

I smooth my hand over my chest where there’s a dull thud and reach for the bottle of Aleve Gail has kept stocked since the day Sasha waltzed out. Throughout my life, I prided myself on my ability to handle stress, never allowing anything to weigh me down.

Not Law School…

Not the Bar Exam…

Not overinflated athletes’ egos…

Not endorsements gone wrong…

Not even watching career ending injuries that take out my clients…

But now, I can’t get through a day without a pounding headache that threatens to split my brain into pieces. The only time it recedes is the few precious hours I get to see Bizzy.

I check my watch at the same time Gail buzzes in. “Crenshaw, it’s time. I have a car waiting for you. Mr. Banks called and said everyone is coming.”

“Thank God.” I glance through the glass to see her sympathetic smile.

Caldwell worked fast, drafting a request for a non-invasive paternity test to be done immediately. Of course, Sasha fought it, saying she would not consent to her blood being drawn. She tried to contact me again, but I insisted all communication go through lawyers.

This pissed her off to the point of refusing any type of paternity test until Caldwell put it point-blank. She could consent, and we could move forward with solid answers, or I’d gladly wait until the child was born and petition a court for the test. She finally relented but demanded the testing be conducted at the most expensive and lucrative facility in the country, at my expense. I agreed with no hesitation.

She’s canceled the last two appointments we had to meet at Caldwell’s office with the specialized, independent nurse that would be responsible for my swabbing and her blood draw. Each time, saying she wanted to have her OB-GYN handle the procedure.

All of the back and forth delayed our meeting because I held firm to this going through a third party.

I give Gail a small wave and leave the office through the back elevators. When I get into the waiting car, I give him the address without another word.

My finger itches to dial Bizzy, if only to hear her voice, but I can’t take the chance of her sensing my anxiety. Soon enough, one way or another, she’ll know everything.

Unlike the last time I was in Caldwell’s office, this time it’s eerily formal. His assistant ushers me into a private conference room where a nurse is at the table, setting out a variety of sterile instruments. He’s waiting and gives me a quick handshake then gestures to his assistant to bring Sasha and her lawyer in.

I take the seat furthest away from the nurse and the door and wait, ready for a shit-storm. She doesn’t disappoint, storming in with a frown on her face. Her eyes roam the room in disgust then land on me, fire blazing.

“You really are a class act, Ren Bennett. Never did I expect this level of denial when you were so happy to fall into my bed on numerous occasions.”

For the first time ever, I want to correct her for using my old nickname. I’ve been Shaw for so long to my friends and family that Ren is a thing of the past. But she doesn’t get that part of me. She’ll never get that part of me.

Man, I really am a world class dick. She was good enough to fuck but not good enough to know my preferred name?