Hotshot (The Bennett Brothers 1)

“How many times do I have to tell you? You’re never losing me,” he rumbles, lowering his mouth to mine.

I clear my mind and let him make love to me, knowing we both need to feel this closeness.

“If you walk into Maria’s house with that look on your face, she and Seth are going to know right away something’s wrong.” I reach over and pry one of Shaw’s hands off the steering wheel and lace his fingers in mine.

“Something is wrong,” he snaps at me then squeezes my hand in an apologetic gesture. “Sorry.”

“It’s okay.”

“Thank you for coming with me. It means a lot.”

“Hey.” I slide forward and catch his eye. “I’m here for you, meaning the good and the bad.”

“You’re the only ray of light in my life right now.”

We ride the next few miles in silence, my mind trying to come up with something to say. Even after last night, all our heartfelt words of love, and hours of reconnecting with our bodies, I woke up this morning with Shaw hovering over me. His eyes held the same desperate look from the last week, pleading with me to stay with him.

When he stops the car in front of his parents’ house, I remove my seatbelt and crawl into his lap, cupping his face in my hands.

“I’ll be your ray of light. I’ll help you through this. There’s going to be some rough patches, but we’ll get through them.”

I lean in to kiss him gently, running my lips along his and slipping my tongue in with the faintest of touches. He grabs my ass, trying to wedge me deeper, but I back away, shaking my head. “Let’s get through lunch, then this afternoon, we’ll go to the beach. Try to let all of this go for a few hours and do nothing.”

He nods and opens his door, stepping out with me still in his arms. I struggle to get down, but he doesn’t let go, taking us up the walkway and straight into his parents’ house.

“Let me go!” I smack harder and freeze when I hear the sound of Maria giggling behind me.

“Shaw, Bizzy.” Seth doesn’t hide his own amusement.

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; Shaw’s hands loosen enough for me to slide down his body, but he holds me close.

“Hi.” I give a small wave, heat creeping up my cheeks.

“Come here!” Maria holds her arms out for a hug. She squeezes me tight then turns us, leaving the men to follow us to their living room. I move to sit down next to Shaw, but she tugs me down to her on the sofa, forcing Shaw to sit across the room.

“Tell me everything. What’s been happening?” She looks between Shaw and me, and I start with small talk, filling her in on work and my parents since the last time we saw each other.

Shaw tells them about work, mentioning a few trips coming up for a few of his clients. He’d already mentioned to me about switching my shifts around to go to a World Series game with him. Actually, he insisted on it in one of our never ending ‘talk it out’ sessions where he declared he wasn’t leaving me alone for two days. Nicky and Mathis are also coming, so I tried to decline, but he refused to go without me. He even had Joe send me a text explaining he wanted me to come watch him play.

Sneaky bastard, but it worked.

Maria asks me to help her in the kitchen, and Shaw shoots me a look, telling me it’s time. His face pales as worry lines form around his eyes. I get up and go to him, sitting on the arm of the chair and leaning into his side.

Wrapping me in his arms, he pulls me to his lap and cages me in. The air in the room changes as a look of confusion crosses Maria’s face.

“Actually, I need to talk to you two.” Shaw takes a shaky breath.

Seth goes to sit next to Maria, reaching for her hand. “Son, what’s going on?” he encourages him to continue.

“I’ve fucked up. Royally fucked up.”

Panic flashes across their faces.

Instead of facing them, he faces me, and I can tell he’s trying to find the words. There’s so much emotion in his expression, I finally see the turmoil he was feeling all those weeks, hiding this from me. He’s spilling his guts to me with his eyes, and I lean in, finding my own words to help him.

“Shaw is having a baby with another woman,” I tell them in a weak voice. “He had sex with a woman shortly before we got together, and the woman is pregnant. Paternity tests prove he’s the father.”