Billionaire's Forbidden Baby: BWWM Interracial Alpha Male Baby Romance Novel (18 page)

Damien

His heart felt like it was breaking inside his very chest. Like he’d been holding it together with tape and stern words the whole drive from the office to the clinic and then to the house, and now it was given the right to crumble. He had to fight to keep from gasping for breath, to keep from clutching his chest.

The wild fear that had been taking up residence inside of him could now pour forth in an uncontrolled landslide, and he knew he couldn’t keep it in anymore. His shoulders relaxed, and by the way Kiara was looking at him, he knew he must have looked like a man possessed. It didn’t matter. All that mattered was that she was there, with him, safe.

“I don’t understand,” she said with a small voice, looking so frail that he thought she might just crumble before him.

He knew the feeling. Now, for the first time since losing his brothers, he truly felt vulnerable – like something could get to him and destroy him with the flick of a wrist. And instead of wanting to get rid of that feeling, he wanted to embrace it. It felt like life. It felt like having something to live for again.

“This is our home. I bought this for us. For you and me. And, for our baby, it seems.”

He didn’t need to ask her if it was his. The way her eyes filled with tears and her cherry lips parted told him everything he needed to know. Frustrated, he pulled his fingers through his hair. His hands were shaking the way they had after the accident, when he stepped out of the wreck that had been his family’s car. The same adrenaline pounded through his veins, but this time, instead of anguish, he felt hope.

“I knew I couldn’t leave things as they were. I knew we had something special, you and I. When you left that day… I broke. Something clicked inside of me, and I just collapsed, like someone had wiped the support from under me. I knew then that I couldn’t lose you. Not for anything. So this was supposed to be my great gesture to get you back,” he said, sweeping a hand across the scenery behind him.

“I was supposed to bring you here, have a romantic dinner with you, and ask you to give me another chance. There was even going to be a fucking violinist,” he said, spinning around and pacing up and down the length of the porch.

He wrung his wrists, his eyes blazing with emotion. It felt so shallow now, so empty. What do you give, what do you offer to a woman carrying not only your child, but also your heart in her pocket? What could you do to convince her that you were worthy of being the kind of man she needed – strong, present, loving?

He saw Kiara tremble like a leaf, tears streaming down her cheeks in quiet sobs. He couldn’t bear to look at her like that, the way he’d left her – broken, alone and at the will of his insane ex-girlfriend and her manipulative bullshit. He was glad he’d found Eliza with Kiara, because had it just been Eliza, he might just have lost it completely.

“I can’t believe she did this,” he muttered, his jaw hard and his whole body as if going through an internal fight. “I can’t believe she would go this far,” he said, the words spilling out of his thoughts and rolling off his tongue.

He finally stopped, staring at Kiara. She was gorgeous, even when she cried. Even when the world seemed to be coming down around their ankles, she was the true gem in this ludicrously expensive house. He immediately felt that the mansion did not do her justice.

“I don’t know what to say, Kiara. I’m sorry I wasn’t the kind of man you could come to, who you could talk to, instead of listening to that snake. I’m sorry I didn’t know. I’m sorry I didn’t realize.”

The juxtaposition of feelings was dizzying. On the one hand, he knew there was a life inside of her that he’d help create, that there was a future to look forward to. On the other hand, he had been so close to losing that future that his vision blurred around the edges, and he felt like he was just seconds from falling off a cliff and into the darkness of nothing.

“No, I’m sorry,” she finally whispered, and Damien felt as if a dam had burst inside of him.

He rushed to her, and before she could say another word, he had pulled her into his arms and against his chest. He fully intended to never let go.

Damien felt Kiara crumpling against him, and he held her up, cradling her as she buried her face in his shoulder. He pressed his face into her hair and breathed in her scent, the sweet honey and vanilla aroma filling his lungs and as if giving him another lease on life.

“You have nothing to apologize for,” he murmured, kissing the top of her head. “I should have known. Eliza was acting weird all week, and you… Well, if I had come to you sooner, maybe we could have avoided all of this.”

She pulled away from him slightly, and he stared into her hazel eyes, sparkling in the sunlight.

“How can you ever forgive me? I almost… Everything she said, I thought you would be angry to know that I had got pregnant. I don’t expect anything from you. I don’t want you to feel obligated.”

“No. This is my child.
Our
child. I knew letting go of you was the worst mistake I ever made. I was going to fight for you. I should have fought for you when you left, but I was too stuck in my own ways. Now there’s just that much more to fight for. I lost such a big part of my family, I couldn’t imagine losing it again. I would have come to you tonight.”

The unspoken truth in his words cut him to the bone. Had he gone that night, it would have already been too late. He would never have had the chance to protect the fragile life inside of her.

“How did you know?” Kiara asked, still shivering, even though his warm embrace kept her safe and close to him.

“Tasha called me. She told me that Eliza was going to pick you up and take you to the clinic. That if I wanted to stop it, this was my one and only chance.”

“And you came,” she said, awestruck.

He nodded, just the barest hint of a smirk gracing his lips. How could he have left her? How could he have left their baby?

“I did. And I’ll never leave your side again.”

He fished for something in his inside breast pocket and pulled out a small, light blue box. Getting down on one knee, he watched as Kiara took a step back and clamped her hands over her mouth, those tears of shock and sadness turning into barely contained joy.

“Kiara Lockett. I wasn’t planning on doing this quite so suddenly, but I think with what I’ve learned today, there’s no way I could imagine my life without you. Let me show you that a bad boy can be turned into a loving husband. Let me show you that I will do anything and everything for you and our baby. You will never have to worry about not being able to tell me anything again. Whatever I have, you have. Whatever goes on in my life, I will share with you. And I hope you’ll do the same.”

He opened the box, revealing a canary yellow pear-cut engagement ring. It dazzled in the sunlight, but he still thought that Kiara’s eyes were ten times as beautiful.

“Kiara, will you do me the honor of becoming my wife?”

The moment she glanced from him to the ring and back to him again felt like the most excruciating slow motion montage ever. It was like time dragged and dragged until it was threatening to drive him insane. When she smiled, his heart healed.

“Yes! Damien, yes, I will!” she said, beaming.

He grinned and got up, slipping the ring out of the case and onto her finger. It fit her perfectly. For that moment, everything else was forgotten. The way Eliza almost cost him the greatest gift in his life, the way he had almost let Kiara go and become far less of a man for that. The way his stomach lurched when he thought about what could have happened had he been just an hour late to finding her in the maze of Los Angeles clinics.

Damien pulled Kiara to him and kissed her deeply. She responded immediately, her soft lips molding against his in a kiss that breathed life into his limbs again. A low growl rumbled in his throat.

“Now, before you have a chance to get away from me again, I need to show you the master bedroom. And I think you need several angles to really see it in all its glory…”

He grinned wickedly. He already knew he was going to love married life with Kiara.

CHAPTER TWENTY-SIX

Kiara

Kiara gasped as Damien scooped her up in his arms and carried her back into the mansion. She giggled, her hands tightly around his neck. Her stomach was filled with butterflies, and the moment seemed almost impossibly perfect.

To think, just an hour or so ago, she had been a blubbery mess, sitting next to Eliza, battling with herself and trying to decide what the right thing to do was. She couldn’t believe the turn things had taken, but she wasn’t going to doubt it. Fate had been bringing her and Damien together all along, and if she would have given in to it earlier, she might never have had to go through the horror of having to decide what to do with her and her baby’s future.

Kiara kissed his cheek and chin, receiving one of those wolfish smirks that she loved so much on him in reply. Her whole body felt as if it was buzzing with energy and anticipation like never before. All the horror of the past months was forgotten and she could eagerly turn her glance to the future.

It would take a while to truly sink in. The fact that Damien had come after her and that he had bought a house for them to share, and that he had asked her to marry him – they were all just incredibly mind-boggling things she hadn’t been prepared for. But every day with Damien taught her that she had to expect the unexpected, and she rejoiced in it.

He carried her up the long, winding staircase with ease, running up two steps at a time. She managed to briefly admire the wide hallways before her eyes set on the huge rock on her finger. It probably cost more than she had made so far in her life – a true billionaire’s bride’s ring. She should have felt a bit taken aback at wearing something so extravagant, but she knew she would have felt the same way even if Damien had put a ring pop ring on her finger – completely in love and happy.

Damien kicked a door open and set her down on the plush carpet. He spun her back against the wall and kissed her again like a man about to drown, gasping for his last breaths. She met him with equal desire, her tongue darting into his mouth and tasting that sweet taste she’d missed so desperately every night.

His hands roamed over her body, and he made quick work of her top and unbuttoned her jeans. She’d never looked so damn common around Damien before, dressed in comfortable clothing, but he didn’t seem to mind one bit. On the contrary, the way he looked at her now, made her feel more stunning than ever before.

It wasn’t just the gleam of the predator out hunting that shone in his eyes any more. No, there was love there. Affection, care, a promise that she would always have him, and he would always think of her as sexy as sin. What else could a girl want?

“Fuck, I want you so bad,” he growled, and she sucked in a breath as he practically tore off her bra.

He leant forward and kissed down her neck and across her chest. Kiara gasped as he captured one of her nipples between his teeth and flicked his sharp tongue across it with quick, small movements. She groaned, her back arching and her nails clawing at his arms as he teased her relentlessly, his tongue and warm mouth on her breasts feeling amazing.

Kiara was completely wet for him, and when her hands went to undress him, she could barely contain the excitement. He pushed his jacket off his shoulders and made quick work of the buttons on his shirt. Damien raised himself a little as she unzipped his pants and pushed the fabric down his tapered hips and thick thighs, revealing his thick, throbbing cock. She couldn’t help but gasp.

The veiny rod was even bigger than she’d remembered, hard and ready for her. Her cheeks were flushed pink, and her breathing was heavy, the excitement consuming her. He kissed her again, his strong hand on her neck and his warmth filling her senses as he peeled her away from the wall and walked her to the bed, falling down on the silky sheets together. Quickly, he took off her panties, leaving her completely naked before him.

“Oh my god, Damien,” she moaned as he leant down over her just to tease her more.

It was maddening. She wanted his cock in her, right now. The gentle way he trailed kisses down her body made her stomach fill with butterflies and her spine tingle with hot and cold flashes. His blonde hair curled between her fingers as he went lower and lower, until he parted her legs and ran his tongue over her wet slit.

Damien explored her sex, parting the folds with the tip of his tongue and his thick fingers. When he pressed two fingers into her awaiting entrance, her body tensed, and a long moan escaped her lips. Just like last time, he knew exactly how to rev her until she could take no more.

Finally!
she thought, blushing even harder in the face of her impatience.

Damien lapped at her clit, driving her mad with the combination of his gentleness and roughness as he taunted her with what was to come.

Kiara fell into the delicious sensations he provided. Her nails scraped his scalp as she bucked against him, her hips grinding slowly in beat with his invading fingers. It felt exquisite. No other man could ever compare. Little whimpers escaped her as he twirled his tongue around her swollen clit, each flick making the sparks burn hotter and brighter in her core. When she finally couldn’t take anymore, he pushed her over the edge. The third finger that pressed into her slick tunnel cinched it – she tumbled into her release, and it took her breath completely.

Her muscles flexed, and she shuddered uncontrollably, Damien pleasuring her until she was a shivering, mewling mess. When she was just cresting, he slowly pulled his fingers out of her and crept back up her body. Damien laid a kiss on her mouth, Kiara faintly tasting herself on his tongue and lips as he kissed her.

It was like a promise. He would always take care of her needs first, no matter what.

Kiara groaned loudly as he guided his hard cock to her slit and thrust into her, stretching her wide around his impressive size. She clutched his back, her nails digging into the firm flesh as he drove into her slowly, giving her just enough time to get used to his size again. He was gentle and careful, though she could feel him shuddering with expectation.