AllFreeNovel
Share Us
John nodded in understanding, before leaning forward to kiss her quickly.
“Let’s head out, okay?”
CHAPTER21
X-RAY
He was trying desperatelyto keep his panicked emotions down to a rolling boil within him. Whoa boy, he messed up, and possibly ruined Emily’s life in the process. If she didn’t remember what happened, boy he certainly did…
The images of desire flashed through his mind, making his heart stagger wildly, every nerve firing in his body.
Oh, he’d certainly slept with his new wife… more than once, and she’d been a very active participant in their lovemaking. He could still hear the way she breathed his name… and just the memory of it was inciting a riot in his head.
… And it was a little insulting to think that she didn’t remember any of it.
Honestly? To tell the truth?
It wasquiteinsulting.
To top that off? The tattoo on his finger was hard to miss! It was one of the first things he noticed when he woke up.
John had felt his head pounding and heard someone moving noisily outside of the bedroom door in the hotel hallway, cracking open an eye and seeing his hand on his pillow… right before he saw Emily asleep beside him.
He’d slipped out of bed, eyes barely cracked open against the painful light pouring into the room, and plodded towards the bathroom with the urge to empty his stomach into the commode by vomiting… only to realize he was indeed tattooed – and very naked.
The sheer impact of what happened between them – and the lack of care that he’d taken – had nearly brought him to his knees on the tile. He knew that there was no protection used… and desperately wished he was wrong.
Everything he’d ever heard as a boy flashed through his head as he stood there over the sink, drawing in shaky gasps of air, trying not to panic or scream in alarm.
Screw-up! How could you be so dumb?
No wonder your father left!
Are you dense, boy?
You worthless piece of bayou-trash!
This couldn’t be happening?!
… And not to his sweet, beloved Emily.
He was ruining her life by tying her to him – and then sleeping with her like her world meant little to him. Wasn’t that what careless men did? They took their pleasure regardless of the cost to the woman?
His beautiful Emily was always full of smiles and laughter, and he could have sworn that she liked to hug or kiss him as much as he enjoyed doing the same with her.
She would literally hate him for foisting a child on her.
Yet, by some miracle, she was there in the car, beside him… and they were both trying to figure out how to handle this new dynamic.
He was going to have to find a wide wedding band at some point to cover her name while at work… but right now he couldn’t imagine putting anything on his finger. It was aching, raw, and slightly itchy.
They had stopped at a CVS on the south side of the Las Vegas strip on their way out towards Lake Mead, stocking up on items to snack on that contained zero alcohol. He bought a twelve pack of Pepsi for the hotel room fridge, two large bottles of Gatorade, two bottles of water, a bag of air-popped popcorn… and condoms.
Emily, bless her heart, hadn’t said a word when they checked out. She picked up some beef jerky, Oreo cookies, ibuprofen, and some Epsom salt. He felt like such a cad, realizing she was aching or sorethere…
“I’m so sorry…” he whispered again, causing her ruddy cheeks to turn even redder than before, realizing his guess was right. “We don’t have to go if you don’t want to…”
“Can I be honest?” Emily asked quietly as they walked back to the car with their bags in hand.
