Sinful Rewards 12 Read Free

smile curls my lips. Soon, I’ll be his everything, his present, his future. He’ll fall in love with me, and my life will be even more wonderful than it currently is.
    Hawke nuzzles against my cheek, his stubble razing my skin, reviving a passion I thought he’d sated. “Now everyone knows you’re mine.”
    Everyone knows. I dart a glance at the park, scan the balconies of the building facing us. They’re empty, but that doesn’t mean no one was watching. “Hawke.” I shift restlessly against him.
    He chuckles, lowering me to the floor. “My suddenly shy exhibitionist.” He kisses my neck.
    â€œThey’ll know I’m a pervert,” I whisper, trusting only him with my secret.
    â€œThey’ll know I’m a very lucky man,” he whispers back. “Tomorrow morning, we’ll fuck on the balcony.”
    â€œNo.” This possibility both shocks and titillates me.
    â€œYes.” He steps backward, his cock slips from my pussy, and his breath hitches. “Oh, shit.”
    I tense. Hawke uses that tone only when a situation has gone FUBAR, fucked up beyond all repair. I turn, follow his gaze, look down, and my body temperature drops. Oh, shit. FUBAR is the right description for our situation.

Chapter Two
    L ATEX CLINGS TO Hawke’s cock, the reservoir empty. Oh my God. I stare down at him, stunned, shocked, my mind spinning. The condom broke. Every muscle in my body constricts. The fuckin’ condom broke . He came inside me. I could be pregnant.
    No, no, no. My fingers fold into tight fists. This is a one-time mistake. I’m on the pill. We had sex standing up. It’ll be okay. I inhale, count to five, exhale, inhale, count to five, exhale, trying not to freak the hell out.
    â€œBelinda, talk to me.” Hawke removes the faulty condom and tosses it in the trash, his face grim. He’s as upset as I am, stress lines etched around his eyes and lips.
    Because he doesn’t want a child, our child. He doesn’t crave a forever link with me. I curve my fingers over my stomach protectively. He feels obligated to be with me, but doesn’t yet care for me enough, not nearly enough.
    â€œBelinda?”
    â€œWhat is there to talk about?” I attempt casual and light, achieve high and squeaky. “I’m on birth control. It’s one of the most effective methods.”
    But no contraceptive is perfect. There’s always a chance of pregnancy, and knowing my luck, I’ll be this exception. Ending a pregnancy isn’t an option. Neither is adoption. I won’t abandon a baby at any stage of his or her development.
    Instead, I’ll end up like my mom, raising a child on my own, forced to take a job as a waitress, working long shifts, rarely seeing my child, the two of us sharing shitty apartments with rodents.
    Christ. I can’t do this, can’t live my mom’s life. She’s strong. I’m not. My panic ratchets higher and higher, increasingly dismal scenarios swirling through my brain.
    My lungs burn, my breathing is strained. I have to get out of here, run away from this prospect, flee the condo as I fled my hometown of Happydale, leaving my troubles behind me. “I should dress.” I rush forward.
    â€œNo.” Hawke grasps my left wrist, curtailing my escape. “We should discuss this.”
    I yank on my arm, trying to free myself. He doesn’t release me. Instead, he draws me closer to his naked body. I glare up at him. “There’s . . . nothing . . . to . . . discuss,” I pant, every word a struggle, a band of emotion strapped tightly around my chest.
    â€œThere is.” Hawke holds me against his hard physique, his size and strength stopping my impending meltdown. “Breathe, sweetheart.” These instructions are whispered into my hair. “We’ll get through this.” He rubs my back, his hands coarse and big and reassuring.
    â€œThere’s nothing to