Kiss My Boss: Plot Twist I’m Pregnant Read online

  I didn’t want to be vulnerable. It made me want him and hate him at the same time.

  My cheek burned in that moment, and I lifted a hand to my face where it still tingled from his touch. He said I confused him, but it was him that was the confusing one.

  Chapter Six

  Godrick

  I needed a drink—no—I needed a hundred drinks. I hadn’t been able to get that curvy redhead out of my mind. She left my mind in complete disarray, left me wanting more than a quick fuck, more than a one−night stand.

  “You are stressed the hell out tonight, Rick,” Haden said, clapping me on the back as he lifted his other arm to signal the bartender. We decided to hit one of the main bars in town called Poppies. It was an Irish pub with good beer, crap music, pool tables, and darts. It was the exact thing I needed right now.

  “It was a long day,” I replied, glancing around the pub to see if there was a woman there to catch my interest. I needed someone to take my mind off Lucy. There’s nothing better than having a woman under me, crying out my name, wanting more of my cock, and feeling her wet heat clench around my cock. That’s was what I needed.

  “Tell me about it over the beers, come on.” Haden jerked his head to the side as he made his way through the crowd of people trying to get through to the bar. I followed him down the beaten wood floors, bypassing a few drunk guys trying to hit on a girl. They tossed darts, trying to impress the brunette, but once her eyes locked on mine, I knew she wasn’t interested in them.

  The only problem was, I wasn’t interested in her. In fact, I wasn’t interested in one fucking woman in this pub, and that only pissed me off. How did Lucy get under my skin so quickly? It made no damn sense. She was just another girl.

  A girl unlike any I had ever seen before.

  “So what has your panties in a twist, Rick?” Haden leaned back in the booth and tossed his arm over the back. His eyes searched the pub, searching for the woman he wanted tonight. While I had seen Haden go on dates, talk to women, and even make out with them, I never saw him take a woman home. He never bragged about his conquests. He teased me, but Haden never talked about himself. It was a question I wanted to ask, but I had a feeling if he wanted to tell me anything personal, he would.

  I had to be a patient friend.

  I didn’t want to talk about Lucy yet. I still wanted her to be my secret. “I don’t want to talk about it. I’d rather forget it and just drink beer and play pool.” The guys playing pool next to us kept looking at me, not with interest, but with challenge while I watched them play. I hated guys like that. They felt like they needed to pick the biggest strongest guy they saw, probably the most Alpha guy, and try to pick a fight with them.

  Which would be me. Anywhere I went, I was the dominant, I was the Alpha. I was not in the fucking mood for some douchebag who probably only had a part-time job wanting to flex his muscles for the half−naked chick he had hanging all over his arm.

  It’s not like I wanted his girl. She was too messy.

  I wanted someone put together, someone classy yet sexy. The first person that popped into my mind was Lucy. And since when did I want someone? What the hell had gotten into me? I chugged half my beer and licked my lips after I swallowed.

  “After these guys, we will play,” Haden said. “I’m in no hurry tonight. I’m happy to just hang out.”

  “Me too. It’s exactly what I need.” I still searched the bar for someone I was attracted to, but everyone woman who saw me checking them out, my cock laid soft. I was never fucking soft. I was always half−hard, at the ready, and now this Lucy woman had ruined me.

  It was hard to see the poorly lit bar. The walls were dark, and the lights cast a dim yellow color. The place was disgusting and a welcome change of pace. Bells jingled above the door, and my gaze lasered onto the entrance and inhaled a sharp breath when I saw who walked through the door.

  “Holy shit, why don’t you look at that?” Haden saw her too, and my teeth ground together when he noticed her. She was mine. “I have never seen a redhead that beautiful before. Ah, shit. She has someone,” he said, scoffing when he saw a man following Lucy.

  Fuck, what a relief. It was Logan, her brother, and I wasn’t about to tell Haden any different. I sat back against the booth; the old cracked leather pulled the material of my expensive suit. A shadow fell over my face, but Lucy felt my gaze because she turned her head from her brother and looked around the bar. She felt someone looking at her.

  I thought she’d like it, but a mask of fear fell on her face. She stood on her tiptoes as Logan bent down to meet his sister halfway. I wondered what she was saying to him, by the looks of it, it seemed it was bad because Logan straightened to his full height and he put his arm around Lucy’s shoulders, protecting her. He steered her to the closest table, right by the door. It was the worst seat in the entire place, but the closest to the entrance.

  They were ready to leave, and they hadn’t even settled in yet. Interesting.

  Lucy had changed out of the clothes she wore to the interview to a tight tank top and jeans. It was simple, and the outfit hugged her curves like a goddamn glove. Jesus Christ, never in my life had I ever seen a woman like her. Her ass was big, her waist small, smaller than what I thought, and her tits were big.

  The things I wanted to do to her…I’d need more than one night.

  I’d need forever.

  “I’ll be back. I’m going to go get us more beers.”

  “Get a pitcher,” I told Haden. “Get two pitchers.”

  “My man! Out for a good time. That’s what I like to see. You’re too stressed, Rick.” Haden patted his hand on my shoulder as he left, and I settled in, getting comfortable as I watched my girl from the shadows.

  My girl.

  That was a dangerous thing to think, especially when I had never wanted to claim anyone as my own before. I watched her and Logan from the shadowed corner, ignoring the man to my left that wanted to pick a fight. He kept getting closer to me with his pool stick, trying to piss me off, but I kept my eyes on the woman who needed me.

  Because she did need me. I couldn’t say how I knew that, I just felt it.

  Logan reached across the small table that was only big enough to hold two drinks and took her hand in his. It was too hard reading his lips from this far, especially with the crowd encroaching on my view of them, but whatever he said, it made her smile and something released in my chest when she nodded.

  But then Logan got up, and the hair on the back of my neck stood up when Lucy wouldn’t let go of his hand. The panic on her face was undeniable. She didn’t want to be left alone.

  Why?

  I thought back to our interview, the way she kept avoiding the question of what brought her to New York City. Something happened to her. I wanted to find out what it was. An overwhelming urge to protect her from everything cruel this world had to offer made it difficult to stay seated.

  Logan kissed his sister’s forehead and said something to her that seemed to make her relax a little before he went to the bar, elbowing his way through a few people. I kept my eyes on Lucy for him.

  And for me.

  Lucy remained alert. Her back was straight, and she glanced around, probably feeling my gaze on her. She locked eyes with me, but I knew she couldn’t tell who I was because she immediately looked away and rubbed a hand over her face. I was scaring her. I should walk up to her and have a conversation, not keep her instincts on high alert. I went to get up, but I paused when I noticed a man with dirty blonde hair go up to her. I watched her face go from paranoid to white as a sheet and fear trembled in her body.

  I got my ass in gear and made my way through the crowd, keeping an eye on Lucy. Nothing was going to happen to her, not if I could help it. The man grabbed ahold of her wrist, and she tried to pull away, but he wasn’t letting go. Even from halfway across the room, I saw her eyes swim with tears, and rage, unlike anything I had ever felt before, consumed me.

  I wanted to kill this man for putting
his hands on her, and maybe I would. No man should put his hands on a woman like that.

  “Logan!” she screamed at the top of her lungs. “Let go of me! Logan!” Lucy cried out for her brother. She was barely loud enough to hear through the roar of people talking and the music playing, but I heard it because I was tuned into her frequency now.

  And so was Logan.

  Logan was already running toward her from the bar, the beers still falling through the air as he sprinted to the table. His face morphed into pure anger, a man wanting to kill, and when Logan got to the man holding her wrist, he gripped him by the back of the neck and pulled him from his sister.

  “Let go of her,” Logan said, squeezing his hand tighter. “I won’t ask again, Brian.”

  When I got to the table, I went straight to Lucy’s side. “Are you okay?” I whispered into her ear, hating the tears that fell down her cheek.

  “He won’t let go,” she managed to say through chattering teeth. “It hurts, Godrick. It hurts.” Lucy tried pulling her arm free again, but this Brian character wouldn’t let go.

  “I will fucking kill you if you don’t let go of her. You just violated your restraining order. Someone call the police!” Logan shouted.

  “Already did,” I said, sliding my phone back into my pocket. I grabbed Brian’s arm, the one that held my Lucy’s and twisted. Something cracked, and Brian shouted in pain. Lucy’s wrist was finally free, and she scooted so close to me, my back hit the window as she buried her face in my shoulder. I wrapped my arm around her waist and kept her safe. “You’re okay. I got you, alright?”

  Her head moved up and down, but she never looked up at Brian or Logan.

  “You have a lot of fucking nerve being here,” Logan pushed Brian away, and the tall, gangly man stumbled. Logan threw the first punch, and Brian’s lip busted open, sending a spray of blood in the air. Brian fell onto his knees, and he dragged his knuckles across the dirty floor. “She wants nothing to do with you, you piece of shit!” Logan’s fist flew again, landing right against Brian’s cheek, and the man fell to the floor again. “We moved to get away from you! We moved!”

  Blue lights flickered outside, and when I turned my cheek to the left, I saw two cop cars and four cops get out of them. I knew Logan had to stop. He was getting a glint in his eye that he was not about to come back from. It was dangerous.

  A few pieces of Lucy’s puzzle started coming together. I ran my fingers through her hair, something that felt natural, too natural. Her fingers clutched the lapels of my suit as she cried onto my shoulder.

  Logan wrenched his arm back again, and I shot up as quickly as I could and grabbed his elbow. “You have to stop before it gets to a point you can’t walk away from,” I said. Logan looked at me like he didn’t know me, the wild was still in his eyes, the rage, the urge to kill the man that obviously hurt his sister.

  I wanted to hurt him too, but there was a dumb way to go about things and a smart way. I did things the smart way. “Stop.”

  “Mr. Stoneridge.” Logan’s eyes widened when clarity finally hit, and he slowly brought his hand down to his side, the skin of his knuckles broken and bloody. “I’m sorry you had to see that.”

  “Mr. Stoneridge.” Lucy tugged on my arm, and when I looked over my shoulder to see her crying face, I turned my entire body around to give her my attention. “You have to understand; Logan was protecting me. Please, don’t fire him. Please. Brian isn’t a good guy. Please—”

  “—You’ll tell me about Brian. I want to know everything. Your brother isn’t going to get fired. I understand why he did what he did.”

  “Mr. Stoneridge?” Officer Cortez held out his hand in front of me, and I shook it. I’ve helped his family out a time or two and helped him get into the Academy, so whenever I called the cops, Cortez always came.

  I gripped his hand harder, showing him who was boss in this situation even if he did wear the badge. “Officer Cortez, it’s good to see you.” I glanced over his shoulder to see his partner picking Brian up from the floor. Brian’s eyes landed on Lucy, and I stepped in front of him to block his view.

  “I’d say it is good to see you, but considering the circumstances…”

  “Logan here was protecting his sister. I do not know the details, so you will have to get a statement from him.”

  “I’ll have to get a statement from you and the woman—”

  “Lucy Green. Her name is Lucy,” I corrected him, annoyed that he would call her ‘the woman.’

  “I’ll have to have you and Lucy give a statement.”

  “I have a restraining order against him,” Lucy’s delicate voice cut through the air from behind my shoulder.

  Officer Cortez leaned to the side to see her behind me, hiding her face behind my shoulder. “He has bothered you before then?”

  Her hands tightened on my coat, and she nodded. “We just moved here. He followed me. We moved to get away from him.”

  “You won’t have to worry about him. We will take him into custody, and you can rest easy, okay?”

  “Okay,” she whispered, still clutching onto me as if I were her savior.

  Brian locked eyes with me, and the further away he got, the more he tried to get a look at Lucy, but I continued to block him. He’s never violating her like that again. I didn’t care what I had to do, I’d protect her, and it seemed like Logan would too.

  “What the hell was that man? I left for like ten minutes.” Haden glanced between me and Lucy, holding a pitcher in each hand. “Everyone okay?”

  I knew Lucy wasn’t.

  I knew Logan was still shaking with rage.

  I wasn’t okay either.

  Because Lucy had invaded my heart like no woman ever had. What was I doing coming to her rescue? I was no one’s knight, but I found myself really wanting to be hers.

  It went against everything I believed in.

  Was Lucy Green love? Or was she lust?

  I never questioned it before, but now, now I felt like I knew nothing about either emotion.

  Chapter Seven

  Lucy

  It had been a few hours since the cops had carted Brian away, and the bar was closing now. I didn’t even get a drink. Brian always found a way to ruin everything. I hated him. I held no more love for that man. I had no idea how I was with him for so many years and missed the signs of him being a complete psychopath. It made me wonder about my inability to see the bad in people. Would I ever be able to trust someone again?

  “Lucy? Are you ready?” my brother asked. He looked beat. He had bags under his eyes, and his usually perfectly parted hair, now hung in front of his face.

  “If you don’t mind, Logan, I’d like to take Lucy home.” Godrick took the space next to me, away from his friend, the guy with blonde hair and blue eyes. He reminded me of a surfer, with his golden-brown skin and easy going personality. He was so laid back, drinking at the bar with a smile on his face like Brian didn’t just ruin everyone’s night.

  Well, he did ruin everyone’s night, just not Godrick’s friends.

  Logan’s eyes darted to me, a silent question coming from his gaze. Logan was protective, but I wouldn’t think our boss would hurt me. He protected me. Godrick had been there for me. That said something about the man that made me trust him. I never listened to my instincts before, but I was going to now.

  “It’s fine, Logan. I’ll go with Mr. Stoneridge.”

  “Rick, please,” he corrected. “We aren’t at work.”

  “You’re still my boss,” Logan said, rubbing his eyes with his fingers to stay awake. It was almost two in the morning. I got to Poppies at ten, and the only thing I had done the entire night was give my statement a hundred times and hate myself for being so afraid of Brian. I was starting back at square one. I wouldn’t be able to sleep, knowing Brian was in the same city as me.

  “You have to call me Mr. Stoneridge. Your sister doesn’t.” Godrick stared Logan right in the eye, not caring if he insulted Logan’s ego. Why would I be
allowed to call him by his first name, but Logan couldn’t? It made no sense.

  Logan smirked, something that he did when he knew something I didn’t. “Right. Thanks for the help, Mr. Stoneridge. I appreciate it. That guy is a real piece of work.”

  “Anytime I can help, just let me know.”

  Logan kissed me on the cheek. “Call me if you need me.”

  “I don’t think I will.”

  “I know, but call me anyway,” he said, giving my arm one last squeeze before he walked out the door and got into the truck parked across the street.

  We were one of the few left in the bar, but I didn’t want to stay. I was ready to go home and go to sleep. Tonight had been exhausting. I had wanted to get drunk and celebrate my new job, but now I’d close my eyes tonight and see Brian’s face.

  “Do you have everything?” Godrick asked as he flicked his gaze to the table I sat at and dragged his eyes back to mine. He was so handsome. I loved the way his dark eyes almost disappeared into the shadows of the bar, it was like he was a shadow himself, but he was impossible to hide. Everything about him was too large. The way he walked, talked, his name, his clothes, everything held a strong energy that no one could miss.

  I had my purse, and that was the only thing I came into the bar with. “Yeah, I’m good.”

  “Haden! I’m going to take Lucy home. I’ll catch up with you later.”

  “You got it, Rick.”

  Godrick held open the door for me, and it took me a minute to figure out he was waiting for me to walk through. “Oh, sorry,” I shook my head, feeling like a bit of ditz. “I’m not used to guys holding doors open for me besides my brother.”

  “You’re with the wrong guys then, Lucy.”

  If he only knew how right that was. “You don’t have to take me home. I only live a few blocks away.”