Chapter Ten

Kane

Nina was out cold, sprawled across the sheets, her body marked with the aftermath of everything I had given her. A slow smirk tugged at my lips. She had taken all of me—every brutal thrust, every raw, unfiltered need I poured into her. And now, she lay there, wrecked and spent. Mine.

It had been nearly six hours since she’d passed out, and soon, she would wake. I had no intention of letting her get up on shaky legs to fend for herself. She was drained. She needed to eat.

I slipped out of bed, throwing on a pair of sweatpants before heading to the kitchen. Cooking wasn’t something I did for just anyone. It was a skill born out of necessity—one I had perfected after years of raising my little sister alone.

Tonight, I would make her something rich, something that would replenish what I had taken.

I stepped out to buy fresh ingredients, my mind still replaying the way she had looked beneath me, how her body had responded, how she had begged without even knowing she was begging. By the time I returned, the apartment still held the scent of our earlier sins, lingering like a brand in the air.

I got to work, the familiar rhythm of cooking grounding me. Garlic butter steak. Creamy mashed potatoes. Glazed vegetables. A rich peppercorn sauce to finish it off. By the time I plated everything, satisfaction curled in my chest.

I brought over the plates and was about to place the food down when I noticed a small white box sitting there. It was right in the way. Without thinking much of it, I reached out to shift it aside—but then I caught a glimpse of the label.

Clearblue Pregnancy Test.

The words stared back at me like a loaded gun.

I didn’t move for a second. Just stood there, the weight of the moment pressing down on me.

I already knew why she had come to me that night. Knew exactly what she had wanted. To be filled, to be ruined, to be claimed so completely that there would be no escaping the consequences—to be impregnated.

I had given it to her without restraint.

So it isn't surprising that Nina bought a pregnancy test kit.

I could feel my heartbeat thudding against my ear as I flipped open the box. The test was already used, lying inside.

I pulled it out.

The two lines stared back at me.

Pregnant.

Nina was f**king pregnant!

I placed the test back in the box, my jaw tightening. A slow, simmering frustration coiled in my chest, pressing against my ribs like a vice.

This wasn’t supposed to happen, at least, not so soon.

I set the food down on the table with more force than necessary, my movements controlled but tense. The meal, the effort—I suddenly didn’t give a damn about any of it.

I sank onto the edge of the bed beside Nina, running a hand through my hair before pulling out a cigarette. The flame flickered as I lit it, the first inhale filling my lungs with a bitter burn.

Exhaling slowly, I watched the smoke curl through the air as my eyes trailed over her sleeping form. The way she clung to the sheets, the soft rise and fall of her breath—peaceful, unaware of the storm brewing beside her.

She had gotten what she wanted.

And our deal? It was off.

I took another slow drag, letting the smoke curl between my fingers before flicking the ash into a tray. The room was quiet, save for the steady rhythm of Nina’s breathing.

She wanted this. She fucking wanted this.

And my job is to satisfy my client's desires and get the fuck out of their lives after that.

I ran my fingers through my hair, gripping it tightly as I tugged hard and tilted my head back. The frustration simmered beneath my skin, a slow, burning rage curling in my chest.

So because she had wanted this.

I was supposed to accept it?

I tapped the cigarette against the tray, watching the embers flicker. I exhaled sharply, dragging a hand through my hair once again. The thought alone made something violent stir in me. But then—then, I smiled.

The idea that she thought she could just take what she needed and be done with me?

That was almost amusing.

She thinks she can get rid of me so easily.

I leaned in, my lips barely brushing against hers as I whispered, "You can't."

My fingers trailed down, settling on the flat plane of her stomach, where my child—our child—grew. A possessive heat curled in my gut. I wasn’t leaving Nina. I wasn’t rejecting her.

I was staying.

For her. For the baby. For the simple fact that no one—especially not her—got to decide when I walked away.

I leaned in once again, close enough to catch the faint scent of sweat and sex lingering on her skin. My fingers traced along her bare shoulder, slow and calculated, watching the way her body instinctively leaned into mine even in sleep.

Cute

She had no idea whom she’d just tied herself to.

My fingers trailed along her jaw, tilting her face slightly toward me. I let my lips brush against hers, "You cannot get rid of me so easily," I murmured, my voice low, a quiet promise wrapped in warning.

She stirred once again, her lashes fluttering, but she didn’t wake. Not yet.

She would.

And when she did, she would wake up to the man who had spent hours buried inside her.

She would wake to the man she had bargained with.

The man who always, always came out on top, and the man who is the father of her unborn baby.

A slow smirk curled at the edge of my lips as I traced a hand down her flat stomach. My child was in there. Mine.

The thought ignited something dark, something possessive.

She belonged to me now in ways she hadn’t even begun to understand.

I settled back against the bed, my arm draping over her waist, pulling her closer.

"You wanted this," I murmured against her temple. "So now, you get me. You get all of me. And the baby? I’m staying for that too. I think I'd call that a bonus"