A Secret Vow: A Bad Boy Secret Baby Romance by Zoey Parker Page A

on mine, I force myself to stay rooted to the couch.
     
    He comes in, tosses his keys on the coffee table, and sits in the armchair across from me. He sighs as he props his boots up on the table.
     
    “So?” he asks.
     
    My eyes narrow. “So what?”
     
    “So do you accept the deal?”
     
    Is he serious? Does he know the kind of day I’ve had? Does he even realize the impact of this decision on my life? This isn’t like picking what I’m going to eat for dinner. This is a baby! All of these thoughts run through my head at once, but the only thing I manage to splutter out is, “Are you insane?”
     
    “You’ve had all day to think. You need to decide whether or not you agree.”
     
    “This is an impossible decision!”
     
    “It’s not. You can either accept my terms, or you can go. It’s pretty simple, actually.”
     
    I have no words. I’m angry and turned on and confused all at the same time. “Are you even aware of what this would mean? If I say yes—and that’s a big if—that would mean there’d be a baby to think about. Grady already wants to kill me. A child would just be another target for him.”
     
    Mortar dismisses my concerns with a careless wave of his hand. “I’m not worried about Grady.”
     
    “You should be!” I explode.
     
    He leans forward on his elbows and fixes me with a hard stare. “How many times do I have to say this before you believe me?” he asks. “I will protect you. I made you a promise, and I don’t break promises.”
     
    It’s hard, no, impossible, to deny the confidence in his voice. He’s so sure, not just of this, but of everything. It’s an intoxicating strength of his. I feel surer in his presence. Just by hearing his voice, my fears of Grady ebb, if only the tiniest bit. Mortar will protect me. I can’t believe that will be enough.
     
    “I just don’t know,” I finally say.
     
    Mortar doesn’t blink. “When you left with me, you believed that I would do what I promised you. This is your end of the deal. Hold up yours, and I will hold up mine. Give me a baby and you will be safe in my protection forever. You’re mine now, and Grady doesn’t touch what’s mine. Nobody does.” His eyes are so steady. I can’t doubt them. They won’t let me.
     
    He sees my hesitation. He knows I’m teetering. I don’t know whether to cry or scream or kiss him, or everything at once. But Mortar takes the decision away from me when he grabs my face in his hands and kisses me as hard as he can.
     
    His tongue probes my mouth and runs along the edge of my teeth. I’m too swept up even to notice his hand slipping up the baggy t-shirt of his that I found in a dresser drawer. He cups my breast in his palm and pinches my nipple easily.
     
    The fork in the road is this: Mortar or Grady. I trust that Mortar can keep me safe, despite how much Grady’s anger terrifies me. I think back on last night and remember what Mortar did to my body, how he made it ring and clench so hard, so good. The memory alone is enough to get me wet again. And then I consider the final piece in the puzzle: the studio.
     
    I pull back. “You’ll help me keep the studio?”
     
    He nods fiercely, my chin resting between his fingers. “Whatever it takes. I’ll pay the rest of the loan to Grady, and then it’ll be yours for good. No more worrying about it.”
     
    It all clicks into place.
     
    “Do you accept?” he asks me.
     
    I’m fighting through all the whirling elements: the sex, the studio, Grady, the races, the Inked Angels, a baby, a baby! and this man in front of me. But burning through it all is his hand, now down between my thighs, searching and teasing for the heart of me. When my hips buck into his touch of their own accord, Mortar grins. He knows I have no choice but to agree. The balance is swinging his way.
     
    I’m his.
     
    I give him a tight nod. Before I can say a word, he picks me up in his arms like I weigh nothing. He’s kissing me as he carries me