His Dark Desires: A BWWM Billionaire Romance by Nina Evans

the nurse’s office. I guess I needed to be nurtured.
    “Where’s Dad?” I asked.
    “He went to get some coffee. Should be back in a few. He’ll be so happy to see that you’re awake.”
    I nodded and felt a small knot form in my stomach. There was tension there. I wasn’t sure why, though. I wrinkled my brow and drew in a long breath. My lungs were starving for air.
    “You want to sit up, sweetheart?” Mom asked.
    I rolled my head around. I was pretty stiff. I guess lying in a hospital bed for… how long had I been there?
    “What day is it, Mom?”
    “It’s Friday, why?”
    Friday. That told me nothing about how long I had been in the hospital. I cleared my throat. It was so dry, and my head started throbbing again.
    “Here, let me adjust your pillows.”
    I sat up slowly, feeling like I was being dragged through cold molasses, and I let Mom adjust the bedding. The sound of her fluffing the pillows brought up a memory of lying in bed with James.
    Of course! James! How could I have forgotten about him? The love of my life, the… father of my child…
    The weight of all the galaxies slammed into my chest at that moment.
    I was pregnant.
    I shifted my body around and asked Mom to pour me some water. Things were quickly beginning to trickle back into my memory, and I wasn’t sure if I could count on my mother to give me a full status report.
    I recalled the argument I had with Daddy and him kicking me out of the house. Everything. It all came back in a matter of seconds, but I couldn’t remember what I was doing there. I wanted to ask but I was suddenly scared.
    My door creaked open slowly, and I saw my father’s feet step into the room. It only took him a couple of seconds to register that I was back among the land of the living. Mom handed me some water as he walked over and joined us.
    “She’s awake, Isaiah. But she’s very tired.” That was my mother’s way of saying not to start anything with me. I couldn’t believe that my dad would even dare to lecture me at that point, but as I quickly recalled, he had become pretty unpredictable in recent days.
    “That’s wonderful,” he replied, before walking over to my side of the bed and taking me by the hand.
    I could barely look at him. And I could see in his eyes that he was not one hundred percent thrilled with me. Though maybe he was just worried. Sometimes worry and disappointment look the same to an outsider. No, there was definitely a hesitance, a resistance to acknowledge me or my current condition.
    I set my water down on the bedside table and smiled weakly at him. I really didn’t have anything to be happy about, not yet anyway. I was happy to be alive, but I wasn’t sure about the baby, and I was petrified to bring it up with my parents. Would it set Dad off? Would they lend a sympathetic ear if I had lost the baby? It was just too much to process. For the time being, I put the thought out of my head. I would ask the doctor when I was alone.
    “Your mother and I and the whole church… we have been praying for you, Audrey. The Lord answered our prayers.” Dad leaned down and kissed me on the cheek. “We are so glad that you’re all right.”
    “Thanks, Daddy,” I mumbled. “What exactly happened?”
    Mom rubbed her hands together before answering. “What do you remember, sweetheart?”
    I took a breath and closed my eyes, remembering briefly the hotel and getting in my car at James’ house, then the diner and how someone was supposed to have met me there. Kristin maybe? And then I left, but that was all I could recall.
    “Was I in an accident?” I asked.
    “Yes, Audrey,” Dad answered, taking me by the hand. “You were in a car accident because you got involved with someone you shouldn’t have.
    “Please don’t fill her head up with garbage like that, Mr. Braxton.”
    James was standing in the doorway and was visibly upset with what my father had said. Although I could have done without the sword swinging, it made me feel