Deadly Embrace by Jackie Collins (ebook reader for manga TXT) 📕

‘’Cause we’re havin’ a baby,’ he said, attempting to get through to her. ‘An’ we want this kid to grow up feelin’ he’s got parents, right?’

‘What makes you think it’s a boy?’ she asked, busy removing T-shirts from a box and placing them in an untidy pile.

‘It’ll be a boy,’ he said confidently.

‘Don’t be so sure,’ she said, patting her stomach. ‘I think the sex is determined by the person who’s the most dominating force.’ A wicked grin. ‘And that’s me.’

‘You would think that, wouldn’t you?’

She smiled at him again, that tempting, tantalizing smile that had got him into trouble in the first place.

Recently he’d found himself visiting Max and Tina’s more than usual. He enjoyed playing with the kids. Little Harry was a real toughie, and Susie was a cute tomboy. But girls weren’t the same as boys, and he wanted a son, a boy he could teach things to, a mirror image of himself he could be proud of.

It wouldn’t be like the relationship he’d had with his dad: Vinny had never given him any attention or love. His son would get the works.

‘I’m getting so fat,’ Beth wailed, catching a glimpse of herself in a mirror. ‘I look like a big old hog.’

‘No way,’ he assured her, wondering what he was supposed to do about his other girlfriends now that they were moving in together. There were two or three he saw regularly. Was he supposed to give them up?

‘Yes, I do,’ Beth complained, turning sideways. ‘Look at me, I’m a disgrace.’

‘You’re funny,’ he said, amused at her dismay because there was hardly a sign of a baby growing inside her stomach–she still looked sensational.

Angrily she turned on him. ‘Oh,’ she said, narrowing her eyes, ‘so you think being fat is funny?’

‘You’re somethin’ else, Beth,’ he said, laughing. ‘When you grow up you’ll make someone a very happy man.’

‘And that someone is not you, is it, Michael?’ she said, suddenly turning all serious.

‘No, we both agreed this is a temporary arrangement until you have the baby. Then we’ll figure out our next move. In the meantime, we’re both free to do what we want.’

‘If we want,’ she corrected.

‘Hey,’ he said, ‘I saw all the guys coming on to you when you lived next door to Tina and Max. You think I didn’t notice? So go out, have fun. I’ll do the same.’

‘I never actually screwed any of them,’ she said innocently. ‘You were the only one I fucked. And someone in Cuba when I was fourteen.’

‘Jeez–Beth!’ he exclaimed. ‘Anyone ever mention you got a mouth like a sailor?’

She tilted her head on one side. ‘Something wrong with that?’

‘You look so innocent sometimes, then whammo–you open that mouth of yours–an’ watch out! Sailor alert!’

‘Sorry, Michael,’ she said sarcastically. ‘Am I offending your tender ears?’

He wasn’t in the mood for her smart-ass answers. ‘Anyway,’ he said, ‘what’s with the you-never-screwed any-of-them? When we got together, you were not a virgin.’

‘That’s right,’ she said.

‘So?’

‘So I told you–there was a man in Cuba.’

‘Who was he?’

‘My secret lover.’

‘Which I guess means you don’t want to tell me.’

She grinned. ‘Right.’

‘I gotta go out,’ he said. ‘I’ve left money on the kitchen table. You’d better buy a crib and all that shit. We gotta get organized here.’

‘You mean we’re not doing it together like some newly married couple?’

‘Beth, don’t push me.’

‘Hey,’ she said vehemently, ‘I’m having the baby for you, so don’t you push me.’

‘Let’s remember that you’re havin’ the baby ’cause it’s too late for you to get rid of it.’

‘I hate you,’ she said, suddenly acting her age. ‘I really, really hate you.’

‘Wow! Feelings. That makes a nice change.’

‘I’ve always had feelings for you, Michael,’ she said, switching moods. ‘From the first time I saw you, I knew I’d get you. And now I’ve really got you.’

‘I don’t understand you,’ he said, shaking his head. ‘I would’ve married you, but no, you didn’t want that.’

‘It’s better to see if we can get along without all that legal stuff, don’t you think?’

And she looked at him with her big brown eyes, and it suddenly occurred to him that he might be falling in love with this sexy child-woman who was carrying his baby.

Sometimes he wondered what was really going on in her head. ‘You’re so casual about this,’ he said.

‘Why shouldn’t I be?’

‘By the way, for the record, you do not look disgusting. In fact, you look kinda beautiful. You got that glow thing happenin’.’

That smile again, lighting up her face. ‘I do?’

‘Yeah,’ he said ruefully. ‘Unfortunately for me, you are a very beautiful child.’

‘You know I’m not a child,’ she said, with a wicked grin.

‘So you keep telling me.’

‘Well,’ she added seductively, ‘since I’m pregnant anyway, and it’s quite obvious we’ve done the deed, shouldn’t we maybe celebrate?’ As she spoke, she put her arms round his neck, bringing her lips close to his ear.

‘Beth,’ he said, shaking his head, ‘you are one big tease.’

‘Michael,’ she whispered, her tongue licking inside his ear, ‘I am not teasing.’

Four months later, Beth awoke in the middle of the night and started screaming like a banshee. ‘I’m having a baby!’ she yelled hysterically. ‘And it fucking hurts!’

Michael leaped up, dressed hurriedly, ran outside, hailed a cab and they got in and raced to the hospital. Beth continued to yell, scream and curse all the way.

The nurses were shocked. ‘Kindly tell your wife to calm down, Mr Castellino. Her language is not acceptable.’

‘She’s not my wife.’

‘Are you her uncle?’

‘No.’ He laughed. ‘I’m the baby’s dad.’

‘Oh,’ the nurse said, tight-lipped.

‘Don’t worry about it,’ he said, as Beth’s ear-splitting screams and curses filled the air. ‘I offered to marry her. She told me no.’

‘Silly girl,’ the nurse said primly.

‘I’d say so,’ he agreed.

While the nurse wheeled Beth into the delivery room, he ran to a pay phone and called Max and Tina. ‘You’d better get over here fast,’ he announced. ‘We’re havin’ a baby.’

‘We’re on our way,’ Max assured him.

By the time