Suzanne Wright - From Rags

“For the baby’s sake,” she finally said, “I’m willing to try again. But no more ‘I don’t do marriage’ idiocy, Connor; you’ll do right by us. And there’s to be no other women, do you hear me?”

Connor whistled to himself, shaking his head. “Can’t I even keep Jaxx?”

“ Especially not her.”

“Why especially not her? You don’t like her?”

“She’s not important,” she snapped. Softening her tone, she added, “Only we are; you, me and the baby.” She flashed him her innocent smile.

“You’re certain this baby, if you’re even having one, is mine?”

“Of course I’m having one, and yes I’m certain.”

He let a good twenty seconds pass before responding. “You know what, I’m just not convinced. I’ll have my solicitor arrange a paternity test.”

Anita kept the panic from manifesting on her face. “How can you be so hurtful, Connor?” She wrapped a protective arm around her stomach. “This is your child.”

“Tell me, Anita, why would you think that being pregnant would make any difference to how things are? Maybe in your little world of fantasies a bloke marries a woman who’s having his baby but in the real world it just doesn’t always work that way. Would I want my kid to grow up watching its parents in a meaningless, loveless relationship? No, that would only make it miserable.”

“It wouldn’t be meaningless,” she said through her teeth. “This is because of her , isn’t it? You care about her, don’t you?”

“I wouldn’t have her staying with me if I didn’t.”

“And here was me thinking you were just being hospitable, Connor,” said Jaxxon as she entered the room and strolled over to him.

Connor curled an arm around her waist and brought her onto his lap. Feeling her calmed him, and he needed that. What he didn’t need was his dick coming to life but, in his defense, her hair was still all wet from her shower and she was in that black, silk robe and quite possibly nothing else.

“Anita, isn’t it?” said Jaxxon. The beautiful crackpot seemed frozen with shock. “Ah, pregnant again?” There was still no movement at all from her. “You look surprised to see me here. I would’ve thought you’d have worked it out when you saw Bronty. Didn’t you recognise him?”

Anita’s gaze flicked to the dog who, looking very disgruntled about having to share the sofa, was now trotting out of the room. “Why would I?”

“I thought you might since you’ve watched me walking him in the park, haven’t you.”

Anita was beginning to really hate this girl. “I don’t know what you’re talking about.”

“Well then it’s a good job Luke Winston was such a well of information.”

“He’s interested in seeing the results of the paternity test too,” said Connor.

Shit, shit, shit . “Who?”

Jaxxon cocked her head as she continued. “One thing he couldn’t help me out with is why you wanted him to get me back to his house. Oh I know you told him it was because I was into threesomes but as for the real reason…Would I be right in assuming you were going to get some snapshots of me and Luke, the father of your baby, together to give to the papers or maybe even Connor?”

Oh yes Anita officially hated her. Fury like she’d never before known was whizzing through Anita’s system and burning her from the inside out. She could feel her cheeks reddening. Her acrylic nails were digging deep into the skin of her palms but she couldn’t relax her balled-up hands.

“If I thought you cared about Connor I’d feel sorry for you – only to a small extent, but still – but you don’t at all. You just don’t know how to handle not getting what you want. You got desperate. And somewhere along the lines you got this insane idea that you have the right to meddle with people’s lives. Even to make a baby with one person and then pass it off as someone else’s.”

Twirling a chocolate-brown curl around his index finger, Connor gave a disapproving tut. “Something tells me Luke won’t be up for that, he’ll want access to his kid. You might want to think about handing over custody of the baby to him because, to be frank, I’m not convinced you’re one-hundred percent sane.”

Anita knew there was nothing innocent about her expression now as she glared at Jaxxon Carter. “I suppose you’re very pleased with yourself. I pity you if you are. You think you have him, but you don’t. He’s too closed off to belong to anyone. And when he’s all done he’ll wash his hands of you and move on to another tart, just like he did me.”

“Yeah your good mate Lotti already explained. Good of you to warn me though.”

“You think you’ll be an exception?” she scoffed.

“That’s the thing, Anita: I know I won’t be. I don’t live in a fantasy world like some of us do, so I’m under no illusions.”

Stuck, that’s what Connor was. Hearing Anita’s poisonous words he had the same urge he had when it was Bruno being a twat; he wanted to deny the words, override them, insist that it was different with Jaxx. But to do that was to imply something more could happen and he refused to give Jaxx false hope, he refused to make the mistake he made when he was sixteen of telling her what he thought she’d want to hear. “You know what, I think you might just be bitter because your devious little plan hasn’t worked out.”

“Remember this for the future, Anita.” Jaxxon’s tone was grave now. “You’re not clever, you’re cunning – that’s a big difference, and that’s what your downfall was. Now get out of my sight.”

“Throwing me out?” She snickered then switched her focus to Connor. “Sounds to me like she’s getting a bit too comfortable, talking like this is her apartment. You might want to watch out there.”

“She’d have her own if you hadn’t trashed it.” Anita looked genuinely shocked, he thought. But then he had to remember that she didn’t get an Oscar for nothing.

Anita snorted. “Is that what she told you? Oh, Connor, she’s even better at games than me. Don’t you see? She obviously had it ransacked so that you’d have to take her in, if it was even ransacked at all. You actually fell for that?”

Jaxxon rolled her eyes. “That’s you judging people by your own standards.”

“Maybe it was the other way round: maybe he trashed the flat so you’d have nowhere to go and he get could you to move in here.”

“Divide and conquer…A very old trick.” Connor gestured toward the door with his head. “Get out of our sight.”

Sharply Anita rose to her feet and gave them both a fierce snarl. “I hope you’re very happy together, but you won’t be, will you.” Then she stormed to the door, hissing and wishing them an early death.

“Delightful woman,” said Jaxxon as Anita door slammed so hard she was surprised the plaster surrounding the frame didn’t crack.

“I always thought so.”

Cunning, devious, manipulative – Anita was all those things, but did that make her an apartment-attacker? Would those delicate little fingers have any idea how to pick a lock? Would she ever be prepared to dirty herself in corn syrup? After a minute of thinking about it she sighed. “I don’t think it was her who strafed my apartment.”

Connor twirled Jaxx on his lap to face him and positioned her so she was straddling him. “Forget about her,” he muttered against her lips before kissing her softly. “Forget about that apartment.” He reached out and did what he had been dying to do since she walked into the room. He loosened the tie of her robe and slid his hands inside, shaping her waist. Christ, she was totally naked under it. “You’re here with me now.” He slid a hand over the flat of her stomach, loving the velvety feel of her. Then he snaked his hand up and along her ribs.