She was right, I knew that, but I couldn’t help it; it slipped out.

“Sorry.”

Keela’s eyes were wide with shock. “You want to talk me through how Kane Slater came to be the father of your unborn child?”

My stomach churned at her choice of words. Pregnancy usually involved an unborn child, but hearing ‘Kane’ and my ‘unborn child’ in the same sentence made me feel physically ill. I never in my wildest nightmares thought I’d hear myself say anything even close to that sentence.

“If I have to talk you through how I got knocked up by Kane, then Alec is doin’ somethin’ seriously wrong in the bedroom.”

Keela looked like she was about to blow a fuse and jump on me so I held my hands up and said, “Sorry, sorry.”

She stared at me and patiently waited for me to speak. All that came out of my mouth was a loud groan though.

Keela dangerously pointed her finger at me. “Don’t even think about it, lady. I thought you didn’t like Kane. You can barely tolerate being in the same room as him without a world war eruptin’, so you can understand why I’m havin’ trouble wrappin’ me head around the fact that you’re pregnant by him.”

I winced and murmured, “It was an impulse. All the fightin’ and arguments over the past year just exploded. It was either murder one another or fuck each other’s brains out—we chose the latter.”

Keela face-palmed herself, which was exactly the reaction I deserved.

“You didn’t use protection?”

Evidently not.

“Wait, he was the one-night stand you had a few weeks ago?”

I groaned, again.

“You’re goin’ to ask me enough questions to make me relive that night, aren’t you?”

Keela folded her arms across her chest. “Yeah, I am, so you might as well start your once-upon-a-time story because I’m not goin’ anywhere.”

Stubborn bitch.

“Okay, okay,” I muttered. “I’ll tell you.”

A smile stretched across Keela’s sadistic face as she jumped to her feet and grabbed my hand. She pulled me upright then all but dragged me out of her bedroom, down the stairs, and into her sitting room. I sat on the large settee while she dived onto the lounge chair and crisscrossed her legs over one another and stared at me expectantly.

“Where is Alec?” I asked, curiously.

“Takin’ Storm on a walk,” she replied with a wave of her hand.

“We don’t have much time then, he can’t walk very far.” I grinned.

“Aideen,” Keela said in warning tone. “Don’t pick on Storm.”

I winced. “My bad.”

Keela nodded her head giving me a rare pass then suddenly shouted, “Wait!”

I raised my eyebrows at her.

I wasn’t even speaking yet.

I watched as she jumped up and ran out of the sitting room. I sat and stared at the doorway for at least a minute until suddenly Keela reappeared with two mugs.

“We need tea for story time,” she chirped.

My one night-stand with my archenemy that resulted in my pregnancy meant story time?

This lass was all kinds of messed up.

“Pre-warnin’,” I said holding my hands up, “if I consume anythin’ right now I will puke.”

Keela placed both mugs on the coffee table next to her. “Okay fine, I’ll drink them while you talk. Go.”

I blinked my eyes and licked my suddenly dry lips.

“Okay.” I swallowed. “It was about three months ago that I fell into sin. Do you remember when I went out on that date with Skull—”

“You shagged Kane on the night you had a date with your ex? You slag!”

That wasn’t bloody helping.

I felt my eye twitch. “Do you want to hear the story or not?”

“Every. Dirty. Detail.” She grinned wickedly.

Every detail?

“Okay, you asked for it,” I said and exhaled a deep breath. “So like I said, it happened about three months ago in that stupid bloody nightclub, Darkness.”

About three months earlier...

“I can’t believe you’re givin’ Skull another chance,” Keela grumbled to me as she zipped up the zipper on the back of my skin-tight dress.

I grinned and turned to face her. “I’m not givin’ him another chance, but I haven’t had sex with him in over a month, and he gives me amazin’ orgasms... Need I say more?”

Keela deadpanned. “There is more to life than orgasms, Aideen.”

My girl had jokes.

I burst into laughter. “Good one.”

Keela rolled her pretty green eyes at me and it made me smile.

“Don’t get your knickers in a twist with me because you don’t get to date anymore. You chose to settle down with that fine hunk of American man-meat in the sittin’ room.”

Keela glanced at her closed bedroom door. “I’m tellin’ him you said that.”

“Go for it. Maybe he’ll come to his senses and leave you for me.” I wickedly grinned.

Keela giggled and exited her bedroom calling out to her piece of Grade A American man-meat as she walked down the hallway.

“What?” he shouted from the sitting room.

“Aideen said you’re a fine hunk of American man meat, and you have to leave me for her.”

Male laughter erupted.

“I always knew you wanted me, Ado!” Alec shouted.

I continued to grin as I walked over to the bedroom door.

“Only you, big lad!” I called out, sweetly.

I squealed when I saw Keela storm down the hallway in my direction. I slammed her bedroom door shut and turned the lock. Seconds later she banged on the door with her hands.

“Pussy!” she shouted.

“You say pussy, I say smart woman who doesn’t want to be hit before she goes out on a date and fucks her ex-boyfriend until she can’t see straight.”

Keela dry heaved. “Never mind pussy, you’re a slut!”

I burst into laughter and turned to Keela’s full-length mirror in her bedroom. I adjusted my royal blue dress and smiled. I loved how it looked. It was short, came to mid thigh, and stuck to me like a second skin, but my favourite part was the lace on the chest of the dress and on the sleeves. It was gorgeous.

I reached up and let my hair out of the spider grip that held it on top of my head. I swung my head back and forth a few times until my hair gained some volume and looked ruffled and sexy.

My make-up was done, but as I examined my face I found I needed a little bit more on my nose because I saw some redness. I leaned into the mirror and gasped when I realised what the redness on my nose was.

It was a pimple.

“Crap!”

I turned from the mirror, unlocked Keela’s bedroom door, and walked down the hallway of my friend’s apartment in search of her. I bypassed the kitchen when I peeked in and saw she wasn’t in there. I headed straight into the sitting room. I opened my mouth to speak when I spotted her sitting on Alec’s lap on the sofa. Kane and Nico were on either side of them watching an American football game, but when Nico caught sight of me he wolf whistled and twirled his finger around with a devilish smirk on his face.

I rolled my eyes but giggled as I turned around in a circle then placed my hands on my hips and posed like I would for a picture.

“Damn, Ado, you’re looking F-I-N-E,” Nico said, nodding his head in appreciation of me.

I have no idea why, but Kane reached behind Alec and smacked Nico across the back of the head. “You have a girlfriend.”

“Fucking hell!” Nico growled and rubbed his head. “I know that, I was just saying she looked hot. There’s no harm in looking.”

“You were just smacked for lookin’,” Keela mused, “clearly there is harm in it.”

“I’ll say,” Nico mumbled and lowered his hand.

Keela chortled and Alec grinned as he stroked Keela’s side while she sat on him.

“So, what’s the verdict? Yay or nay?” I asked the group as I gestured to my look for the night.