You Are Mine by Lucy Darling

5

Winnie

Itell myself to push him away, but my fingers only dig into the man’s shirt as his mouth takes over mine in a deep, hard kiss. My lips move against his as though they’ve done it a million times. “Open for me.” He orders. Without thinking, my body responds. I part my lips letting the handsome man inside of me.

A loud groan comes from deep inside of him. The sound has my whole body lighting up. His crude words had done the same. I should have smacked him but instead I’m standing here, letting him take what he wants.

“Fuck I missed you,” he says between kisses. My eyes fall closed, enjoying being close to someone. My mind lets go for a moment in time. His hands start to roam my body over my dress, gripping my hips in a possessive hold.

Suddenly he jerks back. My loud breathing fills the room as I try to catch my breath. My head is still spinning that I just let this strange man push me back into the bathroom and kiss me. What the heck is wrong with me?

“Kennedy.” The one word comes out like a deep growl, making my heart flutter with unexpected excitement. It’s weird but I think I recognize his voice. It’s the same one that plays in my head on a loop. I don't know when, but I’ve definitely heard this man speak my name at some point in my past.

His eyes drop to my stomach. It’s then I realize his hand is pressed right up against my small baby bump.

“Winnie! Are you okay in there?” Jill shouts from the other side of the door, trying to open the handle. We both ignore it.

I sink my teeth into my bottom lip. This man clearly knows me. On some level I must recognize him with all that I’ve let him do to me without question. Could be that strong dominance I feel at night in my dreams? The idea is crazy, but all of this is. Yet, I know there is something here. Unless I’ve just gone full-on crazy at this point.

There is something familiar about him. He easily towers over me by at least a foot. He’s not a small man by any stretch of the word. He’s hard all over. My lips still tingle from his kiss. Along with other parts of me.

“You’re pregnant.”

I nod my head. Hurt and anger show on his face. A wave of guilt hits me that I don’t understand. “What the fuck is going on here, Kennedy?”

More banging comes from the door. “Winnie! Answer me.” Jill shouts even louder this time.

“I’m okay,” I shout back.

“Winnie?” He says my name, or I suppose the name Fawn had given me.

“I don’t know your name.” He closes his eyes for a long second. “I’m sorry.”

“What happened to you?” His big hands cup my face so very gently, his eyes searching for something he’s not going to find. I can’t find it either. I find myself leaning into his touch.

I jump when the door flies open, hitting the wall with a loud bang. The handsome man releases his hold on me, spinning around to not only face Jill but a few other locals.

“Do we need to call the police, Winnie?” Lisa asks. I start to shake my head no. This is the first time I’m getting somewhere. I need to know more.

“For fucking what?” I swallow at the hardness of his face. Jill doesn't look bothered by it.

“For accosting the damn girl, you asshole.”

“You can do whatever the hell you want. I’m leaving.” Wait, what? He’s leaving. Panic and doubt start to take over. He’s just going to leave me. Before I can ask, he grabs my hand, pulling me with him.

“I swear to Christ.” Jill tries to whack him with one of the menus, but he grabs it, pulling it from her hand tossing it to the side. “You’re not taking her anywhere.”

“Who’s going to fucking stop me? She belongs to me, and so does that baby in her stomach.”

Jill’s eyes go wide for a moment, not sure what to do with that information. I know the feeling.

He starts pulling me again. I follow after him, not sure where we are going, but he must have some kind of answers for me. He has to. He pulls me out of the diner and across the street.

“Key,” he barks at a tall blond man in all black. He tosses him a key. “In you go, precious.” He opens the passenger door to an SUV. I stand there, not sure I should get in with him.

“I don’t even know your name.” I tilt my head back to look at him. I notice a slight tick in his jaw. There is anger and frustration in his eyes.

“Dane Osborn, but everyone calls me Oz.”

“Oz?” I scrunch my nose. He doesn’t give off the vibe of someone who would be called Oz. A small smile pulls at his lips.

“You never thought that nickname fit, precious. That’s why you always called me Dane.” He can either read my mind or he really does know me. I feel myself relaxing even more. “In you go,” he says again, but this time he doesn't wait for me to do it. He lifts me off my feet and puts me in the SUV like a doll that weighs nothing. He even pulls the seatbelt over me and tucks the bottom part low and away from my baby bump.

The simple act has a knot forming in my throat. I thought I was going to be doing this baby thing all alone. Dane slips into the driver’s seat before taking off. So many realizations start to flood me. I don’t even know where to start when it comes to this man. I hate that he’s a stranger to me.

“Did you love me?” I blurt out the question. “Oh God. Don’t answer that.” I put my hand over my mouth. Why the heck is that the first thing I ask? His deep chuckle has me stealing a glance over at him.

“I missed that blush. I know you hate it, but it’s one of the many things I do love about you.” He corrects my use of past tense.

“And I loved you?” He already said that in the bathroom. Along with his crude words about him and me having sex together. Of course we did. I mean, this baby didn’t come by way of immaculate conception.

“We would have been married by now. Four fucking months I’ve looked for you.” He shakes his head as he turns into the front of a hotel and proceeds to the valet. He’s been looking for me. I was so sure I’d been forgotten.

“Stay,” he orders me before he gets out of the car. I don’t know why I’m letting this man boss me around.

“I’m not a dog,” I say tartly when he opens my car door for me, offering me his hand. He gives me a smirk that has my stomach tightening. What the heck is this man doing to me? With only a few words and touches, my body responds to him in ways it never has to anyone else. Well, at least not in the last few months. Before that I have no clue.

“You may not remember shit, but my girl is still in you.” That makes me smile too. “We’ve already had this fight, and I won.”

“Wait. What?” I ask as we step onto the elevator, the door closing. He turns to face me, and his thumb begins tracing over my lips. I push down the urge to kiss his finger.

“You used to get mad when you thought I was bossing you around.”

“There is no thought. You were bossing me around.” That smirk is still on his lips.

“I can get a little possessive and controlling with you. In my need to keep you close. Not wanting anyone else near you. My jealousy is new to me. Only you’ve gotten that from me. I’m like a child with a toy, and I don’t fucking share.”

“Wow” is all I can think to say. He sounds almost obsessive when it comes to me. Here I was thinking no one was looking for me or noticed that I was gone. Now it seems that I’ve found myself going toward the other extreme with this man.

“You knew I only did those things because I love you and worry over you. You did what I asked because you knew it would put me at ease. I might be barking the orders, but you have all the control.” He leans down, brushing his mouth against mine. My eyes fall closed as his tongue pushes past my lips. I wrap my arms around him. This time I don’t hesitate before kissing him back.

“You don’t know what that means to me,” I say when he lifts his mouth from mine. “Since the moment I woke up in that hospital bed, I thought I was all alone. Just me and my little jelly bean.” I reach down to rub my baby bump. “Now you’re here wanting to take care of me.” My eyes sting with tears. It’s all so overwhelming and too good to be true.

“Don’t cry, precious. I’m never letting you out of my sight again.” I can tell from the look in his eyes he means every word he’s saying. That possessive and controlling side he said he has for me is definitely showing already.

Still the thought of who did this to me lingers in the back of my mind. The cops told me it was most likely the father of my baby. That doesn’t match up with everything he’s saying. I need to be careful and to remember that it’s not only my safety that’s at stake here but the safety of my baby. Regardless of how sincere I think this man is, I need to protect my baby at all costs.

He drops his hands from my face as the elevator doors slide open. He takes my hand again, guiding me off with him. There is only one set of double doors on this floor.

When he tries to pull on my hand for me to come with him, I don’t move. “Kennedy.”

My mind starts to spin with so many things. What if I really do love this man that has been searching everywhere for me. It must hurt him when I try to pull away from him. Heck, when he said he was leaving earlier I started to freak out, not wanting him to go.

Still, someone tried to kill me. My breathing picks up, thinking about the possibility that it could be Dane. My stomach turns, not wanting that to be true.

“Kennedy.” He says my name again. I gasp for air, trying to answer him. “Where the hell is your inhaler?” I gasp loudly again, shaking my head, having no clue what he’s talking about. He pulls me into the room with him.

In one move he lifts me off my feet and takes off. What the hell is wrong with me? Breathe, I scream at myself. He sits me down a moment later. I watch as he starts pulling crap out of a bag in a hurry, tossing it all behind him.

“Open your mouth.” I part my lips as he shoves something into my mouth. “Breathe.” I suck in a breath of air. Within a few seconds, my lungs finally fill with air. He does it a couple more times before I get myself back under control. He drops the inhaler, pressing his forehead against mine and closing his eyes.