Rick bent down in front of Charli. "Princess, I'm fine, you can go."

"No, I'll stay here. We can go shopping tomorrow." She smiled and walked to her room.

"If you're happy for her to stay, she can." I said. "I'll take Nate and have some one-on-one with him, then I'll be back Sunday night."

"Yeah that's fine."

I kissed Charli goodbye and told her to look after her Dad. She seemed to be pleased with her new task and was asking if he needed anything as I closed the door.

On the way to the apartment I asked if Nate wanted to talk. He had said ano', but I could tell he did. I thought I would give him the option to ask me when he wanted to, but when we pulled into the garage, he was crying.

"Nate sweetheart. I know it's a shock, trust me I know." I gave him a rea.s.suring smile. "But it's going to be all right, you'll see.'

"Why did Dad want another son? Was I not a good son?"

"Oh darling." I got out of the car and walked around to his door, opened it and knelt down. "No, not at all. You are the perfect son, the best son in the world, and you absolutely did nothing wrong. Dad just made a mistake. We all make mistakes, sweetheart, it's just some mistakes are bigger than others, and this one was a pretty big one wasn't it?"

"Yes."

"Listen, the thing about mistakes Nate, is that most of them can be fixed. What Dad did was a mistake, and it can be fixed by giving yourself some time to get used to the new changes. But RJ himself, he is not a mistake that can be fixed, because he is not a mistake. He's a lovely little boy who had no idea his Dad had other kids, he even had no idea who is Dad was until a few days ago. And sweetheart, Dad didn't even know RJ existed until a few days ago, himself."

"Why?"

"Because the lady who is RJ's Mum, thought it was best if she didn't tell anyone."

"I don't get it."

"I know, and that's okay. All you need to know is that Dad and I love you so, so much, and that you have a half-brother now, and he is really nice. And you know what? He is probably a lot more scared to meet you than you are of meeting him."

"I don't want to meet him." He crossed his arms. This was a typical sign that he didn't mean what he just said, instead, he was too proud to admit it.

"Well, you don't have to right away. But you will eventually mate. Now, come on it's getting late." I helped him out of the car, and found Bryce leaning up against the concrete pillar.

"Sorry, I didn't want to interrupt." He walked over and kissed the top of my head. "Hi, Nate. Do you want a game of Mario Kart before bed?" Nate shrugged his shoulders but I could tell he did.

"You can have one game, then it's bedtime, okay?"

Despite my strict instructions of one game only, Nate and Bryce played Mario Kart for an hour. I called Rick to tell him not to worry about Nate, that he seemed to be calming down. He told me Charli had fussed over him and asked if aRJ looked like Nate', and awhy did he give a baby to another lady and not to me'. I asked him what his response to that question was and he said, ado you want a hot chocolate?' Typical.

Nate had reached unconsciousness as soon as his head hit the pillow. I walked down the stairs in search of Bryce when he suddenly grabbed my arm and pinned me up against the entryway wall.

"I can't wait another f.u.c.king minute, Hunny. I need to be inside of you now."

I looked at my watch. "It's only been five hours and fourteen minutes, Mr. Clark."

"Yeah, I know. That's too long." He pressed his mouth to mine and lusciously explored my tongue with his own.

"Hmmm, I have to agree, but we can't here." I slurred, with what felt like l.u.s.tful intoxication.

"Where, my love? I honestly don't care where, just pick a place and do it quickly." He moved his mouth to my neck, and at the same time, slid his hands underneath my top to fill them with my now firm b.r.e.a.s.t.s. "f.u.c.k, I love your t.i.ts." f.u.c.k, I love that you love to love my t.i.ts.

"I need a shower. Do you want to join me?"

"Jump up," he said. So, I jumped up and wrapped my legs around his waist. He took to me to the elevator where we continued to hungrily consume each other. We almost didn't make it to the shower, but I'm glad we did. It had to be one of my favourite spots to make love to him. I adored the feel of his wet mouth as it pressed into mine while water cascaded all over our bodies. He lifted me up, securing me to him with one hand pressed firmly on my a.r.s.e, and the other pressed against the tiles just to the side of my head. He slid in and out of me with ease as he groaned harshly into my ear, sending shivers of raw pleasure right through me. I don't think he realised what his groans actually did to me.

"Bryce, are you happy?" I searched his eyes.

"Yes, my love, but I could be happier." He kissed my chin as he said it. My heart skipped a beat, wondering why? "I would be happier if you married me." Phew. He pumped me harder, making me bounce against the wall, and jerking my voice as I responded.

"I will marry you, but not yet. Anyway, we still haven't gone on a date. I'm not marrying you or even properly saying yes to a proposal without a ring and a date."

He laughed. "We really did do the whole date thing backwards, didn't we."

"Yep." My voice climbed as did my breathing as he rolled into me many more times until I sunk my teeth into his shoulder blade, and buried my outburst of pleasure into his skin. We slowed out breathing and relaxed, then he let me go. He leaned up against the wall, and watched me as I proceeded to wash my hair.

"How was Nate when you were playing the Wii with him?" I asked.

"He was alright. He did ask me if I was going to be his anew Dad' though."

I turned my neck so quickly in his direction I pulled a muscle.

"Ow, f.u.c.k."

Bryce chuckled, "You all right?" He pushed off the wall, and placed his hand on the sore spot, then rubbed.

"What did you say to him?" I said now feeling a slight twinge of discomfort.

"I said ano', that he aalready has a Dad that loves him'. But I did say, athat one day I would be his second Dad if he ever wanted me to be'."

A smile crept across my face. "And what did he say to that?"

"He said, and I quote, aSick'."

CHAPTER THIRTY-ONE.

Bryce and I fell asleep together in his bed, but in the early hours of the morning, he carried me back to my room and told me he would see me in a couple of hours. When I sat up, I felt horrible and only just made it to the toilet before hurling the contents of my stomach. I'm never eating fish an' chips ever again, unless Bryce makes it with his special sauce. I groaned on my way back to the bed then flopped face down.

"Mum, Bryce wants to know how you want your eggs, poached, boiled, fried or scrambled?" Eggs, white, and yellow, soft, slimy, oh f.u.c.k not again. I ran back to the toilet and projected another fountain of stomach interior decoration. When that was down, out, and flushed, I washed my hands and face, and brushed my teeth. Bryce burst into the bathroom with Nate following closely behind.

"What's wrong, Hunny? Are you okay?"

"I think it was dodgy fish an' chips. How do you feel Nate?"

"Fine."

"Well, I had the calamari and you didn't...So maybe it was that? I need to ring Rick and see if he and Charlotte are okay."

"I'll get your phone, Mum."

Nate handed me the phone and I dialled Rick. "Hey, how did you and Charli go last night?"

"Yeah fine, she is still asleep. How's Nate?"

"Yeah he's fine, don't worry. Listen, have you or Charli been sick at all?"

"No, we are fine. Why?"

"I must've had a dodgy calamari ring, I feel awful."

"s.h.i.t, that's no good, make sure you rest."

"Yeah, I will, thanks. Oh, by the way, when Charli takes you shopping today, she does not need another pair of pink, purple or silver sparkly shoes, nor does she need another hair brush. Don't be fooled by her blue, twinkly eyes."

"Got it. No shoes or hairbrushes."

"And avoid the eye contact, trust me. Okay, got to go, bye." I threw the phone on the bed and ran back into the bathroom. Bryce was there rubbing my back as another, but smaller version of my fountain, spilled into the toilet bowl again.

"Hunny, I'll call Janette and see if she can come and take a look at you."

"I'm fine, Bryce, it's probably food poisoning. I just need some water."

"Okay, I'll get you some water."

I cleaned up again and got back into bed.

"Mum, it smells like spew in here. Can I go?" The amount of times I've had to smell your spew young man, let alone other bodily excretions you have blessed upon me throughout your nine years, and yet you can't handle this? Lucky you.

"Yeah, go mate, I'm fine." I watched him deliberate whether or not to give me a kiss, so I made his decision easy by blowing him one. "Go, sweetheart." He walked out the door as Bryce walked in with a gla.s.s of water and some dry toast.

"Here, Janette is on her way up."

"Bryce, I'm fine. You're just wasting her time."

"Time I pay her for, so shush." He handed me the water, which I guzzled, then I took small nibbles of the toast. He was smirking at me as I made my tiny baby bites.

"What?"

"You're even beautiful when you vomit, you know that?"

I rolled my eyes at him. "You're funny, Mr. Clark."

"No, I'm not. You are all kinds of green right now, yet you are still the most beautiful creature I have ever seen."

"I'd kiss you right now if I didn't have vomit-breath."

"I'd kiss you right now too, if you didn't have vomit-breath. You might be breath takingly beautiful, but I don't do vomit-breath." He kissed his fingers and pressed them to my head as I laughed.

The buzzer to his office door rang. "That will be Janette. I'll be back in a minute." He rushed out of the room, and minutes later he was back with the City Towers Precinct Nurse.

"Alexis, dear, I'm not going to ask how you are because obviously you are not too well."

"Hi Janette, I've definitely seen better days."

"Okay, so what's been happening?" She sat down on the edge of the bed. I looked at Bryce who was leaning up against the wall.

"Well, I had fish an' chips last night, and I think the calamari rings might have been a bit suspect."

"Right, have you had diarrhoea at all?"

"No."

"Stomach pain?"

"No, not really."

"Okay, I'll just take your temperature and blood pressure." She pulled a thermometer out from within her bag and placed it in my ear until it beeped.

"37.8, that's slightly higher than normal, but not high enough to indicate a fever." She took out the blood pressure cuff and wrapped it around my arm, then placed the stethoscope across the crook of my arm and pumped away.

"125/90, you're blood pressure is also slightly higher than normal. Do you normally experience high blood pressure?

"No, not that I am aware of."

"Have you been stressed lately, or over exerting yourself?" Ha, stressed? Well you could say that.

"Just a little a bit," I admitted as I smiled studiously at Bryce. She removed the cuff and placed it on the bed. "Are you on birth control, Alexis?"

"Yes." I blushed, and quickly looked at Bryce, because he had never asked me this question. "Yes I'm on the pill." As I said it, a wave of heat resonated at my toes and slowly rolled through my body until it hit my face. My period, s.h.i.t. I haven't surfed the crimson wave in...in a while. f.u.c.k, f.u.c.kity, f.u.c.k, when was I due?

"Bryce, can you show me how to do that trick on Mario Kart?" Nate was at that the door.

"Sure, that's my cue to leave." He said as he followed Nate out. Thank you my little angel boy.

"Alexis, when did you last get your period?"

"I don't know. My pill is in my bag, but I missed some a few weeks ago when I went away for a couple of days. s.h.i.t."

"How many did you miss?"