Detained: Chapter 38

As another wave of nausea washes over me and I tightly grip the toilet bowl with my hands. My stomach physically aches as I heave relentlessly.

I only had a few glasses of champagne last night. I don’t remember having a hangover like this since I was eighteen.

“Zara!” Frankie’s voice echoes into the bathroom.

“In here,” I call out. Just that alone has my mouth watering again.

The door opens and I pull myself away and sit down on my butt, finding Frankie leaning on the door with his arms crossed in front of his six-pack.

“Someone had too much to drink?” he says with a smirk.

“I’m not a lightweight, Frankie. On a good day, I could drink you under the table. I clearly have a stomach bug,” I say. The words have barely left before I throw myself back over the toilet and empty the contents of my stomach.

The soft touch of Frankie rubbing my back provides me with some comfort as I sag back onto the floor and he joins me, spreading his muscular thighs on either side of me and holding me against his naked body.

He strokes my hair behind my ear.

“Are you okay, angel? Can I get you anything?” he whispers.

I shake my head, sinking into his embrace. “Go back to bed, Frankie. We can’t have both of us getting sick. We have too much to do.”

His chest vibrates against my back as he chuckles. “I don’t think this is a bug, baby.”

I scoot forward, turning to face him, pulling my brows together. Shock ripples through me as the meaning behind his words sink in. “Y-you think?”

His hands band around my waist, pulling me closer to him. “I do.”

I’ve been using one of those cycle tracking apps. I was due yesterday, I assumed stopping the pill might mess things up.

My heart starts to race. Could this really be it? “Well, what are you waiting for? I need tests, about twenty of them, to make sure.”

His hands frame my face as his eyes search mine. “You have no idea how much this means to me, angel.”

I smile back at him. I do. Because I want this as much as he does. I want to be next to this man and the power he has for the rest of my life. I want our kids to see their dad rule the world.

“I have a good idea, handsome,” I whisper, stroking his cheek.

“You’re mine, Zara. Mine forever.” His words make butterflies erupt in my stomach.

“That’s all I want.”

His lips feather over mine for a soft kiss. One that shows me exactly what I need to know. That this right here is everything. Even if we don’t say the words, we show it every day.

“I probably should take a shower and brush my teeth.” I forgot I was just puking.

“I couldn’t give a fuck. While you do that, I’ll go to the pharmacy. I won’t be long. Call me if you need anything else. Okay?”

I roll my eyes and he grips my chin.

“Don’t do that. You aren’t in any fit state for me to punish you,” he whispers against my lips.

Despite the heat spreading across my chest, I know he’s right.

As he leaves, I stand up, looking at myself in the mirror. A tear slips down my cheek. I want this. I want those two lines to show up more than anything. I know with Frankie by my side, I can do anything.