Page 37 of Savage Little War

“If you don’t want⁠—”

I shake my head and tighten my hold on her face, drawing her closer to me. A laugh breaks out of me, half disbelief, half joy. “Seriously? You’re really pregnant? You took a test?”

Cara smiles, but she still looks nervous. “I took a test. It was positive. But I haven’t seen a doctor yet.”

The woman I love is carrying my baby.

We’re going to have a family of our own.

The realization hits all at once.

“Holy shit,” I breathe out before pressing my lips against hers. “I can’t believe it.”

“You’re happy?” Cara asks, her eyes glimmering more now as hope shines in them.

“Of course I’m happy. Why wouldn’t I be?” I reply as I brush my fingers through her hair, not wanting her more than a few inches from me. I want her in my arms forever, especially now.

We’ve created something incredible together.

Cara sniffles a little as she shrugs, trying to blink her tears away. “We haven’t talked about this. I wasn’t even sure if you wanted kids.”

“I always wanted a family, but I buried that idea for a long time,” I admit to her. “But when I fell in love with you, all of those desires came back.”

“You never said anything,” Cara replies with a soft smile on her face.

“I didn’t want to spook you,” I say with a light chuckle. “And too much has been going on for us to even have time for a conversation like that.”

“Better late than never,” Cara points out as she winds her arms around my neck, her body relaxing against mine.

I lean down and press another lingering kiss against her lips, my chest tight with emotion. I still can’t believe it. I didn’t expect this to happen for a while longer, but I’m sure she feels the same way.

“When did you find out?” I ask her as I lead her over to the bed so that we can sit down next to each other.

“Not too long after you rescued me,” Cara tells me before pausing for a moment. “But I suspected that I was pregnant while I was captured.”

My eyes widen. “You’ve been pregnant for that long?”

Her teeth press into her bottom lip in a nervous bite as she nods. “I missed some birth control pills when everything happened.”

Realization dawns on me. “Shit. I wasn’t thinking. I’m so sorry, Cara.”

Cara shakes her head and takes my hand. “You were angry and confused. I don’t blame you. I just think missing those pills and us having sex that one night before I left is the cause for…this.”

The pieces all come together, and I can’t help but blink in disbelief.

“You went through all of that abuse while you were pregnant,” I murmur, my guts twisting. It’s bad enough that she was beaten so much, but it’s even worse knowing that she was carrying our child while enduring all of that.

She must’ve been terrified.

“That’s part of why I didn’t say anything to you for a while,” Cara admits as she looks down at our joined hands. “I was afraid that I would lose the baby. So, I wanted to wait until this was all over and find out for sure.”

“When were you able to get a test? I’ve been with you constantly,” I ask her. I’m certain that I would’ve noticed one of them in the trash bin.

Cara lowers her eyes. “I asked Sean to get one and sneak it to me so that you wouldn’t find out. I’m sorry. I just…I didn’t want to bring this all up if I’d already lost the baby. And I felt like things were tense between us then too.”

I didn’t make her feel safe enough to just tell me. I shouldn’t have given her so much space, but I didn’t want to overwhelm her. Once again, I made the wrong choice.

“Don’t apologize. I understand,” I tell her with a light sigh. She’s been through more than I can even imagine. Of course, she’s been in fight-or-flight mode for months now. “I’m glad you didn’t lose the baby. Did the bastards know you were pregnant?”