Page 59 of Freed

She smiles, snuggling in closer as she pats his chest. “Good thing you stopped me.”

“I meant when the bear attacked.”

Her face drops. “Oh, right. I almost forgot about that.”

Chase makes a pained noise. “You forgot?! Fuck baby, you gave your own life for mine. I ain’t ever gonna forget that for the rest of my life.”

She reaches out and clutches his hand as she apologizes. “I’m sorry, Chase. But I’d do it again.”

Bain and Chase growl and she just raises her brow in challenge.

“I can come back. You can’t. It only makes sense.”

Bain again growls as he cups her face and turns her to look at him. “You putting yourself in harm's way for any other being is unacceptable.”

“What if we had a kid?” she asks in challenge. “And they ran into the street? You want me to just stand there and watch? I don’t think so!”

Bain’s face does some weird twitchy thing as the room goes quiet. Finally, Chase breaks the silence as he whispers, “Uh oh, I think you broke him.”

“Because I argued?”

“I think it’s because you mentioned having children,” Maddox tells her and her eyebrows rise as she turns back to Bain.

“Oh,” she squeaks out in surprise, clearly unsure what else to say.

Just then, the doorbell rings and she instantly jumps off his lap yelling, “I’ll get it!”

It takes Bain a second too long to react, his arms circling over the empty space left from her body as the five of us yell, “Wait!”

Chapter 21

Cherry

Saved by the bell, I think as I ignore their cries to wait as I jog to the front door. I’m not actually stupid enough to open it without one of them here. I just wanted an excuse to get away from Bain. I’m not sure if the thought of children is a pleasant or painful one for him, and I am slightly too chicken to ask. Especially as I have no idea how I feel about it right now.

I stop by the front door and wait for one of them to catch up as I contemplate the idea of having kids. The thought of them trying to get me pregnant, filling me with their seed and growing their child, is a surprisingly pleasant one. But the thought of what comes next… Diapers, sleepless nights, and screaming babies. I’m definitely not ready for that yet. Even if I do have five men to help me.

“Are you trying to give me a heart attack?” Maddox asks as he yanks me in for a hug, like he hadn’t seen me in days instead of seconds.

“I wasn’t going to open it,” I tell him.

“Good,” Bain says, stepping around us and yanking the door open. I can’t see who’s there but I see his back grow tense. Worse, I can feel the anger and rage pouring out of him.

“Who is it?” I whisper, hugging Maddox tightly as we wait for Bain to answer.

But he doesn’t, he doesn’t even move. Finally, Chase and Hunter step forward, glancing over his shoulder then physically pulling him back so they can look. Bain lets them move him around, but his hands turn into fists and his gaze snaps to mine.

“Get her out of here.”

“What! Why?” I ask, my eyes moving to see who’s there. “Who is it?”

“Nobody,” he growls as I watch Hunter bend down picking something up off the front step.

He starts to hold it up, his brows pinched as he asks, “What is—” His eyes widen in alarm, flicking to mine as he realizes the same thing I do. “Oh my Goddess, I’m gonna be sick.” He presses it against Chase’s chest as he steps outside and literally vomits into the bushes.

I slap my hand over my own mouth, as my stomach drops. A noise of distress comes from Chase as he stares down at my fur pelt, the one that Dr. J literally cut from my dead body, in his hands.

“Oh fuck,” he groans, his panicked eyes moving around, as if looking for an answer among the others.