AllFreeNovel
Share Us
There was a baby inside her, and I’d had a part in creating it. A dash of my DNA mixed with hers and, bam, nine months later, a human would come along.
Hallie never said a word about it, but I knew she worried something still might go wrong with the pregnancy. I was a practical man. I knew that was possible as well. But there was something in my heart, something that had faith. I believed our baby would be healthy.
I had enough issues with my mom. My dad's stability had largely overridden the confusing messages she sent me. But still, that contrast had left so many question marks. My mother had created a side of me that was far more skeptical than I preferred. I knew my dad wished I wasn't like that. Any hope he'd had of me getting past that had been obliterated thanks to that genealogy website. Nothing but a little curiosity, and I suddenly knew for a fact that my father wasn't my father and someone else was.
Even with all that doubt, I knew our baby would be fine. He would be a strong, healthy boy. I would do everything in my power to be the best father I could and to keep him and Hallie safe. Always.
Hallie stirred, taking a breath. I felt when she came awake. It was almost like a shiver of electricity running through me, the awareness of her chasing over my skin.
“Chase?” she whispered in the darkness, a lilt of a question when she said my name.
“Yeah?” I murmured, unable to resist dipping my head, nuzzling into her neck and pressing a kiss on the silky soft skin there.
“What are you doing awake?”
I shrugged even though she couldn't see me. “I wake up sometimes. I'm usually an early riser anyway.”
She rested her hand over mine where it curved over her belly. I could have sworn we could feel the baby's heartbeat together. She rolled over in my arms.
My bedroom door was open, and a silvery shaft of light came from the night-light in the hallway. I could see her sleepy smile.
“I get up early too.”
“I know,” I said, realizing I was coming to learn these tiny details about her, one at a time. I knew she got up early. I knew she missed having coffee and that she didn't really miss drinking wine. She loved flan, said it was one of her favorite desserts. During her pregnancy, she craved peanut butter.
“Where do you want to live?” I heard myself asking.
Her eyes widened slightly. “I keep thinking about that. Honestly, I think we have to figureusout first.”
Since it was still during those early-morning hours that felt stolen, when everything felt more true and more real, I decided to be honest. “I'd like there to be anus. I really like you, Hallie. I think if you hadn't gotten pregnant, we would have missed out on something.”
She stared at me, her gaze thoughtful and quiet. She lifted a hand, smoothing her fingertip over one brow and then the other before letting it trail over my cheek. Her hand fell to my chest, just below the beat of my pulse at the base of my throat.
“I like you too. I keep thinking I need to be practical about this.”
I couldn't help but chuckle a little because that made perfect sense. “I know. We should be practical about this. But it doesn't change the fact that I really like you. Whether or not that's practical,” I offered.
Her lips unfurled in a slow smile. She turned her head, pressing her lips into the divot at the base of my throat just above her palm. “Well, you have a dog, and you're building a house. I have a tiny apartment, plus my job can travel,” she pointed out as she lifted her head to peer up at me.
“Is it important for you to be in Anchorage, near your studio?” I asked, genuinely wondering.
She shook her head. “No, I can have a studio somewhere else. I'd already been worrying about where I was going to fit a crib in my apartment. I suppose if we're going to live in the same place, it makes more sense for me to come here.Ifwe're being practical,” she added.
“Wearebeing practical,” I insisted. “We're having this conversation.”
Her lips curved with her slight smile. “I guess we are. What if it doesn't work out?”
“People who are married and plan babies for years end up not working out. I think our odds are as good as anyone's. I also think we're handling something unexpected really well.”
Her gaze sobered as she studied me in the dim light. “I suppose we are.”
I couldn't resist kissing her because Ilovedkissing Hallie. One thing led to the next, and I blazed a trail of kisses down her neck to tease her nipples. I smoothed a palm over the curve of her belly, my lips following my touch and lingering. She let out sweet little sighs and moans when I pushed her knee to the side. I dipped my fingers between her thighs to find her hot, slick, and ready.
She cried out when I brought my mouth to her sex, licking into her salt-scented folds. She rocked into me, lacing her fingers in my hair and trembling. I knew just before she was about to come. She breathed in sharply and let out a little gasp before her pussy clamped around my fingers as she shuddered all over. Moving swiftly, I rose above her and filled her. My release came quickly, like the sharp lash of a whip sizzling through me.
I was careful, rolling to the side instantly. Her laughter was soft and raspy. “I won’t break, you know. Neither will the baby. My doctor said sex is safe.”
I lay gasping beside her, trying to catch my breath. “I know, but I don’t want to crush you.”
She giggled, her fingers walking across my chest before she opened her palm and pressed it against me. My heart thudded toward her touch as if in recognition of who she was and all she was coming to mean to me.
