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“We thought this was connected to something with Snow!”
“Enough!” I roared, and they all snapped their jaws shut. Glancing at my shoulder, I saw the trickle of blood running down my skin but ignored it. “I went back to get the rest of the stuff for Grams. While I was there, I got some unexpected news that changed my plans a little. Unfortunate shit went down. Snow has his boys looking into some of it, but I want to talk to Facet. Bottom line is, Loralei is mine.”
My words shocked even me. Though I’d told her she was coming back with me and I’d take care of her, in my mind I’d convinced myself it was only because she was pregnant. The truth hit me like a sledgehammer to the balls.
Because inexplicably, I’d found myself wanting something I’d sworn to never have.
I was going to have a family.
And Loralei was going to be my ol’ lady.
Jesus, I was fucked.
Angel slid his fingers along my wound, and I experienced the burn of his touch as it shot through me, rapidly replaced by the rippling tingle. My vision blurred, and my mouth refused to cooperate. Warmth followed like a current flowing through me.
Then I passed out.
When I came to, I was in my bed, flat on my back. Everything was stiff as I fought to roll over. My head was pounding, and I waited for it to split open. After a few deep breaths, it began to ease, and I realized I wasn’t alone.
Disoriented, I began to panic for a second until I remembered I was in my own bed and I’d told them when we got there that Loralei would be sleeping in my bed. Her dark hair was next to me, and I pressed my face into it, instantly experiencing a lightness and calm.
Finally in control of my body, I turned to my side. The lack of excruciating pain to my shoulder at first surprised me. Then I wrapped my arm around her and pulled her into my body as I curled into her warmth.
Tempted to go back to sleep, I instead chose to reflect on the last couple of days. Never in my life would I have imagined things would change so drastically and so rapidly.
The woman in my arms made me a possessive asshole, but I was amazingly okay with that. Now that the shock had settled, I realized it didn’t matter that I was nearly twelve years older than her. She was a gift, and so was the baby growing within her.
“You’re up early,” she croaked in a voice froggy from sleep.
“Mmm,” I said as I nuzzled into her neck and gave her body a squeeze.
“Careful of your arm!” she chastised. Cautiously, she turned to face me, covering her mouth with her hand. “I have morning breath,” she mumbled in explanation. In the dim morning light filtering in through the curtains, she gave a confused frown to the injured area of my shoulder. Her fingers tentatively reached out to assess if what she was seeing was the truth.
I grabbed her hand before she made contact.
“We need to talk,” I explained. She bolted up in the bed and searched the bedside table for a light. Once she’d clicked it on, she whipped her gaze back to my shoulder. Dissatisfied with what she was seeing, she got to her knees and leaned down. Nose damn near touching the healed tissue of my injury, she blinked rapidly.
“What the hell?” She cast a startled stare at me, suddenly oblivious to the morning breath I didn’t give a shit about to begin with. “You… that… how?”
“Like I said, we need to talk.”
“How long have I been asleep?” she asked incredulously as she looked down to see she was still in the same clothes she’d traveled in. Which reminded me… “Take this off.”
I tugged at the hoodie she’d been wearing since we left up north.
“This is no time to get frisky!” she sputtered, wide-eyed and flabbergasted.
“I’m not, but I’m tired of seeing another man’s club across your fucking tits,” I growled.
“Another—” She glanced down, then tore the hoodie over her head and tossed it to the floor. I groaned.
“That’s not much better,” I said as I covered my mouth and ran my hand down my beard. The shirt was tight across her tits and had a pin-up style stripper on a pole. Above it read “I got lucky at the Shamrock.”
Again, she dropped her chin to look at what she was wearing and then startled to giggle. “Oh my God. I didn’t even look at it when I dressed.”
Then she got serious. “Enough with the distractions. You better explain that shit to me right the hell now.”
“First, I need to know that I can trust you. If not, I’ll have to have Bruno come in here and wipe your memory.” Inside, I laughed my ass off. We had no Bruno and no one in the chapter with that kind of ability, though she didn’t need to know.
