Total pages in book: 35
Estimated words: 32845 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 164(@200wpm)___ 131(@250wpm)___ 109(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 32845 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 164(@200wpm)___ 131(@250wpm)___ 109(@300wpm)
Her expression hardened. “No, dumbass,” she snapped. “I’m not going someplace to have a fucking abortion. How can you be so obtuse?” Instead of the scared waif who’d run from my bedroom six weeks before or the emotionless, resigned woman I’d first seen when I got inside the hotel room, this Willa was full of fire. A strong protector for the child she carried. The transition made me sit up and take notice. Did the same for my cock, too.
“I wasn’t trying to be insensitive, Willa. What the fuck is going on? This is about more than you being pregnant. Having a baby isn’t the end of the world and if you really don’t want the child you can get rid of it.”
She closed her eyes and took a deep breath. If I had to read her expression, I’d say she was inhaling for patience. When she opened her eyes again, they were filled with unadulterated fury. “You’re the father, Cyclone. You. Doesn’t take a genius to figure that out and you’re not completely stupid.” She held my gaze with her force of will alone. “I’m pregnant with your child, Cyclone.” If the tone of her voice and the angry fire she was spitting at me were accurate, she wasn’t happy about the situation. And not because she was pregnant. She didn’t want me as the father. Which suited me just fine. It did! Really!
I shook my head. “You got the morning after pill. Right?”
She rolled her eyes, clearly exasperated. Like she wanted to go, Duh, dumbass! “I did. But I was hungover the morning I snuck out of your room back to my own. So I didn’t go to the pharmacy until the next day. Apparently, the longer you wait, the less likely the pill is to work, and it already started at only sixty-five percent efficacy. I had little better than a fifty-fifty chance it would work, and I lost.”
Scrubbing a hand over my mouth, I sat on the couch next to Willa’s chair, never taking my eyes off her. “Pregnant.”
She stuck her chin up and her frown deepened. “Yep. Pregnant. You know. Knocked up. Bun in the oven. Preggers. Prego.”
When she would have continued, I shot her a look. “I know what it means, Willa.”
I waited for the panic I knew would follow to set in like a clue-by-four between my eyes. And waited. I stared hard at Willa, knowing she was right but not being able to process the whole situation. Her little pixie face reminded me of an angry Tinkerbell. I could all but see her arms at her sides, hands balled into fists as she stomped a tiny foot on the ground while fairy dust scattered around her.
A grin split my face. Holy shit. “Pregnant.”
“It’s not funny, you bastard!” She shot to her feet and kicked my shin. “Fucker!” Then she winced, not putting her foot back down. Obviously it had hurt her toes.
“I wasn’t laughing at you, honey. Honest.” My grin grew wider. “Come here.” I held out a hand to her.
“You’re delusional if you think I’m touching you right now. Not unless it’s to stab your eyes out with a spork!”
I stood and reached for her, not missing the fact that she didn’t pull back. Once she was in my arms, I rested my chin on the top of her head with my arms tightly around her. “I’m not making fun of you, Willa.” I tried to rein it in, as Data had told me to do. Tried to sound gentle and compassionate and understanding. “Not at all. I’m laughing at myself.”
“Why would you do that?” It was more of a demand than a question. She didn’t pull away or even look up and her words were muffled against my shirt.
“Because the thought of you pregnant with my baby didn’t send me running in a screaming frenzy to the fuckin’ hills? Because your daddy’s gonna kill my fuckin’ ass, then resurrect me so he can do it again? Several times. He’ll probably make an Olympic sport out of finding ways to make my death as miserable as possible. And you know what?” I waited until she looked up at me with angry, glistening eyes before speaking again. “It’s worth it.”
She frowned. “Why would you say that, Cyclone? You don’t want a woman. Everyone says so. Why would me having your baby make you smile?” The longer she talked, the more thunderous her expression became. “Is this some kind of power trip for you? ‘Cause your little guys can fucking swim?” She shoved out of my arms and stalked away, back toward the bedroom. “What a fucking asshole,” she muttered as she disappeared through the open door.
“This isn’t a power trip, Willa.” I tried to smother my grin. “I’ll be honest with you. I’m not sure why it makes me smile, you being pregnant with my baby, but it does.”