Calista

It was hard to believe Xander let me escape his office so easily. I’d figured he’d put up a fight, figuratively and quite possibly also literally, considering how well he’d sparred against me. Then again, the gleam in his eyes when I’d turned back to look at him through the glass doors had me thinking he had his reasons for letting me go. I had a feeling the tricky bastard thought he was going to convince me to do everything his way. The scariest thing was, I was starting to wonder if he might be right about that. I tossed and turned, worrying about it all night.

Once I’d cooled off and realized what I’d actually said, I regretted the way I’d told him it was none of his business. I couldn’t believe I’d been so horrible to him. My only defense was that I’d been thrown completely off balance by the surge of fear, mixed with frustration and attraction, running through my system at that moment. Nobody had ever managed to pull such a wide range of emotions out of me the way Xander did. I was completely unaccustomed to feeling so much all at once, and I’d handled it badly. Really, fucking badly.

Heading back to his offices the next morning, I knew I owed him an apology. A fucking huge one.

Kicking off my first day at work by telling my boss I was sorry for being such a bitch to him because I completely lost my mind at the idea that he might have knocked me up wasn’t exactly how I’d pictured starting my new career. Hell, the possibility of being pregnant wasn’t a topic I’d ever imagined I’d have to discuss with a guy at all, and the circumstances of my current work situation only made it more complicated.

The morning after pill should be the obvious choice considering everything. And yet, somehow it wasn’t. If anyone had asked me how I’d react to the idea of being pregnant a couple of months ago, the answer would have been simple because it just wasn’t on my radar at all. I’d been completely focused on my career, with no plans to get involved with a guy, let alone have a baby.

Then I got shot, and everything changed. I’d been in the spy game long enough to know when it was time to get out. It was still a tough decision to make, but it had been the right one for me. It was also the choice that put me in the right place at the right time to meet Xander, and even with all the craziness from yesterday, I didn’t regret what had happened between us.

As I pushed through the doors to Gray Security, it was as if I conjured him up out of my thoughts. He strode out of his office and straight towards me, with another hot guy right behind him. If I didn’t know better, I’d think Xander had a Calista radar because he didn’t even pause in his steps or need to change direction.

“Shit. Fuck. Damn,” I mumbled to myself, spotting his assistant at her desk and another guy coming down the hallway, presumably just after finishing up in the gym since he was wearing athletic shorts, a T-shirt, and was rubbing his dark hair with a towel.

“Morning, baby,” Xander greeted me, blocking everything else from my vison as his head bent low so he could drop a kiss on my lips.

“So much for not being blatant about us,” I muttered, making him chuckle. He didn’t seem the least bit concerned to see me glaring up at him. He just offered me a confident grin as I stepped away from him.

He gestured to the guy with him. “I don’t think you’ve met Quinn. He’s one of the best here, and he’s engaged to Weston’s sister, Jenna.”

Evie had introduced me to Weston and Aspen when I’d been in Atlanta for a quick house hunting trip the month before I moved here. I grinned. “Ah yes, I believe Weston mentioned something about the fucker who does unspeakable things to his baby sister.”

Quinn laughed. “Guilty as charged.”

“Great, now you’ve met,” Xander interrupted impatiently. “Excuse us.”

Xander put his hand on my lower back and steered me toward his office. His assistant looked like she was about to have a breakdown. I took pity on her and stepped forward to say hello.

“Good morning, Jessa.” I smiled at her. Her eyes skittered back and forth between Xander and me a few times before her shoulders relaxed slightly and she offered me a little grin back.

“Morning, Miss Lewis.”

“Calista, please.”

“Umm, okay.” She shifted in her seat nervously. “I have some paperwork for you to fill out.” She dug through a stack of folders on her desk, almost knocking them over before Xander grew impatient and went to the filing cabinet behind her to yank open a drawer. He pulled out a manila file and handed it to her. She shoved it towards me like she thought it was going to explode in her hands or something. “If you could get most of it back to me by tomorrow, that would be great. But I’d like the contact information this morning, if that’s okay.”

“Sure, but I’ll have to change most of it soon since I’m going apartment hunting this weekend.”

“Oh, okay. That’s fine, I guess.” Her gaze darted down at the folder and then back up to my face. “My grandmother lives in a great neighborhood, and the house next door to her just went up for sale. It’s super convenient to work, too.”

“It’s sweet of you to mention it, but I don’t want the hassle of a house. I’m not used to being around to do maintenance stuff because I used to travel a lot for work, so I never needed to learn how to do that stuff. An apartment or condo will work better for me.”

“There are a couple of open units in my building,” the dark-haired guy offered, having made his way down the hall and into the reception area. His eyes scanned up and down my body as he offered me a cocky smile. “Or if you’re looking for a roommate, you could just move in with me.”

“Shut the fuck up, Reid. And go put on some real clothes, dammit,” Xander growled at him. I felt his fingers wrap around my upper arm, and Jessa looked like she was about to have a panic attack as she stared at us with wide eyes. I let him lead me into his office without putting up a fight. He might have won the little battle on the mat the day before, but that didn’t mean he was going to win all of them. But he didn’t have to know that. Not yet, anyway.

“That’s not quite how I pictured this morning going,” I sighed after he shut the door behind us.

“Fuck,” he groaned, running his hands through his dark hair and making it look like he’d just rolled out of bed. “This is going to be a lot harder than I thought. There’s no fucking way I’m going to be able to stand by and watch as my guys flirt with you. Not even on my best day, which today most definitely isn’t because I barely slept last night. It only took one damn night for me to get used to having you in my arms.”

“I didn’t sleep well, either,” I admitted softly.

He moved behind me and wrapped his arms around me. “I should have done it.”

“Done what?” I leaned against him, feeling myself relax for the first time since I walked out yesterday.

“It took everything I had in me not to break into your hotel room last night. If I’d known you needed me, I wouldn’t have held back. But with the way you stormed out of here yesterday, I figured you needed a little time to adjust.”

“I did,” I sighed.

His arms tightened. “I understand, or at least I’m trying to. But never again, Calista. If we have a problem, we’re going to hash it the fuck out right away. There won’t be any going to bed angry, or without each other, in this relationship.”

“I wasn’t angry when I went to bed.” Even though he couldn’t see my face, I closed my eyes as I opened myself up to him. I might be a badass when it came to my job, but not so much when it came to being emotionally vulnerable. “It was guilt for how I reacted. For what I said to you. I’m so sorry.”

“Calista. Baby,” he sighed, turning me in his arms and cupping my jaw in his palms to turn my face up. “Open those fucking gorgeous brown eyes and look at me.”

I did as he asked, and the soft look on his face made me want to cry. “I’m not going to ask the doctor for the morning after pill,” I blurted out. “I’m going to go in and see her, though. If we’re going to keep on doing this, then I need to do something about birth control. For the future. In case I’m not already pregnant.”

“There’s no if about it, Calista. We’re definitely going to keep having sex." My lips parted, but he didn’t give me the chance to argue before he swooped down and claimed my mouth in a demanding kiss. One that left me almost breathless by the time he lifted his head again. “Often.”

“You’re too damn sexy for my own good,” I grumbled.

“I promise to make it up to you.” His dark eyes twinkled with humor. “With as many orgasms as you want.”

“I’m so fucked,” I whispered.

“You’re going to be.”

I made a mental note to stock up on condoms since we wouldn’t know if I was pregnant for a couple more weeks. At the pace we were going, if he hadn’t already knocked me up, he could do it a million times over before then.