Unexpected Fate

She opens her mouth to complain—I’m sure—but I stop her before she has a chance.

“I won’t waver on this, Dani. I just won’t. Not when it comes to you and our child’s safety. You can just think of it as us making up for lost time. Like it our not, I’m your new shadow, baby.”

Her face scrunches up, and I wait for her to speak, my fingers trailing over the soft skin of her back.

“I hate this. I hate feeling powerless and terrified to even look out the window, Cohen.”

“I know you do. But this shit will end. I won’t stop until I find out who has been making you feel like you aren’t safe. I won’t let anyone take you from me.”

We lie there in silence until she speaks again.

“Who do you think is doing this?” she whispers into the darkness.

“I’m not sure, but rest easy that I’ll find out.”

She nods her head against my shoulder and settles in deeper as if her body needs to get as close as possible to feel safe. I feel her stomach press against my side and smile into the darkness.

“A baby, huh?”

“Yeah,” she breathes. “I know we didn’t plan this, but I couldn’t be happier. Knowing that a part of us is cooking away in there gives me the biggest sense of completion I’ve ever felt. It helped me fill the void that your being gone had left, but it wasn’t until I had your arms around me again that I realized how right this feels.”

“My Dani-girl is having my baby.” I let that settle around us before another thought quickly takes its place. “Your father really is going to kick my ass.”

Her giggles float around us, and with a smile, I fall asleep. And for the first time in almost seven long months, I sleep peacefully.

COHEN DIDN’T LET ME OUT of his bed for two days. Of course, he kept me well fed and hydrated, but other than that, we spent the two days that followed his homecoming locked in his room with our bodies connected in every way possible.

The phone had long stopped ringing and it seemed that our family and friends were content to wait us out and give us the time we needed to become us after too long apart.

I asked him once between one of our long lovemaking sessions if he felt like it was weird that we came together so quickly. He laughed and told me that if we hadn’t been dancing around it for so long, I would have been his years ago. There was no doubt in my mind that I was right where I was meant to be.

“Dani,” I hear him call from the other side of his shower curtain. “I think they’ve given us as much space as we’re going to get. Your brother called to give me a heads-up that our parents should be here in about twenty minutes.”

Ugh. So much for staying wrapped up in each other.

“I’m surprised they lasted this long,” I mumble and rinse the shampoo from my hair.

“Me too,” he says, and I jump when I realize that he’s stepped into the shower with me.

“You just took a shower,” I say lamely.

“Yup,” he responds and takes my conditioner from my hand. “Turn.”

I do what he says and spin, giving him my back. I hear him groan as his free hand palms my cheek. “I love this ass,” he says and gives it a light slap.

“So I noticed.”

“We have twenty minutes, baby.”

I look over my shoulder at him and raise my brow in question, wondering where he’s going with this.

“I wonder how many times I can make you scream my name in that time.” He drops the conditioner, forgotten on the bottom of the tub, and pulls me against his hard, naked body.

Thirty minutes later, he has made me scream his name four times, and even while the front door is being pounded on by our expected visitors, he takes my body until I give him one more.

I glare at my father and continue to attempt to brush the tangles out of my wet hair. Since I didn’t use conditioner, the long locks have become almost unmanageable. My father, having noticed that we were both wet when we opened the door, hasn’t taken his eyes off Cohen.

Cohen, who I’ll press, hasn’t let me away from his side. When our parents filed in his doorway, I gave each of them a hug, and then he had his arm around my shoulders and my body pressed against his. I offered to get everyone something to drink and he just said no and pulled me onto his lap when he dropped down on the oversized chair in this living room.

Where I’m currently sitting, glaring at my father.

“Dani has agreed that it’s best if she took some time off work,” Cohen says to the room, and I snap my head to his.

“I did?”

“Sure you did,” he says, looking at me like I’ve lost my mind.

“I don’t remember that.”

“That’s because you’ve been busy,” he says with a wink.

I snap my eyes over to the corner where my father is standing with his arms crossed over his chest when I hear him growl. “Did you really just do that?” I snap at him.

“Axel,” Mom warns him.

Cohen brings his arm around my waist and rests his palm on my stomach, and I can’t even enjoy that, because once again, my father is acting like a dog, growling and all but frothing at the mouth.

“Seriously, Daddy!” I exclaim. “That’s a bit much.”

“Axel,” Mom tries again, walking over, placing her hands on either side of his face, and attempting to bring his gaze to hers.

He doesn’t budge though; his eyes stay locked on Cohen.

“Seriously?” she huffs. “You’re acting like a caveman, Axel Reid. Time to stop.”

Cohen seems to have a death wish, because his other hand moves from where it was lying against the armrest and his long fingers curl around one of my jean-clad thighs.

Daddy moves like he’s about to push off the wall only to stop when my mom pushes against his chest. I look over at Cohen’s parents, and my eyes widen when I see his mom wink at me and giggle softly, which earns her a squeeze by Greg.

“As I was saying,” Cohen continues. “Dani is going to be taking some time off work. I’ve already talked to Sway, and in light of the other day’s events, he agrees that is the best move. I’ve already talked to Chance and let him know that, as soon as Dani finds a house she feels works for the baby and us, we’ll be moving out. I say we because I don’t plan on her going anywhere until said house is found. He also sees the wisdom in this plan.”

“The fuck you say,” Daddy says, finally having enough and snapping. He pushes past my mother so swiftly that she almost tumbles. His arm shoots out and he helps her steady her footing, never once removing his heated gaze off Cohen. “The fuck. You say!”