Head Hunter (City Shifters the Pack #3) - Layla Nash Page 0,117
to think through the last few minutes, before the world changed forever. He rested his chin on top of her head as Persephone sagged against him. “Okay. I’m having trouble keeping up, love. Let’s start at the beginning. You’re pregnant?”
“Yes,” she whispered. Her hand rested flat against his stomach, absently, like she didn’t even know it was there, and her eyes fluttered shut. “I took a home test. Well, I took two. They both said positive. I made a doctor’s appointment to be sure but they weren’t available for a couple of days.”
He nodded, squeezing her tighter for a moment. The next question was delicate, the kind of thing he knew he needed to ask, but with an answer that could devastate him to his core. “And how do you feel about that? Being pregnant, I mean.”
He damn near held his breath and braced for any number of responses.
Persephone’s hand curled against his stomach, gathering his shirt in her fist, then relaxed and smoothed over the fabric. Her voice came out very small, uncertain. “It’s overwhelming. I didn’t expect it to happen for years, if ever. And I didn’t expect... expect to be a single mother.”
He moved back so he could see her face. “What the hell do you mean, a single mother?”
“After everything that happened... You were shot because of me. They said you went crazy and could have been lost forever in your own head. I drive you crazy. A baby would just make that worse.”
Dodge caught her face in his hands and shook his head. “I thought we cleared this up already. You drive me crazy, yes, but in a whole other way. Persephone Lawson, I love you. I don’t care what happened. Even if you had shot me, I would assume you had a very good reason. But none of that was your fault.”
She frowned at him, apparently not convinced, and Dodge swallowed a laugh of sheer exasperation. “Persephone, didn’t you just say you wanted to stay with me? To be with me forever? Isn’t that what you said downstairs?”
Her cheeks reddened. “Yes.”
“Then why the hell would you think you’d ever be a single mother?”
“I didn’t know if...” She trailed off, then gestured down at her stomach. “It’s not like we planned it. I don’t want you to think I’m trying to trap you, if you don’t want to be with me.”
He groaned and pulled her closer, wrapping his arms around her. God help him, what did he need to do to convince her? Get her name tattooed across his forehead? His chest or arm for sure, the second he could find a good artist, but he’d brand every inch of his skin if that convinced her. Dodge dragged her mouth to his for a fierce kiss, wanting to mark her with his love. When he broke away, they both breathed a little raggedly. He rested his forehead against hers once more. “Listen to me, you maniac. I love you. I want to be with you always. I do not feel trapped. You couldn’t make me feel trapped if you tried.”
Persephone watched him, apparently still not convinced.
Dodge grumbled his irritation and kissed her throat, then planted another kiss at the hollow of her throat. “I love this part of you.” He moved down a little so he didn’t get a crick in his neck as he kissed down to her shoulder, then down her arm. “And this part.”
A hint of a smile curled her lips as she leaned back against the pillows. “Are you sure?”
He cocked an eyebrow and grumbled, catching the hem of her shirt and dragging it up so he could kiss her stomach. “I do enjoy everything about you, Persephone. Except...”
He trailed off and did his best to look pensive, and was rewarded with a sudden tension all through her. Persephone started to sit up. “What? Except what?”
He took the opportunity to remove her shirt. “Except your clothes. You wear far too many clothes.”
She made an indignant sound and smacked his shoulder, and he couldn’t help laughing. Dodge shook with it, with the release of so many days of misery and fear, and fell at her side. He threw his arm around her hips and dragged her closer, halfway underneath him, and just lay there enjoying the sensation of her body close to his. Persephone might have laughed a little as she lay quietly with him and Dodge’s laughter wheezed to a halt. His breath caught unexpectedly. He’d never expected his life to