He still held the picture of their baby, and his expression couldn’t be called anything but awe-filled and expectant. Could it really be so easy for him to accept all this?
“I know there are probably doubts in your head on whether the baby is yours, and I’ll understand and won’t take offense if you want a test once the baby is born, but—”
Before she could finish her sentence, he had his mouth on hers and was kissing her breath away. He broke the kiss far too soon and leaned back. His hand was on her cheek, and she was so stunned by the play of events that she was speechless.
“I thought it would go a lot differently.”
He shook his head and smiled.
“So, you’re not upset or think I’m lying?” There were a lot of males out there who would not be having this kind of reaction to a bomb like this being dropped.
“February.” Just hearing him say her full name was an auditory orgasm. She shouldn’t be thinking about sex right now, but here she was, inhaling his scent and being surrounded by all his masculinity that it made it impossible not to. “Kitten, I asked you to come out here, because I wanted to talk to you about starting a relationship. I want you, and the fact that you carry my child only solidifies the fact that you are mine.”
She curled her toes at the declaration. The heavy feel of his hand on her belly shocked her to the point she had to grip the armrest of her chair to steady herself. He moved back to his seat a moment later, and she was left feeling utterly confused but happy. He certainly wasn’t the type of male many talked about.
He might have this hard, devil-may-care attitude, be overly large and intimidating, and have this aura about him that made everyone move out of his way, but she had just seen the soft side of Charlie Wylde.
“Can I keep this?” He held the picture loosely between his fingers, and her heart palpated at that small request. She had another of the same image at home. She nodded. The smile he gave her was filled with so much pleasure, so much happiness, that one would think she had just given him the world.
“I’m just…” She looked back at the patrons in the corner. They were an older human couple with graying hair and bright smiles. Could it actually be possible that Charlie wanted a life-long commitment with her?
“Thinking too hard.” Smiling over at his words, she nodded. “Listen, nothing in life that is worth anything should be wasted on the what-ifs, and Ary, you are one of those important things in life. Hell, I can’t explain why out of every female in the world my bear and my human want you like our next breath, but I know it feels damn good, and I am not going to let that go.” Could he sense what his words were doing to her? “Since the moment we came into each other’s life, it has been a whirlwind of emotion and action. I know you feel the same way, felt it when I touched you, saw it when you trembled, and smelled it as the delicious aroma of everything that is you.”
He was going to make her cry with his gently poetic words. Here was this monster of a male, able to crush anyone who stood in his path like a toothpick, and yet he spoke to her as if she were a delicate flower needing to be watered and placed in the sun.
Everything he said was right and had that ball of dread in her belly dissipating until there was only pleasurable warmth that filled every empty spot in her.
It had only taken a few hours under him, a few weeks of worry and angst, and now an hour spent in his presence and listening to his sweet words for her to want to give every part of herself to this shifter.
“I have no doubt the child you carry is mine. I can smell my scent permeating from you, as if your body knows it is in the presence of its mate.” He spoke fiercely, like he had known this would be the outcome.
Male shifters were known to be territorial, possessive, and all-around alpha in everything they did, but Charlie was in a whole other class. He put every man she had been with to shame.
“Even if you decide you’re not ready for something between us, I want you to know I will always be there for you and our baby. Do you understand me, February?” His blue eyes never left hers until she felt herself nodding in response.
She might not have known much about him, but deep in her heart, she knew he spoke the truth. If there was one rumor she heard about Charlie that she would believe over all else, it would have to be the one that he took care of his family above all others, and that his word was his livelihood.