I stared down at my hands. A possibility… How much did we want to bet that having six men come inside of you would increase those chances?
“Angel?” Stratton pulled my attention. I met his eyes, which were filled with a knowing light. Honestly, I wasn’t nearly as upset or anxious as I would have assumed… Instead there was a cautious curiosity and hope in my chest.
I knew it was highly unlikely, but it didn’t stop the corners of my mouth from twitching up.
“You really need to get checked out,” the doctor said to Dermot as I tuned back into the present moment. “We can’t tell if any debris or anything else has gotten in the cut from just cleaning it.”
“I said no.” Dermot’s voice was hard, and I turned my head to really get a good look at him.
“Dermot,” I chided mildly, the concern clear in my voice. I reached out a hand and he walked over, allowing me to wrap my arms around him. “Please let them make sure you’re okay?”
Dermot sighed in resignation, sitting on the bed with me as the doctor closely examined his wounds. I exhaled in relief as Dermot’s fingers intertwined with mine. I could feel that the others knew where my head had gone about the birth control thing, but I didn’t have time to analyze their expressions. It was painful, having all those intense gazes on me when I didn’t have any answers.
When King finally came over, switching places with Stratton, his entire body was vibrating with a dangerous tension as he rested his lips against my forehead, holding me close.
“We are talking after this,” he murmured.
I nodded, feeling oddly calm as I looked up at him. “Promise me that whatever you have planned, you will include me in it.”
King’s eyes filled with caution. “Princess…”
“No,” I stated firmly. “If I am part of this, I am part of it. Fully. They tried to hurt Dermot, and I am not okay with that. I want it over, King. Do you understand?”
I had never felt more clear-headed in my life, and honestly a large part of that was because of this shift of perspective I’d undergone, one that now included the possibility of me being pregnant. Something that was unlikely, but it didn’t matter—it had me thinking about the future and how much there was to focus on instead of the darkness that had filled my mind with insecurities.
“I understand, princess,” he murmured.
It took maybe another forty-five minutes, including a call with my parents, for us to be discharged, and when I finally stood up, I realized how dizzy I was. Yates caught me against him, lifting me into a bridal hold, and I looked up to find his gray eyes nearly metallic in an effort to keep any emotion from seeping into his gaze.
“You okay?” I asked softly.
“I am not okay, Dahlia. I am very far from okay. I don’t want to scare you, bunny, but I plan on absolutely slaughtering everyone of these motherfuckers tonight.”
When would they learn?
That didn’t scare me at all.
* * *
Dahlia Aldridge
“So…” I said, trailing off, hoping someone would pick up the thread and start the discussion for me.
I was tucked into the couch in the office as King walked back and forth, clearly in thought. Everyone was in an odd place, and I couldn’t blame them. I knew we needed to talk. Hell, there was a lot we needed to do, but the main one was to talk about this thing that the doctor had decided to tell us. You know, the important thing where I had been screwed seven ways to Sunday and I’d missed some doses of my contraception.
“So?” Lincoln offered me what was almost an amused look, a single brow arching in interest.
I guess no one was going to help me out with this. “We should probably talk about what the doctor said.” I nibbled my lip.
“Which part?” Dermot asked, scrolling through something on the computer.
I looked around the room, and not one of them looked concerned in the least… Crap, they had actually been serious. They really were not bothered by the idea of having kidsnow. Well, that was…that made this a lot easier.
“The part where I could possibly be pregnant because I missed some pills,” I explained, King producing a noise that sounded far too pleased with that idea.
“But we knew that,” Lincoln said. “It’s not like any of us were purposefully careful in trying to prevent that outcome.”
“I mean, I think this is sort of cool. It’s like a surprise.” Sterling shrugged. “Could happen, could not.”