Chapter 7

7

GREY

I turned on my side and propped my head in my hand. Lorelei looked like she was about to pass out. “Relax, baby,” I said in a soothing tone.

Her gaze whipped to my face, and she frowned. “Pregnant, alone, and in high school? I’ll be another freaking cliché. A statistic!”

“You won’t be alone,” I growled, sitting up next to her and pulling her into my lap. I focused on the conversation, trying hard not to let the feel of her naked ass on top of my bare cock distract me. “I would never abandon you or our baby. You’re mine.”

She softened a touch and rested her head on my chest. “I’m sorry, I shouldn’t have assumed. It’s just…the idea of being pregnant while I’m still in high school…”

“You graduate in the spring, right?” I asked.

“Yeah.”

“So, even on the off chance that I knocked you up the first time we had sex”—I couldn’t help hoping that was the case, but I kept that to myself—“you’ll have graduated by the time you’ve had the baby.”

“True. But…still…I’m supposed to go to college next fall…” She trailed off, and I studied her carefully.

“You don’t want to go?”

Lorelei shrugged. “I guess. I mean, I know it's better for me to have a degree. But Karina’s mom stayed home with her when we were growing up, and that’s all I’ve ever really wanted to do. But until I meet the right guy, it makes sense for me to ‘have the college experience,’ as my dad keeps telling me.” I smiled at her use of air quotes and sarcastic tone. My girl was adorable and definitely a firecracker. “I’d rather just continue to work as a tutor for little kids and go to school online.”

Lorelei couldn’t be any more fucking perfect for me if she tried. Now I just had to make her realize that she’d already met “the right guy.”

“Follow your heart, baby. Do what makes you happy,” I told her, brushing some of her hair away from her face.

Lorelei sighed and ran a hand through her golden-brown locks. “Well, we’ll see if I even graduate. Depending on how long we have to hide out.”

This could work out perfectly. I quickly crawled off the bed, then grabbed her hand and pulled her to her feet. I picked up my shirt from where it had landed on the floor and helped her put it over her head. Then I laced our fingers together. “I can help you with that, baby.”

I took her down to my Sanctuary and put her in the comfy, overstuffed chair I’d bought for her to relax in when I needed to work. Then I took a seat and started clicking away at the keys. After a few minutes, I turned the screen toward Lorelei and wiggled my eyebrows teasingly. “I can make sure you ace your last two classes, firecracker. Just say the word.”

Lorelei giggled, then her brow rose when she realized I wasn’t joking. “I want to earn my diploma, Grey. Not have it handed to me.”

I sighed and rolled my chair over so I was right in front of her. Taking her hands, I kissed the back of each one before meeting her beautiful green eyes. “I understand. But will you at least let me set you up with your classes online so that you don’t have to do an extra semester?”

She cocked her head to the side, staring at me quizzically. “They don’t offer online classes at my school.”

I grinned. “Sure they do. They just don’t advertise it. Will you let me do this for you? I’m happy to work down here with you anytime you need to study or do classwork.”

Lorelei’s lips curved into a smile, and she leaned in to kiss my cheek. “As long as you won’t get sick of me.” Her tone was light, but she couldn’t completely wipe the vulnerability from her expression.

“Never,” I said emphatically. “I will always want to be as close to you as possible. I’m a little possessive when something belongs to me.”

She giggled and rolled her eyes. I didn’t know how she could still doubt what was happening between us, but if she didn’t figure it out soon, she was gonna be tied to my bed with my head between her legs until I’d explained it properly and she accepted it.

“It would be wonderful to be able to do my classes without having to go to the school,” she said with a sweet smile.

“Besides,” I added flippantly as I rolled back to my computer. “High school or not, if you aren’t there in person, it doesn’t matter if you’re pregnant.”

Lorelei was quiet for a long time, so I eventually paused my tapping to turn and observe her. She was pressing her fingers against her lips, looking ill at ease.

“Would that be so bad, baby?”

“Would what be?” She double blinked, and I realized she’d been lost in thought.

“Having my baby. Would that be so bad?”

Her skin flushed, and for a moment, her eyes glittered happily, but the emotion quickly dimmed, the unease returning. “It’s not that. I want a houseful of kids and you…Grey, you’re going to be such an amazing father. But?—”

An alert started bleating loudly from several of the monitors on the wall, and I whipped around to see what had the system going nuts. “Shit.” I had eyes on a few key members of a group we suspected were peddling drugs near one of our night clubs. I grimaced and turned back to my girl. “I’m sorry, baby. I have to handle some club business.”

Lorelei nodded and stood, kissed my cheek and winked before heading up the stairs. “I think I’ll take a bath.”

Fuck. Fuck. Fuck . Sometimes, I hated my job.

This was the second time I’d had to send Lorelei upstairs due to the sensitive nature of what I was doing. Both times, she’d blown me away by being completely supportive and easy going about it. There would be a lot of those moments in our life, and I’d been worried that she would cry, or get angry, or threaten to leave me or whatever drama women came up with when they weren't getting their way.

I should have fucking known better. It was almost as if Lorelei had been created for me. She fit into every groove of my body and my life.

The alerts beeped again, dragging me out of my Lorelei-induced stupor, and I picked up my phone to call Mac.

Two hours later, I walked into our bedroom to find Lorelei reclined on the bed, reading a book. “Hey,” she said softly when she spotted me.

“I got your classes all set up, baby. You have all the information in your email.”

“Thank you.”

“Anything for you. I’m sorry I had to kick you out of the Sanctuary.”

Lorelei smiled as she turned off her e-reader and set it on the nightstand. “MC, FBI, CIA, whatever…I understand there are things I can’t know. I trust that you'll tell me if I need to know.”

I stared at her, lost in her smile, her beautiful eyes, her long, lithe body, and then my gaze landed on her belly. Yeah, I was gonna put a baby in that belly as soon as possible. The image of her naked body with a round, swollen stomach was almost enough to make me nut in my pants.

It surprised me when she didn’t bring up condoms again over the next few days, especially considering how often we fucked. But I wasn’t about to bring it to her attention. Not until I’d accomplished my goal.