Chapter 10

10

HAYDEN

W e spent the next couple of days in our own little cocoon, getting to know more about each other and fucking like rabbits. I was almost sorry when the blizzard finally began to let up. Even though I was excited about moving forward with our life, I’d miss having her all to myself.

I'd had to share her attention from time to time, which annoyed me, but I wanted her to already feel like a part of the family when we walked out of the cabin.

My parents had called once a day, ignoring me and spending all their time fussing over Laurel.

My phone vibrated again while I was slowly stripping Laurel out of her clothes as we kissed our way to the bathroom to make good use of the tub.

Growling in frustration, I yanked the device from my pocket and tossed it onto the bed, determined to ignore the call.

“It could be important,” Laurel insisted against my lips.

“Nothing is more important than you,” I murmured.

But she pulled back and gave me a pointed look. “That’s sweet, but what if something’s happened to your parents?”

I scoffed. “In the hour since the last time they interrupted my plans to get you naked?”

Laurel giggled, and I pulled her back in for another kiss. When she pulled back this time, she was frowning. I sighed. “Fine. I’ll?—”

“That’s my phone,” she murmured, her brow drawing down. I released her so she could scamper over to the nightstand and grab her cell.

“Oh! It’s Gwynne!” She hit the accept button and grinned at her friend when the call connected. “Merry Christmas!”

Gwynne chuckled. “Merry belated Christmas, I guess. I didn’t want to call in case you were conserving battery, but when you sent me the text that you had power, I figured it was safe.”

“Absolutely,” Laurel replied. “How was your holiday?”

I sighed dramatically as I went about gathering our clothes, and Laurel shot me an exasperated frown. When I winked at her, she bit back a smile, and her cheeks bloomed with color.

“Why are you blushing?” Gwynne asked. “Is someone there with you? Oh, crap! Did I interrupt a holiday hookup?”

She bit her lip, looking unsure. I didn’t understand her confusion. I had certainly made it clear that I wanted a future with her.

“Not a hookup exactly, just a…well…um…” She glanced up to see me scowling at her.

Gwynne gasped. “Oh, sorry. You probably don’t want to talk about it right now. That’s okay. We can talk later once you are on your way to Snow Valley. When are you going to be headed that way?”

“I’m not sure,” Laurel hedged, avoiding eye contact with me.

My temper began to rise when she didn’t tell Gwynne that she wouldn’t be leaving. I stalked over, stopping right in front of her.

“Listen, Gwynne. Um. I have to go, but I’ll call you as soon as I know my plans.”

“Okay, well…I’ll talk to you later. Are you sure you’re okay?”

“Yes, I’m just…um…I have to go. Bye!” She ended the call with a fake, bright smile on her face.

“What the fuck, Laurel?” I growled. “A hookup?”

“I didn’t say you were a hookup,” she argued weakly.

“But you knew that’s what she would think when you hung up, and you didn’t correct her.”

“I…” She screwed up her face in frustration. “I didn’t know how to describe what we are, Hayden. We haven’t exactly talked about that, defined what we are.”

“You’re mine,” I stated, thinking that was enough of an explanation. “And what the hell do you mean, you’re not sure when you’ll be leaving?”

She jumped to her feet and planted her hands on her hips, glaring right back at me.

I had to force myself not to focus on the way her tits bounced with each of her choppy breaths and the fire lighting up her green orbs. She looked fucking magnificent, but I couldn’t get distracted by how sexy she was until I’d made her understand that she wasn’t fucking going anywhere.

“I have a job,” she snapped. “Places to go, things to do.”

I took a step closer, leaning down to close the gap between our faces, bringing us practically nose to nose.

“You are not going anywhere,” I seethed.

“That’s not your decision.”

I narrowed my eyes. “It sure as fuck is if you’re talking about leaving.”

Laurel sucked in a frustrated breath, then shouted, “You might be in charge in the bedroom, but you aren’t in charge of my whole life. You don’t get to decide what I do next.”

Crossing my arms over my chest I looked pointedly at her flat stomach.

My jaw locked, and I gritted out, “I do when you’re pregnant.”

Laurel gasped, and shock registered on her pretty face. “P-p-pregnant?” she stuttered. “I can’t be pregnant.”

I smirked. “Of course you could, baby. I’ve been fucking you without protection for the last four days straight.”

Gently but firmly, I grasped her chin and held her still so our eyes were locked. “Every chance I got.”

Laurel tried to shake her head, but I was still holding it, so she just stared at me as she absorbed what I’d said. “Every chance…wait.” Her jaw dropped, and she double blinked. “You…you’ve been trying to knock me up?”

“Now she gets it,” I murmured.

Her brow furrowed, and she bit her bottom lip for a second before asking, “Why would you want to get me pregnant?”

I gently cupped her face and got lost in her green pools. “Besides the fact that you’ll look sexy as fuck walking around with a baby bump and will be an amazing mother?” I cocked my head to the side and admitted, “I wanted to make sure you didn’t argue with me about getting married.”

Laurel didn’t say anything as she considered my reasoning. Then her mouth turned down, and she scowled at me. “You’ve been trying to get me pregnant to trap me into marriage?” she accused.

My voice and expression were completely unapologetic when I answered. “You bet your pretty little ass.”

Laurel gasped, clearly outraged. “That’s…that’s so…so NEANDERTHAL…ish!” She yelled the last part, clearly distressed over it, so I bit back my smile.

Instead, I just shrugged. I had zero regrets.

She yanked at my hands, and I let her take a few steps away, sensing that she needed a little space to process.

After a few minutes, she raised her gaze to mine, her teeth practically chomping on her bottom lip. Finally, she put her hands out to the side. “Why?” she whispered.

My brow furrowed, I was confused for a second, until I realized what she was asking.

“Why do I want to marry you?”

Laurel nodded.

“I would think it was obvious,” I muttered. I’d told her countless times that she was mine, and I wouldn’t let her go. Didn’t she understand how much I loved her?

She huffed and crossed her arms over her chest. “You’ve talked about the future, I guess. But you haven’t exactly asked me to stay.”

In a millisecond, I was standing in front of her again. I wrapped my arms around her and gazed at her with a soft smile.

“You’re right, baby. I should have just come right out and told you. I love the fuck out of you, Laurel. I won’t ever let you go. A baby and a ring on your finger might ensure I can keep you, but they’re just a perk of loving you.”

“You love me,” she breathed.

“More than I can possibly express.”

“I love you, too, Hayden,” she said softly. “But that doesn’t mean you can take control and just do whatever you want.”

I chuckled and brushed a kiss over her lips before meeting her eyes again.

“Baby, I don’t want to control your life.” She raised a skeptical eyebrow, so I added, “For the most part. I just want to be a part of it. To be a team. To make decisions together.”

“So no more trying to knock me up?” she queried suspiciously.

I rolled my eyes and smirked. “Don’t pretend you haven’t been hoping it worked since the moment you thought it was possible.”

Laurel huffed, then gave up pretending and smiled brightly. “I’d love to have your baby.”

“And marry me,” I added.

“Well…”

“That wasn’t a question, Laurel,” I growled.

Her eyes narrowed. “Is that making a decision together?”

“Yup.” I let the P pop, then grinned.

She sighed. “How so?”

“Because you get to decide when we get married.”

“I do?” A smile played around her lips, but she watched me intently, clearly waiting for me to elucidate.

“Absolutely. As long as it’s by New Year’s.”

Laurel gasped. “You’re giving me a few days to plan a freaking wedding?!”

I pretended to think it over, then nodded firmly. “You’re right. That’s too fast.” I beamed at her. “See? We’re making this decision together.”

“Mm-hmm.”

“Four weeks should be plenty of time.”

“Valentine’s Day,” she countered.

I wanted to argue, but she wasn’t being unreasonable. And I needed to pick my battles.

“Okay, baby. By Valentine’s Day,” I agreed before taking her mouth in a kiss that had us both shaking with need.

“So…” Laurel stared at my chest, her cheeks turning pink. “Now that I’ve agreed to marry you, does that mean you don’t need to trap me by getting me pregnant anymore?”

Deep laughter burst from my chest, and I scooped her into my arms, heading straight for the bed. “Don’t forget the “sexy as fuck belly” and the “amazing mother” reasons I have for knocking you up.”

“Oh, well, then I guess we better get back to working on that baby.”

I grinned and tossed her on the bed. “Baby, if you’re already pregnant, we’ll still need to practice for the next one.”

I crawled onto the bed and covered her body with mine. “I love you, Laurel.”

Her blinding smile warmed me all over. “I love you, too.” Her expression turned sly. “And I know what I’m going to ask Santa for next year.”

“Oh? What’s that?”

“To be snowed in for Christmas.”