Toasty (Cozy 2)

“Don’t,” he warns, but my body still heats. “You’re naked so I can’t not be hard, but it’s not the time.” He grabs my hand and we walk over to the bed. “Lie down,” he orders, pointing to the bed, and I fall back onto it. “Be careful,” he grunts, shaking his head.

I roll over and watch him walk into his closet for a few minutes before he comes back out in another pair of gray sweats. He still hasn’t said anything about me being pregnant and I guess me bursting into tears didn’t give him room to talk.

“I wasn’t crying because I’m pregnant,” I say when he makes it back to the bed and sits down. I sit up and look at him. I don’t want him to think I’m not happy about this, but I never thought about having a baby before and it was overwhelming. Now that I have one growing inside of me, it’s crazy how badly I want it.

“Were you going to tell me?” he asks.

“Of course!” I gasp. “I’d never keep that from you. I only found out the morning of Pippa’s wedding.” Then everything was a little bit of a whirlwind that I didn’t want to end.

“I wouldn’t have blamed you.” Kace’s eyes meet mine and my heart hurts for him as I crawl into his lap.

“Don’t say that.” I wrap my arms around his neck and look into his eyes.

“I’ve been an asshole to you.”

“This is true,” I agree, smirking.

“I’m sorry, Myra. I didn’t know what I was doing.”

“I don’t think either of us knew what we were doing.”

“That first day I saw you come in for an interview, I was captivated. I wanted you so I told them to hire you as my PA. I knew you’d be lovely to look at every day.” I smile because it’s kind of sweet. That explains how I got such a high-level job so quickly. “Then I wanted to touch you.”

“Why didn’t you?” I brush my nose against his as I enjoy hearing him talk about how he feels about me.

When I first started working for Kace, I wasn’t ready for him. I needed time to find myself and get Pippa and me on our feet. I think Kace needed time too because he doesn’t let anyone get close. The closest person to him is his cousin who has to push himself into his life.

“You worked for me.” He kisses each of my cheeks. “I was fighting myself. I wanted you to quit so I could have you, but you wouldn’t.”

“I did.” I remind him that he won that battle.

Although even when I did it, I think I knew Kace would come back for me. It’s why I hid out at my sister’s. It was my small way of getting back at him. I knew eventually he’d find me because he never stops until he gets what he wants. It’s how he’s gotten so far in life and it’s one of the many things I love about him. I wanted him to prove to me I was one of the things he’d fight for. Deep down that’s what I’d been waiting for, and when he showed up to my sister’s wedding I was done for.

“After me being an asshole to you. I went too far.”

“But we’re here.” I think maybe we both went a little too far.

“And you’re crying your eyes out.”

“I’m scared,” I admit. “I don’t want things to change but I do want them to change.” I let out a laugh because that sounds ridiculous. “I think I have pregnancy brain.” I don’t know how to explain this.

“I’ll be good to you. I love you so fucking much, Myra, give me a chance. I’ll be whatever you need,” he pleads, and my heart melts.

“That’s just it. I don’t want you to change. I love the grumpy you and the playful you. I thought I was already in love with you, and then you turn into this sweetheart on a dime. At every turn I’m finding something new about you and I fall deeper in love.” I want it all, every side of him. Especially the ones I know only I get.

“Nothing has to change.” He kisses my lips and I let out a soft sigh. It feels so good to be in his arms. I’m safe and taken care of and it’s how I always felt around him. It’s why I put up with his grumpy ass. He’s like a bear with a thorn in his paw, but he’s my bear.

“A baby changes everything.” I’ve never heard Kace talk about wanting a family. All he did was work. But I guess he built a secret dream house on the side when I wasn’t paying attention.

“Not really. We would have had kids sooner or later.” He lifts his eyebrows like this is a foregone conclusion.