A Baby for the Bear (Wylde Brothers 1)

He ordered the biggest burger they had, a double order of fries, and a side salad. Ary supposed a man of his height and weight, especially concerning his profession, would need a lot of calories. The waiter left, and a moment of silence filled the space between them.

“Only a salad?” he prompted and brought his glass of water to his mouth.

She shrugged. “I’m not all that hungry.” The sound of the couple on the other side of the patio seemed a lot louder than it had been only moments before. “So, um….” She started to pick at her napkin, and even if he hadn’t been a shifter and able to smell her unease, her twitchy movements would have been loud and clear.

“Hey.” He reached across the table and took her hand in his. The heavy weight of his palm settling over hers had the effect of grounding her. “I know this must be awkward and all after we slept together.” The corner of his mouth curved up, and heat spread up her neck and to her cheeks.

All it took was him mentioning what they had done in the most non-descriptive way and a small smile, if it could even be called that, and she was ready to push everything off the table and beg him to take her right there. She opened her mouth, but he started talking again.

“You’re probably wondering why I called you after waiting so long.”

Actually, that had not been what she thought at all. That hadn’t even crossed her mind.

“I’ll be straight and just tell it like it is, since we are both adults, and beating around the bush is not my style.” She swallowed and didn’t know why that ball of dread in her stomach started to grow at an astounding rate. “I freaked about… well, you know, but then after I watched you leave that night, I haven’t been able to get you out of my mind.”

He let go of her hand and leaned back in the chair. He didn’t speak, but she could hear him breathing and see the rise and fall of his massive chest.

“I have always just stayed to myself, knowing I would never need anyone to live my life with.”

The sound of her heart seemed so incredibly loud, and the feel of it pounding in the base of her throat made it hard to swallow. He leaned forward again and took hold of both her hands.

“In all of my forty years of existence, I have never wanted a female the way I want you.” His blue eyes bore into hers, and she swallowed past the lump. “I know this is probably pretty heavy, but I have done a lot of thinking and know that if you’ll give me a chance, I’d like to show you that we can be good together.”

Ary licked her lips and removed her hands from his. She swore a flash of hurt crossed his face, but a millisecond later, it was gone, and that stoic, hard mask was back in place. His jaw clenched tight, and he leaned back in his chair.

Well, it was now or never. She bent down and grabbed the small black-and-white picture tucked into the side pocket of her purse.

Straightening back up, she stared into his face for a suspended moment before reaching across the table and handing the picture to him. He took it while keeping eye contact, and Ary was shocked by how her hands shook so forcefully. Placing them in her lap she waited to see him lower his gaze to the sonogram picture of their baby.

When he did, the world stopped, time stilled, and there was nothing aside from that one, tense moment. Would he toss the picture back in her face, call her a liar, and say the child she carried wasn’t his, or would he accept it and actually want to go through this journey with her? He looked up at her then back at the picture.

“February….” She watched as his throat worked when he swallowed. He kept looking between her and the picture. Although their child looked like a tiny dot right now, in just a few months, they would be able to tell the sex and whether their child would be a bear or ocelot shifter.

Before either could say anything else, their food was brought out. Once they were alone again, she lifted her gaze back to Charlie’s and saw him staring at the photo again.

“I found out about a week ago that I was pregnant, but I should have told you that night you dropped me off at my car that it was only days before I was fertile.” Taking a deep, steadying breath, she pressed on. “I want you to know that I don’t make it a habit of going home with men I don’t know and sleeping with them.” Ary looked down, suddenly unable to keep eye contact. “I was trying to work up the courage to tell you, but as if we were on the same wavelength, you called me.” When she forced herself to look at him, a gasp left her at the fact that he was right in front of her on his knees.