Page 7 of More Bite than Bark

If she never had sex with her fiancé how could she be pregnant?Then it hit him.His heart seemed to hammer in his chest.Two months ago.He stared at her, not sure what to do or say.

She turned to look at him.She didn’t say anything but nodded, tears pooling in her eyes.

“It’s mine?”

She nodded slowly as if not sure how he would react.One tear spilled out of her eye and trailed silently down her cheek.

Hex’s breath caught in his throat.Elle, the person he knew was the only one he wanted, was carrying his child.He wrapped both arms around her and pulled her against him, her back pressed against his chest as he hugged her tight.

But what if she doesn’t want it?What if she’s planning to abort?

The thought made his entire body flash cold, and he buried his face in her neck for a moment as she sat stiff in his arms.Not fighting, but also not relaxing into him like she normally would.

After a moment, he lifted his head and eased his hold around her middle, but didn’t release her.

“What are you going to do?”

She laughed, a dry, humorless laugh that made his heart ache for her.

“Do?I have no freaking clue.I was so stunned I nearly married a man I don’t love while pregnant with another man’s child.”She leaned forward.

Hex didn’t know if she needed to move or if she wanted to get away from him.It didn’t matter, he released her, but kept an eye on her as she got up and began to pace back and forth past the foot of the bed.He worried that she was going to exhaust herself, but kept his mouth shut.

Sometimes she needed to burn off the energy, the nerves, or he knew she’d never sleep.She made several passes past the bed, remaining silent.He wanted to ask what she was thinking, what was going through her head, but he let her be.She would share when she was ready.He just needed to be patient.While he waited, he pulled out his phone and sent a couple of messages.

He told Cypher to check out one Michael Anderson.To find everything there was to find on him.There was something off about the man.He’d been dating Elle for over a year, and he had been the one to insist on no sex?In Hex’s mind, either he was gay or he had a woman on the side.The first, Hex didn’t give a shit about, the second was proof he didn’t deserve Elle.

Hex was about to speak up, to at least give her something to think about, even if she didn’t answer him, when a knock sounded on the door.

“You expecting someone else?”

Elle nodded.“I ordered a pizza,” she said, heading for her purse.

“I got it.”Hex swung his legs off the bed and went to the door.

“I need to pay for it,” she sounded hurried.

“I said I got it.”He reached for his wallet as he checked the peep hole, then opened the door when he spotted the kid who couldn’t be more than nineteen or twenty in a pizza shop uniform.

“How much?”Hex asked, pulling enough cash from his wallet to cover the amount the kid gave him and a generous tip.He handed over the cash and took the pie, thanking the kid before turning to face Elle, closing the door with his heel as he moved.He hadn’t realized how hungry he was until he opened the door and smelled the pizza.The scent of the pepperoni teased his senses and made his stomach rumble.

“Come on, you’ll feel better after you eat.”He set the box on the small desk near the window and flipped it open.

“We don’t have any plates or flatware,” she said as she approached.

He looked at her, lifting one brow.

“What were you planning to do before I got here?”

“I was just going to eat out of the box.But I can’t do that now.”

“Why not?”He knew he was scowling but she was making no sense.

“Because I’m not alone,” Elle said as if it was obvious.

“Sugar.I’ve seen all of you.I’ve tasted all of you.I can stand to see you eat pizza with your hands.”

She stared at him wide-eyed for a moment.He didn’t know if she didn’t believe him or what was going on in her head.He suspected most of what was going on inside there had little do with pizza and more about everything else that had happened today.