Page 11 of Fearless

“What the hell are you doing up there?”

His deep, domineering voice startled me, causing my hands to lose their grip. I yelped, arms windmilling, as I braced to meet the unforgiving floor below. Instead, Alec’s muscled arms wrapped around my belly, pulling me back into his hard chest. I relaxed for a few seconds before reality returned and I struggled out of his hold.

Whirling around with my hands on my hips, thankful the dizziness had passed, I barked, “Jesus, Hot Shot. That isnotthe way to get a girl to fall for you.”

I realized my mistake the instant his scowl turned into a glorious smirk.Damn, my mouth was gonna get me in trouble.The man was as gorgeous as he was infuriating. Six foot three inches of broody, alpha male with a side of don’t-fuck-with-me attitude was apparently the lethal combination which held the key to my heart.

“What are you doing here, Alec? I’m working.”

“You’ve been avoiding me and I have it on good authority your shift ends in ten minutes.”

“Who’s authority?”

“Pete’s.”

“Damn meddling old man,” I mumbled.

“Will you please come with me to talk for a bit, Firefly?”

See what I mean? One minute he’s barking at me, the next he’s sweet, almost vulnerable. Tack on the fact the nickname he’d given me turned my insides to mush; I was putty in his hands.

“Fine,” I acquiesced. “But let’s go somewhere a little more private. The town gossip train doesn’t need to be all up in our business just yet.”

“I’ve got the perfect place.”

Fifteen minutes later, we pulled into a small park used mainly by the locals. It wasn’t much—a playground and a few pavilions with picnic tables—but it was completely abandoned this time of night. Now that the days had begun to get warmer, it would be filled with people from sunrise to sunset. It was basically Mountain Grove’s version of Central Park, only on a much smaller scale and without the zoo.

“Stay put,” Alec muttered after putting the car in park and opening his door.

Biting my tongue to refrain from lashing out at his tyrannical command, I took off my seat belt, then waited for him to walk around the hood of the car. My body felt electrified, something I’d always experienced in his presence, however, considering the topic of our upcoming discussion, my nerves were only adding to its intensity.

My door opened, reality crashing in, as I took his outstretched hand. He pulled me from the car, never relinquishing his hold, and led me to the small playground situated in the middle of the park. The sun had already set, however there was still enough light in the multicolored sky to be able to see.

Taking a seat on one of the swings, I began to move my legs back and forth slowly, not trying to pick up speed or height. Alec stood a few feet away with his hands in his front pockets. Neither of us spoke, though it wasn’t an awkward kind of silence.

“I’m going to be a dad.”

His statement could barely be heard above the rustling of leaves on the trees blowing in the gentle breeze.

“Yeah,” I responded just as quietly.

“I’m making an awful lot of assumptions here, so I should ask. Do you want to keep the baby?”

“Yeah.”

“Okay, you’re freaking me the fuck out with your one-word answers, Quin. I really need you to give me a little more.”

I snorted. “Sorry. I’m still in shock, I think.”

“Me too.”

Silence once again surrounded us like a blanket. Clearing my throat, I opened my mouth to speak but he beat me to it.

“I’ve thought about it a lot over the past few days.” He moved in front of me, stopping the forward momentum of the swing before squatting down until our eyes met. “There was an attraction between us, long before that night.”

Instinctively, I shook my head, but he stopped the movement, grasping my chin between his fingers.

“Don’t deny it, Quin. We both know it would be a lie.”

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