Page 48 of Break Out

“Alexandra. She left when you showed up.”

He nodded. “Gotcha. You enjoy pissing off your Dad?”

“That’s random.”

“Volt doesn’t want you with me. Why not send me packing?”

I wriggled out from under him and sat up. “Believe it or not, the only people who have anything to do with this are me and you.” I hesitated – unsure if I should share so much. “It’s insane how attracted I am to you. I’ve never been like this and it’s not the pregnancy hormones. That night at Pi House… I could have spent all night with you and that was before we went to your room. I didn’t want it to end.”

He shifted to his side and stared up at me. “But you walked out.”

“Because goodbyes suck and I’d have embarrassed myself by being clingy or something weak like that.”

He chuckled. “I’d almost like to see you being clingy.”

“Anyway, you can go if you need to or you can stay. You don’t want fatherhood again, but as long as you aren’t going to ask or insist that I get rid of—”

He sat up. “Never.”

I nodded. “Okay. Then I’ll figure it out.”

“Fuck,” he hissed.

“What?”

He tipped his head back, the strong column of his throat tempting me. He looked at me. “I don’t want you to ‘figure it out.’ But I won’t be the reason another kid hates my guts when all I’m trying to do is keep my child safe.”

That made sense.

If there were an actual threat.

“You know, I’m hell on wheels when people threaten me, too.”

“Don’t be cute right now.”

“I’m not being cute. I’m nothing like Jordan’s mom.”

“What the fuck does that mean?” he demanded.

Uh-oh. I’d done it now.

“I heard you and Jordan talking yesterday.”

He cocked his head to the side. “You didn’t get near my camper yesterday.”

I pulled the sheet up and covered my chest – for some stupid reason, this wasn’t something I wanted to admit while naked. “Abby and I snuck around the back and were hanging out by the hitch.”

“Eavesdropping?”

My head wobbled, and I pressed my lips together. “It wasn’t cool. Hell, I don’t know why I let Aunt Abby lead me back there, but she insisted we get closer.”

His eyes narrowed. “You heard the whole conversation?”

I shook my head. “Just the part where Jordan wanted money, and you wanted him to know where his real dad happened to be.”

He had such a stony expression, it was equal parts admirable and disturbing. I suspected he was mad, but if so, he was damned good at hiding it. Or he had quiet anger, and that scared me the most.

My stomach growled, and he stared down at the sheet. “Let’s get you fed.”

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