Page 35 of The Alpha's Surrogate

He had a few theories for her sudden lack of interest. The first was that it hadn’t been as beautiful for her as it had been for him. That seemed unlikely, seeing how many times they’d gone at it over the space of several hours.

The second, and most likely, was that it really had been that good, and the fact had terrified her. The more he thought about it, the more likely that possibility seemed to him. She’d gotten scared shitless, and had retreated into a shell. That theory made the most sense to him.

Given all the hormonal highs and lows he was sure she was experiencing, he gave her space and offered comfort when it was needed, but he couldn’t bear the hot and cold treatment anymore. Not after what they had shared.

He felt more strongly for her now than he ever had before, and after the intense moment they had shared, he’d dared to hope that something beautiful was finally about to start.

Josie was trampling on that hope viciously, and he couldn’t just stand back and do nothing anymore. He was convinced that he wanted her, and he knew that she wanted him too.

She’d asked him why he never pushed before. Wasn’t that a sign? He remembered how she had attacked him after the pregnancy yoga class. Signs didn’t get much clearer than that, did they? He thought back to every single moment they’d shared since she moved in.

Everything pointed to the undeniable fact that Josie wanted this too. But she was scared. He knew it was only a matter of time before she acted on that fear and made a run for it, child or not. If he was going to get her, he had to be both smart and sneaky, or he’d only succeed in spooking her and forcing her hand.

So, he played the part of the understanding partner, and he created a plan to force her out of her shell, much like smoking out an elusive rabbit from its hole.

He avoided talk of their steamy moment as well as she did, he still brought her meals when she worked long hours in the lab, and he tried to edge them back toward safer grounds for conversation.

At first, she was hesitant and suspicious, but as the week passed, she became more and more relaxed around him again, though nowhere near what they had been before things went south.

He often caught her watching him, but he tried hard not to give anything away. He couldn’t let her see it was all an act, and that his heart was bleeding profusely underneath the facade.

The first sign of his plan working came one evening when they shared dinner together. “I got a call from Dr. Stephanie today,” she said, shifting the pieces of her dinner around on her plate. “I’m due for another checkup at the clinic, and…I was hoping you could come with me?”

The request caught him by surprise and it took everything for him to remain indifferent. He glanced up at Josie and nodded. “Sure thing. Tell me when and I’ll be there.”

“Tomorrow…noon.” She looked nervous, more nervous than he’d seen her in a long time. She barely ate and he wondered what was troubling her.

“Josie, are you well?” He kept his tone just moderately worried.

She nodded. “Just not feeling too hungry.” She pushed her seat backward and emptied the contents of her half full plate into the trash can. She left without another word, and Callahan wrestled the urge to rush after her.

Josie’s mood didn’t seem much improved the next day as Callahan drove her down to the surrogacy center. It was different from when she’d been trying to avoid him. Now, she seemed well and truly disturbed.

He could tell there was something on her mind, but he had no clue what it was. And with the way she’d been acting toward him lately, he wasn’t too enthusiastic about getting her to tell him what was bothering her.

All attempts he made at small talk were met with straight answers, when she decided to give a reply at all. After a few minutes of trying to talk to her, he gave up and turned on the radio.

They arrived at the clinic fifteen minutes early and Josie was plainly uncomfortable. Callahan turned to her with a worried look on his face. “Josie, you’ve been acting strange since last night. What’s wrong?”

“Ugh! Nothing is wrong!” she snapped at him. “Can we just get this over with already?”

She got out of the car, slammed the door shut, and stormed into the clinic. Callahan watched her go, more confused than he’d ever been in his entire life. Her outburst had come out of nowhere, and all it did was convince him that there was something on her mind.

He took several calming breaths before stepping out of the car behind Josie. He had no intentions of squabbling with her like some married couples did, even if he was upset with how obnoxious she’d been acting recently.

He entered the clinic and saw Josie speaking to Dr. Stephanie. The doctor was smiling as she spoke, in her usual relaxing way. Josie didn’t seem relaxed at all. On the contrary, she was visibly antsy. She tried to hide it, but Callahan could see her hand trembling.

It finally hit him. It should have been obvious to him before, given what he already knew about her. He cursed silently for not realizing it sooner. It was only when he saw her now talking to the doctor that he realized what had been making her act so strangely.

Josie had always loved following rules, and the prevailing rule regarding the surrogacy agreement was that there was to be no form of intimacy between the two of them.

Watching her as she ducked away from Dr. Stephanie’s eyes, it made all the sense in the world to him, although he couldn’t understand why. They were consenting adults, and it was practically impossible for anyone to know what happened in their home.

Fortunately, the doctor didn’t seem to take notice of her jitters. She turned toward where Callahan was standing near the door and her smile fell away, replaced by a confused frown. “Alpha Callahan, I wasn’t expecting you here today. Do we have an appointment?”

Callahan smiled and shook his head. “Hey, doc. No, we don’t. I’m here with Josie.”

Dr. Stephanie looked from one person to the other, her lips drawn into a thin line. The serious expression seemed rather out of place on her usually cheerful face. “Right. This way please, Josie. Let’s get you started.”

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