Page 51 of His Captor

My face heated as I walked on, trying not to look guilty. Rachel, my assistant, Lincoln, and everyone else in the office thought I was meeting a prospective client for lunch. They didn’t have the first clue that I was meeting Hayden at his obstetrician’s office. They didn’t know I was the father of Hayden’s child, or that the two of us were currently, for all intents and purposes, living together.

Hayden and I had agreed before Monday morning that it would only complicate things for everyone if we suddenly announced the truth to the entire office. If we had come clean right away, there would be a million questions about how I had managed to get Hayden pregnant when we’d only met the week before, why Hayden had been hired, and what sorts of conflicts of interests the whole situation presented.

More than that, as I stepped out onto the busy street of Barrington, nodded to the undercover officer who had been assigned to keep an eye out for trouble, and scanned the area for anything I found suspicious, I was convinced keeping the secret of my and Hayden’s connection was a good thing. If Colin got wind that I had a lover in my life, there was no telling what he would do to hurt Hayden and the baby.

Not that Hayden and I were lovers. Yes, there was only one bed in Hayden’s small apartment. We were currently sharing it. Sometimes that meant we woke up snuggled together. I slept best when I had Hayden’s ripe body tucked against mine, where I could rest a hand on my son growing inside him and breathe in Hayden’s heightened scent. At least, when Hayden wasn’tgetting up with the need to pee every few hours through the night.

My apartment was almost ready to move back into. The investigators had done all they could, and the professional cleaning company had tidied everything up. I was just waiting on the last few details that my decorator had stepped in to handle to be finished before the place was as good as new again. With my own security system installed.

The question remained as to whether Hayden would move in with me or stay in his one bedroom unit.

I knew what I wanted the answer to be.

“There you are,” Hayden greeted me with a bright smile, already on his feet and heading from the waiting room back to the examination rooms when I finally reached the doctor’s office. “Perfect timing.”

“Sorry I’m a little late,” I said, striding forward to hold the door for both Hayden and the beta nurse. “Things at work too longer than I thought they would.”

“They always do,” the nurse said with a sympathetic smile.

I had no idea what to expect. I thought maybe Hayden was too far along for ultrasounds, but I didn’t actually know anything. Ultrasounds were the only thing I knew about pregnancy doctor appointments. I was glad the obstetrician was a woman and a beta, but even then, my alpha instincts to rip anyone touching my pregnant omega to shreds flared as I watched the examination.

“Everything looks good,” the doctor said when she was done, removing her latex gloves with a smile. “I’d say you have another three weeks or so, but honestly, you could go at any time.”

I was standing next to Hayden, holding his hand, and I squeezed it. Hearing that I could become a father at any moment made the whole thing seem incredibly real to me.

“You hear that?” Hayden said with a teasing grin, evidently seeing the fear and awe in my expression. “Any day now, and pop!”

I sucked in a breath, then frowned at him, which was mostly a panic reaction.

The doctor finished up, giving Hayden advice for the final days of his pregnancy. Advice that included beginning his paternity leave soon and resting as much as possible, because rest would be a luxury once the baby came.

“At least I have a good paternity leave program at work, eh?” Hayden teased me once we had left the building and were on our way back to work.

“You can take all the time you need,” I told him with a grin. “You know my offer to take care of you and Junior stands.”

“Ah ha! I’ve got you calling him Junior now, too!”

I chuckled, but I also saw Hayden’s teasing for what it was. He was avoiding the issue of me marching into his life and denying him the independence he was so ambivalent about.

Then he surprised me by saying, “So is it time to tell Rachel and the rest of the gang in the office yet? I mean, we are about to walk back into the office at the same time.”

I debated telling him we should stagger our entry, but that didn’t feel right. In fact, nothing felt right. Not the subterfuge, but also not coming out and telling the world what was really going on.

“I still have deep concerns about whether Colin might try to hurt you to get to me,” I said quietly. It was true and honest, but it also didn’t feel right.

Hayden lost his usual happy-go-lucky look. “I know you’re concerned about that, and I do get it. But?—”

He paused, squirming a little as he walked, and rested a hand on his belly.

“But?” I prompted him as we turned the corner to the block with our office building.

Hayden sighed, then let it all out. “I don’t like pretending there’s nothing between us but friendship when we’re in the office. This last week has been really great.” He glanced up at me with a smile and stretched his hand towards mine, brushing his fingertips over the back of my hand. “I think we have something, and it’s the kind of thing that makes me want to shout from the rooftops.”

I smiled and my heart expanded to fill my entire chest with warm energy. The problem with the rooftops was that there might be snipers on them at the moment.

“I just want you and Junior to be safe,” I told him.

Hayden’s expression pinched through half a dozen emotions as we reached the door to our building, which I held for him. “That name is going to stick, isn’t it,” he said. “This kid is going to hate us someday for calling him Junior. He’s going to get picked on at school, and since I think he’s an alpha, that means he’ll get into all sorts of fights, we’ll be called to the principal’s office every other day, and we’ll eventually have to send him off to reform school.”

---