Page 96 of A Twisted Arrangement

I’m adjusting myself under the blanket to get comfortable when the bathroom door opens. I can’t stop the laugh from busting out. Matthias Everette, Lord of the Order of Saints, is standing in the threshold, wearing a matching set of yellow flannel teddy bear pajamas.

He grins widely at me and gives a mock bow. “I thought you’d like this.”

“You’re ridiculous.” I say it, but he’s right. I do like it. There’s something about him being silly with me, unashamed to dosomething as out of character as wearing matching pj’s, that has my heart skipping.

I’m nearly overwhelmed with the reality that this man is mine.

He crawls into the king-sized bed and immediately pulls me into the middle.

He rests his head on my stomach, drawing circles with his thumb. “I’m switching the bed for a double.”

I choke on a laugh. “What?”

“You’re too far away.” His tone is playful, but he still sounds half-serious. I can’t even imagine him trying to fit into a double bed.

This man is ridiculously endearing.

“How am I supposed to take you seriously?”

He moves so he’s between my thighs under the covers, arms on either side of my waist, and places delicate kisses below my navel. “I’m so fucking serious, Little Sparrow. If I can’t feel the pulse of your heart, you’re not close enough.”

“You’re insane.”

He nods, nuzzling my stomach with a small hum of agreement in the back of his throat. He’s been obsessed with touching me there since he brought me to this house, taking every opportunity he gets to touch me.

Warm anticipation fills me at the idea I could be pregnant right now. Matthias’ constant optimism has been slowly seeping in. I hadn’t been thinking about kids, and now I’m hoping some miracle happened and I’m already pregnant?

I try to count back the days in my cycle, but the past weeks are fuzzy. My periods have always been irregular, and I’ve given up tracking them in my app. I can’t be sure when it was, and even though the likelihood is extremely low, I can’t help but think I should get a test.

I brush back a strand of Matthias’s deep brown hair, loving the way he leans into my hand. If I even hint at the possibility, I’m sure he’d run to the store right now, but I don’t want him to leave. Not when his weight is covering me and I’m so close to sleep.

Soon. I’ll get tested soon.

“What are you thinking about?”

I jerk back, breath catching in my throat as his searching eyes meet mine. He’s entirely too observant, and I flounder to come up with something else. “I need to go back to the office.”

I blurt it out, but at least it’s something I actually want to talk to him about. I need to recover some form of normality in my life before he tries to lock me away again. I roll my eyes at the thought. I’m going to have to do something about his protectiveness because he’s only going to get worse.

“No,” he replies flatly.

“I’m not asking you, Matthias. This is my job. You promised to lift me up and not lock me away.”

“Did I?” he huffs. “That doesn’t sound like me.”

“Matthias, I need this.”

He lets out a long sigh. “Fine, but you’re bringing a guard.”

“Who?”

“Me.”

Chapter 45

Matthias

Scarlet leans toward her monitor,pen perched in her fingers as she rolls the cap along her lips in thought. She’s been at it for days, never distracted from whatever she’s working on. I tried talking to her the first day she came back to the office, but she only lifted a brow and said firmly,“I said you could come. Not that you could distract me.”

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