Page 10 of In the Grey of Dawn

He tilts his head a little, looking like an adorable dog that's unsure of the information he's receiving. Suddenly, he drops the glass on the ground, the sound of it shattering causes the lowmurmur of the other people nearby to stop talking and look toward us. Before I have time to register what's even happened, he's rounded the end of the bar and is storming toward me, the look of hurt anger in his eyes. Grabbing my hand he tugs me back the way he came, stopping for a moment to call out over his shoulder for everyone to leave cash on the bar for what they owe.

Pulling me through a door markedstaff only,we end up in a small hallway, which I can barely get a look at before he opens another door and shoves me inside.

I'm starting to get a little annoyed now. I didn’t come here to get dragged around and I can’t help but snap at him, “If you wanted to fuck, you just had to ask me, Porter. I'm only intoconsensualmanhandling. Note the key word being consensual.”

Slamming the door shut, the wall rattling from the impact, he turns and stalks toward me, causing me to retreat until the backs of my thighs hit the edge of the large desk in the centre of the room. He crowds me, leaning his body forward and placing his hands on the desk, not quite touching either side of my hips. I have to perch my ass on the edge and lean back on my arms to hold myself up. My legs on the other hand betray me as they open to let him stand between them. His face is so close to mine that I could kiss him if he wasn't being all weird caveman on me.

“Is it mine?” he growls.

“Is what yours?”What the fuck is he talking about?

“Is it mine … the baby …is it mine?” he says, as he breaks eye contact with me for the first time. Dipping his head to my shoulder as he rests his forehead against it.

Gasping, I try to shove him away from me, shocked at what I'm hearing.

“You and Mila slept together?” I hiss. “How could you? How could she? Does Dante know? Oh my gods, we're going to have to get you both into witness protection. Do I justcall the government directly to arrange that? Do you know the extension?”

He holds my head gently, stopping my ramble but not stopping my ability to glare at him. There is an odd pain in my chest that’s tight and uncomfortable. Moving his hand he places it gently on my stomach, flexing his fingers slightly as if he wants to grab me harder but won’t.

“Your baby, Charlie. Is it mine? Is itourbaby?” he says, his eyes downcast as he looks down to where his hand is.

“Oh my gods! I'm not pregnant Porter!” I say almost shrieking as I gather enough strength to push him away. Practically leaping from the desk to move as far away from him as I can in the small room.

“You’re not? But you just said you were?” he says, running his hand through his hair.

“MILA is pregnant you idiot. Did you not hear me out there?” I say, gesturing toward the bar area.

“Mila is pregnant?” he questions again, looking at me with uncertainty.

“Porter, this is probably one of the few times I can unequivocally say that I am not pregnant. I can also confirm that Mila is absolutely pregnant with Dante’s baby.Exclusivelywith Dantes baby.”

He looks bashful now, clearly putting all of the puzzle pieces together. Stepping closer to me, he takes my hand and pulls me towards him. Our position is now the opposite from moments earlier as he leans against the desk and I stand between his legs. He lifts his hands and rests them gently on my waist, squeezing them slightly as he says, “I just thought … we didn't use anything that night. At the wedding. We didn't use protection and I guess I just thought you were saying, you know—”

“I’m on the pill. I don't want kids,” I say not quite yelling at him, but there is a note of uncertainty in my tone. The sudden worry that this could be the end of us before we've even started.

Chapter 6 - Porter

Her voice seems to echo in the small space as she practically yells that she doesn't want kids. My mind processes the sharp wave of relief washing over me. She eases away from me and starts rambling again. Talking about how it's completely alright for a modern woman to not want children and how we no longer live in caves.

Her arms are flailing, talking about the merits of being able to provide for herself and not being trapped because she has no power to leave. Her eyes start shining, her tears threatening to fall and I can tell she's thinking about Mila; one of the reasons she stayed in her abusive relationship for so long was that she was financially dependent on her ex.

Getting up from where I'm leaning, I take a few steps toward her and gently push her against the wall, holding her hands in front of her firmly. Her breath hitches as she stares at me, and I can't help but wonder if she's back in that basement with me all those months ago.

“Charlie,” I say slowly, as I move one of my hands to her face, gently dragging my thumb against her bottom lip. A faint moan escapes her, one that would be lost if there was the hum of other people around.

Tilting her head back to the wall, she closes her eyes and takes a deep breath as if collecting her thoughts before returning her gaze to me.

“This isn't how I thought the night was going to go,” she chuckles. My body still pressed against hers.

“Oh, and how was it supposed to go then?” Unable to stop the image of her spread bare for me flickering across my thoughts.

“I was going to ask you about the meals, maybe have a drink and catch up with a friend. I wasn't planning on giving you aTED Talkon the reasons I don't want to have children.”

“I guess that makes us even because I wasn't expecting to ever talk about why I don't want children either.”

A smile spreads across her face as she realises what I’ve just said.

“You don't?” she questions me.

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