Page 92 of Claimed By Desire

And for some reason, that takes away some of my stress.

Not all of it. I doubt that’ll ever happen. But just know Alex will be there no matter what, and he’ll take up all my slacks—that makes a difference.

“I have a surprise,” he says as we head up into the apartment.

“Oh yeah? Better than letting me out of my cage for once?”

He snorts with amusement. “It’s not a cage. More like a fortress for your own protection.”

“And yet since I don’t need it anymore, does that mean I have more freedom?”

His eyes narrow. “I don’t know about that.”

“You just like keeping me under control.

“I’ll admit there’s a certain pleasure in knowing where you are at all times.”

“It’s a sick and weird pleasure.”

“So judgmental.” His hand grips my ass hard and he pulls me against him. “And yet you fucking like it when I’m staring at you through the cameras. You like it that I can’t stop watching you.”

“I guess I’m sick and weird too.”

“Then we really are a good match.” He buries my mouth with his.

The kiss breaks off when the elevator reaches the penthouse. We head inside and he takes me to the guest room, but it isn’t the guest room anymore.

The bed’s gone. The dresser’s different. The place looks strangely barren.

Except now there’s a changing table and a crib. There’s a rocking chair and a pile of diapers. There are stuffies, a mountain of them, and I have no clue where any of this stuff came from.

I look around in shock.

“You did all this in an hour?”

“An hour and a half. You were gone for longer than I expected.”

I turn around and laugh. I can’t help myself. “IT’s a nursery.”

“For our baby.” He leans against the doorjamb. “Did you think we’d just… keep the baby in the living room?”

“No, of course not.”

“Well, I assume this room will turn into our child’s bedroom one day. I thought about giving up the office, but this is a better space.”

“No, you’re right. This is perfect.” I stare at the crib. It’s brand new and white, so damn white. The mattress has a flat light bluesheet pulled snug and tight. I lean down to run my hand over the soft fabric.

“What do you think?” He wraps his arms around me from behind.

“It’s perfect.” I turn and press my hands to his chest. I get on my toes to kiss him. “Is this why you got me out of the house?”

“It wasn’t my original plan, but I figured I’d take advantage of your absence to get started.”

“This is really happening.” I bite my lip and look down. He pulls me closer to him. “I was talking about it with Pattie. She basically told me not to worry.”

“She’s probably right. You’re going to be a great Mom.”

That finally breaks me. I try to blink it way, but I can’t stop myself. I start crying right there in the nursery.

---