Page 36 of Hers to Control

For fuck’s sake. The last thing I want is to let Mia out of my sight, but the nurse is giving me the stern look that tells me if I object, she’ll immediately assume I was the one hitting Mia.

“Can I wait right here?” I ask, doing my best to give her an understanding smile.

Over her shoulder, Mia’s mouth twitches into something resembling a grin, which only confirms that I’m making a damnfool out of myself. She was pissed as all hell on the drive over, even though she didn’t try to argue over coming here again.

The woman is up to something, no doubt, but it’s somewhat difficult to mind when she has decided that fucking is still on the table.

The wait in the hallway feels painful, but I can make out Mia’s muffled voice, which reassures me she hasn’t told the nurse that I’m an abusive asshole so she can make her next escape attempt. Because even with the way we went at it earlier, there is no way I believe she won’t try again.

By the time I’m ready to break the door down, the nurse opens it and waves me in with a smile.

“We’re ready to do an ultrasound now.”

Mia looks annoyed behind her, obviously not enthused about me joining them and I have to wonder if she gave her consent for me to re-join them. Not that I give a fuck. I want to see that ultrasound.

The sterile scent of antiseptic and cleaning products fills the air. It’s a scent I associate with a different environment. One that involves a lot of blood after I carved some asshole up. It’s a bit distracting, but the nurse, a young woman with a no-nonsense demeanor, gestures for me to take a seat beside Mia.

Mia shoots me a sideways glance, which I ignore. This isn’t about us. It’s about Peanut.

Which sounds absolutely fucked up to even think, but also somehow right.Peanut.

Without waiting for any objections, I pull up a chair beside the examination table, my gaze fixed on the screen as the nurse prepares the ultrasound machine. Mia’s reluctance to have me present is clear, but I ignore it, my focus solely on seeing the tiny life growing inside her.

The nurse applies a cool gel to Mia’s abdomen before guiding the ultrasound probe over her skin. I watch intently as the imagebegins to appear on the screen, the outline of our unborn child gradually coming into view.

Mia’s hand twitches beside me, a silent gesture of discomfort. I ignore it. She might let me fuck her, but I’m fairly certain she’d rather break my hand than let me hold hers, even if I’d be willing. Which, strangely enough, I might have been.

As the nurse adjusts the settings, the image sharpens, revealing the faint outline of a tiny heartbeat pulsing on the screen. My breath catches in my throat.

Shit. This is it.

Mia’s eyes flicker to mine and I tear my gaze away from the screen for a moment to meet her eyes. She returns the look, but instead of vulnerability, what I see is a steely determination that tells me she isn’t about to let me be a part of our baby’s life easily.

Too bad for her. I’m not about to give her a choice.

“Is it okay? The baby?” I ask, needing to reassure myself.

The nurse nods. “I don’t see any indication that there is a problem with the fetus.”

“What do we need to do now?” I resent having to ask, but I know shit about pregnancy, so I need some guidelines here. Even if it’s from some fancy-ass registered nurse. Mia isn’t exactly being forthcoming with information.

“Just take prenatal vitamins, stay hydrated, and make sure that the exercises you do feel good. Later during the pregnancy, you might want to limit certain things like heavy lifting, but for now, you are good to go with any sort of exercise you may wish.” She winks at Mia conspiratorially.

“We’ll run some blood work to make sure your levels are good. Given your history, I’ll make sure your iron levels will be noted as well.”

What history? I stare at Mia, but she just nods and smiles at the nurse.

“Just go to the front again and wait there. I’ll get the requisition form ready and they will call you to get your blood drawn.”

“Thank you,” Mia says and gets off the table.

I watch her ass as she walks in front of me, the memories of earlier trying to distract me. As fucked up as all this is, I’m not mad about it. I’d never given much thought to marrying someone, but that was mostly because the women I fucked weren’t marriage material.

Mia, though? Well, she is hot as fuck, has fire in her veins, and she is going to be the mother of my child. Plus, she’s already friends with Gianna, so that will make it smooth with the family.

“What?” Mia asks.

“Just checking out your ass.”

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