Page 135 of Altered

Panic-stricken, I scrambled into a sitting position. "Hunter, I swear I was going to tell you today," I began to say, completely flustered. "But I was scared and I didn’t know…but then I –"

Hunter shut me up with a kiss so hot, I felt the burn right down to the tips of my toes. "It's mine," he whispered against my lips. "That baby you've got cooking in there?" He kissed me again. "I put it inside you."

My heart sank.

"What if it's –"

"It'smine," he interrupted, pressing his lips to mine again. "Mywoman, andmybaby."

"It only takesonetime, Hunter," I forced myself to say, feeling sick to my stomach at the thought of it. But he needed to understand. "It could be–"

"He's sterile."

Mind.

Fricking.

Blown.

"What?" Gaping, I scrambled into a sitting position once more. "What do you mean he'ssterile?"

"I went to see him last night," he replied, rubbing his jaw. "Don’t worry," he added quickly. "He's still alive." Reaching over, Hunter tucked a rogue curl behind my ear and sighed. "He had a vasectomy eighteen months ago, Hope."

"Really?" I whispered, closing the space between us, as a tsunami of hope flooded my heart. "Really?"

"Yeah, sweetheart," Hunter replied, tone soothing. "I'm your baby-daddy."

I was connected to him, in every sense of the word.

My heart.

My body.

My soul.

My womb.

Everything was laced, and tinged, and filled with Hunter Casarazzi.

Scrambling onto his lap, I wrapped my arms and legs around his body. A cry of pure relief tore out of me. "Oh, thank god."

"It wouldn’t have changed anything for me," he told me then, wrapping his arms around me. "You know that, right?" He craned his head back to look at me. "It would've been hard, HC, but I wouldstillbe here."

He needed to stop saying these beautiful words because he waskillingme.

My heart?

I didn’t think it could take the pressure.

I loved him that much.

"I feel like I can finally breathe again," I admitted hoarsely. "I've been so scared. The not knowing was killing me. I couldn’t even get excited about the baby."

"Are you excited about the baby?" he asked, smirking.

Biting down on my lip, I nodded. "In a completely petrified,I have no clue what I'm doing,kind of way."

"I really want this, Hope," he said gruffly, blue eyes locked on mine. "You and me? A baby?" He smiled and pressed his forehead to mine. "I want all of it. So fucking much."

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