Page 49 of Playboy

Oops. Oh well.

Daniel huffs. “No. The night we?—”

“The night you knocked me up?” I grin. “It’s okay, Baby Hall. She knows we had sex. That’s why we’re here, after all.”

He exhales loudly through his nose, his jaw pulsing. “You like pushing me, don’t you?”

I smile. Yeah, I really do. It’s the one fun thing I’ve got going on right now. Also, if I don’t tease him a bit, all his sweetness willget to me. The present? Adorable. The way he showed up thirty minutes early and sat in his car? Not expected.

That’s what he is. Unexpected. At every turn.

The tongue, the dick, the sweetness. The way he reacted when I blurted out that we could be pregnant. How he held me that night. All of it. Every minute since the night of our first date—yes, I’m aware it was a date; doesn’t mean I can’t tease him—has been a surprise.

A very pleasant one.

But I’ve reached my limit when it comes to surprises. The pregnancy itself is too much. I can’t allow myself to get sucked into a fantasy.

Eventually he’ll tire of my sarcasm, of my need to push him—just like every one of my stepfathers did with my mother. So when that happens, it’ll be better for the baby and me if we’re prepared.

“I’ll step out so you can change into that gown.” The nurse nods at the faded piece of fabric folded on the white paper covering the exam table. “Leave it open in the front. The doctor will be in shortly.”

She’s gone quickly, probably running for cover, and Daniel settles into a chair, one leg bent at the knee and the other kicked out, his entire focus set on me.

“Not going to offer to turn around?” I tease as I start to strip. I have no shame. He knows that.

His pupils dilate, making his irises look even darker, though his expression remains impassive. It’s annoyingly hot. “Nothing I haven’t seen.”

I pull my jeans off and toss them onto the empty chair beside him. Immediately, he picks them up and folds them neatly.

He takes my shirt before I can toss it as well. Just as I’m backing up to hoist myself onto the exam table, he’s behind me.With warm hands on my hips, he skirts around me and lifts me with ease.

For a moment, we’re frozen like that: my breaths shallow, his lips parted. Only when a knock sounds from the door do we startle back into reality.

I clear my throat and find my voice, letting the doctor know I’m decent, and a heartbeat later, she strides in, attention fixed on a chart.

And still, my body buzzes. The touch was simple, gentle, quick, but the effect is clearly long-lasting.

“Are you dad?” She smiles at Daniel.

With a nod, he holds out his hand and introduces himself.

She points to a spot near my shoulder. “I’m going to examine her, but if you want to stand over there, you’ll be in a good spot.”

I blow out a breath as he saunters closer again, eyes locked on me. With every step he takes, the tension in the room ratchets up.

When the doctor turns to her computer, he leans down and brings his lips to my ear. “If it makes it easier for you to push me, I’ll play along. But I’m not going anywhere.”

With a squeeze of my hand, he backs off. Rather than anger or cockiness, all I see in his expression is open honesty. He sees right through me. He knows I use sarcasm to hide my nerves, my insecurities. He doesn’t know the details of the emotional damage of my childhood, but it doesn’t matter. He sees me. He understands.

Shit.

“Based on your HCG levels, you’re about seven weeks. That means you’re far enough along for a sonogram if you want to see the baby.”

Daniel angles forward, his hand splayed between my shoulder blades. “Oh, we can get a picture of the baby this way, right?”

I study him over my shoulder. “How do you know that?”

He’s still staring at the machine when he replies. “The guys on the vlog talked about it.”

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