Page 7 of Cuffs and Kink

Fuck me.

“Follow me home and we’ll talk about this some more.”

I let her get back into her car and then I got into my cruiser and headed for home, checking the rearview every few minutes to make sure she was still back there. My mind was reeling with her news. She was pregnant? Fuck. I’d never really thought about being a dad before, but it seemed it would happen whether I was ready or not. Christ! A kid? It was one thing to think about Josie every waking moment, but another to raise a kid with her. What the fuck did I know about raising kids? Jesus, would she expect me to marry her?

Oddly, the thought of putting a ring on Josie’s finger didn’t freak me the fuck out like I’d thought it would. Knowing she was home every night, waiting for me, was actually a pretty nice idea. I’d stayed away from commitment as long as I could, not dating anyone more than once or twice, but Josie deserved more from me. She was having my baby for fuck’s sake.

When I pulled into my driveway, a sigh of relief left me when I saw her pull up to the curb out front. There was plenty of room in the driveway for both cars, which made me think she didn’t intend to stay very long. We’d see about that. No way in hell was the mother of my kid going to sleep in her car every night at the park. Our town might be small and low on crime, but that didn’t mean bad things didn’t happen. If we were completely crime free, I wouldn’t have had a damn job.

Josie followed me up to the front door and I let her in, shutting off the alarm. I’d have to make sure I gave her a key and the alarm code so she could come and go as she pleased. Whether she realized it or not, this was her home now too. I carried our food into the kitchen and got down two plates. I wasn’t about to make her eat out of a Styrofoam carton.

She’d made herself at home in the living room, and I handed her a plate and a bottle of water. I wasn’t sure if pregnant women were supposed to drink soda, but I damn sure planned to look it up first chance I got. Whatever she needed, I’d make sure she had it.

“I’m going to grab a shower and change, and then I’ll eat something. After that, we’re going to talk.” I reached out and lifted her chin to make sure she was looking at me. “You’re not alone, Josie.”

She blinked tears from her eyes and nodded.

I left her to eat her meal, and I took the fastest damn shower ever before throwing on some athletic pants. I grabbed my food out of the kitchen and sat beside her on the couch to devour my meal. Despite her shocking news, my appetite was still raging, and my stomach demanded to be fed. By the time we were both done, she looked worn the fuck out. Without a word, I picked her up and carried her to my bedroom, where I slipped off her shoes and helped her strip down to her panties. I handed her one of my T-shirts and helped her to bed.

“Sleep as long as you want,” I told her. “I’ll come to bed in a little while, but I expect you to still be here come morning. Understood?”

“Thank you, Ty.”

“You don’t have to thank me, Josie. I’m just glad someone told me what was going on. I still want to spank that ass of yours for not coming to me right away.”

Her cheeks warmed, and I wondered if she wasn’t a little turned on by the idea. Definitely something to explore later.

I brushed a kiss against her cheek and left her to get some rest. I grabbed my laptop and settled onto the couch to do a little research on pregnancy. If there was something in particular Josie needed, I wanted to make sure she had it. We hadn’t really talked about her pregnancy or the baby, so I didn’t know if she was having cravings or nausea. The blogs I read said a lot of women experienced morning sickness during their first trimester. Not that I’d had a fucking clue what a trimester was before I looked it up.

By the time I’d finished my research, I felt a little better prepared for our talk in the morning. Before I went to bed, I called the police department and let them know I wouldn’t be in for my shift tomorrow. It seemed word was already spreading around town that Josie had followed me home and dispatch asked if she was okay. I assured them she was going to be fine and hung up before they could ask any more questions. Until Josie and I talked, I didn’t want anyone speculating on why she was here.

My eyes burned from staring at the computer screen. I made sure the alarm by the front door was set before I went to the bedroom. Josie was still curled on her side so I slid into bed next to her, wrapping an arm around her waist and pulling her back against my chest. It was the first time I’d ever actually slept with a woman, and it seemed right that the woman was Josie.

Despite how tired I felt, it was a while before I fell asleep. Even though I didn’t have an alarm set for the next day, I still woke when the sun rose. Force of habit. Josie was snuggled against me, and I didn’t want to wake her. I knew my kitchen had limited options for breakfast, but I wasn’t sure if she’d feel like going out to eat either. Easing out from under her, I threw on a T-shirt and shoes and quietly left the house.

The diner wasn’t busy this time of the morning, and it didn’t take long to get two breakfast specials to go. If the knowing smirk from the waitress was any indication, everyone already knew who the second meal was for. I just hoped they didn’t know why Josie was staying with me, not until I’d figured out how we were going to handle things. The fact she was pregnant with my kid meant she was my responsibility, whether she saw things that way or not. The question was just how committed did we want to be? Having a baby was one thing, but did it mean she’d want to marry me?

The jewelry store was closed this time of the morning, but the pawn shop was just opening up. On impulse, I pulled into the lot and ran inside. Rob, the owner, smiled when he saw me hurry through the doors. It wasn’t often we had a chance to meet when I was out of uniform unless it was at the local bar.

“What can I do for you this morning, Ty? Or is it Officer Daniels and this is a new uniform requirement?”

“Smart ass.”

He grinned.

“I need a ring, and I need you to keep quiet about it.”

His eyebrows shot up. “An engagement ring?”

“You do have those, right?”

“A few.” He motioned for me to follow him over to a glass countertop. The rings were on display on the shelf below, ranging from diamonds so small you could barely see them to a diamond so large I knew it would break the bank even in a pawn shop.

“I only have about a hundred dollars in my wallet. I don’t suppose you have anything for that amount? I wasn’t really prepared for something like this.” I stared at the rings, hoping I could present Josie with something other than the tiniest diamond in the bunch.

Rob reached into the cabinet and pulled out a ring that wasn’t a diamond solitaire, but a sapphire with diamond chips on either side. It was set in a silver band and looked elegant, even though the stones were on the small side.

“This is a platinum band, so it’s good quality. I can let you have it for one hundred, even though I’m asking two hundred for it. I’ll give you the thin blue line special.”

---