Page 75 of Risk

Forcing myself to pull my hand and gaze away, I focus back on my laptop.

I hear Kaden clear his throat and see in my peripheral vision as he moves toward the fridge.

“You want anything?” he asks.

“No, I’m good, thanks.”

He gets out one of those ready-made protein shakes that he has in there, uncaps it, and takes a drink.

I continue scrolling through job listings, but it’s slim pickings.

“You doing schoolwork?” he asks me, resting his hip against the counter. “I’ll get out of your hair if you are.”

“No. I’m job hunting.”

His brows draw together. “What happened with your job at the diner?”

“I still have it, but my boss is an asshole and became an even bigger asshole when I told him that I was pregnant.”

“Do I need to go there and have a word with him?”

I laugh to play off his offer because I know he’s not kidding, and a word from Kaden would scare the shit out of my boss. Which actually does sound appealing, but he’s also the type ofweasel who would call the cops on Kaden for something stupid, like threatening behavior.

“No, it’s fine. I’m just gonna hang on to it until I can get another job, although I don’t know if anyone would hire a pregnant woman. Or until I go on maternity leave. But the asshole did say I wouldn’t be getting maternity pay, so I’ll need to look into if I can get any government help while I have a bit of time off to have the twins.”

“A bit of time?” He’s frowning again, but this time, the grooves are much deeper.

“Yeah, I was thinking maybe a few weeks—a month, max—and then I’ll go back to work and school.”

“Nope.”

It’s my turn to frown. “What do you mean, nope?”

“I mean, nope. You’re not just taking a month off work when the twins are born. School—sure, I get that, with deadlines and exams, but you do school from home, only going in when necessary. But you are not going back to waiting tables only a few weeks after giving birth.”

I push to a stand from the stool I was comfortably sitting on and fold my arms across my chest. It pushes my boobs up, which are now bigger than they used to be, thanks to this pregnancy, and this doesn’t go unnoticed by Kaden as his eyes drop down to them for longer than polite—actually, it’s never polite to stare at a women’s tits—before lifting back to my face.

“You’re being a pushy asshole again,” I tell him. “Just the same as you were that time you told me that I was moving in here.”

He stares at me for a long beat, and I can see in his eyes that thoughts are currently warring in his mind. I’m assuming he’s fighting instinct over what is right. At his core, Kaden is a caveman, but only in the sense that he wants to protect. He’s just really shitty at delivering his message.

He lets out a breath and scrubs a hand over his stubble. The sound of the scrape of his skin over that rough facial hair has my mind heading into the gutter and my thighs pressing together to quell the ache there.

“You’re right. I’m sorry,” he says, contrite.

“You’re forgiven.” I’m not one for holding grudges, so I’m happy to accept his apology and let it go because I can tell he means it, and I need out of this conversation before I do something crazy and tell him I want him to fuck me.

“Let me try again…”

Please don’t. I need to go to my room and get acquainted with my vibrator. Again. For the hundredth time since I moved in here.

“When you get further into the pregnancy, it’s not going to be viable for you to be on your feet, doing shifts at the diner. I see how tired you are already when you come home from work.”

He’s right; I do tire more easily nowadays.

“And there is nothing I can do to help.”

“You don’t need to help.”

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