Page 53 of Hungry Like A Dragon
Chapter 11
Forty-eight hours later, Petra was back in her own two-bedroom bungalow in the Detroit suburbs. It was as though she were stepping back in time. One year ago, almost to the day, now that she thought about it.
Someone had cleaned and aired out the place, which was nice, because all she wanted to do was crawl into bed and sleep for twenty-four hours.
Or as long as her nursing-mom boobs would let her.
Noah stepped into the house behind her, holding Sadie’s carrier in one hand and a portable crib in the other. “Where do you want me to set this up?” he asked.
She’d left everything but the bags they’d packed back in New Orleans. Most of it Pacey had loaned to her or purchased anyway.
Which meant she had to do some serious shopping now that she was home. She needed a real crib and a highchair and a stroller and…her head was starting to hurt again, so she stopped thinking about it. Her growing to-do list would still be here in the morning.
“In my bedroom for now,” Petra said. “Upstairs. On the left.” Noah placed the carrier with the sleeping infant on the floor and headed in the direction she indicated.
Petra wandered over to the sliding glass doors that led to the backyard. One of her aunts lived two houses down, and as soon as she noticed activity in this house, she’d start spreading the word. The family would converge soon thereafter.
And then they’d learn she had a baby.
They’d want to know who the father was. They’d pressure her to mate with him. And if she succumbed, she would officially follow in her family’s footsteps.
Exactly what she swore she’d never do.
Noah stepped back into the room and said, “Do you want to feed her before I put her down for the night?”
Petra nodded without turning around. It was a good idea. Hopefully, that would give her a few extra hours of desperately needed sleep. Her ribs were bruised and she had a knot on her head from the impact caused by destroying the gem. Luckily, as she’d guessed, the necklace was what maintained the curse on Ginger.
Noah sat in the armchair and watched, without saying a word, while she fed Sadie. When she was done, he pulled the baby out of her arms, burped her, and headed upstairs to the bedroom, presumably to put her to bed.
When he returned to the living room, he raked a hand through his hair and said, “Do you want me to stay?”
Yes.
She shook her head. “I’m sure my family will be on my doorstep first thing in the morning.”
“You don’t have to face them alone.”
“It will be easier.”
“And then?”
He was going to make her spell it out. He wasn’t just going to quietly go away. Not that he could, she supposed. It was clear he fully intended to be involved in Sadie’s life. At some point, they would need to work out a shared custody agreement, decide who would pay for what.
“And then nothing,” she croaked out, squeezing her eyes shut. She couldn’t look at him while she reminded him of where their relationship stood. He’d been so attentive, so sweet, affectionate since she’d awakened after being knocked out; he had clearly changed his co-parenting with a side of sex stance to something, well, more.
And she couldn’t do it.
A single teardrop managed to escape through her closed lids, and she impatiently brushed it away. “We agreed, Noah. We both swore we didn’t want…” She cleared her throat. “To be together.”
“I know, but—”
“I still feel that way.” There, she said it.
“Petra…”
She shook her head, still without opening her eyes. “Please go,” she whispered. “Give me a couple days to recover, to deal with my family, and then we can talk about how we’re going to raise Sadie. Just give me that. Please.”
After a long bout of silence, she opened her eyes. He stood before her, his lips a thin, straight line, arms crossed over his rather impressive chest, eyes hot with unspoken emotion.
