Page 61 of A Knotty Bond: The Claiming of Cadence

Cadence

Just on the edge of dozing off, I was startled awake by the sudden pounding on the front door. Glancing at the time, I grumbled under my breath, wondering if Michael had forgotten his keys when he went out with his friends.

It had taken a lot of convincing to get him to go have a night out. I’d finally had to threaten him to get him to go, so I couldn’t gripe too much when he did as I’d asked and had some fun.

I just wished he’d remembered his key instead of waking me up. It was hard enough to sleep with the ferociously active baby kicking my ribs and bladder at all hours of the night. I was half willing to bet she turned out to be an alpha with the way she already ruled my life.

Pulling on my robe over the silky nightgown I’d splurged on, I made my way down the stairs and threw back the deadbolt.

“I told you not to…”

My words trailed away as the porch light glinted off emerald eyes. I knew my mouth was hanging open, but my brain was too hung up on who was standing on the other side of the door to care.

“Leo?”

His name came out a whisper, and I wondered if I was asleep after all. Lord knew I’d dreamed of him showing up enough times.

“Cadence.”

His voice was rough, my name sounding thick on his tongue as he stared back at me. His gaze trailed down my body, catching on the bulge of my belly that couldn’t be hidden anymore, and I thought I saw a suspicious gleam in his eye before he cleared his throat and raised his head.

“Cadence, I—I’m sorry about your mother. I just heard.”

It was my turn to swallow hard, looking away as I fought back the surge of fresh tears.

“Are you okay?”

The quiet question sent shivers down my spine, and I had to bite my lip to keep it from quivering. I’d been doing better, until he showed up to rip open another wound that had barely started to heal.

Forcing the emotions away, I pulled my robe tighter around myself and met his eyes again.

“Yeah, I’ll be fine. It was peaceful, and she’s with Daddy now.”

He hesitated for a moment before giving me a nod. There was obviously more he wanted to say, but he seemed to be struggling.

“Can we—Can I come in?”

My hands tightened around my biceps to resist the urge to reach out to him. The sight of his broad chest made me want to throw myself at him and wail about how hard it had been since I’d last seen him, but I had to remind myself that I’d agreed with his decision.

Instead of answering his question, I asked my own.

“Why are you here, Leo?”

I watched his Adam’s apple bob before his mouth opened to answer. His firm lips caught my attention for a moment, distracting me from his words before I pulled myself back together.

“…to be sure you were okay and see if you needed anything. I—I’m sorry for what I did, Cadence. I made the decision to protect you the only way I thought I could, but I should have talked to you about it first.

“I miss you.”

My heart stuttered as he whispered the last words, chest squeezing when I realized what he was doing.

Shaking my head, I took a step backward into the house, trying to put more distance between us before I did something stupid.

“I can’t do this, Leo. Not now. I can’t—”

My voice caught as my hands moved to cradle my belly. My mind was whirling, pulling me in multiple directions as my heart flopped around like a fish in my chest.

Leo took a step forward, acting like he was going to reach for me, but I moved farther away and put my own hand up to stop him. Anger took over, flooding through me until my hand shook with suppressed rage.

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