Inflame (Explosive) (17 page)

I look up from my phone and realize that I’m grinning like a fool at Lucy’s text message. It wasn’t anything epic, but it’s been three long-ass days without her, and I was beginning to go a little crazy. Now that I know I’m going to get to see her tonight, my mood has improved. Ignoring him, I type out a quick response before placing my phone in the locker so we can go out to do field exercises.

“It’s nothing, man,” I tell him, and he narrows his eyes. “Seriously, it’s nothing. Just a text from Lucy.”

“How is Lucy? It sucks you two had to miss the wedding. Is she feeling better?” Jace inquires, clearly having no idea about anything that happened while he was away on his honeymoon.

“Yeah, Kale. How is Lucy feeling?” Knox asks, raising an eyebrow, and instantly I know that Charlie’s not the type to keep a secret from her significant other. Not that it was ever a secret, but still. The way he’s grinning at me lets me know that he is aware of just how Lucy is.

I glare at him, not wanting to talk about this until I’ve talked to Lucy. Until I know where her head is.

Jace looks back and forth between us. “What the hell am I missing here? Did something happen while I was gone?”

“Well, I wasn’t going to say anything until it was a little later, but thanks to Wellington’s girlfriend’s big mouth, that cat’s already out of the bag. Lucy’s pregnant.”

“And?” Jace asks before it dawns on him what this means. “Oh, man. It’s yours?”

Nodding, I finish lacing up my boots. When I stand up, Jace slaps me on the shoulder. “I didn’t know you two were like that, but congrats, man. That’s awesome!”

Knox snorts and shakes his head. “So much for you not being next,” he says, reminding me of the warning he and Jace both gave me only a few weeks ago. These two ass clowns have both been bitten by the love bug, and they’ve decided that it’s only natural that I’ll be the next one to settle down. I tried to deny it—I still do—but part of me is starting to think they were right, and that’s one ‘I told you so’ I don’t think I’ll mind getting.

“Look, I don’t know what’s going to happen. We aren’t exactly dating, but we also aren’t seeing other people. I care about Lucy, a lot, and the thought of her carrying my child isn’t as scary as I thought it would be. Sure, it’s unexpected, but I want this. I want her. I want our child. I just have to be careful with my approach. I have no idea what I’m going to do, but I’ll figure something out.”

A slow smile spreads over Knox’s face, and it’s a look I’m finally getting used to with him. Gone is the brooding asshole I met in Afghanistan. He’s been replaced with a love-struck guy who will do anything for his woman. “God, we’ve all turned into a bunch of fucking pansy romantic assholes. Well, Jace was always that way, but you get the point.”

Jace playfully shoves Knox at the comment. “You’ll pay for that in the ring later. As for you, Kale, I’m happy for you. Even if it happened when you least expected it, if it’s what you want, don’t stop at anything until you get it. Got it?”

Knowing Jace and Lexi’s history, I decide to heed his advice. There’s no way I’m going to let any type of miscommunication or misunderstanding lead to ten years of separation between Lucy and me, especially not with a child involved. I decide then and there that I need to pick up my balls and finally make Lucy realize that I meant what I said in that email. That I’ve had feelings for her all along, and the baby just helped push me into growing some damn balls and finally admitting it.

As we head out, Jace slaps me on the shoulder once more. “Congrats, again, Dad,” he says, and I close my eyes, remembering the last time I heard those words.

A slight burning fills my nose—and my heart—and I have to swallow hard not to tear up. It’s something I haven’t thought about in a very long time, but I never thought I’d hear those words again. Now that I have, I realize I have to do everything in my power to make them count.

A
FTER PACING
my living room for the better part of the afternoon, I decide that seven p.m. is way too late for me to see Lucy. I grab the sparkling grape juice out of my refrigerator and head on over, not caring that I’m going to be earlier than she expects. Part of me is actually hoping to catch her off guard, and I don’t want to wait until after dinner for us to have this conversation. I want it over and done with as soon as possible so we can celebrate the newest member of our family. Or what I hope will be our family.

I know I’m probably getting ahead of myself, but my excitement has grown the longer the day has gone on. Knowing that she’s finally going to let me in and be a part of the pregnancy has me feeling happier than I have in a long time. At least, I hope that’s where the discussion is going to lead. Pushing any negative thoughts out of my mind, I get to her place in record time.

I knock on the door impatiently, and when she opens it, she’s a sight for sore eyes. And let me tell you, mine are fucking sore beyond belief. She’s standing there in sweatpants and a t-shirt, and I swear, she’s never been more beautiful. Her eyes widen when she sees me, and she starts to speak, but I don’t let her. I set the juice on the table by her door and grab her by the waist as I push her back against the wall. Leaning down, my lips capture hers.

At first, she’s hesitant, not moving against me. I continue to kiss her, and my tongue darts out as I coax her lips apart and my hands slip beneath her shirt to rub small circles on her skin. She moans against my touch, and every tortuous second spent apart becomes a distant memory. Her tongue finally connects with mine, and I take in my fill, having missed this, missed her. I don’t know how she’ll respond to the words, so I take my time showing her just how much I’ve been craving her. She might not know realize it, but in her reaction, I can tell she’s doing the same thing, and a sense of relief washes over me from knowing that this time apart hasn’t made her totally withdraw from me.

Even though I don’t want to, I slowly pull away, recognizing that if I keep kissing her we’ll end up naked on the floor instead of talking. Like I told her, she can make it up to me with dessert, but there’s plenty we need to go over first.

“Well, that was certainly an interesting greeting,” she says, sounding breathless and oh so sexy as hell. “You’re also two hours early, Kale. I haven’t even had a chance to shower or start dinner.”

I shrug, feigning indifference. “I told you I missed you. I couldn’t wait another minute to see you. You don’t need a shower, and we can order takeout.” I watch as she bites her lower lip, and my cock springs to life. “Better yet, let’s go out. That way we’ll be safe in public and can get through this conversation without my wanting to rip your clothes off the entire time.”

A wicked grin spreads over her face. “Let me change and then we can go out. I wouldn’t want you having such dirty thoughts in your brain while we discuss our situation.”

“Our child, Lucy,” I respond and watch as her eyes soften and her smile turns wistful.

She nods and lets out a deep breath. “Our baby,” she confirms. “I’ll be right back.” She turns and quickly walks down the hall to her room.

Deciding to give her this little bit of space, I settle in on the couch, where I presume she was before I showed up. I smile when I see Top Chef on the TV, knowing it’s her favorite, and wonder if this is all she’s been doing since I left her here on Saturday.

“Ready to go?” she asks, and I almost do a double take when I look up at her.

She’s wearing the tightest pair of jeans that has molded to her ass and has me salivating, wishing to get my hands on her. A form-fitting white blouse shows off just a hint of cleavage, and a long necklace plunges in between her breasts, teasing me, knowing I want to be there, too. She goes to the hall closet, pulls out a pair of heels, and slips into them.

Clearing my throat, I’m up on my feet and in front of her. “You shouldn’t wear heels,” I tell her, and she looks at me, confused.

“Why the hell not?” she asks as she goes to get her purse from the kitchen counter.

I follow her and know I’m going to sound like a tool. “You could trip and fall. Wouldn’t wearing flat shoes be more comfortable anyway?”

She laughs and just shakes her head. “Kale, I’m fine. My feet won’t swell for months, and I’m not going to fall. I promise. Now are you ready to get me out in public?” she teases.

I give her a once-over and groan.

She smiles, and I know she did this on purpose. “Just because we’re in public doesn’t mean you can’t still want to rip my clothes off,” she informs me, and I know she’s right.

I follow as she walks to the door. “You’re right about that, but at least I won’t have the temptation of an empty bed to throw you on when I’m tired of talking.”

Laughing, she locks up, and I take her hand as I lead her to the car.

“We’ll see just how long you last, Montgomery,” she whispers, brushing up against me.

As if on cue, my dick gets the message and strains against my jeans. If he could talk, I’m pretty sure he’d be confirming it.
Not fucking long.

O
NCE W
e settle into the booth at the restaurant and place our orders, Lucy tries to start small talk. While I want all of our cards on the table and I’m thankful we’re in a dark corner with plenty of privacy, I realize that coming out in public may not have been the best idea. It seems too open, too exposed, to talk about this. I wait until we’re settling the check to even bring it up.

“Lucy, I’m glad you’re done avoiding me. I know this whole thing is probably a shock to you, to both of us, and I gave you the space you needed. I hope that was enough time, because I don’t plan on leaving you alone again.”

She looks up at me with a woeful look on her face. “I know, Kale. And I’m sorry I was shutting you out. I was trying to process everything, and I couldn’t think of facing you until I sorted myself out. It wasn’t fair to you. I promise it won’t happen again. You said we’re in this together, and that’s how I want it, as long as you still do, too.”

Wow, she kind of went all in there, well before I thought she would.

Relieved that we’re on the same page, I lean forward and take ahold of one of her hands. “I do, Luce. And I’m so glad to hear you say that. I was afraid I was going to have my work cut out for me trying to convince you. I’ve had feelings for you for a really long time, but I never thought you’d want me to make a move. I thought you were comfortable with our friendship. And yeah, maybe this happened in a little bit of a different order, but I’m so happy you want this, too. I’m ready to actually be together, done with that stupid friends-with-benefits label.”

Lucy’s eyes widen and she pulls her hand away from me. “Wait. What? Kale, I thought you meant raising the baby together. Whatever that means, but not
together
together. Just…together. As friends. Or whatever.”

My heart sinks at her words, and I realize I was too freaking eager for the change in our relationship. My dumb ass just assumed she naturally was in the same place as me. Closing my eyes, I take a couple of deep breaths before looking back at her.

“You want to raise the baby together as friends. Or whatever. What exactly is whatever?”

Her eyes look down at the table for a moment before she looks up at me. “Whatever is us. It’s always been us. We don’t have a definition. We never have. I love how we are and I don’t want that to change.”

“Lucy, we’re having a child together. We can’t keep being ‘whatever,’ and I don’t want to. I want you. I want our baby. I want more than ‘whatever.’” I can see the quick flash of relief in her face, but then she masks it with something else.

She leans forward, and I have to strain to hear her whisper. “I think we need to talk about this at home. Can we go please?”

Sighing heavily, I sign the tab and get up, following her out to the car, and we ride back to her place in silence. My mind is reeling, wondering how in the hell I’m going to get it through her head that this is the best thing for us. That we fit together perfectly. That it makes sense for us to be together. It’s not until we’re settled on her couch that she finally speaks up.

“Kale, what exactly is it that you want?” she asks, swallowing hard.