Exhaustion was ready to take over as her lids became heavy. But before she gave in to sleep, she couldn’t help but smile as her hand crept down to her belly. Everything that had happened to her up until this point would have been worth it when she held her baby in her arms. Plus, her plans had already been set in motion, even before she came here tonight. She got what she wanted, and now, she had to fulfill her end of the bargain.
She would worry about any consequences another time.
Chapter Seven
Despite having an entire night to enjoy her body, the need inside him didn’t abate. He took her on the bed, in the shower, and even pressed up against the glass window of the hotel room, but it didn’t seem enough. Only exhaustion kept him from reaching for her again after the last time. The clock read five o’clock by the time Delacroix gave in to sleep, rolling away from Mika, their bodies sticky with sweat as their scents mingled on the sheets.
As soon as the fog cleared from his mind when he woke up, his arm stretched across the bed, searching for her warm body. When his hand felt only cool sheets, he opened his eyes.
“Mika?”
He sat up, rubbing his hand down his face. The clock now flashed eight thirty. Rolling off the bed, he stalked to the window and pulled the blackout curtains apart, his eyes shutting as the light temporarily blinded him. When he regained his sight, he glanced around and realized the room was empty and silent. She wasn’t buried under the covers, and his sensitive hearing could only detect silence from bathroom. Her scent was faint in the air, and he knew she had been gone a while.
Fury coiled in his chest. Coward. She just left him without saying goodbye. Usually, he was the one sneaking out in the morning—and sometimes, he didn’t even wait until then. Now the shoe was on the other foot, as they say, and he found he didn’t like it.
But this was their deal, right? She was his for one night. He wanted to be angry at her but found he couldn’t. His wolf, too, whined pathetically, sniffing the air to soak in her trace scent. Non, mon ami, she’s not here.
Walking over to the bed, he grabbed his discarded pants and underwear. He really should take a shower but found himself unable to bear the thought of washing her scent away. Memories of last night flooded his mind—her sweet curvy body, her skin, her tight little pussy milking him—and he wanted to hurl something at the wall.
One night? Who was he kidding? It wouldn’t be enough to slake his thirst for her. If anything, it only whetted his appetite. But damn, she already got what she wanted.
She was pregnant. With his pup.
The impact of it all hit him at once. When they were discussing it, it had been an abstract idea. A concept his mind couldn’t wrap around. He only cared about getting into her pants. And now …
He raked his fingers through his hair. This was why he had forgone sex for the last year. It complicated things and screwed with his mind. He had to stay focused on his goals. Mika said he wouldn’t be responsible for anything. A sperm donor, nothing more.
A bad taste formed in his mouth, and he held on to that thought. If he could just remember that that was all she wanted from him, it would be easy to forget last night. Yes, that was it. It was fucking, nothing more. He would do his time, get out, and be free of anyone’s control. He should thank his fucking lucky stars.
Delacroix spent the rest of his Sunday back in HQ, hitting the gym in an attempt not to think about Mika or last night. He ran for over two hours on the treadmill, hit every machine twice, and knocked down two punching bags in the process. It was only when he felt the need to sleep that he trudged back to his room and collapsed into bed.
The next day, he went through the motions of his morning routine of physical conditioning, lunch, and then more training in the afternoon. But the entire time, all he could think of was heading up to the command room and seeing Mika. He thought of all the scenarios and what he would say to her, but each one seemed ridiculous. What excuse could he make to see her that wouldn’t sound contrived? He got what he wanted, her body for the night, and there was no need to see her.
Despite all that, he found himself taking the elevator up to her floor anyway the first chance he got. Glancing over to her corner office, he saw the door was closed and the lights were out. What the hell? It was early afternoon, not even close to quitting time.
“Hey,” he called to one of the pencil pushers walking by. “Where’s the boss?”
The man shrugged. “She’s not in today.”
A cold feeling gripped his chest. “Is she okay? Did she call in? What did she say?” He grabbed him by the arm and shook him, as if that would make him answer faster. “Tell me now or—”
“I said, I dunno!” He pushed his glasses up his nose. “She just didn’t show up, okay?” When Delacroix released him, he scampered away.
Mika didn’t show up to work. Was that her way of avoiding him? A thought popped into his head, one that made his mood grow even darker. Perhaps she despised him and was ashamed of what they had done. She knew everything about him after all and maybe realized she had been slumming it by fucking lowly bayou trash like him.
He told himself he didn’t care. He’d slept
