And so, for the rest of the day, she was finally free of him. No more hovering outside her office, intimidating any of the analysts who came near her. Sure, she missed his presence during lunch when no one was around to bring her food. And if she kept finding herself looking out onto the command floor every now and then, she told herself it was just because she wanted to make sure no one was slacking off, and not because she was waiting for him to stroll in. When it was close to quitting time and he still wasn’t back, well … he had the car keys, so she had no choice but to go down to the training rooms to find him.
The GI’s combat floors consisted of a main training hall with all the state-of-the art gym equipment, a sparring area, and a running track that ran around the room. It was modeled after the fifteenth floor of the Lycan Security Force’s training room, including the dormitories, common rooms, and kitchens on the floor below for their agents. Mika herself had lived there for a year when she was a trainee. She walked over to the main sparring area, and it looked like they had just dismissed them for the day. Jacob was there chatting with Cliff, but where was Delacroix?
Her question was answered by a girlish, high-pitched giggle, which made her ears hurt. Turning toward the source, she saw the pretty young blonde by the leg press machine, a wide grin on her face as she looked up at the man beside her. “Oh, Marc, you’re so funny.” Her hand brushed his bicep.
A burning rage shot through her, and her inner wolf growled at the female who dared touch what was theirs.
Theirs?
“Mika?”
Holy hell, when did she walk toward them? Straightening her shoulders, she mustered the coldest tone she could. “If you’re done here, I’d like to go home.”
Delacroix’s gaze darted from her to the blonde, an amused look on his face. “I have to go, Shelly.”
“It’s Shelby.” The blonde’s face twisted in anger for a fleeting second, before her sweet as sugar expression returned. “I’ll see you around, Marc.”
He gave her a curt nod before turning to Mika. “Shall we head out now, Ms. Westbrooke?”
The way he addressed her so formally shouldn’t have annoyed her, but it did. “Fine.”
“Where would you like to have dinner tonight?” he asked as they reached her car. As always, he opened the door for her, and she slipped inside.
“Nowhere.”
“You can’t—”
“I have food at home,” she said. “Just take me home, all right?” She didn’t want to argue, not tonight.
“As you wish.”
Not wanting to make further conversation, she turned the radio on, the music blaring out the speakers. He seemed to take a hint and didn’t attempt any conversation. When they arrived, she dashed out of the car.
“Mika, wait!”
She walked fast, but he was much faster than her. When he got in front of her, she stopped before she collided into him. “Fuck,” she muttered. “Goddammit.”
“What’s the matter, cher?”
“What’s the matter?” she repeated. “What’s the matter? Let me tell you what’s the matter: My feet hurt, and I feel fat, and none of my clothes or shoes fit. I’m so hungry all the goddamn time that a third of my day is wasted just eating, but then I wake up feeling nauseous. I have to pee every five minutes, which is really annoying when I have to be on conference calls with boring Alphas that go on for days. Some days I just want to chug down an entire bottle of wine, but I can’t stand the smell of alcohol. My breasts feel like water balloons being pumped bigger every day, and my nipples are starting to look weird. Not to mention, I’m so fucking horny, bumping up next to a dryer might set me off!” She let out a squeak and covered her mouth. Dear God, she prayed, I promise if you sent a lightning bolt to kill me now, you can reincarnate me as anything you want. A snail. Or a badger.
“Cher—”
“Please.” She covered her face with her hands. “I’m so embarrassed.”
“Mika.” He gently pulled her hands away from her face. “You don’t have to be embarrassed. Not with me.”
“I’m sorry I went off on you like that.”
“You’re pregnant, you’re allowed to be moody. Your body is changing, and that’s normal.”
“You sound like one of those pregnancy books. Maybe I should have read more up on this. I just … feel so unprepared.” She’d wanted this child for so long, that she didn’t even think about what needed to be done before it actually arrived. “I haven’t even seen Dr. Blake for an appointment.”
“I don’t think anyone can fully prepare for something like this, cher,” he said. “But you should let me help you.”
“You can’t help me,” she said.
“I can … especially with that last one.”
“I—that last one?”
“You know, about being horny—ouch!”
“Fuck off, Delacroix,” she said, swatting him on the arm.
He laughed like a hyena. “I only meant that I know a good laundromat around the corner. What did you think I meant?”
“Laundromat—oh you!” She smacked him again, but it only made him chuckle harder. Unable to stop herself, she began laughing too.
“See, cher? There’s no need to be worried. Everythin’ will be all right,” he drawled.
“I … you’re right. Thank you.” With a final nod at him, she turned around and headed into the elevator lobby. Dear Lord, what happened back there? These damned hormones, making her go crazy. Telling him all about her swollen feet, her bathroom problems, and … oh that last one. Being so horny all the time. It was true though, she was. But for some reason, that didn’t really start until she got back and was around him all the time. Maybe she should
