My brother made a gagging noise, making everyone except for me laugh. It had been hours since I’d eaten breakfast, but I felt a lump in my throat that tasted an awful lot like the omelets I’d inhaled. Saliva began to pool in my mouth, and I knew I was in trouble. Pressing my hand over my mouth, I pulled away from Dax and ran toward the nearest bathroom. It was a good thing I was familiar with the clubhouse, or else I would’ve been puking all over the floor. I barely made it to my knees in front of the toilet before vomit spewed from my mouth.
I retched into the porcelain bowl over and over again, long past the point where my stomach was empty. Dax sheltered me with his body, cradling me against his chest between bouts of puking and holding my hair away from my face while I was bent over the toilet. If I hadn’t been so miserable, I might’ve been embarrassed. But the waves of nausea were so close together that I didn’t have time left to think about how gross it must have been for Dax to watch me barf.
Not until it was all finally over and I collapsed into his embrace. “Ugh, I’m so sorry you had to see all of that.”
“Don’t worry about me.” He stood, lifting and setting me on the counter before wetting a washcloth under the faucet to wipe my face. “It’s my fucking privilege to take care of you when you’re sick, baby.”
I offered him a weak smile when he dropped the cloth in the sink. “You do a great job of it.”
He poured some cold water into his palm and held his hand in front of my mouth. “Rinse and spit.”
I regretted doing as he ordered as soon as the liquid hit my tongue, making my stomach roil again. “Oh, no,” I cried, scooting off the counter to kneel in front of the toilet again. “How could there be anything left?”
I dry heaved for a few minutes, then waited for a couple more before lifting my head. “I don’t know how much more of this I can take.”
Dax helped me to stand again. “No arguments. I’m taking you to the hospital, baby.”
“Before you freak Arya out by dragging her to the emergency room, I think she should use this.” Harlowe stepped inside the bathroom and shoved a pink box into Dax’s hand. “Lots of sex plus being emotional and nauseous probably just means that she’s pregnant.”
While Dax tore into the box, I muttered, “How in the heck did you get a pregnancy test so quickly?”
“I grabbed it from Link’s room.” She flashed me a sheepish smile. “It’s just easier to keep them around for when I need to take one. With the way these guys like to keep their old ladies pregnant, we probably should’ve bought stock in the company that makes them.”
I stared down at the white stick Dax handed me. “I guess I’m joining the ranks of the rest of the old ladies then.”
Harlowe ducked out of the bathroom, shutting the door behind her. I pointed the tip of the pregnancy test at Dax. “You can follow her right out of here. I may have just puked my guts up in front of you, but that doesn’t mean I’m going to pee with you in the same room.”
His lips parted, and I knew he was going to try to argue. Before he could get a word out, I stomped over to the door and flung it open. “The sooner you leave, the sooner we’ll know if I’m pregnant.”
“Fine,” he grumbled as he stomped out of the room. “But I’m coming right back in as soon as you’re done. We’ll wait for the results together.”
I shut the door in his face and hurried over to the toilet. I wouldn’t put it past Dax to come barging back in before I was done, so I needed to be quick. Luckily, I hadn’t stopped for a bathroom break on the way to the compound, so I got the job done and was washing my hands when he opened the door. Our gazes met in the mirror, and he crowded me against the counter, resting his chin on the top of my head. “This is going to be the longest three minutes of my life, baby.”
“Only another two minutes and thirty seconds to go,” I said as I dumped the empty box into the garbage can.
Gripping my shoulders gently, he turned me around and tugged on my hair to tilt my head back. “I know exactly how I want to spend it.”
He captured my lips, his tongue sweeping inside my mouth when I gasped. I quickly lost myself to his deep kiss and whimpered in protest when he lifted his head. “Sorry, baby. But the curiosity is killing me.”
“Oops, I kind of forgot.” My laughter quickly turned to a cry when I spotted the results of the test. “Oh, my gosh, we’re pregnant!”
“We’re pregnant,” Dax echoed on a roar before sweeping me off my feet and striding out to where everyone was waiting.
There was another round of congratulations with plenty of hugs, even from my brother. I ignored his muttered threat of death if Dax ever hurt the baby or me. He meant well, but Nova would never truly understand why I was so certain about our relationship until he found a woman of his own.
Epilogue
Dax
“I’m not even going to say ‘I told you so,’” I whispered with a wide grin as I cradled my newborn son in my arms.
Arya rolled her eyes and shook her head in exasperation. “It was a fifty-fifty chance, Dax. You got lucky.”
I gazed at her with all the love I felt, then back down at Grady. “Yes, I did.”
A tiny sniff immediately drew my attention to my wife, and I worriedly asked, “What’s wrong? Do I need to get the doctor?” I was about to storm off and yell for one when Arya grasped my arm.
“You can’t say stuff like that and expect me not to cry, Dax.” She gave me a watery smile, and I narrowed my eyes, unsure whether I believed her.
“You’re not in pain?”
She giggled and reached for Grady, cuddling him close when I placed him in her arms. “I’ve got you and this handsome little man. I’m amazing.”
I scooted her over just a little and curled my arm around her as I sat on the bed. “Can’t argue with that, baby.”
Grady stirred, and his mouth started working, letting us know he was hungry. Arya lowered her hospital gown, and our son latched onto her nipple, greedily sucking. Same as his daddy liked to do, I thought with a grin.
After he finished, he fell asleep. We remained snuggled up together for a while until there was a soft knock on the door to the hospital room.
“Yeah?” I called while still keeping my voice down so I wouldn’t disturb my boy.
Nova’s head popped in. “Can I come in?”
Arya nodded, her face beaming as she gestured for him to come closer.
Her brother hurried over, and when Arya placed Grady in his arms, he swallowed hard. “You did good, kid,” he murmured. Then he gave her a crooked smile. “He’s gonna be a stud, despite having that ugly motherfucker as a dad.”
“You’re going to have to watch your mouth, Nova,” she scolded. “You should start practicing now anyway because I doubt your old lady will be thrilled with you if your kid’s first words are curses.”
Arya side-eyed me during her little speech, and I knew she was thinking about when I’d shouted at the doctor and demanded the motherfucker make my woman stop hurting. Or when I yelled at the male nurse, calling him a bastard and demanding he send us a female. Or when...I shrugged. “I’m working on it,” I replied gruffly, making her laugh.