Page 72 of Pretty Lethal
“Do neither of you remember what just happened the other night? We have these crazy people making our lives hell, and you want to make Emilia even more vulnerable by knocking her up?”
“Even with regular sex, it can take an average of six months to conceive,” Wilder states. “Roughly seventy-eight rounds of filthy dirty sex.”
I’m pretty sure we all just blink at him.
He glances at each of us. “What? I read it on some girly magazine website. The point is, we’ll have dealt with my family long before the pee stick turns positive.”
“I imagine that research is for couples with only one male partner? In case you hadn’t noticed, there’s three of us—which would make the average only two months.”
Unbothered, Wilder stares straight back at Kai. “Do you still want to be in the middle of all this shit in two months? Or would you rather be camped out on a beach in the Maldives drinking Mai Tai’s and loving on our girl?”
“Ehh, if I can’t drink alcohol, then neither can any of you,” I point out firmly.
My input has Kai slowly turning to face me. Forgetting about Wilder, he stalks toward me losing some of his ire with every step as his angry expression is replaced with something softer, one reserved solely for me. “Is this something you want?” he asks in a tender voice. It’s as though we’re the only two in the room.
“Only if it’s what you want.”
His hand slides into my hair, tilting my head back until I’m staring up at his face. “I already told you it’s what I want.”
I still feel Hawk pressed against my back, his hands trapped between me and Kai. My skin burns where Wilder’s stare drills into me. Static electricity hangs in the air, charging the moment and filling it with exhilarating anticipation.
“Yes. I want the four of us to be a family. To make a home together. One where little feet patter against floorboards and childish laughter rings in the air. Where we all sit down for breakfast in the mornings and cuddle on the large sofa for movie nights. I want the chaos and the madness, the exhaustion and the smiles. But most of all, I want all the love that I know we could fill our lives with.”
Wilder moves closer, the three of them huddling around me until there are no gaps between us.
We’re one.
Bonded.
I stare into each of their faces, reflecting the same love and devotion I feel for them.
“Then that’s what we’ll give you, Angel.”
Chapter23
EMILIA
Ichew on the end of my pen as I read through the assignment in front of me, giving it my full attention so as to distract me from the fact that I’m back on campus where, less than a week ago, I was being chased like a rabbit through the woods.
A shudder wracks my body at the mere mention.
It was harder than I’d anticipated setting foot on campus grounds this morning, and the entire time Wilder walked me to my classroom, my gaze kept darting toward the treeline, searching the shadows for any hint of the men from that night. Not that I actually expected to see them. It’s my paranoia getting the better of me. My trauma raising its ugly head.
Thankfully, as soon as students started piling in for my first class, my fears were cast aside. I’ve kept myself busy by burying my head in work, with the exception of interruptions at various times throughout the day from Alice, Carrie, Isaac, and David, all of them popping their heads in to ask how I am or invite me for a coffee, which I declined, not wanting to have to lie to them any more than I already have. I fobbed them off with a story about food poisoning to explain my absence, but I don’t want to go into further detail if I can avoid it.
The less they know or suspect, the better.
Look what happened last time I crossed an invisible line.
I’ve learned from my mistake, and this time I’m keeping everyone I care for who isn’t already neck-deep in this shit at arm's length.
Movement in the doorway catches my attention, and I lift my head, eyes widening before a grin spreads across my face.
“What are you doing here?” I ask in surprise as Hawk saunters into my classroom.
A small, genuine smile lifts the edges of his lips, changing his entire expression from the stony facade he wears in front of everyone else to the soft one he reserves solely for me.
“Can’t I stop by to bring my girl coffee?” He lifts his hand, presenting me with a steaming takeaway cup.
