Page 185 of Screwged for Christmas

She shrugged, looking unimpressed, and I could sense her retreating. She had to be confused by all the emotions of our time together added to the fact her father had yet to return my call. The bastard needed a good kick in the ass to see what he was doing to his daughter.

“I’ve taken you multiple times. Without any protection.”

“I know, I was there, remember?”

I raised a brow and a deep blush bloomed across her cheeks. “There is no fucking way you are walking away when you could be pregnant with my child.”

“Is that the only reason you’re fighting so hard to convince me you want more?”

I knew what she wanted and I had no problem saying the words.

“I want to see you plump with my baby multiple times over. Every day of my life I want to see you smile like you did when we pulled into Christmas. I want to see you wearing my ring and I want to wear yours, Evie.”

Her eyes were big and wide and through the tee-shirt, I could see her nipples hard, excited.

“What are you saying, Gabriel?”

Part of me worried she was too afraid to act on the emotions clashing behind those thick black lashes so I did the only thing I knew how to break through any doubts she had about how I felt.

“Marry me, Evie.”

Surprise washed away the fear and she took my hands, the smile from last night lighting her face once again.

Three knocks came at the door.

“Wait right here.”

I swung the door open to find a surprised Calvin starring back at me.

“Yes?” I hated to sound curt.

“I'm sorry, Mr. Dyson. He insisted on coming up.”

Evie’s father stepped into my loft wearing a scowl that would scare a demon back onto the straight and narrow. And he pinned it on me.

“It's all right, Calvin. We’re old friends.”

The Colonel was one of those men who appeared taller than he was. He took in the bed’s rumpled sheets and his daughter’s kiss-swollen lips before his hard gaze settled on me.

My friend’s face darkened with malice.

Good thing I had more grit than most.

“Gabriel,” he said and I held my ground, but stood on a fine edge. I had no intentions of betraying my friendship with the man. What happened between me and his daughter wasn’t planned. I didn’t want this to come to a fight. He was a man of few words and one of the reasons we got along so well.

I gave a curt nod out of respect and old habits before crossing the apartment and coming to a stop in front of him. “Davidson, we tried calling. Where the fuck were you?”

Back when he was my commanding officer, speaking to him like that would have earned me a demotion and a few days in the brig. Today, it earned me a cold, hard stare from a friend and I was pretty sure that fist he made was intended for my jaw.

“I’ll let you land one because I deserve it. After that, I don’t want to spend Christmas explaining to your daughter why I had to knock her old man out.”

Beside us, Evie shakes her head and she was chomping so hard on her lip I think she’s going to cut through it.

A few seconds passed before he spoke.

“What the hell is going on here? I send you to retrieve my daughter and you bring her here? To do what? Violate her?” I’ve never heard the man raise his voice, but it seemed he was about to break.

He’d have a fucking heart attack if he saw the last place.

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