Page 17 of Bread by the Grim (Ghostlight Falls #4)

Phil

I t is the greatest relief of my life, waking up the next morning in the arms of my sweet baker as the sunlight seeps in from the tiny basement windows.

He stirs in his sleep and pulls me closer, nuzzling into my neck, as usual.

His lips graze my shoulder, and with that sexy voice of his, whispers in my ear, “I have never needed a shower more in my life than I do at this moment.”

I can’t help but laugh. “You and me both,” I tell him as I turn in his arms to face him. I run a hand over his cheek, grateful to see the Grim that steals kisses from me when I’m rolling out dough staring back at me.

“I’m sorry you had to go through all that,” he says with a sigh, running a careful finger over the bite mark he left the day before. “I know this is all so soon, and now you’re stuck with me and a baby?— ”

I shake my head, confused. “Stuck?”

“Yeah, well—I mean, if I didn’t manage to knock you up, then it’d be a miracle?—”

I laugh. “A miracle of modern technology. I have an IUD, Grim. I love you, but I’m not sure I’m ready for kids just yet.”

His face lights up as he laughs. “You do, don’t you?”

“I do what?”

“Love me.”

“Of course, silly. Would I worry about just some guy? Would I volunteer to sleep in the world’s biggest wet spot for just some guy?”

He smiles and presses his lips to mine. It isn’t a fast kiss—we’ve had enough of fast and furious to last us for a while, I think. He takes his time as his hand slowly runs down my spine before coming to rest on my ass. He pulls back and leans his forehead against mine. “I love you, too.”

I hug him and then extract myself from his embrace. “Shower, my love?”

He nods and takes my outstretched hand. “Is it too soon to high-five about your IUD saving us from becoming parents?”

“It is never too soon to high-five about that,” I tell him, holding up my hand for him to slap. He looks down at the bed and sighs.

“I think I need to get you new sheets. ”

“Yeah…and Doux’s going to demand compensation, too.”

He looks around suddenly alarmed. “Where is he? Is he okay?”

I nod. “I shut him in the bathroom when I decided to lure you out.”

“Probably for the best. He’d be traumatized.”

I snort a laugh. “Not as traumatized as the counter if it could talk. The glass and the floor are going to need some serious disinfectant.”

He pulls me close and presses his nose to my neck. “I’ll add it to the list. First, I owe you the best scrubbing of your life.”

“And then we have to go get Charlie,” I tell him, deciding on a name for my little lupig in the moment. I open the bathroom door and release Doux. He sprints far and fast away from me and heads straight for the couch.

“Who’s Charlie?” Grim asks, moving Doux’s things out of the bathroom and placing them back where they belong.

“Our new fur child. He helped me figure out what was going on before you tore down the door.”

Grim looks puzzled, then sighs. “I ruined another door?”

I smile and shrug. “Just add it to the list. We’ll start a savings account for next time.”

“Next time? ”

“Yeah, you don’t really think this is a one and done thing, do you?”

He studies me for a moment, then puts a hand to my cheek. “You’d be willing to go through this all over again?”

“Grim! What do you think ‘I love you’ means?”

He shakes his head. “Everyone has boundaries. Maybe this is a one and done for you? Maybe I should go away next time? Or maybe the doctor has some type of suppressant?—”

“Grim, are you always so stubborn? I want to be with you. If this is part of that, then we’ll work through it together.”

“I just want you to be sure.”

“Grim, you promised me no blue balls, ever. I expect you to keep to that promise. You are mine. You’re not going away during breeding season.”

He smiles. “I like when you’re possessive.”

I roll my eyes and turn away to turn on the taps, but he stops me and pulls me close. Our bodies are absolutely gross. My hair is one hundred percent a rat’s nest. We smell…not good, but his eyes are full of laughter.

“Do you know how beautiful you are, Phil?”

“Grim, you’re nuts.”

“I am. But, you…” He kisses me softly. “You’re absolutely perfect.”