Page 29

I stare at the whiteboard Natalia has written on, but my mind isn’t there. The two squiggly lines look like two people fucking. They don’t really, but my hormonal ass is taking everything as a sign to go home and jump my husband.

“Are you listening?” Natalia asked as she tilted her head, crossing her arms at me. “Or is this too much? I can always ask someone else to look at this.”

I shook my head. “No, I'm listening. You just need to subtract at the bottom.” I waved a hand toward her bottom equation. Natalia turned, and I sighed, relieved.

It was one thing for me to feel this, but another to let anyone else know just how much my mind is fighting with my body. I didn’t think hormones were this strong until now.

“You caught that quickly.”

I shrugged as she turned back to me. I took a step back and sat down in my chair. I placed my hand on my stomach, which was protruding. I was about five months along now and I felt like a fat cow. I still had a few months left and I was questioning how women did this.

Natalia’s eyes went to my stomach before bringing them back up to my head. “How are you feeling? I imagine you’re tired a lot.”

I laughed. “Like if I bend over, you're going to have to help get me off the ground. That’s how I feel.”

Natalia smirked. “I imagine so. Are you guys getting excited? This baby will be here before you even know it.”

We were excited. We had a few months to figure things out. Henrik had finished putting a lab into the basement for me so I wouldn’t have to travel to work as much. I planned to work from home for a while, especially when the baby was little. We even changed a room upstairs into a nursery.

We decided to decorate the nursery in a woodland animal theme. Henrik even found someone to paint little animals on the wall. The room was bright and colorful, and I grew eager to see our baby in that space.

We redid our bedroom, turning it into a space both of us enjoyed. We finished turning my office into a space we could both use functionally. We agreed to share it until we could finish the basement with more rooms.

I never saw myself as someone who wanted a lot of kids, but I couldn’t see my life without them. I saw how close Sam and him were, and I wanted our child to have that. To have someone to lean on. Henrik and I both agreed we wanted more than one.

“So the house is all ready now? You guys must be so happy.”

I nodded. “Yeah, pretty much. We have everything we are going to need.”

“Well, that’s good.” Natalia turned back to the whiteboard. “Now, back to this.”

Another twenty minutes went by helping Natalia before she left. I found myself tapping my fingers on the table, staring at my computer. I knew I needed to get some work done because my days were slim. I would be taking maternity leave before I knew it and wouldn’t work for a while.

Sam explained that when the baby came, my mind wasn’t even going to be able to think about work.

I would be so focused on the child that work just sort of fell out of my head.

I hadn’t believed her at first because I knew myself, but I had already found myself slipping at times.

I would space out for minutes and suddenly forget what I was doing.

I chewed on my cheek and glanced at my phone.

I grabbed it, seeing that Henrik wasn’t out of his meeting yet.

I knew I couldn’t interrupt that. Since the big attack, the guys have been having more meetings and letting each other know about anything new that has happened.

There had been a few incidents, but nothing huge.

They had been sporadic and I hadn’t been able to find a pattern when they happened.

We would go weeks of silence before the darkness would appear and disappear again.

Then it would appear in a week and then nothing for a month.

It was driving me crazy being unable to figure things out. It didn’t help that pregnancy brain was a real thing and it was hitting me hard..

I glanced across my lab, taking in a few of the new pictures that were hung up now. One of them was Henrik and me for my baby shower. He smiled happily at me, and it stirred my insides.

Lord, I wanted him. I just had him last night. During dinner and after. He pretty much fucked me to sleep. I wanted him this morning, but he was already out of the house, so I had to get to work.

I bit hard, and I could taste blood in my mouth.

“Fuck,” I pulled my hand up to my lip, finding it was bleeding.

“God damn it.” I grabbed a napkin and dabbed my lip. I sighed and decided to call Henrik. The phone rang a few times before he answered.

“Morning, sweetie.” His voice came out like melted caramel and I internally groaned.

My insides churned, and a warmth spread down my entire body. I physically melted at his words. “Hey…”

“Aren’t you supposed to be working? Why are you calling? Did something happen?”

I pulled the napkin back and tossed it into the trash. “Nothing happened. I’m taking a break. How was your meeting?”

“It was fine. Nothing new, which is good news, but it’s not at the same time.

We’re keeping our eyes open, trying to find if there is something we are missing.

I have the guys looking into finding out who this guy is and what we can learn about this child.

I’ve been trying to read what I can, but I’m not finding much about it.

Which you would think we could have found something by now.

I frowned, knowing what he meant. I knew it was frustrating him as much as it was bothering me. We were trying so hard to find answers and we weren’t getting anywhere.

“Well, nothing is still good news,” I said as I turned, staring at the board. I pulled up a marker and started to doodle. “Are you going home?”

“I was planning on stopping at a few places to get some things. I figured I should get things done while I’m out since we won’t be able to do that when the baby comes.”

I tilted my head at the doodle I had made, not realizing I was drawing two people kissing. I quickly started to erase it.

“Katie? Are you listening?”

“Huh?” I blinked and frowned. “What?”

I heard him sigh. “Not that I don't believe you’re taking a break, but what are you doing? You’ve signed three times already and I can imagine you’re chewing on my lip.”

I paused and set my marker down. I sighed. “Fine, my mind is a mess, and it’s your fault.”

He snorted. “What did I do?”

“You fucked me dumb last night.”

Henrik started to laugh. “If I remember correctly, it was you who said to strip down. You were the one begging for it.”

I felt my face grow hot, and I swallowed. “It’s natural.”

Henrik continued to chuckle. “I know it’s natural. It’s your hormones, so why don’t you tell me why you called instead of saying you're taking a break?”

I bite my cheek, looking across the lab. It was a little after two. “I am taking a break. I needed to let my mind settle. We just finished a hard equation.”

“Was it a hard equation because you were thinking about having my tongue between your thighs?”

My face felt hot, and I wanted to deny that thought, but I couldn’t. I knew what he was able to do to me, and my body reacted. I felt the heat spread and I crossed my legs. “I am a scientist and I don’t let those thoughts come to work. I know how to separate my personal life from my work.”

Henrik laughed. “You’re so full of it. Or have you forgotten about several times we’ve done it in your lab? Or the time I ate you out like a five-course meal?”

I swallowed suddenly, at a loss for words. I tapped my fingers on the table. “Sounds to me like you are the one who needs attention.”

“Oh, don’t kid yourself, love. I will always need attention, but I wasn’t the one who called today. You called me because you were horny. Admit it.”

“I did not,” I said, my face growing hotter. “And I’m not horny.”

Henrik chuckled. “You are. And as much as I’d love to continue this conversation, I have to go.”

I frowned. “Already?”

“Yeah, I’ll see you when I get home.” The line ended, and I sat staring at my whiteboard. I frowned, suddenly frustrated. If I had just told him, Henrik would have come to me. But I didn’t want to be this person. A person who couldn’t focus at work.

I knew that it was the hormones, but I should be able to fight them. I should be able to focus on work when at work and let my mind wander when I am at home.

I got up and stretched, hoping that it would help, but it didn’t. I still felt frustrated, and the more I moved, the more my body ached.

I cleaned the whiteboard and deep-cleaned my desk when the door to my lab opened.

I glanced over my shoulder, and Henrik stood there looking as good as I could remember.

My eyes raked over him, taking in every inch of him.

He looked good, sporting a pair of jeans and a plain blue shirt.

His hair was cut shorter, and he was growing a beard.

I bit into my cheek and held back an internal moan. Henrique smirked. “You know you're staring at me like I’m a snack.”

I swallowed. “Did you just come here to mock me?”

He chuckled, letting the lab door shut behind him as he walked closer. I backed against the lab table as he crowded my way and vision. “Of course not. I came here to take care of you.”

He placed his hands on the table, caging me against the table.

My breath hitched at his closeness, and I swallowed.

He moved quickly, pressing his lips against mine in a rough kiss.

I couldn’t hold back the moan that ripped through my throat.

It was an ache I didn’t realize had grown so much. They want to take over everything.

His lips were quickly sliding mine open, and I could taste peppermint.

The kiss ended as fast as it began. He took a step back and I scowled at him as he grabbed my hand. “Wait, why did you pull away?”

“Because we are leaving. You’re not going to get any work done while you're here.”

I waved a hand. “It’s in the middle of the day, Henrik. I can’t just leave.”