Page 22 of Risk (Gods #3)

I ’m sitting in the waiting area of the doctor’s office. Kaden is sitting beside me.

True to his word, Kaden took control and found a doctor for me. One of the best baby doctors New York has to offer. We haven’t told anyone else in my family yet. I wanted to see the doctor and get the full okay before we started informing people.

I’m nervous as hell. I can’t stop jiggling my legs.

I feel a strong hand grip my thigh, and my gaze swings to Kaden’s.

“Relax,” he tells me.

But now, I’m struggling to relax because that big hand of his—with those fingers that made me come—is gripping my thigh. I can feel the heat of his skin through my leggings, and that heat is quickly making its way to my clit.

I’m getting turned on at a doctor’s office. What the fuck is wrong with me?

Then, I realize that we’re still staring at one another and his hand isn’t leaving my thigh. He’s past the amount of respectable time that it should have been there when he touched me to stop my leg from jiggling. And if I’m not mistaken, his eyes have darkened.

Is he turned on too?

“Artemis Kincaid?” a voice calls out.

I shoot up from my chair like I was scolded.

“Present!” I put my hand up like I’m in class and then want to smack myself in the face with that hand.

I hear a deep chuckle come from beside me, and the lady who called my name is looking at me like I’m a total idiot. Which I am. I mean, who the fuck yells present and puts their hand up when they’re in a doctor’s waiting room?

I’m blaming Kaden and his strong, warm hand on my thigh.

“This way, please.” She gestures down the hall for us to follow her.

I feel the touch of Kaden’s hand on my lower back, literally just above my ass, as we start to walk, and of course, my vagina pokes her head up and says hello.

I speed up a little in the hope that his hand will fall away, but it doesn’t.

He keeps pace with me, and his hand stays put, much to my body’s delight.

The woman opens the door, and we follow her inside the doctor’s office.

“Take a seat. Dr. Adams will be with you shortly.”

Leaving the room, she closes the door behind her, leaving Kaden and me alone.

I gingerly sit on one of the chairs across from the desk, and Kaden takes the one next to me.

We sit in silence while we wait for the doctor, and I don’t realize my leg is jiggling again. I feel that damn hand of his on it again, steadying it.

He says, “There’s nothing to be nervous about.”

“You have to stop touching me,” I blurt out.

He immediately removes his hand, and the wounded look in his eyes makes me feel like shit.

“I’m sorry. I didn’t mean—”

“No. You’re right. I shouldn’t have touched your leg without your permission.”

“Kaden, no, it’s not—”

I’m interrupted by the opening of the door, and a gorgeous Black woman with short hair, wearing a white doctor’s coat, enters.

“Good morning.” She smiles brightly. “Artemis Kincaid, I’m Dr. Adams.” She takes the seat opposite the desk from us.

“It’s so nice to meet you.” She moves the mouse on her desk, presumably to bring her computer to life, and then taps a few keys and says, “So, you’re pregnant.

First, congratulations.” She beams at me.

“And would I be right in assuming this is Dad sitting next to you?”

Both Kaden and I say, “Yes,” at the same time.

“Kaden Scott,” he tells her.

“Fabulous. Now, do you have any idea when your last period was, Artemis?”

“Everyone calls me Missy,” I tell her with a smile.

“Missy it is.” She nods. “And that last period was?”

I tell her the date, and she taps the keys on her keyboard again.

“So, that would make you about…seven weeks pregnant? Well, seven weeks and two days, to be exact. Giving you a due date of…” She trails off, assumedly working out my due date, and I’m literally on the edge of my seat with anticipation. “July 25,” she finally says.

“My birthday is July 26,” Kaden says, and my gaze whips to his.

“Is it?” I didn’t know this. I mean, I knew it was in July sometime.

His lip lifts at the corner. “Yeah, it is.”

“I mean, I knew it was July…” I stop talking, suddenly very aware of Dr. Adams’s gaze on me.

I can feel my cheeks flaming hot because I can only imagine what she’s thinking of the fact that I didn’t know the birthday of my baby daddy.

I give her a tight smile. “We, um, we’re not together.

” I move a finger between Kaden and me. “I mean, we’re going to raise the baby together.

I mean, together apart. Single parents, both fully involved in the life of our child.

But he’s my older brother’s friend, and we got drunk at my other brother’s wedding—not blind drunk, just tipsy, throw your inhibitions out the window kind of drunk, and we hooked up, obviously, and here we are. ”

I can feel Kaden’s stare on the side of my face, and Dr. Adams is just staring at me with wide eyes. I pray for a miracle, like a meteor to hit the earth and wipe me and this moment from existence forever.

Sadly, it doesn’t happen.

What does happen is, Dr. Adams laughs lightly and says, “Not together, just co-parenting. Got it.”

I press my hands to my face and groan. “God, I’m so sorry. I get really bad verbal diarrhea when I’m nervous.”

“There is nothing to be nervous about.” She gets up from her chair and walks across the room. “You’re having a baby. The most natural thing on this planet. Well, except giving birth—”

At my startled expression, she laughs again, louder this time.

“I’m kidding. You don’t need to worry about the birth. Your body has got you. It will totally know what to do when the time comes, and I’ll be here to help you through it. So, I’m just going to need to do your blood work.”

I watch as she gets out what she needs to take my blood.

“Best arm?” she asks me.

“Uh…”

“To take blood from. Do you know? No worry if you don’t. Just push your sleeves up and let me have a look.”

She comes over with a little tray containing needles and tubes. I’m not a lover of needles, so I look away while she decides on my right arm and wraps a strap around the upper part. Then, she cleans the area.

“Clench your fist tight for me,” she tells me.

The prick of the needle makes me flinch. I feel Kaden lay his hand on my other arm, giving it a light squeeze. I look over and give him a look of gratitude. I’m glad he feels like he can touch me after my little freak-out just before.

“Right, all done.” Dr. Adams presses a cotton ball to the spot where she just jabbed me, and she puts surgical tape over it to keep it in place. “Now, hop up onto the bed for me so I can do a scan and see how your baby’s doing in there.”

A bout of nerves hits me. I’m about to see my baby on-screen.

I slowly get up from my seat and walk over to the bed. Kaden follows in silence, and I wonder if it’s just hit him, too, that we’re going to see our baby.

Jesus. Our baby.

I mean, obviously, I knew I was pregnant. But it’s getting more and more real as time goes on.

I hop up onto the bed, and Kaden sits in the chair beside it.

I glance at him and give him a smile, which he returns.

Dr. Adams comes over and switches on the scan machine—at least, I think that’s what it’s called.

“Can you lower your pants to your hips and lift your top for me?”

I do as told, and she tucks some paper towel into my pants.

“Just to make sure we don’t get any gel on your clothes,” she tells me.

Then, she washes her hands and pulls on some surgical gloves.

She rolls over a stool and picks up a clear squeeze bottle. “This will be cold,” she says, then squirts a big blob of the clear gel onto my stomach.

I suck in a breath. She wasn’t kidding; that stuff is cold.

“Okay, so I’m just going to press the wand to your stomach, move it around until I find the right spot, and the baby will show up on the screen. When the baby makes an appearance, I’ll mark some details down that I need, and then I’ll show you both. Sound okay?”

“Sounds good,” Kaden says for us both. It’s the first words he’s said in a while.

Dr. Adams presses the wand to my stomach, and—oof—she’s pressing quite hard and right over my bladder as well.

I’m concentrating on not pissing myself when she says, “Oh.”

My head snaps to hers. “Oh? What’s oh mean? Is everything okay? Oh God, something’s wrong, isn’t it?”

I blindly reach for Kaden’s hand, and he grabs mine immediately. I have visions of the baby’s heart not beating or…

“Everything’s fine; don’t worry,” she’s quick to reassure me. “It’s just…I’m seeing two babies here.” She smiles warmly at me. “Congratulations. You’re having twins.”