Page 36 of Tempting Kat (Lust & Luxury #2)

Holding my hands up in surrender, I back away. I know when to pick my battles with this woman, and watching her pee isn't the hill I want to die on today. Not when there are bigger battles ahead—like convincing her that becoming a mother to my child is what she was fucking made for.

Pulling the door closed behind me I lean against the wall outside.

My heart is pounding like I'm a fucking teenager again. I know what that test is going to show.

Five minutes pass. The bathroom is completely silent.

“Katarina?” I knock on the door. No answer.

I press my ear against the wood. Nothing. Not even the sound of movement.

“Answer me.” My voice is sharper now, concern edging in.

Still nothing.

“If you don't answer me in the next ten seconds, I'm assuming you're unconscious and breaking down this fucking door.” I pound my fist against it, harder this time.

One. Two. Three.

My mind races through worst-case scenarios. Did she faint? Is she having some kind of breakdown?

Ten.

“That's it. I'm coming in.” I step back, ready to kick the fucking door down.

Just as I'm about to slam my foot into it, the door flies open. Kat stands there, her face a storm of emotions. Her hand is clutching the pregnancy test, and before I can say a word, she chucks it directly at my chest.

“I hope it got pee on you,” she snarls, “because you're about to get pissed on a lot in nine months.”

The test bounces off my chest and clatters to the floor. I don't need to look at it. Her words tell me everything I need to know.

“You're pregnant,” I say, the words coming out like a prayer.

“No shit, Sherlock.” She crosses her arms over her chest, but I can see the slight tremble in her lower lip. “And you knew. You fucking knew before I did.”

I can't help the smile that spreads across my face. “I suspected.”

Lifting her off her feet, I crush her against my chest. A sound escapes me—something primal, not quite a laugh or a growl, but something in between. My hands span her waist, fingers digging into her flesh as I hold her.

“Put me down, you caveman!” she protests, but her arms wrap around my neck, betraying her.

“Never,” I growl, burying my face in her neck and inhaling her scent. “You're mine now. Both of you.”

I carry her to our bedroom, unable to stop touching her. My hands roam over her body, settling on her still-flat stomach. The knowledge that my child is growing there, safe inside her, fills me with a fierce possessiveness that steals my breath.

I lay her down on our bed, my hands never leaving her body. She's still glaring at me, a storm in those green eyes I can't get enough of. But there's something else there too—fear, uncertainty, maybe even a hint of excitement she doesn't want to admit to.

“You're a manipulative bastard,” she whispers, but there's no real heat behind it.

“I know,” I agree, sliding my body over hers, careful to keep my weight on my forearms. My hand cups her still-flat stomach, thumb stroking the soft skin. “But I'm your manipulative bastard.”

Her eyes soften just a fraction, and I take advantage of the moment. I slide down her body until my face is level with her belly. Pushing up the shirt she's wearing—my shirt—I expose her stomach and press my lips against it.

“What are you doing?” she asks, her voice caught between annoyance and curiosity.

I don't answer her directly. Instead, I speak to her stomach, to the tiny life growing inside her. My child. Our child.

“Hey there, little one,” I murmur against her skin. “It's your dad.”

“Oh my god,” Kat groans, but she doesn't push me away. “You're ridiculous.”

I ignore her, continuing my one-sided conversation with her belly.

“You hit the fucking jackpot with your mom, you know that?

She's the most beautiful woman I've ever seen.” I press another kiss just below her navel.

“Gorgeous green eyes that see right through bullshit.

Curves that make men lose their minds. And these lips that say the filthiest things when I'm fucking her.”

“Conrad!” Kat smacks the top of my head, but I can hear the smile in her voice.

“What? Our kid should know how hot their mom is. How fucking lucky they are to have her.” I rub my stubbled cheek against her stomach, making her squirm. “She's going to teach you how to draw and paint. How to see the world in colors I never knew existed.”

I glance up to see Kat watching me, her expression softening despite herself.

“And I'll teach you how to drive your mother absolutely fucking crazy,” I continue, grinning against her skin. “It's one of my favorite hobbies. Top three, easily.”

“Asshole,” she mutters, but her fingers thread through my hair, a gentle contrast to her words.

“She's going to pretend she doesn't love us as much as she does,” I tell her belly, my voice dropping lower. “She'll roll her eyes and call us names, but don't let that fool you. Your mom loves deep. She just doesn't know how to handle it sometimes.”

Kat's fingers tighten in my hair, and I hear her breath catch. I've hit a nerve.

“She's stubborn as hell. We both are. We got our work cut out for us with you bambino.”