Page 64 of Claimed By the Guardian

“I want that, Cecilia, but I won’t ever have it unless you choose me. You have to choose me freely.”

She straightened. “I do choose you.”

He sucked in a breath, the gasp loud and harsh. “I’m trying to think rationally here. Is this normal for you? To feel this way after a day? A half hour ago, you thought you had a brain tumor.”

“You said I’m not magical. You said I have a choice.”

“You do.” He rocked back on his heels. “But you’re exhausted and the entire world has changed for you. Maybe this is a stress reaction.”

Now she was getting angry. Yeah, sure, she’d been thinking all those things as well. Every single one had filtered through her thoughts on the drive over here. But damn it, she knew all those possibilities and she was choosing him anyway. She wanted this. Right now. No regret.

“I want you,” she said firmly, and she watched his entire body ripple in reaction. Like he needed to go to her right then, but his mind was keeping him back. “You don’t believe me. Why don’t you think I could choose you?”

She watched him react to her words. The motions were subtle, but she was watching him closely. His eyes widened, and his breath held for a moment before he released it slowly. And when he spoke, it was with a quiet pain.

“How can I be what you want? I’m not educated, not like you. You probably make ten times the money I do. And I’m half animal.”

“And you think that’s how I chose a man? By his academic credentials? His bank account? And as for being an animal, you can change into a bear, but you’re ten times the man of anyone I’ve ever met. You’re patient, you’re smart.”

“You can’t know that.”

She stopped long enough to really think about that. They’d been together for one day and it had been an eventful twenty-four hours. “I’ve seen you under pressure. That’s when the real man comes out.” She touched his forearm, stroking his smooth skin. “I do know. And I do choose you.”

“You need time,” he pressed. “To be sure it’s not a brain tumor.”

She grimaced, knowing that he was right. Everything was happening so fast. If she were honest, she’d admit that even though body felt sure, her mind wasn’t completely convinced. And then he had to hammer the last nail in her sex-fest fantasy.

“You won’t get that time if you’re pregnant.”

Gut punch. Sure, she was choosing him now, but she wasn’t calculating on a baby. The idea was ridiculous, except he clearly believed in the possibility. “A condom?—”

“Will break.”

“You don’t know that.”

“What are the odds that all of Brittany’s records would corrupt like that?”

A trillion to one.

“Do not underestimate magic.”

She sighed. “I want a child.”

“I’m glad. Do you want to get pregnant right now, this very moment?”

Yes. No. Maybe. Hell, her rational mind said that was too big a decision to make so casually.

“Then help me give you the time to fall in love. Because if you’re pregnant with my child, I won’t leave your side. Ever.” He exhaled. “And we’ll never be a happy family like the Randolphs. We’ll never be like that because you never had the time to resolve all your doubts.”

She dropped backward, her gaze on the ceiling. Her body was sated and exhausted. Her mind even more so, yet she recognized an underlying emptiness in her womb. She wanted him inside her. She wanted his child.

Was that magic? Brain tumor? Or just plain biology?

“I want that kind of love, Cecilia. I want a family like theirs.”

“So do I.” She looked at him. “Maybe I want it with you.”

They both heard the “maybe” like it was uttered in an echo chamber. It repeated between them, exactly proving his point. She hadn’t committed to him yet. Not fully. And if she got pregnant, then that whole decision became more complicated.