“Dex, I’m sure this is a little hard for you to trust with the way I’ve been acting since I got home,” I said quietly, “but I mean it. You don’t need to agree to anything right now. If you’re willing to let me court you, I want that and I’ll do my damndest to show you, to convince you that I mean it. If that’s asking too much, if I’ve blown my chance to be with you, I’ll settle for us being friends.”
Cuddling my Omega closer, I pressed my lips to his neck and focused on his breathing, matching the rise and fall of my chest to his.
Long silent moments passed before Dex finally spoke.
“I want to believe you,” he murmured, “but it’s just too much too soon after you were,” he shrugged, “you know.”
“At death’s door?” I suggested with a snicker.
“What? No! That’s not what I meant!” He pulled out of my embrace and leaned back, showing me the horror on his face. “Ineverthought you were going to die!”
“It was just a joke, baby. I’m sorry.”
“It wasn’tfunny!” Dex growled, his tone chilly.
“No, I guess it wasn’t,” I agreed, pulling him back against me. “I’m sorry.”
“What I’m trying to say,” Dex said firmly, “is that this is moving too fast. You went from kicking me out before the cum even dried to wanting to claim meaftera medical emergency. I can’t trust that this is going to last.” He sighed again, his breath warm and humid against my chest. “I can’t upend everything to take that chance right now. I need to focus on the baby.”
The bear whimpered at the rejection, but I ignored him.
“I get that, I do,” I assured Dex, “but I still want to take care of both of you. What if you moved into the house with me and let me take care of both of you until you’re ready to make a decision?” I ran my hand down to stroke his tummy. “Legally, I have a responsibility to support you anyway and I’d rather have you live with me, even if it’s platonically, than write you a monthly check.”
There was again no response from Dex and I realized I might be being heavy-handed. “But if you don’t want to, aren’t comfortable with that, whatever, I’m happy to write a check instead. Um, I would like to be part of the baby’s life, you know?”
When there was still no response at all, it occurred to me that I didn’t know if Dex evenwantedthe baby. Was that why he was hesitating? Shit.
“Dex?” I shifted so I could see his face. “Baby, you know I’ll support whatever decision you make but if, um, you don’t want to raise the kiddo…”
Dex jerked back, his flashing eyes jerking up to mine. “OfcourseI want the baby!” he snarled. “Do you really think I would have let you put me through all of this if I didn’t?”
“I just didn’t want to assume,” I said softly, rubbing circles on his back. “Especially since you weren't planning on telling me they were mine.”
Dex sighed heavily, deflating in my lap. “I wanted to tell you,” he said quietly. “Iwantedyou at the doctor visits. Iwantedyou holding me when I was throwing up. Iwantedyou when I was suffering through those fucking flash heats. I wanted you to be in this with me but…” he trailed off with a shrug.
“But my stupid misplaced sense of duty and boneheaded behavior made you think I wouldn’t want it with you,” I finished. “I’m so sorry.”
“I didn’t know what you would do,” he whispered. “The night we conceived, you gave me a speech about how it was a mistake that you regretted and that we shouldn’t do it again. You said there wasn’t a place in your life for me and offered to call me an Uber, so, no, I didn’t feel safe telling you that I gotten fucking knocked up. I mean, if you regretted the orgasm, why wouldn’t you be pissed about a child?”
The worst part is that everything Dex said was absolutely right. I’d treated him terribly and there was no reason for him to trust me.And I had no idea how to overcome that, but it reasoned that the best way to start was to get him to move in with me.
“I understand. What about starting slow? Maybe spend a couple of nights a week together and see how it goes? We could make it at your place instead of the house if you’re more comfortable being able to tell me to leave?”
“I need some time to think about it,” Dex said in a voice that was soft but firm. “It’s not fair to expect me to make a huge life decision when the pheromones are fucking with my thought processes.”
“You’re right, baby,” I agreed, pressing a kiss to his cheek. “Besides, I’m probably jumping the gun a bit since I haven’t even been discharged yet. Will you think about it, though?”
Dex nodded, his soft hair brushing the underside of my chin as he did. “Yeah, Otto. I’ll think about it.”
Chapter Twenty-Five
Dex
Apparently the universe felt that I dithered away more than enough timethinkingwhile I slept. When we woke up in his hospital bed the next morning, it was to a text alerting me to an impending visit from my dads. Normally that wasn’t something I would have been concerned about but the greeting ofwe have bad newsdidn’t set a very optimistic tone.
By the time they arrived, I was showered, dressed, and moved to the chair while Otto lounged in his bed with a smirk on his face, amused that I insisted my dads not see us in bed together.
“Asbestos?” I stared at my dad like I’d never heard the word before. “What?”
