Quincy’s heart nearly exploded right out of his chest. “Are you serious?” He had to make sure that he heard right.
“Yes,” Sarah replied, her voice catching in her throat. “I’m sorry.”
Why on earth would she be apologizing for something like this? It was the best news Quincy had heard in an extremely long time. It was almost better than getting his gold back. Quincy used to dream about having an heir—a son that he could shape and mold in his image and teach all the things that he had learned in his life. He had given up on that dream a long time ago. He had thought that it was impossible to have a family with the life he lived.
“Don’t apologize, sweet thing,” he told her, taking her hands in his. “This is great news.”
She looked genuinely surprised. “It is?”
“Yes, it is amazing news,” he replied as he leaned forward and kissed her.
She froze under his touch, causing a pang of anger to surge through his veins. “Kiss me,” he demanded and then pressed his lips against hers again. It took her a moment, but eventually, her lips started to move under his. Quincy’s body relaxed, and he leaned into the kiss. This was good. This was what he needed to bring some happiness to his life.
Pulling away, he looked her up and down. She was gorgeous. Her stomach was just as flat as the day he had first laid eyes on her, but soon it would grow big and round. He couldn’t wait. Quincy placed his hand on her belly and smiled. “You’regoing to take care of our baby,” he stated. “And I’ll take care of you. I’m going to take you away from here and marry you.”
Sarah sucked in her breath and stepped back, leaving his hand to fall away from her belly.
“What? You’d rather be a single mother than marry me?”
She shook her head. “No, sorry, you just took me by surprise.”
Quincy didn’t believe her, but it didn’t matter. They would get married whether she wanted to or not. She would learn to love him and be happy with him.
“I want a boy,” Quincy said.
“That would be wonderful, but we don’t get to choose the sex of the baby. It might be a girl.”
Quincy didn’t want a girl; he wanted an heir, but if they had a girl, he would provide for her nonetheless. Maybe he would even grow to love her. “If it’s a girl, you will take care of her,” Quincy stated. “And then we will try again. I don’t mind having many children. We will try until you give me a boy.”
A strange little whimper escaped her throat as she took another step away from him. She was making him angry by treating him like a monster when he was being nice to her. He didn’t have to be nice. “Stop that,” he demanded.
“What?” she asked, pretending not to know what he was talking about.
“Trying to get away from me. There’s nowhere to go. You’re mine, and you’re going to give me the family I’ve always wanted.”
She looked scared but made no attempt to move further away from him. Quincy moved closer and took hold of her arm. “You take care of my needs, sweet thing, and I take care of you and our future children. I think that sounds like a pretty fair deal, don’t you?”
Sarah nodded in agreement.
“No, I want to hear you say it.”
“It’s fair,” she whispered. “We’ll take care of each other.”
Quincy liked the sound of that. “Good. Now show me how much you appreciate what I’m offering you.”
“But the baby,” Sarah said. “I don’t think it is a good idea to, you know...”
“Oh, sweet thing, you don’t have to worry about the baby. He’ll be perfectly fine,” Quincy replied, leading her to the bed. “Don’t you want to celebrate the start of our new life?”
“Of course I do,” Sarah whispered. “I’m just scared that we’ll hurt him or her.”
“We won’t,” he assured her. “I’ll be gentle.”
***
Quincy couldn’t stop thinking about Sarah and the baby. He had taken her back to the room she shared with her mother when they were done, but he didn’t want to leave her there anymore. He wanted her to sleep in his bed. He wanted her to make his meals and clean his house like a good wife.
That made him realize just how much he had to do. They couldn’t raise a family in the cave. They would have to move closer to a town, and he would have to find a house for them. The idea excited him. He would live with Sarah, and his men could stay in the cave. Nothing else had to change, though. He would still be their leader, and they would still go on raids. He would just have to be more careful and make sure that nobody saw him or figured out where they lived.
