Sebastian (The Beck Brothers #2) (22 page)

"This doesn’t have to be a bad
thing, Raelynn," he said sympathetically.

"I'm not going to be able to work
out on the streets as soon as my boss finds out," Raelynn muttered.

"Maybe it's time for you to think
about a career change," Dr. McLean suggested softly, patting her thigh.

  Raelynn frowned. She didn't want a
different career, she wanted the one she had.
God dammit!
She was such an idiot! How could she
have forgotten that she hadn’t taken her pills while in the hospital? Plus the
antibiotics? And what was Sebastian going to say? Would he be happy? They never
talked about kids.
Jesus!
He hasn't even told her that he loved her yet. They've been together for five
months now, and he still hasn’t found the courage to tell her. She was starting
to wonder if he would ever tell her. Maybe she was wrong and he really didn't
love her. He cared about her - that was a definite - but maybe he didn't love
her like she thought.

  Raelynn left the doctor's office
in a bit of a haze. She was pregnant. She was pregnant with Sebastian's baby. A
swirl of happiness made her smile. Dr. McLean told her to find an OB/GYN as
soon as possible, so that they could take over her care. She would need an
ultrasound to determine the due date. He did a rough estimate since she knew
when the conception most likely happened, probably a July due date.

  Raelynn glanced at her watch; it
was 5:00 pm. By the time she would get to Sebastian's apartment, he would most
likely be home. She had to tell him. She had to tell someone, or it was going
to burst out of her, so who better than the father? As she drove to his
apartment, she imagined a million different ways he could react. She prayed
that he would be excited. Because the more she thought about it, the more
excited she got. She never thought she would be pregnant at twenty-eight. She
always thought she would be in her mid-thirties at least because of her career.

  She walked into Sebastian's
apartment to find him lounging on his recliner, flicking through the channels
on the TV. He glanced over at her when she walked in, giving her a sexy smile.
He already changed into a t-shirt and sweatpants, his standard after
work-not-going-anywhere attire.

"Hey, baby. What did the doctor
say?" Sebastian asked, watching her as she dropped her purse on the
counter, before walking into the living room.

Raelynn sat on the couch, adjacent to
him. "I'm cleared for work."

Sebastian's smiled faded and he groaned.
"Dammit! I was hoping you'd never have to work again."

Raelynn snorted. She knew that he was
completely serious. Oh, wait until he heard the other news. "I also have
something else to tell you."

"And what's that?" he asked
curiously, eyebrow lifting.

"I'm uh...I'm pregnant," she
said hesitantly, watching him to gauge his reaction.

Sebastian's mouth dropped open and his
eyebrows shot up. He shook his head in confusion and blinked at her. "Uh,
what?" he asked stupidly.

"I've been feeling sick for the past
few days and thought it was the flu. They tested me at the doctor's office and
it turns out that I'm pregnant," Raelynn explained nervously.

Sebastian frowned. "I thought you
were on birth control?"

"I am, but when I was in the
hospital I wasn’t able to take it. They also gave me antibiotics. I didn’t even
think about it when we had sex that first time after I got home. I was just so
used to not having to worry about it that I didn’t even think twice about
it."

  Sebastian nodded in understanding
as he stood up and turned the TV off. Raelynn watched him warily as he walked
around to the opposite side of the coffee table and started to pace. One hand
went to his hip while the other rubbed his stubbled jaw. She couldn't tell what
he was thinking, but praying he was going to be okay with this. She would do
this on her own if she had to, but she really didn't want to. She wanted him to
be part of the baby's life - and her life.

"Wow," he murmured quietly.
"Just...wow," he repeated as if he was in shock, which he probably
was.

"I'm sorry, Sebastian. I feel like
such an idiot for forgetting something so important."

Sebastian glanced at her, his green eyes
gentle and filled with understanding. "Rae...come on, that was the last
thing on your mind."

"So you're not upset?" Raelynn
asked softly.

His brows furrowed and he stopped pacing
to send her a hard look. "How could I be upset? You're having my baby.
That's..." Sebastian shook his head, closing his eyes for a moment before
opening them and staring right at her. "Shit, Rae. That's just
amazing."

A slow smile formed across her face.
"Really?" she asked, hopefully.

"I mean...I'm in shock. But I'm
gonna be a daddy!" He grinned wide, his eyes lighting up. "That's
fucking insane." He chuckled.

"I was so afraid that you weren't
going to be happy about this." Raelynn sighed in relief.

Sebastian came around the coffee table
and sat down next to her. He took her hand and kissed her palm. "I know it
wasn't planned, and I didn’t really expect to be a dad any time soon, but I'm
happy about it. How do you feel about it?" he asked.

"I'm still in shock, really. But I
think once it all sinks in, I'll be ecstatic." She smiled.

He chuckled and kissed her on the lips.
He hopped up again and started pacing on the other side of the coffee table.
"God, I have so much shit running through my head right now," he
muttered almost to himself. Then his head snapped up, his eyes locking on hers.
"You're not going back to work," he stated firmly.

Raelynn flinched as if slapped.
"Excuse me?" she choked, completely blindsided by that comment.

"There is no way you're going back
to that job," Sebastian said, his face serious - his tone even more so.

"That ‘job’ is my career, Sebastian.
It's what I do," Raelynn said, completely dumbfounded.

"Not anymore," he snapped.

She gaped at him for a moment. Just who
the hell did he think he was? "You can't tell me what to do, Sebastian! I
plan on working until I can't physically do the job, and I'll go back to work
after my maternity leave."

Sebastian scoffed incredulously, "Oh
no you fucking won't."

Raelynn stood, fists balled at her sides.
Oh, she was beyond angry now. "Screw you, Sebastian! That’s not your
decision!" she yelled at him.

"You will
not
put your life and the life of our baby
in danger because you want to chase after bad guys, Raelynn. Not fucking
happening," Sebastian bit out, his eyes flashing angrily.

"Hey! I didn't give you shit when
you went back to work after all that stuff happened to you!" Raelynn
argued.

"That is not even close to the same
thing and you know it!" Sebastian laughed bitterly.

"Whatever! Doesn't matter! You can't
tell me what to do! I'm going back to work and there is nothing you can do
about it! It's not your decision!" Raelynn shouted at him.

  They were both standing on either
side of the coffee table, glaring daggers at each other. It would have been
comical with their height difference if she wasn’t so angry. His muscled six
feet four inches frame towering over her tiny five feet three inches frame. She
could only imagine what someone would think if they saw them right now. This
little girl infuriating a giant would probably make people worry.

Sebastian made an aggravated noise as he
shoved his hands into his hair and paced away from the table. When he turned
back around, the tortured expression on his face was almost unbearable to look
at.

"Raelynn...it's one thing to put
yourself back out there. I didn't like it, and I didn't want you to do it, but
I understood. Now, we're talking about you
and
our baby. I can't...you can't
do
that to me. What if you get shot again?
Not only could I lose you, but our baby, too? I couldn't handle that," he
croaked, his eyes pleading with her.

"Sebastian, do you realize what
you're asking me to give up? I love my job." Raelynn frowned.

"And I love you! So much it fucking
hurts!" Sebastian bellowed, clutching a fistful of his t-shirt over his
heart with one hand. Then having realized what he said, his mouth snapped shut.
His eyes widened and his face paled.

  Raelynn's eyes widened too.
Holy
shit!
He just told her
that he loved her, and it was so much better than how she ever imagined he
would say it. She pictured him being sweet about it, possibly saying it after
making love or something, but this, this was
so
much better. She knew for a fact that he
truly meant it because he just blurted it out without thinking. She knew it was
for real. There is no way he could have just said it to make her change her
mind because he was just as shocked as she was that he said it.

Sebastian swallowed hard. "Did I
just say what I think I said?" he asked tightly.

Raelynn fought not to smile. She rolled
her lips in and nodded. Jesus, he looked like he was going to pass out.

He nodded jerkily and rubbed his chest.
"That's what I thought," he wheezed and reached for the recliner.
"I gotta sit," he muttered, dropping onto the recliner. He continued
to rub his chest with the heel of his palm.

Raelynn walked over and climbed onto his
lap facing him. He was staring off into space.
Poor guy
. She cupped his face and lifted it so he
had to look at her. Sebastian's green eyes were hesitant and wary. She realized
that he was afraid of her reaction, so she leaned forward and kissed him
tenderly on the lips.

"I love you too, Sebastian,"
she whispered against his lips.

"You do?" He breathed, his
eyes sliding closed.

"So much it fucking hurts,” she
said, using his words.

  Sebastian sucked in a sharp breath
before his arms came around her, crushing his mouth against hers. Raelynn
moaned, kissing him back with everything she had and felt. He tangled his
fingers in her hair and tilted her head, giving himself a better angle to kiss
her more deeply.

Raelynn pulled back, giving him a few
smaller kisses before leaning back to look at him.

He brushed her hair back from her face.
"Does this mean you won't go back to work?" he asked hopefully.

"No, but let me talk to the Chief.
I’ll see if he can transfer me somewhere that’s less dangerous," Raelynn
said quietly.

"Like a desk?" Sebastian
smirked.

Raelynn chuckled low. "Yes, maybe he
can put me in cyber crimes, where I can work at a desk."

Sebastian sighed in relief. "Okay.
Thank you, baby. I'm sorry for acting like an ass." He frowned.

"I'll forgive you on one
condition," Raelynn said, watching as she drew circles on his chest with
her finger.

"Oh yeah? What's that?" he
asked with a smirk.

"Tell me that you love me
again," Raelynn said, lifting her gaze to meet his.

Sebastian cupped her face, his thumb
stroking her cheek. "I love you, Raelynn. So much," he said roughly
before kissing her again.

  Raelynn closed her eyes and
savored the moment. She loved the way those words sounded coming out of his
mouth. She knew how hard it was for him to have even let himself fall in love
with her. But he did, and that's all she cared about. He loved her, and they
were going to have a baby together.