Free The Alpha's Baby by M.E. James Page B

park. To her shock, he placed his hand on top of hers. "You're going to be a great mom, Emmy."
    Suddenly, she couldn't look at him. "Thank you."
    "I can't believe it," he said. "Ms. Tough Stuff is shy."
    "Who's shy?" She faced him, eyes narrowed.
    "You wouldn't even look at me when I touched your hand," he teased, then climbed out of the car.
    She jumped out of the car too and met him on the sidewalk. "It just so happens that there was a bird on the sidewalk I was looking at."
    "Where is it?" The sidewalk was empty.
    "It flew off," she lied.
    "Uh-huh."
    "It did!"
    "For lying to me, you're going to have to pay the penalty," he said.
    "I didn't lie." Okay, so she did.
    "Then what color was the bird?" he asked.
    The question threw her off guard. She'd never been that great at lying. "Uh…"
    "That's what I thought." He smirked.
    "Blue," she spat out. "It was blue."
    "Mmm-hmmm." He smirked.
    "It's the tr—"
    Before she could finish her sentence, Sebastian seized her wrist and pulled her into his arms. His hand snuck around her waist, drawing her closer against him. One second she was bickering with him, the next, his tongue darted into her mouth. She considered pushing him away, but then, as his silken tongue ran over hers, she melted in his embrace and wrapped her arms around his neck.
    During that moment, she was certain that Sebastian's soul was mingling with her own. She squeezed her eyes shut as she let out a groan of desire that shook her whole body. He ran his hand down her back, then balanced his fingers on her ass. The man squeezed her butt cheek, making her suck in air and break free from the kiss.
    "What the hell was that?" She stared at him, stunned.
    "It was the penalty." He grinned at her.
    "You jerk," she said.
    "Yeah, yeah." He offered her his hand. "Are you going to eat with me, or aren't you?"
    After she humphed, she stared at his hand—and then took it.
     
    ****
     
    After a large meal of gnocchi, mozzarella, and homemade tomato sauce, she groaned in delight. If she'd eaten anymore, Sebastian would have had to roll her home.
    He let out a content sigh. "It was so good." 
    If she wasn't pregnant, she would have been moaning about needing to go on a diet. "Yeah, it was delicious."
    The man wrapped his fingers around his soda glass and took a sip. "By the way, do you have to go back to the bakery as soon as we're done?"
    She checked her watch. It was a little after three. She'd worked seven hours already, and the reality was, there wasn't much she needed to do until this evening.
    "I suppose I don't need to go back right away." She stirred her glass of orange juice with her straw. "Why?"
    "I have a training exercise I want to do with you." He looked surprisingly solemn for a man who'd been grinning only a moment before. "You know, for the baby."
    "Training exercise?" Her eyes widened. "What is it?"
    Sebastian flashed a grin from over top of his soda glass. "You'll see."
    Something about seeing his eyes sparkling with mischievousness had her heart thundering a thousand miles per hour.
    "Okay, fine," she said. "But it had better not be anything weird."
    The man laughed. "Like ice fishing?"
    "Yeah, like ice fishing," she said. "In fact, nothing fish related."
    "Damn, there goes the whole afternoon." The man smacked the table.
    She raised an eyebrow. "Seriously?"
    "I'm kidding, of course." He chuckled.
    Even though she opened her mouth to respond, the waitress came over to collect the check. Sebastian ignored the way the woman's eyes lingered on his bicep and handed her his credit card.
    "Do you want a boy or a girl?" Sebastian asked.
    She had been focusing on the simpering gaze of the waitress and blinked in surprise. "Pardon?"
    "The baby," Sebastian said. "Do you want a boy or a girl?"
    "I don't know." She chewed her bottom lip.
    "Oh, come on." His grin was teasing. "Haven't you thought about it a teensy-weensy little bit?"
    She blew out a sigh. "I guess. Mmm…Maybe a girl?"
    "A girl, huh?" He eyeballed her.