Free Walk on the Wild Side by Natalie Anderson Page B

the one that flashed the result in a bright neon light— pregnant!
    As if it were the best news in all the world.
    For some women it would be. For some women it would be the result they’d been praying for after months of trying or treatment. But for Kelsi?
    She slumped. An unplanned pregnancy was bad enough. But from a one-night stand? Not even a relationship? They had no basis, nothing to try to make the best of, nothing between them but animal, sexual attraction—that was as everyday to him as breathing. And utterly overwhelming for her.
    Wincing, she closed her eyes. But still she saw the light flashing with that single, life-changing word.
    It had to be wrong. Had to be.
    She ripped open the second box.

CHAPTER FIVE
    J ACK banged on the door , never so impatient in all his life. ‘Kelsi? Are you okay? Open up.’
    Silence. Just as there’d been silence for the last ten interminable minutes.
    â€˜If you don’t open up now I’m breaking the door.’
    It wouldn’t take much. He seemed to have more adrenaline running in him than he’d had even on the most difficult jumps. He made himself uncurl his fingers from the fists they’d bunched into and tried to relax. Half a second later he banged again.
    There was a muffled reply. Not good.
    The door opened and he saw her face.
    Definitely not good. Definitely really, really bad.
    â€˜Don’t worry.’ He didn’t know who he was trying to reassure more—her or him. ‘It’s going to be OK.’
    Oh, hell, it wasn’t. She walked past him, handed him the thing that had ‘pregnant’ flashing on the tip—two of them plus two that had the two blue lines. He’d seen enough movies to know what they all meant; he didn’t need the damn flashing neon signs.
    Was this why he hadn’t been able to get her out of his head these past weeks? Was there such a thing as male intuition?
    No. It was pure lust. All day, all night she was all hecould think about, until he could fight it no more and he’d had to come and deal with it. He’d actually blown off his training and come back to finish what they’d started. That was nightmare enough, now it had turned into a full-on horror film.
    His brain fast-tracked down another nightmare route. Had she known? She’d been cool when she first saw him—had she known she was pregnant but was never going to tell him? Would she ever have told him?
    He stared at her. Of course she hadn’t known. No one could fake this kind of shocked reaction. But would she have told him once she found out? The question burned deep and he didn’t like it.
    â€˜We can deal with this,’ he said into the silence, still trying to reassure someone—anyone.
    She said nothing. Just looked stricken.
    Problem solving. He could do that. He just had to figure out a plan. But he wasn’t thinking much at all at the moment other than— pregnant .
    And then came the panic. The sheer, freezing panic as he thought about a baby and its birth and then about his own awful arrival into the world.
    â€˜It is mine, right?’ his mouth blabbed before his brain could stop it.
    She went rigid. ‘Right.’
    Big mistake. But he had to be sure—because there were things she had to know. But not now—she was upset enough already. She didn’t need more to terrify her. Oh, hell, no.
    â€˜I take full responsibility,’ he said urgently. ‘I was the one who—’
    â€˜I said yes,’ she interrupted fiercely. ‘I don’t blame you.’
    Silence. Long, long silence. But doubts whispered insideand he, who usually had such formidable mental strength, now could not resist them. ‘Can I ask you something?’
    She shrugged. ‘Sure.’
    â€˜If I hadn’t come here tonight, would you have contacted me when you found out? Would I ever have known I’m going to be a father?’
    Kelsi didn’t think the