Total pages in book: 100
Estimated words: 95307 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 477(@200wpm)___ 381(@250wpm)___ 318(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 95307 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 477(@200wpm)___ 381(@250wpm)___ 318(@300wpm)
Chapter 18
Winnie
* * *
“What more could go wrong?” I say aloud to no one, instantly feeling guilty for putting that out in the universe.
A lot could go wrong. That’s been proven over the last few weeks.
Each week—hell, each day—something has, in fact, gone wrong. First, my car wouldn’t start. Turns out, my battery cables came (mysteriously) unhooked. My online order for a few last-minute Christmas gifts for Harrison was randomly canceled, ensuring they didn’t arrive for the holiday. And this morning at two, we were awoken by a call from the security company for the gyms. Two of the four alarms were going off, and the moment Harrison gave them his code to deactivate them, they informed him his number wasn’t correct.
I wanted to go with him, but he refused, not knowing what he was getting into and how long he’d be. The problem is that I’m now wide awake, just after four, with no sign of falling back asleep in my future. I’m pacing our living room, alternating between watching the clock and my phone. He was given explicit instructions to text me when he knew what was going on. I shot him a text message about ten minutes ago, but he hasn’t responded. I’m about ready to call Chase, since I’m certain Harrison would have called him the moment he got in his truck to head to the gym.
This is most definitely not the way I wanted to spend the final day before the New Year. I’m a week away from my due date and starting to get miserable. Not that I’m sharing that titbit of info with the overbearing alpha in the house. My stomach tightens with Braxton Hicks contractions all day long, but today, they’re worse. The walking seems to help, but that only makes my feet swell even more. I’m drinking so much water that I could practically live in the bathroom, and that’s not to mention the times I pee by getting kicked in the bladder. Yes, it’s happened. Twice.
All in all, I’m ready for this baby to get here. I’m tired, cranky, and don’t even want to think about having sex. I’m anxious to get this thing out of my body, not put something in it. Harrison seems to understand, though I can tell by the way his erection presses against my leg that he’s suffering a little with my newly implemented no-sex policy. He hides it well, though, never once complaining. He’s amazing like that.
Just after five in the morning, the door between the garage and kitchen opens. I practically run (okay, waddle) to where he enters, throwing his keys down on the table and running his hand through his hair.
“What happened?” I ask, startling him with my sudden presence.
“Shit, Winnie, you scared the crap out of me. I thought you’d be sleeping,” he says in the darkened kitchen.
I go straight to his arms. “I couldn’t sleep,” I confess, nestling into his chest.
“You’ve been up this whole time?” he asks, rubbing my back as he holds me close.
“Yeah. After you left, there was just no way I was going back to sleep. How did it go at the gym?”
Harrison sighs deeply. He takes my face in his hands and places his lips against mine. The kiss is sweet, sensual, and just what we both need. “It was a mess. The security company is still trying to figure out why the alarms went off. Our members have 24-7 access to the gym with their membership cards to gain access, but no one had used their cards at either location during that time. Yet, somehow the panic was tripped at Dalton and Fair Lakes.”
“That’s weird, right? I mean, how does the panic get tripped at two locations?”
“At the same time?” he asks, wrapping his arm around my shoulder and guiding me into the living room. “Someone hacked the system.”
“Seriously?” I ask, stopping and making eye contact. I can see the worry in his eyes and the fatigue in the lines around them.
“Yeah. It’s the only thing we can come up with, especially after my access code was changed. Even Chase’s was changed. We had to reset the system in order to gain control on our end,” he states, taking a seat on the couch and pulling me down with him. I’m sitting on his lap and can’t help but instantly wonder if I’m about to squish him. “Stop it, baby. You’re fine.”
Leave it to Harrison to know exactly what I’m thinking without saying a word.
“Why don’t you come to bed and try to get a little sleep,” I tell him, cuddling into his arms and shoulder. Now that he’s here, the exhaustion is setting in.
“Can’t,” he mumbles, running his nose along my neck and inhaling deeply. “I have an early client, and then I’m meeting with Chase to go over security on all four buildings. We want to make sure this breach never happens again.”