"Now what do we do?" I exclaimed, but he just shrugged.
"We'll be parents in about nine months from now, get married and live happily ever after."
He yelped when I hit his arm, then he started chuckling.
"Be serious, Michael! I can't get pregnant now."
"Okay. How about next week, then?"
I scowled at him and tried to push out whatever was left inside of me, but nothing came out. It was probably planted deep in my ovaries already. Oh, help me God! Please don't let this happen.
"Don't worry, babe. I pulled out before I came. You saw that."
He didn't look at me when he said that, but he was right. I saw it. And it was a massive load that could have caused a lot of troubles for us. So when he cradled me in his arms, I relaxed a bit.
"Even though I know you'd be the best mom, I think maybe you should get a doctor's appointment."
I stiffened again. He thought there was a risk that I would get pregnant from this after all?
"You know, just so you can start on the pill."
"Oh," I said dumbly and swallowed. Why did I always expect worst case scenarios? Then I forgot all about everything when he murmured directly into my ear.
"Because I really loved fucking you raw. To feel every inch of your drenched, tight pussy without any barrier between us. And to fill you up with my cum and watch it pour out of you afterwards. Wouldn't you like that?"
My breath hitched in my throat, and when I finally caught it, it came out as a moan that caused Michael to chuckle lowly at my response.
"Do you like when I talk dirty to you?"
I didn't want to answer, but yes. It turned me on like a goddamn sprinkler.
"I think you do," he smirked and pecked my lips. Then he suddenly transformed into the sweet, innocent man he normally was.
"But no matter how rough I am, you know that I still do it with love."
He kissed me again.
"And passion."
Another kiss. One that made me smile.
"And adoration. Because you're my beautiful princess and I love you."
"I love you too. But if someone else said that, I'd cringe all the way into next week," I said and made a face. "But you... You can seriously get away with pretty much anything just with a smile and looking hot."
He chuckled but didn't comment on that, and I could see he was blushing.
"Are you still hungry," he asked, and I nodded. An efficient way to change the topic.
"Then I think we should hunt down some cold hens. I think I heard them cackle downstairs."
"Gosh, you're so silly," I giggled. Then I squealed when he spanked me.
"Get dressed and I'll prepare the food."
And without waiting for my answer, he disappeared into the bathroom to clean himself up, and walked downstairs so I could do the same. In reality I'd prefer a long, warm shower, but I had a feeling we would do that later and probably use all the hot water before we were done. And I wouldn't complain one bit. But my stomach did.
It was time for food.
<><><>
"So... Where do we go from here?"
There it was. The question that I'd been dreading since I got here. A question I didn't have a reasonable answer to. I only knew in my heart that I wanted to be close to Michael as often as I could. Then again, I didn't want to be clingy or a burden to him. Also, I had an education to complete. No. I had to be realistic, which meant that I had to focus on the graduation only two weeks ahead.
"No matter what we do, we need to heighten the security. You are not allowed to go anywhere without JB and Vincent. Terence, whom you have met before, and Ole-Knut will also be there, to make sure you are properly protected twenty-four seven, and..."
I let out the most awful snort to ever have come from a girl, and started laughing.
"Who?" I choked out, and Michael looked confused for a moment.
"Oh. Ole-Knut. He's Norwegian, and a bit difficult to understand. But he's really nice and trustworthy, and looks like a Viking with a beard and a long, blonde mane."
He chuckled when my laughter vanished at the thought of this rugged, wild warrior, and I pictured him wearing a helmet with horns, holding a wooden shield and a sword. Okay, so maybe not talking to my bodyguards wasn't such a bad idea after all? I just hoped he didn't scare me more than Veronica and my mysterious male stalker.
"Mia?"
"Hm?" I replied absent-mindedly.
"Do you agree?"
"Uh... Yes?"
He chuckled.
"You have no idea what I just said, do you?"
"Errhm..."
I made a guilty face and felt my cheeks flush.
"I said that you should study as much as you can either from here or from Dorothy's house. The less you are at school, the lower the risk is that something happens to you."
"What? No. What about my friends? And my classes. I'm gonna miss out on so much," I protested.
"Skype? FaceTime? Just some kind of online hangout that enables you to participate from home. I'll talk to the school management and we'll figure something out."
He put the chicken bones down on his plate and wiped his mouth with a napkin.
"And you'll get your new phone tomorrow, of course with a new, secret number. Same goes for me, since I don't have the slightest clue how to get my old one back. Has he called you again?"
I shook my head. I was stunned. Speechless. He'd really thought of all that, while I was more concerned about whether I should stay over the weekend or not?
"Probably a good thing. But the police should take a look at it anyway, to see if they can manage to track it down somehow. I'm not sure how they do that. But if they don't, I'll hire someone who can."
Then he mumbled something incoherently that left no doubt of the level of annoyance towards the law enforcement system.
"So, do you agree?"
"Uhm... I'm a bit overwhelmed," I said truthfully.
"Understandable. But do you want to stay here? That's probably the safest."
I blinked my eyes.
"We can take the jet so you can be at school for the exams you can't do from home."
"No. No, no... Holy cow. This is... Are you nuts? Do you have any idea how much that will cost?"
"Uhm... Yeah?"
I groaned. Of course he knew.
"What about the environment? It's gonna pollute... And the waste of time for you. Just... No. It'll be way too stressful, and you already have enough to deal with."
"I'm more stressed out when you're not here, Mia. At least here I'm only minutes away in case something happens. And I'm actually able to get a full night's sleep when you're snoring and drooling all over my chest."
"I'm not!" I snorted, but Michael just giggled.
"You know what I mean."
He reached across the table and grabbed my hand.
"But what about auntie Dorothy?" I asked, even though it was somewhat irrelevant.
"Bring her, too. I'm sure we can find a suitable shed for her in the zoo."
"How rude," I exclaimed, laughing.
"I think she'll be fine with it. I'm more concerned about your parents."
Then he mumbled something that I couldn't hear, and I raised an eyebrow questioningly.
"And Dickhead," he muttered a little louder, and I rolled my eyes.
"Why do you always call each other such awful names? I really wish you could get along better. Benjamin is a really sweet guy."
"Yeah," Michael said, unamused, while cleaning his teeth with his tongue.
"He is! And did you know he has a new girlfriend now?"
"I knew it!" Michael exclaimed. And not in a happy way.
"You did? Do you have some kind of bromance going on that I should know about?" I asked, a bit surprised. I didn't think they were speaking much other than strictly necessary. Mostly in situations caused by the mess I made.
"Really, Mia? We hate each other's guts. Besides, it's not about that at all. That bastard claimed that he loved you, yet he moved on in a heartbeat like nothing."
"Michael... You know that's not true. I think he still feels the same way, but at least this new girl keeps his mind occupied. He has enough to deal with as it is, so he doesn't need to be even more depressed because of me."
Michael pursed his lips and didn't say anything, so I felt the need to elaborate.
"It's his mom. She's been absent for several years, and..."
"I actually don't care about his mother or his great great grandmother's sister in law's dead dog. How do you think I felt when you didn't speak to me for all those months? At least he still gets to see you and talk to you."
I felt like someone had punched my stomach, and I felt nauseous with guilt. I didn't even think about that. I was too self-centered, too consumed with my own complicated life to even consider it. I actually thought Michael had moved on a long time ago, or that he was dating Gabby or somebody else, until he started sending me those letters.
The silence became suffocating until I spoke the words that needed to be said.
"I'm so sorry. I'm really sorry, Michael. I..."
But he stopped me.
"It's okay, babe. I won in the long run, didn't I?" he smirked, and tried to lighten the mood. It didn't help much, though. And I really, really deserved that wakeup call. After all he'd done for me...
"I'm the most selfish person on earth," I whispered to myself, and quickly started gathering the dishes to carry it into the kitchen. I didn't want him to see me cry. But when I stood hunched over the kitchen sink, sniffling and wiping my tears away, I felt two strong arms sneak around my waist and pull me toward a strong chest.
"I'm sorry, Mia. I should never have said that."
"No. I deserved it. I didn't even realize..."
He shushed me and turned me around to face him.
"Don't. Neither of us are perfect. You know I've messed up my share, and Benjamin too. It's just that, sometimes he annoys the crap out of me the same way my brothers do. But that doesn't mean I don't understand that he's a good guy deep down. And I know he takes care of you when I'm not there, which is somewhat comforting. But I think I made it pretty clear to him that I'd break his skull if he ever crosses the line again."
My mouth fell open when I saw the irritation in his eyes. What line?
But I never got to ask, because not even a second after, my eyes had caught on the most dreadful sight, and I was immediately frozen solid. Because right there in the window behind Michael...
A pale face with two large, dark eyes.
Staring at us.