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“Never.” Where would she go?

Immediately, he lifted her from her feet with a vise-like grip at her hips, walked two steps to the bed, and in a gentle motion that contracted his rough intensity, he laid her on the bed. “Okay?”

“Yes. I'm fine.”

As he pulled back, his face came close to her stomach and he paused. His face lost most of its hard lines as he stared at the swollen bump of his child. Then