Page 36 of The Dark Elf's Secret Baby

“I guess it was a bit dramatic,” Layla admits as she wipes tears of laughter from her eyes, her smile lingering as I finally catch my breath. She looks so full of life right now, that soft smile playing on her lips, her eyes bright and cheeks pink from residual laughter.

“Just a little,” I tease back, relishing in the way that pink turns a shade darker as I smile at her. All of the anger I was feeling has gone just as fast as it came, leaving nothing but awe and relief in its place.

Layla’s hand rests on the table, and before I have time to think about what I’m doing, I reach forward and place my hand atop hers. Electricity races up my arm from where our hands touch, and I realize it’s the first time in years that I’ve been able to feel Layla’s soft, warm skin beneath mine.

Layla’s eyes round in surprise at the sudden contact, but she doesn’t pull away.

“I’m glad you’re not ill,” I say softly, running my thumb tenderly across the back of her hand. Layla simply stares at me for a moment before dropping her gaze shyly, drawing her hand back to her chest and getting up to return to the dishes.

“Yeah, me too,” She replies after clearing her throat. She makes quick work of the final pot resting in the dish, and I let her, knowing that she’s only using it as a way to dispel the heat lingering between us.

I can’t help myself whenever I’m near her. There’s this magnetic draw that always pulls me back to Layla, that makes my fingers itch with the desire to just touch her. No matter how upset with me she’s been, I can tell by the way she looks at me that she feels it too.

“So, Jasper,” Layla says with a sigh, turning to face me again. “He’s your son.”

I offer her a soft smile in response, nodding. “I know, but it’s nice to hear it out loud.” She nods, her lip tucking itself between her teeth again as she looks at me. Gods, I love it when she does that.

“What… what are you going to do about it?” Layla asks nervously. My brows pull together in answer as I look at her.

“I mean, I want to see him. To help the both of you,” I answer slowly, unsure of where this is going. I certainly want to know him, to have him know me and to be close to him, but her apparent anxiety about this confuses me. Surely she doesn’t think I mean the two of them harm?

“But you’re a Lieutenant,” Layla responds, settling back into her chair. “It’s going to be kind of difficult for you to be around, with you having to run Camp Horizon and manage your other responsibilities.”

It dawns on me that Layla has no idea how serious I am about this, about being near to her and Jasper. She doesn’t know how I really feel about her, because I’ve been too much of a coward to tell her up until this point.

Layla and Jasper are all I’ve ever wanted in my life, my top priority in every sense, and there’s only one real way to prove that to her. I want to be a father, I want to care for Jasper and to be lucky enough to love Layla for the rest of my days.

I get out of my chair, dropping to a knee in front of Layla, her jaw dropping as she watches.

“Layla, be my mate. Marry me.”

22

Layla

Mate?

My jaw drops as I stare down at Kerym in stunned silence. What is he thinking? Truly, he must have lost his mind because this has to be insanity.

So, why did my heart leap when he asked?

I shove the thought away, knowing how irrational it is for me to feel that way. It’s been years since we’ve seen each other; do we even know the other any more after all this time? Most likely not.

And yet… I can’t muster the ‘no’ that should have flown out of my mouth. I know that it is wrong, and it seems that Kerym senses how little of a push I need.

“Layla, please. I want you as my wife.”

His violet eyes are so bright and open that I want to believe him. But he didn’t ask me to marry him until I confessed that Jasper was, in fact, his and I would not be leaving the picture any time soon.

I can’t marry him for the wrong reasons, and it seems that Kerym just thinks he has to be with his son. I won’t question his loyalty to Jasper after seeing them all afternoon, but he had all the opportunity to make me his mate before. And he didn’t.

That shouldn’t hurt the way it does.

“Kerym, I can’t.”

His face falls and it plucks at my heart strings. It’s too bad that I think he does it purposefully. I’ve never known his true intentions with me, and now that Jasper is at stake, I’m not willing to find out with a gamble.

I’m not sure what he sees in marrying me. Maybe he wants to take my son away or maybe we are just something to entertain him until he grows bored, but I can’t let that happen to us. I used to be happy being Kerym’s distraction, but with Jasper, I had to be more.