Chapter 10
Jonnas
Jonnas had never brought a woman back to his place twice. But the second Dani curled against him in the parking garage, something inside him settled with dangerous certainty. Mine to protect. The thought should’ve alarmed him; instead, it felt instinctive.
He kept one hand firmly against her back while carrying her upstairs through the private elevator leading into his penthouse. Dani stayed tucked against his chest quietly, one arm looped around his neck, while exhaustion weighed heavily in her eyes.
She fell asleep on him on the elevator, and honestly, the idea of joining her didn’t sound bad. Dani looked tired down to her bones. The elevator doors slid open directly into his apartment, and Jonnas stepped inside carefully without jostling her too much.
Dani lifted her head slightly, blinking around sleepily. “Sorry, I can’t seem to keep my eyes open,” she said. She looked around his apartment and sighed. “Your place feels like it belongs in a movie.”
He chuckled. “I’m not sure if that’s a good or bad thing, honey.”
“A little of both.” She yawned softly. “Your kitchen alone probably costs more than my entire apartment building.” His chest tightened instantly at her self-deprecating humor. Dani constantly made herself smaller without even realizing it.
Jonnas carried her toward the couch anyway. “You need to stop talking about yourself like you’re disposable.” Her expression shifted immediately. He had caught her off guard.
“I was joking,” she insisted.
“I know.” He sat down carefully with her still tucked against him.
“It doesn’t mean I like hearing it.” Dani went quiet—too quiet.
Jonnas recognized that look already—the one she got whenever someone treated her gently for too long.
Like she didn’t quite know what to do with kindness that came without conditions attached.
It pissed him off more every time he noticed it.
“You hungry?” he asked softly, changing the subject.
“A little,” she admitted.
“What sounds good?” he asked.
“Honestly?” She looked embarrassed. “Mac and cheese.”
Jonnas smirked. “That’s manageable.”
“Don’t judge me,” she said. “I’ll eat a vegetable tomorrow.”
“Baby girl, you’re growing a human. You can eat whatever you want,” he insisted.
Her cheeks pinked instantly. Jonnas stood carefully, keeping one arm around her until she was steady on her feet.
“Sit,” he said. The order came out naturally, and Dani obeyed immediately before visibly realizing she had.
Both of them froze. Jonnas felt heat curl low in his stomach.
Dani stared at him with wide eyes from the couch. “You can’t just—”
“Just what?” he asked.
“Use that voice and expect me to do what you tell me to do,” she said.
One corner of his mouth lifted slowly. “What voice?” he asked. Dani had a feeling that he knew exactly which voice she was talking about.
“That one,” she said.
“The one you listen to?” he asked. Her breath caught sharply. Christ. Watching her react to him like this was becoming addictive. Not because she obeyed, but because she trusted him enough to. There was a big difference between the two.
Jonnas moved into the kitchen before either of them combusted from the tension.
He rolled up his sleeves again and started making food while keeping half his attention locked on Dani.
She watched him constantly, like she couldn’t help herself.
Every time he glanced over, her eyes darted away guiltily.
“You know,” he said casually while stirring pasta, “most people would just admit they’re staring.”
“I’m observing,” she insisted.
“You’re staring,” he said.
“You bring me tea and open car doors, and now, you’re cooking me dinner. It’s confusing.” Jonnas laughed softly. He noticed that she liked the sound of his laugh because of the way she immediately relaxed slightly every time he did it.
“Come here,” he said quietly. Dani hesitated only briefly before standing and padding barefoot into the kitchen toward him. That trust hit him hard every single time. When she stopped beside him, Jonnas tugged her against his body.
Dani looked up at him curiously. “What?”
“You look exhausted,” he said.
“I feel exhausted,” she agreed.
“You’re done working doubles,” he insisted.
Her eyes widened instantly. “Jonnas—”
“No,” he said, using the tone she had asked him not to use on her.
Dani’s lips parted slightly. Jonnas saw the exact moment her body reacted to his authority.
Hell, his reacted too. “You’re pregnant,” he continued calmly.
“You’re already sick constantly, barely sleeping, and running yourself into the ground. ”
“I need the money,” she breathed. “I have student loans and bills to pay.”
“I have money.” The second the words left his mouth, Dani stiffened. He wasn’t sure if it was her pride or fear of leaning on him that kept her from accepting help. Either way, her independence sharpened into armor.
“I don’t want your money,” she insisted.
Jonnas immediately softened his tone. “That’s not what I meant.”
“Yes, it is,” she argued.
“No, baby girl.” He turned fully toward her now. “I’m not trying to buy you.” Emotion flickered across her face. The idea clearly upset her. Jonnas brushed his hand slowly up and down her side. “I’m trying to support the mother of my child.”
“No one’s ever offered to help me before. I guess that I’m just not very good at accepting help.” That quiet confession landed like a punch to the chest.
Jonnas looked down at her for a long moment before speaking carefully. “You really don’t know what to do when someone wants to take care of you, do you?”
Her eyes dropped immediately. “No.” The honesty in that single word wrecked him. Jonnas set the spoon down and stepped closer until she had to tilt her head back to look at him.
“You know what I want right now?” he asked softly. Dani shook her head.
“To feed you dinner.” His thumb brushed lightly across her cheek.
“Put you in comfortable clothes. Make sure you take your prenatal vitamins.” His voice lowered further.
“And get you into bed so you can sleep more than four damn hours for once.” Dani’s breathing turned shaky, and he was pretty sure that it wasn’t from fear.
It was from need. Jonnas recognized it instantly now. She wanted care so badly it scared her.
“Jonnas—”
“Hmm?”
“You make it sound easy.”
His expression softened completely. “Maybe it should be easy. I just want to take care of you, baby girl. Will you let me do that for you and our baby?” he asked.
He felt as though he was holding his breath, waiting for her to give him her answer.
And when she nodded her agreement, he felt as though his whole world was right again.
What was it about this woman that had him feeling that way?
He had no idea, but he planned on figuring it out.
Jonnas had never realized how intimate domesticity could feel.
Not sex, seduction, or lust, but domesticity.
Standing in his kitchen while Dani sat barefoot on the counter beside him, eating macaroni and cheese straight out of the pot, somehow felt more dangerous than getting her naked ever had.
Mostly because she looked comfortable, and Jonnas was starting to understand just how rare that was for her.
“You’re staring again,” Dani mumbled around a bite of pasta.
“I’m supervising,” he insisted.
“I don’t need supervision,” she insisted, causing him to chuckle.
“I think that you do. You’re messy.” He grabbed a napkin from the drawer and wiped some cheese sauce from her cheek. She gasped in fake offense before nearly dropping a noodle onto her shirt. Jonnas caught the fork before it hit her lap. “See?” Dani narrowed her eyes at him while chewing.
He was beginning to find everything that she did to be entirely too cute for his own good.
The way that the oversized hospital hoodie swallowed her frame.
The way she tucked one leg beneath herself while sitting on the counter.
Even the sleepy softness in her eyes now that she’d finally eaten something.
His chest tightened painfully at the sight of her.
“You look happier,” she said quietly.
The observation caught him off guard. “What?”
“You look happier than you did before all this happened between us,” she said.
Jonnas leaned back against the counter across from her slowly. “That probably should concern me, right?” he asked.
“No.” Dani smiled faintly. “It’s nice.” He studied her carefully for a long moment.
She looked relaxed, maybe for the first time since showing up in his office with that pregnancy test. The realization settled heavily into his chest because that was what he wanted—for her to feel safe here with him.
“Come here,” he said softly. Dani blinked once before sliding off the counter and walking toward him without hesitation.
Every single time she responded to him so instinctively, something deep inside him tightened possessively.
She stopped directly in front of him, tilting her head up slightly to look at him.
“What?” she asked.
Jonnas brushed a thumb beneath her eye gently. “You look about ready to drop.”
“I’m tired,” she admitted.
“I know, how about we get you tucked into bed? I can work on these dishes later.”
She nodded her agreement. “Pregnancy is rude,” she said around a yawn.
“I’m either cranky, nauseous, or exhausted, all the time.
” A laugh rumbled out of him automatically, and Dani smiled softly at the sound.
Suddenly, he understood something dangerous—she liked making him happy.
Not in a people-pleasing way, but in a connected way.
Like his reactions mattered to her now, too.
That realization wrapped around his ribs tightly.
“Did you take your vitamins today?” he asked. Dani immediately made a guilty face. Jonnas narrowed his eyes. “Baby girl.”
“I forgot,” she admitted.
“You forgot, or you avoided them because they make you nauseous?” She looked personally attacked, and he couldn’t help his smile.
“The second one,” she admitted.
“Mhm,” he hummed.
“They’re gross,” she insisted.
“You still need to take them,” he said.
Dani sighed dramatically. “You sound like a dad already.” The word hit him square in the chest. Jonnas reached around her and grabbed the bottle from the kitchen counter where he’d set it earlier after unpacking her bag.
“You’re taking them,” he insisted.
She looked horrified. “Right now?”
“Yes.”
“You’re mean.”
“You’ll survive.”
Dani crossed her arms. “Maybe.” God, she was impossible. Jonnas shook two vitamins into his palm before holding them out toward her. She looked at them like they’d personally offended her entire bloodline. “No.”
One eyebrow lifted slowly. “No?”
“They smell weird,” she said, wrinkling her nose at them.
“They’re vitamins, not candy,” he said.
“I hate this,” she grumbled. Jonnas bit back a smile. Something about the entire interaction felt absurdly natural. Like they’d been doing this for years instead of barely navigating whatever this relationship between them actually was.
“Open,” he ordered. Dani stared at him. His voice had shifted slightly and was firmer now, but not harsh.
It was just steady enough that her body reacted instantly.
He saw it happen—her tiny inhale, the way her thighs pressed together subtly, and the immediate flush climbing her cheeks that made Jonnas’s pulse kick harder.
Slowly, Dani opened her mouth. That should not have been hot, and yet somehow it absolutely was. Jonnas placed the vitamins carefully onto her tongue before handing her a glass of water. Her eyes never left his while she swallowed. The tension between them thickened instantly.
“You liked that,” he said quietly.
Dani nearly choked on the water. “No, I didn’t.”
“Liar,” he breathed.
“I am not lying.”
“Baby girl.” Those two words made her shiver. Jonnas watched the reaction carefully, his chest tightening with something deeper than lust. She trusted him enough to let go around him—enough to respond honestly even when it embarrassed her, and that mattered more than she probably realized.
Dani set the glass down quickly. “You keep looking at me like that.”
“Like what?”
“Like you know what I want and need.” Jonnas stepped closer slowly until her lower back brushed the counter behind her.
“Maybe I do,” he breathed. Her breathing turned uneven immediately. His hand settled lightly against her hip. “Too much?” he asked, not wanting to push her too quickly.
Dani shook her head almost instantly. “No.” Relief moved through him fast and fierce. That was good because he was trying very hard not to completely drown in whatever this was becoming between them.
“You know what I think?” he murmured.
“What?” she asked.
“I think you’ve spent so long denying yourself comfort that now you don’t know what to do with it when you have it.” Emotion flickered across her face immediately, and there it was again—that look she got whenever he saw through her too easily.
“You make me feel—” She stopped herself.
“What do I make you feel, Dani?” he asked.
Dani swallowed hard.
“Little,” she breathed. Jonnas went still. She didn’t say that he made her feel childish or weak—just little. The distinction mattered. He could tell by the vulnerability in her eyes when she admitted it.
“Safe little?” he asked quietly.
Her entire body softened instantly. “Yes.” Fuck.
That answer settled somewhere deep and dangerous inside him, because hearing her say it out loud made him want things he had no business wanting this quickly.
Caretaking, routine, rules, bedtimes, soft praises, and even a future.
All the things that they both seemed to crave.
He needed that control, and Dani seemed to need it too.
Jonnas lifted one hand slowly and brushed his knuckles along her cheek. “There’s nothing wrong with that, baby girl.” A tear slipped down her face before she could stop it, and he caught it immediately. “Easy.”
“I don’t know why I’m crying,” she admitted.
“You’re overwhelmed,” he said.
“It’s embarrassing. I cry all the time. I guess I’m just hormonal.”
“No.” His voice turned firmer automatically.
“You’re safe enough to feel things now; there’s a difference.
” Dani looked up at him with shining eyes, and something inside Jonnas locked into place completely.
Mine to protect. Not because she belonged to him, but because she trusted him with the softest parts of herself, and Jonnas knew without question he would burn the world down before he let anyone—including himself—hurt her with that trust.