Page 96 of Her Second-Hand Mate

“No problem, Darryl, thank you. I’ll bring the final choices to your office by the end of the week.”

Later, at lunch, we looked at the mock-ups that Darryl had made for us, and it felt good to be included in the process. I already made plans for the home gym and a workshop for Gabriel and me (once he was a bit bigger), and gave my suggestions for our family room, all of which Penelope wholeheartedly accepted.

It was mind-boggling that I was surprised that she acted like it was my house, too. It made me realize how easy it was to notice that other people were accepting shit treatment from someone, and how difficult it sometimes was to recognize when you were the one doing it.

She absentmindedly twirled some pasta onto her fork and offered it to me. I couldn’t hide my grin. I fucking loved having her fork in my mouth, sharing food with her, doing anything involving her mouth...

“Dominic, please,” she said primly while her thoughts were anything but. “We’re in a restaurant, at lunch. I don’t think our pack members have to smell our various fluids.”

She was right. Respecting others’ noses was the foundation of decorum in our world.

“Are your friends ready for graduation next week?” I asked in order to change the topic, but it made her so sad that I almost wanted to go back to being uncomfortably hard.

“Yeah, they are. Charlotte will travel a bit and try to find her mate. Anthony is angling for a job at the Royal Hospital. Lynn and Rowan are going back to Illinois to start apprenticing for their future as Alpha and Dr. Luna,” she smiled despite the pain and fear she felt.

“I’ll make sure you still see them regularly, youdoknow that?” I asked her, and I meant it.

I’d already written to Rowan’s father to cement a few more joint projects with his pack. And I’d write a glowing recommendation for the pup so that she could see him whenever we went to Colorado for the Alpha Summit. And as soon as Charlotte settled down, I’d think of something for her as well.

“I know,” she smiled and put her hand on mine. “I really appreciate that, Dominic.”

I fought against my natural reticence and told her, “I love you, and you never have to thank me for that.”

“I love you too,” she smiled and it hit me like an arrow to the heart.

“Anthony gave me a parting gift,” she continued with a teasing smile.

I just raised an eyebrow in question.

“He gave me a bunch of photos he took of you looking at me throughout our mating,” she said as she took the envelope from her bag and handed it to me.

There must have been fifty different photos there, all with an oblivious Penelope in them or just outside them, and me gazing at her either possessively or like a lovesick pup. Huh. Anthony had an eye; I’d give him that.

“I can’t believe I never saw it before now,” she said pensively as she carefully arranged the photos before putting them back into the envelope.

“I made sure to hide it,” I shrugged. “As stupid as that was.”

She frowned. She never liked that word.

“Okay, it was thoughtless, cruel, unwise.”

“Well, I’m glad we’re past it now,” she yawned. “I’m sorry. I don’t know why I’m so tired now that Gabriel has been sleeping more. It makes no sense.”

“I spoke to Ariadne; she said it was hormones that made you feel energized in the beginning, and now they're wearing off.”

“I can’t believe you run to the pack doctor for every little thing,” she shook her head in disbelief. “But I also talked to someone, Charlotte and Grace, namely. We talked about breastfeeding and heats, and they told me that now that Gabriel started sleeping through bigger chunks of the night and will be starting solids in a little while, I might go into heat soon.”

I took a deep breath and imagined a really horrific rotting carcass in order to prevent an erection. In vain.

“Okay,” I said carefully. “Do you have an estimate on when?”

She looked away, fighting the same thoughts I had.

“Some time after we come back from Utah, I think. I’ll keep you updated on how I feel.”

“So we have around twenty more days. Do you...” I took a sip of water to steady my voice, “Do you want to try for another one so soon? I mean, there are ways to...”

She shook her head adamantly, “I want to. I can’t wait, actually,” she grinned. “I can’t wait to go through it together this time.”

---