Page 31 of The Fated Mate Bandit

“What? No. I want to be with you.”

He takes my hand and squeezes it. “Good. Because I don’t know if I could give you up after last night. That sex was fire, baby.”

I think back to the way he grunted and trembled while he was inside me. I know he wouldn’t be able to fake anything like that. I made him feel good.

“It was fire for me, too,” I say.

He releases my hand and reaches slowly across the mattress. He locks eyes with me as he places his hand on my belly. “I felt the pups move last night. They were kicking against my hand.”

Silver’s fingers were inside me last night, but somehow, the way he touches my belly feels a lot more intimate. I’m not sure I’m ready for it.

“I want to be a father,” he says. “I always have.” He rubs the bare skin of my belly under the blanket. As if on cue, I feel the tiny somersaults of the pups within me. Silver’s face lights up. “I think they’re saying hi.”

Tears burn in the corners of my eyes. Daryll has never touched my belly like this. He’s never acknowledged our pups in any real way except to complain about how fat I am or how much having pups will cost us. He’s certainly never said that he wanted to be a father.

“Wolf pups are different than raccoon kits,” I remind Silver.

He gives me a sad smile. “So you’ve said before. You're worried I won’t love them because they aren’t raccoon shifters.”

“You didn’t like Daryll very much. They’re his pups?—”

“I don’t like your alpha dad either, but I love you,” he says. He bends over and presses a soft kiss to my belly. “If you let me love them, I will, Lucas. I swear to you. I will love them with all of my heart.”

Tears slide down my cheeks. Up until now, I accepted that this trial run between Silver and me would be over in a month. I haven’t allowed myself to hope that I could be with him longer than that. It would be selfish of me, and the last thing I want is to ruin Silver’s future. But what if I allowed myself to be with him for my pups’ sake? Then it wouldn’t be completely selfish. They’d be better off here with Silver than wherever we’d end up if I ventured off alone.

“We could have more children,” I say, as Silver walks back to the closet.

He turns to look at me over his shoulder. “Yeah?”

“Yeah. We could have raccoon kits, too.”

He smiles. “I’d like that. They could sleep in the same hammock with the pups. All together, like how we used to cuddle when we were kids.”

More tears stream down my face. I can’t help it. The idea of giving my pups the same comfort I got from Silver and his brothers makes me emotional.

“Are you sure you want that?” I ask.

He nods. “I do.”

I hug my belly and let the tears fall down my cheeks. Silver lets me cry for a few moments without saying a word. He’s so patient. I wish I could be as wonderful for him as he is to me. I wish I could be enough to keep him happy.

What if I tried my very best? Could I come close?

I open my eyes to find him sitting at the edge of the bed, naked. He probably needs to get dressed and start his work day. I’m sure he doesn’t have time for my histrionics.

“You have a whole month to decide.” He gently brushes my tears away with his fingertips. “I won’t rush you, okay?”

With that, he stands and dresses quickly before heading out the door.

14

SILVER

Link is sitting in the dining room, taking a bite out of a hard-boiled egg when I get to the kitchen.

“Congratulations, man. It sounds like things went pretty well last night. Do we have a new brother-in-law?”

I sink down in the chair next to him. “Not yet.”

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