Page 76 of Surprise Mother Pucker

Eli shook his head. “Charlie was the only one awake, so he’ll wake Storm up when we’re on the way.”

My eyes widened. “You didn’t even give him a heads-up?” I asked incredulously.

“Nope.” Eli smirked as he plucked the baby out of my arms. “Oh, Miss Charlotte! You are not a happy girl tonight, are you?” he asked, continuing the bouncing.

“No one likes waking up to a screaming baby,” I pointed out.

“How many times in the last year have you been woken up by a screaming child, Kennedy?”

“Too many to count. That’s part of being a parent.”

“Exactly, and it’s time Storm learned. He’ll be fine with it,” Eli declared as he carried Charlotte in one arm and picked up my overnight bag in the other.

We pulled up to the pack house twenty minutes later. All the lights were on, so clearly, the pack was awake.

“Tiny terror!” Micha exclaimed as I walked through the door. He was lying on the sofa, wearing nothing but a pair of gym shorts.

“I’m starting to doubt you own any shirts,” I grumbled as I rocked my baby. Charlotte had stopped crying, but now she was hiccupping occasionally, all worked up from her crying.

“Maybe I just wanted to show off my stunning body to the pretty omega.”

I rolled my eyes as Eli placed my bag on the coffee table. “You’ve got your pick of rooms tonight,” he told me as Storm appeared, clearly tired, his hair sticking up. Still, the moment he saw me and Charlotte, his face lit up with a smile. Without a word, he strode over to me, holding his arms out for the baby.

“There’s my girls,” he cooed as he took the now-happy baby out of my arms.

Chewing on my lip, I watched as Charlotte snuggled into her father’s embrace, immediately relaxing into it. I should have been happy that my daughter was getting so comfortable in his presence—with the whole pack, in fact. It was like the moment she caught a whiff of their scents, she was happier. If it improved my daughter’s life, then I should have been completely on board.

Then…why was my stomach turning uncomfortably and my chest tightening at the sight?

“I-I’m sorry?” I said, turning to Eli.

“We have four bedrooms here at the moment, so pick one. You need a good night’s sleep.”

“I’m not kicking any of you guys out of your beds!” I hissed. Why would I do that? I would feel terrible doing that.

“We’re fine with the sofa,” Micha said.

I glowered at Eli. “What size bed do you have?”

“A king. Plenty of room for lots of pillows,” he said with a smile. “I’m more than happy to take the sofa. I’ll be up a few times in the night to check on Char, anyway.”

I gave him a disbelieving look. Either I was so utterly exhausted, or he was being completely obtuse.

“You wouldn’t want to share with me?” I asked in a small voice.

Eli’s eyes widened, and he rushed to speak as Micha burst out laughing from the couch. “You’re so busy being Mr. Fix It, you’re fucking it up!”

“No! Of course, I want to share a bed with you—I just wasn’t sure ifyouwanted to. I wanted to respect your choice because it’s your first night here.”

“Eli, I’m pregnant withyourchild. I don’t know why the idea of not sharing even crossed your mind,” I grumbled.

He pulled me in for a hug, but I kept my arms crossed, a grumpy expression on my face as he kissed the top of my head. “Kennedy, I would love for you to stay in my room with me tonight.”

“Fine,” I harrumphed.

“Now that Eli is done being an idiot—which is a change and I like it—what should we do about this cutie’s sleeping arrangements?” Storm asked, nodding to the baby passed out inhis arms. “We have a small, portable crib we bought her just in case, one of those foldable ones.”

“You do?” I asked. That was surprising. If I hadn’t been so exhausted, I probably would have brought her pack-and-play, but the thought hadn’t even crossed my mind.

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