Page 285 of Labor of Love

When my knot deflated enough for me to slip from Milo’s body, I pulled out and he whined even in sleep. I picked him up, setting his head on his pillow, then I climbed in next to him and let myself drift as I waited for the next wave of Milo’s heat to crest.

Three days after I knotted Milo for the first time, I held him to my chest, both of us sweaty and sated after another heat wave, when I noticed a subtle shift in his scent. He still smelled like himself, but there was something else there now too, a new scent that reminded me of an evergreen forest at the edge of the sea, and I knew without a doubt that my dream of seeing my sweet Milo’s belly grow with our babies was going to be a reality.

7

MILO

“Babe, this looks amazing.” Preparations for Matteo Marsh’s gallery show were in high gear, and Noah had taken to bringing me lunch every day so I’d remember to eat. Today, though, the thought of food made my stomach turn. I’d woken up feeling queasy, and I’d almost puked while I was brushing my teeth. I’d chalked it up to nerves, but I’d felt off all day. First, I was too hot, then I was too cold. It was like my body couldn’t decide if I needed a sweater or to crank up the air conditioning. It was starting to drive me crazy. I prayed whatever was going on with me was a twenty-four-hour thing at most because I didn’t have time to be sick with my gallery’s first show right around the corner.

Noah set the paper bag with whatever he’d brought from the cafe on the counter, and came over to see what I was doing, dropping a kiss on my cheek. I’d been hanging Matteo’s paintings all day, moving and rearranging the pieces in the most appealing order, but I couldn’t seem to get the one I’d just hung in the right spot.

“I’m not sure. I think the lighting is off.” I grabbed the ladder I’d been using to refocus the track lights to highlight thepieces and positioned it so I could move the lights around. Noah watched as I hustled up the rungs.

“Be careful.”

“I’m fine. I’ve been doing this all day.” But my words came back to bite me in the ass as I reached up to turn one of the lights to hit the painting more directly. A wave of nausea roiled through me, and I got dizzy so fast I lost my balance, my foot sliding off the rung.

“Milo!” Noah was right there, catching me as I fell. The second my feet hit the ground, I bolted for the huge trash can I’d been using to throw away the packaging materials from the paintings, and heaved, my stomach convulsing painfully as I retched. “Oh, baby.” Noah’s hand landed on my back, rubbing in slow soothing circles as I dry heaved until I started to cry. “Shh. It’s okay. You’re okay.”

“I don’t have time to be sick, Noah.” I wiped a hand across my face, smearing my tears into my cheeks.

“Oh, sweet thing. You’re not sick.”

“I just puked, Noah. I think that proves you’re wrong.” My stomach roiled again, and I braced my shaking hands on the edges of the trash can and tried to take a few deep breaths.

Noah brushed my hair back from my clammy forehead. “No, my precious omega. You’re not sick. I think you’re pregnant.”

My hand flew to my flat stomach as his words sank in. It had been two weeks since my heat. Noah had fucked me so good through the whole thing, and despite my nausea, my dick perked up at the memories. Three days of fucked-out bliss.

Wait.

Wait, wait, wait.

Three days. That couldn’t be right. My heats lasted for at least five days, sometimes even a day or two longer. If it was over after only three days, then Noah might be right.

“Pregnant?” My eyes felt as wide as saucers.

Noah smiled sweetly and nodded. “I think so. You smell different. I noticed it at the very end of your heat.”

“Why didn’t you say anything?”

“I wasn’t sure if you knew and were waiting to tell me, or if it would be better for you to figure it out on your own.”

Now that I was thinking about it, the pieces all fell into place. Snow leopard omegas often had trouble controlling their body temperatures during early pregnancy. I definitely had that going on. The nausea could be morning sickness. And I’d been exhausted for the last week. I’d thought it was all because of the show and the long hours I was putting into getting everything ready and then the extra hours I spent with Noah’s cock buried deep inside me when I got to his house or he came to mine after work. I could check every box on the list of early pregnancy signs, and as I realized what that meant, my heart soared and then plummeted.

I wanted to have Noah’s cubs, I really, really did, but I was so close to achieving my dream of opening my gallery. It was too much to get both things I’d always wanted all at the same time, and a sob tore from my chest.

Noah wrapped me in his arms, and I breathed in his scent, the citrusy warmth of it driving some of my dizziness away as fresh tears soaked into his shirt.

“I can’t tell if these are happy tears or sad tears, but I want you to know I support you and I love you either way. You are mine forever, Milo, and if that means that you want to wait to carry our babies, I’ll stand by your side.”

I shook my head. “I’m just overwhelmed. The gallery and now getting the chance to start my own family. I never thought I’d get to have both of my heart’s deepest desires at the same time.”

“So you want to do this with me?”

I loosened my death grip on his shirt and looked up at him. “I love you too, Noah, and I can’t wait to have your cubs.”

His lips crashed against mine, and my heart shimmied in my chest. I’d never felt joy like this before. This hadn’t been part of my plan when I’d moved to Key West, but I wasn’t mad about it. I was still overwhelmed—there was a lot to do to finish getting the gallery ready and now I had to get ready to welcome a baby, and Noah and I weren’t even mated.

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