Page 34 of Backstage at the Freak Show
“Sorry guys!” Mel was laughing now, her face flushed with embarrassment. “You know I get weepy when I watch that stuff.”
“Don’t be sorry.” Hunter slid into bed on the other side of her. “It’s really sweet that you get moved by that stuff.”
The other two gathered around near her legs, Arjun immediately starting up a purr as he nuzzled the outside of her thigh. Raz caught her ankle and kissed her other leg, making her giggle and squirm as his split tongue danced over her skin.
“How’s the pup?” Hunter caressed her belly just over my arm, leaning down to place a kiss on her gorgeous bump.
“Cub,” Arjun corrected jokingly, and leaned up to kiss the underside of her stomach.
“He’s calm so far today.” Mel stroked her fingers through Hunter’s platinum hair, while scratching the new scruff growing on my jaw with the other hand.
“Can I try something, love?” Arjun peered up at her, his smile cunning.
“What?”
He pressed the side of his face to her belly and amped up his purr. The vibration carried throughout her whole body in a steady, crackling rhythm. Within a few minutes, I felt small kicks fluttering against my palm.
“I saw that!” Raz cried out, crawling up to get closer. “Keep doing it.”
Arjun kept his purr going while the rest of us gathered eagerly around Mel’s belly.
“You think he likes it?” I wondered, watching the flurry of movement with awe. “Or is he kicking and punching like, ‘cut that shit out!’?”
“Of course he likes it,” Arjun grumbled. “Everyone likes purring.”
“Sweet boy,” Raz said, his voice thick with emotion as he nuzzled Mel’s belly. “Te iubesc, fiul meu.”
After telling our son he loved him, he continued whispering in Romanian. I couldn’t understand all of it, but I got the sense that it was full of promise and praise.
Hunter lifted his head, looking toward the open bedroom door. “You guys can come in here.”
Roo’s head poked through first, then Rinna’s. “We can? I thought the bedroom was for adults only.”
“Just this one time you can,” the white wolf grinned at his pups. “Your little brother is moving around in Mel’s belly. Come see him!”
They didn’t need a further invitation than that. The kids sprinted toward the bed and tumbled onto the mattress.
“Easy,” I warned them, still protective of Mel’s condition.
“Gentle, guys,” Hunter added. “Give me your hands.”
Together, his pups stuck their palms out. Mel grabbed Rinna’s and Hunter took Roo’s.
“You can feel him,” Mel smoothed our stepdaughter’s hand over her belly. “Right about here.”
“Ah! Is that his foot?” Rinna squealed excitedly.
“I think so,” Mel smiled. “Your turn, Roo.”
Hunter’s son opted to press his ear to Mel’s belly, acting dramatically like he was getting kicked in the face. Eventually, the kicks calmed down and Mel was no longer teary-eyed. The pups remained snuggled up to Mel’s belly, gently nuzzling against her and talking softly to their new sibling. No one seemed eager to leave her side, so it was a good thing our bed was big enough to fit everyone.
“Need anything, babe?” I slid an arm around Mel’s shoulders, rubbing out the tension in her neck as she began sinking into the pillows.
She turned her face toward me with a sleepy smile. “I haveeverythingI need.”
“Look at you,” Arjun breathed softly as he lifted up to his knees, staring at her and all of us surrounding her. “I wish you could see yourself like this. You’re a fucking goddess.”
“Oh stop,” Mel laughed.
