Page 35 of Duke's Baby Deal
CHAPTER TWENTY-SIX
I did eventually make it out of the bathroom. Duke made me toast, no butter, and I slowly nibbled away at half a slice before I gave up. All I wanted to do was crawl into bed and have Duke wrap himself around me like a huge, warm wall against the world.
So that’s what we did.
I pulled his arm around me and snuggled in close, grateful for his solid presence at my back.
“How’s your stomach?” Duke rumbled behind me.
“Shhh. Don’t wake the beast.”
He chuckled and pressed a kiss to the side of my neck. “Get some sleep. You still up for Christmas dinner tomorrow with Abel and the crew?”
“I think so. If I have to run out quick, will you cover for me?”
“It’s going to be a room full of omegas. I expect they’ll know exactly what’s going on.”
I made a face, glad that he couldn’t see it in the dark. “It’s ridiculous. I’m barely over a month along. I shouldn’t be this sick.”
“Two babies, Bram. Twice the fun.”
I elbowed him. He made an oof noise, then had the gall to laugh at me.
“Seriously, Duke. How am I supposed to work if I’m running for the toilet all the time?”
That put an end to his hilarity. “Maybe it’s a good thing there’s going to be a bunch of omegas there tomorrow. I’d bet money on Bax knowing what to do for morning sickness.”
True. I sighed and snuggled against him. “Remind me to make sure Midwinter Wolf comes for you.”
“Ohhhh. I thought I was too old for that?”
“You’re never too old for Midwinter Wolf. Though it’s not big.”
“I think he came back in November for me. Dropped a gorgeous omega in my lap and left.”
I twisted around to face him. “You think I’m gorgeous?” I could barely see him, just a thin outline in the moonlight that snuck in between the curtains.
“Yes.” He traced my eyebrows with the tips of his fingers, following the lines of my face until he could run them over my mouth. I kissed them as they passed by and made him laugh again. I wanted to spend my life making him laugh like that, and I leaned forward to kiss him. My body still couldn’t care less, but my heart couldn’t go to sleep without that simple contact.
He kissed me back, and I felt his body respond to me.
“Do you want?” I asked. I slid a hand down his chest, toward the hardness poking my thighs. It wasn’t the first time I’d asked, and I fully expected him to turn me down again, which was exactly what he did.
“There’s nothing in it for you. I’m fine.”
Tonight I wasn’t going to give up though. He deserved something for catering to me and my ridiculous stomach all evening. “There’s plenty in it for me. There’s making my mate happy. There’s finally getting to play with something I’ve been wondering about for a long time.” I grabbed the waist of his pajama bottoms and started to tug them over his hip. “Help a guy out here?”
“And I thought omegas were supposed to be fragile and retiring?” He pushed my hands away.
Okay, time to pull out the big guns. “You find me attractive, right?”
“You know I do.”
“I want to do this. Really. It’s kind of a relief. It’s…” How to explain it? “All I could think about before was how goodIwas going to feel when we finally—” I turned red. “The way I feel now—I can focus on you. I want to focus on you. Pretty excited about it, honestly.” I gave him big puppy eyes and hoped. “This is going to be fun.”
He stared at me for a long moment, as if he was trying to figure out what my game was. I waited quietly, figuring that if he turned me down tonight, I’d have to stop pestering him. At some point, it would start being annoying, not enthusiastic.
Finally, he reached up to cup my cheek and run his thumb over my mouth. “We can try to figure something out for you too.”
