Page 41 of Duke's Baby Deal
“Don’t wait on me!” Bax called from the bedroom. “He’s hungry.”
I had a thought. “Bax, if I make you a plate, can you feed him and eat with one hand?”
Abel glanced at me with raised eyebrows.
“I don’t mind him feeding the baby at the table. If no one else does.”
“He can cover up with a little blanket if anyone’s uncomfortable,” Jason said, wiping his hands on a cloth. “I did it with Macy.”
“I’ll go ask him,” Abel said, and a few minutes later, they were back. Bax cradled the baby against his chest, Taden already enjoying his own Christmas dinner, and Abel helped him into his seat like he was fine china.
We let Bax go first. Abel filled a plate, following Bax’s directions, then carried it out to the table in the living room. By the time he got back, half of us had taken what we wanted, we were all so hungry. We filed out to the living room and arranged ourselves around the table. My stomach lurched when I settled into my place next to Duke, and I eyed my plate, which at any other time would have looked unbelievably appetizing, with suspicion. This was my first mated Christmas dinner. I wouldn’t be sick, I refused to.
It was the first time I’d ever had venison. I’d been really looking forward to it, but I had to admit to being pretty nervous as I cut into my piece. My stomach heaved, a weird numbness climbing up the back of my throat, and I closed my eyes and breathed deeply in hopes that would calm it down, except that seemed to make things worse. Then the first bite I put in my mouth sent me racing from the room, headed for the bathroom. I made it, just barely, and heaved over the toilet, though there wasn’t anything but slimy spit to bring up.
Duke was right behind me. He held me as well as he could in the small space. The heaves kept me from saying anything, but I was grateful that he hadn’t left me alone here to deal with it.
When the spasms finally eased off, I slumped onto the floor and a few tears that weren’t from the vomiting trickled down my cheeks. “I’m sorry. I don’t know why I’m doing this.”
“You’re pregnant. It happens, I’m told.”
“Not like this. Not this bad.”
“We’ll ask the doctor when we go see him. Maybe he can explain it.”
“I hope so.” I curled into his arms and closed my eyes. If only I could spend the rest of my life like this.
“You want to go home?”
“I don’t want to spoil your Christmas dinner.”
“I want to spend my Christmas with you. They’ll understand. Holland already offered to make up a plate for you and he said you can take the rest of the ginger.”
“I don’t think Holland likes me.” Yeah, that was childish, but I was sick.
“Who gives a fuck what Holland thinks of you? I love you.”
I laughed and pulled him closer, burying my nose in his clean scent. “Let’s go home. I think I’m done for the day.”
CHAPTER THIRTY
Just after New Year’s, we left the enclave, right after curfew lifted in the morning. Our tabs gleamed greasily on the collars of our jackets, a bag of dry nausea-proof food sat on the seat beside me, and my nerves jumped like grasshoppers in spring. Anxiety or excitement, who the heck knew? It took five hours to drive to the city where the clinic was, but it seemed like forever.
Duke sat in the front seat while Abel drove, and they chatted casually while I pressed my nose against the glass. I’d never been outside the enclave walls in my life. The guards at the gate scared me and I tried to hide behind Duke, which only made them worse. One of them made me open up my jacket to prove I was pregnant, then he got this look on his face like he’d eaten rotten meat, and turned away from us with a snarl. Duke put an arm around me and pointedly asked, “Can he get back in the van? He shouldn’t be on his feet.”
The other guard nodded casually and wrote something on our papers, then handed them back to Abel. “I’ll leave a note that your pass is open-ended,” he said quietly. Abel nodded his thanks, and we all got back in the van.
This time, Duke got in the back with me. “You okay?” he asked.
I nodded and forced a smile on my face. “What a bunch of creeps!”
Duke gave me an understanding look, like he saw through my bravado, then returned my smile. “Some of them aren’t bad, but every once in a while you get a guy there and you wonder why on earth he applied for the job.”
I snorted, cheered by his comment, and turned back to the window.
The city washuge! Like, thesmallbuildings were bigger than the main one in Mercy Hills. And Duke, darling Duke, he answered every single one of my questions as Abel drove us through the streets. I made him promise to take me for a hamburger at a fast food place, and ice cream somewhere else. Placidly, like he always did, he agreed to everything, but always with an “if nothing happens to change our plans” attached. I couldn’t imagine what could change our plans—I mean, we had all day. And besides, I wasn’t going to let anything spoil my first trip out into the human world. Not even my stupid morning sickness.
I really hoped the doctor could give me something for it so I could eat normally. It wasembarrassing—who ever heard of a shifter that couldn’t eat meat? Or be around it cooking? How ridiculous wasthat? But that’s what it was. Even eggs were dicey and too much butter on toast was enough to send me racing to the bathroom. But maybe the doctor could fix that.
