Page 43 of The Tiger's Secret Baby (Savage Shifters Special Ops 4)

A few hours later, Damian arrived. This time, instead of waiting for Rose to join him in the car, he got out and walked over to where all the kids were gathered. I watched out the window as he talked to them for a few minutes and then headed toward the house, with a boatload of kids in his wake.

Rose came in and said, “Daddy wants to talk to you. Could you come out here please.”

My heart leapt in my throat and fear gripped my soul. It was almost impossible for me to draw in a breath.

Was he going to try to take Rose away from me?

I took a deep breath, trying to maintain my calm. I didn’t want to show that I was upset or anxious. I could be wrong about this whole thing. After all, he would make that kind of announcement in front of everyone would he? I didn’t think so, but I had obviously been mistaken before.

Taking one last deep breath, I pulled open the front door, carefully closing it behind me. I clasped my hands together so that he couldn’t see that they were shaking.

I prayed that my voice wouldn’t give away my fear. My smile trembled as I asked, “You wished to speak to me?”

He smiled and nodded. “I do.”

Then, he got down on one knee, and opened up a box. A ring in the shape of a tiger’s paw, with one diamond in the middle and different gems in the toes, shone brilliantly under the afternoon’s sun.

“Ember, will you marry me?” He asked.

I gasped. I was not expecting this.

However, before I could answer, Rose piped up. “She darn well better. We can stand her heaving and sighing any more.”

“Rose Marie,” I said. “Language.”

She turned to Damian and said, “She gladly accepts your proposal.”

Then she looked at me and said, “Was that better?”

“It was lovely. But don’t you think I should answer the man myself?”

She shrugged. “I guess so.”

“Yes, Damian, My Love. I will marry you.”

He jumped up and started to kiss me, but I stopped him.

“We need to talk about something.”

Damian stopped dead in his tracks. This time, he decided he better let me say what was on my mind.

“I’m pregnant.”

He was stunned and stared at me in silence. Then, he turned to face the kids.

“Did you guys know about this one, too, before I did?”

They all laughed.

“We guessed,” Magnar said. “Shifters have great intuition. Some crazy man taught us that and that we should listen to that intuition.”

“I’m always the last to know,” he moaned.

Then, he hugged me and kissed me.

Allison said, “Mom, are you going to leave us?”

I dropped to my knees. “No, Baby Girl, I would never leave you guys. You are just as much my babies as the one in my tummy. The only difference is you came from other tummies. I couldn’t hold you all. Imagine how fat that would make me.”

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