by Jill Haven
“Here, lean on me.” I helped Beau out of bed, helped him out to the car, getting him as comfortable as I could. He continued a steady stream of mutters and curse words, swearing at me and whatever deity he felt like whenever the pain gripped him to the point he couldn’t move.
“Deep breaths,” I tried, not knowing what else to say.
The look Beau shot me was murderous. “You can take your deep breaths and cram them up your—”
I turned on the car to cut off his words. Instead of saying anything else, I took his hand in mine, letting him squeeze the hell out of it whenever he wanted. The drive wasn’t long, and Dr. Jacobs was waiting out front when we pulled up.
“How’s he doing?” Dr. Jacobs asked, pulling open the passenger door but shooting a look at me.
“He is right here, can answer questions, and fucking hurts,” Beau shot at him, the pain making him acerbic. “I don’t fucking like any of this.”
“That’s normal,” Dr. Jacobs assured him, although there was a smile at the corner of his lips.
Beau narrowed his eyes. I grabbed his hands before he could attempt to smack someone, since we needed the doctor alive and preferably conscious.
“Let’s get him inside,” Dr. Jacobs said. He ushered us into a room he had set up as a medical room, one with similar equipment to what I presumed would be in human labor-and-delivery rooms. He didn’t make Beau strip into a hospital gown, but he did have me help Beau up onto the bed and tried to make him comfortable.
“Can this just fucking be over?” Beau asked, his words sounding strangled.
Dr. Jacobs tried to look reassuring. He failed. “I’m sure it’ll be over soon.”
Sixteen hours later, and it was not over. Beau kept smacking the hell out of my hand every time a contraction hit, swearing at me for any and every time we’d ever had sex, that it was all my fault, that I was carrying the baby next time. In return, I smoothed his hair back, held him when he allowed it, and tried to soothe him any way I could.
I would have done anything to take the pain away from him, but I couldn’t.
“You’re a fucking liar, that’s what you are,” Beau muttered, his Southern accent making the words thick.
“Me?” I couldn’t begin to think about what I had possibly lied about. At that point, my brain was fried.
“The doctor. ‘This’ll be over soon,’ my ass,” he hissed.
I didn’t mention that according to stuff I had read online, the first baby often took the longest. I had a feeling that Beau wouldn’t appreciate that particular nugget of knowledge.
“Oh, fuck.” Beau gritted his teeth, throwing his head back as fluid gushed out of his belly. “What the fuck was that?”
“The birth canal is opening.” Dr. Jacobs was there in a moment, poking Beau’s stomach in a way that made him smack me harder. I grabbed his hand and kissed it, excitement warring with fear.
At least the fluid was clear and not bloody.
“Push,” Dr. Jacobs encouraged. “You’re almost done.”
“You said that sixteen hours ago!” Beau reached around and grabbed an empty water bottle and chucked it at Dr. Jacobs, where it bounced harmlessly off his shoulder. “I hate you.” He let out a long groan, clutching his belly and his face white with pain.
“You’re almost there,” he soothed. “Push.”
“You fucking push,” Beau muttered, but he held my hand tighter, closed his eyes, and gave it his all.
Not long after, he yelled something incoherent, squeezed my hand until I couldn’t feel it, then collapsed back on the bed. I didn’t let go of his hand, but my attention was drawn to what—who—Dr. Jacobs was holding. It was a tiny human baby, squirming and squalling in his arms.
“It’s a girl,” he said with a warm smile. “Ace, you want to wrap her?”
“Wrap her?” I stared at him, baffled.
He gave me a patient look, then turned to check on my mate. “How are you feeling, Beau?”
“Like I just shoved a baby out of my stomach,” Beau muttered, but there was less anger to it. Instead, he seemed hit with the same awe I was, eyes attached to the baby.
Apparently deciding I wasn’t going to get with the picture in time, Dr. Jacobs quickly swaddled the baby, put a little cap on her head and then handed her to Beau, before turning his attention back to Beau’s stomach. It was like the rest of the world just disappeared as I edged onto the bed, snuggling as close to Beau as I could, my eyes on our little girl.
“What name did we decide on for a girl?” Beau murmured, exhaustion making him a little cross-eyed. He hadn’t slept since he’d woken me up in the middle of the night, neither of us had, but he had been through labor and had to be drained.
“Angela Brianne Feller,” I murmured, reaching out to touch her tiny cheek. She wriggled a little in Beau’s arms before settling back, her eyes watchful as she took in the world around her, our faces. “Angie.”
“I like it.” Beau chuckled.
“Which is good, since you picked it,” I said with a faint smile. “How about I hold her so you can get some sleep, love?”
“Are you done doing whatever you’re doing?” Beau turned to look at Dr. Jacobs, who had wrapped some padding around Beau’s stomach.
“We’ll have to change this a couple times a day,” Dr. Jacobs said agreeably. “But otherwise, you’re good.”
Beau’s smile went sappy as his eyes went to our daughter. “We’re better than good,” he whispered, looking up at me with so much love in his expression I thought it would overflow inside me. “She’s amazing.”
I gave him a quick kiss on the lips, trying to convey everything I felt. I loved him, I loved our daughter, and I was so grateful for the gifts he had given me. His love, his affection, our child—things I would never take for granted and would always work hard to be deserving of.
“I love you.” I would never get tired of telling him that.
“I love you, too.” Beau’s smile was tremulous, but it was there. “I always will.”
“She’s adorable,” Khyler gushed, his green eyes wide and bright as he looked at Angie on Beau’s chest. I had gotten my cuddle time in while Beau had slept, and now it was time for some kangaroo care, our baby snuggled up against Beau’s bare chest. Beau was looking down at her, stroking a hand carefully over her head and the light dusting of blonde hair. While she had my hair color, she had Beau’s nose. She was the cutest thing I’d ever seen.
“She is,” I agreed, not at all modest. “Perfect.”
“I don’t know if I’d go that far,” Khyler said, although it sounded teasing.
“I’m her parent. It’s what I’m programmed to think.” I grinned, although I couldn’t take my eyes off my mate and child.
“Don’t let it go to your head,” Beau murmured, speaking softly since he was closest to the baby. He lifted his head to look at Khyler. “If he starts acting like a jerk, feel free to smack him.”
“Hey!” I nudged him ever-so-gently, but Beau was smiling when his eyes met mine. Our worlds had changed, were now revolving around the six-pound eleven-ounce infant resting on Beau’s chest, but in other ways, things had stayed the same.
“You two are a strange pair,” Khyler said, sounding thoughtful.
I glanced at Beau, who shrugged. “We work,” he answered. The look in his gaze was tender, reverent, and I couldn’t help but lean in and kiss him again.
“I hope I can be a dad someday,” Khyler said wistfully. He glanced down at his flat stomach. “Since I can have babies, and all.”
Beau raised his eyebrow at me pointedly, and I tried to ignore his insinuation. “It’s good when divine omegas know that before getting dragged into bed with a dragon.”
“There wasn’t any dragging involved,” I said half-heartedly.
Beau snorted and had opened his mouth to reply when there was a knock on the doorframe.
“I am here to spoil my niece,” Ten announced loudly, his hands ridiculously full of gifts. He had an army
of pink balloons tied to his wrist, and they bobbed behind him as he entered and set everything down on the dining table to the right. “She’s gorgeous.” Ten gave Beau one of his rare smiles, then leaned down to kiss his forehead. “You did good.”
I couldn’t help a growl, although it was playful, and I wrapped my arms around Beau as best I could. “Mine.”
Ten laughed, his eyes soft. “I don’t want him, trust me.”
Khyler shifted his weight from one foot to the other, like he was uncomfortable.
“Sorry,” Beau said, grimacing. “Ten, this is Khyler, and he’s Dr. Jacobs’ grandson.”
Ten half-turned and then froze, his eyes going wide. Khyler blinked at him, then rubbed his chest absently before turning his attention back to Beau and our daughter.
I, however, was now watching Ten. I recognized that expression. It was like the world had shifted beneath his feet, like everything he thought he knew was wrong. In a way, it was.
“I need to talk to you,” Ten muttered, grabbing my arm and hauling me out into the hallway and away from prying ears.
Yeah, that didn’t surprise me either. Instead of speaking, I just looked at Ten expectantly, waiting.
“Who was that?” Ten asked—demanded—energy starting to prickle in the air around him.
“He’s a divine omega,” I answered, not surprised to see Ten sway in place. I grabbed his shoulders, helping him stay up, and for a long minute, he just stared at the wall in front of us.
“Really?”
“Really.”
“Holy hell.” Ten exhaled in a rush. “Ace?”
“Yes…” I was pretty sure I knew what he was going to say, but I wanted to hear him say it. The tides were turned, and for every time he’d teased me about Beau, I now had someone to tease him about.
Ten pulled away and started pacing, almost frantic. He didn’t look like he knew what to do with his emotions, with what was surging through him. Then he looked at me, worry and awe mixing in his eyes. “I’m pretty sure he’s my mate.”
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His Devoted Dragon
Divine Dragons: Book 4
Jill Haven
© 2020
Disclaimer
All rights reserved. No part of this publication may be reproduced, distributed, or transmitted in any form or by any means, including photocopying, recording, or other electronic or mechanical methods, without the prior written permission of the publisher, except in the case of brief quotations embodied in critical reviews and certain other noncommercial uses permitted by copyright law.
This is a work of fiction. Names, places, characters, and events are all fictitious for the reader’s pleasure. Any similarities to real people, places, events, living or dead are all coincidental.
This book contains sexually explicit content that is intended for ADULTS ONLY (+18).
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