Rafe crowded her. Just a little. “Show me,” he urged devilment dancing in his eyes.
Cheeks still flushed, Melody lifted her sweater. “I have to use a rubber band,” she said.
Something sharp flared between them at this little flash of skin. Melody looked up as though realizing she hadn’t kissed Rafe since. Well. Since the night she’d gotten pregnant.
That seemed a terrible waste of lips and teeth and tongues, but she didn’t know quite how to solve the problem. It was her lamebrain idea that they weren’t having sex. But she wasn’t about to admit to knowing it was a stupid idea. Especially since it was hers.
“May I?” Rafe asked, meeting her gaze for permission.
Melody’s breath came out in little pants when she nodded. His hands were warm against her sensitive skin. “This is incredibly sexy,” he whispered. His accent deepened, and Melody felt her insides melt. The morning-cool air followed in the wake of his hands, causing her to shiver as goosebumps trailed up her body.
Melody tugged her top down to cover herself. “I’m a little self-conscious about that part.”
One corner of Rafe’s mouth kicked up. “Because you know it makes me hard every time I look at you?”
“No, I. Wait. What? You do? Really?” She shouldn’t be grinning up at him. Not if she wanted her lamebrain no sex rule to stick. Which she totally did. But she couldn’t stop the sway of her body towards his. The heat they generated. Together.
“Of course.” Rafe finally helped her into the high seat of the SUV. “What were you thinking?”
Melody waited until he got into the seat beside her. “I’m losing my figure. I can’t seem to stop eating. The doctor told me I need to be more careful.”
“Your doctor scolded you?” Rafe frowned at her as he started the truck. It hummed to life like a well-tuned machine.
Which it was, Melody thought. Unlike her car which had definitely seen better days.
“Well, not. I mean, yeah.” Melody absolutely didn’t want to talk about her weight in front of Rafe. He was hard in all the places men were supposed to be hard. She, on the other hand, was giving new meaning to Rubenesque.
“You look healthy,” Rafe said, heading down the mountain toward town.
“Healthy?” Melody didn’t realize her voice could rise two octaves in a single word. “Is that supposed to be a compliment?” Melody crossed her arms in front of her far more ample chest. She grimaced when they forced her bosom to push up enticingly. For good measure, she glared at him. Healthy? Really? Was that supposed to make her feel better?
“What’s wrong with being healthy, Chelita?” He grinned at her, not quite an apology. More of an acknowledgment and a reminder that he wasn’t good with words.
The sight of his smile reminded Melody of how easily he knocked her socks off. She remembered their night. His beautiful, white smile and dimples hidden behind a days’ growth of whiskers. Melody closed her eyes trying to control her rampaging hormones. Rafael Joaquín Chamorro was NOT HERS. Capital letters, bold font, italicized for emphasis. He was a reluctant baby daddy. Yes, there was desire arcing between them.
But it didn’t mean anything. It couldn’t.
Rafael
Rafe hurried through his meeting, his mind not really on corbels, wood flooring, or updated kitchens. Melody had a doctor’s appointment he couldn’t miss. He hated being late and always set his schedule with plenty of time to get from one place to another. Wedging a “can’t miss” into his already full calendar put him on edge.
And unfortunately, his latest client couldn’t quite make up his mind what he wanted in a house.
“I just don’t know,” Kiernan Michaels finally confessed as they made it back to Rafe’s office. “Maybe I should go back to looking at the listings again.”
Tension ran through Rafe’s body, but he hoped he hid it well enough. He didn’t want to lose this sale. As his Abuelita used to say, take care of your pesos and riales, and the cordobas will take care of themselves.
“Let’s sit down in a day or two and go over your notes. No decisions have to be made today, right?”
Kiernan nodded before shaking Rafe’s hand and heading home.
Rafe turned to his assistant. “Any word on Bobcat Alley?”
Kimber shook her head. “Not from Holt. You have meetings this week with Quinn and Lacey, though.”
Rafe nodded and scrolled through his calendar. “Keep me posted if anything comes up. I’ll turn my phone off while I’m at the hospital. Just leave a message.”
“Yes, Mr. Chamorro,” Kimber responded. The bell over the office door chimed. Rafe didn’t look up as he made sure he had everything.
“Chamorro.”
Rafe groaned. As much as he wanted the Bobcat Alley project to take off, he didn’t want to see Mayor Holt. Not now. He had other responsibilities. And yet, the Bobcat Alley project was still in play. Rafe sighed and turned.
“Mayor,” he greeted.
“I’ve been researching the zoning laws for the acreage you’re purchasing.”
“It’s staying in its natural state,” Rafe argued, frustration building. Why were humans so frustratingly blind over the needs of animals? “It’s not commercially zoned, and I have no plans to let a housing developments be built.”
“Maybe you need to plan again.” Holt pulled a piece of paper out of his vest pocket. “The owners got an offer today.”
Puchica, Rafe thought, glancing at his phone to look at the time. Melody had to get to her appointment. Rafe had to be at doctor’s office with her. And then there were the bobcats.
“Can we talk about this in a few hours? I have something vital I need to get done this afternoon.”
Holt smirked. The hijo de puta actually smirked at him. Son of a bitch. A younger version of himself would have shoved a fist in the mayor’s smug face. The older man restrained his right hook. Barely.
“You can. But the deal might be sealed by then,” Holt continued.
Rafe clenched his fists while his jag fought for freedom. Both man and beast wanted to unleash and attack the smug, cocky bastard.
There would be no stay. No give for this man. “My offer was accepted. We are in the due diligence period. The sellers can’t just go around accepting other offers.”
“Until the papers are signed, everything is fair game, isn’t it, Chamorro? I’ve seen the way you deal. This can’t be new to you.”
Hot air snorted from his nostrils. A growl bubbled up from his throat, and Rafe took immense joy at seeing the first touch of fear in the other man’s eyes. This land was in the perfect spot. Right at the base of the mountain and abutting Quinn’s land. Animals would have additional room to roam and live like nature intended.
He and his shifter brothers would have more room to roam.
With the senses of a jaguar, Rafe took in the mayor’s appearance. His arrogant and cocksure attitude. The part of Rafe’s mind that reasoned wanted to know why Holt had such an issue with animals roaming in the wild. The other part, the one with sharp teeth, claws, and an attitude simply wanted to maul him.
Making a decision he knew he’d regret, he gave his keys to Kimber. “Can you drive Melody to the hospital? Tell her I’ll be there as soon as I can.”
At first, Kimber stared dumbly at him. As she realized what he said, her eyes narrowed as if to question his sanity at standing up his fiancée. His pregnant fiancée. Rafe wanted to tell her it was okay, he wasn’t sure it was the right decision, either. But it was the one he was making.
“Mayor, come into my office,” Rafe invited grudgingly.
<<<>>>
Thirty minutes later, Rafe was in the backseat of an Uber and tapping his fingertips on his knee as the driver got him to the hospital. He strove for external calm while inside he seethed and called the mayor every swear word he could think of. And when he ran out, he invented new ones.
Rafe was tired of Holt’s games. The seller could take another offer, of course. But, since there was a contr
act, there were fines to calculate.
When all was said and done, Holt blinked. Cursing the waste of time and knowing Melody would be furious, Rafe called for a car as he ushered the mayor out of his office.
The driver, sensing Rafe’s unease, got him to the hospital in record time. Rafe nodded his thanks and left the car. After rating and tipping the driver, Rafe turned off his phone and pocketed it.
His stride was long, fluid. Almost animalistic as he passed strolling pedestrians. After asking directions from a slow-moving senior citizen in a volunteer vest, Rafe took the elevator to the fifth floor.
“I’m sorry, sir, but you can’t go back there.” The receptionist stood and tried to block him.
Rafe stared the woman down. Since leaving the Forces, Rafe didn’t have a lot of use for his jaguar. He was cranky, needed to run, and hated sleeping in a bed. But the one thing Rafe had was the jaguar stare.
So, he used it.
Unblinking, brow furrowed, he remained silent. Body stilled as if to sniff out his prey. Muscles twitched with readiness. With every line of his body, Rafe told the woman he was not a man to be trifled with. “Tell me what room my wife is in.”
As if sensing the danger, the receptionist’s eyes opened, and she flushed. At first, she refused to say anything. But the heat of the cat’s golden-brown eyes penetrated. Bore through her. Speared the woman’s attention and refused to let go.
“Fine,” she finally muttered with a glare of her own.
It wasn’t a bad glare, Rafe thought while his jaguar yawned. It just lacked intensity. And the necessary spirit to give it teeth.
She keyed in some information onto her keyboard. “Come with me,” she snapped petulantly, rising to her feet. She led him down a maize of corridors until finally, they reached the one with Melody on the other side.
Melody looked up from her prone position. “Look who decided to make it.”
Rafe couldn’t blame her for being pissed. “It was about the bobcat sanctuary. I’m sorry.”
Her arms crossed over her chest, and her chin tilted away from him. “Glad to know where your child and I fit into your itinerary. If you didn’t want to come, why did you offer?”
Rafe knew he deserved the hard words. Probably worse, but it embarrassed him to be scolded like a toddler in front of the technician. “Can we talk about it later, Chelita? I am sorry, but.” He shrugged to indicate his helplessness in the situation. “The cats.”
They shared a look that told him Melody was not quite ready to let this go. He heaved a sigh, figuring he’d take his punishment like a man. She was right. Rafe had put the welfare of the wild animals in front of his family.
As Rafe opened his mouth to ask a question, the sonographer’s words were crisp and clear. “Huh.”
“Huh?” Rafe repeated. Even Melody arched her back to see the screen better. “What are you huh-ing over?”
“Look. There’s at least two in there.”
Chapter Seven
Melody
Melody didn’t hear much after the sonographer announced there were “at least two babies” in her womb.
While she’d been initially hurt, furious, and embarrassed by Rafe sending Kimber to pick her up, Melody was currently in a state of panic. Two babies? She wasn’t even sure she could handle one baby. But two? Yikes!
Rafe met her eyes and a wealth of wordless communication passed between them. While the sonographer went to print pictures and whatever else it was they did, Rafe helped Melody sit up so she could finally, blessedly pee.
When Melody had come back, there was a man in a white lab coat talking seriously to Rafe.
“What’s going on?” Anger rolled off Rafe in waves. Melody shivered in response. Whoever the man in the lab coat was, he was not a friend.
“I’m Dr. Rogers. I’m with the hospital.”
“He’s a snitch for the Department of Shifter Services.” Rafe spat the words, his accent growing thick with his anger.
Melody looked back and forth between the two men. “What does that mean? Exactly.”
“The department wants us to collect data on all gestational women that have been accompanied by former members of the Shifter Special Forces. It’s our job and duty to report back to the DSS with any relevant information.”
Melody held her hand up. “In simple English, doc. Please.”
“He wants to report back any pregnancies between shifters and full humans,” Rafe provided.
Dr. Rogers sighed. “Are you keeping these babies, ma’am?”
Melody hugged her middle. “Of course, I’m keeping my baby!” She was horrified that was even a thing. “I mean. Babies.” That was going to take some getting used to.
Dr. Rogers pulled out a folder. “I want you to consider the options. I take it you’re an apex predator? You have the look of one.”
Rafe nodded, eyes narrowed.
Melody reached a trembling hand out to touch Rafe’s arm. He took it instantly in a sign of welcomed solidarity. The look in his eyes was fierce. The threat of violence tamped just under the social veneer.
She wondered briefly if he’d been an interrogator. Melody licked her lips nervously, thankful he had never used that intense stare on her. If he had, she was sure she would have offered up all of her secrets.
“Sometimes the child is born with a latent animal. That means it’s always in there, clawing at them. Driving them mad. Sometimes, they’re born with the ability to shift.” The doctor’s eyes took on a shifty look. “How awkward would that be, Ms. Strauss?”
“Our son or daughter will have his father there to help him.”
“Just read the material we’ve prepared. Our facilities can terminate the pregnancy at any time. Just give it some thought.”
“No,” Melody said, feeling her own mama apex predator rise to the surface. “I don’t care what’s in the damn folders. I am having my baby. I mean, babies.”
Dr. Rogers looked from Melody to Rafe. “I’ve seen a few pregnancies through the years. Not many live births. And if the mother dies during delivery…”
His words trailed off, leaving his meaning ambiguous. Would they kill her babies if she died? Was that the real reason there were so few natural born shifters? Were they? Her mind shunned away from the word, too terrible to even consider. Did her own government order the murder of innocent children?
This couldn’t be happening, she thought. Unwittingly, she tightened her grip on Rafe. Melody had given up her relationship with parents. She’d been evicted from her apartment for these little guys. No matter the risks. With or without Rafe (although she dearly hoped it was with him) she would find a way to take care of her baby. Babies, she mentally corrected.
Holy shit, she thought as the idea finally sunk through layers of her awareness. They were having twins! It was all too much. She could die. The babies might die. What if they couldn’t control their shifts? What if the babies got too big and she couldn’t carry them to term? An endless stream of possible scenarios tumbled into her mind.
“We highly recommend termination of pregnancy in cases like this.”
“No,” Melody said, still in a daze. What was he saying? Her axis had tilted, and yet, the world continued to spin as though nothing had happened. Was this man threatening her and her unborn children?
“Am I going to die? Is it impossible for humans to have shifter babies? I never really gave it much thought.” She lifted the folder. “None of this has been in the news. Why is this the first I’m hearing about it now?”
“Ms. Strauss. Do you really think we would tell you everything?” Dr. Rogers frowned, but Melody couldn’t conjure up any defense. She was in shock.
Melody wasn’t naïve. She knew there were things civilians were better off not knowing. “Mess not with the affairs of dragons. For you are crunchy and taste good with ketchup.”
“Jaguars,” Rafe corrected, a grin on his lips that didn’t quite touch his eyes. He stared intently at the doctor. “Mess not with the affairs of
jaguars.”
Melody suspected the man was very bad, but the evil that poured off him in waves shook Melody to the very core. “Rafael, I want to go home.”
Rafe took her by the arm and went to leave. The doctor stepped forward, temporarily blocking them.
“If you won’t willingly end the pregnancy, I will need to inform the government if she continues to term.”
Rafe’s muscles vibrated with tension. One of them needed to be calm in the face of this danger to their family.
“You do what you have to. We know someone who has survived a live shifter birth,” Rafe said, taking control of the situation. “Now, if you’ll excuse us.” He propelled Melody’s numb form out the door and down the corridor.
One of the nurses handed her a packet, but Rafe kept his pace almost too fast. Melody grabbed the envelope and followed Rafe out the door. Briefly, she wondered where Kimber was but figured she’d gotten a ride home.
“You’re making me nervous, Simba,” Melody complained.
“Simba? Baby, I’m a jaguar shifter, not a lion. And I should make you nervous.”
“No,” Melody protested as they waited for the elevator. “Not like that. You’re supposed to be in control. You’re always in control. But right now, you’re furious.”
Rafe nodded, breath coming in heavy pants. “You’re right. I need to calm down. It took every ounce of control not to go all jag on Doctor Dickface McSneer.”
Melody was close to tears and holding onto her sanity with tenuous fingernails. She wanted to think of something. Anything other than the grim reality in Dr. Roger’s eyes. She’d go to Hadley. Hadley wasn’t trained in obstetrics, but at least Melody could trust her.
“What. I mean, who are you texting?” How dare he pull out his cell phone at a time like this?
“Cree James. His mother is still alive. She’s our best bet on getting information out. What if the hack doctor was right? What if there have been a lot more pregnancies, but they hid them from us? Got rid of our children?”
Having her Jaguar's Baby Page 5
