by Aiden Bates
“Sam.” The Omega’s gaze snapped to Adam’s, and already felt the sharper edges of his tension begin to soften at his patient and adoring gaze. “It’s okay to be afraid; there’s a lot of uncertainty around a lot of things right now.” Sam nodded and fought the urge to look down. “But I want you to understand,” Adam’s large palm slid across his lover’s cheek, cupping it to coax him into facing him. “This? You and me?” He gave an easy smirk. “This is not an uncertainty. We are it, yeah? No matter what happens, it’s you and me, all right?” He kissed Sam’s forehead. “You will always have me, as long as I breathe.”
“Adam,” he sighed. He wanted to correct him, wanted to say no, he couldn’t make that kind of promise because what if things went wrong and he was left alone with his child again? Then, he knew it wouldn’t be fair not to believe in him; as much as Dustin had shaken the foundation of his trust in relationships, Adam had been there first—had always been there, even when there was no chance of them getting together. They were friends first, for the longest time, and that was the biggest difference that ultimately quieted his anxiety; Adam was his rock and always had been. The house he had built with Dustin was built on a foundation of sand but with Adam everything was solid, safe, and filled with limitless potential.
“I know I’m asking a lot,” Adam said softly, the pads of his fingertips drifting down to the soft swell of Sam’s stomach. “I know asking you to just trust me on this is difficult, but…” He bit his lip as he trailed off.
“It’s not,” Sam shook his head. “It’s nothing to trust you.” Adam looked up at him. “Because it’s you.” He nestled into the crook of his Alpha’s neck, feeling more sure of his beliefs than he had in a long time. “It’s always been you.” He could feel Adam’s burning curiosity, wanting to ask him what that meant but he let out a laugh instead, his hand lightly skimming along Sam’s bare back.
“Good enough for me,” Adam said, as if that decided things for them, though in a way, Sam supposed it did. “Ahh, I wasn’t expecting the morning to start like this,” Adam stretched his whole body, his shoulders giving loud pops as he extended his limbs out as far as he possibly could before huffing out a breath and going lax again. “While this is easily my new favorite way to wake up,” they shared a chuckle as he pecked Sam’s cheek, “I’m starving.” He gave one last nuzzle of Sam’s neck, his mouth brushing lightly against his newly healed mark before sliding out of bed. “Breakfast?” He held out his hand in invitation. “Most important meal of the day and all that. A good start to the day after all this, yeah?”
“Yeah,” Sam nodded, placing his hand in his lover’s. “Yeah, it’s a great start.” Somehow, he knew that Adam picked up on the deeper meaning of his words, if the twitch of his smile was any indication. Still, as Adam began to chat idly about what he was thinking of making for breakfast, Sam decided that yeah, this was a good start to things. The little life in his belly fluttered, and he soothed a hand over his stomach. “This is the perfect start.” Adam didn’t comment, merely draped an arm around him as he rummaged in the fridge. He didn’t have to say anything; they both knew the truth of that statement.
Epilogue
Ever After
Sam was slow to waking, the same as he always had, though he felt more motivated to rise out of bed than usual as the delectable, smoky scent of bacon filled his nostrils. He let out a wide yawn as he let his arms stretch out in front of him, the movement long and catlike, as he stirred himself into waking. He finally stood, his back popping as he straightened himself. The release of tension between his shoulder blades made him sigh blissfully as he padded into the en suite bathroom. He turned on the shower, and once the water’s temperature was to his liking, stepped inside, letting the two shower heads pour water on him from the front and the back. As he began to wash, he let out a quiet sigh as he let his hand drift around the generous swell of his belly—he made a mental note to check the calendar for what specific day his next appointment with the doctor was and when his ultrasound was scheduled, and simply let himself enjoy his shower, the water running down his body in rivulets.
It was some time later that he stepped out and toweled himself off, dressing into a pair of maternity yoga pants and a loose fitting shirt—though not as loose fitting as it had been when he purchased it two months ago, he noted—and let out another pleased sigh, still only half awake and glad that he could afford to be lazy about his waking today. He breathed in deeply, his stomach growling at the scent of breakfast still being cooked, and he padded over to his slippers by the door and stepped into them, intent on coming out to see what had inspired his bond mate into making breakfast. He hadn’t even made it to the door to open it when Adam stepped in, shutting the door as quietly as possible. Sam opened his mouth to wish him a good morning, but Adam stepped over, pressing his finger to his bond mate’s lips.
“Shh,” Adam said, his voice low. “Go back to sleep—or at least, pretend to be asleep.” His Alpha grinned. “I’m helping Jenny fix you breakfast, and it’s supposed to be a surprise.”
“She’s making me breakfast?” Sam cooed, his heart melting at the thought of his little girl, standing at the stove and trying not to burn the bacon. Then he remembered it was likely that she would burn the bacon, and Sam smiled wryly. “Maybe…maybe make sure she doesn’t set fire to anything?”
“I will, I will. I just didn’t want you to go and ruin her surprise by coming downstairs.” Adam chuckled softly as he gave his bond mate a peck on the lips. “It would have broken her little heart—so go on, get back in bed, mister!” Adam said, patting Sam on his rear to usher him back to the bed.
“I’m going, I’m going!” Sam laughed as he toed his slippers off and crawled into the bed he had only recently managed to extricate himself from.
Adam nodded, pleased, and promptly snuck out the door, no doubt to run and save the bacon from overcooking. Just as well, Sam thought as he nuzzled into the pillows, letting out another sleepy yawn and drawing the heavy down comforter up to his chin. The extra little cat nap was nice and just what he would no doubt need to start the day.
For today was a very special occasion, or so he was led to believe.
It was some time later, long enough later that Sam had fallen back asleep, he felt himself being gently nudged awake. He was aware enough he could hear his daughter trying not to giggle and Adam making soft shushing noises around his own chuckles. Sam had to fight a smile as he kept his eyes closed, letting out an exaggerated snore.
“Daddy!” Jennifer let out a giggle. “Daddy, I know you’re not sleeping!” There was a gentle pat on his cheek of a tiny hand. “Wake up!”
“I can’t,” Sam said, his eyes still closed. “I’m still too sleepy.”
“No, you’re not!” Jenny said, and he didn’t have to look at her to know she was pouting. “You gotta get up! It’s your aminiversary!” She said proudly, and Sam couldn’t stop himself laughing at her mispronunciation.
“It’s anniversary, honey.” Adam corrected her gently.
“That’s what I said, Papa!” Jenny argued as Sam finally opened his eyes and sat up.
Jennifer was perched on Adam’s side of the bed, her little hands still on his shoulder. She turned to him and let out a squeal of delight as she launched herself at him for a hug. Sam wrapped an arm around his little girl and looked up at Adam, holding a tray laden with a myriad of breakfast foods and a glass of orange juice, waiting for the chance to set the tray down. Sam let out a laugh and let his little Jenny go so she could bounce back to her original spot.
“Well, it’s not just my anniversary, now is it, sweetheart?” Sam asked Jennifer as Adam carefully set the tray down in front of him.
“No, it isn’t,” Adam agreed as he kissed his bond mate’s cheek, his nose, his forehead, before returning to his spot sitting by Sam’s knees. “But I’m not the one pregnant, so I get to spoil you more today.”
“I’m not sure that’s how that works,” Sam said, laughing. “But I’m
not really in a position to argue, am I?”
“Absolutely not.” Adam said, giving a firm nod of his head. “Now go on—tuck in, would you? We worked so hard on it,” Adam winked over at Jennifer in a comically exaggerated way. “But Jenny worked the hardest.”
“I did!” She exclaimed, puffing her chest out with pride. “I cooked the bacon!”
Sam didn’t mention that it was crispy enough to stand on its own when he picked it up—she was a sweet little four year old that didn’t need to have her hard work stomped on—and bit into the rasher of bacon. It was only slightly burned, he realized, pleasantly surprised at the peppery, savory flavor of the meat. Eyeing the eggs, he was delighted to see that they were sunny side up—just the way that he liked them—and knew Adam had, no doubt, been the one to make those.
“I think this bacon is the best bacon I’ve ever had,” Sam decreed, patting his daughter on the head in lieu of giving her a kiss, mindful of the tray covering his lap.
“Yay!” Jennifer cheered, looking like the cat that got the canary.
“Now come on, little one,” Adam said, patting Jennifer on the back to usher her off of the bed. “Time to get you ready to go to Auntie Arie’s house—she’ll have my neck if I don’t have you ready to go by the time she gets here.”
“‘Kay!” She said, eagerly hopping off the bed and dashing down the hall to her room.
Adam took the moment of privacy to stand and lean over to properly kiss Sam, which the Omega took full advantage of, his hand sliding along his bond mate’s stubbled jawline. Adam let out a low growl of pleasure, and Sam squirmed at the sudden wet warmth that had begun to form at the noise—his most recent pregnancy had done him no favors in the way of calming his hormones—or his reactions to his bond mate’s advances—not even in the slightest, and Adam knew it.
“Take your time with breakfast, hon.” Adam said, his voice a low purr as he straightened. “I’ll make sure Jenny gets out the door properly dressed.”
“Have I mentioned I love you?” Sam said dreamily as he bit into a piece of buttered jelly toast—strawberry jelly, he noted with delight.
“It’s been brought up a time or two,” Adam chuckled as he paused by the doorway. “I love you, too.”
Sam tucked into his breakfast in earnest once Adam had moved down the hallway, no doubt to check if Jennifer’s overnight bag was packed properly—she had a penchant for removing all of her extra clothing in favor of just packing stuffed animals, though they were working on breaking her of that habit. He bit back a moan as he broke the yolk on one of his eggs, watching with delight as its gooey center ran out to fill the plate sluggishly—truly, it was the best part of a good breakfast, he thought as he dunked a sausage link in the yolk and munched on it thoughtfully.
He took full advantage of Adam’s advice, nibbling on his breakfast slowly as he simply mired himself in the quiet noise of the house: Jennifer asking innocently if she should leave a stuffy for her little brother in case he got lonely in her daddy’s tummy—why she and Adam were convinced that the baby was a boy was beyond him; they hadn’t had the ultrasound yet!—and hearing Adam laugh and help her pick a stuffed animal out to keep behind.
The sounds of domesticity, sounds that, a few years ago he had been terrified he would have to experience alone, filled his ears, muffled but joyous, and he drank them in as he ate. He had come a long way—they had come a long way from that one cold winter night when he had fled the apartment he had thought was his home, had fled the man he thought was his bond mate, had run from the thought that he would ever be worthy of anyone or anything good in his life ever again.
Sam had never been more glad to be wrong, he thought, returning to his breakfast with a smile.
End of Book – Please Read This
Get your free Bonus Deleted Chapter to A Second Chance sent straight to your email inbox. Just click here.
Thank you so much for reading my book! Because reviews are so important to spreading the word and helping me expand my audience, please consider leaving a review on Amazon or Goodreads if you enjoyed, A Second Chance.
Get your FREE copy of Love in Stereo when you join my Insider’s Club. You will also receive updates on my newest releases and get to know more about me! Click here
Get your free prequel to my latest Series SEALed With A Kiss sent straight to your email inbox. Just click here.
Want to talk to about Mpreg Books with people just like you? Then join our facebook group “Mpreg Fantatics.” Just click here.
Acknowledgments
Without these amazing people the book would not be the book it is today, Thank you so much!
Cindra Hatake
Corinne Mercer
Zoe Mogensen
Earleen Gregg
Jenn Holzapfel
Jill Kendall
Rebecca Clark
C Mitchell
Donna K
María Real
A Second Chance
Aiden Bates
© 2018
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).
