Glenn, Stormy - Scales and a Tail [Midnight Matings 2] (Siren Publishing Classic ManLove)

by Stormy Glenn

  Sebastian buried his face in Beauregard’s lap as the hopelessness of his situation struck him. No matter what he said, no matter what he did, if Beauregard didn’t forgive him, Sebastian knew his life was over. He couldn’t live without his bunny. He didn’t want to.

  “I’m so sorry, bunny,” he whispered desperately. His heart thudded painfully in his chest as the weight of his sins started to drag him down. “I love you so much, and I know I don’t deserve it, but please forgive me. I swear I won’t ever doubt you again.”

  “I forgive you.”

  The words were whispered softly, but Sebastian heard them loud and clear. A strangled sob broke through Sebastian’s clenched lips. It turned into another sob, then another, until Sebastian was crying in Beauregard’s lap. Through it all, he felt Beauregard’s fingers run through his hair, soothing him.

  When he finally quieted down and regained control of himself, Sebastian sniffled, then raised his head to look at Beauregard. Tears were gathered on Beauregard’s eyelashes. Sebastian inhaled softly and reached up to wipe them away.

  “No, no, you can’t cry.”

  “Honey, I’m pregnant. I cry at the drop of a hat.” Beauregard chuckled then cupped his hand around the side of Sebastian’s face. “I also throw up at the drop of a hat, crave some really interesting food combinations, and pee three million times a day.”

  For some reason, Sebastian hadn’t even thought about the baby up until that point. He had been too worked up over Beauregard, maybe. But suddenly, the fact that his very pregnant mate sat in front of him hit Sebastian upside the head.

  He leaned back and looked down at Beauregard’s large, distended belly. He started to reach out to touch Beauregard but then hesitated, glancing at the man’s face. “May I?”

  Beauregard nodded. “It’s your baby.”

  “I know.” Sebastian’s hands trembled as he reached down to touch Beauregard. His stomach was firm beneath his hands, rounded. “Is everything okay with the baby?”

  “Yes.”

  “How far along are you?”

  Beauregard frowned.

  Sebastian quickly realized how he had phrased his words. “No, please, I…we never talked about it, and I don’t know. I’m just trying to figure out how long we have until this little guy gets here. That’s all. I swear.”

  Beauregard nodded. “I figure I have about two weeks or so to go, give or take a day.”

  “That doesn’t leave us a lot of time then, does it?” Sebastian stood to his feet and held out his hand. “I have something I want to show you.”

  Beauregard looked quizzical as he took Sebastian’s hand. Sebastian gently pulled him to his feet and led him from the room. Harlan and Omar fell into step behind them as they walked down to the second floor.

  Sebastian stopped at the doorway next to the one that led to their quarters. He turned to Beauregard, afraid that the man might get angry for what he did. He just wanted to show his mate that he accepted their child, and this was the only thing he could think of.

  “If you want to change anything, just say so, okay?”

  Beauregard frowned, obviously confused. Sebastian opened the door and led his mate into the nursery he had created for their baby. Beauregard pulled away and stepped further into the room. He mouth dropped open as he stared at everything.

  Sebastian stood by the doorway and wrung his hands together as he waited for his mate’s verdict. Would Beauregard hate it? Love it? Feel jealous because he hadn’t helped? Had Sebastian even done the right thing in designing a nursery without his mate’s input?

  “What do you think?” he finally asked when he couldn’t stand the silence anymore.

  “You did all of this?” Beauregard asked as he turned in a circle.

  “Yes. I called the elder of your rabbit colony and made sure I had everything a baby bunny would need. I wanted to make sure that the little guy had everything to give him a good start.”

  “See?” Sebastian said as he walked over and pointed out the cloth play area he had put in. There were boxes to hide in and tunnels to climb through, all wrapped in colorful cloth so the baby wouldn’t be hurt. “The elder said he would be born a bunny but be able to shift to human form after he was a week old. I wanted to make sure he had a safe place to play in either form.”

  “And the crib?”

  Sebastian grinned as he looked across the room at the antique wooden crib. It was twice the size of a regular crib. “That was mine. My father made it for me when my mother was pregnant with me.”

  “That explains why it is so big.”

  “Baby dragons need lots of room to sleep.”

  “You’ve been busy.”

  Sebastian glanced around the nursery and tried to see it through Beauregard’s eyes. The walls were painted a light blue color. A colorful array of animals, trees, and clouds were painted in a mural from one side of the room to the other.

  The antique wooden crib had a matching changing table that was fully stocked. A mobile of flying dragons in several different colors hung over the crib. There were bookshelves full of books, a closet full of clothes, and toy boxes filled to overflowing.

  His baby would want for nothing.

  “Do you like it?”

  “You seemed to have thought of everything.”

  Sebastian’s heart sank. “I wanted you to know I was serious. I know you’re carrying my child, a child I want very much. I wanted you to know that I believe you, that I know you were telling me the truth.”

  Beauregard’s stare felt heavy. Sebastian swallowed hard. He quickly held up his hand. "Before you say anything I have one more thing I want to show you. I started this the day I brought you home.”

  Sebastian walked to a door on the far side of the room, away from the hallway entrance. He paused and waited for Beauregard to join him. “Close your eyes, bunny.”

  Beauregard frowned, but did as Sebastian asked. Sebastian waited for a moment then opened the door. He carefully escorted Beauregard into the middle of the room then pulled him to a stop.

  “Okay, bunny, open your eyes.”

  Beauregard opened his eyes and almost instantly inhaled. “Sebastian.”

  “There’s a door that leads back to our quarters, as well as the one to the nursery,” Sebastian said. He pointed across the large room. “And those double doors lead out to our balcony. In the summertime, you can open them and get a cool breeze in here.”

  “How…how did you do this?”

  “It took a little planning and a lot of workers. The architect had to retrofit the floor to hold the soil the gardener needed to plant the grass and trees. The flowers were a little easier, as they don’t need much soil.”

  Sebastian started getting excited at the awed look on Beauregard’s face. He started walking around, wanting to show Beauregard everything.

  “And here, look.” Sebastian pointed. “They figured out a way to put an irrigation system in so everything can be watered. The gardener will come twice a week for weeding and such, but he said that with the sun windows above, everything should grow just fine. This way, you and the baby will have a place to run and play that’s in a natural setting.”

  He walked back over to stand next to Beauregard, eager for his reaction. “It’s safe here, Beauregard, for both you and the baby. No poisonous plants. No way for anyone to get inside. You can shift and come in here anytime you want.”

  “You did this for us?” Beauregard whispered. “For both of us?”

  “Well, I…” Sebastian licked his dry lips. “You’re a bunny. Our baby is going to be a bunny. You both need a safe place to run and play and just be. You need a place where you won’t get too cold in the winter or too hot in the summer, and I thought you’d like this.”

  Sebastian glanced around and suddenly felt like he had made a big mistake. Beauregard wasn’t saying anything. He wasn’t even looking around the room. He was just staring up at Sebastian with a curious expression on his face that Sebastian couldn’t decipher.
<
br />   “Beauregard?”

  “You do love me,” Beauregard whispered.

  “Yes.”

  A tear trailed down Beauregard’s cheek.

  “No, no, don’t cry, bunny.” Sebastian felt like a heel all over again. He knew this was a stupid idea. Who ever heard of an indoor bunny park? “You’re not supposed to cry. If you don’t like it—”

  “I love it.” Beauregard beamed. “And I love you.”

  Sebastian’s eyes caught in his throat. Pure joy filled him. “Yeah?”

  Beauregard grinned and started backing away, crooking his finger at Sebastian. His violet eyes started darkening. “I may not be as flexible as I usually am, but we can still break this place in. How do you feel about makeup sex in the great outdoors?”

  Sebastian swallowed hard. He felt like his heart had jumped right into his throat. “I’m very much in favor of it.”

  Chapter 12

  If he got his hands on Sebastian, he was going to kill him. Beauregard stormed to the door to their quarters as fast his increased girth would allow and flung it open. The two guards standing outside his door jumped and turned to look at him.

  “Where is that no good, fire-breathing dragon that I’m mated to?”

  “I…er…” one guard stammered.

  “I believe he’s in his study,” the other one quickly answered.

  Beauregard pushed his way past the guards and stomped down the hallway to the top of the grand staircase. He could hear the guards whispering to each other as they followed behind him. He ignored them.

  “Sebastian Drakus,” Beauregard shouted at the top of his lungs, “get your black scaly dragon ass up here right this minute.”

  The door to the study slammed open. Sebastian and Galan came running out. “What’s wrong?” Sebastian asked as he started up the stairs. “Is it the baby?”

  “You did this to me, you son-of-a-bitch,” Beauregard screeched at the top of his lungs. “My ankles are swollen, I can’t see my feet, and my back hurts. You damn well better be carrying the next kid because I’m not going to do it.”

  Sebastian blinked and paused on one of the steps. “Bunny?”

  “I don’t want to do this anymore,” Beauregard started sobbing.

  Sebastian was there in a second, his arms wrapping around Beauregard. “Ah, bunny, it’s okay. It will be over soon and just think, love, we’ll have a beautiful baby that will look just like you, with your big violet eyes and your soft white fur. He’ll be beautiful.”

  “I’m huge,” Beauregard wailed as he buried his face in Sebastian’s neck. “I’m going to give birth to an elephant.”

  “No, love, I’m pretty sure it’s just going to be a bunny.”

  “Bunnies are small like me.” Beauregard looked down at his immense stomach. “This isn’t a bunny.”

  “Didn’t your booklet say that there could be more than one bunny baby?” Sebastian asked as he stood to his feet. He helped Beauregard up then started leading him down the hallway, back to their quarters.

  “Yeah, but—”

  “Then maybe we need to buy another crib, hmmm? We never discussed that. Maybe we’re having twins or triplets.”

  “Triplets!”

  “It’s a possibility, love, you know that.” Sebastian patted Beauregard’s hand. “Remember what the colony elder said? You could have up to five kits in a litter.”

  “Five?” Beauregard felt his legs wobble. “What would we do with five kids?”

  “Build a bigger nursery.” Sebastian chuckled.

  “I’m scared, Sebastian,” Beauregard admitted for the first time. “What do I know about raising a baby?”

  “We, love, we are raising this baby, not just you. And we’ll figure it out. You won’t be in this alone.”

  “No, but—aahhh!” Beauregard screamed as a sudden deep pain wrapped around his abdomen. He had never felt an agony so intense in his life. His knees buckled, and he grabbed for his mate. Sebastian caught him before he could hit the floor and swung him up into his arms.

  “Beauregard?”

  “I think…I think the baby is coming.”

  “Shit, shit, shit,” Sebastian started swearing as he hurried down the hallway. “Galan, get the doctor. Beauregard’s gone into labor.”

  The next few minutes were a blur of activity as Beauregard was rushed to the bedroom, undressed, and set up in the nest of blankets and pillows he’d built in the corner of the room. He watched it all as if watching through a fog, the pain ripping through his abdomen all he could concentrate on.

  The just as suddenly as it had started, the flurry of activity stopped. Beauregard felt a hand stroke his naked stomach and turned to see Sebastian stretched out beside him. He gave his mate a weak smile.

  “Hey.”

  “Hey, bunny.”

  “I guess this is it.”

  Sebastian smiled. “I guess it is.”

  “The doctor is on his way?”

  Beauregard breathed a sigh of relief when Sebastian nodded. He was scared to death that something would go wrong. He wanted this baby more than anything except maybe Sebastian. He couldn’t live without his mate, and not just because UPAC said so.

  The United Paranormal Alliance of Cooperation, or Council of Elders as most called them, had played their little game and won where Beauregard and Sebastian were concerned. They were two different shifter species that desired to spend the rest of their lives together because they loved each other, not because they had to.

  “Do you need anything, love?”

  Beauregard started to shake his head when another pain ripped through him. He felt it all the way down to his toes. He cried out until his voice broke. When the pain started to ebb, he noticed Sebastian gripping his hand. He glanced over, surprised to see the pained expression on his mate’s face.

  “Sebastian?”

  “That was really intense.”

  Beauregard blinked. Sebastian’s face was really pale. “You felt that?”

  “Not like you did but—” Sebastian grimaced. “I really hate to see you in pain, bunny. I feel responsible.”

  A bark of laughter slipped through Beauregard’s lips. “You are responsible, daddy.”

  “Daddy?” Sebastian started to smile. It grew and grew until his entire face lit up. “I like that…daddy.”

  “What did you think he would call you? Mom?”

  Sebastian’s face flushed. “I guess I never really thought about it.”

  “Well…” Beauregard grimaced as another wave of pain started. “You might want to think about it because this baby is on his way.”

  “No, no!” Sebastian said sternly, his eyes going wild. “Not until the doctor gets here.”

  Beauregard shook his head. He had the uncontrollable urge to push. “No choice,” he panted.

  “Beauregard, no!” Sebastian’s voice was filled with panic as he glanced down at the lower half of Beauregard’s body. “Cross your legs or something.”

  “Sebastian!” Beauregard shouted until the pain forced his voice into a high scream. By the time he came down, Sebastian was kneeling between his legs, beads of sweat dripping down his forehead.

  Sebastian pushed his hands through his hair then glanced up at him. “Okay, we can do this. I read everything the elders could find on bunnies. I may not understand the whole temporary uterus and birthing canal thing, but I have every confidence that we can do this.”

  Beauregard would have felt a lot more secure in Sebastian’s words if the man’s hands hadn’t been shaking. “I’m scared.”

  “There’s nothing to be scared of. People have babies every day. We’re going to do just fine.” Sebastian’s lips wobbled as they turned up in a weak grin. “And won’t the doctor be surprised when he arrives and we no longer need him?”

  Beauregard admired Sebastian’s attempt at humor. He was just in too much pain to respond to it. It started at his abdomen and wrapped all the way around his middle to his back. Beauregard felt like claws were trying to rip
him out from the inside.

  “Okay, love, push.”

  Beauregard pushed. He had no other choice. He pushed and grunted, straining as he pushed the baby out. He heard Sebastian exclaim, but was panting too hard to look. He just closed his eyes and let his head drop back against the pile of pillows.

  “Look what you did, bunny.”

  Beauregard opened his eyes and looked up. Sebastian had a small bundle wrapped in a blue blanket cradled in his hands. He laid it down on Beauregard’s chest. Beauregard’s mouth opened in awe.

  “A black bunny,” he whispered. “He’s a black bunny.”

  “He is.” Sebastian grinned like the proud new daddy that he was. “Part you and part me.”

  Beauregard started to reach up to touch the baby bunny when another pain ripped through him. He gasped. “Sebastian, I don’t think we’re done.”

  Sebastian was quick, much quicker than Beauregard would have imagined. The black bunny was carefully transferred to a waiting basket, and Sebastian went to work on delivering the next baby—a beautiful white dragon.

  But Beauregard wasn’t done. After the baby dragon was born, a third baby joined the family, one that mystified both Beauregard and Sebastian. It was a bunny, but he had wings like a dragon—a combination of them both, maybe?

  Beauregard cradled him against his chest as Sebastian brought the basket over and pulled out the first two babies. He noticed tears trickling down Sebastian’s cheeks as he stared down at the babies.

  “Look at them, bunny,” Sebastian whispered. “Look what we did.”

  Beauregard chuckled at the awe in Sebastian’s voice. The man sounded like he had never seen a baby before. Beauregard still felt sore and woozy and more tired than he ever remembered feeling in his life. But he was happy, and he was with Sebastian and their babies. For now, that was enough.

  * * * *

  Beauregard laid the last sleeping baby down in the crib with his brothers then quietly tiptoed out of the nursery, closing the door behind him. He leaned back against the door and chuckled slightly.

  It had taken forever to get the three little ones down for a nap. Shifter babies were nothing like human babies, especially ones that learned quickly that they had their father wrapped around their little fingers.