Duke scraped the eggs out onto a small plate. “Some dry toast too? Might settle your stomach. Always did mine.”
“In your crazy bachelor days?” Bram asked, attempting humor.
“Something like that.” He got out a fork and set the eggs in front of Bram. “You want to try it?”
“I’ll try this first, but thanks.” Bram’s reluctance was obvious as he used the fork to separate out the tiniest bite of egg, then put it in his mouth. He chewed slowly, his attention obviously on his stomach, and Duke found himself watching the regular movements of Bram’s jaw with the same attention he paid to a rowdy, angry young alpha on full moon. Bram swallowed, and Duke held his breath, waiting for the reaction.
Bram reached for a second bite, and Duke let out a sigh of relief so loud that Bram laughed at him. “Don’t get cocky. The next one could be the pebble that sets off the landslide.”
“Go slow,” Duke said.
“Trust me, I will,” Bram told him, his eyebrows pulled together in anxiety. He put the second bite into his mouth, chewed, and swallowed. “I think I’ll wait a bit on the rest,” he said. The skin around his mouth was pale, and sweat beaded on his forehead. “Actually, I think I’m going to go lie down.” He got up, but instead of heading for the bedroom, he went to the front of the apartment—to the bathroom.
“Bram?” Duke called gently behind him.
“I’m just going to rest a little in here,” Bram’s voice echoed back to him.
Duke followed and found him curled in a ball on the floor in front of the toilet. “You all right?” Stupid. Of course he wasn’t.
But Bram smiled weakly up at him, as if he was afraid that too sudden a movement would send his stomach into reverse. “I’ll be okay. Just give me a few minutes.”
“I’ll bring you a blanket. And a pillow.”
“Thank you.” Bram closed his eyes again, that small furrow reappearing between his eyebrows, and Duke hurried off to the bedroom.
He came back with the softest blanket they had, the one Bram’s friend Rosie had given them, and one of the new pillows that Bram’s parents had given them. “How are you feeling now?”
“A bit better.” Bram laid his head on the pillow with a sigh. “Thank you.”
“No problem.” Duke tucked the blanket around him.
CHAPTER TWENTY-SIX
I did eventually make it out of the bathroom. Duke made me toast, no butter, and I slowly nibbled away at half a slice before I gave up. All I wanted to do was crawl into bed and have Duke wrap himself around me like a huge, warm wall against the world.
So that’s what we did.
I pulled his arm around me and snuggled in close, grateful for his solid presence at my back.
“How’s your stomach?” Duke rumbled behind me.
“Shhh. Don’t wake the beast.”
He chuckled and pressed a kiss to the side of my neck. “Get some sleep. You still up for Christmas dinner tomorrow with Abel and the crew?”
“I think so. If I have to run out quick, will you cover for me?”
“It’s going to be a room full of omegas. I expect they’ll know exactly what’s going on.”
I made a face, glad that he couldn’t see it in the dark. “It’s ridiculous. I’m barely over a month along. I shouldn’t be this sick.”
“Two babies, Bram. Twice the fun.”
I elbowed him. He made an oof noise, then had the gall to laugh at me.
“Seriously, Duke. How am I supposed to work if I’m running for the toilet all the time?”
That put an end to his hilarity. “Maybe it’s a good thing there’s going to be a bunch of omegas there tomorrow. I’d bet money on Bax knowing what to do for morning sickness.”
True. I sighed and snuggled against him. “Remind me to make sure Midwinter Wolf comes for you.”
“Ohhhh. I thought I was too old for that?”
“You’re never too old for Midwinter Wolf. Though it’s not big.”
“I think he came back in November for me. Dropped a gorgeous omega in my lap and left.”
I twisted around to face him. “You think I’m gorgeous?” I could barely see him, just a thin outline in the moonlight that snuck in between the curtains.
“Yes.” He traced my eyebrows with the tips of his fingers, following the lines of my face until he could run them over my mouth. I kissed them as they passed by and made him laugh again. I wanted to spend my life making him laugh like that, and I leaned forward to kiss him. My body still couldn’t care less, but my heart couldn’t go to sleep without that simple contact.
He kissed me back, and I felt his body respond to me.
“Do you want?” I asked. I slid a hand down his chest, toward the hardness poking my thighs. It wasn’t the first time I’d asked, and I fully expected him to turn me down again, which was exactly what he did.
“There’s nothing in it for you. I’m fine.”
Tonight I wasn’t going to give up though. He deserved something for catering to me and my ridiculous stomach all evening. “There’s plenty in it for me. There’s making my mate happy. There’s finally getting to play with something I’ve been wondering about for a long time.” I grabbed the waist of his pajama bottoms and started to tug them over his hip. “Help a guy out here?”
“And I thought omegas were supposed to be fragile and retiring?” He pushed my hands away.
Okay, time to pull out the big guns. “You find me attractive, right?”
“You know I do.”
“I want to do this. Really. It’s kind of a relief. It’s…” How to explain it? “All I could think about before was how good I was going to feel when we finally—” I turned red. “The way I feel now—I can focus on you. I want to focus on you. Pretty excited about it, honestly.” I gave him big puppy eyes and hoped. “This is going to be fun.”
He stared at me for a long moment, as if he was trying to figure out what my game was. I waited quietly, figuring that if he turned me down tonight, I’d have to stop pestering him. At some point, it would start being annoying, not enthusiastic.
Finally, he reached up to cup my cheek and run his thumb over my mouth. “We can try to figure something out for you too.”
It was so sweet of him, but I was—surprisingly—okay with not getting off. I’d already figured out that any orgasm of mine involved Justin, and I’d be damned to the barren fields if I’d let him have anything good from me. “I’ll think about it,” I told him, so he’d relax and let me please him.
Maybe I’d even try a blow job, just for shits and giggles.
Maybe not. I wasn’t quite ready for that yet.
But I really wanted to touch him, and Duke let me roll him onto his back so I could push his pants down to his knees and then straddle his thighs. I hardly knew where I wanted to start, now that I had permission. And, in all honesty, now that he was exposed before me, rising proud and strong and waiting for my hands and—I hoped—someday my body, I was nervous. He was a big man, and all of his body was built on that scale. Including the cock in front of me.
It made me wonder how that would feel pushing inside, and I had to swallow as my stomach rebelled again, this time out of nervousness. I wondered if it would hurt, and if there was anything I could do to fix that.
Ask Bax. Tomorrow. Tonight I didn’t have to worry about that.
I wrapped my hand around him, right at the base, so the coarse hair that covered his groin scratched against my skin. It was warmer than I’d expected, and soft, but hard underneath. Like my own, but different. Maybe because it wasn’t mine, it felt different in my head. I liked it though, especially when just touching him made Duke gasp, and I felt the tug of the sheets beneath my knees as he pulled on them. I trailed my fingers lightly up it, until I could wrap my hand around the damp tip. “Tell me if I do something wrong, okay? And what you like best?” It was my first time doing this to someone else and I wanted to get it right.
“Oh, you’re doing fine, love,” he breathed.
His tone gave me confidence, and I put my other hand on him, so I had almost all of him covered. I moved them around, sometimes gripping firmly, sometimes barely touching him. At one point, I cupped his balls in one hand and played with them until I got used to their weight and their size. Maybe it was silly, but I liked that they were larger than mine, and I especially like the way he groaned and shifted underneath me when I touched them.
The tip was wetter, and my hands smelled of Duke and sex. I breathed him in deep to memorize this part of his scent, and almost started to curse Justin for taking away my own physical enjoyment of this, but I wasn’t letting him have any of this. I was doing something for my mate, caring for him the way a mate should, and Justin wasn’t worth any of that.
“Good?” I asked.
“Fuck, Bram.”
I laughed and kept touching him, exploring the different textures. I discovered that he swore when I stroked the wrinkly bit underneath the head and, when I got brave and leaned down to lick the head itself, he shouted and grabbed for me as if he couldn’t help himself. We eventually compromised on him grabbing my thighs while I made a determined effort to make him come and he made just as determined an effort to hold off.
I won.
It was the best Christmas ever.
CHAPTER TWENTY-SEVEN
I did manage to sneak out of bed before Duke, only to discover that the rat had already snuck out of bed before me. There were gifts under the tree with my name on them, some from Duke, but a few small ones from Midwinter Wolf. I quickly fished out the gifts I’d hidden around the apartment over the past couple of weeks, tucked them under the tree, then raced back to bed because the apartment was cold and sleeping next to Duke was like sleeping next to a Harvest Moon bonfire. I was sure it wouldn’t be quite so wonderful in July and August, but right now, I couldn’t get back into bed fast enough.
“Holy fuck, your feet are cold,” he mumbled, then wrapped his legs around mine so my feet were sandwiched between his. “Did Midwinter Wolf come?”
“You know he did,” I said, and punched him in the arm.
“Ow.” But he wasn’t bothered. Duke pulled me close so I could rest my head on his chest. “Just for that, I’m going to sleep another hour before we’re allowed to go open presents.”
“Who made you boss?” I asked through a yawn.
“I’m the alpha.” He said it smugly, and I punched him again.
We ended up dozing for nearly two hours, before my grumbling stomach forced me out of bed. “Make up your mind,” I told it grumpily. Really, I’d prefer not to be starving in the morning, and then sick all the rest of the day. Something in the middle would be fine. But my stomach just growled at me, so I jumped to it, scrambling eggs and putting on the last of our bacon before setting bread on to toast.
“Mmm, smells good,” Duke said from behind me. He wrapped his arms around my belly and kissed the side of my neck. “I’m starving. How are you feeling?”
“I could eat the furniture.”
“Maybe you won’t get sick today.”
“I hope not.” Seriously, it would be nice if it was just a one day thing. Turkey and stuffing and casseroles and vegetables and a bunch of stuff that Bax and Holland used to make in Buffalo Gap. Jason and Mac were bringing Macy, my mom and dad had been invited. I was bringing a couple of potato pies for the meal, and then some plum pudding for dessert, because I’d figured out it was Duke’s favorite. It was going to be a feast, and I was really looking forward to it. After all, I had an excuse now to eat as much as I wanted, right?
I plowed through a breakfast almost as big as Duke’s, despite being half his size. But I had yesterday’s lack of calories to make up for, so I excused my nearly porcine table manners that way. Duke watched me with an amused smile, eating his meal with much more decorum.
When my stomach was comfortably full, I sat back with my mug of tea and watched as Duke munched down the last of his toast. It was so wonderfully comfortable and domestic, and I could still smell him faintly on my skin, the scent of his body and the scent of his seed. Last night had made me happy. I felt like I was holding up my part of the mating, like things were a little fairer to Duke now.
He looked up and caught me smiling. “Merry Christmas.”
“Merry Christmas to you too.” I got out of my seat and crawled into his lap. “Hurry up so we can go open presents.”
He laughed and popped the last bit of toast into his mouth. “Ready when you are,” he said through his mouthful of toast.
“Eww, Duke. Finish that.” I hopped back off his lap. “I’ll meet you by the tree.”
Saucy bugger slapped my ass before I could get away.
I couldn’t wait for him to open his gift from me. I’d taken a ridiculous amount of credits and spent them on a length of heavy leather, dyed midnight blue, and a sturdy denim that I washed until it was butter soft, to make a long jacket for him. Then, in every spare moment I’d had since we’d been mated, I’d cut and stitched and prayed that the surreptitious measuring I’d done while Duke was asleep was accurate. I wasn’t used to fitting clothing to a frame like Duke’s. Not that I couldn’t fix anything that didn’t fit properly, but I wanted him to be able to wear it right away.
Midwinter wolf had brought him a nice dressy shirt and some warm mittens that I’d traded with Rosie for. I picked up the gifts with my name on them and shook them, then jumped when Duke plopped down on the floor beside me.
“Ready to open presents?” he said, grinning.
“You open this one first,” I said, handing him the jacket in its cardboard box.
“You don’t want to start?” he asked, his expression a mix of surprise and excitement.
“I want to see you open this first.”
He gave me a look that said he hadn’t expected a lot, and carefully took the top off the box. “Bram, where did you get this?”
“I made it. Try it on so I can see if it fits. I had to measure you while you were sleeping.”
He laughed and pulled the jacket out. “Mac’s gonna shit bricks when he sees this.”
He stood up and pulled it on, turning in place so I could see the back too. It was a little loose across the shoulders, but nothing I couldn’t fix, and it was better than too tight anyway. At least the waist hit right and the sleeves were the right length. It looked really good on him, showing off the width of his shoulders and the way his back slimmed down to his waist. I watched as he buttoned up the front and held my breath, hoping I’d gotten the chest right. I was pretty sure I had—I’d measured it twice—but this was the moment of truth.
“Damn, Bram. This is way more than—” His words broke off and he just stood there, running his hands down the front of the jacket.
“So you like it?” I asked, and held my breath.
He shook his head. “Like is a pretty mild word for it.” He crouched in front of me and pulled me into a long, loving kiss. “I’ve never had anything this nice in my life. When did you find the time to make it?”
“Here and there.” I grinned. “You nearly caught me a couple of times, but I’m fast.”
He laughed and hugged me. “Thank you, Bram. It’s a fantastic present.” He carefully took it off and folded it back into its box. “I’m almost scared to wear it, it’s so gorgeous.”
I leaned against him and smiled. “I have to tighten the shoulders up a little, but it should be pretty sturdy. I made it for you to wear it.”
Duke kissed the top of my head. “I love you.”
“I love you too. Now, where’s my present?”
He laughed, like I’d hoped he do. “Here.” He held out a large yellow envelope to me. “I hope this is what you wanted.”
An envelope? I frowned as I opened it and spilled its contents out into my hands. Brochures, sheets of paper that looked like—application forms? One for the ACT test, another for…the college in the city. And the last sheet on the bottom of the pile was an accounting of education credits loaned to me by the
pack, with the stipulation that I come back here to work for one year for every year that I go to school.
It was signed by Quin.
“Duke, are you sure?” I looked up at him uncertainly. “I mean, we’re going to have two babies now. How do I go to school and look after two babies?”
“Who says you’re going to be alone? It’s a done deal. You study up for the test to get in while you’re waiting for the pups to come. After, I’ll look after them.”
“You will?”
“I’m taking over the pack house in the city. For the next four years, I’m the liaison with the humans, and the handyman, and the guy keeping the youngsters in line so we don’t get kicked out. And the guy helping out with our pups. If you still want to go to school.” He looked anxious, like he was wondering if he’d done something wrong.
“But what about your plans?” I couldn’t help asking. “What did you plan to do?”
He shrugged. “Nothing different. Work security. Make some furniture. Maybe grab some extra hours building the new houses next year. I was thinking,” he lay down on his side and propped his head on his hand. “If you wanted, I’d see if I could put our names in for one of the new places when they’re built. I know they’re going to be a little out of the way, but if I take on enough extra work, we might qualify for one. Not this summer, but maybe next. Especially with two pups already.” He put a hand on my belly, on that solid little ball already swelling out of the space between my hips. “I was thinking I might bring my tools with me too, when we go outside walls, and I could do some furniture and small things and bring in some human money that way. It’s a pretty quick way to bank credits.”
Duke's Baby Deal (MM Mpreg Shifter Romance) (Mercy Hills Pack Book 3) Page 13
