“Deal!” He was right about me and my rocky relationship with mornings. We did not get along. But could you blame me? Mornings sucked. These days especially. With all the stress of the cabin-building, trying to get everything just the way I’d dreamed it, I spent most of the night tossing and turning. And then when the annoying sun came peeking over the horizon, I felt like I was even more exhausted than I’d been when I went to sleep.
“So, now that we have all that figured out… are you going to tell me what you were hiding in the spare room?” Devlin’s eyes trailed back to the door I had closed so quickly.
“Nothing…” I certainly wasn’t going to tell him about all the fancy cushions and blankets I’d purchased. I may have gotten a teensy bit carried away, but they looked so soft and comfy, I just couldn’t resist them. But now that all my orders had shown up, I was really starting to wonder what the hell my problem was. I had somehow ordered enough cushions to not only fill every square inch of the spare bedroom, but probably enough to open my very own cushion store if I were so inclined.
Devlin made to walk around me, but when he reached for the doorknob, I grabbed his hand and started dragging him towards the door.
“Since you refuse to bend me over and fuck me senseless, and all the workers should be here shortly, we should just get out of their hair and get some errands done.” I tugged him towards the door, but it was like dragging a 2000-pound dragon. “Please?” I gave him those puppy-dog eyes I knew he couldn’t resist.
“It’s a good thing you’re so cute.” He gave my lips a peck and followed me out the door. “Where are we going? No, wait, let me guess. The market?”
His smirk was enough to make me hard, and I had to adjust myself as we got into the car. “Yes, it just so happens the market has the perfect area rug for the living room. All reds and burnt orange. Like a sunset on the floor!”
“Or like lava,” he suggested, and I covered my mouth in a delighted gasp.
“Yes! The floor is lava!” I giggled, and Devlin’s dragon rumbled his approval at my apparent glee.
“That was the longest day of my life,” I moaned.
“It’s only lunchtime,” Devlin said, looking across the console at me, his eyes concerned. “You’ve been really tired lately. Are you feeling okay?”
“Yeah, I’m just a little stressed. Not sleeping well.”
“Hmm, sure. Would my sweet boy like a warm bath? Maybe with bubbles?”
I was suddenly feeling less tired. “Maybe my daddy can join me?”
He tsked at me. “You know the workers are still there. But—” he continued, holding one finger up to stop my protest. “I will come wash your hair for you, and maybe scrub your back. And then I’ll bring you something to eat.”
“Okay.” My pout was purely for show this time. I really did love it when he helped me in the tub. Especially when I could convince him to wash alllll my dirty places.
We pulled up in front of the cabin, and a contented sigh escaped my lips. Father had given his permission that we could own our own vehicle and drive ourselves up and down the mountain road to town. It was a guarded road so he decided it was a low risk, and it gave me a sense of privacy not having to drag Jack along with us everywhere we went.
And because Jack wasn’t here, it meant I could stay in the car as long as I wanted, just basking in the glory that was our new home. They really had thrown it together quite quickly, and now there were just the finishing touches remaining. I mean, sure, the royal family did have a certain amount of sway with the local businesses, not to mention a massive staff at our beck and call. I wasn’t usually one to use our royal privilege to my advantage, but once I had the go-ahead to build the cabin, it was like an itch that I needed to scratch.
And it was almost complete! I may have pushed for us to move in a little early, but I just couldn’t wait! And of course my daddy indulged me.
So, why didn’t I feel the level of satisfaction I’d been hoping to find? There was this low-level anxiety just under the surface. It had me fidgeting, sometimes pacing back and forth. Sometimes it had me online shopping for the silliest of things. Or, you know, filling the spare bedroom with dozens upon dozens of massive cushions. I knew it was crazy behavior, but I guess I just had to cross my fingers that once the house was all finished and the workers were out of our hair, things would go back to normal.
“Coming, love?” Devlin had opened my door and was offering me a hand out. His other hand was weighed down with bags upon bags of my market purchases, and a huge rolled carpet was thrown over his shoulder. My daddy was seriously the bestest daddy who ever lived. He hadn’t rolled his eyes at the giraffe lamp I wanted. When I couldn’t decide which of the flannel throw blankets I liked best, he suggested we get them all.
He got the bath ready for me and helped me undress. “Would you like a sandwich for lunch? I’ll go make it for you while you have a soak.”
“Yes, please. Roast beef? With lettuce, tomato, and mayo?”
“Of course, my sweet boy.”
“Or maybe ham. I can’t decide. Ooh! Or a BLT!” I bit my lip, and Devlin waited for me to come to a decision. “Maybe all three?” I offered him a sheepish grin. I couldn’t help it. I was starving! I felt like I hadn’t eaten all day, even though I’d polished off nearly a dozen eggs for breakfast. I blamed my increased appetite on the poor sleep I’d been getting. Needed to boost my energy levels somehow.
“Of course, my boy. Anything for you.” He gave me a slow kiss, far too innocent for my liking, then headed off to the kitchen.
As I turned to get into the tub, I caught sight of my reflection in the mirror. Oof. Looked like those large breakfasts were catching up with me. Or maybe it was the extra milkshakes I’d been drinking. Or the muffins… I was turning into the stereotypical omega! Settle down with a mate and then let yourself go.
I would have to do better, watch what I ate, make a point of flying a few laps around the mountain or something.
Tomorrow… first thing in the morning, I would get some exercise.
And I made a promise to myself that I would eat better. Right after these three sandwiches…
28
Devlin
“I’m pretty low-key jealous of your new digs, brother.” Aiden grabbed another cheese stick from the basket of fried delight the five of us—my mate, his brothers, Spencer, and I—were sharing.
The last cheese stick.
Chance reached out, snatching it from his clutches. “Sorry.” He handed it back and Aiden waved him off.
“You obviously want it more than me.” Aiden reached for an onion ring instead, and without even pretending to argue, Chance bit off a huge bite of cheesy goodness.
That wasn’t like him. Sure, he liked to be bratty with me, but this wasn’t that. It was as if he needed the cheese stick.
“I’ll get us some more.” I gave a nod to our server who was looking our way. I was still getting used to the way royalty was treated in public. We weren’t assigned to one of their regular servers that took care of multiple tables… no, whoever served us, that was their entire job for the duration of our meal. Not because of anything we ever said or did, it just was how it was.
He came over and I ordered more of everything. My mate was eating enough for five people, had been doing that a lot recently. He joked about how he was getting fat, but still continued to grab things like nobody’s business.
Oh!
I started to connect dots I should’ve connected long before now. We were mated. We had heat sex—lots and lots of heat sex—during a heat that was shorter than it should’ve been.
Chance was hungry all the time and gaining weight—a bunch of weight.
Chance went to bed early and not just for knotty fun—no, he was exhausted.
We were such idiots. How could neither of us have seen it? Chance was with egg—our egg—our baby.
We had created a dragon, and instead of basking in the joy and fully giving into the urge to nest, we were oblivi
ous.
Beyond oblivious.
I blamed my mate and the fact that I couldn’t keep my eyes and hands off of him.
“Hey, love,” I leaned in and whispered in his ear. “Want to get some air with me?” This wasn’t information I could hold onto for long and definitely not information I wanted to blurt out in front of his brothers.
“Sure.” He shrugged, and because they were his brothers, they started making kissing sounds, Spencer joining in on their teasing. “I’m not even going to address the greenness of all your eyes right now,” Chance sassed right back and took my hand.
“My brothers getting to you?” he asked as we entered the courtyard. “Cause they get to me and I’m used to them.” Chance leaned into my side. “Is it weird I consider Spencer like a brother?”
“He is.” Heck. If I hadn’t known they weren’t related, I’d have assumed he was their brother. He even looked like them.
“Then what’s up? Are my brothers right? Are you looking for some lovin’?” He winked, stepping in closer.
“Now hear me out…” Maybe this wasn’t a good time to tell him, and maybe I was wrong and he was so close that the idea of indulging in his sexiness had my dragon at attention.
“That sounds ominous.” He settled his hand on my chest and nipped at my bottom lip. “Is it something kinky?” He lowered his voice. “Because I could be persuaded.”
“Not ominous or kinky...” I held onto his hand, which had begun to make a trip down my chest, “...so much as wonderful.” He licked his lips. My omega was going to be the death of me. “Do you think maybe—do you think you’re about to—do you think an egg is coming?” His eyes went wide at my words and his mouth formed a perfect O as he grasped my shirt, his other hand going to his fluffier middle.
“The pillows,” he gasped, his face blooming into a smile. “I’m...nesting... my heat was short... an egg... a baby.” I nodded. “I’m—we’re... do you really... could it be…”
“I think maybe. The timing is right.” Any question I had over whether or not he was happy was answered as he threw himself into my arms, his excitement over the news relieving the stress I hadn’t fully processed I was feeling.
“Take me home.” He squeezed me tight. “There’s so much to be done. We’re going to have a baby. You’re happy, right?”
“We are, and there has never been a time in my life where my happiness outshone this moment.” I held him just a wee bit tighter. “I love you, omega mine. Thank you.” I nipped at his earlobe. “Thank you for making all my dreams come true when I didn’t even know what they all were.”
We left, making the excuse we had things to do, which got us even more razzing, given they’d most likely seen Chance with his legs wrapped around me in the courtyard through the open door. By the time we got home, we were both thrumming with excitement. We were going to be fathers.
“How many do you think I’ll have in my clutch?” he asked as he swung the door open and ran to the spare room. “My father had four—well, three…” Losing an egg... the heartbreak that had to entail. “But his father only had one and on my father’s side they are all singletons. What about your family?”
I shut the door behind me and joined him at the bedroom door, where his hand hovered over the knob. “Mostly singletons, but a few random pairs on my father’s side. Why? Are you sensing more than one?”
“I’m so bad at this omega thing, I didn’t even sense one.” His voice faltered as he swung open the door.
“This room suggests otherwise.” I stepped inside the virtual storeroom of pillows, blankets, and some recent addition of towels with a few stuffies in the mix. “How did two grown men not see you were nesting?”
“I blame crappy sex ed.” He walked in and grabbed an armful of blankets. “Let’s move these to the living room so it can be near the fire.”
We spent the next three hours moving furniture and then adding all of the textiles we’d procured since moving in. Chance had very firm opinions as to which item went where, and the more we did, the more particular he got. At the end, we were standing in a room that was so snug, I could see us climbing in and snuggling for days.
“I think this is it.” He walked around it for the third time. “It needs more stuffies, though. How much time do you think I have?”
“I was trying to figure that out and my guess is anytime now.” Or three days ago, which was what I actually got when doing the math. Math—my nemesis strikes again.
“Wait and see?” Chance sidled up to me. “Or maybe play and see?”
“Play and see? I could like that option, or we could take a shower and get you some rest.”
“Yes, Daddy.” He rolled his eyes. “But can I at least come?”
“Like I could deny you.” I kissed his cheek and led him into the shower where he got nice and dirty before I cleaned him up.
“We are going to be fathers.” He climbed onto the bed all sated, sleepy, and dry.
“Best news ever.” I climbed in beside him, and he snuggled right in while I covered us with our blankets. “You’re going to be such an amazing father.”
“I’m not great at adulting.” He sighed. I’d known this was something he hadn’t been overly comfortable with and we’d discussed it a few times, but today it was less I need to mature and more I need to be good enough. If only he could see that he was.
“You grew up royal—that’s not the same as being immature. You just had people around to do things for you.”
“Doesn’t make it better.”
“Your instincts are so strong. You had been readying for our child when neither of us even suspected there was one. You’ve got this.”
“We’ve got this.” His body relaxed against mine. “Together.” It came out as almost a question.
“Absolutely. We’ve got this.” I kissed his head and held him as he fell asleep, and only then allowed myself to follow suit.
Next thing I knew, he was calling out my name, the bed beside me cold. I ran out into the living room, ready to call my dragon forth and destroy any attempting him harm—until I walked in and saw him in the nest, sweat pouring off of his face as he began to cry out once more. It wasn’t someone trying to hurt him, it was our babe trying to make its first steps into this world.
I ran to his side, brushing the hair from his brow. “My sweet boy, why didn’t you call me?” I said after he caught his breath.
“I didn’t know—I mean, I guess I knew since I came out here, but I didn’t.” He looked up at me, his face a combination of confused and exhausted. “But once I knew, I called for you and you came running.”
“So this is new?” Crap, I thought I came in near the tail end. If this was new, he might have another hour or so of this pain, and there was nothing I could do to take it from him.
“Yes-ish. It just got bad.”
I kissed his head, wishing I could do more.
“Tell me what you need, my sweet boy, and I will move the earth to make it happen,” I vowed.
He leaned into me. “Sit behind me, hold me, let me feel your warmth.” I nestled right in behind him as his breath picked up, his muscles stiffened, and he cried out once more. He grasped onto my arms, holding on tightly as he rode it out.
“That one—I think it’s almost time.” He panted. “You being here helped.”
I wasn’t sure how true that was, but I dared not leave to call Spencer’s aunt, the royal doula. He needed me. Full stop.
The next half-hour was rough, the final push so intense, I feared my choice not to seek help had been for the worst, that was until our egg, our beautiful purple egg, lay on the pillow, a beacon of our love. “It’s... it’s…” he sobbed.
“Perfect?” I offered, and he collapsed into me.
“Perfect. Thank you, alpha mine.” He reached over and covered the egg with a mauve knitted afghan he purchased at the market, a dragon stuffie next to it. He curled his body around it and I curled mine around the other side, our egg protected on all si
des.
“It’s me who should be thanking you.” I reached across and took his hand in mine.
“There’s only one,” he noted. “I don’t think I could’ve done this twice. We need to buy my omega dad a trophy or something,” he teased.
“We can in the morning. Right now, you need to sleep, my sweet boy.”
“Stay with me, Daddy?” His eyes fluttered shut.
“There’s no place else I’d be.”
29
Chance
Devin stayed by my side. He was the best daddy ever. I wasn’t moving from the nest, and as the days progressed, he refused to leave even to go as far as the kitchen and make a sandwich. He arranged for food to be brought from the palace. And because I couldn’t lose sight of our egg even for a minute, he gave me a sponge bath morning and night.
This was a special time for omega and alpha parents-to-be. While not all alphas may have been as attentive as Devlin, the days and weeks protecting the egg helped the parents bond more closely than they had been, though in our case, I wasn’t sure how much more emotionally connected we could be.
In the wee small hours of the morning when I couldn’t sleep, he’d massage my feet, rub my back, and prepare peppermint tea in the nest. We’d watch the sun rise over the horizon, its rays catching the corner of the room and flooding it with light. I’d uncover the egg and let the sunlight kiss it before replacing the knitted afghan.
One afternoon, my brothers and Spencer arrived to bring goodies from Cook. Brownies. Yum. But no rainbow cake. I’d been promised I’d get some today, but I sank my teeth into the chocolatey goodness and tried to forget about what I was missing. I’d stuffed a couple of brownies in my mouth before remembering I should have offered everyone else one. Oops.
After admiring the egg, Aiden asked, “So, as you’re the first, brother...” He squirmed, and Brenton cleared his throat and flicked a thread off his jacket while Spencer pushed hair off his brow.
The Dragon Prince’s Daddy: An M/M MPreg Shifter Romance (Royal Heat Book 1) Page 13
