“What a day. I actually puked on his shoes.”
“As first impressions go, I doubt he’ll forget it.”
She rolled her eyes at him. “Thanks.”
He cracked a couple of eggs into a bowl. “I do what I can.”
“He wasn’t…”
“What you expected?”
“Definitely not. Did you know he’d look like that? He could have been one of the dudes on your runways. I think he might look younger than I do.”
Linc finished whisking the eggs and poured them into the omelet pan with the mushrooms and tomatoes he’d been sautéing. “I can tell you he doesn’t.” He flipped the omelet.
“He’s a king, but he didn’t act super royal or anything. He seemed like a regular guy. Well, kind of. There’s something about him.”
After sliding the food onto a plate, he handed it to her. “Power like his is hard to contain. The wards and iron tamped it down. But I have no doubt that had he wanted to try something, nothing could have stopped him. Scared the hell out of me.”
“You don’t scare easily.”
“No. I hadn’t been frightened in ages until you came along.”
She laughed. “Me? Why would you be afraid of me?”
“Not of you. For you. When you were so sick. And then you’ve been through so much. I worry about you all the time. I’ve cared about people, but never anyone as much as you.”
The words came out before he realized what he was saying.
Crap.
He hadn’t planned on that kind of declaration. Not to her. Not even to himself. But now that he had made it, maybe knowing the depth of his feelings would convince her to let him do his job as her protector.
She stopped chewing. “Linc, that’s so sweet. But the baby is okay. He’s growing strong. You saw the sonogram.”
She didn’t get it.
“I wasn’t talking about the baby, Bennett. I was talking about you.” He made his way around the breakfast bar. “You need to know…” He put his hand on her belly. “Yes, you’re the mother of my son, but you’re also my friend. More, you’re my lover.”
She cocked her head to the side. “I care about you, too. But stop worrying. I do get overwhelmed at times. But I have my friends and you. I’m not sure what I’d do without you guys.”
Linc’s stomach sank. Friends. Was that all he was to her? Why was he disappointed?
For now, it would have to do. He wouldn’t push the issue. The last thing she needed was him pressuring her about something he wasn’t sure about himself.
“Hey, earth to Linc.” She snapped her fingers in front of his face.
“What?”
“I’m feeling better. I don’t need a nap.”
“Good,” he said. He had to get her to stop thinking about her father. “We missed the first Lamaze class. We should go.”
“Lamaze? Uh. Okay.”
She pursed her lips, and he caught himself staring. God, how he wanted to kiss her.
“I made breakfast plans with my father. And I’m nervous about the baby thing. The kid’s going to be here in a few weeks, and I’m really not at all ready. And we should probably get some stuff for him. Like blankets. Babies need blankets and diapers. Oh God. What kind of diapers? I mean, I’m all about the environment, but not if I have to do five hundred loads of laundry a day. And they don’t eat right way, do they? I mean, they suck on your boob. Well, not your boob—”
He put his hands on her shoulders. “Take a breath. We’re doing this together. And I’ve read a lot. I have no more experience than you, but we can handle this.”
She leaned into him and exhaled. “Thank you.”
She deserved someone so much better than him. He could care for her, but he had a feeling the only way he’d get beyond friend with her was to offer the love and marriage thing.
He was confident he’d be a great father to his child, but he’d never been very good at relationships. He’d have to satisfy himself knowing he would be the protector she and their son would need, the kind he’d dreamed of his own father being.
If only he could be something more. But he’d broken enough hearts to know that it was better to keep his distance now than hurt her later by pulling away.
If only his heart were thinking the same thing.
Chapter Fourteen
“And breathe out, in staccato, huff huff huff,” the midwife/instructor ordered. She was more of a drill sergeant than the kindly nurse he’d expected.
“Are you sure we can’t leave?” Bennett muttered between staccato breaths. “Having a baby can’t be this hard. Women do it all the time. I mean it’s not cake. But Jesus, how are we going to remember all of this? We should just go.”
Linc gestured toward the midwife. “You want to deal with her?”
“Isn’t that what you’re for?” She leaned up. “My big strong protector.”
His gut tightened. “Let’s at least learn what we should be doing,” he encouraged. “Just in case we need to breathe on the way to the hospital.”
He was talking out of his arse, but he did feel this was important. Birth was painful. When they’d first arrived, they’d watched a video depicting childbirth, and he’d cringed right along with Bennett.
“Now find your focal point.”
“What focal point?” she asked harshly.
Linc bit back a smile. “We’re supposed have brought a stuffed animal or something. I forgot in the rush to get here. He fished around in his pocket and pulled out a hundred dollar bill. “Here, focus on this.”
She twisted her neck to give him the Bennett eyebrow.
“Next time I’ll bring the stuffed animal. It’s temporary.”
She sighed and leaned into him again, practicing her breathing. “This is harder than it looks. I feel kind of woozy.”
“Then stop.” He waved to the midwife. “She’s dizzy.”
The woman knelt down and put her face in front of Bennett’s. “Take a long, slow breath in through the nose, and then out through the mouth. That’s it. Again.”
Bennett did as she asked, even if she didn’t look happy about following orders.
“Better?”
Bennett frowned and grumbled but nodded.
“Good.” The instructor pointed a finger at Linc. “Now you, as her partner, need to count to make sure she’s only doing the heavy panting during the contraction. As soon as she stops, instruct her to breathe normally.”
“Yes, ma’am.”
Bennett giggled, and then coughed to cover it.
“Wench,” he whispered.
She laughed again. “It’s nice to see someone giving you orders for a change.”
Now he laughed, too.
The drill sergeant—er, midwife—gave them an irritated glance.
“Some of you may not be comfortable in the sitting position,” the midwife said. “So let’s get on all fours. Partners, sit in front of the mother. Pull her attention to you.”
Linc moved around to sit in front of Bennett.
She didn’t look so happy. “Is there any dignity in giving birth? At all? Could this be any more mortifying?”
He had a feeling these were rhetorical questions and anything he might answer would be misconstrued.
“You’re doing great,” he settled on saying.
That’s what the book had told him to do. Stay positive. The mom-to-be might turn into a screeching banshee and try to rip your balls off, but it was important to stay positive and keep a level tone.
“Take in a long breath, and hold. And then begin the pant,” the instructor barked.
By the time it was all over, Bennett was exhausted. When they walked outside, the security team waited to escort them to the SUV. Linc wasn’t taking any chances with her father in town. They’d have armed guards until the man left again. She might have liked her father at their first meeting, but he didn’t trust the man.
“Are you hungry?”
She glared. “When am I not?”
He pulled the list out of his pocket and read through the dietary items listed. Dairy, proteins, fruits, and vegetables. He was about to start typing on his phone, but then she cleared her throat.
“I want Greek food. Hummus and tzatziki. And dolmas, the little grape leave thingies. And baklava. Oh, and some of those Greek olives.”
Linc kept his head down, hiding his smile as he typed the list into his phone. At least she had a healthy appetite again—it meant she was getting stronger.
“And a milkshake. Chocolate. And don’t tell me I can’t have chocolate. It’s one fucking milkshake. Crap, I cussed. I know, it’s too much sugar. But I want a bite of the baklava, and the baby really wants a milkshake.”
Mason, Nick’s head of security, was driving. His shoulders were shaking. Linc prayed Bennett didn’t notice, or Mason might lose his head.
Linc cleared his throat. “Got it. And as far as I’m concerned, you can have whatever you want.”
She gave him a quizzical look. “Since when?”
“Always. You’re a grown woman. You can decide what’s best for you.”
She rolled her eyes. “You’re trying to act all not-so-alpha so I won’t think about going with my dad.”
Stabbed straight to the heart.
“So you are thinking about it.” He kept his voice level, but he wasn’t feeling it. No, anger burned deep.
She didn’t answer him. “How long until we’re back to the apartment?”
Mason cleared his throat. “About thirty minutes.”
She pushed the button to raise the window between them and the driver, and then turned to Linc. “Do you trust me?”
“Yes.” Where was she going with this?
She took his hand in hers. “Then listen to me. I promise you that I won’t take your child away. I’ve lived without my dad my whole life. I have no idea why my mom kept me from him, but I won’t do that to my kid. You and me? We make decisions about the kid together. Okay? So we decide what keeps him safe. We decide what he eats. We decide where he goes to school and if he can watch cartoons and read comic books. Which, for the record, he will.”
“Yes, ma’am.” He saluted her. Her words helped assuage his fears a bit. But there was a part of him that wondered if maybe being away from him might keep her safer. He knew better than anyone the kind of dangers he could face as Nick’s second-in-command.
But he knew, too, how Bennett had railed against him even suggesting she hide out in his penthouse until after she’d given birth. He couldn’t imagine how angry she’d be if she went to the realm of the fae and learned how shut off it was from the rest of the world. No one in, no one out. Not without the king’s say-so.
For better or worse, she was going to stay with him.
“Okay,” she said, then curled up and put her head in his lap.
Only a few seconds passed before he heard her soft and slow breaths. She was already asleep. He chuckled. The midwife must have worn her out more than he realized.
He gently moved the wisps of hair from her cheek. She was letting it grow out, and the prenatal vitamins helped. It was already past her chin.
He thought about the way she made fun of her own appearance, and the self-conscious way she assessed herself in the mirror each morning. She was fucking beautiful, and she didn’t know it.
Never in his life had he cared more for someone.
She sighed and snuggled into him.
She was his woman. When the hell had that happened?
First time you met her, arsehole.
She’d been invading his dreams, even serving as his muse, but he hadn’t seen it.
Did she deserve a better man? Fuck yes.
But she was his. And no one was taking her away.
Chapter Fifteen
“Does everything look okay?” Bennett rearranged the flowers again on the dining room table. “I shouldn’t have moved all my crap in here. It looked so much better when it was just your stuff. He’s a guy, and he probably likes clean lines, like you do.”
Nerves of steel, that one. Linc was having a hard enough time keeping the growl out of his voice. He couldn’t help it. This was his place. No, their place. Their territory. And her father was coming into it.
But being on edge wouldn’t help the situation. She wanted to form a relationship with her father? Linc wouldn’t stand in the way.
But that didn’t mean he had to trust the guy.
“Everything looks beautiful,” he said. “And I love your stuff—it’s made my house a home. Now it has the Bennett touch.”
She blew out a breath, walked over, and wrapped her arms around him. “You’re sweet. I’m going crazy, and I don’t know why. He seemed like a perfectly nice man yesterday.”
“He isn’t going to care about the flowers or the artwork. Though, I want to make sure he knows the one over the fireplace is yours. It’s my favorite.”
She slapped his chest. “Stop that. You’re going to make me cry. I need you to be your regular mean, sarcastic self.”
“Ah lass, please don’t stress. I think if you don’t puke on his shoes, we’ll call it a win.”
“See, that’s what I need right there. You’re right. I wish you could drink when you’re pregnant. I mean, if ever there’s a time you need to calm your nerves or deal with hormones…”
“It’s not even nine in the morning.” He groaned internally as soon as the words slid from his mouth.
Wrong thing to say, Linc.
“Don’t be so effing judgy.” She paused and actually reached around to pat herself on the back. “See, I knew I could get a handle on this cussing problem.” She looked back at Linc. “Of course I’m not going to drink—I want to have a baby with a brain. Otherwise he won’t be able to fight all the women off. Jesus, if he looks anything like you, we’re going to have to beat the girls off with sticks. I think there are laws for that sort of thing.”
“Bennett.” He pulled out one of the barstools. “Sit.”
“Don’t tell me what to do ass—jerk.” But she sat.
“We have a good fourteen years before we have to worry about dating.”
“Eighteen,” she said through gritted teeth. “Maybe not until he’s twenty-one. That’s a good age for dating.”
Linc bowed his head so she couldn’t see his smile. “Twenty-one. So let’s practice the deep breaths, in and out.”
Her eyebrow shot up. “You’re managing me. I don’t like to be managed.”
“That I am, lass. But it’s not me being bossy. It’s me keeping your blood pressure down. Now breathe.”
She took a deep breath and closed her eyes. “Promise me he won’t date until he’s twenty-one.”
“I swear to uphold whatever you think best.” He wasn’t making any promises he might have to break later. Poor kid. Bennett had worried about being a good mom, but she was already a protective hen. The boy would be lucky.
“Okay. I’m really worried about this co-parenting thing. I mean, after he’s born, I’ll be in my own place. And—”
The doorbell buzzed.
“Fuck, he’s here. Shit. I cussed. Dammit.”
“Breathe,” he ordered again. “I’m going to get the door. You’re going to sit here and pull yourself together. He’s your father. He wants to see you. Last night, you got on famously. Now calm down, or I swear to hell I’ll send him away and tell him you aren’t feeling up to it.”
Nothing would give him more pleasure. The less time they spent together, the better in his eyes. Aye, he was a selfish bastard, keeping a girl from her pa. But she was his girl.
“You wouldn’t.” Her big eyes rounded.
“Oh, I would do anything to protect you. Don’t doubt that.”
“Go, go.” She shooed him away. “I promise, I’ll be good.”
Linc snorted, but he left her to answer the door.
…
Bennett squeezed her hands together, willing herself to calm down.
Don’t puke on him. Don’t puke on him.
Damn, she needed a different mantra.
Once she’d pulled herself together, she met the men in the living room. They both stood when she walked in. Her father wore jeans and a sports jacket over a white button-down. If she hadn’t known who he was, she might have mistaken him for one of Nick or Linc’s friends dressed for a casual Saturday.
He reached out and took her hands in his. She hesitated—should she kiss his cheek? Give him a hug? Maybe not. They weren’t that friendly yet.
So she played it safe and just smiled. Her father smiled back.
“We have breakfast coming up in a few minutes.” Her voice was much calmer than she felt. At least it’d been a full thirty seconds without her throwing up on him.
“Thank you,” he said. “I didn’t want to put you to any trouble.”
“You aren’t. Please, sit.” She motioned to the couch.
“Would you like me to go? You two have a lot to talk about,” Linc said.
She had to give it to the guy. She could tell from the tone of his voice that the last thing he wanted to do was leave them alone, but at least he’d offered.
“Actually, I’d like you to stay.” She needed his strength. And he made her feel brave. “If that’s all right with you?” she asked her father.
“Of course,” he said, smiling softly. “May I ask how you two met?”
“Casey is my best friend, and she’s married to Nick, who is Linc’s best friend. They’re so close that they call each other brother.”
Her father arched an eyebrow. “The head of the Council is your best friend? That’s a powerful ally to have.”
What an odd thing to say. Did he think Linc was friends because he wanted to use Nick in some way? Was that how her father thought? Friends were just allies?
Linc straightened his shoulders. “He was my friend and fellow warrior long before he had any power.”
Her father nodded toward him. “I did not mean to offend, wolf.”
Bennett coughed. Way to get on the guy’s bad side. Hell, way to get on her bad side.
“His name is Linc.”
“Apologies again. Now I’ve offended both of you.”
Linc smiled. It looked forced, but it was there. “I don’t mind the term. I’m proud of my heritage.”
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