by Moxie North
“I love it when you say please. Makes me think I’m actually in charge.” Cash picked up his pace.
“You are in charge, baby,” she said, moaning as he plunged deep again.
“Yeah, right. I thought we promised not to lie to each other.” Breaths were turning into quick panting.
Cassie laughed, a deep husky sound that made Cash rumble deep in his chest. They both knew that theirs was a fifty-fifty relationship in which both partners took turns being in charge. Granted, Cash gave in way more often than she did.
“Oh Captain, my Captain,” she teased.
“For that, I’m adding to your swat count.” Cash rubbed circles over her clit.
“Goodie for me,” she said and then bucked under him as his finger on her clit started to build her nerves to a fiery peak.
“That’s not really a deterrent, is it?”
“Nope, I’m naughty on purpose, don’t you know?” She dug her fingernails into his back. Her pussy was starting to convulse around his cock, squeezing and releasing as he tunneled into her.
“I know, trust me, I know,” he grunted.
Cassie couldn’t say anything else as the first hard shock of her orgasm spasmed through her clit and raced down her body. She knew she screamed his name, but could only focus on the numbing static pleasure that only her mate could bring her to.
She felt and heard Cash let out a growl that shook the windows and his body as he bucked into her pussy, pouring his seed deep inside her. Cassie couldn’t help but think of the seed that was already rooted there.
Cash didn’t know that he was thinking the same thing as Cassie when his orgasm rocked through him. He came jetting his cum into his mate. Marking her with his scent that would linger long after they were done. It was a comfort to him and his animal that she had a little of him with her always. Now more than ever since his child was resting inside her.
As he started to relax on her, he kept his weight to one side and waited for her to unlatch her nails from his back. He enjoyed the sweet pain of his mate marking him. Although it was temporary since any damage would heal in a few minutes, it was something that he and his animal needed – a mark from their mate.
“You need to get your claws trimmed, kitten,” he said when she finally relaxed her hands. Cash slid to the side, keeping his arms around her and their bodies connected. He liked to stay inside her as long as he could. He wasn’t one to roll over and stare at the ceiling. He wanted his mate as close as possible for as long as possible.
Sometimes he got lucky, and she would pass out with him still inside her. Other times, she’d smack him on the chest until he let her go to clean up before they fell asleep. He never washed her off, much to her annoyance. He liked sleeping wrapped in her scent and was sad in the morning when he washed her off in the shower. He blamed it on his inner animal, but it was mostly the man wanting to smell her all night.
Tonight was clearly a sleepy night. Cash felt her curl into his body and rest her head against his chest.
“I love you, Sprite,” he said, kissing her on her forehead.
“Love you too, big guy.” She made funny kissing noises by smacking her lips together. After that, he heard a gentle snore.
Cash smiled into the darkness. He hoped she liked his surprise.
Chapter 6
Cassie picked up the phone on her desk at the tattoo parlor and dialed Cash’s cell phone. She stared up at the large mural painted on the wall opposite her desk. Her first employee, Jasper, had done a kickass design like a giant tattoo on the wall that had the shop name, Ink or Die, emblazoned across it. Cassie needed that reminder ten feet high in front of her some days. Especially during her recovery, that mural was a reminder that the old Cassie was gone, and the future was all ahead of her.
Rubbing her hand over her still-flat belly, she smiled. Her future really was in front of her now. Except it wasn’t written on the wall, it was floating inside her.
“Sprite,” Cash answered his phone, his voice rumbling in pleasure.
“How’s the trees?”
“Still standing, still growing. You okay?” His voiced held a hint of concern.
“Sure, just checking your schedule. Thought I would stop by Brooke’s and check in on their chickens. They like me.” Brooke was the sheriff’s mate who was a cousin of Cash’s.
Really she needed to make sure he was out of the house since she had a delivery coming today. It had been a week since her talk with Effie. She’d decided on a black and white nursery. She’d had Jasper sneak in last week to the room that overlooked the back of the house. It was one of her favorites since you could see a carving of four bears that Cage had hand-carved for Cash into a fallen tree.
There was a large bear standing tall, looking over a smaller bear with two cubs, one larger than the other. Cassie liked to think that their family was going to look like that. Possibly a boy, then a little girl. As their family grew, she would have Cage carve more for them.
She used to think one baby was going to be more than enough. Now the idea of filling their home full of love and laughter, the kind she had never had growing up, was all she could think of.
Effie sent her an email with websites of baby furniture companies. Cassie picked out the perfect pieces. She ordered a black gothic looking crib with scrollwork inlays on either end. It was low to the ground so she’d be able to get the baby in and out.
On a video call, they picked out bright sage green lamps and black and white toile bedding for the crib. A huge round shag carpet was coming that was a shade darker than the lamps that would hang from the ceiling in the corners of the room.
Effie called again and said she’d added another item to the order. She said it was a surprise. Usually, Cassie wouldn’t like surprises, but her hormones were softening all of her normally hard edges. A little shocked at her lack of concern over her spunk being muted, Cassie felt nothing but gushy love right now.
The oversized stuffed gliding chair with a matching tufted ottoman arrived with her order. Effie had picked out a gray fabric with black skulls all over it. A little macabre for a baby’s room, but totally kickass.
She’d had a crew come in and paint the walls a light gray color. Effie told her to use a special paint that was specifically for baby rooms. Jasper painted a long stretch of mountains in silhouette along the wall. The peaks varied in color and height from small to large, black to green. It looked like the view out their windows. It looked like home.
“I’m needed at the mill until three. I want to swing by Cage’s. I need to talk to him about a few things. I won’t be home until after six,” Cash said.
“Okay, I’ll grab something to eat on my way home. You want me to get you anything?”
“No, I’m sure Sophie will force me to eat. Just try to get something that isn’t all fried,” Cash suggested.
“I’m hitting the diner, it’s meatloaf night. If I ask nicely, they’ll make it into a sandwich for me with extra ketchup.”
“Sweetie, ketchup isn’t a vegetable. No matter how many times you try to convince me.”
“I have the rest of our lives to get you on my side,” she said with a laugh.
“All right, drive careful. Don’t leave too late. I don’t want you driving in the dark.”
“Yes, because everyone knows women can’t see at night.” She couldn’t help but tease him.
“You know what I mean. Be careful, I love you too much to think of you getting hurt again.” Cash didn’t often say it because he didn’t want to upset her. But he’d be damned if he’d see her injured and suffering again.
“I will. You too—bears aren’t great drivers. I saw one riding a motorcycle once in a Moscow circus documentary,” she said mockingly.
“Sprite,” Cash said with a sigh.
“Fine, fine. Bye, baby.”
“Bye, love you.”
Cassie hung up the phone and called out to the guys that she was leaving. She did stop by the diner to grab her dinner, she just didn�
�t plan on eating it until much later. She had to make sure that the room was in order. She wanted it all done before next week.
Chapter 7
Cash hit end on his phone and texted his cousin Conner that he was heading out to run errands. He had plenty of time now to make the drive to Olympia to pick up the crib he’d ordered. The cradle Cage had made was going to be in their bedroom while the baby was little. The crib he’d found through a local artist in town who had turned him onto a furniture designer that he knew. The crib he ordered was all white and circular in shape. It had a drop side that would make it easy for Cassie to use. Plus, he was hoping that just being a cool shape would make her happy.
During his planning to create the nursery, he made a call to Cassie’s tattooist and asked if he could come over and do a mural for him. Jasper didn’t say a word to Cash; he just showed up on his day off and when he knew that Cassie would be out.
Jasper recreated the tattoo that now graced Cassie stomach onto the wall in the nursery. The wall was already light blue from a few years ago when Cash though of making it another spare bedroom, but painting was as far as he got. Now that black tree with their carved initials in the trunk and room on all the branches for more initials would stand over their baby’s crib.
Cash had asked Sophie to help him pick out the rest of the room. They agreed that for Cassie, it needed to be clean lines and cool. Even though Cash wasn’t sure about picking a typically gender specific color like blue, Sophie assured him that Cassie would never be typical.
A blue chenille bedding that looked like an antique throw was waiting in the closet, along with a tiny mobile made of bears that Cash thought she would find funny. He himself had picked out a hand-carved rocking chair from a shop in town that had deep cream cushions on it and low arms so she could sit comfortably. There was a dresser from his parent’s house that was white and had been his grandmother’s. He replaced the knobs with handles that looked like gnarled twigs. There were also blue-framed pictures of black and white photos of him and Cassie over the last year.
In almost all of them, they were laughing. They were his favorites, so he had them enlarged. He wanted their baby to know that they always were happy and loved each other.
Cash drove the entire way with a huge grin on his face. This was going to work out. She would never see it coming.
* * *
Cassie directed the movers to bring the crib in, and planning ahead, she had paid extra for them to set it up. They also brought in the changing table and a chest dresser in the same black ornate style. It was a little Addams family style, but Cassie loved it. She hoped Cash would like the mountains and see it was meant to show their baby that the trees would always be their home.
The guys laughed and joked with her as they set everything up. Once they left with a hefty tip from Cassie, she sat down on the plush rug and looked around the room.
“Baby, this is one kickass bedroom. Do you know how many awesome nights your daddy is going to sit in here with you and tell you stories? All about the bears and the legacy you belong to? He’s going to love you so much. We’ll show him that we are tough enough to get through this pregnancy. It will be a piece of cake, and he will be so proud of us,” she said, rubbing a hand over the place where her baby lay.
“I know, it’s a little dark in here, but Effie assured me that people will smother you with brightly colored baby shit, and my pretty room will look nothing like this after you’re born. That’s cool, it’s your space. It can be whatever you want. Oh and yes, you heard me cuss. Get use to that little dude or dudette ‘cause there is no way that’s gonna change. You can’t say those words, but I’ll make up some cuss words for you. Like got dandruff some of it itches. You say that fast enough, it still sounds naughty. I’ll teach you all the tricks.”
It was just two days before Valentine’s Day, and Cassie needed to hit the town and find some naughty lingerie. No matter what, she was still gettin’ some booty on Valentine’s Day. She wasn’t for the hearts and flowers shit, but if there was whip cream and spankings, then it was a worthwhile holiday.
Chapter 8
“Cage? Yeah, I’m swinging by to get the cradle. You gonna be at home?” Cash was driving back from Olympia and figured he might as well kill two birds with one stone. The crib he picked up was perfect—at least he thought so. Not having a lot of knowledge in the baby apparatus department, he did double check with Sophie to make sure he wasn’t too off-course with his choice.
“Yeah man, Micah’s bear got into the toilet paper supply, and the laundry room looks like a blizzard hit it. Sophie called and said she was going to drop him off at mom’s, then take a bubble bath. I’m guessing I’m on baby bear duty tonight. Come on over. I put the last coat of sealant on the cradle a few days ago,” Cage said.
“Toilet paper? How bad could that be?” Cash asked. Seriously, a little TP?
“Man, there were three cases in there. Sophie has a serious lady-boner for American wholesale stores. She thinks buying everything in bulk is brilliant. Micah tore through all three packages. It was thigh high in torn tissue in there,” Cage explained.
Cash tried to envision what over a hundred rolls of torn up toilet paper looked like. He bet it was pretty funny. He might have let a small chuckle out.
“Laugh it up, asshole. Just wait. Your little monster will do things that you will never be prepared for,” Cage said knowingly.
“Probably. Looking forward to it, though” Cash figured he had many days of mischievousness to look forward to with his offspring.
“Yeah, man. Come on over,”
Cash turned towards his Alpha’s house and thought about mountains of toilet paper.
Once he picked up the cradle, he drove home. He kept everything in his truck and parked in the garage. He would be up and gone in the morning before Cassie had a chance to see anything. If she were sleeping soundly enough, he’d move everything in while she was out. She could sleep through a hurricane. A little furniture moving wasn’t going to rouse her.
Walking into the kitchen, he found his mate with her head in the fridge.
“Babe? You thinking of moving in?” he asked, leaning back against the counter, crossing his arms.
“Har har, no, I’m looking for the bacon. I know we had some in here before. Did you eat it?”
“Not that I recall, but I’m sure we have some in the freezer.” He was enjoying the view of her backside wriggling as she dug through the contents of the fridge.
“But that’s frozen; it will take forever to defrost. I want a BLT,” Cassie said, finally leaning out of the fridge. Her lower lip was pushed out, and Cash saw she almost had teary eyes.
“Shit, baby, I’ll make you a BLT even if I have to hand-thaw each slice of bacon. And may I remind you that calling it a BLT would imply there is bacon, lettuce, and tomato on bread with mayonnaise. Since you only want bacon, tomato, and ranch dressing, it should be called a BTR.”
“Whatever, I want one,” she said with a pout.
“Then park your butt on the couch, and I’ll bring you one,” He grabbed her hand and pulled her towards him. Wrapping her into his arms, he brought a hand up to tilt her head back so he could place a kiss on her lips.
“I want two,” she whispered after their kiss.
“Two it is. Now scoot.” He gave her butt a pat.
Cassie happily skipped to the couch and turned on the TV. Cash gave himself a moment to settle his animal. Her scent was even stronger now. The cub she was carrying had her sending off a smell that had his bear in crazy overprotective mode.
He found the bacon that was sitting in the fridge—how she missed it, he didn’t know. He fried up enough bacon for their dinner which meant he got the extra bacon out of the freezer and did a fast defrost.
As they sat on the couch and ate bacon sandwiches together, Cash reveled in his mate’s scent while Cassie felt protected and warm tucked into Cash.
After a while, Cash carried a very sleepy Cassie to bed. He let
her sleep for a few hours before waking her up to make love to her. Once she was passed back out, he snuck the furniture into the nursery.
Chapter 9
Valentine’s Day
Cassie woke and managed to make it to the bathroom and shut the door before she barfed up the leftover nachos she’d snuck in the middle of the night. Once her stomach was empty, she brushed, flossed, and rinsed with mouthwash hoping that was enough to cover the smell.
It was the second time she’d thrown up. She knew it was just part of the joys of pregnancy; she just hoped it was over soon. She hated throwing up. Reminded her too much of her hard partying days which now seemed such a distant memory.
She really didn’t want to be ralphing during her dinner with Cash. It was all set; she’d even remembered to call and double-check her order yesterday. She was leaving work early and picking it up. Cash said he’d be home the same time as her.
“Sprite?”
Cassie heard Cashing calling her name and flushed the toilet. “Yeah, two seconds,” she called out.
Turning on the shower, she opened the bathroom door and poked her head out. “Just jumping in the shower—wanna join me?” It wasn’t the most skilled maneuver, but sending him off in a good mood couldn’t hurt.
“Tempting, but I need to get going. I put out your cereal and your vitamins. I’ll see you for dinner tonight?” Cash said, cupping her cheek and placing a kiss on her forehead.
He’d heard her getting sick. He told his bear this was the last time they would have to ignore their mate’s needs. After tonight, she’d know he knew, and he could start coddling her like he wanted to. As she gained more independence while recovering from her accident, he could admit to himself that he missed taking care of her. He, of course, still did plenty, but he liked when she turned to him for help. As she healed, she took on more tasks herself. He made sure to support her getting back to normal, but that didn’t mean he didn’t miss all those opportunities her injuries gave him.
