by J. L. Wilder
“Because I worry,” he admitted. “And because even if you don’t need it, strictly speaking, I like doing things for you while you’re carrying our children. I like feeling like I’m taking care of you.”
“You do?”
“You know I do.”
She looked up at him, a bewitching smile crossing her face. “I know a way you can take care of me,” she said.
Owen grinned. He loved the effect her pregnancy was having on her, how constantly turned on she seemed to be. “If we do it, will you stay in bed afterward?”
“I’ll even let you bring me lunch,” she promised.
Owen took her by the hand and led her upstairs, suppressing the urge he felt to break into a run. Sex with Fiona was all about suppressing urges these days—he couldn’t throw her onto the bed when they arrived in their bedroom or press her up against the wall as firmly as he would have liked to. He had to be gentle at all times.
But there was something wonderful to be found in that restraint. Their lovemaking had been frenetic in the beginning, and now it was luxurious and slow. He laid her on her side and entered her from behind, arms around her so he could cup her swollen breasts and feel her engorged and extremely sensitive nipples.
Fiona’s body was so sensitive these days that she just seemed to give in to bliss every time he touched her, and Owen used that to his advantage. He fucked her slowly, setting a rhythm that had her rocking back instinctively against him, and he had a feeling she was barely aware of what she was doing. He licked his thumb and then returned it to her nipple, circling the sensitive spot before brushing over it with quick, gentle strokes that had her moaning in ecstasy.
God, she made the most beautiful sounds.
He knew her body well enough now to know when her orgasm was approaching by the way she tightened around him. He brought her to the edge several times before backing off, wishing that he had thought to position a mirror beside the bed so that he could see her face as he worked her. He knew she was too far gone at this point to speak to him, to answer any questions. She probably wouldn’t have known her own name if he’d asked her.
He could have gone on like that for hours, if it hadn’t been for his own escalating need. Next time, he thought desperately, trying to control the rhythm of his thrusts, trying to make this last as long as he possibly could. Next time I’ll keep all my clothes on, and I’ll just lay here and touch her for hours and hours until she doesn’t know which way is up.
The thought of that was enough. He dropped a hand from her breast to her hip and pulled her tight against him as he came. With the other hand, he rolled her nipple in a way that always seemed to electrify her, and suddenly she was coming too.
Her breathing slowed and became deep and even, and Owen felt the moment she fell asleep in his arms. There was something powerful and wonderful about satisfying her so thoroughly that she couldn’t even stay awake once they’d finished. A slow, contented smile spread over Owen’s face.
Everything will be different in a few weeks, he thought. Everything will change again when the twins are born, and we’ll have to learn a whole new way of life.
But for now, they had everything they needed, and Owen was as happy as he had ever been.
He closed his eyes and in moments was fast asleep with his love in his arms.
Chapter Twenty
FIONA
Two Years Later
“Fiona!”
Fiona looked up from the pile of wood she was chopping. Percy was standing across the yard on the porch steps, looking harried and exhausted. She swung the axe down, lodging it in the tree stump she used for this purpose, and jogged over to meet him.
“Everything all right?” she asked.
“No,” he growled, “everything is not all right. I don’t see how you can leave me alone in situations like this.”
“Because I trust you, Perce,” she said. “What happened?”
“They’re in there throwing salad fixings at each other!”
Fiona chuckled. “I’ll take care of it,” she said. Ostensibly, she was going to have to scold her children, but the truth was that she never got tired of seeing them do battle. It was a beautiful thing to watch the way they could be in the throes of rivalry one minute and absolute best friends the next, without skipping a beat. It gave her hope for the future.
If my little wolf and bear can live together so easily, she thought, the rest of the pack ought to be able to do the same thing.
“I’ll finish chopping the wood,” Percy said.
“I think we probably have enough for now,” Fiona said. “Maybe you could get dinner started instead?”
“Is that an order?” he asked, his mouth twitching slightly.
“You’re hilarious.” Percy knew perfectly well how hard Fiona tried to avoid giving orders these days. After her pack and Owen’s had blended into one so easily, so willingly, she had felt a desire to avoid bossing any of the constituent members around as much as she could.
They hadn’t been sure of the chain of command for quite some time. With some of her wolves—Wes and Carla, for example—Fiona’s command had been unwavering. But the alpha power she had over Percy had loosened for a while. As things restructured themselves and everyone got used to living together, the power had resolved itself. Nowadays, Owen and Fiona were both in charge, and everyone else took their orders easily and willingly from either alpha.
The pack itself had to be renamed, of course, and it had been Owen who had suggested the Wild Hellions. Riley had redesigned the tattoos each member of each pack already wore so that they could be modified into a new, blended tattoo to reflect the new blended pack.
But nothing that had happened over the past couple of years was more indicative of the life they all led now than Fiona’s twin children.
So far they had only shifted in their sleep, when dreams had drawn them to the very core of themselves. But it was enough. She had seen Eric snuffle into his pillow, wolf legs kicking as he dreamed of running. She had seen Kayla curled up, bear nose twitching as she smelled an imagined scent on the air.
They were beautiful, her children. They were perfect. And they took after her and Owen in equal measure. Fiona couldn’t have asked for anything more.
Percy trailed after her into the kitchen. The twins were sitting at the table, each with a bowl of lettuce, shredded carrots, cheese, and croutons. As she watched, Kayla snatched up a handful of roughage and flung it into her brother’s face.
Fiona had to suppress a laugh. She knew by now that if her children thought they’d amused her, they’d repeat whatever offense they’d committed a hundred times. Instead, she bent over the table and took the salad bowls away.
Eric howled with outrage at not getting the chance to hit his sister back.
“I thought they should have some vegetables,” Percy said defensively.
“Yeah, that was a good instinct.” She pulled out some baby carrots and poured a few onto plates, setting them down in front of the kids. A moment later, they were snacking happily.
“Why aren’t they throwing those?” Percy demanded.
She laughed. “They like baby carrots.”
The door swung open and Owen entered the kitchen effectively distracting everyone from what they were doing. The twins looked up at their father and squealed with joy, raising their hands, each of them clamoring to be the first one picked up and hugged. Owen tousled their hair, but went to Fiona and wrapped her in his arms.
“How was the hunt?” she asked, after she had satisfied herself with a long kiss.
“Good,” he said. “We’ll have venison all winter. Angus and Dusty are out in the shed now, taking care of it and getting it on ice.”
“That’s great.” She stood on her toes to kiss him again. “I wish you’d have let me come along with you, though.”
“Next time,” he promised. “I miss hunting with you too. Next time it’ll be the pair of us.” He looked down at the kitchen table, which was still covered with lettuce. “Wha
t happened here?”
“Percy was babysitting.”
“Ah,” said Owen, as if no further explanation were necessary.
Percy rolled his eyes. “Permission to go chop more wood?”
“Okay, you’re excused,” Fiona agreed.
Owen turned to the twins. “What do you think, you little wild animals?” he asked them. “Venison steaks for dinner?”
“Yum!” Kayla cried, snapping her teeth like a wild animal.
“Yum,” Eric echoed more solemnly, his eyes searching his parents’ faces.
Fiona laughed. “You know they have no idea what venison is. You could offer them roadkill steaks and they’d say yum.”
“Yeah, they’re pretty easy to live with.” Owen reached into his pockets. “Who wants licorice?”
“Me!” Kayla shrieked, hands waving.
“Daddy,” Fiona said sternly. “We’re having our vegetables now. Candy comes after vegetables.”
Owen looked down at Kayla. “What do you say, cub?” he asked her. “Does candy come after vegetables? Or before?”
“Before!”
He laughed and handed her a piece of licorice. Eric let out a cry at the temporary inequality and stretched out a hand for his own treat, and Owen fished in his pocket and produced it.
Fiona rolled her eyes as her children gnawed happily on their candy. “Some example you’re setting,” she teased. “And I don’t suppose you’ve had any vegetables today either.”
“Daddies don’t need vegetables.”
“Everybody needs vegetables.” She whacked him on the arm, then handed him one of the salad bowls she’d set aside. “You can finish this, how about that?”
“Rabbit food,” he grumbled, but he was smiling. “Bears don’t eat this stuff.”
“Humans eat this stuff, and when we’re inside the house we’re human. Don’t make me give you an order.”
“As if you could!” he laughed. Fiona joined him. It was a game between them these days, trying to compel each other to follow orders, and since they had no traditional alpha power over one another, it usually came down to logic and manipulation. Fiona knew that she was right about the need for a balanced diet—Owen knew it too. But she had an ace up her sleeve that he didn’t know about, one that was going to win this argument for her.
She wasn’t ready to play that card just yet, though. First she would see if she could get him there another way.
She took his hand and led him into the pantry, which was shielded from the main kitchen by a hanging curtain. “I missed you while you were off hunting,” she said quietly.
He frowned. “Was I away too long?” he asked. “Did you need my help with the twins? I should have come back sooner, I’m sorry. It was just such a nice day for a run.”
“No, no, it’s not that,” she said. “The kids and I were fine. I just...missed you.” She stood on her toes so that she could reach his lips, pulling him down to her, and pressed her body against his as she did so.
She felt the moment when he understood. He inhaled sharply, his arms tightening around her, then lifting her in the air so that her legs could wrap around his waist without ever breaking the kiss.
And for a moment, Fiona almost lost track of her plan. For a moment she almost gave in to desire. Feeling him pressed up against her, her heels resting against his firm ass, his hands roaming up and down her back—it was almost enough to take her mind away from the reason she had dragged him in here in the first place.
But then it returned to her. “Vegetables,” she gasped, well aware that she sounded like she was coming up from having been submerged underwater for too long.
Owen raised his eyebrows. “What?”
“Vegetables. Eat your salad.”
“What the hell are you talking about?”
She struggled her way out of his arms and landed neatly back on the floor. “Eat your salad. Then you can do whatever you want with me.”
He groaned. “You can’t use that to win every argument, Fiona.”
“Let’s see if I can,” she said, giving him a wicked grin.
“It’s not going to work,” he said. “Not this time. I actually was going to eat that salad, because I know it’s the smart thing to do, but now I’m afraid I just can’t let you win.” He shook his head regretfully.
“Oh, you’ll eat the salad,” she said, lowering her voice to a dull growl. “You’ll eat all your vegetables, because everyone in our family is going to get all the vitamins and nutrients they need for the next nine months. Because it’s not fair if I’m the only one who has to eat well.”
He frowned, processing what she’d said.
And she saw the moment when understanding hit him, when he realized what she was telling him. His whole face lit up. And in that instant, Fiona forgot about the battle over who was going to eat their vegetables. She forgot everything except how happy she was making her man, how much joy he was feeling in that moment because of what she had been able to tell him.
“Nine months?” he breathed.
She nodded, a smile spreading over her face unbidden.
“When did you find out?”
“This morning,” she said. “I’ve suspected for a couple of days, but I just took the test this morning.”
“You’re pregnant?”
“I’m pregnant.”
He scooped her up in his arms again, spun her around, and kissed her passionately. When he set her back down on the ground, his face was glowing, and he kept his arms firmly locked around her waist. “I can’t believe it,” he said wonderingly.
“You’re happy?” The answer to that was obvious, but she wanted to hear him say it. Even knowing how he would react, she had been aching to hear the words, to have the confirmation that this was something he wanted as badly as she did.
“Of course I’m happy,” he said. “It’s wonderful.”
She leaned against him and felt his warmth and strength flow into her, supporting her. The pack is growing, she thought with deep satisfaction. Every child we have helps to guarantee the future of this new, stronger pack. The Wild Hellions. Bears and wolves, working together to ensure a strong future. It was more than she could ever have dared to dream of when she had taken over command of the pack from Tank.
A howl from one of the twins brought them out of the pantry and back into the kitchen. Kayla had finished her licorice and was now trying to take Eric’s from him. Fiona intervened quickly and returned the candy to her son. “Eat your carrots,” she told Kayla.
Kayla pouted.
“She hates being bossed,” Owen said thoughtfully.
“She sure does,” Fiona agreed. “You should have seen her last night when I was trying to get her into her pajamas.”
“It makes me wonder,” he said.
“Wonder what?”
“Who’s going to be our next alpha,” he said. “I don’t think we’ll always have two. The next generation will probably go back to having one.”
“And you think she’s it?”
Owen smiled and rested a hand on his daughter’s head. “I think she’d make an outstanding alpha,” he said, and smiled.
More Books by J.L. Wilder
Omegas in Heat Box Set
Four Hot Omega Romances for the price of one!
Hell’s Bears MC Complete Series Box Set
Take a ride on the back of a Hell's Bears' motorcycle in this sizzling complete series box set!
Book 1: Omega’s Bears
I’m an omega. I’m all alone. And the wolves are coming for me.
All my life, I’ve felt I should be stronger. All my life, I’ve felt I should be powerful. But all my life, I’ve been nothing. The only thing I had was my clan. But the wolves took them from me. Every single one of my family is gone.
The wolves want me for crossbreeding, and I have to run. The only bears who might protect me are dangerous, lawless, and wild. But still I ride on. Straight into the den of the Hell's Bears MC.
Book 2: The Whit
e Omega
I've never left my home. I'm a prisoner in my own pack. All because I'm an omega...
All my life I've been told I need to stay inside, stay protected. As an omega polar bear, i'm an object of lust to shifter men, and the outside world is not safe.
When my pack's alpha claims he has imprinted on me, I know it’s a lie. I know the outside world is the only one I can trust. Even if I get kidnapped, and delivered to the doorstep of the infamous Hell's Bears MC.
I am to be their new omega, their breeder. What terrifies me most, is which Hell's Bear will imprint on me, and claim me for life....
Book 3: The Hidden Omega
There's something wrong with me. Sometimes I'm not even sure I'm human.
I was raised by humans, and all my life I thought I was a monster.
Turns out I'm something more valuable—an omega bear shifter.
After being kidnapped for a prostitution ring, I'm rescued by the Hell's Bears MC.
There is Clay who imprints on me, Mike who comforts me, and Bruno the alpha.
Sometimes it seems like Bruno wants nothing to do with me...
Do they really want me to be a member of their pack,
or do they just want to use me for breeding?
This box set contains three full length romances and is 18+ only!
About The Author
J.L. Wilder likes wild things! Her alpha shifters are gruff and tough, with a pinch of tenderness. Curl up with these bad boy book boyfriends, and they will have you howling at the moon!
When not writing shifter smut, J.L. spends as much time as possible exploring the outdoors. She loves getting into trouble with Ace, her Siberian Husky.
You can grab a free shifter romance and join her email here: https://dl.bookfunnel.com/mvci9dryz6
