Alpha Ever After (Midnight Liaisons Book 5) (12 page)

“I’m glad you like it. I wasn’t sure if you liked the area, but I’m told the schools there are fantastic.”

At that moment, my thumb slides over to the next picture. A very pink and white nursery comes into view, complete with ruffled-bedecked baby bed and dancing teddy bears painted on a wall mural. Well, now I know why he’s mentioning schools. He’s buying this house with me and my kids in mind.

I know the guy wants a family, but jeez. This is getting uncomfortable.

I smile and hand the phone back. Craig looks so excited that I hate the thought of bursting his bubble. So I say nothing, and he starts to talk about his job again. “I didn’t think the Texas office would be a good fit for me, but I’m starting to like it. I made the right decision when I decided to relocate the moment I heard you were pregnant and looking for a mate.”

I flinch. Wow. So I’m the reason why he relocated? This is going straight into awkward territory. Truth is, I don’t know that I can grab just any guy and plop him into the ‘husband and father’ role. I need to have a connection with the man I choose to spend my life with.

And I keep thinking about Connor. Connor, naked, with a baby book on his chest, sleeping. Connor in the shower. Connor with his ear to my stomach, delighted to hear the babies.

“Craig,” I say quietly, and reach across the table to squeeze his hand. This is going to be a hard message to deliver, but it needs to be done. “We should talk about expectations.”

At that moment, Galen runs up and presses his face to the window. He bangs on it and shows me the balls he’s stuffed down the front of his pants, mimicking extreme endowment. “Look, Savannah! Look!”

Craig makes a horrified sound, and the nearby diners titter. I push myself to my feet, glad for the excuse to get away from my date. I quickly head outside and de-fuse the situation. After a minute, Galen has dutifully returned to playing back at the playground, no balls in his pants other than the ones he was born with.

When I return, Craig has cleaned off the table and there’s no sign of my danish or my tea. It’s all been replaced by a nice, bland ice water. He pauses in wiping down my chair with a disinfectant wipe, and I fight a surge of irritation. I know he’s just trying to be mindful for the pregnant lady, but damn. He’s smothering me and this is only our first date.

I sit back down and smooth my dress over my belly. “Sorry about that.”

“It just shows what a caring mother you’ll make,” he says, beaming at me.

I force a little smile to my face. “Listen, Craig, you’re a really great guy, but I’m not sure we’re on the same page. I know you want a family, but I’m not sure I’m ready to jump into a relationship.”

His brows furrow together, as if what I’m saying is utter nonsense. “I don’t understand.”

And here I’d thought I was pretty clear. “I think we should just be friends.”

“But don’t you want a father for your child?”

For some reason, that irritates me. I think of Connor again, the image of him asleep with the baby book burned into my mind. “They have a father. I just don’t happen to have a mate.” My voice is sharp and angry.

Craig pulls back, clearly shocked by my snappish mood.

Great, and now I’m a jerk, which is not what I wanted. “Look, I’m sorry. This isn’t working out, okay?”

His eyes brim with tears. “You just tell me what you need and I’ll be that man, Savannah. I think we can make this work, I really do.”

Oh god, he’s crying? Horrified, I get up from the table, clutching my purse. “No, really, Craig. You’re a great guy. It’s not you, it’s me.” I wonder what other pithy things I can spout at him about relationships. Maybe something about two ships passing in the night? Nah. “I need to go back to work anyhow. Thank you for the snack, really.”

I hustle out of the cafe before he can come after me, and Galen and Eoghan immediately head in my direction. Eoghan wrinkles his nose. “Do you smell that?”

“Smell what?” I snap. God, now I’m bitching at everyone.

“Predator,” he says, tilting his head.

I’m about to reply that it’s probably me he’s smelling, when the wind changes and I scent it, too. Wolf. One in particular. I turn, and there’s a familiar truck sitting in the parking lot, idling. Damn it all, Connor followed me? That jerk. With an angry toss of my hair, I shove my purse under my arm and march across the parking lot toward him. Eoghan and Galen trail behind me like the world’s biggest ducklings.

The moment I march toward the truck, Connor gets out and holds the door open. “Was wondering when you’d get tired of that sissy.”

I narrow my eyes at him. “Are you following me?”

His gruff ‘no’ is interrupted by Gracie’s “Yes.” He looks over at his sister, scowls, and then looks back at me.

“You have some nerve,” I begin.

“Yeah, he does,” Gracie says, hopping out of the passenger seat. She gives her curly hair a toss and smiles at the Primordials behind me. “We meet again, boys. I’m Gracie.”

“Are you hungry, Gracie?” Galen asks immediately.

I stomp on his foot. “Don’t you dare.”

Connor’s gaze flicks from the Primordials back to me, and then over my head. “You want a ride out of here, Savannah?”

I open my mouth to protest…and then remember that Craig drove. Well, crap. Time to turn around and make nice with the guy. “I’m fine, thank you.”

“That so? Cause Grandpa’s heading in this direction and he looks like he’s just been weeping.” Connor’s lip curls with disgust.

Oh god, crying still? The last thing I want is to get in the car with the guy while he weeps over the fact that I won’t marry him after one date. I hesitate, and then nod. “Fine. Drive us back to the office?”

He gestures at the truck. “Get in, and quick.”

“Boys,” I say, gesturing at the two Primordials. “In the back seat, please.” I slide into the front seat and past the steering wheel toward the middle. Gracie pushes her seat forward and the two hulking Primordials do their best to squeeze into the tiny half-sized seat at the back of the cab. I fuss with my hair and pretend to check my phone so I don’t have to make eye-contact with Craig if he’s still out in the parking lot. Cowardly, I know, but something about a man weeping - on a first date, no less - weirds me out. He’s pushing far too hard and we’re practically strangers.

Oh crap. I just remembered he’s invited to the barbecue this weekend. Shoot me now.

Connor and Gracie get into the truck, and Connor’s thigh brushes against mine. It sends a wave of liquid heat through my body, and I find myself blushing. I really hope Gracie doesn’t notice - she’s like a damn shark.

But nope, Gracie’s too busy flirting with the Primordials in the back seat as Connor pulls out of the parking lot. “So, boys, how come I haven’t met ya’ll around town before?”

“We are not allowed,” Eoghan says. “We cannot be trusted on our own yet.”

She tsks. “If you need a little guidance, I’m sure I can help out.” For a wolf, she’s sure good at purring.

I shoot her an irritated look. “We’ll take that into consideration. Thank you, Gracie.”

“I’m just saying, you shouldn’t hog all the men, Savannah.” She gives me a sly smile. “Not when you’ve got my brother to play with. Share with the others a little.”

My nostrils flare, because if she thinks I’m ‘hogging’ the Primordials, she’s got another thing coming to her. I’m about to speak when Connor snarls his sister’s name, and she shuts up.

It’s a very quiet ride back to the dating agency. Sandwiched between Gracie and Connor, I stare out the windshield and try not to think about the fact that Connor’s aftershave smells incredible or that I haven’t had sex except with him and pregnancy hormones have me thinking about it all the damn time, and his thigh is wonderfully hard as it presses against the side of mine.

When the truck parks in front of the office, I’m relieved that Craig’s sedan is nowhere in sight. Maybe he got the hint. We peel ourselves out of the crowded truck, and as I slide off the seat and to the ground, Connor’s right there to put a hand on my hip to guide me. Instead of feeling pushy like Craig, it feels…nice?

But then I remember the guy’s been stalking me and scowl at him.

He leans in. “We need to talk tonight. I’ll stop by the house after you’re done with work.”

“Just invite yourself in, why don’t you?” I bite out.

Connor grins. “It’s my house.”

Dammit, it
is
his house. The man’s such a manipulator. I push past him and head into the agency, trying not to think about him going to be at the house tonight.

If he thinks he’s getting away without an argument? He’s got another thing coming to him. I’m still mad. I’m not one of Connor’s wolves he can boss around.

W
ork passes pleasantly
, though I’m exhausted by the time the night shift ends and I can pack up and head home. I stifle my yawns and give Ryder a thankful look. She and Hugh are taking over my ‘babysitting shifts’ with the Primordials assigned to me, and Eoghan and Galen are heading over to their apartment for a weird sleepover. I don’t envy Ryder. Hugh’s a handful, being Primordial himself, but with Eoghan, Galen, and their three charges? That’s gonna be one hell of an evening.

I’m pooped as I pull into the driveway of my new house and wonder if I should text Connor to let him know it’s late and we can talk in the morning. Of course, the moment the thought crosses my mind, I see his truck in the driveway, and the lights are on upstairs.

I grit my teeth. He just helps himself into the house, does he?

If he wants a fight, he’s going to get one. That’s for damn sure.

As soon as I get inside, the faint wolfy scent of Connor touches my nose. I hear hammering going on upstairs, and my eyes narrow. When I set my purse down on the dining room table, though, I notice there’s new stuff in the kitchen. Stacks of canned oysters line up on the counter. Clearly those are for me. I catch the scent of a discarded grocery bag as I pass by the garbage, and peer into the fridge. It’s full of fresh, raw meat, a few containers of liver, and a jug of chocolate milk. My mouth waters at the sight of the chocolate milk. I love that stuff.

I pull it out and pour myself a glass without bothering to think if pregnant ladies should drink that sort of thing or not. I had enough of that with Craig this afternoon. If I want some damn chocolate milk, I’m going to have some.

I have two glasses of the delicious stuff before the hammering starts to get on my last nerve. Every whack of the hammer reminds me that he’s in my house, messing with my things. I put the glass down, wipe my lips, and then head upstairs to confront him.

The hammering’s coming from down the hall, so I skip the master bedroom and head further down. He’s in the room I’ve designated for the babies, and the remains of ripped-open cardboard boxes are everywhere. A pale yellow crib is set up on one side of the room, and he’s busy hammering together the pieces of a pale green crib. Two cribs. At first, my heart squeezes with pleasure, but then I’m reminded about today and how followed me around.

Is this what my life is turning into? Everywhere I go, Connor’s going to be there because he thinks he has some sort of claim on me? First the house, then the date, and now the babies?

“What are you doing?” I cross my arms over my breasts, my belly jutting out.

He looks over at me and wipes the sweat off his forehead. “Putting together cribs. I figured yellow and green would be best since we don’t know the genders yet. Or do you?” He gives me a hopeful look.

“I didn’t ask you to build cribs.” My voice is stiff with anger. My entire
body
is stiff with anger. “I didn’t ask for you to butt into this house, or buy me a house, for starters. I didn’t ask for you to follow me around on my dates. I’m not asking for any of this, Connor! I’m not one of your wolves. You can’t control my life!”

He gets to his feet slowly. The movement makes his entire body seem to hum, and I can’t stop staring at his gorgeous shoulders. “Control your life?” he retorts, stepping forward over one of the boxes. “Are you kidding me? I don’t want to control it. I just want to be in it! You’re shutting me out! You’ve been shutting me out for months!”

I grind my teeth. “That’s not true—“

“Isn’t it?” He gets in my face, so close that I can see the whites of his eyes and smell the scent of his aftershave mixed with the smell of sweat. I can see the stubble on his chin, and the way his eyes seem to get more wolf-green when he’s angry, like he is now. “You’ve been pushing me away since the barbecue six weeks ago. I want to know what happened between now and then.”

I glare at him, barely avoiding a snarl. “Because you’re bossy and you think you own me. Because this is my body and you’ve never given a shit about it or what I want. It’s always been about you. Your babies, your house.” I gesture at the room, messy with crib construction. “Your wants, your needs. You ever stop to think about what I want or need? You don’t! Because you don’t like the thought that I might not need you. Or want you. You just plow ahead and assume that everyone will eventually see things your way.”

“I do not—“

“No? Explain this, then.” I gesture at my enormous belly. “Tell me this wasn’t one of your ‘I’ll make her see it my way’ decisions?”

His nostrils flare dangerously.

I should be scared. He’s a wolf alpha, and a really big guy. He can be extremely menacing. He’s taller than me, stronger than me, and furious. But this is Connor Anderson, and I know deep in my gut that he would rather die than hurt me.

So I glare right back at him. If he wants to fight like cats and dogs, I’m ready to go toe to toe.

…And then I realize that we
are
cats and dogs. And a giggle escapes my throat. We’re being ridiculous.

His brows draw together at my laugh.

I smile. “I—“

Connor moves forward quickly, and before I can realize what he’s doing, his hands are on my shoulders and he pulls me against him and kisses me. Not a quick, polite kiss. A searing, melt your senses kiss that possesses me and lets me know he’s staking his claim. His mouth moves over mine like a drowning man in need of oxygen.

I should push him away and put him in his place.

Instead, I curl my fingers in his shirt and open my mouth to his kiss. This is Connor, and despite our bickering and anger toward each other, he still lights my entire body up with his presence. Even his scent makes me crazy with lust, and considering my pregnancy hormones? I’m a raging beast that would love to have some hot, nasty pregnancy sex.

He groans when my mouth parts under his, and his tongue slicks in against mine. Hot curls of sensation sweep over me, and I press against him as his mouth devours mine with each lick of his tongue that seems to claim me as his. And right now? I am absolutely, positively okay with being claimed. “You’re so beautiful,” he murmurs against my mouth.

This is absolutely what an incredibly pregnant woman needs to hear. I cling to him, pressing my mouth against his again to stop him from saying anything else. I don’t want to hear about baby cribs or today’s horrible date or his pack. I just want us to kiss and kiss and kiss forever.

Connor seems to sense my mood. His kisses become deeper, more sweeping, until every stroke of his tongue seems to be licking me in other places, and I whimper each time. His hands slide down my shoulders, then to my hips, and then move around to my ass. They clench my buttocks tight, dragging me against him.

And then I’m all belly, pushing against his hard stomach, and I feel awkward and the opposite of sexy. I pull my mouth free from his and try to step backward.

Connor doesn’t let go of me, though. He grabs me and hauls me up until my feet are dangling. I cling to his neck and a muffled squeal erupts from my throat. “Wait!”

“Before you say anything,” he tells me. “You’re not heavy. You’re gorgeous, and unless you tell me to put you down, I’m going to take you in the other bedroom, lay you on the bed, and peel your clothes off of you.”

My entire body trembles at his words. I should tell him no, but the idea sounds too good. Sex with Connor will just complicate an already tricky situation.

But sex with Connor will feel so damn good. And things are already complicated.

So when he looks up at me with those gorgeous eyes, daring me to turn him away? I brush my hand through the dark curls of his hair and bite my lip.

I’m not telling him to put me down.

He groans again and buries his face in my breasts, which are at chin height. “You have no idea how long I’ve wanted this.”

Six months,
I want to snark, but I bite the words back. For some reason, now that we’ve kissed, all the bubbling anger that’s been brewing inside me has died away, leaving only need and loneliness. And being in Connor’s arms takes care of the loneliness, so I want to be there tonight. I want to be there more than anything else in the world.

The look in his eyes is reverent as he gazes up at me. He steps forward, and I press my upper body against him again to keep my balance. “Put me down?”

“Absolutely not,” he says. “You’re mine.” And he carries me into the next room, where my bed is waiting. He carries me like I weigh nothing, even though I’m tall and now big with pregnancy. I feel dainty in his arms, though, and by the time he sets me gently on the bed, I’m ready to strip my clothes off and let him make me feel beautiful.

He stands over me for a moment and drags his shirt over his head, revealing sweaty, tanned muscles and taut skin. God, he’s gorgeous. He runs a hand over his chest and then glances at my bathroom. “I should shower. I’ve been sweating all day.”

Fuck that. I’m a were-cougar. All shifters like the smell of sweat. I get up from the bed, put my hands on his hips, and lean in and press my mouth to his bared collar-bone to let him know just how much I like his scent. The taste of him is salty and I can’t seem to stop kissing all that glorious bronzed skin.

He holds me tight against him, his hands burying in my hair as I taste his chest with my mouth. He’s not pushing me away - if anything, he wants more of my exploration.

As I press small kisses along a tight, well-muscled pectoral, it occurs to me that I’ve only had sex once, and when I did, I was so lost in heat that it wasn’t even fun. It was more like…scratching an itch. There was no time for learning and playing and teasing. It seems a shame that one weirdly too-intense experience is going to be my only one with him. This time, I want it to be better, and it feels right that I’m doing it with Connor. Like we’ve come full circle once more, he and I.

“Connor,” I breathe against his skin.

He clenches my hair tight, and I realize he’s probably afraid I’m going to push him away. I nip at another sweaty patch of skin and moan softly when he jerks in response.

I swirl my tongue against the spot I just bit and then look up at him. “Make it good for me this time?”

He stiffens against me. Then, it sinks in what I’m asking and he reaches up and strokes my cheek. “Baby, I’m going to make it perfect for you.”

I like the thought of that. I lift my head and his mouth claims mine again. The kiss is deeper, wetter this time. More intense. Asking me to give more of myself. To not hold back. I’m a little afraid, but at the same time, I’m reveling in being conquered by him. And when he demands more, I open my mouth for him, hungry for his touch.

Connor’s hand goes to the neck of my dress. “I hate this thing,” he murmurs as his mouth presses quick against mine. “It shows too much of your gorgeous tits and that asshole kept staring the entire time.” He rips at the gown, and seams tear, the front sagging open.

I gasp and try to pull it shut, because the bra I’m wearing is a hideous maternity bra. They don’t make them pretty, they make them beige and functional. My breasts tend to leak a little already and so I go for the extra padding. In addition, they’re swollen and sensitive and a lot bigger than the last time he touched me.

“Don’t hide your body away, Savannah.” He gently tugs the material back out of my hands.

“It’s changed a lot since the last time you saw it.”

“I don’t care. I’ve been in love with you for years. I love you no matter what. You’re just as beautiful to me now as you were before.”

I pause at his words. “You’ve been in love with me for years?” I only met him when I went into heat…didn’t I?

He leans in to kiss me again, avoiding the question. His hand rips at the remainder of my dress until the front is falling off of me, and my horrible bra and rounded belly are revealed. I mentally cringe, waiting for Connor to comment on the stretch marks on my belly, the way my breasts strain against the ugly bra that’s already a little too small, the fact that my thighs are bigger than they used to be. He saw me naked at the picnic we went to together, but that was six weeks ago and forever in pregnancy-time. Things seem to change daily, and not for the better, and I worry my body’s no longer attractive.

But he looks at me and then rubs his mouth, as if wiping away saliva. “God, you’re so gorgeous.”

And I feel a little more confident with that. My mouth curls into a small smile and I tug the rest of the dress’s remnants off my shoulders, letting it fall to the floor. “I’m wearing granny panties,” I tease.

“I don’t care.” He bends down and kisses my belly. “Just means I get to rip them off you and not feel guilty.”

“Do you feel guilty about my dress?” My voice sounds breathless, but I can’t help it. I’m getting all fluttery as he kisses his way down my belly. I can’t see what he’s doing down there, but I feel his lips brush against my skin as he moves lower, and I quiver with anticipation.

“Not in the slightest,” he says and licks at my no-longer innie belly button. “You wore it just to piss me off.”

Maybe I did. “Take confidence in my hideous undergarments that I never intended on going anywhere with the guy.”

“Which is why I love seeing these granny panties,” he agrees, and then rips the sides of said panties so they fall to my feet. “Beautiful.”

I squirm, because I feel him kiss the underside of my belly and I feel weird and awkward. I twist and grab at the back of my bra. “Maybe I should take this off—“

Connor gets to his feet and there’s a look of concern on his gorgeous face. “Are you uncomfortable, baby?” He cups my face and kisses me. “You know I find you gorgeous, right?”

I shrug and pretend to be reaching for my bra straps. In reality, I’m having a hard time finding the damn things. “I’m just not all that experienced, remember? And now my body looks all different—“

He kisses my words away before I can finish them. “You’re beautiful and you’re mine, Savannah. I love everything about you.”

There’s that love word again.

Warm hands smooth down my back and he reaches behind me to find the twisted bra snaps that have been giving me such hell. He unhooks them so easily that I feel a tinge of worry that he’s done this sort of thing repeatedly before. Has Connor slept with a lot of women? Is my inexperience going to be woefully obvious? But then he kisses the side of my neck and all of the anxious thoughts fall away. Oh. I like my neck being kissed. A sultry little gasp escapes me and I cling to his shoulders.