“Breathe, Sully, just breathe.” Imri ran his hand over my back while I sat with my head between my knees.
“I’ve ruined everything!” I cried. Tears flowed freely down my cheeks. I hiccuped with sobs, barely getting a full breath.
“No, you haven’t, sweetheart,” Imri soothed. Having my alpha next to me was the only thing keeping me together.
What a mess!
He pulled me into his arms and rocked me until sleep took me under.
When I woke, I was somewhere else completely. I hadn’t even noticed us moving. Wherever it was, it had the most comfortable bed. The only illumination was fairy lights all around the space, making it homey. It felt like a trailer or camper. There was soft music playing from speakers, adding to the ambience.
“Where—?”
I turned over to find Imri lying on the soft, red sheets with me. He was only wearing hisboxer briefs and a t-shirt. I don’t know why, but the sight of him lying there, feet bare and hair rumpled, was more intimate than anything we’d done so far.
“We’re in my trailer. You slept for about an hour. Trisha’s set up in Rowan’s room for the night. Rowan went to share with the twins. My moms have gone to the guest room, so it’s just us.” He had all the answers to the questions I didn’t have a chance to ask. “I thought if we were going to bond, you’d like more privacy than just our room.”
“Our?”
“Well, it will be if you’d like to move in. Once we’re bonded, you’ll have time to decide what you want to do.”
“I don’t want to bond—“
“What?” Imri looked like I’d struck him.
With a sigh, I continued. “I don’t want us to rush this bonding just because I’m pregnant. We can take some time, spend time together first, before we decide. It should be enough.”
“Sully, I don’t want to wait. Now that everything is out in the open, I want to be with you.” His gaze was imploring. “We’re meant to be together. The thought of you leaving herescares me.”
“Scares you? Why?”
“It’s… It’s irrational. I worry you won’t come back. That you’ll find someone better for you than me.”
“There’s no one better for me than you.”
“Then would you consider bonding with me? Here and now.”
My mind raced. “Are you sure this isn’t just because of the baby? I didn’t want to go into a bond with you without telling you since a bonding bite can trigger a heat. Still, I don’t want to feel like you had to just to keep the baby safe! This is a mess!”
“Sully,” he started patiently, “I wanted this before you said about the baby. Our baby. If you don’t want to rush, we can bond and you can take your time moving in.”
I studied his handsome face. His dark eyes twinkled with affection. It was too soon to be love, though I knew we would grow to love each other very much. I knew I could study the slope of his nose, the curve of his cheek, the shape of his eyes, and still be fascinated with him in the years to come.
Maybe we were doing things backwards, but we’d grow into our bond.
“If we do this, I want to move in straight away, except fuck! I’ve got my job…”
“We’ll work something out. I’ll take you to work if you want. Or you can take the truck. I’ll go pay a ridiculous amount of money to get a better road to the house. I’ll buy you a car, because you aren’t scooting about carrying the two of you on that death trap!”
I kissed him. Imri was perfect. I was sure there would be times when we got on each other’s nerves, but times like this would be worth it. He smiled against my lips before returning the kiss, his tongue invading my mouth as we got caught up in the growing need between us.
Finally, he broke away. “Want to take a risk and see where this goes?”
“Yes. I really do.”
We shuffled until we were sitting up. Imri helped me remove my shirt, being careful of the buttons, then chucked his over his head, earning himself a laugh. He pulled me onto his lap.
With a shaking finger, he traced where he’d put his bite. “I never thought I’d be doing this. I’m glad it’s you, Sully.”
