Page 40 of His to Mate

19

When Rager senther a message that said he’d be home for dinner that night, she knew her own messages had finally gotten across to him. She needed to talk to him, she’d written, she had news to tell him. Important news.

And not just about the baby, she thought as she set up the balcony for a romantic evening meal. There were all these rumors she’d heard and the things she’d seen. She wanted to talk to him about all of that plus how safe she would be once it was announced she was pregnant.

She slid a hand down her side, the slick feel of satiny soft silk sensual on her palm. It was a fiery red slip dress that she had found in a boutique. It had the name of some designer on the tag that she faintly remembered as being an expensive brand, but she didn’t care about that. It was the pure sensuality of the dress that she was after.

It didn’t hide anything from the viewer, and without a stitch of underwear on underneath it, she might as well have been naked, but she knew he’d like it. He would be the only one to see her in it anyway. She smirked at the thought of his face when he saw it, and moved the rosebud a little to the side of his plate.

Her hair tickled at the skin at the small of her back, it was the only curtain that hid the skin of her back from view. The dress was backless, another thing that had drawn her eye. The entire thing weighed less than nothing, but it went all the way down to her feet. It was a feather of material, but it covered her while it also revealed all the things she couldn’t hide. Perfect really.

She checked on Katy and saw she was asleep, tucked almost underneath Ann’s pillows on the bed, and then she sat down to wait for her mate. Her brain still wanted to say husband sometimes, but the aliens never used husband or wife. Rager had explained to her that those words relayed ownership, what they were was far more than master and slave, or property of any kind. They were mates.

To Ann, that seemed far more profound than the husband/wife terms. Now, if only she could get her brain to let the terms go. She smiled as she thought about it. Now, she would get some time with the man that was her mate.

For a moment she remembered that red glowing light on the health monitor, but pushed it away. Meg had told her she’d find out what it was from the aliens if she couldn’t find it in the pile of information they’d sent with the scanner. She’d let Ann know if it was anything important.

Her heart skipped a beat when she heard the door handle rattle. She stood up and went to the door that led into the bedroom from the balcony. Rager came through and the moment he saw her his tired face picked up in a grin.

“You look stunning, Ann.” He held his arms out and she went to him.

The moment he wrapped his arms around her, she sighed in relief. The burden of worry on her mind lifted and she felt at peace again. He held her tight for a long moment, and then pulled back.

“Let me get a shower, and then you have me for the rest of the night. It’s been too long since we’ve had any time together, and I’ve missed you.” He kissed her sweetly and then went into the bathroom.

She was a patient woman, now that he was home, and she waited happily. She put some music on and read a book while she waited, but she didn’t really see the words. Her brain was too busy to see words when it could conjure up how Rager would react to her news instead. She knew he would be happy, but would he be ecstatic? Would he twirl her around and shout or would he pick her up and hold her close?

So many romantic notions, fueled by too many romantic movies she’d watched with her best friends when they were teenagers. How did men react in real life? She didn’t know that, she hadn’t had the experiences most women had by her age, not when she’d been underground, so far away from other people. Like many of her generation, she’d been isolated, and life had come to a standstill of survival and little more.

Not that she’d had it as bad as Skye, she reminded herself. At least she hadn’t been alone, or so totally unprepared. Her father had kept her safe, and she had other people to talk to. Just not many people of her own age. Just that asshole, Rex.

“Alright, darling, I’m yours for the rest of the night,” Rager said as he came out of the bathroom.

Ann’s mouth fell open a little as he came out. He had a long black towel wrapped around his waist and nothing else on. She could see very lucky drops of water that still clung to his tan, powerful shoulders. There were even a few drops down the broad muscles of his chest and on the flat plane of his stomach.

“Should I put something else on?” he asked as he dried his hair with a smaller towel. “You look so beautiful, I hate to spoil the moment.”

“No, that towel is just…” she struggled to make her brain work enough to find the right words. “You’re fine. Don’t get dressed.”

She looked up from the flat dent of his navel and saw that his eyes were on fire again. She could feel how hot her cheeks were. She was embarrassed that he’d caught her staring, but she knew some of that heat was from what she’d seen. A man made for a lover’s gaze. Her gaze.

“Shall we eat?” he asked, but his eyes were on her now, on the dress that he wouldn’t even have to take off. He could just slide the material up her thighs, and taste her, she thought, feel her.

“Yes, we should eat,” she said in a monotone voice because she wasn’t really aware that she’d spoken. She could watch the fire that blazed in his eyes.

“Come along then, tell me what was so important. Or did you just want some time with me?” He came up to her and took her hand to guide her out to the balcony. She followed and blinked when she sat down, awareness of the world back in place.

“Both, I suppose. I haven’t seen you in ages. And I have news.” Her cheeks turned red again, and she took a sip of water, just to have a moment to conduct herself. “My mother is going to have twins.”

She was nervous now that it was time to tell him. She hadn’t planned any big reveal, or a fancy cake, nothing like that. She’d planned to just tell him and get it over with. He wasn’t the kind that would really get into that kind of stuff, he was upfront about everything and just stated what needed to be said, so she would do the same. Eventually.

“Oh, that is good news.” He nodded, pleased from the look on his face. “I hope everything is okay?”

“Yes, she’s fine and so is the baby. She had an ultrasound, and that revealed the twins. Your health scanner made sure that they were all healthy.”

“Ah, that’s what you all wanted one for. To scan the women that suspect pregnancy?”

“Yes. We, um, we used it on me earlier today.” She took another sip of her water, unable to meet his eyes this time. Her heartbeat picked up and her chest went tight.