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“Well, if she’s part of the clan, then maybe someday we will be able to be friends.” Kelly took a sip of her ginger ale and looked at Jessie, who looked less certain about this idea.
“You’re a bigger woman than I am,” Jessie said.
As Kelly’s eyes met Marc’s across the floor, she felt herself flush with pleasure. “When you feel loved the way that I do, it’s an easy thing to do.”
CHAPTER NINE
Marc stretched as he thought about heading home. He looked at his watch. It was almost six o’clock, and he knew that dinner would be on the table at six-thirty. It was wonderful to him how quickly he and Kelly had settled into their domestic routine. So far her pregnancy was progressing well, but she was easily tired and extremely fatigued most days. He tried to get home as early as he could so that they could spend some quality time together before she went to bed.
He knew from watching others in the clan who had taken human mates that the strain on the body from a pregnancy with a werejaguar cub was something that could be onerous for the woman. He just hoped that his willingness to take care of her and ensure that her every need was satisfied was helping her a little bit.
As he drove home to the mansion, he found himself whistling a jazz tune. It was from a Miles Davis album that he and Kelly both enjoyed. They turned it on every evening during dinner. What he loved was that they spent time after dinner sitting in front of the fireplace in the den just talking. It seemed as if they could talk for hours. He had learned so much about her already, and he knew there was much more to learn. He was also helping her think about different ideas of what she could do now that she was getting settled in Vegas.
Marc wasn’t traditional the way his parents were. He understood that a woman like Kelly needed to have something to occupy her time aside from simply taking care of their new cub. He would help fund anything that she wanted to do. If she wanted to go back to school or if she wanted to start her own business, he would encourage it. He’d even help her move into a position with one of the family’s businesses if that was something she was interested in.
It seemed as if their conversations had awakened a completely new identity inside of her. Those were her words, not his. He didn’t think he was doing anything more than watering the seed of an exotic flower that had already existed inside of her. He was excited to think about what the future held and was looking forward to the arrival of their cub.
He knew that during the day, Jessie and Kelly were already consulting on details around the nursery. It was the room right next to theirs, and he knew Kelly was more comfortable with the idea of having the baby close. He had also been excited that the day after her introduction party, Kelly had told him that she was ready to make the decision to permanently move to Vegas.
He hadn’t wasted any time in having her sign the paperwork to put her place on the market. He had already had all of her things back in New York packed up from their initial conversation around the trial period. She had given him a lot of grief about that, but he sensed at the same time, that she had known it was inevitable the same way he had.
He encouraged her to have frequent conversations with her family and friends back home because he didn’t want her to feel lonely. It seemed as if she and Jessie were getting along well, and he was pleased that Juan had made such an excellent choice when he had recommended his younger sister for the job.
When Marc arrived home and walked through the door, his senses told him immediately that something was wrong. Usually, Kelly was there to greet him at the door, but he sensed that there was no one around on the main floor. He looked at his watch again and frowned. He couldn’t smell anything cooking. One of the things that Kelly had insisted on was that she cooked the evening meal. She said it was a waste of money to have a chef do it when it was something that she enjoyed doing for him and for them. He walked into the kitchen and found it dark. It was obvious that Kelly had not been down there in some time.
He started up the stairs toward the bedroom. “Kelly? Are you here?”
He’d seen the car that he bought for her in the garage when he pulled in, so he knew that she had to be there somewhere. That was when his ears caught the first faint groan that he was sure he would’ve missed if he had human hearing. He bolted up the stairs into their room. He lifted his nose to smell the scent in the room. She was in the closed bathroom. He heard the groan again and quickly went to the door, knocking on it with urgency.
“Kelly. It’s Marc. Can I come in?”
“Yes,” was the faint croak on the other side of the door.
Marc popped the door open and found Kelly sitting on the floor by the bathtub. Alarmed, he saw that she was pale and shivering.
He went to her immediately and helped her get to her feet. Based on the thin nightgown that she still wore, he assessed that she had not gotten dressed at all. “Where is everyone? Where’s Jessie? What’s been going on?”
She leaned heavily against him as he helped her sit on the edge of the tub. He quickly examined her face and body looking for any sign of injury.
“I wasn’t feeling very well when I woke up. I gave Jessie the day off. I’ve been resting, but my stomach is so upset. I’m cramping pretty badly, and I don’t know what’s wrong,” she said.
Marc felt her forehead with his lips. She was feverish even though she was shivering. He was even more alarmed now. “I’m going to take you to the doctor,” he said. He pulled his phone out of his pocket and dialed the number of his cousin, Alex. Alex was the healer in the clan. Although he was a couple years younger than Marc, he had quickly become someone that Marc depended on when he had assumed the role.
“What’s up?” Alex asked when he answered.
“Kelly’s sick. She’s complaining about cramping and that she has a stomach ache. Any thoughts?”
“You’d better take her to the hospital for an emergency,” Alex said. “I can meet you there.”
“All right,” Marc said.
That was when the smell hit his nostrils and sent a chill of fear through his chest. It was the thick, coppery smell of blood. He heard Kelly’s cry as he turned, and he caught her just as she stumbled. There was a bright red stain on the front of her white nightgown.
She looked up at him with fear filled eyes. “What’s happening? What’s going on?”
“I’m going to get you to the hospital now,” Marc said in the calmest voice he could muster.
“Do you think it’s the baby? Do you think there’s something wrong with the baby?” Kelly asked as she grasped her arms around her belly.
