Sophia grinned and sat next to the playpen. “Knock yourself out. As much as I want to hold them both all day, my arms get kind of tired. He’s Shane, and the little princess in Ry’s arms is Selena.”
Sam picked up Shane, and the little boy stared at her for a long moment.
“Hi, Shane. I’m Samira. Can you say Sam?” She was staring at the child, fascinated. “You are the cutest little boy I have ever seen.” Shane appeared instantly won over, because he grabbed handfuls of her hair and pulled her head down. Then he sniffed her cheek and said “Sam.”
Riel pictured Sam with their own children. She cooed and bounced Shane.
Sophia sniffed. She raised her brows and glanced pointedly at Riel. He had no idea what she scented. Her sense of smell had developed into a lethal weapon since she’d gotten pregnant the first time around.
“Sam, what do you do?” Sophia asked.
Riel could see the wheels turning in her head. Sophia’s scientific mind was a dangerous thing.
Sam sat on a lounger and bounced Shane on her lap. She caressed the little boy’s face with so much affection one would think it was her child. “I’m a teacher.”
“And I understand you were volunteering?”
Sam glanced at Sophia, who was smiling at Shane’s antics; the boy was tugging on Sam’s hair. “I met Ginny, and she loved speaking highly of you.”
Sam nodded. “Yes. I was in Brazil this past year and in Somalia before that. I’m back now.”
“To stay, I presume?”
“Yes. I… It’s time to be home.” She sighed.
“So tell me about Brazil. It sounds exotic.” Sophia asked with enough enthusiasm that Sam wouldn’t know she was being interviewed. Only Riel could see right through what she was doing.
“Not really. I taught kids and adults in the Amazon. In fact, the most interesting thing that happened while I was down there was me getting bitten by a stray wolf.”
“What?” Sophia and Riel yelled at once.
Riel glanced down at Selena. She pouted, her eyes filling with tears. “I’m sorry, sweetheart. I didn’t mean to scare you.”
Sam continued to grin at Shane and answered. “Oh, it was nothing. I got all kinds of tests and vaccinations. Let’s just say there’s not a single bug inside my body that could have resisted all the medication I was given.”
Sophia glanced at him. She bit her lip and widened her eyes to give him a silent signal. He knew exactly what she was wondering. Was that a regular wolf or a wolf-shifter? Her blood would need to be tested. A lump formed in his throat. She didn’t appear to be sick or going through the change. That pacified him somewhat.
Sophia continued her inquisition. “Sam, do you have any shifters in your family?”
Riel wondered why she asked that question. Sam and her relatives were human. She scented human to him. He continued to watch Sam rock Shane in her arms. The little boy’s head drooped to her shoulder, and his eyes closed.
Sam’s voice was soft when she replied. “No. None that I’ve ever heard of. In fact, I understand my mom was friends with some, and that made her the black sheep of the family.”
Sophia sniffed delicately. “You’re sure? Maybe they missed someone.”
Sam shook her head. “No, I would know. Ginny wouldn’t have kept that kind of information from me. She was always very open about our family and the type of people we had as a part of it. She always said we had some rude excuses for adults, but never mentioned any shifters.”
Riel ate up the scene of Sam holding little Shane and smiling down at him. She nuzzled the little boy’s soft curls and sniffed. A smile curled her lips. Every possessive cell in his body roared. He wanted to take her to bed and fill her with his seed until she carried his own children. Heat traveled across the space between them. It ran down his body and made him desperate to have her.
Chapter Four
Sam was in love. Shane was the cutest little boy she’d ever encountered, and she’d encountered many a cute baby. Selena could be a duplicate for a little doll. Sam’s hormones were going crazy with both babies in sight. The famous biological clock she’d always heard of was making its presence known big time. It was avidly hammering the point that she was of an age where she could bear children. Hell, it was pretty much smacking her upside the head and telling her to get a move on. Her gaze strayed back to Sophia Blackburn. The Black Meadows Alpha’s mate. Shifter.
When she’d first seen her in Riel’s yard, a stab of jealousy had hit her. She almost ran over to the other woman to demand she state her business with Ry. Her heart flipped with emotions she had never gotten this early in any relationship, especially not after one day. It was unreal and completely insane. And yet it felt perfectly normal. But then she’d seen Riel holding the little girl, and she’d gotten all kinds of visions of him with their baby. The man gave her one amazing orgasm, and here she was ready to marry him and have his kids. It was a good thing he couldn’t look inside her head, or he’d be running a million miles in the other direction.