Fierce (Devils Point Wolves Book 5)(18)

Her generous curves drove him wild before, the addition of more only intensified that. He couldn’t wait to see her stomach swell with the baby they’d made together. She was going to make a spectacular mother-to-be.

During her bout with concerns and worries about the future of his pack, he’d neglected to inform her of how off the rails this situation truly was. Random pregnancies had become so rare on Devils Point, they’d begun to believe them not possible. So much of their history had been lost over the years, thanks to their often nomadic lifestyle. Which meant that many of the so called rules around ‘mating’ may or may not be true.

“What are you doing, Creed?” She lifted her arms over her head and stretched, a big yawn following her move.

He reached forward and slid his hands up her sides and arms until his hands rested on her wrists, now pinned to the bed.

"Nothing much," he said, planting a kiss on the side of her throat that continued to beckon him. The idea of biting her and making her one of them was more of a turn on than he ever expected. Of course, he happened to be a little biased when it came to the shapeshifter lifestyle. He fucking loved it.

"You want to really bite me don't you?"

Her question seemed simple enough but the tone of her voice clued him in to the fact she sounded concerned about that idea. There was no point in denying he understood what she meant.

"That bothers you still?" he asked.

"I'm not sure. This all happened so fast. Under the circumstances how can I possibly know if I'm ready to be someone's mate?"

This time she sounded genuinely baffled and that gave him hope. Her cute little nose didn't scrunch up in distaste, nor did she turn away when she said it. They were making definite improvements in their situation.

"What circumstances exactly?" Might as well make her clarify so he could face the issues head on.

"Me being pregnant. It kind of forces the situation, which is exactly what I didn't want." Her tongue darted out and licked her lips and the whine of his wolf wanted to focus on that more than this discussion. He forced the animal lust back and concentrated on the words she needed to understand.

"Babe, I wanted you long before you got pregnant."

She frowned. "I'm not talking about sex either."

He nodded his head. "Neither am I. But I'm not going to lie and pretend that a wolf finding its mate instantly isn't a little weird when you try to look at it from a human perspective. It goes way beyond 'love at first sight'." She sucked in her lower lip and bit down but remained quiet. Finally she was listening. "My wolf knew right away you were the one. Something I pushed aside and insisted on calling lust. Except no matter what you or I did, I was drawn to you. And not just sexually. You have a kindness about you that draws people in whether they know it or not. I was trying to wrap my head around everything I was feeling when mating season hit and I kind of lost control."

She shook her head. "You're always in control, Creed. I've watched you too. I don't think anyone could make you do anything you didn't want to do."

He lifted her hand and pressed his lips to her fingers. "Then what makes you think I would only mate you now because you're pregnant?"

"Because you're loyal and you like to take care of people. I’ve seen you with Sawyer. You're always keeping an eye on him."

"That's because he's family, babe. In my world nothing is more important. So when Sawyer needs me I gotta be there."

She tugged her hand free and twisted her fingers together in her lap. "I always thought finding the right man and falling in love would be the happiest time in my life. But now I'm not so sure. I had no idea how hard it would be to fall for someone who didn't love me back."

Creed's back went ramrod straight at her words as shock coursed through him. Had she just admitted that she loved him? With his wolf practically doing back flips inside him, he had to cover his mouth and cough to cover his smug smile.

"You didn't," he admitted gruffly. He stood and began pacing the room. This was that moment that Sawyer always warned him about. Thank God he wasn't here to gloat. He'd tried to explain to him that human women were different when it came to mating. That they'd expect the flowery words that explained how a man felt inside. Something he didn’t feel very equipped to do.

"What are you saying?" She looked up at him with wild eyes full of hope and a side of wariness.

“Just what you think. You’re definitely not alone in this. Baby or no baby, you are mine and nothing is going to ever change that.”

Her eyes glassed over and her lip trembled, but to her credit she didn’t cry. Thank you, Jesus. He didn’t think he could handle much more emotional stuff right now. His own stomach was feeling a little twisted at the moment and he needed to do something else to distract them. He swiped his finger across her full bottom lip and relished the softness of her skin. Her little tongue came out again and licked at him, causing a slight tremor to work down his spine.