by Jenika Snow
I exhaled and stretched my toes, yelping as I got a cramp in my leg. I was tired, swollen, and ready to shift again so I could run free. My lynx was scratching to be released, but seeing as a pregnant shifter couldn’t turn into their animal while with child, I’d been stuck as a human for nine months now. Not that I didn’t love every second of carrying this baby, but I was getting antsy.
I held a hand to my swollen belly and felt the baby kick. I couldn’t help but smile. I may not be acting like myself, or even look like myself right now, not with my big belly, my swollen feet, my hormones raging through my body, which made me extra bitchy, or the fact that I was eating everything in sight and not giving a shit what anyone thought. I had never felt more beautiful than I did carrying Kasias’s baby, and the fact that my male told me every single time he saw me how hot I was, reinforced that he liked exactly what he saw.
I heard Kasias’s truck pulling up the long, winding driveway, and my heart kicked into overdrive as it always did. I could hear the tires of the vehicle crunching over the gravel, heard the fainter wheels of the trailer he pulled behind the truck.
He’d just come back from town, where he’d shipped off his latest creation to someone in Maine. It was this gorgeous porch swing carved out of maple, the swirling, customized designs etched into the wood enough to catch anyone's breath.
He still hated going to town, and most times I was more than happy to stay snuggled in the cabin with my overly protective polar bear mate, but he indulged me and took me to dinner once a week, something to get me out of the house. And anything I needed in town, whether it was groceries for the house, supplies for the bathroom, whatever I needed, he demanded I go with him. He refused to let me go alone, and I was more than happy to have him tag along.
I couldn't get enough of him.
My bear was so protective it had my little feminine heart racing in appreciation.
A second later, the front door opened, and I glanced behind me from where I sat on the couch to see Kasias walk in. I immediately saw him looking for me, his nostrils flaring as he scented me out. His head swung in the direction of the living room, and as soon as our eyes clashed, he let out a pleasurable growl.
My body heated instantly.
“Mate,” he snarled the most deliciously male way and was striding toward me a second later. He sunk to his knees, his body so massive that even like this he towered over me, blocking out everything behind him so all I saw, all I smelled, was him.
He framed my huge belly, his hands so big they seemed to dwarf my pregnant stomach, which was saying something for how massive my male was, since I felt as large as a house these days. He started slowly rubbing his hands over me, this look of concentration on his face as he gazed at what he did. He pushed my shirt up, and the way his eyes heated, the fact that they darkened as he looked at what he’d done to me, had my toes curling.
“I did this to you,” he growled in a very proprietary way, and a shiver raced up my spine. “The knowledge that I got you pregnant, that you carry my young, does something so strong to me, Penny.” He lifted his eyes to look into my face. “Makes me crazy, like I want to kill anyone who even looks in your direction.
I let out a slow breath. I was so worked up in this moment, my body aroused and soft, pliant for my big, muscled shifter.
Kasias leaned forward and skated his lips over my belly, humming slowly. “How’s my little girl doing?” he whispered against my flesh, and it was like the little baby inside me knew her daddy’s voice and loved it, because she started kicking wildly. He chuckled deeply and kissed my belly.
“She loves your voice.” He kissed my stomach again. “I think she’s already got you wrapped around her finger,” I whispered absentmindedly, running my fingers through his hair.
“She does,” he responded and looked up at me. “The same way you do, mate. You consume me, possess me, drive me crazy with jealousy.”
I smiled, my body hot and wet and ready for my mate, my husband, my other half.
He continued to smooth those big, calloused, and very male hands over my belly. He did this every night, which caused me to fully relax, as his touch was the only thing that could settle my entire being.
For long minutes, he petted me, massaged my arms, my hands, then moved to my legs, and finally my feet. He was thorough, gentle, and the look of concentration on his face as he did this had me smiling. It was like this was the greatest task he’d ever have to do in his life, and he didn't want to screw it up. Not like he could ever.
When I was good and relaxed, sinking into the couch, my eyes heavy, my body feeling warm and tingly, he gave my belly another kiss before rising and holding out his hand. “Come on, my mate.”
I groaned half-heartedly, but grinned and slipped my hand in his palm, his double the size of mine, and allowed him to help me off the couch. He pulled me into an embrace right away, buried his nose in the crook of my neck, his huge body curved protectively around mine, and inhaled deeply.
“God, your scent… I'll never get enough of it.” He kissed the side of my throat, ran his roughened tongue along the flesh, and the fact that I felt his elongated canines told me he was getting worked up from this alone. “I could take you to our room and fuck you until you can’t walk,” he growled and to my disappointment pulled back. He smirked, gave me a soft peck on the mouth, then his smile turned into a full-on grin. “But my girls need to eat, and this might be the last night I get to take just you out for dinner, so let me take care of my mate.”
I softened at his gentle tone, rose on my toes, and gave him a kiss on his full, soft lips.
“Maybe we can do takeout and you can feed your very pregnant mate in bed?” I lifted a brow in challenge but was very much serious.
His gaze darkened, and he groaned, rested his forehead on mine, and said, “Whatever my mate wants, my mate gets.” He pulled back, but only enough that he could run his tongue along the swell of my bottom lip. “But be warned, once my female is nice and full, I’m going to feast on her like she’s an all-you-can-eat buffet, and then I’ll be the one to fill her up.”
My toes curled again, my pussy got impossibly wetter, and I purred for my male.
“Better get to it then,” I teased, felt his huge erection prodding at my belly, and squealed when he gently scooped me into his big arms and carried me to the bed.
“How about we start with dessert first?” he murmured deeply against my lips.
“I always did have a sweet tooth, especially when the treat is a polar bear shifter.”
“I better be the only polar bear, or male for that matter, you have a sweet tooth for,” he growled warningly, possessively.
I giggled when he nipped at my lips, knowing the only thing I would ever be hungry for was this male.
Always.
About the Author
Find Jenika at:
www.JenikaSnow.com
[email protected]