by Jade Alters
“I, uh.”
She cleared her throat. Only when she caught her bottom lip between her teeth did I realize that this wasn’t a practical visit, and in a heartbeat our roles reversed. My jaw dropped a little, staring with unabashed intensity at the grin on her face.
“So, um. You want company?”
“You fucking bet I do.”
I stepped closer to the glass, one hand up against the pane to get a better look at her. That blush was still present across the bridge of her nose, but she was working through the shyness. She even seemed to be enjoying it as she pulled her t-shirt up from the hem, revealing the smooth plane of her stomach inch by agonizing inch — then, as she lifted it high enough to reveal her soft, round breasts, I pressed closer to the glass with a quiet groan, feeling its pressure against the already-hard length of my cock.
Her eyes darted down, and her smile widened. “Oh. Hi.”
I grinned. “Yeah. Hi.”
Maybe such an obvious sign of attraction helped her uncertainty to melt away. Maybe it was the confirmation she needed. Either way, when Jess’ eyes met mine again, I saw only excitement in her face — not nerves.
“I should hurry up and get in there, huh?”
“Uh-huh. Water’s real nice.”
Her fingers dipped below the waistband of her yoga pants, peeling them slowly down until she could step neatly out. Now only the thin black cotton of her panties remained, but she didn’t move to take them off just yet. Instead, she sank down into the bathroom chair, legs parted, and traced her fingertips over her stomach.
“Or maybe I’ll make you wait a little longer.”
I groaned, slipping a hand around the base of my cock for a few slow strokes, eyes rooted on her fingertips as they trailed an indeterminate path over her skin. Finally, finally, they made their way down inside her panties, and I swallowed hard as I heard her gasp.
“Fuck, Jess.”
“Still think I scare you?” Her voice was already pitched up at the sharpness of her pleasure, and her laugh sounded breathy as I shook my head in silence. “You are intimidating. But it kind of makes me want to rise to the challenge.”
“You’re incredible,” I told her, lifting a hand to wipe away the steam on the inside of the shower. I wanted a better look. Needed a better look. “So fucking beautiful.”
Jess flicked a thumb over her nipple, and I watched as it peaked to a nub within a matter of seconds. That hand in her panties sped up a little; beneath the thin fabric, I could see her fingers teasing away in a circling motion.
“You’ve got to get in here,” I pleaded. “You’re driving me crazy.”
“In a minute,” she teased. “I want to be so ready for you.”
I groaned, giving my cock a few more desperate strokes. “Yeah? You want me that bad?”
“Oh, yeah.”
Her head tipped back as her breath shuddered, and I mapped out the spread of that beautiful blush of hers all the way down her chest — watched her toes curling, and the dampness of her skin in the humid heat.
When she stood up, I was so enraptured in watching her that it jolted me back into my senses. The water pounded down on my back as I kept my eyes rooted on her, drinking in the sight of her sex as she finally dropped her panties.
I opened the door, and watched her eyes fall straight to the unhindered sight of my cock. I groaned, pulling her close to me under the water for a deep, rough kiss.
“I can’t wait,” she said, fastening her arms around my neck. “God, please-”
“Fuck. C’mere.”
I lifted her with the ease my military training gave me, and pressed her carefully up against the smooth tiles of the shower wall. The sensation of her nipples against my chest drove me wild, but she told me what she needed. I wasn’t about to draw this out.
I reached down to my cock, aligned myself carefully with the joy-slick wetness of her sex, and pushed carefully inside.
Her shuddering groan spurred me on, her fingernails digging into the base of my neck and feet locked around me. Here in the shower, we didn’t have much room, but neither did we need it. As I fucked her up against the wall, intimate and close, I kept a tight and steady rhythm that worked for both of us — me, deep inside her and surrounded by her heat, and she arched with pleasure at the feeling of fullness, and the careful pressure of my thumb on her clit.
“Oh, Hale. God.”
I buried my face in her neck, kissing and nipping wildly at the smooth, clean skin I found there. She smelled so good, with layers of hormones and personal scent, that I thought I’d lose my mind. Every cell in my body was celebrating this moment that I found her, and that I first had her.
I felt her toes curling and uncurling behind me, and the way she clenched around my cock in time with my thrusts. Her nails clawed down my back, stopping only when she spared a hand to cup my face and kiss me, deep and long. I could feel her moans vibrating against my lips as we kissed, and reveled in the thought of giving her all that pleasure. It wasn’t long before those quiet moans turned into much sharper and more desperate cries.
“Hale, don’t stop. Don’t – ahh…”
The intensity of her orgasm gripped me, tugging me down over the edge with her. I came hard inside her, my thumb still circling a much gentler rhythm around her clit as she came down, breathing heavy and her forehead flopped against my shoulder.
“Wow.”
“That good, huh?” I grinned, lifting a hand to smooth her bangs out of her eyes. The bun she’d tied it up in had gotten loose in the wetness, and it was good to see her face unobscured again — the deep, satisfied blue of her eyes.
“Mm.” As I set her carefully down, keeping one arm loosely around her waist to hold her upright, I watched her place a hand carefully over my heart. Could she feel it racing still? I leaned down to kiss the top of her head, as happy to be close and soft with her in the shower as I had to see her naked body for the first time.
Oh, yeah. No doubt about it. This was the One Mate, alright.
We relaxed in comfortable silence, occasionally turning to help one another wash a different part of our bodies. It felt like we’d been together forever — not that we’d only just shared our first time in this tight-pressing space. Even me, notorious for never taking things seriously, couldn’t ignore the welling happiness inside me.
This was our future now. Forever.
As we shut the water off and stepped out, sharing the comforting warmth of my hot, fluffy towel, it felt so natural to know that she’d be a part of whatever lay ahead of me.
I could hardly wait.
Preston
Time usually dragged out like crazy on these long-term missions — but this time, with Jess’ glow to anchor and encourage us, it felt like the days had never passed more quickly. Before long, a whole month had flown by, and we had enough of the area scouted out that Blake predicted we’d find and contain our men within one more month.
This was good news, of course. We were doing important work that would keep our country safe — but despite this miniature victory in our mission, none of us felt all that triumphant. Although we were absolutely sure now that Jess was our One Mate, we still hadn’t found adequate time to sit down all together and have a discussion about it. On top of that, Jess hadn’t been quite herself for the past week or so, to the degree that Stone had insisted on calling in a doctor.
As she conducted the examination in Jess’ private room, Hale and I sat in concerned stiffness at the dining room table.
“I don’t know what to think,” I admitted. “Obviously Stone didn’t find anything, and I don’t want there to be anything physically wrong with her — but what’s the alternative?”
Hale shook his head, uncharacteristically serious. “Not good. The only other thing I can think of is that she found out we all know… you know. About all of us.” He folded his hands together. “Maybe it upset her. Maybe she figured it was some kind of set-up. That it’s the only reason we brought her here.”
“Nobody would’ve told her,” I reasoned. “We agreed on that much. How else would she have found out?”
The question went unanswered. We fell back into silence until we heard the sound of Jess’ bedroom door clicking open, and both her and the doctor’s footsteps down the hallway.
“…Vitamin D, which will be sent along with the next supply shipment. Okay?”
“Sure. Thank you.”
Hale and I stood from the table as they entered the room. I could feel his nervous energy echoing mine, and maybe Jess could too; she gave us both a weak smile as she caught our eye, and stood aside to let Doctor Gray pass.
“I’ll let Jessica discuss it all with you,” she said. “But there’s nothing to be immediately concerned about.”
“Thank you, Doc,” said Hale. “We appreciate you coming down here.”
“Hell of a drive,” she admitted, adjusting her uniform collar. Even military doctors were used to being perfectly turned-out. “But you’re doing good work here. I don’t have details, but I’ve been told to inform you that your progress is better than anticipated. Least we can do is give you the support you need.” She turned to Jess, giving her a soft smile. “Even if we don’t have all the answers.”
Ever the gentleman, Hale swept out an arm to lead her to the door. I stayed behind with Jess, fighting a growing feeling of unease. She looked so uncomfortable right now. The smile on her face was so forced and unhappy, and she wasn’t looking up to meet my eyes.
“You okay?” I asked, voice low.
“Sure,” she said. “I’m fine. Just… under the weather, I guess.”
If anybody deserved not to be under the weather, it was Jess. Most of the time, she shined out like our own private sun; she lifted each of us up just by looking at us. It hurt to see her like this, even more so because I couldn’t reach out and comfort the woman I knew was our One Mate. After all, she didn’t know it yet.
“You’d tell us, right? If there was anything we could do for you?”
She nodded. “Of course. It’s okay, Preston, honestly. I’m sure I’ll be fine once these supplements arrive, like Dr. Gray said.”
I wish I could believe it. Maybe the concern read too obviously on my face; her eyes dipped again as soon as she saw me, and she motioned towards the doorway with a weak smile. “Actually, if you don’t mind, I think I’m gonna go lay down for a while. Laundry is already running and I don’t need to start preparing dinner yet, so…”
“Hey, you don’t need to justify yourself to me,” I promised. “Please. Go lay down. Feel better.”
I watched her go, taking a piece of my happiness with her. It seemed like nothing much was cheering her up right now. When Hale returned, I nodded in the direction of the bedroom.
“She okay?” he said, forming the words with unusual quietness and restraint.
“I don’t know,” I admitted. “She says so, but she seems real worn out.”
“I doubt both Stone and Dr. Gray are missing something big,” Hale reasoned. “They’re both very competent.” He paused. “Don’t tell him I said that, obviously.”
I gave him a weak smile. Usually Stone and Hale’s banter was pretty entertaining to watch from the sidelines, but little could distract me from focusing on Jess right now. If Hale was being light-hearted as an attempt to take his own mind off of it, it clearly wasn’t working. When he sank down into a dining chair again, his sigh was so heavy and world-weary that I barely recognized the sound of it.
“We’re gonna have to schedule this meeting.”
“With her?”
“Uh-huh.”
I nodded slowly, considering. “Blake’s call, of course.”
“Sure,” he agreed, as respectful of his alpha as any pride member could be. He always was when it really came down to it and mattered, however hard they played during the good times. That was one of the things I admired most about Hale. He always knew when to draw the line; he was just really good at pretending he didn’t. “I’ll talk to him when he gets back. Don’t worry.”
It was reassuring to have a plan — but having seen the downtrodden look on Jess’ face just now, telling me not to worry was like telling a fire not to burn.
Jessica
Is there any chance you could be pregnant?
An hour after Doctor Gray left the cabin, her question was still ringing in my ears. I wasn’t some naive kid. Of course, I knew that unprotected sex could lead to pregnancy — and, with a flush of guilt, I knew it had been unprotected with all four North men. In the spur of the moment, that had felt like the right and natural thing to do. Now, if this was true?
The thought had me freefalling.
For one thing, I wouldn’t know who the father was. For another, there’d be no chance of keeping my intimate moments with all four men a secret any longer. If they didn’t already think I was cheap and easy, they probably would now. Even worse was the thought of sowing discord amongst this tight group of men I’d come to love so much. They worked so well together as a unit. Was I about to screw it up because I couldn’t keep it in my pants?
I had made my excuses with Preston and Hale as soon as Doctor Gray left, heading back to my room for ‘rest’. The pregnancy test she’d left behind for me sat on the countertop in the bathroom, intimidating in its sleek and clinical packaging. I’d never even taken one before. It scared me to think that this tiny cardboard box contained a stick that could change the rest of my life.
Well — no. That wasn’t true. The test would just tell me the consequences of my own actions. Everything I had done was on me.
If any of my friends had come to me with this problem, I’d have fiercely insisted that they were only halfway to blame — if that. It took two to tango, after all.
Well, in this case, it had taken five, and I had no sympathy to spare for myself.
The longer I left it, the worse I was going to feel. Already I could practically feel the box’s presence behind me when I turned my back; if I actually tried to sleep as I’d told Preston, I’d only end up lying there with my eyes closed imagining all the horrible possibilities. The anger and the hurt. What a horrible beginning for a new life.
Swallowing hard, I headed into the bathroom and closed the door behind me.
I knew you weren’t supposed to stare at the thing while it developed. I knew it took a couple of minutes; I knew that watching it would only make the time pass more slowly. Still, I couldn’t bring myself to look away, as though I’d blink and miss it. As though the result would disappear before I could see it.
Since it was impossible to distract myself with completely unrelated thoughts, instead I tried to soothe myself. For one thing, I loved babies. I had always imagined myself as a mom one day — just not quite yet. Besides, in my daydreams, I’d always known exactly who the father was.
Okay, except that one time I imagined Chris Evans and Chris Hemsworth fighting over me, but… that barely counted. And this was real life.
What else? Well. Some couples tried for years to get pregnant, even when they badly wanted it. You had to have sex at the right time in your cycle. Had to be fertile. A whole host of other things that I couldn’t remember. I remembered my friend Natalie trying a whole load of crazy superfood shakes to try and coax her body into a more fertile state.
I hadn’t done any of that. I’d been stupid, and let my desires run away with me without thinking about where it might lead. Surely, I could be forgiven for that. Surely the universe wouldn’t…
I swallowed, and a pit formed in my stomach.
A line was fading into view — unmistakably, even when I blinked rapidly to dismiss any tricks my eyes were playing on me and pulled it closer to examine it.
I was pregnant.
My lip trembled. Moments later, I was curling over the edge of the toilet bowl retching. Fear clenched my stomach so tight I couldn’t hold it. I was assailed with a train of
frantic, accelerating thoughts. The impossible pain of childbirth, which I had always feared I’d never be ready to bear. The panic of having to identify the father. The thought of being abandoned; the thought of not being abandoned, and breaking up this family in the process.
I didn’t know what to do with myself. When I finished vomiting, I slumped to the floor, head tipped back against the cool porcelain tiles, and dabbed the tears out from under my eyes with a shaking hand.
I should have expected this. Doctor Gray had a knowing look in her eyes as soon as I falteringly answered her question. Clearly, it matched all my ‘symptoms’. No wonder I’d been feeling especially morose about my situation with the North men recently. Some subconscious part of me knew exactly what I was walking into.
I closed my eyes and took a deep breath — then quickly concluded that it wasn’t deep enough. A problem like this needed cool, fresh air. Not technically what the doctor ordered, but… well. The vitamin supplements wouldn’t be arriving for a while. I just had to make sure that Preston and Hale didn’t see me. Right now, I figured I’d break down the second any of them looked at me — let alone spoke to me or insisted I needed an escort outside. I couldn’t bear sharing the truth with them just yet.
Hell. I could hardly bear it myself.
I swallowed, forcing myself to calm down for the few moments it would take me to sneak out of the cabin. Maybe this was one more stupid idea in a series of stupid ideas, but being trapped in this room with my thoughts wasn’t going to help me either.
I listened at the door. There were no footsteps in the hallway. If I strained my ears, I could hear the shower running in the boys’ room. My ears blushed deep red, plunging me into a graphic memory of what Hale and I had done together in there. Why did it still turn me on, even now? Even after I knew what was happening to me? Ignoring my rapid heartbeat, I closed my eyes and tried to focus. Okay, so one of them was in the shower. And the other?