Smiling to himself, he rolled off the bed and strolled casually to the bathroom. While she seemed annoyed at having woken up late, she didn’t completely fly off the handle and storm out by herself. There was no shame or regret at what they had done last night, and she actually wanted him to come along with her today.
Fifteen minutes later, they were in the elevator, on their way to the car. “I have a spare set of clothes at the office,” she said. “If I keep my coat on until we get inside, no one will notice I’m wearing yesterday’s outfit. And then—are you whistling?”
He stopped, realizing she was right. “Oh, guess I was.”
The elevator stopped, and she rolled her eyes, then strolled out before him. He merely followed; his gaze stuck on the view of her perfect ass swaying in front of him.
They made it to headquarters just after nine o’clock. She yanked the door to her office open as she unbuttoned her coat. “I can’t believe you let me sleep in. Don’t you have an alarm set? How do you even manage to wake up in time to get me breakfast?”
He stopped. “Uh, cher—”
“I shouldn’t have let you talk me into staying the night.” She shrugged her coat off, and nodded at his crotch. “Does your dick have some kind of magic? You better keep that thing away—”
“Cher!”
“What?”
He nodded in the direction of her desk. Four pairs of eyes were staring at them. Needless to say, Lizzie, Wyatt, Arch, and Cliff were much too shocked to say anything.
“Fuck. I thought this meeting was tomorrow.” Color drained from her face, and she stood there, frozen. “This isn’t what it looks like.”
Arch let out an amused chuckle. “Really? What does it look like, Mika?”
Cliff’s mouth pulled into a thin line. “Goddammit! You motherfucker.”
Delacroix tensed as the humungous man rose to his feet and stretched out to full height. He didn’t realize Cliff was especially protective of Mika. Or did the other man have feelings for her too? He was preparing for the worst when Cliff pivoted and turned toward Lizzie. “How the hell did you know we’d catch them today? Did you cheat?”
“Pay up,” she laughed, which was followed by a snort, and held out her hand.
Cliff grumbled but pulled his wallet from his back pocket, took out a couple of bills, then handed them to Lizzie.
“You were betting on us?” Delacroix asked, stunned.
“Well, what else were we supposed to do?” Lizzie’s eyes gleamed as she counted the bills. “Easiest money I ever made.”
“If it makes you feel better, aside from us and Jacob, the pool only extended to the command floor analysts,” Arch said cheerfully.
“You too, Wyatt?” Mika asked accusingly.
He shrugged. “I only bet on the first one.”
“First?” Her voice rose a few decibels.
“Yeah,” Lizzie said. “We were all betting on who the father was. Though that was easy to confirm, because your mom told Wyatt’s mom who told my mom. And then we started betting on when—”
“Argh, stop!” Mika put up her hands. “No more betting. We have work to do, if I may remind you.” Walking over to her chair, she threw her coat over the back and sat down. “Can we just get on with this meeting? I have so much stuff to do.”
No one argued with her, and as they began their meeting, Delacroix slipped out. There hadn’t been time to stop for breakfast this morning, so he knew she would be starving. He headed to the cafeteria and picked her up some food—oatmeal, fruits, and orange juice, but also two stacks of pancakes, a pile of bacon, an omelet with cheese and mushrooms, plus toast with butter and jam. By the time he came back with the large bag of food, the meeting had adjourned, and the four Lycans were already leaving her office.
“You have the best timing, D,” Lizzie cackled. “If you had waited another day, I would have lost the bet.”
“You’re welcome,” he said with a chuckle. “Do I get some of that cash?”
“No.” She stuck her tongue out at him. “Maybe if you’re good, I’ll buy you lunch.”
“Excuse me.” Wyatt jostled his shoulder as he walked past him, a snarl under his breath.
“Thanks, ma chouchoutte.” The pet name made Wyatt’s lips tighten. “It’s a date.” While he wanted to see the other man’s reaction, he didn’t want to keep Mika waiting. Casually, he strode inside. “I have breakfast.”
Her glare could have set a lesser man running in the opposing direction. “I’m not hungry.”
“Of course you are. You’re always hungry.” He set the bag down on top of her desk. “Now, eat.”
“Stop.” She got up from her chair. “This ends now.”
“What are you talking about? Don’t you want breakfast?”
“I’m not talking about the damn food!” She pushed the bag from her desk, sending it to the floor. “I’m taking about this.” Her hand waved between them. “Whatever you’re doing. I told you, last night was just sex. That’s all.”
A cold fury rose in him, and he grabbed her wrists. “Stop fooling yourself, cher.” When she tried to get out of his grasp, he only held tighter. “Mika, this may have started as sex, but it’s more than that now. You know it, you just won’t admit it.”
“I—”
“There’s been no one else but you. Not since you left. And for a while, not even before that.”
He could see the internal struggle from the expression on her face so he persisted. “Last night proved this is more than just sex. Listen to your wolf, cher.” His own wolf was all but screaming it at him. I know, she’s mine. Ours. “It knows. Knows who I am.” He dropped his voice to a whisper. “I’m your True Mate.” Saying it out loud sounded so right to his ears.
“I …” Her shoulders sagged, her head lowering. “I hardly know you.”
He loosened his grip. “Then get to know me.” He tipped up her chin, searching the depths of her emerald green eyes. The tightness in his chest made it difficult to breathe, but his lungs refused to work as he waited for her answer.
Her lips parted, and his heart nearly stopped when she spoke. “We’re doing this backward, aren’t we?” She sighed as her gaze dropped to her belly.
He could have wept in relief. “We’re doing things our way.” Moving his hand down, he placed it over the front of her bump. To his surprise, he felt something … move? His wolf perked up, then went still. Yes, that’s our pup. Ours. It answered with a howl of happiness.
She gasped, her hands covering his. “Did you—”
“I did,” he said, in awe. Then he felt it again, the slightest bump against his palm. He then placed her hand over the same spot.
“There it is!” Her voice cracked, and her eyes became shiny with tears. “It’s really …” A sob tore from her throat. “Oh my …”
“Yes, it’s really there.”
They stood there for minutes, just holding each other and her belly. The baby kicked a couple more times before it quieted down. As she brushed the tears from her face with the back of her hand, she took a deep breath. “I need some time, Marc. Don’t rush me into anything I’m not ready for.”
“You can have all the time you need. I promise.”
“This is going too fast. I can’t keep up. I don’t know where this is supposed to go now.”
Taking her hands in his, he kissed the inside of each one. “I don’t know either, but as long as we go together, that’s all that matters.”
“Damned hormones,” she cried, as more tears streaked down her cheeks. “This is all your fault.”
A deep and genuine laugh echoed from his chest. “Whatever you say, cher.”
Chapter Thirteen
True to his word, Delacroix didn’t push her for more than she could give. There was no discussion on what “they” were now, though they continued on as they were. He was still a bully, though, when it came to her health. In the past two weeks, he prevented her from doing anything strenuous, not even lift her own bag or carry her
lunch tray when they ate at the cafeteria. He also insisted she see the doctor right away, and even made an appointment with Dr. Blake for her himself.
“I can fill in my own name, thank you very much.” Grabbing the pen and clipboard away from him, she began to fill in the blanks on the patient information form as they sat on the couch in the waiting room of the medical wing at The Enclave.
He leaned over to peer down at the paper as she finished. “You made a mistake, cher.”
“What?” She went through every line. “I don’t see any mistake.”
“There.” His finger landed on the space for “sex” where she had written “F.” “It’s missing a few letters. M, T, W, Th—”
“Oh, ha ha.” She poked him playfully with the end of the pen.
“What?” he asked innocently. “You do like it every day. And more than once—ow!” He rubbed at his arm where she jabbed him harder. “The doctor will need accurate information.”
Despite his strong-arming ways, there were some benefits to having him around. Having sex on tap did marvelous things for her overall mood and health. She couldn’t quite explain it—maybe it was the hormones, but she couldn’t seem to get enough of him. Maybe he did have a magical dick, because it never failed to satisfy her, while making her want more. She couldn’t decide which type of sex was better—hurried quickies in the morning, or lunchtime if they could get away—or the long, languid hours of lovemaking at night. Every night for the past two weeks, she’d stayed at his place, only going back to her apartment in the mornings to shower and change before work. No one at GI seemed to bat an eye at their … whatever it was between them, but rather, they accepted it. At least now they’ve stopped betting on us.
“Dr. Blake will see you now, Ms. Westbrooke,” the stern-looking nurse called. As she and Delacroix stood up, she frowned. “Patients only.”
He looked like he wanted to protest, but she put a hand on his chest. “It’s fine, it’s just a routine examination.” She did not want him in there while another male was touching her, even if Dr. Blake was a professional. Delacroix had become terribly possessive and was aggressive toward any male who came near her. The other night when they were having dinner, a waiter had accidentally touched her elbow and he nearly bit the man’s head off.
“But I want to be in there with you. I want to make sure the doctor doesn’t do any funny business.”
“Dr. Blake is a professional and also, so old, he actually assisted in my birth.” She rolled her eyes. “I’ll have the nurse call you when it’s done so you can be there during the assessment, okay?” That seemed to placate him, and he sat back down.
She went into the examination room. Dr. Blake was already there, and they proceeded with her first pre-natal exam. And as she promised, she had the nurse call Delacroix in before Dr. Blake discussed the pregnancy with her.
“Everything seems to be normal,” Dr. Blake began. “For a True Mate pregnancy.”
“What does that mean?” Delacroix asked, his knuckles going white as his fingers curled into fists at his sides. “Is she okay? Is the pup healthy? Will there be any complications? Pre-eclampsia? Or—”
“It means everything will be fine, Mr. Delacroix,” the doctor said reassuringly. “In fact, True Mate females have the healthiest pregnancies I’ve ever seen. “
The look of relief on his face was evident. “And when do we know if it’s a boy or girl?”
“When it’s born.” Dr Blake looked at her when Delacroix seemed taken aback.
“I’m afraid he’s not familiar with True Mate pregnancies, Doctor.” She turned to him. “While the baby makes me invulnerable to any harm, it also blocks my body from any type of invasive examination. Sonograms, X-rays, not even an MRI machine can penetrate whatever magical shield is around me.”
“Even now, we don’t know the reason why,” Dr. Blake continued. “We tried doing some studies and experiments on ways to examine True Mate fetuses over thirty years ago. Dr. Jade Creed, our leading Lycan scientist who studies magic, tried different methods, even magical ones, but to no avail.”
“Then how do you know the pup is healthy?”
“Every True Mate child I’ve witnessed being born or delivered myself has come into this world one hundred percent healthy,” he stated.
“Every one?” He sounded skeptical.
“Yes, since the first one in the last century.” The doctor gestured to Mika. “See for yourself.”
Delacroix’s brows wrinkled in confusion.
Dr. Blake frowned. “You really have no idea?”
“I haven’t told him.” She lay a hand on top of his. “It’s me. He’s talking about me. I was the first True Mate baby born in a very long time. I was told that up until I was conceived, True Mates were thought to be a legend.”
He looked flummoxed. “I didn’t know, cher.”
Of course not, seeing as they never talked of anything about their past. She’d never even told him about—
“Are you all right, Ms. Westbrooke? You suddenly seem pale.”
Delacroix’s dark eyes narrowed at her. “I thought you said pregnant True Mates were healthy, doctor?”
“I’m fine,” she managed to say. “Just … felt fatigued.”
The rest of the appointment seemed to go by in a haze. Dr. Blake talked about her progress and her due date, but it all went over her head. All she could think about was Joe.
Had she completely forgotten about him? Of course not. He had been her husband. Nothing was going to change that. But a pit formed in her stomach when she thought of Delacroix. He had no idea about Joe, and she didn’t know how to tell him. Should she casually mention it? No, the time for that had passed. Maybe she should sit him down … and tell him what?
“Are you sure you’re okay, cher?” he asked as they left the doctor’s office.
“I … I’m fine.”
He moved closer to her, bending his head, then stopped. As if her guilt wasn’t bad enough, her no-kissing rule was another thing that made her feel even worse. Despite all the ways they shared their bodies, they hadn’t kissed since the first time. He hadn’t pressed her, though she could see it was bothering him.
She did want him to kiss her, but it just felt so intimate, as if there was this invisible line between no kissing and kissing, and the moment she crossed it, she feared there was no going back. That it would mean she really would have to move on and forget Joe.
“If you don’t feel well, we don’t have to go out tonight.”
“Tonight?” Her head whipped toward him.
“Yes, tonight. Your father’s birthday party. Alynna asked me to remind you.”
Oh crap.
Mika wasn’t sure how her mother had gotten wind of what was going on—though knowing Alynna, it wasn’t a surprise—but she had invited Delacroix along to Alex’s birthday party at their apartment that night. All her siblings were going to be there as well, and it would be the first time they would meet Delacroix and see them together. She couldn’t miss it; no, she couldn’t do that to her father, but if the subject of Joe came around, then she didn’t know what to do. So, as a precaution, she called her mother before they headed over to their place while Delacroix was in the shower.
“You haven’t told him?” Alynna asked incredulously. “Sweetie, why not? You shouldn’t be afraid—”
“I’m not afraid,” she bit out. “It’s just …” How could she explain it to her mother, when she couldn’t understand it herself? “Please, just tell everyone? Make some excuse. Tell them it’ll upset me.”
Alynna let out a long sigh. “All right, but you have to tell him about Joe soon. Before he finds out from someone else.”
Though she’d been nervous the entire dinner, no one in her family breathed a word about Joe. It probably wasn’t difficult though, because he wasn’t a subject they spoke about often. Truth was, since he died, everyone seemed to walk on eggshells around her, afraid to upset her. She also realized that she’d missed them all and t
hat she’d been pushing her parents, sister, and brothers away for the last two years. This was the first time she could recall they’d been together that they all seemed at ease.
“Were you worried about your family not approving of me?” Delacroix asked as they walked back to his apartment when the dinner party ended.
“Huh? Not at all. They adored you.” Of course they did; Delacroix could charm the pants off anyone. Her father seemed to accept him, while her mother was delighted by his flattery. Nathan and Knox developed a natural camaraderie with him as they chatted about sports and beer, while the normally shy and reserved Amanda chatted amiably with him.
“Then what were you all jittery about the whole evenin’?”
“I—” It was on the tip of her tongue. To tell him. Do it now. “Nothing.” She really was a coward.
He looked like he wanted to press the matter, but hesitated. “So,” he looped her arm through his as they continued walking, “when do I get to see the baby photos your mother promised?”
She threw her head back and laughed. “How about … never?”
He continued to tease her, making her feel at ease and forgetting about her worries. Still, in the back of her mind, it hung there—that big secret she was keeping from him. Tomorrow, she told herself as she held on tighter to him. I’ll tell him tomorrow.
Mika really was trying hard to tell him, but there never seemed to be the right time. The truth weighed on her mind, and it was like waiting for the shoe to drop, but every time she worked up the courage, she just found one excuse after the other to delay it.
Plus of course, she still had a job to do, and this week seemed to be when shit hit the fan. The mages had attacked two of their allies, one in Ohio, and the other in Mexico City. While there were no casualties, it only spooked the other clans they were in talks with. Julianna had reported that three of them had already canceled meetings.
“I’ll do my best to get them back on track,” Julianna said via videoconference. Aside from the envoys, Daric had joined them as well, and he sat next to Mika in her office.
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