by Becca Van
“I’m not sure,” she answered with a tired sigh.
“What do you mean, you’re not sure?” Broden asked.
“You seemed okay when you woke up.” Archer crossed his arms over his chest. “Were you feeling queasy then?”
“Not really.” She sighed when Broden ran a damp washcloth over her face. “I just didn’t feel quite right.”
“Fuck, Dusty. Why the hell didn’t you tell me you weren’t well? I fucking made love to you in the shower, for God’s sake.”
“I was fine, Archer. I would have told you no if I hadn’t wanted or been up to making love with you,” she replied back snarkily, and to her horror, tears welled and rolled down her face.
“Shit!” Airen scooped her up into his arms and hugged her tight. “Archer’s not angry at you, honey. He’s pissed at himself for not realizing you weren’t well.” He turned his gaze toward Broden. “Why the hell is she sick?”
“It’s just stress, I think. I’m scared and worried that they’re going to find me and end up hurting or killing you all.”
“We’ve already told you that we’re hard to kill, honey.” Airen carried her out of the bathroom, through the bedroom, and into the living room. He sat on the sofa with her in his lap.
“I know, but—”
“Shh,” Broden shushed her with a finger over her lips. “Give her to me.”
Airen handed her over to Broden, and after he shifted her to a comfortable position on his lap, he buried his face in her hair and against her neck. He nuzzled her skin with his nose and tensed beneath her. As his arms tightened even more around her, she was sure her ribs creaked in protest. “Broden?” She drew in a shallow breath and squirmed in his hold.
“Broden, ease up. You’re hurting her.” Archer thumped Broden on the shoulder.
Dusty inhaled deeply, relieved to take a full breath, and gazed at each of her mates. Broden was frowning, and there was guilt in the depths of his gray eyes. Archer looked as if he was torn between elation and remorse. Airen had an expression of contriteness on his face.
“What?”
“We’ve fucked up, baby,” Broden began, and then cleared his throat.
“You have? When?”
“We should have fucking realized.” Archer scrubbed a hand down over his face.
“We were so caught up in trying to win you as our mate, we didn’t notice when your scent changed. Can you ever forgive us, honey?” Airen asked.
“Uh…for what?”
“You must have been in heat when we all claimed you together,” Broden murmured.
“How do you feel about kids, sweetness?” Archer asked.
“Will you just stop hedging and spit out whatever you’re so upset about?”
“You’re pregnant,” Broden, Archer, and Airen said simultaneously.
“What?” she whispered, once more meeting their gazes one after the other. She could see sincerity in their eyes, but she had no idea how they’d know if she was pregnant or not. She wasn’t even halfway through her cycle from her calculations.
“You’re going to have our cub, baby.” Broden cupped her cheek and brought her gaze up to his. “I’m so fucking sorry. We didn’t even think to ask if you were on birth control pills.”
Pain stabbed straight into her heart. Broden looked so upset, and he was apologizing for supposedly having a helping hand in getting her pregnant. Did that mean he didn’t want kids? “What do you mean, I’m going to have a cub? I’m going to give birth to a bear?” She shoved at his arms and immediately scrambled from his lap when he released her. She stumbled away from them and then turned to face them.
Airen rose and started toward her, but she held up her hand to stop him. He stopped but began speaking, “Whatever you’re thinking, stop it right now, honey. I can feel your pain.”
“So can I,” Broden shoved to his feet, and Archer followed him.
“How do you all even know if I’m pregnant?”
Archer clasped her hand and threaded his fingers with hers. He tapped his nose with a finger on his free hand. “Your scent has changed, mate.”
“It has?”
Airen moved around behind her and wrapped an arm around her chest under her arms. “Yes, love. You smell sweeter than you did when we first met.”
Broden laced his fingers with her other hand. “To answer your earlier question, no, you won’t be bringing a cub into the world when you give birth. A shifter doesn’t go through his first change until they hit puberty.”
“Really?”
“Yes, baby, really.”
“Thank God.”
Broden smiled, and then his expression turned serious again. “Did you want kids, Dusty?”
She nodded, because she did. She hadn’t thought she’d ever meet someone to love, let alone dreamed about having a family. Not after all the shit she’d endured and was still heading her way.
Her three guys sighed with relief.
“Did you think I didn’t?”
“We hadn’t gotten around to discussing that aspect of our relationship yet, sweetness.” Archer lifted her hand to his mouth and kissed the back of it.
Airen’s sigh ruffled the hair on the top of her head. “We were so scared you’d leave before we could convince you to be our mate, we didn’t notice that you were in heat, ovulating, honey.”
“We should have smelt the change in your body, baby. If we had, we could have held off claiming you.”
“You don’t want to have children?” Dusty had no idea how she kept the pain in her heart out of her tone when she asked that question.
“Yes, we do,” they all answered emphatically.
Relief surged into her heart and soul, and the pain in her chest dissipated.
Broden cupped her cheeks between his hands. “I am so fucking happy, I want to shout from the rooftops in town, mate. I, we, talked about having a family of our own when we first joined up, but the more violence, death, and destruction we saw, the more numb our hearts grew. We never thought a woman would accept us for who and what we are. The more years that passed, the more cynical we became.”
“You changed everything, Dusty.” Archer pressed his lips to her forehead.
“You’ve given us so much to look forward to, honey.” Airen caressed a hand up and down her arm as he hugged her from behind.
“You’ve made all our dreams come true, baby.” Broden kissed her softly, lovingly on the lips.
“You’ve all done the same for me,” she said sincerely. “You’ve given me back my life and made it a joy to greet each day.”
“So, you aren’t upset that you’re pregnant so soon?” Archer asked.
“No.” All the tension in her muscles waned and love flowed from her heart and soul to theirs. Even though the baby growing in her womb was probably still multiplying cells, she loved it already. She loved her mates so damn much, she couldn’t wait to hold the product of that love in her arms. Dusty covered her lower belly with her hands and smiled so wide her mouth hurt. “I’m going to have a baby.”
Airen lifted her from her feet and twirled her around in circles while laughing like a loon. “Yes, you are, honey. You’re going to be the best mom.”
Dusty hoped she would be a good mom, and while doubt tried to creep into her mind, she shoved it out before it could take hold.
She had three amazing men to help her when things became too much. Between the four of them, their baby would know just how much she or he was wanted and loved.
They were all laughing and talking for the rest of the night, and while Dusty was happier than she’d ever been in her life, she couldn’t push the ominous cloud hanging over her head out of her mind.
Chapter Twenty
When Broden heard Dusty groan as she rolled onto her side, he knew she was feeling sick. He hated that she was suffering and was only in the very early stages of pregnancy.
Archer and Airen had left a few hours ago to deal with another delivery for the clinic. He’d wanted to stay home with h
is mate so they could spend the day together, just the two of them.
Dusty bolted from the bed and ran for the bathroom, and Broden quickly followed her. He hated seeing her sick and hoped the morning sickness she was experiencing wouldn’t last too long. He knelt on the tile floor behind her and held her forehead while she was purging and sighed with relief when she leaned back against him.
“You okay, baby?”
“Yeah.” She lifted up onto her knees and flushed the toilet.
Broden helped her to her feet and guided her to the sink. After she’d rinsed her mouth, brushed her teeth, and gargled some mouthwash, she met his gaze in the mirror and gave him a wan smile.
“Do you want a bath or shower, mate?” When she gazed longingly at the bath, he had his answer. Broden walked to the bath, turned the taps on, and helped her into the tub. He stripped off his boxers and climbed in after her.
Once he was seated, he lifted Dusty onto his lap and into his arms.
“Why would I be feeling sick already, Broden?”
“Your body’s gone through a lot of changes in a short span of time, baby. I think the added pregnancy hormones, as well as our DNA changing yours, has upset the apple cart a bit.”
She nodded and then turned until she was straddling his hips, balancing her weight by grasping his shoulders. “Is it too early to do a pregnancy test?”
“It is for one you’d buy from a pharmacy, but I can do one for you.”
She stared into his eyes. “Would you mind? I know you all can smell the changes in me, but I can’t. It’s not that I doubt you, but I just—”
Broden placed his fingers over her lips. “You don’t need to explain, baby. I understand.”
She sank down onto his lap and sighed as she hugged his waist. Broden bit his lip to hold in the growl of need that was forming in his chest. His cock had been hard for hours, and even though he was almost desperate to get inside of his mate, he wasn’t about to push her into something she wasn’t up to. She’d just been sick, for fuck’s sake. He felt guilty each time his dick pulsed and twitched, but she wasn’t helping matters. Her pussy was pressed up tight against his dick and trapped between their bellies. He was sure he could feel her clit throbbing along with his erection.
Broden tried to ignore his lust, but it was getting harder and harder—pun intended—especially when she kept shifting on his thighs. He caressed down her back and squeezed her ass cheeks. A groan of need escaped his mouth when she started rocking her hips into his.
“Baby, you’ve got to stop doing that.”
Dusty lifted her head from his chest and gazed up into his eyes. His cock jerked when he saw how dilated her pupils were and that her chest was rising and falling rapidly as she panted for breath. His mate was just as hungry as he was.
“Why?” She licked her lips. “Don’t you like it?”
“Hell yes, I do, but you were just sick.”
“I feel fine now, Broden. Whatever was making me feel ill is gone. I want you.”
“I want you, too, baby. Are you sure?”
“Yes. Hurry!”
As much as Broden wanted to lift her up and impale himself on her, he didn’t want to make love with Dusty in the bath. He wanted to be able to see every single inch of her sexy, naked body.
“Stand up, mate.”
She frowned at him but started to stand. Broden helped her to her feet, grabbed the washcloth and shower gel, and then set about washing her quickly. He was so on edge, so needy for her, he made sure to keep his touch clinical, because he was worried he’d end up racing toward the finish line before they’d even started.
He wanted to explore, touch, and kiss every curve and find every erogenous zone she had.
Broden wanted her so hot for him that she was writhing and begging. Once he’d finished washing her, he pointed at the water. “Rinse off, baby.”
He quickly washed his own body and then sat in the water to remove the suds. Once he was clean, he held his hand out to her. She took it, and he helped her to her feet and lifted her over the edge of the bath. After toweling her dry, he ran the same towel over his body with cursory speed and then dropped it to the floor.
“Are you sure about this, baby?” Broden asked once more as he remained a few feet away from her. If he so much as touched her again, he was going to have his mouth between her legs so he could lap up all that delectable honey he could smell.
“Yes.”
Broden took the two steps that brought him closer to her, then scooped her up into his arms and hurried toward the bed. He placed her in the middle of the mattress and crawled up from the bottom end of the bed. “Spread your legs, mate.”
She blushed but complied with his order.
He groaned when he saw all that milky white dew coating her folds and dropped down to his belly between her legs, wrapped his arms around her upper thighs, and spread them wider.
When he glanced up her body and met her gaze, he almost smiled when he saw how flushed her cheeks were. There was only a thin rim of her green irises showing, because her pupils were blown so wide with need.
Broden inhaled deeply through his nose and swallowed when he started salivating. He couldn’t wait a second more, and he lowered his head to her pussy. He licked from her dripping entrance up through her folds, and swirled his tongue around her clit before taking the return journey. She gasped and groaned when he dipped his tongue into her soaked cunt and lapped up as much of her honey as he could.
“Oh!” she moaned when he rimmed her pussy with a finger and then sank it in as deeply as it would go. He licked over her clit, and when she bowed her hips up toward his mouth, he splayed a large hand over her belly.
“You are so fucking tasty, baby,” he rasped out after lifting his mouth from her cunt.
“I need you, Broden. Please?”
“In a minute, mate.” He lowered his mouth back to her pussy and lashed the tip of his tongue over her clit while pumping his finger in and out of her sheath. She tried to rock her hips, but he was holding her too firmly for her to move very far, and she groaned with frustration.
When he felt her legs start to tremble, Broden realized she was close to climaxing, and while he wanted her to come, he needed to feel her coming on his aching dick. He removed his finger from her pussy, lifted his mouth, and kissed his way up her body after lowering her legs.
He loved all the soft gasping and groaning sounds she made, but when her breath hitched in her throat, he knew he’d found one of her hot spots and paid longer attention to it. By the time he reached her breasts, he was leaking pre-cum, and his balls felt as if they’d turned to stone. He twirled his tongue around one hard peak and then scraped his teeth over it, eliciting a soft cry from her parted lips. Broden sucked the nipple into his mouth and drew on it firmly before switching to her other breast.
He gasped when she skimmed her hands over his shoulders and down his sides, and when she reached toward his ass, he moved over her higher. She gripped his butt cheeks with her small hands, and he growled with hungry need when she dug her nails into his flesh. When she squeezed his cheeks harder, Broden all but lost his mind.
“Broden, I can’t wait.”
He nodded as he nudged her legs wider and reached between them to grasp his cock. He aligned his dick with her entrance and began to press in.
She was so fucking, hot, wet, and tight he had to grit his teeth and try and think of something mundane, so he wouldn’t shove inside of her and end up hurting her.
“No!” she gasped out.
Before he could ask her what was wrong, she bent her knees up, placed her feet flat on the mattress, and shoved her hips up into his.
“Shit!” He opened his eyes to make sure Dusty hadn’t hurt herself.
“Yes!” she cried out at the same time. “Move, Broden. Now!”
Broden withdrew and then shoved in deep. Fiery heat shot up from his toes to the top of his head and back again before staying centered in his lower back. He just hoped he cou
ld stave off his climax long enough for Dusty to come first.
* * * *
Dusty felt as if her whole body was on fire. Each time Broden glided his cock into her wet depths, she ached to have it filling her again. Air was sawing in and out of her lungs, and while she tried to temper her breathing, she was too turned on to care overly much.
She moaned when he drove back into her hard, fast, and deep and tried to pull him back when he withdrew again. She didn’t even notice she was clutching at his shoulders and digging her nails into his skin, until she moved her hands toward his back and saw the deep red grooves she’d left behind.
“I’m sorry,” she panted out.
Broden followed her gaze and the looked into her eyes again. “I’m not.” He groaned as he thrust into her again and again. “I like…having…your mark…on me.”
Dusty moaned when the head of his dick rubbed over her G-spot, and the pressure inside began to slowly build. He shifted onto his knees again, hooked her legs over his arms, and slammed in deep.
“Oh god,” she moaned as his shaft caressed over her clit as he stroked into her. She jerked when the tip of his dick rubbed over her internal hot spot again.
“It’s right there, isn’t it, baby?” he rasped out.
She wasn’t sure if he was telling or asking, but she had no breath to reply so she nodded instead. “Yes, yes, yes,” she finally managed to chant.
The slide of his hard cock along her walls and in her wet juices caused the friction to send sparks of bliss shooting through her pussy, womb, and belly. “So good. So good. So good.” Dusty knew she sounded like a broken record but couldn’t seem to help herself. Her brain was on vacation, and all she could do was feel.
Liquid desire pooled in her belly as she moved closer and closer to the precipice. And then she was teetering right on the edge.
Broden was shuttling his hard cock in and out of her pussy hard, fast, and deep, and her internal walls began to gather closer and closer together.
When he drove in again, he twisted his hips and pressed firmly on her clit.