by L. P. Maxa
Dominic knew she’d question his motives for proposing once she found out that he had known she was pregnant. He took a deep breath. “Yes.” He winced when she frogged him in the arm. “Baby, let me explain before you get all worked up. In my eyes, we’re married. We’re mated, we’re bonded, and we couldn’t be any more committed to each other. An engagement and a wedding ceremony, those are things you need. Your customs. And I had every intention of giving them to you. Hell, I started looking at rings online the day after we bonded. But then everything got so crazy around here. My whole focus shifted from making you happy to keeping you safe.” He reached for her hand. “When Riley pointed out that you were pregnant, my brain clicked, and I remembered that I wanted to do those things for you.”
Corey pursed her lips. “I appreciate that you are willing to go through all my tedious human customs for me.” She rested her hand on her flat stomach. “And I love this baby.”
He put his hand on top of hers and smiled. “Our little girl.”
“Can I ask you my questions for the day? I have some good ones.” She waggled her eyebrows.
“Yes, ma’am, go for it.” Dom usually acted like answering Corey’s shifter questions was a hassle, but tonight he was excited. He knew she’d ask about the baby and the pregnancy, and he was pumped to finally talk about it with her.
“Question one: will my pregnancy be like a normal human pregnancy or will it be different because her daddy is a shifter? I’m not going to be pregnant for like a year or anything, right?”
He grinned at hearing Corey call him daddy. It irked him when she called her own father that; he thought it sounded creepy AF. She swore it was a Southern thing, and Keller backed her up. But hearing her call him that? It melted his heart. “Your pregnancy will be just like a normal human pregnancy. I actually called Keller’s sister, Kami, and asked her all sorts of invasive questions. She mated with a shifter and they have two kids, one boy and one girl. She did say that when she was pregnant with her son she couldn’t seem to keep enough food in her stomach. She said she was literally always hungry and eating nonstop all day and she still only gained fifteen pounds. But little boys carry the shifter gene so she thinks that’s why.”
“Damn, only fifteen pounds? Maybe we can try to make a boy next. Wait. That wasn’t my second question. Question two: Will our daughter be affected at all by the shifter gene? I mean I understand only males can carry the shifter DNA, but…”
He shrugged. “I honestly don’t know. Technically no, she isn’t male so she won’t inherit the shifting gene. Kami mentioned that her daughter has always been more advanced than other girls her age as far as motor skills were concerned. Like she walked sooner, threw a ball farther, that sort of thing. I guess that could be from shifter DNA, huh?”
Corey nodded. “I like the idea she might be more advanced. It’ll give her an edge.” She smiled, then continued with, “Question three: will our daughter be more likely to mate with a shifter than to meet and fall in love with a normal human?”
Dom sighed. “Yes and no. She’ll grow up in the shifter culture. She will learn about mating and bonding and soul mates. Plus she’ll be surrounded by shifters. I mean she could meet and bond with a shifter, or she could go off to college and marry some frat boy. It could go either way. A lot of females who grow up in shifter households end up mating shifters. They tend to look for a love like that, the forever kind that many of their parents share.”
“Makes sense.” Corey wagged a finger in his face. “And she’s not going to college to hang out at frat houses. She’s going to college to learn.”
Dom chuckled. “We have time to worry about that later, sweetheart. And we both know I’d kill any frat boy who dared touch my daughter.”
Corey smiled and then buried her head in Dom’s chest. “One last question.”
“You already asked your three.” He kissed the top of her head, inhaling the delicious scent of her shampoo.
“Three for the baby and one for me?” Her words were muffled by his t-shirt.
“Fine,” he huffed as if bothered by her interest in his culture.
“Will you still want me when I’m big and pregnant?” Corey’s voice sounded small, which wasn’t like her.
“Are you kidding me, baby? I am so turned on by you all the time, I have to stop myself from storming into your office and bending you over your desk on a daily basis.” He pulled back so that she’d look at him. “And to be honest, the pregnancy is making it worse.”
“Really?” Her eyes went wide, a smirk playing on her perfect lips.
“Oh yeah.” He smiled, knowing the perfect way to explain it to her. “Do you remember the first night we were together?”
She furrowed her brow. “The claiming sex?”
“No, what happened after the claiming sex. I told you that I couldn’t pull out, and then afterward some of my cum slid down your leg and I wiped it up and put it back inside you. Remember that?”
“Yes. That’s probably what knocked me up.” Corey narrowed her eyes.
“Sorry not sorry.” He put his hand back on her lower stomach, grinning. “It turned you on when I did that, and don’t even try to deny it. You mounted me and screamed so loud I’m sure the neighbors heard you.” When she didn’t deny it, he continued. “What I did, making sure I stayed inside of you, was possessive and male, and you fucking loved it. I did too. I’d never felt so dominant and so possessive before.”
“What does that have to do with me getting round?” She used her arms, holding them out in front of her like a mock belly.
“I put that baby in there. Which is like the ultimate possession, the ultimate display of how mine you are. You are literally carrying me inside you all day. And the bigger you get, the more it shows. The easier it is for the world to see that you belong to me. Huge shifter turn-on. Huge.” Dom put his hand on Corey’s lower back and pulled her closer to him. Grinding against her to show her exactly how true his words were. He reached down between them with one hand and started circling her clit with his finger. The other hand traveled north and began kneading her breast.
“Ah, holy shit. My breasts are so tender and sensitive.” Corey curved her shoulders forward.
“Does that feel good, baby?” He planted kisses along her collarbone.
“Uh, no. Actually, it’s super painful. Please stop touching them. My boobs hurt so damn bad and I didn’t even realize it until you started to assault them.”
Dominic opened his eyes and stared down at her. “I’m sorry, I thought you meant tender in a good way.” He frowned. “So, I’m not trying to be a dick here but how long do you think this no touching the boobs thing is going to last?” He fucking loved Corey’s breasts, and her perfect pink nipples.
“How am I supposed to know the answer to that? I’ve never been pregnant before. All I can tell you is that, right now, if you even think of touching my breasts again, I’ll junk punch you.”
Dominic chuckled. “Okay, sweetheart, how about I promise to stay far south tonight?” He gently kissed his way down her stomach and over her hips. When he settled between her legs, he put one hand on each knee and pushed them to the side, baring her open.
He loved looking at her this way. So vulnerable and ready for whatever he wanted to give her. He dipped his head to taste her and, as always, it was pure heaven. As he slipped two fingers inside her she let out a small scream. “Corey? Is that painful too?” He withdrew his fingers and sat upright. “I am so sorry, I didn’t know, I—”
“Please don’t stop touching me. Everything you’re doing feels so amazing. I guess my breasts aren’t the only place on my body that feels extra sensitive.” She playfully put her hands on his head and pushed him back down to where he had been seconds before. She moaned when he slipped his fingers back in and began using his tongue to torture her. It took only seconds for her to be screaming out his name as she came against his mouth.
Dom loved hearing her shatter. This amazing beautiful girl couldn
’t help but scream his name as she came. Did it get any better than that? He had meant to make tonight all about her. He had started out not wanting anything in return. But now, after hearing her go off like a firework in his hands, he wanted more. He needed more. Dom climbed up her gorgeous sun-kissed body until he was positioned right where he longed to be. “Baby, you doing okay? If you’re too tired or sore just tell me, we can go to sleep.”
“I’m fine, Dom. I’m pregnant, not breakable.” He gently lowered his mouth to hers and began kissing her ever so lightly. He was holding all his weight on his hands where normally he would crush her under him. “Dom, what are you doing?”
“I’m making love to my amazing pregnant mate.” He leaned down and gave her another feather-light kiss.
“Why are you being so gentle? What’s with all the light touches and soft kisses all of a sudden?” She wrapped her legs around his waist, pulling the head of his cock right to her entrance.
“I didn’t know if you were going to want me to be more careful now that you knew about the baby. I mean, I’m usually pretty damn rough and I don’t know, I just figured you might be worried or something.” He went to roll off her so they could talk it out, but she tightened her legs, keeping him prisoner.
“Dom, you never hurt me and I’m not worried about you hurting the baby. I love the way you fuck me. I need to have you like that, all possessive and unleashed. That’s the way I like it, and that’s the way you’re going to give it to me, understood?”
He grinned. The second the word fuck came out of her beautiful mouth he knew he was a goner. His control had snapped inside him. Good thing she wanted it hard, because now that was the only way he could give it to her. And he would bet money she knew that. “Yes, ma’am.” He surged forward and buried his dick to the hilt. He paused for a minute, resting his forehead against hers, trying to gain his composure. These first few seconds inside Corey were always the hardest; he felt like he was going to finish before he even started. It didn’t help that his girl was vocal about what she liked. Her sexy talk always jacked him up even further, winding him even tighter.
“Oh god, Dom, please.” She was wiggling underneath him, begging him to start moving.
He shook his head. This girl was going to kill him one day. But he was nothing if not obedient. He pulled out, almost all the way, and then sank back in. Again. Again. He pulled out a fourth time and when he buried himself back inside her, he ground his hips against hers, the head of his dick hitting her most sensitive spot and his pelvis putting pressure on her clit.
Corey gasped, “Dom, please don’t stop. Oh god, don’t stop…” And he didn’t, he kept on pulling out, surging in, and then grinding against her. She was practically shaking in his arms. “Don’t stop. Oh god, Dom…” She came hard, her nails digging into his back, possibly drawing blood.
When Corey finished like that, screaming and out of control, he could never hold on much longer. Her reaction always sent him barreling over the edge. He moved his mouth to her neck, biting down. He spilled into her, his body convulsing involuntarily. “Baby…you are…so fucking amazing….”
Corey laughed. “Me? You did all the work.” He pulled out slowly and rolled to his side, taking her with him. “I came so damn hard I thought I was going to pass out. I swear these pregnancy hormones make everything so much more intense.” She took a deep breath and settled in the crook of his arm with her head on his chest. “Thank you.”
Dom smiled and kissed the top of her head. “For what? The earth-shattering orgasm? You. Are. Welcome.”
“Of course for that, always for that. But for our family, for your love, for making all my dreams come true.” She kissed his pec, right over his racing heart.
“I love you.” He pulled her tighter to him.
“Good night, Dom.”
“Good night, baby. Both my babies.”
Chapter Forty-Seven
Corey
Corey and Dom had gone to Dean McCormick right after they got engaged and finally told him the whole story about them being mated. They had kept things quiet until they were sure he wasn’t involved in Henderson’s murder or the abuse that Jace’s asshole of a father had been dishing out for the past sixteen years. Dean McCormick was like everyone’s grandpa, and he was so excited about their mating. Corey knew he was going to be equally as happy about the baby.
She and Dom planned on telling the dean tonight. It was Friday evening and she was sitting in the bleachers waiting for the ball game to end. St. Leasing was up eight to three; they had this game in the bag. It was the bottom of the seventh with two outs; even if the other team hit a grand slam, St. Leasing would still win. Corey loved home games, and the excitement in the air. The guys all came over to their house afterward, and everyone was in such a great mood, win or lose. Although they typically won.
She stood up and cheered as the ump called the last out. She bounded down the bleachers and headed to the field. It was St. Leasing tradition that everyone went onto the field following an at-home victory.
After the team had shaken hands with their opponents, she jumped up into Dom’s arms for a hug. “Good coachin’, babe.” She gave him a quick smack on the lips. They couldn’t have too much PDA in front of the players.
“Why thank you, sweetheart. But if I see you run down those bleachers one more time, you aren’t going to be allowed to come to any more games.”
Corey sighed; overprotective Daddy Dom was really starting to irritate her. This morning he had told her she wasn’t allowed to play music in the bathroom because if she danced in the shower she could slip. Now, she rolled her eyes and turned her attention to the boys standing behind Dom. She high-fived Jasper and then pulled Riley in for a hug. “You guys were great tonight. I’m so proud of you.” She was their biggest fan, all of them. If anyone noticed that she was closer to Riley, they didn’t say anything.
“Fuck yeah. I hate those douche bags from Keptner Prep.” Linc walked up and slapped Dom’s ass, jumping around and high-fiving Jasper.
“Coach Smith, watch your language around the team. What’s gotten into you, my boy?” Dean McCormick approached them after putting in sufficient face time with the wealthy parents.
“Oh. Uh, sorry, Dean McCormick.” Linc winced. “Dom, we’re going to head to the house, see you there?”
“Well, we live there, so, yeah.” Dom put his arm around Corey and pulled her to him as he turned them to face McCormick. “Dean, we have something we want to talk to you about.”
Corey couldn’t help but smile; she was more than eager to start telling everyone about the baby. They had talked about it at length and they had weighed the pros and cons of making the pregnancy public knowledge. Dom and the coaches were nervous about it. They thought that if Franklin was still watching them, the baby would be his first target. Corey argued that Franklin was most likely flying under the radar after what had come to light about Henderson’s murder and his abusing Jace. She thought he would be laying low for a while. Plus, there were plenty of other shifters on campus who would be able to sense the baby soon enough like Riley and Baze had. “We’re going to have a baby.”
“Oh my goodness, that is wonderful news, dear.” The dean hugged her and shook Dominic’s hand. “That was quick.” He winked and then blushed at his own innuendo.
“Well, it certainly wasn’t planned. We wanted to let you know in advance since I’ll probably have to miss some work for doctors’ appointments.” Corey put her hand to her stomach. She couldn’t wait to hear the baby’s heartbeat for the first time.
“Oh, of course. Whatever you need to do, no worries. Thank you for telling me. Having a baby around here will be so much fun. You two run off and join your friends, have a good evening.” Dean McCormick walked off the field smiling.
Dom turned to Corey, chuckling. “Run off and join our friends? Like we’re twelve. I swear he’s aging in double-time.”
By the time she and Dom got home, Corey’s house was full of boys. She was
starting to think they needed a bigger place. Dom always let the varsity team come over after home game wins, and then there were the three other coaches who were always loitering. She should have called Molly to come hang out, then Corey wouldn’t be so totally outnumbered. She went to the fridge and grabbed a bottle of water and then a slice of pizza off the bar. She was always impressed with how much food these guys could put away.
She sat at the table next to Jace. Even though he wasn’t playing this season, he still came to all the games, still supported his twin brother. And that showed some real emotional progress. Corey thought he was adjusting better than expected. After everyone had found out about all the abuse and neglect he had suffered at his father’s hands, Corey had been afraid Jace would be even more standoffish. But the truth had seemed to set him free. He acted like a giant weight had been lifted off his shoulders. He laughed and joked around with his brother, and he was even starting to make friends. He was definitely more social than he used to be. “How did that chem test go this afternoon?”
“Fine. I think I at least pulled a B.”
“Good job.” She bumped his shoulder when he only shrugged. “I’m glad you came out tonight, I’m proud of you.”
“I heard about the baby. Congratulations.” He finally met her eyes and smiled.
“Thank you, Jace.” She looked behind him when she heard his twin brother call his name. “Go ahead, go hang out with the team.” She was so glad they were all trying to include him. It was hard on Jace to let the other boys in. She met with him once a week to discuss his feelings and how things were going. At their last meeting he admitted to being embarrassed that everyone knew what his father had done to him for all those years. Corey tried her best every day to make sure he knew he was cared for and appreciated.
After she ate her pizza, she went out back and stood next to Dom, snuggling into his side when he wrapped his arm around her. “Did you eat, baby? Was the pizza okay? I can always go grab you something else.”