57. The reveal
57
THE REVEAL
Ivor
“Is there a reason we’re sitting in the car and not getting out?” Ryder asked.
We were at the clinic for our first ultrasound and while I wanted to see our baby, I was also scared. “What if they can’t find a heartbeat?” The butterflies in my belly were crawling up my throat and I put my hand on the door in case I had to open it and throw up.
We were getting on better after I’d apologized to him and to his new employee for my bad behavior. And admitted to myself—though not to Ryder—that I was jealous.
“I’m nervous too.”
“You are? You never said anything.”
“Neither did you.” He put his hand over mine. “We could sit here and not go in.”
“We could but we’re not going to,” I told him.
“How about I count to three and on three we get out?”
“Why not count down from three and we move on zero?” I was deliberately prolonging the moment when I had to leave the safety of the car.
“We can do that,” Ryder agreed.
He was doing everything to humor me when as the alpha dad, he was experiencing much the same emotion as I was. And yet for him there was an added complication of not carrying the little one inside him. He relied on me to tell him how I was feeling. And he also wanted to make sure I was safe and well and had what I needed.
“You with me? Let’s start the countdown.” I caught his eye and we counted, “ Three. Two. One. Blast off.” And we were out and standing in the parking lot. “I thought we were saying zero. How did you know to say ‘Blast off,’” I asked.
“Because I know you. You’ve used that expression countless times.”
“Oh.” He’d been paying attention.
Paperwork. Of course, the first time you visited a hospital, clinic, or doctor there were so many forms to fill in. But Ryder did it, relieving me of that anxiety. Faced with a mountain of paperwork always increased my anxiety level. He understood that too.
My nerves announced themselves in my jiggling knee and Ryder placed his leg against mine which calmed me. And when my name was called, he took my sweaty palm.
Lying down, my flat belly exposed, Ryder kept his hand in mine while I gripped his fingers. Some day it was hard to believe there was a baby inside me.
The technician arrived, all bright and bubbly and warmed the gel. That was one thing I’d been warned about: cold gel. One more fear ticked off the list.
Our eyes were glued to the screen and the technician moved the wand over my belly. Grainy black and white images appeared. Nothing about this reassured me the baby was fine. Until a thrumming filled the room.
“Is that—?” I burst out. I’d read the book and the blogs and watched countless videos with Ryder and alone in bed at night.
“Yep, that’s your baby’s heartbeat.”
Ryder bent over and put his head against mine, his tears dripping onto my face and mingling with my own. “I love you,” he whispered.
“Me too.”
Love wasn’t the issue. But for now we were together, our baby was growing and doing all the things expected of them at this early stage.
Even my wolf was emotional at the first glimpse of our child.
Clutching a photo of our little one, we got in the car and drove home. And as we got to Ryder’s door in Sunshine Manor, he pointed to the third floor. “Now that Seb’s gone, I could move into that apartment. Give you your space.”
No! My wolf yelled in my head, not wanting Ryder to leave us.
My first reaction was also, No . I wanted him close, not on the floor above. Worries about money also filled my head but I batted those away. I had a good job and could easily afford the rent.
“But if we wanted to save money, it’d be better for us to stay in my place,” he suggested.
That, my beast yelled.
I took a moment and concentrated on my breathing. “That’s a good idea.” My emotions were all jumbly after seeing the baby and Ryder saying I love you. I didn’t trust myself to say anything else.
“I’ll start dinner,” he said, heading to the kitchen. “Put your feet up.”
“No, I’ll help.”
Us cutting, slicing and stirring in the kitchen was when we were most at ease with one another. And right now, I wanted to be physically close to Ryder. As I leaned in front of him and grabbed a cutting board, his breath on my neck had me turn my head slightly. Our faces were inches apart. His enticing aroma floated over me and I placed my lips on his.
Daire
It still felt weird wandering around my apartment. Even though Ivor hadn’t been living with me for a while, I expected him to walk in the front door exhausted after work. But in a way it was kinda nice having the place to myself. While shifters were used to being naked around one another when we shifted, walking around a shared apartment with no clothes on wasn’t something we did. But I was about to get my gear off now.
Even though I hadn’t found a tenant for Seb’s place, I was cool with taking more time to find a suitable one. And so was Micah. He was part owner of the building, though he only owned a small percentage. But he’d helped me out when I’d been in a jam financially.
There was a knock at the door and I yelled for them to come in assuming it was someone from the manor. But it was Nate.
“Hi. Did we arrange to meet?” I asked as I sifted through my memories.
“Nope. But you mentioned having an empty apartment in the building and I wondered if I could check it out.”
Of all the things I’d expected him to say, that wasn’t one of them. Having Nate live in the building would be super awkward if we broke up. We weren’t officially together, were we? But he’d caught me unawares, and I replied, “Ummm okay. Let me get the keys.”
“2A is occupied by a long-term renter,” I explained. “And Neil, who you met, lives in 2B.” When we got to the third floor, Martin’s door opened.
“Hi,” he said as he and Toby emerged. “Nice to see you again, Nate. This is my son, Toby.”
“Hello,Toby.”
“Hi,” the boy replied. “We’re off to get burgers.”
“This is it,” I told Nate as I unlocked the door. “There’s not much to see other than a carpet the last tenant left here.” That was Seb and the rug had holes in it which was probably why he didn’t take it. “The place has been cleaned.”
Nate glanced around but didn’t go into the bathroom or turn on the kitchen faucet. He didn’t check out the view from the bedroom window. Instead he sauntered up to me and slapped his hand on my ass.
“I got you here under false pretenses.” Warning bells going off in my head had me thinking he was going to ask for a loan. My grizzly roared and clawed his way to the surface. “Hey, don’t look like that. It’s nothing bad. ”
“Okay.” I wasn’t so sure but wished Martin and Toby had hung around a while longer.
His hands went to my zipper. “I needed an excuse to see you and I’m perfectly happy where I’m living. Much as I love this apartment, I’m not interested in being your tenant.”
“Right.” I choked out the word. This alpha was full of surprises. With the zipper undone, he put his hand in and stroked my dick. I gulped in a mouthful of oxygen and he paused his hand. “But if you want me to stop, I will.”
“Don’t,” I panted.
He peered over his shoulder. “Though I expected there to be some furniture in here. I guess the carpet will have to do.” He dropped to his knees and pulled my cock out. Licking down one side of the shaft, he looked up at me. “Mmmm.” He lapped along the other side.
“Wait.” If I was getting a blow job, and it appeared I was, I wanted my pants out of the way.” I undid them and they puddled at my feet and I kicked them away before yanking my briefs down. My hands were trembling and I almost tripped as I stepped out of my underwear.
“No need to be in such a hurry,” Nate murmured as he licked the tip of my dick. “We have time.”
Trying to control my breathing and my racing pulse, I took in deep breaths. The last thing I wanted to do was come too fast.
And then Nate swallowed my cock, and I whimpered, “Yes, just like that.”