Chapter 17
Nym
I wiped down the counter and put the coffee cups away.
Next, I focused on the laundry. There wasn’t much to do.
The household staff took care of the washing, sorting, and folding.
I just had to place it in the closet. I could be like Preston and just let them know where I wanted my clothes and then I wouldn’t have to do anything.
I’d just have clean clothes available to me always.
Not that Preston was lazy, we always made sure to provide the staff with all sorts of goodies. It just wasn’t something I was used to.
It was unnerving.
The staff were all nice and amazing. They had nothing but nice things to say about Cael and the rest of his crew.
But it was weird for me. I’d spent my whole life doing everything for myself, and now I just needed to snap my fingers and someone would be there to help with anything I needed.
Literally anything. Louisa, the household manager, asked me if I wanted to have a weekly pedicure.
I’d never even had a single pedicure, let alone had one on a regular basis.
“Everything all right?” Dain’s voice and the fact that he was just a few feet away from me had me jumping.
I put a hand over my racing heart.
“Sorry. I didn’t mean to scare you. I called out a few times.”
“Wow. I didn’t hear you.”
“Everything all right?” he asked again.
I sighed and went to his side. I was more comfortable with simply being in his arms. He was my safe space, where I went for comfort and warmth. Although right now, I was seeking something more.
“Are you working today?” I asked.
“No, I had a short meeting with your dad and now I’m all yours for the day.”
I put my arms around his neck and leaned back so I could look him in the face. My hips were flush with his, and the heat of him warmed me from the outside in. My large belly sat between the two of us. “Whatever shall we do?” I said.
He leaned down and pressed a soft kiss to my lips. I pressed forward, seeking more, but he backed away.
I whimpered at the loss.
“Move in with me, Nym. Please.”
“To your rooms?” I had been there. He had shown me his space and where our child’s nursery would go.
He nodded.
I grinned. “I thought you’d never ask. I was about to just start moving my things over slowly and hope you didn’t notice.”
His shoulders relaxed, and he smiled down at me. “Yeah?”
“Yeah.”
“You sure you don’t mind staying in the manor? We can live in the city. I have an apartment there or we can find a home closer to the bakery.”
I shrugged. “Maybe someday. When the kids are older and we need our space. But I like it here. I love the people, I like getting to know my dad. This is your home.”
“Kids?” He raised a brow.
“Yeah. Kids.” I knew we weren’t stopping at just one. I would be happy with half a dozen.
“I like the sound of that.”
“Yeah? Maybe we should practice making said kids.”
Dain’s grin turned lecherous. “I like the sound of that.”
Even though I was six months pregnant, he swept me into his arms without hesitation.
I squealed and wrapped my arms tighter around his neck. “Dain! I’m too heavy.”
“You’re perfect,” he said, his voice rough with emotion as he carried me toward his—our—suite of rooms. It was quite the trek up the stairs and into the other wing, but he managed it in record time.
“You’re absolutely perfect, and I need you to know something,” he said.
My heart fluttered at the intensity in his eyes. “What?”
He kicked open the door to his rooms and carried me inside, setting me gently on the edge of the bed. Then he kneeled before me, his hands resting on my thighs as he looked up at me with those beautiful eyes that had captivated me from the moment we met at that masked ball.
“I love you, Nym. I’m in love with you. I have been since that night, even when I thought I’d lost you. Every moment we were apart, I ached for you. And now that I have you back, I’m never letting you go.”
Tears pricked at my eyes. “Dain...”
“I know we’ve been taking things slow, rebuilding trust, but I need you to know where I stand.
This isn’t just about the baby or your father or any of that.
It’s about you. You’re my mate, my everything.
I want to build a life with you, wake up next to you every morning, fall asleep with you in my arms every night.
I want to be there for every kick, every doctor’s appointment, every late-night craving. I want it all with you.”
A tear slipped down my cheek, and he reached up to brush it away with his thumb.
“I love you too,” I whispered. “Goddess, Dain, I’ve loved you since that first night. Even when I thought you’d abandoned me, even when I was alone and scared, I couldn’t stop loving you.”
He surged up and captured my lips in a searing kiss that stole my breath. I melted into him, my hands tangling in his hair as he cradled my face like I was something precious.
When we finally broke apart, both breathing hard, he rested his forehead against mine.
“We’re really doing this,” I said softly. “Building a life together.”
“We really are.” He pulled back just enough to look at me, his hand settling over my rounded belly where our baby grew. “You, me, this little one, and however many more we decide to add to our family.”
I laughed through my tears. “I love everything about that.”
“I can’t wait,” he said, and the sincerity in his voice made my heart swell. “For all of it. The good, the bad, the sleepless nights and the dirty diapers. All of it, as long as it’s with you.”
I pulled him up onto the bed with me, needing him closer. “So about that practice...”
His laugh was warm against my skin as he settled beside me, careful of my belly. “Insatiable.”
“Only for you.”
“Good,” he murmured, his lips trailing along my jaw. “Because you’re the only one I want. Now and always.”
I shivered as his mouth found that sensitive spot just below my ear. My hands roamed under his shirt, over his broad shoulders, relearning the planes and angles of his body. Even after weeks together, I couldn’t get enough of touching him, of reassuring myself that he was real and here and mine.
“I missed you,” I breathed, even though we’d spent the night together. “Is that crazy? To miss you even when you’re right here?”
“No,” he said against my skin. “Because I feel it too. Like I’m trying to make up for all that lost time.”
His hands were gentle as they moved over me, reverent in a way that made my chest tight. He treated me like I was breakable, like I was something to be cherished, and after so long of being invisible, of being nothing to anyone, it still overwhelmed me sometimes.
Soon the two of us had shed our clothes, letting our shirts and pants fall to the floor to be dealt with later.
“Dain,” I said softly, stilling his hands with my own. “I’m not going anywhere. You don’t have to hold me like I might disappear.”
Something flickered in his eyes, old pain, old fear. “I know. But knowing it and feeling it are two different things.”
I understood that. Goddess, did I understand that. There were still nights I woke up in a panic, thinking I was back in that tiny apartment, alone and terrified. Nights where I reached for him and my heart didn’t settle until I felt his warmth beside me.
“Then let me prove it to you,” I said, pulling him closer. “Let me show you I’m here, that I’m yours, that I’m not going anywhere.”
His eyes darkened with desire and something deeper, something that made my omega purr with satisfaction. “Yeah?”
“Yeah.”
This time when he kissed me, it was different, slower, deeper, like he was trying to memorize every inch of my mouth. His hands slid up my naked chest. I arched into his touch.
We took our time, relearning each other, whispering promises between kisses. Our hard cocks rubbed against one another, and I reached a hand between us and grasped his cock. I stroked, sliding my hand up and down his velvety length while we kissed.
He hissed in a breath every time I stroked my thumb over his cockhead. My own prick ached with the need to cum, and I used both hands to stroke the two of us together.
It didn’t take long before we released ropey white strands of cum between us, capturing our moans in each other mouths.
It felt like coming home.
Afterward, we lay tangled together, my back pressed against his chest as his hand rested protectively over our baby.
“I talked to your dad about taking time off when the baby comes,” Dain said quietly. “And about cutting back my hours in general.”
I turned my head to look at him. “You did?”
“I’m not missing this, Nym. I’m not missing any of it. The late-night feedings, the first smile, the first steps—I want to be there for all of it.”
My throat tightened with emotion. It was the second time he’d said such a thing. It was important to him. “You mean that.”
“I’ve never meant anything more.” He pressed a kiss to my shoulder. “I’ve spent years dedicating everything to work because I didn’t have anything else. But now I do. I have you, and I have our baby, and that’s what matters.”
I laced my fingers through his over my belly. “We’re really lucky, you know that? To have found each other.”
“I’m the lucky one,” he murmured. “You’re everything I didn’t know I needed.”
I smiled and snuggled deeper into his embrace. Outside, I could hear the distant sounds of the manor—voices, footsteps, the life of this place that was becoming my home.
“So when do you want to start moving my things?” I asked.
“How about now?”
I laughed. “Now? We’re naked, Dain.”
“Good point.” His hand slid lower, teasing. “Maybe in an hour or two?”
“Maybe tomorrow,” I countered, turning in his arms to face him. “Because I have other plans for the rest of today.”
His grin was pure wickedness. “Oh? And what plans are those?”
I showed him instead of telling him, and his delighted laughter was the sweetest sound I’d ever heard.