Chapter 9 #2
“I thought so,” Blake said, leaning back in his chair. “The ginger tea every morning. The way your scent has been shifting. The nausea you’ve been trying to hide.”
He glanced at Dominic. “And your increased protectiveness, even by your standards.”
My fingers tangled together in my lap as I cast a sheepish glance toward Dominic. “Apparently I’ve been broadcasting this news without saying a word.”
“I knew!” Penny announced triumphantly. “I figured it out before anyone.”
“You did not,” I protested. “I told you.”
“You confirmed what I already suspected,” Penny corrected. “There’s a difference.”
“I had no idea,” Jake said, his voice soft but sincere. His earlier terror seemed momentarily forgotten, replaced by something warmer. “Congratulations. That’s really wonderful news.”
“It is,” Dominic agreed, his hand moving from my thigh to spread possessively over my stomach.
“Which brings me to my next point,” Blake said, his tone shifting back to business. He looked directly at me. “I want to be this child’s godfather.”
“What?” I blinked at him.
“Godfather,” Blake repeated. “I have the resources to ensure the child is protected and provided for should anything happen to you and Dominic. Having a contingency plan is prudent.”
“Absolutely not!” Penny interrupted, setting down his spring roll with force. “If anyone’s going to be this baby’s godfather, it’s me! I’ve known Leo for years. I helped plan the bachelor auction—”
“I’m Dominic’s cousin,” Blake pointed out. “We’re practically brothers.”
“That doesn’t mean you get automatic godfather rights!” Penny’s voice rose. “Being a godfather requires emotional connection, not just buying the child a high yield bond!”
“That’s how I provide for the people I care about,” Blake said, his voice quieter now. “I don’t know how to do it any other way.”
The admission, so simple and vulnerable beneath its practical framing, made me pause. Blake wasn’t arguing that he deserved this—he was admitting to the only language he knew for expressing care.
Penny seemed to catch it too, because his expression softened. “Blake…”
“I’m not saying you shouldn’t be involved,” Blake continued carefully. “You’re Leo’s best friend. But I can offer things you can’t—financial security, legal resources, protection.”
“And I could ensure this child knew they were loved,” Penny countered, but his voice had lost its sharp edge. “That they had someone to talk to about feelings.”
“The child would need both,” Jake said quietly, and everyone turned to look at him. He flushed slightly but continued. “Why does it have to be one or the other?”
“It doesn’t,” I said, cutting through the tension. “You can both be godfathers.”
“Both?” Penny and Blake said simultaneously.
“Both,” Dominic confirmed, his arm sliding around my shoulders. “Our child will need everything you’re both offering.”
“I suppose that’s… acceptable,” Blake said slowly, though something in his expression had eased.
“I can work with that,” Penny agreed, then pointed at Blake. “But I get to plan the baby shower.”
“Fine. But I’m handling the trust fund.”
“Of course you are,” Penny muttered, but he was smiling now.
Jake laughed—actually laughed—the sound startling due to it rarity. “This kid is going to have the weirdest childhood ever.”
“But he or she will be loved,” I added, looking around the table at these people who’d somehow become family.
“Yeah,” Penny said softly, his scent turning warm and happy. “And from now on, we stop talking about murders and mob bosses. The pregnant omega needs happy thoughts.”
We spent the next hour cleaning up dinner and talking about lighter things—possible names, nursery themes. Penny immediately started planning a baby shower while Blake made notes about security adjustments.
Jake mostly listened, contributing occasionally but seeming content to be part of the warmth. The color had returned to his face.
Eventually, Blake declared that he intended to turn in for the night and disappeared into his bedroom with his tablet. Penny retreated to his guest room after hugging me for a solid minute. Jake followed after Penny, looking less haunted than when he’d first joined us.
Which left me and Dominic alone in the living room.
“We should look at the apartment,” I said, breaking the comfortable silence. “The one you mentioned. I want to see it.”
Dominic looked up from scrolling on his phone, surprise and pleasure crossing his features. “Now?”
“Right now.” I moved toward him, placing my hands on his chest. “I want to see it.”
“Okay,” he said. “Let me text Marcus.”
Ten minutes later, we were in the elevator heading to the twenty-fourth floor. Dominic pulled a plastic keycard from the leather messenger bag slung across his broad shoulder and held it up between two fingers.
“It’s three bedrooms,” he said as the numbers climbed. “Open floor plan, floor-to-ceiling windows. One of the bedrooms would be perfect for a nursery.”
The elevator dinged. Dominic led me down a carpeted hallway to the unit, using the keycard to unlock the door.
“It’s empty right now,” he said as he pushed it open. “We’d need to furnish it, but—”
He stopped talking as I walked past him into the space.
It was beautiful.
But it was the entire far wall comprised of floor-to-ceiling windows that captured my attention. Downtown Millcrest glittered below us like scattered diamonds, beautiful and deceptively peaceful.
“Oh,” I breathed, moving toward them. “It’s amazing.”
Even Blake’s penthouse apartment didn’t have this view.
“Yeah?” He followed me, his hands finding my waist from behind. “You like it?”
“I love it.” I turned in his arms, the city lights creating a halo around his silhouette. “It’s perfect. It’s ours?”
The word hung between us—ours.
“It is,” Dominic said, his voice rough. “And I want to fill it with furniture you pick out. I want to watch you nest in here. I want to wake up here with you every morning.”
His hand moved to my stomach. “I want to bring our pup home to this place.”
“Yes,” I said simply. “To all of it.”
His kiss was deep, claiming, full of promise. When he pulled back, his eyes were dark with want.
“We should christen it,” he said, a hint of wickedness in his tone.
“Christen it?”
“Mm-hmm.” His hands slid under my shirt, finding bare skin.
The open floor plan meant I could see straight through from the entryway to the living area to the kitchen—all of it clean, modern, with gleaming hardwood floors that caught the ambient light.
“We don’t have any furniture,” I pointed out, but my voice came out breathless.
“Don’t need furniture.” His five o’clock shadow scraped delicately against my neck, the light friction eliciting goosebumps across my skin as his lips blazed a warm trail up to my jawline. “Just you...”
“Me...” His words ghosted across my lips, the heat of his breath mingling with mine, so close yet deliberately withholding the contact I craved.
“And an empty apartment full of possibility.”
A needy sound escaped my throat, breaking his restraint. His mouth finally captured mine, swallowing my whimper as our lips melded together.
“Yes,” I gasped between kisses. “Claim me.”
Dominic growled, pure alpha possession. “That’s my omega.”
He walked me backward toward those floor-to-ceiling windows. The glass was tinted, private—we were high enough that no one could see in.
“Hands against the glass,” he murmured, turning me to face the windows, his body pressed against my back.
His hands slid around to my stomach, spreading possessively over the small swell. I could see our reflection in the glass—my alpha’s larger frame wrapped around mine, the city lights below casting us both in an otherworldly glow.
“I’m going to make love to you in our new home.” His voice dropped to that alpha rumble that sent waves of heat pulsing between my thighs.
“Dominic,” I breathed, leaning back against him.
“I’m going to claim every inch of you,” he said, his mouth hot against my ear. His hands moved to my hips, pulling me back so I could feel his arousal pressed against my lower back.
“Please,” I whispered.
“Tell me what you want, baby.”
“You. I want you.”
“That’s my good omega.”
He undressed me slowly, the cool air hitting my heated skin. Then his own clothes hit the floor, and the press of his bare skin against mine made me gasp.
His growl was pure possession as his slicked fingers circled my entrance. “I’m going to take my time preparing you. Want this to be perfect.”
The position—bent forward, hands against the glass, Dominic at my back—was vulnerable and exposed and perfect. I could see our reflection as he worked me open with patient intensity.
“When this is all over,” he murmured against my neck, his fingers finding that spot inside me. “I want to take you to the mountains. Make love to you in front of a massive stone fireplace.”
“Yes,” I gasped, the image making everything more intense.
“Just us in a cabin. Thick rugs, a roaring fire.” His voice was rough with desire. “I’ll take my time with you.”
His fingers pressed exactly where my body craved him, sending sparks shooting behind my eyelids. My cock twitched against my stomach, dripping need onto my skin while he deliberately avoided touching me there.
“And the shop,” he continued, the sharp tips of his incisors scraping against my shoulder. “Your apartment above it. Once everything is safe, we can split our time. You don’t have to give up your grandfather’s legacy.”
“You’d do that?” I managed. “Split our time?”
“I’d do anything for you,” he said simply. “Live anywhere you want. As long as you’re safe. As long as you’re mine.”
The fact that he was thinking about what I needed even now—even while driving me toward pleasure so intense I could barely think—made my chest tight.
I loved him.
The realization hit me with startling clarity. Not just wanted him, not just needed him. Loved him.
“I’m always yours,” I breathed. “Please, I need—”