31. Nevin
31
NEVIN
I was woken up with sweet kisses. Blinking sleepily, I gazed up behind heavy lashes to see Kace smiling lovingly down at me. I smiled back. “Morning.”
“Merry Christmas, honey,” he said, a bit singsongy. “Time to wake up and see what Santa Claus brought you.”
I giggled. Reaching up, I threaded my fingers through his dark hair and pulled him in for a real kiss. “Merry Christmas,” I murmured against his lips.
He pulled back before I was ready, bright-eyed and bushy-tailed like he’d already been up for an hour. “C’mon, baby! I even made coffee.”
“Alright, alright. I’m coming.” I waddled out of bed and down the hall, dragging my blanket with me because the floorboards were cold and the old cottage, while cozy, was a little drafty.
We went out in the living room, and I stopped in my tracks. Nestled beneath the limbs of the Christmas tree were gifts of all shapes and sizes and colors.
“Kace…?” My heart skipped. “Where did all of this come from?”
Kace came up from behind and wrapped his arms around me, his palms gently caressing my baby bump. “I wanted to spoil you a little bit,” he said simply.
“But I didn’t get you anything.”
“It’s okay. Christmas is about giving, not getting. I wanted to make this Christmas special—as well as all the other Christmases we spend together. I love you, Nevin, and I’m never gonna stop, so you’d better get used to it.”
I wiped stray tears from my lashes, tilting my head up so I could kiss him. “I love you too.”
We sat down on the floor next to the tree and I began opening gifts; shirts and a wallet and baby clothes. My heart squeezed with each one.
“Oh, Kace,” I whispered, hugging the little giraffe onesie to my chest. “Kace, this is too much.”
“No it’s not,” he said. “It’s not hardly enough. Next year will be bigger. We’ll have Zechariah to buy for, after all. We’ll have a family, you and me.”
I let out a soft whimper, tears burning my eyes, but Kace stood and carefully pulled me to my feet. He wrapped me in a warm embrace and I sank into it, hugging him back.
When he pulled away, he was smiling, a little sparkle in his eye. “One more gift?”
“Kace…”
But Kace was already dropping down on one knee as he pulled out a small black ring box. I gasped as he opened it to reveal a delicate silver band encrusted with tiny diamonds and sapphires that sparkled in the Christmas lights. It must’ve cost a fortune.
“Oh my god,” I breathed.
“Marry me, Nevin,” he said. “Make me the happiest Alpha in the world. I came too close to losing you, and it shook me. I told you before, this is it for me. You’re mine. My heart, my soul, my forever. Marry me. Mate me. Be mine.”
Unable to help myself, I giggled through my tears and held out my hand. “Yes. A thousand times yes.” He slid the slim band onto my ring finger and I had to blink a few times just to be able to see well enough to admire it. God, it was gorgeous.
“On one condition, though,” I amended.
Kace tilted his head.
“Take me to bed and make love to me. Mark me. Bathe me in your scent and claim me. I want to belong to you.”
“I thought you’d never ask.” He scooped me up, making me squeal and cling to his neck, and he carried me down the hall to our bedroom. He set me on my feet long enough to undress me, and then himself, and then laid me down on the comforter and climbed over me, our bodies skin to skin.
He kissed me everywhere—my face, my neck, my chest, my belly, down to my groin but never close enough, working us both up until we needed each other more than we needed air. I grasped at him as he rutted against me with a low groan, his cock velvet steel against my thigh.
When he finally slid inside, moving so slow and sensuous, I clung to him like he was my last remaining lifeline. “More,” I whispered, fervent. “Take me. Wanna feel you.”
“Don’t wanna hurt the baby,” he hushed back.
“You won’t.”
Sliding his hands down my belly, to my thighs, he spread them, spread me wide, and began to fuck into me like we both desired. I fisted my fingers in the sheets, my back arching off the back as each thrust send shockwaves of pleasure arcing straight to my brain.
I moaned his name, grasping at his shoulder. He panted, breath hot over my skin as he sucked at my neck, and I shivered, anticipating the pinch of his fangs. But god, I wanted it. I’d wanted to wear his mark for months.
I wanted to be his and only his.
“Oh, Kace!” I cried out as I came. My body clenched around him, dragging him right over the edge with me. He thrust in twice more with a growled grunt, his knot swelling to tie us together as liquid heat filled me.
He leaned in, kissed my neck, and then bit down. My flesh gave way beneath his fangs and I felt the bite of pain, followed by a flooding wave of pleasure.
“Fuckkk!” My cock jerked again, splattering my chest with another load of creamy white. I was in a daze, but I grabbed a handful of Kace’s hair and yanked him down to me. I buried my fangs in his neck, tasting the sweetness of his blood on my tongue and completing the bond.
Then I sagged back against the sheets, panting for breath. Kace’s breathing was heavy as he settled against me, stroking my swollen stomach with his big palm.
“You’re so beautiful, Nev,” he murmured. “I love you, and I can’t wait to meet our son.”
I smiled, my heart so full it felt like it might burst. “Me too.”
We laid together in the quiet, and I closed my eyes, my smile never fading. I was finally at peace. Rex was dead. The past was behind me. The nightmare was finally over, and our new beginning was almost here.
And I couldn’t wait.