Epilogue Elliott #3
Still, sometimes he got hard just looking at me doing the dishes or gardening.
When we first mated, and I realized how high his libido was, I wondered how his ruts could make him any worse.
I soon found out that the difference was in his stamina.
During his ruts, Jet could go for hours without stopping.
Hours. I was pretty into it during my heats, but there were many times Jet would wake me from an exhausted sleep by slipping his cock into my ass when we’d just finished doing it for the umpteenth time just a quarter of an hour before.
Still, the risk of losing the bet to him was minimal—that’s how sure I was that Keane would never go for a cowboy.
I remembered a medical supply salesman who frequently came to the hospital after we were rescued from the kidnappers.
He was always dressed in a suit and wore a fancy watch.
Keane had had a massive crush on him and had told us that the guy was his type.
And that type was the total opposite of a cowboy.
Smiling, I agreed to the bet and we shook on it.
Changing the subject, Jet began telling me about an omega trafficking ring that had been reported near the area. One minute, I was listening intently, and the next, Jet was coaxing me to bed because I’d fallen asleep on my outstretched arm.
“Sorry,” I murmured as he helped me to undress.
“It’s okay. You need your sleep.”
The next thing I knew, Jet was gently shaking me awake again.
“Huh? What? Jet? Are the babies coming?”
I blinked several times. The room was dark except for the nightlight plugged into the wall.
Jet chuckled. “I think you’d know about that better than I would. Sorry to wake you, but Anson called asking for help with two calvings. He and Eric have been struggling with them the last few hours. I called Keane, and he’s coming over to stay with you.”
“I don’t need—“
“Don’t argue. I don’t want you alone when you might go into labor or fall or something.”
Someone knocked on the front door.
“That must be him.” Jet kissed my head. “I’ll be back soon.” Pointing a finger at me, he teased, “Don’t have the babies without me.”
“I won’t,” I promised. I listened to the front door opening and the low voices in the next room before the door shut again. Footsteps sounded in the hall, and then Keane stuck his head in the bedroom to check on me.
“I’m awake,” I said. “Sorry you had to come over here in the middle of the night.”
“No big deal. Can I get you something?”
“No, thanks. Come get in bed with me.”
Keane hesitated. “Are you sure it’s all right?”
“Why wouldn’t it be? Hurry up,” I said groggily.
A moment later, Keane slipped under the covers. “I just thought Jet might object to someone sleeping in his place.”
I chuckled. “Not you, silly.”
Keane shivered. “It’s chilly tonight.”
I scooted closer until my pregnant belly pressed against his side. “Take some of my heat. I’m always hot these days.”
“Hey! Are they kicking?” Keane exclaimed when the babies started up again.
Sighing, I said, “That’s all they do.”
“Just don’t give birth until Jet gets back.”
“Okay. I won’t.” I waited a beat. “So, I heard you’ve been meeting a cowboy for coffee.”
“What? I have not! How did you know that?”
Snickering, I said, “How did I know what?”
“That I’ve been…I mean. I haven’t been meeting anyone! He’s just…been there! Every single day.”
I laughed harder because seeing Keane all flustered was too funny.
“Who told you? Jet? Do you have him spying on me?”
I rolled my eyes. “You’re not that interesting. He just happened to see it a couple of times. He’s already got you two mated in his head.” I laughed at how romantic my mate was.
Remembering an important detail, I lifted my head from the pillow to look at Keane in the dark room.
“Just so you know, you can’t like the guy.
Not that I think you would, but I’m just telling you.
I made a bet with Jet that you wouldn’t give in and go out with the cowboy.
I want him to lose so he has to clean the cellar for a year. ”
“That’s what you bet?” Keane asked.
“Yeah, because we both hate cleaning it.”
“And if I give in to this alpha—don’t worry, I won’t!” he hurried to say when I opened my mouth to tell him he damn well better not, “But let’s just say I did, you would have to clean the cellar for a year?”
I sighed. “No. Instead, Jet says I have to have sex with him whenever, wherever, and however he wants for a year.”
Keane let out a low whistle. “Wow. That could be…a lot.”
Once I’d gotten comfortable discussing sex, I’d told my omega brothers everything. Sometimes even when they didn’t want to hear.
“That doesn’t matter because I won’t lose.”
“Of course you won’t,” Keane said.
“Because you don’t like cowboys,” I stressed. “That is totally not your type. Dirt. Sweat. Stupid hats.”
“Yeah. Ew. I mean, Dare rides big, dangerous bulls without falling off. He does it so much, he’s developed bulging thighs because of hanging on so long.”
“Wait…how do you know his thighs bulge? And his name is Dare?“ I asked.
“Yeah, cool huh? And I know because Susie, a girl I work with, bought a swimsuit calendar of the rodeo guys for charity and hung it up in the store. Dare is Mr. February.”
I narrowed my eyes. “It’s September. What are you doing looking at Mr. February?”
“Susie was showing me the pictures! What, I was supposed to decline? Sheesh. I’m going to sleep.” Keane rolled over on his side, facing away from me.
It wasn’t long before his breathing evened out with sleep, but I, on the other hand, was wide awake, worrying about Keane’s interest in Dare’s bulging thighs. Gods, if he made me lose the bet…
I’d started to drift off when a painful cramp brought my eyes wide open.
I had cramps a lot and found that rubbing my belly helped, but they usually didn’t hurt this much.
I rubbed it for a minute, and then carefully moved to face the wall.
I wasn’t sure how much time passed before another cramp woke me.
I wanted to cry because I was tired. With a sigh, I waited for it to pass and then closed my eyes again.
But the cramping kept waking me until, pretty soon, I had to get out of bed and pace the room, hoping that would relieve them.
Was this labor or false labor? Over the past two weeks, I’d had several false alarms, one of them causing Jet to rush home from work and nearly get into an accident.
I wasn’t going to let something like that happen again.
If I called him, he might get kicked in the head by a cow.
Or if Jet left, the cow or calf might not make it.
I didn’t want to be the reason an animal died.
The pains continued intermittently, but not with any regularity. Some were over ten minutes apart, and others five, and, most recently, two. The clock on my nightstand read 4:32 a.m. What should I do? Wake Keane? He would want to go get somebody, and I didn’t want to wake anyone when I wasn’t sure.
The next pain wrapped all the way around my lower back and brought a whimper out of me. Then I felt something inside me pop and wetness soaked my pajama bottoms.
Oh, shit.
“Keane!” I called to my friend, who was snoring softly.
Another pain hit, and I let out a long, drawn-out moan, sinking to my knees on the hard floor, my hand grasping the footboard of the bed.
“El?” Keane said groggily. I heard rustling bedclothes, and then, louder and borderline frantic, Keane calling, “Elliott? Where are you?”
“Down here,” I gasped out from the floor.
“What the—“
Keane’s face appeared above me at the foot of the bed. “Elliott! What happened? Did you fall off the bed?”
“Right. And then what—rolled around to the end of it?”
“Okay, okay, don’t get ornery.”
I couldn’t help it. I was in so much pain now, I had no patience and no filter.
As soon as Keane got me back on the bed, another pain hit me, and I instinctively curled inward.
“My belly’s as hard as a rock,” I gasped out as Keane switched on the bedside lamp.
Turning, he looked at me with wide, serious eyes. “What does that mean?”
“Oh, I don’t know, that it’s going to be a hard winter. What the hell do you think it means? The babies are c-co—Ahhhh!” I let out a yell when the pain of all pains took hold, radiating outward from the core of my body and lasting so long, I began to wonder if I was going to die.
When I was able to think again, I saw Keane on his phone.
“Laura, this is Keane.”
I yelled again, blocking out whatever else Keane said. It would be a miracle if Laura even heard him.
Keane pulled off my wet pants and covered me with a sheet, but I was just as wet with the sweat that was pouring off me. The pains were rolling over me fast and furious.
“I p-promised J-Jet I wouldn’t…AAARRG! Keee-aa-ne! Call Jet! Did you call Jet?”
In the other room, it sounded like someone was breaking down the door.
“Elliott!” Jet burst into the room. “I’m here.” he grabbed my hand.
I was so relieved to have him with me, I started to cry.
Jet must have had the presence of mind to take off his dirty boots on the porch. He climbed onto the bed behind me so I could lean against his chest.
“I didn’t even have a chance to call you yet,” Keane said.
“I felt Elliott’s pain through our bond. I heard him calling for me.”
“What happened to the door?” Laura asked when she bustled in a minute later.
“I couldn’t find my key,” Jet said.
Laura took one look at me and started barking orders at Keane. A moment later, sounds of pots and pans rattling came from the kitchen.
“Shh, shh, I’m here. It’s alright,” Jet said, moving to the other side of the bed to give Laura room and stroking my sweaty hair out of my eyes as I sobbed between my cries of pain. Already, my body was so tired, I was afraid I couldn’t do what I needed to do.