Chapter Four
Dex
It only took about three blocks of running from Otto for the adrenaline rush to crash, leaving me leaning against the corner of the public library, winded and shivering.
It wasn’t cold, exactly, but the wind was sharp and combined with the sweat from panic running, well, it was enough to make me shiver.
Although, I suspected that the emotional toll of running from the Alpha I’d saved myself for only to be cast aside after he found me wanting wasn’t exactly helping with the misery factor.
Wrapping my arms around my chest, I hurried into the library, shuddering a bit when the warmth wrapped around me, heating my chilled skin.
“Dex?” Taylor’s voice came from deeper in the room and I turned to find him seated in the early reader section, his brow knitted in a concerned frown and twenty little ones seated in a neat half-circle around his rocking chair.
“Hey,” I said, trying to force a grin as I slowly walked toward his story group. “Whatcha reading?”
“We just finished Mouse and Cookie!” a cutie with big brown eyes and blond pigtails whisper-shouted at me.
Taylor smiled and gently corrected, “It was If You Give a Mouse a Cookie, Molly.” Standing, he gestured to the row of short bookshelves around us.
“Okay, people! You have twenty minutes to find a book to check out and since we’re in the library.
.” Taylor trailed off expectantly and smiled broadly when his class all raised their fingers to their lips in a shushing motion. “Good job!”
When the last of the littles wandered off to choose a story, Taylor silently stripped his sweater off and shoved it my direction. “You’re freezing, put this on.”
“You’ll get cold,” I tried to refuse but Taylor just shook his head.
“I still have my button-up on,” he pointed out, “and I’m not out walking in the weather. We have the class bus out in the parking lot. Take the sweater and I’ll come by after school to get it, okay?”
I knew he was going to be expecting the explanation that he couldn’t ask for in front of the kids but, honestly, I could use someone to talk to.
Having my best friend’s scent wrapped around me helped to center me until I got back to my apartment and realized I lost the first picture of my baby.
By the time Taylor gave up on knocking on my door and let himself in with the spare key, I was a snotty, tear-stained bundle of blankets and regrets on the couch.
“Oh, honey.” Taylor bypassed me to wet a washcloth with cold water before stooping to wipe my face and kiss my cheek. “What’s the matter?”
I stuttered and cried my way through the story, telling him how I accidentally ran into the Alpha who didn’t want to be my soul mate and not only had I run, but in the process I lost the precious picture the doctor had just given me.
Taylor listened with the patience of a saint, letting me vent.
Letting me get out all of my hurt and disappointment over the man who didn’t want me and my grief over the loss of the memento before patting my back and pulling me into a hug.
When I finally ran out of tears, he left me long enough to rewet the washcloth and bring me a bottle of water from the fridge.
“Drink this,” he instructed, gently wiping the tears from my face again.
“I promise everything is going to be okay.” Before I could argue, he narrowed his eyes at the water bottle I was holding and I raised it to my lips.
“That’s better. I don’t know what we’re going to do about Otto, but all we have to do about the ultrasound is call the clinic.
They’re digital images and they will have a copy saved. We’ll ask them to reprint it, okay?”
“It’s not gone forever?” I asked, feeling more than a little stupid when Taylor shook his head.
“No, honey, I promise they can reprint it. In fact, why don’t I call and explain the situation while you finish that water and then we’ll see about getting some food in you?”
I nodded and sipped obediently while he called the clinic and confirmed that, yes, they could reprint the picture for me, and I could pick it up any time.
Disconnecting the call, Taylor gave me another hug. “Now, do you think you can eat?”
I thought for a minute and nodded, suddenly famished. “Still don’t know what I would do without you, Tay-tay.”
Taylor shook his head with an indulgent smile.
“Since we’re best friends, you’ll still never have to.
” Leaning back, he released me from his hug and settled onto the sofa next to me, opening the Dinner Dash app on his phone and passing it to me.
“Now, sushi is off the table, but anything else you want, we get.”
“Anything?”
Taylor sighed. “We’re having McNuggets, aren’t we?”
I nodded seriously. “We’re absolutely having nuggets. Lots and lots of nuggets. All the freaking nuggets until everything is better with the world.”
Taylor snorted. “I think you’re expecting an awful lot from some shredded, pressed mystery meat but here’s hoping you’re right!”
~*~
Otto
I went back and forth in my mind during the walk home and long into the evening, weighing the best time to return Dex’s coat. He was too agitated for me to follow him when he ran, obviously, but surely the hours that passed gave him enough time to calm down, right?
But since I couldn’t be sure, maybe it would be better for me to wait until morning when a good night’s sleep would have hopefully restored him? What if he needed it before morning? There could be a fire or other emergency that forced him out into the night and then what?
The evening news droned on in the background as I paced from the front window to the kitchen and back, wearing a path in the carpet. It wasn’t until the weather forecaster’s overly chipper voice broke through the should I or shouldn’t I battle in my head that I made a decision.
“With lows in the mid-twenties, the wind chill could get as low as five below zero before the sunrise begins to warm things back up. Stay warm out there!”
Stopping abruptly, I stared at the multicolored weather map on the television screen, frowning at the cartoon image of a shivering robin with a worm scarf wrapped around his neck.
“I can’t wait,” I grumbled out loud, glaring at the screen as it transitioned to the introduction for the local sports show. “Dex can’t be outside in below zero without his coat. He’s pregnant, for fuck’s sake!”
Pulling my fleece pullover on, I shoved my feet into my waterproof hiking boots in case the weather brought moisture with it and retrieved Dex’s coat from where I’d hung it in the closet.
Don’t judge me but I totally brought it to my face to draw in the briefest inhalation of his scent before heading out into the night.
The combination of the late hour and chilly temperature kept most of the town’s residents tucked into their warm homes, making the dark thirty-minute walk to Dex’s apartment peaceful.
Even though it was convenient that I didn’t have to buzz Dex to get in, I frowned slightly when I found the building’s security door blocked open with a large rock. Kicking it out of the way, I pulled the door firmly closed behind me and headed for the elevator.
I hesitated in front of Apartment five-twenty-two, my hand raised to knock and worried again that, coat to return or not, Dex probably did not want to see me. He’d run from me earlier which was why I had the damn coat in the first place, so why would I think he wanted me to bring it to him?
I just about convinced myself to make my way back out to the street -closing the security door firmly behind me, thank you very much- and drop it off with his dads when the faintest of sounds came through the closed door.
Straining my ears, I barely picked up the next muffled sob and bristled, the bear snarling in the back of my mind.
Steeling myself for the possibility that I wouldn’t be welcome, I again raised my hand to knock but froze again when the next sob came, clearer and more audible and very, very definitely my name.
“Otto!”
The distress in Dex’s tone had me reaching for the doorknob instead of knocking, the flimsy metal giving way easily under my hand.
“Dex? What’s wrong?” I called out, tossing his coat onto the closest piece of furniture as I strode into the apartment, dread shooting through me. “Dex? Where are you?”
Before he could answer, I was standing in the doorway to the small bedroom, staring dumbstruck at the sight before me.
Dex was naked on the bed, his skin flushed as he writhed against the sheets, one hand wrapped around his hard, weeping cock as he stared at me through fever-bright eyes. The room was so thick with pheromones that my cock hardened instantly.
“Otto?” Dex’s voice was raspy, disbelieving, as though he thought I might be an illusion.
“Yeah, baby,” I growled. “It’s me. Are you…what do you need?”
“You,” Dex whimpered, shuddering visibly and raising one shaking hand to reach for me. “I need you so bad.”
I kicked off my shoes and reached for my belt. “Then you’ve got everything you need.”