Chapter Twenty

The only thing cuter than our little gray cottage with the yellow door and yellow shutters was my alpha.

He wouldn't let me lift a thing over a few pounds and got up early and moved a bunch of stuff with his brother before I woke up.

I slept like the dead now. Every noise and movement didn't wake me up anymore. I didn't have to exert myself, paying attention to every chagrin or face, each change in tone or word from Zion. I was no longer in a bear trap, waiting for it to snap and trap me.

Being with Zion taught me how to relax.

I was safe with him. I could be myself.

I could breathe again.

And only the gods knew how long I'd been holding my breath before him.

After I woke up, I drove over to our new home to see what, if anything, Zion would let me help with. Probably placing pillows or something fluffy like that.

"Hello?" I called out, walking into the house. I already had plans for the landscaping in the front yard. It would be a shame for a florist not to have a flourishing garden.

"We're in here," Zion called out. I walked down the hallway and into the master bedroom and gasped. Our bed had been put together. Everything was in place down to the area rugs. My mate and his brother Scott had been busy.

"Whoa! What time did you two get up? Three?" I laughed.

"Something like that," Scott said. "Speaking of, I'm starving. I'm gonna run to get us all some breakfast and two and a third coffees." Scott liked to pick on me about not being able to drink more than one tiny coffee a day while I was expecting.

"Shut up. What can I do?" I asked after Scott left.

"It's all done. This was the last big thing."

I turned around and walked into the living room. We had an open floor plan, so I could see everything from this angle. The buttercream couches we'd ordered were in. Rugs were spread where they should be. Art hung on the walls. Books were on the shelves. Pots and pans hung from the rack above the island.

"We can officially move in?" I asked. I would've bounced on my toes, but my belly had grown so much, that proved a test in my balancing skills.

"I was hoping we could spend the night tonight," he said. "Once we move the last little things out, we can put both of our apartments up for rent. That will bring in enough income to cover the mortgage payment with a bit extra to pay it off earlier."

I felt myself smiling. I did that a lot around Zion. "You have this all planned out, don't you?" I asked.

He nodded. "I do. We do."

Zion and I had weekly budget meetings. He insisted that I keep a separate checking and savings account for myself in addition to our joint ones, even though I knew he would never be Derek, controlling every cent I spent and made.

I walked over and laid my head on his chest. "Are you cooking me dinner here tonight?"

He chuckled and wrapped those big arms around me. "Yes. Of course. And I have some more plans…"

That tone made my heart flutter. "And what are those?"

"Making love to you on every flat surface of our home."

"Come on. We haven't even had breakfast yet," Scott said, coming into the doorway at the exact moment those words came out of Zion's mouth.

"Shut up," he told his brother. They had a loving and yet playful relationship. But Scott was kind to me and took me into the fold of their family. He didn't have an omega yet, but he was always searching. Maybe a little overzealously if his reputation around town held true.

We spent the day moving the little things over. The coffeepot for Zion. Some cups and a few clothing items. Toiletries. Zion hired someone to clean the apartments so we wouldn't have to, and soon they would go up for rent.

That night, I came home from checking on the shop to find a candlelit dinner on the table. Roasted chicken and vegetables. Baked potatoes. And I smelled apple pie.

I sighed and took off my shoes. My ankles hadn't swollen yet, but Zion checked them all the time anyway. "It smells amazing," I said.

Zion came in from the hallway. "You smell amazing." He peppered my neck with kisses and grazed his teeth along my earlobe. "And you're the most beautiful omega I've ever seen."

My once-shy Zion had become bolder now that we were mated.

I snorted. "I'm huge and peeing all the time. I'm sure that's so sexy for you."

He pulled back abruptly. "I clearly haven't done my job if you don't think you're the sexiest man alive right now."

My stomach growled and we laughed. "Let's eat and then show me," I suggested.

"That I can do."

We ate in a hurry. I rubbed my feet up and down his legs while we ate, knowing it drove him crazy.

"By the time I get inside you, I'll be ready to blow," he growled, getting up from the table. We hadn't finished eating but I couldn't wait any longer. And clearly, neither could he.

We stripped on the way to the bedroom. Zion picked me up with his hands on my waist and hoisted me onto the bed. "Get inside me already," I begged.

"No. I'm taking care of my omega first."

He enveloped the length of me all at once. I cried out his name and jerked off the bed. His firm hands pinned my legs down as he bobbed up and down on my cock, fucking me with his mouth. All the anticipation that day had built up and in seconds, my balls tightened, and I shot cum into his throat with a long moan of ecstasy.

"On your knees, omega mine."

On all fours had become a favorite position since my belly had gotten so big. I did as he said and crawled farther on the bed and got on my hands and knees, swaying my ass a bit, begging him to get inside me.

He teased me with the head of his cock at my entrance, testing my slick. "Alpha, please," I whined and with a chuckle, he slowly pushed himself inside me. The sensation so strong and intense that I nearly came a second time before he was all the way sheathed.

He rocked his hips, pumping inside me until only a few minutes later, he came hard, growling out my name loud enough for the neighbors to hear. After that, we lay together.

"Alpha," I said.

"What is it, Cicek?" he teased, playfully slapping my ass.

"I'm ready for apple pie now."

He laughed heartily, throwing his head back. "And I thought I was the one who had an insatiable appetite."