Chapter Twenty-Nine

Amara

A mara moved around the shop, trying to get things back in order. It had been a few days since she’d been back there, and she had a lot of stuff she needed to take care of. The online orders couldn’t wait, and she had some restocking to do. Along with those, she had dusting to take care of, and she wasn’t looking forward to that.

She still couldn’t believe she was pregnant, nor could she see how the guys were so calm about the fact that they didn’t know exactly who was the father. She just wished they were calm about other things too, but she chuckled to herself, knowing that would never happen. And then she sobered because it really wasn’t funny. She was hiding at the shop because it was all too much, and she needed the distraction of something that calmed her.

The reason she had come to work today was because she woke up to discover the living room full of baby stuff that Knox had bought over the last few days. He had been going overboard about the whole thing since discovering she was growing a tiny person. They all had, but not as much as he was.

While things were going well between the four of them now, all of this was more than she was ready for. She still had several months before the baby was due, and she was already beginning to feel a bit suffocated.

Another thing that irritated her was how the guys kept treating her as if she were made of glass. Breakable. She wasn’t breakable; she was just pregnant. There was a big difference in her mind. Going to work felt like a good way to show them that nothing had changed and that she was still capable of being a person.

The familiar scent of the new and old books soothed her. It almost made her forget all of their problems, but not for long. Every now and then, she’d come across a title that would make her think of her mates and what they shared together. And because of that, her mind kept wandering to her father.

He hadn’t tried calling since he sent those men to the bar. In fact, she hadn’t heard a word from her old pack. She twisted her lips to the side as she glanced out the shop’s windows. Could it really be that easy? Could he really have decided to let her go?

Pulling her bottom lip into her mouth, she nibbled on the edges. She wondered how he would feel on the matter now that he technically would be having a grandchild. Not that she’d ever let her child near the monster that he was, but the thought of how much worse things could be for her wasn’t a comfort.

As her thoughts drifted, so did she. She was standing halfway up the ladder, popping some books onto the top shelf, when the little bell above the door dinged cheerfully. “ I’ll be right with you,” she called, trying to sound more happy than her thoughts had been.

Footsteps grew nearer, and a voice rumbled behind her. “You snuck out this morning,” Drake said, causing her to teeter on the ladder for a moment.

She looked back at Drake and shook her head. “I didn’t sneak out. I came to work. There’s a difference. I do have a business to run, you know.”

He held up a milkshake in one hand, and in the other, he jiggled a bottle of prenatal vitamins. “I bet you didn’t eat breakfast either.”

She raised her nose a little. “I did, actually. I had a bagel.” She shoved the last book onto the shelf and slowly climbed down the ladder. “But I ended up throwing it up the moment I got here.”

Thankfully, she learned to carry a toothbrush and toothpaste with her now.

She took the milkshake and the bottle of vitamins and then pressed a kiss to his cheek. “Thank you.”

As she moved to walk away, he grabbed her upper arm and spun her back toward him. He circled his hands around her waist and gave her a passionate kiss. When he broke it, he asked, “What’s wrong?”

She shook her head. “Nothing. Just lost in my own mind. You know me.”

He searched her eyes for a moment. “I know Zeke is the one you usually spill your guts to, but you can try it on me. What’s on your mind?”

Defeated, she sighed. “What isn’t on my mind? Between you guys treating me like I’m fragile, Knox and his sudden baby fever, you guys being strangely calm about not knowing who the father is, and not hearing from my dad . . . it’s just . . . a lot. I’m trying to process it all.”

“That’s a lot of things on your mind,” he rumbled .

She laughed, but there wasn’t any humor in it. “Told you.” She opened the vitamins and pulled one out before popping it into her mouth and washing it down with a few gulps of cold milkshake.

He let her go so she could continue to drink. “You know Knox is just looking out for the kid, right? He’s excited to give him or her a life he never had. And your father, well” – he rubbed at the back of his neck – “he’s probably not done with us yet, but we’ll take what he throws at us like last time.”

“The problem is you guys shouldn’t have to deal with it,” she retorted. Deep down, she knew that Drake was right, he wasn’t done with them yet, and that scared her. “And I know Knox is just excited. I am too. But . . . it’s a little much, you know? We still have several months before the baby is born.” She shook her head and took another sip. “I don’t know. Maybe it’s just the hormones, but I’m just feeling a little smothered.”

He considered her carefully. “You want your own identity aside from your mates and the pregnancy,” he guessed.

“No . . . Maybe . . . I don’t know.”

“I can see why you feel that way, but you’re my world, Amara. You and the baby.” He pocketed his hands and sighed. “I’m sorry if that’s getting lost a little with all this.”

She deflated a little. “I know that, Drake. I’ve just been a mess these last few days. I shouldn’t have said anything.”

“You really don’t have to apologize for how you feel. That’s not how this works,” he said with a frown.

“Yeah, I do. Because you guys have been great, and I have no reason to feel this way. You’ve been supportive and loving and kind. I guess maybe I’m not used to that.”

A slow smirk spread across his lips.

“What?” she asked .

He closed the distance between them, took her milkshake, and set it on the steps of the ladder.

“What are you doing?” she pressed.

He took her bottom lip between his teeth and gently nibbled. “Giving you reassurance, because I know you need it.”

She giggled, her cheeks heating. “This is a public place, Drake. We can’t.”

“I can lock the door,” he said against her jaw.

She shook her head, unable to keep the smile from her face. He was trying to cheer her up, to make her see that she was more than just an incubator, and she was grateful for it. “Or you can be a normal person and wait until we get home.”

He paused in kissing her neck, seemingly thinking about it. “Nah.” The sound of a zipper sliced through their space as he slid it down at the back of her dress. He pushed it off her shoulders, exposing her skin to the cooler air of the shop.

Goosebumps peppered her flesh as the dress snaked down her body and pooled at her feet, leaving her in nothing but a bra and panties. At any moment, anyone could walk in off the street and down the aisle they were in. They’d see them. See her, half-naked. For some reason, the idea made it more exciting. Fire ignited inside of her at the prospect.

She smiled as she ran her fingers along his hips beneath his shirt. He lifted her bra and latched onto a nipple, making her gasp. His tongue flicked and swirled until she was moaning his name, but she shivered when his hand tickled its way down her bare stomach. He reached her thong and then shoved it aside to circle her clit.

Her moan was soft, and she nibbled his ear in reward, fingers fumbling with the button of his jeans. It quickly popped open, and she yanked the zipper down, eager to feel him inside her again. She could never seem to get enough of the guys, even if they were smothering her a little. She couldn’t deny them, couldn’t deny herself the gift that they were to her. The things she didn’t know she needed.

He pushed his jeans down to his thighs along with his underwear. Her hands were immediately grasping his length, and she got a thrill when he shivered as she wrapped her fingers around him.

Featherlight, she stroked him and then squeezed at the base until he moaned against her.

His fingers expertly circled her clit, and her breath came in short little gasps. He let go of her nipple and murmured against her lips, “Come for me, baby.”

She didn’t need further encouragement, and the tone of his command sent her over the edge. She bit her bottom lip to muffle the sound of her moan.

“Good girl,” he rewarded with a smirk. He then grabbed her hips and turned her to face the bookshelf, bending her over and yanking down her panties.

Kicking her feet apart, he slid inside her in one smooth motion. She gasped at the fullness, her head falling back. Even over Drake’s moan, she could hear a group of girls laughing as they walked by the front of the shop, but she didn’t care. Instead, her nails dug into the wood of the shelves. She never thought she’d be the type to get off on having public sex, but the guys seemed to bring out parts of her that she didn’t know existed.

“Fuck,” he ground out, trembling.

She wiggled her hips against his grasping hands, and he got the hint. He began to move inside of her. Every inch of him stretched her, and the feeling quickly sent her over the edge. Her pussy rippled around his length, and he moaned as it did, spurring him to move faster and harder.

Books shimmied their way off the shelf and fell at their feet. She didn’t bother muffling her cries of pleasure anymore. She was eager for more, for anything he had to give, so she pushed her hips back against him, forcing him deeper. She gripped one of his hands, nails digging into his skin, as she hurdled toward another orgasm. “Fuck, Drake,” she moaned out.

His fingers dug into the thick flesh of her hips to the point of bruising, and his deep groan as he came inside of her plummeted her into an orgasm. Her legs shook beneath her weight, and as she came down from it, she rested her head against the shelves as she tried to catch her breath. “Jesus, you are too good at that.”

He chuckled under his breath, leaned to kiss her shoulder blade, and pulled out. Next, she heard the zipper of his jeans before he passed her her dress. “Let me help you put the books back.”