Chapter 7

Lily

Tears pricked my eyes as Angel walked over and presented that sweet baby to me and Thomas.

"This is your Pack Mother and Alpha, Atlas," she said proudly, before laying the swaddled bundle in my arms.

"Oh my gosh. He's so precious," I gushed. "If I wasn't already pregnant, you would give me baby fever."

The guys laughed.

"Thomas just turned as white as my shirt," James laughed.

"Wyatt doesn't look much better. I'm not sure he's going to let Kate anywhere near that baby after having the quads," Clay teased.

"I mean, look at him. Who wouldn't have baby fever from this sweet face? And I think he's going to have his daddy's red hair."

"I think he will too," Angel agreed.

I held him for a few more minutes before Thomas took him from me. The baby instantly wrapped his hand around my mate's finger and my heart melted just a little.

It wasn't long before Austin rescued his son, though, and introduced little Atlas to the rest of the crew, or at least the adults. We'd give him a little time before really throwing him into the madness.

Between the six of these guys, there were now eleven kids with two more on the way. At this rate, the Six Pack was big enough to be declared a Pack of their own.

I could see Angel was tired, and I knew it was time for us to leave.

"We're going to head out and let you get some rest. Call me if you need anything at all." I kissed her cheek and hugged her. "You did real good. He's gorgeous. Gonna be a heartbreaker just like his dad."

She smiled. "You mean until he finds his true mate?"

"I mean, that goes without saying, right?"

We shared a knowing look and then I took Thomas's hand and let him escort me out of the house. The others followed our lead and by the time we reached our vehicles, Angel and Austin were waving bye to everyone from the door.

Thomas walked me to my car since we had driven separately.

"I know this is going to sound bad, but it honestly didn't dawn on me that Angel was so far along. I mean, what if something had gone wrong, and we were in San Marco with Sam?"

"But we're not, and she's fine. You can't let the what-ifs take over and kill a good thing. We have a new pup in the family, and he has ten perfect little toes and ten perfect little fingers. He has light, wispy red locks and chubby cheeks. He arrived without complications. So stop worrying about what could have gone wrong and rejoice in the fact that everything went smoothly."

"You're right. I know you're right. But now that the thought is in my mind, I can't help but worry about Paige. What if she goes into labor while we're away?"

"Paige will be fine, but if you're that worried about it, leave Sam here."

"What?"

He looked at me like I had two heads just for suggesting the obvious.

"I'm serious. Even if I went into labor in flight, the odds of me delivering in that time are like next to zero. So leave Sam here and Micah will take care of me while we're in Westin territory."

"But I don't know Micah. How can I trust him with you and our unborn child if I've never even met the guy?"

"But I know Micah, and you've met his father. Mallick was our previous physician. He'll be around too. Just think of it and stop worrying about everything so much. I'm fine. Our baby's fine. Paige is fine. And her and Emmett's baby will be fine, too. We're all fine. And I'm not due for another seven weeks. I've never delivered early, so why would I expect to now? We'll be there and back long before this kid's eviction."

"I'll think about it."

"That's all I ask."

He kissed me through the window after settling me into my car.

"I still need to do a walk through the barns. I'll be home for dinner."

"Miss you already."

He grinned and kissed me again.

"Convince my parents to babysit and I'll show you just how much I miss you."

I blushed. After a decade together, this man could still make me blush.

"I'll see what I can do."

He kissed me one last time, and this time it was far more passionate, shooting a thrill straight to my lady bits.

I went straight home, called Cora to make arrangements for the girls for the evening. When she insisted on keeping them for a sleepover, I didn't argue one bit. Instead, I let my imagination wander and before long, I was so hot and bothered, I wasn't even sure I would be able to wait for my mate to get home.

To keep myself preoccupied, I got up and made dinner, and then I called to check on Elise.

"How are you feeling?" I asked the second she answered.

"Hello to you too, Lily."

"Forget the formalities. How are you feeling? Is the morning sickness getting better?"

"Maybe a little."

"Have you told anyone else yet?"

"Yes. Though I couldn't believe you hadn't beaten me to it by the time I worked up the nerve. Mom is absolutely beside herself with excitement."

"She's only wanted this since forever, E. Of course she's excited. We're all excited. Are you feeling better about things now?"

"I am. We have a strong heartbeat. Patrick actually bought a home Doppler thing to keep a constant check on this kid. It lets us hear the heartbeat anytime we start to freak out or worry, which means he might as well just strap the thing to me permanently."

"Everything's going to be okay. It's normal to be nervous and I know it won't fully be real until you're holding that baby in your arms, wondering where the hell it came from and just how you got to this point in your life."

She snorted. "I think you may be right about that."

"I am. Trust me."

"So, how's everything there?"

"Good. Most of the storm cleanup is complete and things are starting to get back to normal."

I usually talked to at least one person from my family nearly every day, but this last week had been so busy that I hadn't had time to make my usual calls. I knew they understood, though.

"Are you still going to be able to make it to the reunion?"

"Of course. I wouldn't miss it. The big struggle right now is whether Sam is coming with us or not."

"I thought Thomas was insisting on it."

"Austin and Angel had their baby today, and he realized that if it hadn't been for the storm, we would be out of territory right now. And then he started to snowball right off the what-if cliff. What if there had been a complication and Sam wasn't around? What if this and what if that? It's enough to drive a person crazy."

"He can't live in the what-if moments."

"That's what I told him. And now with Paige due just a week after me, he's starting to second guess taking Sam with us. I keep assuring him Micah will take care of things just fine."

"Of course he will. Besides, you aren't at much risk to go into labor while you're here, are you?"

"No. I'll still have weeks with this parasite after we get back home."

"You know, I always hated that you called my nieces parasites while you were pregnant with them."

"But you get it now, right?"

"A thousand percent yes."

We both laughed.

"Are Cole and Lizzy going to make it back here for the picnic?"

"Yes. All the Colliers will be accounted for."

"Yay! Westins too."

"I know. I'm so excited. I can't wait to see everyone."

We chatted for a bit longer before I regrettably informed her I needed to go. I was just putting the final touches on dinner when Thomas walked in.

He stopped in his tracks when he saw me standing at the stove completely naked. His jaw locked, and he swallowed hard. There was a dark look in his eyes, giving just a bit of an edge to my normally jovial mate.

"Where are the girls?"

"With your parents."

His breath hitched, and he looked down at his watch like he was judging the time and contemplating the biggest dilemma of his life.

I could have let him sweat it out some, but my mind had conjured up enough in the realm of foreplay. I was hot and hungry, but not for the chili I had simmering on the stove. I let him off the hook far faster than I otherwise would have.

"For the night," I added.

His head whipped up and his eyes grew impossibly darker.

"All night."

"I pick them up at noon tomorrow."

"Hell yeah."

He was already removing his shirt and unbuttoning his pants as he stalked towards me.

I turned off the stove, even knowing there was a possibility our dinner would grow cold. Better that than burning the place down.

Thomas stood before me, gloriously naked. He was long, hard, and ready. He stopped just shy of reaching me.

I let my gaze drift down to enjoy the view. Licking my lips, I gave him a suggestive smirk.

"I could take care of that for you. If you'd like."

"Later," he said with a growl.

Picking me up he carried me to our bedroom and set me down in front of the bed. He trailed one finger across my breasts without quite touching me the way I wanted him to.

I was throbbing for him.

He turned me around and placed my hands on the bed as his tongue flicked out and made a trail from the base of my spine to my neck, sending shivers of awareness through my body.

His knee nudged my legs apart, and then he rubbed himself against me, feeling how warm and wet I was already.

With a growl, he pressed into me from behind. His fingertips dug into the flesh of my hips as my hands fisted into the blanket and I cried out his name.

He felt so good as he moved inside me.

His mouth found my earlobe as he nibbled and whispered dirty promises to me.

My desire for him never seemed to wane. It would sometimes surprise me, but at this point, I doubted it was ever going to change.

When he reached out and toyed with my nipples while kissing the column of my neck, my whole world splintered.

"Thomas!"

I fell forward against the bed, trying to catch my breath.

He thrust three more times and then collapsed against me.

Neither of us spoke or even moved for a moment. Then he finally pulled back, carefully lifted me, and laid me out on the bed.

"Where are you going?" I asked in surprise as he started to leave the room.

"I'll be back."

True to his word, he returned with two big bowls of chili and a whole sleeve of crackers. He knew damn well he'd be lucky to get two of those crackers. He often teased me that I liked the crackers more than the chili.

"Worked up an appetite?" I teased.

"Slugger, I have the entire night alone with you. I just figured you were going to need a little nourishment for energy before I kick off round two."

"Well damn." I really didn't know what else to say to that.