Chapter Twenty-Four

“Kolton, no.” Simon gently pushed at his mate’s shoulder, moving him out of the way so he could get out of bed. The first day since the hellhound confirmed his pregnancy, Kolton’s fluffing around, bringing him foods, or zapping it up for him while he ‘rested’ was cute. By the second day Simon was wondering if he’d ever be allowed to get out of bed again, with the way Kolton was behaving and frankly, by the third day of endless fussing and Kolton asking him every five minutes if he was all right was getting annoying.

“I told you I was going out this morning. We’re meeting Elijah at your casino for lunch.” Swinging his legs over the side of the bed, Simon stood up.

“I’m just worried about you and the baby.” Simon could tell Kolton was longing to just push him back down onto the mattress and guard the door. “If you’re hatching an egg, and you fall, the shell could break and then…”

“Gargoyle eggs are made of stone, and we don’t know what’s growing inside me yet.” Pushing past his mate, Simon shoved his sleep pants down his legs and went to the closet. “That’s why I need to see Elijah.”

“I’m just really scared something might happen to you.” Kolton was so close behind him, Simon could feel his breath on his back. “You could fall, get stuck in an elevator, a car could run up the pavement, someone could take you, something might fall on you, there might be desperados out there with guns…”

Pulling on his pants, Simon sighed before turning to face an admittedly very worried-looking Kolton. “Do you think I’ll be the first gargoyle to give birth before?”

“I bet you’re the first male.”

Okay, Kolton might have a point there, but Simon was determined to leave the house. “Am I the first hellhound mate to have a baby? Did Blue or Cain have any issues with their pregnancies?”

“Not that they mentioned, no.” Kolton was pouting now. “Is it wrong of me to want to keep you safe?”

“No. I think it’s adorable.” Simon leaned forward, kissing Kolton’s nose, before turning back to reach for a clean shirt. “However, I have numerous medical degrees, I have witnessed thousands of births over my lifetime, and I am also confident in my gargoyle’s ability to let me know if I’m overdoing things.” He shrugged his shirt over his shoulders and started doing up the buttons.

“Is that a dig at me because I’m not as intelligent as you? Does you having all those degrees mean my fears are groundless?”

“Where the hell did that come from?” Tucking his shirt into his pants, Simon looked at Kolton in shock. “It’s got nothing to with intelligence, yours or mine. I’m more concerned about where you got the idea that pregnancy was a debilitating disease that necessitated me staying in bed forever, or at least until the little one appears in some form or another?”

“I’ve been reading things.” Now Kolton wouldn’t even look at him, and Simon shook his head.

“What sorts of things, Kolton? Articles and medical studies about pregnant males, or horror stories on forums and social media?”

“Things do happen. Beau said I had to be prepared to be a father, and you read stuff online all the time.”

Exaggerating much? I was reading a single news article related to the hospital I used to work at announcing the new doctor who’d taken my position.

It wasn’t that Simon couldn’t see where Kolton was coming from. He had a bundle of nerves snuggled in next to whatever was happening in the lower parts of his torso. “If you’ve got questions or concerns you could simply talk to me and we could discuss how we were going to prepare together,” he suggested gently.

“I admit, our exciting news was something I’d never expected either. I didn’t even know it was possible, a bit like our friend Blue. I am nervous, too, not about my ability to carry our child safely, but more about what form our little one will take. That’s why we need to go and have lunch with Elijah.”

“I didn’t see gargoyle doctor on his resume.”

“No, that’s not one of his skills.” Simon smiled. “To my knowledge, I’ve never known a gargoyle to ever see a doctor for any reason, so he wouldn’t get a lot of work if he specialized that way. No, I need to see Elijah because I’m hoping with his contacts via the Paranormal Council, I can get my hands on an ultrasound machine.” When Kolton just looked at him blankly, he added, “So we can see what’s going on inside of me.”

“There are machines that allow you to see your insides?” Kolton looked at Simon’s belly, and Simon knew he was intrigued.

“You’ve seen them before, too,” he prompted. “Do you remember when Warner had his MRI scan? That was another way of seeing his insides, so we could see what was going on.”

“I didn’t understand any of it.” Kolton stepped into Simon’s space. “Don’t be annoyed with me, please. I really don’t know what I’m doing in this, but I’m determined not to let you down.”

“Oh, babe, I know you won’t let me down ever – not me or our little one. But have some trust in me, please.” Simon wrapped his arms around Kolton’s waist. “This pregnancy could take months – whether it’s an egg we’re looking after or I’m carrying a baby. I will know, one way or the other, if I can get my hands on an ultrasound machine.”

Resting his head on Simon’s shoulder, Kolton said, “Why don’t we just buy one? Can’t we just do that? Then we can have it here at home, whenever we want to peek in on the little one and make sure they’re okay. I think that would be cool.”

Why don’t I just buy one? Simon was so stunned by his own idiocy he burst out laughing. “Babe, you’re a genius. I was so used to trying to get hospitals to purchase machines we needed, and there was always such a hold up with them, especially when the equipment can be so expensive. But you’re right. There are portable models that can be bought really easily. I just didn’t think of that. Thank you, thank you, thank you.” Simon kissed Kolton’s lips and then groaned, because Kolton pressed closer and deepened the kiss in a flash, sending all sorts of delicious sensations through Simon’s body.

“No. No.” Simon pulled back with an effort. “If we do that a minute more, I’ll end up in bed again and I’ve only just got dressed. Come on. We can go and have lunch with Elijah anyway, tell him our good news, and then we can put in an order for the ultrasound. With luck it will be here by the time we get back from London.”

“We can’t go to London!”

“Oh? Did Giorgio cancel?” Simon narrowed his eyes at his mate’s quick eye shift. “He didn’t, did he?”

“No, but…”

Letting out a long sigh, making sure Kolton could hear every syllable, Simon said slowly, “I’m pregnant, not sick. I’m not even showing yet. When I can’t see my ankles or my dick, then you can fuss over me all you like, but until then I’m going to keep doing the things I always do, for as long as I’m able to do them. I’m just as likely to get hit by a taxicab here in Vegas as I am in London. Agreed?”

“Don’t even joke about it.” Kolton groaned.

Thinking for a moment, because Simon felt the words he said next could influence how the next year was likely to go, and he’d rather be on the same page as his mate than fighting him or getting annoyed with him all the time, Simon just held Kolton close, pondering what he could say that would get through to an anxious hound. “When was the last time you actually went out and had fun?” he asked finally.

Kolton scratched his ear and screwed up his nose. “I’m not sure exactly…”

“I know you spent months with Warner, and the last month of his life was really difficult for you. I understand that. I also know things weren’t the greatest when we got together, but we’re happy now, aren’t we?” Simon pushed down his agitation, recognizing it would not help.

“Just the other day we were making plans on how we were going to spend our free time now neither one of us is working. You even made Elijah jealous, telling him of all the places you and I were going to visit together. Don’t you want to do that? Don’t you think we deserve to do that?”

“I do. I really do. But the baby…”

“Is not here yet.” Simon interrupted firmly. “I totally accept we’re not going to be traveling much once the little one is in our lives. That’s perfectly normal. We also probably need to talk about whether or not we want to raise our little one here in Vegas or find somewhere else to live – we haven’t even talked about that yet. But for now, I have more important questions I’d like answers to.”

“What sort of questions?”

“Is my honey a sexy beast on the dancefloor, for example? You’re clearly not scared of heights, because it didn’t bother you when we flew, but what are you like on a roller coaster? Do you know any fun places to have a picnic? Have you been on a boat or a yacht? What are you like out on the water? Do you like to window shop, or are you someone who knows what they want and just goes to a specific place and buys it? Do you like crafts? What about a hobby? If we don’t have to work, doing something different at home would be fun. And then there’re questions like what puts a huge smile on your face or makes you laugh out loud?” Simon wiggled his eyebrows. “What fun activities turn you on and get your motor revving?”

“You get my motor running.” Kolton sighed, nuzzling Simon’s neck. “You’re right. I know you’re right. I guess I’m having my meltdown early. Beau didn’t have his until Blue gave birth, and as far as I know Cain didn’t have one at all, but then to hear Ollie talk about it, his mate has ‘all the skills.’ And face it, can you imagine Lord Hades falling to pieces over having a baby? He’s on his second go and his first lot were twins. He has Ali and demon help, but still…”

“There you go. So you’ve had your meltdown, and now we can enjoy some fun times before my belly’s too big for me to see my dick. Agreed?”

“Those things you mentioned do sound like fun. I’ve never had anyone to…you know, apart from the odd company who stuck around for a day or so, but I did most things on Earth alone.”

There was that note of vulnerability in Kolton’s tone, reminding Simon how much Kolton struggled being away from his pack. “I know, my wonderfully caring mate. I’ve lived most of my life the same way. But can’t you see? Now, at this point in time, we have the chance to have some serious fun together making the sort of memories we can laugh about when our little one wakes us up at two in the morning for a feed and we’ve had barely three hours sleep. Do you fancy doing that with me?”

“Can we take pictures of our fun times and put them on the pack group chat?” Apparently the group chat was a recent addition for the hellhounds, instigated by Cain so that Ollie could show off pictures of Poppy, although now all of the hellhounds and the mates were added into it.

“Hundreds of them, if you like.” Simon chuckled. “Just make sure if you’re taking the picture to always get my best side.”

“You’re the best no matter what side I’m looking at,” Kolton said shyly.

And Consort Ali thinks these hellhounds don’t know about romance. “I feel the same when I look at you, love,” Simon said warmly. “Now, can we please go to lunch? I’m starving.”