26. Ranger

TWENTY-SIX

RANGER

"Ranger, I can no longer get in and out of this toy car." Matt leaned against the side of my beloved vehicle.

Ouch! Gods, I hated it when Matt referred to my sports car as a toy.

"We need something more family-friendly and also suitable for a pregnant omega." He huffed and patted his belly, whispering to the baby that he promised we'd have a real car before he gave birth. "I don't want the baby arriving and saying, ‘What the heck is this? There was more space inside my dad than his vehicle.'"

"Very funny, but even I know babies can't talk in complete sentences for ages."

Matt sniggered. "Well done."

"Do I get a medal?"

He leaned in close and bit the soft part of my ear. "In bed tonight maybe if you're a good boy."

"And what if I'm naughty?" I rubbed against his bump.

Matt cursed his lips. "You'll need to be punished."

"Can we go to bed now? Please?"

"No, we have to buy a new car."

"There are plenty of company vehicles we can use." I wanted to skip the purchasing of a new car and get straight to the bed part of the day.

"But we have to be able to leave the car seat in there and baby paraphernalia, as well as shopping bags and crap people keep in the glove box." Matt put his hands on his hips. He'd never looked more beautiful or as sexy as he did carrying our child.

"Fine."

Matt squeezed into the passenger seat, and I helped buckle him in. He was right because my pregnant mate shouldn't have to bend down to get into the car. I drove him to the shifter dealership where we bought all the company cars.

Archie, the owner, greeted us warmly and steered us toward the sleek, luxurious cars we usually purchased. But Matt bypassed them and stalked toward the minivans and SUVs.

"How many kids did you say we wanted?" I counted the seats in the minivan and calculated we could fit three quarters of a basketball team in there.

"Mmmm, unless we put your entire family in the car, we don't need that much space." He bypassed the mini van and headed to an SUV. Archie scuttled in front of my mate and opened the passenger door.

But Matt walked around to the other side and opened the driver's door. "I was a chauffeur and I can handle myself behind the wheel." He peered inside. "How many cup holders does it have? Because once I have the baby, I'll be mainlining caffeine."

Archie was a little flustered, his cheeks pinkening, and he flapped his hands as he said this model didn't have heated seats and high-tech gadgets that my family was used to.

"We don't need heated seats," Matt commented. "Maybe if the car had a drainage system for when we're driving through floods, that might be useful."

He shared a glance with me. It was a light-hearted remark, harking back to our drive to the cabin that day.

"Drainage system?" Archie repeated.

I shook my head. "He's making a joke, sort of."

"These other models might be more to your liking." Archie reeled off specifics, such as gesture control where you could wave your hand in front of the dashboard and alter audio volume.

"That might be useful with a car full of kids," I said.

"Unless all those children belong to someone else, I don't see us having nine in the car."

"Cousins, friends, little league team members."

"Okay," Matt agreed. "But that's a minor point."

"Massaging seats and perfume dispensers," Archie added.

"Nope," Matt replied.

"What about a 360-degree camera that's used for parking?"

My mate and I shared a glance. "Yes." Not so much for parking but for anyone close by who shouldn't be. We had to be realistic, even with bodyguards.

"Night vision in case an animal lumbers in front of the car," Archie suggested.

"Yes," we both said.

Archie checked off items on a tablet and continued droning on about features that could be included, while Matt measured the space at the back for a stroller and folding crib.

"Bulletproof glass," I reminded Archie, but he already had that checked on his list. Matt caught my eye, but he didn't freak out and there were no tears. He chewed his bottom lip and rubbed his mating mark but didn't comment. Instead, he heaved himself into the driver's seat.

"I'd like to take this one for a test drive."

"Of course." Archie's head bobbed. He pointed out this particular vehicle didn't have all the features we were looking for.

"Get in, Ranger."

I wasn't used to being in the passenger seat, and while I'd caught a glimpse of Matt driving Dane, I'd never been in a car driven by my mate.

Matt drove out of the dealership and waited before turning onto the street. My bodyguards followed as Matt maneuvered around city streets. He slammed on the brakes, testing their efficiency. My shifter reflexes had me shoving a hand in front of him as the seat belt strained against his belly.

"Can you not do that, again?"

"Sorry." He expertly reversed into a parking spot before pulling onto the road, just ahead of the space where we'd parked moments earlier "Your turn."

I didn't want to admit I'd never driven a car like this, but hey, I was an experienced driver with shifter reflexes. How hard could it be?

"Something wrong?" my mate asked as I took hold of the wheel.

"Nope. It's just that the parking space is a little tight."

"Good thing the one we're getting has that 360-degree camera."

Matt folded his arms while I huffed and puffed, checked the side mirrors, reversed, and cursed I wouldn't make it, drove out, repeated the manoeuvre, straightened, and hit the curb.

"Shit!" I side-eyed my mate who was suppressing a laugh, or trying to and failing. Damn! I could do this.

"Would you like me to give you lessons, babe?" He checked his phone. "I have Tuesdays and Thursdays free."

I growled, and Matt giggled.

"It's okay. I still love you even though you can't park."

People on the sidewalk were staring and sniggering. "We have to leave the city and live somewhere else because passersby are making fun of me."

"Oh no, those big bad people. Do you want me to tell them off?" He snorted.

"Very funny."

Matt said that was enough test driving for one day, and I drove back to the dealership.

"Do not say anything," I told my bodyguards as I helped Matt out of the car.

We sat in Archie's office while he typed on the computer and told us it'd be a couple of weeks before all the features could be fitted onto our new vehicle, but as my family were such good customers, he loaned us the one we'd test driven.

"You'll be able to practice parking," Matt offered, patting my shoulder.

I drove home in the new car while one of the bodyguards brought the sports car. I'd never noticed how narrow my parking space was in the building's parking garage. Matt didn't comment, though I suspected he was amused because he took a pic of the car, parked at an awkward angle.

When we walked in the door of the apartment, my phone pinged four times. Each message was from a family member making fun of my parking ability. Matt must have sent them the photo.

"Don't worry, babe." My mate cradled his belly. "The baby's excited about the new car. They're kicking a lot, so they approve."

I suspected our child was giggling along with his omega father. I might have to take those driving lessons from Matt before the birth, but I was hoping for naked times.

"About those lessons. Does your fee cover instructions elsewhere besides in the car?" I sidled up to my mate and pulled him close, while nuzzling his throat.

"You want to go vroom vroom like a big boy," he teased and giggled. "Let's find out." He took my hand and led me into the bedroom.