Chapter Twenty

Tobias

I wasn't allowed to paint our room. Quinn said that even the zero-VOC paints weren't a good idea for a pregnant omega to spend a lot of time in close proximity with, so my alpha did the job. I was beyond frustrated, not just because of that one limitation but because it seemed that there were more all the time. Minimal caffeine. Not lunch meat. No sushi—not that I really like it, but I hated being told no. Always a trigger for me. And then he did the work while I was at work because obviously, I wasn't supposed to be around it; but it meant I didn't even see how it looked on the walls, and it made me nervous all day, leading to me spilling a whole vat of hummus right on my new sneakers.

If I wore Crocs, they'd have been a whole lot easier to clean, but they just weren't my thing. No wonder so many restaurant workers did like them though. When I got home, my alpha was so proud to show me what he'd done that I didn't even have the heart to be anything but grateful. We slept in the guest room that night, and that was kind of fun. Something about being in a different bed just got me going, and my alpha, though he had to be tired from all the painting, was very willing to accommodate my amorous leanings.

In other words, he fucked my brains out in the one position we could still manage, on our sides with him behind me.

I felt very proud of myself for having been such a good sport about his painting without me and went off to work the next day, pregnant belly leading the way. It was very busy at the restaurant, and I stayed longer than usual, coming home well after dark. I'd been trying to be home for dinner as often as possible, even if we did eat a little later than most people. We did what worked for us. But that night, I stayed all the way to closing, so I'd texted Leon to let him know to eat without me.

The house was dark except for a lamp in the living room when I made my way inside. Halfway up the stairs, the scent of paint tickled my nose. The zero-VOC type we'd chosen was supposed to have no scent, but my shifter senses were too strong for this and I had been smelling paint for a couple of days.

It was nice of my mate to paint our bedroom. I'd been able to go in and check it out this morning and it looked fantastic. At least I'd been able to pick out the color. I did enjoy those kinds of tasks, though, and it was disappointing not to be able to help. But it hadn't smelled this strong then, and as I passed our bedroom door, it didn't seem to be coming from there. Heading toward the guest room, I found myself pausing in front of the nursery.

The room we still had a lot of work to do in…and the scent of paint grew stronger. Along with a rumble of outrage from deep inside me. No. He couldn't have. He wouldn't have bought paint and painted the room. Not without me. Or at least without talking to me.

I pushed the door open and growled. This room was for our baby. We hadn't even decided on a color and here it was not only painted, but someone had put together the crib. What the hell?

I turned on a heel, intent on going to find my alpha, but he'd already found me.

"You're home and you found my surprise." He pecked me on the lips and patted my arms. "I wanted to be here when you saw it. Well?"

Did he have no idea what he'd done? I struggled to come up with an explanation for why I wanted to bite his head off, one that would sound logical and not like a ridiculous pregnant hormonal display. "Um, it is a surprise."

"I think it came out nice. I finished it and then thought, I bet the best thing to do would be to put the crib together. You know how complicated it was with all those parts and I thought…omega, is something wrong?"

"How did you even know what color paint to get?"

Without me.

"I bought the one you pointed out in the paint store that day." He moved past me into the room. "I think it was a good choice, don't you?"

And all the wind went out of my sails. I had indeed pointed out a color, and he'd not only been paying attention but remembered what it was and then, after a long day of painting, he'd done the one task in the nursery I had been dreading.

"It's great, Leon. Thank you for doing all this for me." I waited for him to come out of the room where I wasn't supposed to go until the paint was absolutely dry then wrapped my arms around him in the best hug I could manage with a belly the size of a basketball. "You're the most wonderful alpha ever."

He patted my back awkwardly. "It looked like you were upset though."

"Just moved. I love you, alpha."

His arms came around me. "And I love you."