Chapter Seven

Logan

Not wanting to take the attention and doting away from Zoey-bell and Kata's announcement we kept the news of our pregnancy to ourselves. It only took a short conversation with Jessica to get her on board with the idea and fortunately my morning sickness decided to wait until after their feast too.

Times were changing. Back before I met Jessie, everyone would've asked what they were going to do if one or both of their true-mates came along. At the dinner party, no one brought it up. No one even asked if they were only getting married because they were expecting. Either minds had changed, or people finally learned to mind their own business. It was probably a bit of both.

After everyone left, Jessica passed out on the sofa and Jessie and I set to clearing up the kitchen. Ross and Gary had offered to stay and help with the cleanup, but I was ready to have my house back to myself and my little family. I loved my friends and extended family, but each time I was pregnant I became a tad bit withdrawn and more likely to want my space to myself. Well, ourselves. I didn't want Jessie to go anywhere. Not even work some days.

We finished loading the dish washer and Jessie was just putting the last of the leftovers in the fridge when it came on like a hurricane. My stomach lurched as the scents of all the leftovers mingled together. Turning on my toes I headed straight for the bathroom. Two times before, I'd felt this creeping sensation and knew I didn't have long until I'd need to worship the porcelain throne again.

I wasn't thrilled, but I wasn't surprised either. It was the same way with Zoey-bell. Growing an egg left me dehydrated and making best friends with the bathroom. This pregnancy quickly proved to be the same. Jessica had been my easy pregnancy. A few days of morning sickness and then a craving for sweets that didn't subside until she was almost six months old.

I took the orange morning sickness gummies everyone swore by, several times a day, but they never managed to do much for me. They invented a more prompt pregnancy test. They needed to invent a stronger stomach med for pregnant people next. It took three tries to actually keep an appointment with the doctor. The first two times my stomach lurched as we made for the front door. The last appointment was set in stone only because Bane Hemlock decided to make it a house call and pull along his portable ultrasound machine.

Jessica was off at a playdate with Jake and Gary's kids when he arrived. We planned for her to be out and about so I could have a little bit of downtime from her constant questions about the baby that none of us would be able to answer until the baby was born. I loved my kid, but I wasn't an encyclopedia or a magic eight ball.

Jessie sat against the arm of the sofa and I leaned back against him, using him as a muscley pillow. He lifted my shirt as Doctor Bane prepared his machine. Jessie's warm fingers traced circles over my plane of my still flat stomach.

"Maybe it'll be a short pregnancy this time," Jessie whispered over our mating link. "Maybe the egg will get what it needs quickly."

"I hope so," I chuckled, not sure I believed him, "because I think that's what's upsetting my stomach. Our baby is gobbling everything up too fast."

"Are either of you feeling chompy?" Bane asked, glancing in our direction.

"Bane, if I ate you, I'd just throw you back up. It'd be moot," I teased him. "Don't worry about him either," I glanced up at my Alpha. "He's in sofa jail. Not that he's bitten you before. At least that I know of. He better not be biting you in private either. That's Lee's job."

Both of them laughed and some of the tension fled the room. Jessie's hands slid from my belly to my sides as Bane picked up the mechanical wand.

Whoosh! Whoosh!

The sound bounced around our living room as Bane smeared the almost cold jelly across my stomach. Jessie watched his cousin's hand, but I watched the screen not wanting to miss the first glimpse of our third child. There it was on the screen – a tiny egg. Dragon eggs always looked like eggs. As soon as you could see them in utero you knew they were eggs. Dragons usually weren't discreet about being around and their eggs were no different.

"We did it again," I whispered to Jessie even though Bane could still hear me. "Three times now."

"Hoping for a boy this time?" Bane asked.

"Nah," Jessie shook his head. "At this point I think I'm better at raising girls. I've done it one point three times now. So, another time doesn't scare me."

"We just want another healthy baby. A happy baby."

"Healthy, looks almost certain from the measurements. Your egg is a bit on the larger side of the scale. Either you're further along than you guessed, or you'll have a larger baby. Not that there's ever a way to tell for certain with dragon eggs until they're laid."

"You have to build me another nest," I announced to Jessie, grinning, despite my stomach threatening to act up again.

"This time I might build a permanent one," Jessie said and kissed the top of my head. "My draconic ancestors seem to like us."

"It's because you talk to Juda so much," Jessie teased.

"He's a good listener," I laughed.