Mid Life Bear Cubs (Midlife Shifters Book 8) Page 19

  “Yeah, yeah.” Emmett went to the refrigerator. “What’s fair game, Lauren?”

  “Anything,” she said. “Matt’s probably going to want a beer.”

  “And you?”

  “Ice water,” she said. “I’m thirsty all the time these days.”

  Emmett started preparing the requested drinks. The doorbell rang.

  “That’ll be Matt,” Lauren said.

  “I got it.” Wes turned and went down the hall to let Matt in.

  “You’ve been feeling all right?” Emmett asked Lauren. “He’s taking good care of you and everything?”

  “He’s great,” Lauren said. “Things couldn’t be better, Emmett. You’re sweet to worry about me.”

  “Someone’s got to,” Emmett said. “And I am your oldest male relative. That kind of makes me the patriarch.”

  He grinned. Lauren grinned back. Under the present circumstances, the idea of the den having a patriarch was more a running joke than anything else.

  Wes returned with Matt, and the three men sat down around the table. Lauren grabbed a stack of plates and joined them.

  “Wes,” she said, “do you want to do the honors?”

  Wes stood up and grabbed a spatula. “Lauren’s been working hard all day,” he said.

  “Well, it looks great,” Matt said. “Lauren, I can’t believe you spent the day cooking. You look like you’re about to pop.”

  “She’s nesting,” Wes informed the other two men.

  Matt shrugged. “I don’t know anything about that,” he said. “I guess this is what I missed out on by not having children of my own. Nesting.”

  Lauren and Wes exchanged a glance. They had had this very discussion more than once lately—asking each other what they might have missed, had they not found each other when they had.

  Lauren, for her part, felt as though the most important events in her life had taken place over the past year.

  All the time she had put into building a life in the suburbs, all the energy she had spent building her career—none of that mattered now. What mattered was the life she and Wes were going to have together. Their children. Their family.

  And one of their babies would be the new leader of the den.

  Wes, Matt, and Emmett had all been candidates for leadership after Cody’s death. Wes could have claimed the alpha role as the one who had defeated the old alpha, but he had made it clear from the start that he wanted nothing to do with the position. As the next two male heirs, Emmett and Matt had been the logical next choices, but neither of them had wanted to take the risk of starting another territory battle.

  Collectively, they had agreed. It would be better to wait until Lauren’s child came of age. He would take leadership. Until then, Wes, Matt, and Emmett would govern collectively as a council, rebuilding the den treasury, cutting down on the number of frivolous expenses, parties, and unnecessary exposures to the human world, and preparing the den to be a safe place for the babies to grow up.

  It was everything Lauren had dreamed of for her children. She couldn’t have asked for anything more.

  As she had imagined, the children would be raised in the community that a den provided. Matt, who had served right under Cody for so long, would teach them everything they needed to know about den management and politics. Emmett, who had always been a fighter, would teach them self-defense. Lauren herself would teach them the ways of the human world that would always be with her, ensuring that if they chose to go their own way one day, they would be capable of doing so.

  And their father would teach them the ways of the wild.

  They would grow up surrounded by other shifter children in a community full of shifter adults to serve as role models. It was exactly what she had wanted when she had learned that she was pregnant and had come back to the city to start her family.

  It had taken her a little bit longer than she’d expected to reach her goal. But in the end, she had made it.

  She felt her babies move inside her. They would be here soon.

  She couldn’t wait to meet them face to face.

  Chapter Fifty-Seven

  LAUREN

  “Put that lasagna pan down and come here,” Wes said mock-sternly.

  Lauren laughed. “Can I run some water in it first, please?” she asked. “The cheese will all stick to the sides if we don’t let it soak.”

  He was already behind her, his hands moving over the rounded shape of her body, sliding up under the hem of her dress to remove it. “Do you think it’s easy for me to just look at you all evening and not be able to touch?” he growled in her ear. “I’ve been going out of my mind here. We’re never having company over again.”

  She inhaled sharply as his lips found the sensitive spot on her neck. “You can’t just—you can’t just say we’re not having people over anymore,” she murmured. “Guests. Family. Jessica.”

  “Shut up a minute. I don’t want to talk about my sister right now.” He took her hands and pressed them flat to the countertop, then placed a gentle hand on the back of her neck, bending her over so that her cheek was resting on the marble as well. “Are you comfortable?” he asked.

  “Uh-huh.” Bed was no longer the most comfortable place for lovemaking, not now that she was so heavily pregnant. Standing up, they had found, was easier.

  She heard the sound of his zipper. It made her thigh muscles twitch. With her cheek pressed against the countertop, she couldn’t see what was happening behind her, but she could imagine it. His hand on his cock, stroking slowly the way he always did when he was preparing himself to fuck her. His eyes closed, lazily enjoying the moment before he was inside her.

  If she hadn’t wanted him so badly, she would have told him to prolong that moment. The anticipation was almost as delicious as what was to follow.

  She felt his fingers first, and then his cock, as he carefully guided himself into her. They moved slowly now, not wanting to jolt or jostle the babies, not wanting to knock her stomach against anything. He slid fully into her, then bent over her, his chest against her back, his head resting on her shoulder. His long, strong arms reached around and embraced her around the middle, where she was most full.

  “I fucking love you so much,” he groaned.

  Lauren closed her eyes and breathed slowly, enjoying the sensation of fullness. Sometimes it was enough for her to just be with him like this, connected, wrapped up in one another, their hands roaming slowly over each other’s fevered skin while their bodies remained absolutely still.

  Sometimes.

  Today she wanted more.

  She reached back and caught his hip with the tips of her fingers, pulling him closer, deeper. He understood at once what she was asking for. He kept one arm loose around her belly and moved the other hand to her breast. He lifted her slightly in his arms so that she was cradled between them and his chest, her cheek no longer pressed to the counter, and began to thrust.

  It was heaven.

  She felt surrounded by him and full of him. Everything she could feel was Wes, and she didn’t think she would ever get enough.

  He kissed along the line of her neck to her shoulder. The arm that had been cradling her belly dropped down so that he could stroke her inner thighs. She shivered at the softness of his touch. Not for the first time, she marveled at how such strong hands could touch her so tenderly.

  Their lovemaking was slow and steady, all-consuming, and Lauren’s pleasure escalated so gradually that she wasn’t sure when her orgasm began. It wasn’t like a wave crashing over her. It was like the tide, rising and rising, until she found herself completely submerged without knowing exactly when it had happened.

  And it went on and on. Her body trembled, her breathing became ragged, and she didn’t think she could take any more, but it didn’t stop. Every touch of his hands brought her to new heights. Every thrust of his hips sent her further and further into the stratosphere, and in the back of her mind, she began to wonder if she would ever come down.

  I
t was like being her animal self. She was so far removed from her own humanity that it was hard to remember who she was. Her body moved instinctively, responding to his without thought.

  She was vaguely aware of the moment when he came too. She knew the sounds he was making—they were familiar to her, after all the times the two of them had been together. It was as pleasurable as an extra hand helping to stimulate her body to hear him make those noises and to know that she was the cause of it.

  Eventually, the almost unbearable pleasure began to subside.

  She was standing in the kitchen, still cradled in Wes’s arms. The sounds that she had long since tuned out began to make themselves known around her again. The birds singing outside, the refrigerator humming, the ceiling fan whirring.

  “Are you all right?” Wes asked.

  She murmured something. She didn’t know what she had intended to say, exactly. Words were difficult right now.

  “Do you want to go lie down?”

  She nodded.

  He couldn’t lift her—there was no way that wasn’t awkward—so he helped her walk instead, guiding her to the bedroom and easing her down in the bed that had once been hers alone, the bed they now shared. He sat beside her and arranged the pillows behind her, then kissed her forehead.

  “That was amazing,” he said, looking her in the eye. “You’re amazing, Lauren. I hope you know that.”

  “You too,” she whispered. She would tell him in more detail later when she felt more articulate.

  But he understood. Hadn’t he always? He smiled at her and squeezed her hand.

  “I’ll go and get you a glass of water,” he said, getting to his feet. “You get some rest.”

  Chapter Fifty-Eight

  WES

  Lauren shook Wes out of a deep sleep two nights later. He blinked, momentarily confused. “Lauren? What’s going on?”

  “Wes,” she gasped. Her face was pale, drenched in sweat. “It’s happening. The babies—they’re coming.”

  He had been preparing for this moment, anticipating it, for months. Now that it was here, he felt at a loss. His children were coming into the world. He saw clearly now that there was nothing he could have done, no preparations he could have made, that would have made him feel ready for this.

  Lauren gripped the bedsheets suddenly and let out a guttural cry of pain. “Wes—!”

  “Okay.” He scrambled to his feet. They had had a plan in place. He did know what he needed to do. “Hang tight. I’m calling Jessica.”

  She gripped his hand in hers. He saw tears in her eyes. “Hurry.”

  He nodded, grabbed the phone, and dialed.

  “Hello?” Jessica had clearly been awake already. “She’s in labor, isn’t she?”

  “How did you—never mind. You can come over, can’t you?”

  “Of course I can,” Jessica said. “I’ll be there in five minutes.”

  The phone disconnected.

  Wes knelt on the floor so that he could look Lauren in her eyes. “Remember the breathing?” he asked. “We read about it in the book.”

  She shook her head vigorously. “I can’t. I don’t know how. I can’t do this.”

  “Oh, yes, you can,” Wes said. “This is what your body was made for. You can do this, Lauren. You’ve already proven to me that you can do anything you set your mind to, so don’t tell yourself you can’t handle this. You can do it.”

  Her face contorted with pain again. Her grip tightened on his.

  “Our children are counting on you,” Wes said. “They’re ready to come and meet you. But they need you to get them here. You’ve got this. You’re strong. Now, breathe like the book said.”

  He tried to mimic what they’d read about in the parenting book she had bought. He had thought the book was silly at the time—a human indulgence—but if it gave her something to focus on instead of the pain she was so obviously in, he was grateful for it.

  She met his eyes and fell into a rhythm, breathing along with him.

  “You can do it,” Wes murmured. “I’m right here with you. We can do it together.”

  A contraction wracked her again, and she gritted her teeth and moaned, but the look on her face was one of determination now. He had gotten through to her. He could see that. She wasn’t afraid anymore.

  The door opened, then slammed closed. “Wes? Lauren?”

  “In here, Jessica!” Wes yelled, infinitely grateful that his sister had arrived. They would be able to handle this, but at the same time, he knew he would feel much more capable in her hands.

  She appeared in the bedroom door. “How are we doing? How far apart are the contractions?”

  “How far apart?”

  “Jesus, Wes, you’re supposed to be timing them.”

  “Shit.” He had read that in the book Lauren had bought, but he’d forgotten. Why had he remembered about the breathing, but not that?

  “About ninety seconds apart,” Lauren said.

  “You were timing them?” he asked.

  “I was counting—oh, God, Wes—!” She grabbed for his hand again.

  “All right, move out of the way,” Jessica said brusquely, nudging Wes aside.

  “Hey!” he said indignantly.

  “Have you delivered any babies before?”

  “No,” he admitted.

  “Then let me handle this. Hold her head, okay? Lauren, honey, it’s time to push.”

  “Already?” Lauren sounded distraught. “It’s happening so fast.”

  “I know. But your babies are ready, and we can’t ask them to wait. Take a deep breath with me—good—okay, push now.”

  Lauren strained in Wes’s arms, letting out a cry of effort as she did so. The muscles in her neck stood out. Wes wished to God he could do this for her somehow. It was awful to see her in pain.

  But there was also something beautiful about it.

  She’s so strong. She’s a warrior.

  I wish I could show her what I see when I look at her like this. I wish she could see the way this looks through my eyes.

  A moment later, he heard a small cry. Lauren relaxed with a gasp, and Jessica sat back, holding up a tiny baby.

  “He’s here,” she said. “Your son.”

  My son.

  “Take him, Wes,” she said, handing him toward Wes. “Next one’s coming quickly.

  Wes held out his arms and accepted the baby, holding him close, rocking him slowly, carefully.

  “How is he?” Lauren asked.

  “He’s—” the most precious thing in the world. “He’s perfect.”

  “Time to push again,” Jessica said. “You ready, Lauren? Do it now.”

  Wes shifted his son to one arm so he could hold Lauren’s hand as she labored. She leaned into him, resting her head on his shoulder, panting with exertion.

  Fifteen minutes later, it was over, and she lay reclined happily against her pillows with a daughter in each arm. Wes still held their son, cleaned up now and wrapped in one of the blankets they had bought in preparation for the babies’ birth.

  “Three,” Lauren said happily. “Three is a good number.”

  “Three is amazing,” Wes said. A boy and two girls. It was everything he would have asked for, everything he would have dreamed of, if he had ever imagined that dreams of this magnitude were within his reach.

  Jessica came up behind him and wrapped her arms around him. “You did good,” she murmured.

  He nodded, feeling incapable of speech. It was difficult to imagine that anyone could have done any better.

  And when Lauren looked up from the babies in her arms, smiling up at him as if he was the greatest thing she had ever seen, he felt as if his heart was going to burst with satisfaction and pride.

  He had never been happier in his life.

  Chapter Fifty-Nine

  WES

  “It’s just a formality,” Emmett assured Wes. “Everyone’s already in complete agreement about this. You don’t have anything to worry about.”

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nbsp; Wes nodded. “I know,” he said. “I’ll just feel better when it’s over with.”

  Emmett grinned. “To think that when we started out, I had to talk you into letting your kid be the den’s next alpha. Now you’re worried he won’t be picked.”

  “Well, you made me see the sense in it,” Wes said. “And you were right. I want it now. It makes sense for our family, and it makes sense for the den.”

  Emmett nodded. “Everybody wants it,” he said. “There’s not going to be any dissent.”

  Wes turned his son in his arms so that he was facing outward. He and Lauren had talked about wanting the babies to see as much of the world as possible, and they always tried to carry them facing out when they were awake so they could get a look at their surroundings.

  “Hey, little man,” Emmett said.

  Xander blinked sleepily and waved a fist.

  “He’s getting big, isn’t he?” Emmett said.

  “I had no idea how fast babies grew,” Wes agreed. “I guess it’s normal, though. The other two are almost as big. I feel like, before I know it, I’ll be taking them into the woods and giving them hunting lessons.”

  “I bet you’re looking forward to that part.”

  “I’m looking forward to a lot of things.” Wes grinned. “But Lauren says we can’t let our anticipation for the future keep us from cherishing the moment, and she’s right. I definitely want to enjoy having babies while I’ve got them.”

  Emmett nodded. “Should we get inside?”

  “Is everyone here already?”

  “Yeah,” Emmett said. “I actually told them to get here half an hour earlier than I told you, because I didn’t want you to be stuck waiting on them.”

  “That was thoughtful,” Wes said, slightly surprised.

  “I know it’s hard for you guys, having these babies. Being new parents,” Emmett said. “You and Xander will want to get home as soon as possible.”

  Wes smiled. He was thrilled that he and Emmett were becoming so close.

  If I’d had a brother like him, I might never have left the pack and gone off on my own.