I took a large bite and moaned. It tasted even better.
When autumn settled in, the temperatures had dropped rapidly and many of the small animals that I’d hunted through the first several weeks of my pregnancy had either moved on to warmer climates or hunkered down for the winter. Either way, prey had become sparse and, as such, meals harder to come by, and Kade wasn’t wrong about the meals I’d missed.
I devoured my burger so quickly that I wasn’t even sure I took a breath between my first bite and the last. When it was gone, I leaned back in my chair and breathed in a huge sigh. I was probably going to regret having inhaled the burger – acid reflux was definitely a thing at that point – but I couldn’t quite find it in me to regret it.
“I’d offer you more,” Kade said softly, his own burger still held in his hands, “but if you eat too much too quickly after fasting, you’ll get sick. Give that an hour to settle and I’ll fix you a snack.”
Fasting. What a polite euphemism for nearly starving to death.
A wave of embarrassment washed over me. “You don’t have to do that,” I said softly. “That was delicious and very generous of you.” I took a swallow from my honey water. “I, ah, doubt you came all the way out here to feed me,” I said softly. “That will hold me over until you hand me over.”
Kade cocked his head, his jaw shifting as he chewed his burger. “That’s not what we’re doing, Jem,” he said firmly. “First, we’re going to get you caught up on your sleep and get enough food into you that I’m not afraid you’re going to keel over.” He shot me a look that was pure Alpha. “Then, you’re going to tell me what the fuck is going on.”
“And after that?” I whispered.
Kade shrugged. “After that, you and I will figure out the next step together.”
I watched in silent amazement as Kade tucked into his burger, devouring it nearly as quickly as I had my own. My mind was racing, thoughts tumbling over one another like kittens in a basket. Was he serious about helping me? Why would he risk not handing me over to my family? Could I trust him?
“I’m serious, Jem,” Kade said firmly, his amber eyes meeting my own. “I admit I was hired to find you, but, this,” he gestured to me, clearly indicating my body under the blanket. “This wasn’t what I expected and I’m starting to think something is off, so we’ll figure out the next step together.”
My brain was admittedly still fuzzy and for a moment I wasn’t sure what thethishe was referring to was. Then it hit me. The last time he’d seen me – theonlytime he’d seen me – he’d been fucking my brains out while I was in heat. Obviously, me being pregnant was a shock.
I swallowed hard.
Especially if he thought he was the father. And if he thought that, he was a helluva lot less likely to hand me over to Felicia and Serena. He’d protect me, I knew he would.
Oh, sweet lord, no. I definitely couldn’t do that to him.
“Kade,” I said softly, holding in a sigh. “Um, it wasn’t you.” When he raised his brow but kept chewing, I groaned. “The baby,” I explained, “or babies, I’m not really sure how many,” I tried to explain, “they aren’t yours. You didn’t knock me up. I really was on birth control. This happened..after.”
Kade’s raised brow twitched, but that was his only reaction. “I told you we’ll worry about the future once I’m convinced you’re on the mend, Jem,” he reminded me. “You don’t need to worry about anything until then, okay?”
Confused, I nodded slowly. “Yes, sir.”
Kade’s mouth stretched into that sultry grin that I remembered from our first meeting and heat flared in his eyes. “Mm. You are so hot when you’re being all submissive.”
Hot? I was pregnant, skin and bones with a bulging stomach, and he’d just scraped several months' worth of grime from my body.
“But…I,” I started to argue and promptly gave up as I hit on the next problem. I’d been called a lot of things in my life, but, honestly, submissive simply wasn’t one of them. Still, there wasn’t any point in denying that Kade seemed to bring out the Omega in me. I released the sigh. “Yes, sir.”
“Good boy.” Kade stood up and crossed the room, stacking my plate on his before heading to the kitchen to drop them in the sink.
I scrambled to my feet, dropping my fluffy blanket on the chair as I stumbled after him. “I’ll do the cleanup,” I blurted out, a blush rising in my cheeks that I hadn’t already tried to be of some help to him.
“No, you won’t,” Kade corrected with a snort. “You can barely stand, Jem.” He turned to face me, using the tip of his index finger to brush my overgrown hair out of my eyes. “You’re going to go back to the bedroom and lay down, understood?” He leaned over to brush a light kiss on my cheek as I nodded. “Good. I’ll be right there.”
As it was, I didn’t even know if Kade had made good on that promise, because, as soon as I crawled under the covers, I was out like a light.
ChapterSeven
Kade
It only took me a few minutes to scrub up the lunch dishes, load them into the dishwasher, and toss a couple of elk steaks onto the counter to thaw for the next meal. Still, by the time that I’d made my way back to the bedroom, Jeremy was out cold, sleeping on his side and tiny little snoring noises were filling the air.
I’d cranked up the heat before we ate, hoping that the creaky old furnace could overcome the chill in the air. It must have worked because Jeremy had kicked the covers down, leaving his rounded tummy uncovered and his bare cheeks peeking out from where the t-shirt had ridden up.
I swallowed hard as the blood suddenly rushed from my brain, headed south at the sight. I was still staring when Jeremy shifted his top leg, bringing his plump, semi-hard dick into view as well.
