“Just to run a bath,” I assured him, rubbing my cheek on his hair. “I’ll be right back.”
“Mmkay,” Jeremy agreed sleepily.
The two-person soaking tub had been a deciding factor in the suite I chose. As soon as the water level hit full, I flipped the taps off and headed back for my Omega.
“Come on, baby,” I whispered in his ear. “Let’s get cleaned up.”
“Uh uh,” he mumbled, trying to pull me down into the bed with him. “Sleep.”
I scooped him up in my arms, ignoring his startled gasp, and carried him into the bathroom.
“It’s hot,” I warned him, setting him carefully in the tub before I settled in behind him, pulling him back to lean against my chest. “That’s better.”
I held Jeremy as he dozed, letting the hot water soothe his overworked muscles until the water started to cool. I was rubbing the foamy lather over his tummy when something moved under my hand.
I peered over his shoulder and had to swallow a gasp when I saw the roundness of his tummy disrupted by the shape of a tiny hand pressing out against the skin.
“Hello, there,” I spoke without thinking and laid my hand over the tiny imprint, a thrill racing through me at the sight. The hand pulled away, leaving me oddly bereft until another imprint appeared on the other side, this one a tiny foot. I traced the outline with my finger. “Now what are you doing?” I scolded lightly. “Your poor papa is exhausted and you’re in there doing somersaults!”
The game went on for several minutes, a little appendage would appear and then disappear a moment later. In between sightings, I soaped Jeremy’s soft skin. When we were both clean and the water bordering on uncomfortable, I wrapped him in a fluffy towel and carried him back to the bed. I had him dried and wrapped in his soft robe before his eyes finally fluttered open.
“Hi, beautiful,” I leaned down and kissed him, then trailed kisses down his chest and finishing on his tummy. “You’re going to have to sit up for a few because the baby is hungry.”
Jeremy laughed. “It is, huh?”
“Yep,” I insisted. “So hungry that she’s been trying to break free and escape.”
“She?”
I shrugged. “Just a hunch.” I dug around in one of the bags I’d brought and pulled out the trail mix and beef jerky pouches. “Here, start on these while I get some water.”
By the time I returned, Jeremy was already halfway through the trail mix, a blissful smile on his face. “This is so good. I was starving.”
“Good.” I handed him the water bottle and reached for my bag again, this time searching out the bottle of massage oil.
“Seriously?” Jeremy raised a brow. “You fucked me senseless and now I get a massage?” He sighed as I started with his left foot, digging my thumb into his arch as I rubbed the thick oil into his skin. “Best. Alpha, Ever.”
“You think?” I kissed the inside of his ankle before sliding my hands up his calf. “Maybe I’m just trying to convince you to keep me.”
Jeremy laughed, laying the empty snack bag on the bedside table and leaning back against the pillows with a blissed-out smile as I reached his tummy. “It might just be working.”
“I’m counting on it,” I said, dropping my next kiss on the tiny hand that pressed against his side. “There’s my baby girl,” I cooed, kissing the imprint of each tiny finger before the hand disappeared. “Got’em that time!”
When I lifted my head to move up to his chest, Jeremy was watching me strangely. “What’s wrong?”
“Nothing,” he said quickly, shaking his head. “I think maybe I’m more tired than I realized,” he said softly.
“I’m almost done,” I assured him, gently urging him to roll over onto his side. “Let me do your back so you don’t wake up itchy and then we can crash.”
Jeremy’s murmured response was inaudible, but, since he did what I asked, I assumed it was affirmative, so I finished as quickly as I could and pulled the covers up over us. When Jeremy spooned up against me, I kissed his neck and held him close as he dozed off, one hand coming to rest on his tummy as I held him to me. I was just about to follow him into the land of nod when a movement under my hand caught my attention. The tiny hand was back and pressing against mine.
“It’s okay, little one,” I whispered, not wanting to disturb my Omega. “Papa and I are here, baby. We’ve got you.”
I fell asleep with our hands still pressed together on Jeremy’s tummy.
Chapter Twenty-Two
Jeremy
