I was so close to drifting off in my Alpha’s arms that I almost thought I was dreaming when I felt the baby press against my side and heard Kade begin to speak to her, assuring her that she was safe. If there was any doubt that I was stupid in love with him, it would have dissipated completely at his tender words.
As tired as I was, as well as he had worked me over – and believe me, I mean that in the best possible way – sleep wouldn’t come. I don’t know if it was the sheer amount of sleep I’d had in the days since Kade had rescued me or the shock of hearing him talk to the baby when he didn’t know I could hear him, but my mind just wouldn’t shut off.
I lay cuddled against his body as he slept. Watching the darkness fade to pinks and oranges as the sun rose higher in the sky, I wondered if there might actually be a life for Kade and me together. A future beyond simply keeping my baby out of my clan’s clutches.
“You’re thinking too hard, Jem,” Kade’s voice was thick with sleep.
“Sorry,” I murmured, laying my hand over the one that still caressed my stomach.
“S’okay,” Kade grumbled, burying his nose in his favorite spot behind my ear. “I’ve got you, baby. Get some sleep.”
The sweet words that were so close to what he’d said to the baby hours before made me smile. And, honestly, the comfort pheromones emitting from my Alpha’s big, strong body certainly didn’t hurt. I couldn’t know what the future held, but I was confident that Kade would stand by his promise to take care of my baby if the worst happened and, right then, that was enough. It had to be enough. I drew in a deep breath and let his comforting presence soothe me to sleep.
I managed to get a few hours rest before the familiar pressure on my bladder made me struggle out of Kade’s arms for a trip to the bathroom. It was very early evening, maybe five or so from the position of the sun in the sky, but I couldn’t remember the last time I’d felt so rested, so completely centered.
And, as I stood next to the bed, staring down at the sleeping man tangled in the sheets, I knew without an iota of doubt that it was all due to him. I wasn’t a religious person, but it wasn’t hard to believe that divine intervention had brought Kade into my life during that heat cycle to save me from the horrors that had been in store for me.
While I watched him sleep, Kade shifted under my gaze, reaching for the empty spot I should have been filling, a frown creasing his sleeping face when he didn’t find me.
“Jem?” Kade mumbled.
“I’m here, Alpha,” I assured him, slipping back into the bed and placing his hand on my thigh, my heart stuttering when he automatically slid the hand up to my tummy and his frown eased with a sigh.
“Mine.”
“Yours,” I agreed with a small laugh. Even asleep, my Alpha was possessive as hell and it was pretty cute. “Go back to sleep.”
A muffled snore assured me that he had taken my advice, but when his cock began to rise against me, I suspected he wasn’t going to stay asleep for long, so I decided to take things into my own hands. Err, mouth, anyway.
Moving my larger body took more effort than the last time I could remember sucking a dick, but I managed to press him onto his back and maneuver myself between his thighs without too much discomfort. Then, laying my head on his body, I drew his hardening cock into my mouth and went to work.
“Jem?” Kade’s big hand drifted over my head before long fingers threaded into my hair, tugging gently. “What’re you doing?”
I snickered around his cock and he groaned when the vibrations traveled from my tongue through his body.
“Yeah, funny,” he huffed, but there was no annoyance in his tone. “You know you don’t have to do that, right?”
I drew down hard before releasing him suddenly, letting his erection slap against his stomach to look up at him. “Do you want me to stop?”
“Fuck no!’ Kade admitted. “You’re so fucking good at that, but I don’t want you to feel like you have to do anything.”
Instead of answering, I sucked him back in, gently grazing the head with the very edge of my teeth.
“Oh, God,” my Alpha moaned, his fingers tightening in my hair as he shoved himself in deeper, briefly choking me with his hard flesh. “Shit! Sorry, baby.” He pulled back and loosened his grip on my hair.
Well, that wasn’t going to work.
I slipped my hands under his hips, encouraging him to move as I shoved my face to his groin, silently pleading with him to fuck my mouth the way he wanted to.
“You’re sure?” Kade asked, carefully thrusting into my willing mouth. “I don’t want to hurt you, Jem.”
I moaned around him as I gagged on his cock and then did it again and again, only stopping when he seemed to take the hint and began to move against me, his fingers tightening in my hair again as he took my mouth, hard and fast. Tears leaked from my eyes as I choked on him over and over, happily gagging when his release overtook him and he flooded my mouth, leaving me struggling to swallow his seed as it leaked from my lips and streamed down my chin.
I kept sucking greedily until he was soft in my mouth and I’d licked him clean, not releasing him until he grunted and shoved me off, grabbing my shoulders and guiding me up to lie beside him.
“That was awesome,” he sighed then claimed my mouth in a deep kiss. “Thank you.” Before I could answer, he’d reached down and taken me in his hand. “Now, it’s your turn.”
ChapterTwenty-Three
