“You’re welcome, doll.” Paula mock-waggled her finger at Otto. “Now, you let him get some rest!”
Otto chuckled and raised his hands in surrender. “Yes, ma’am. My new mission is to make sure both of them get everything they need.”
Paula grinned at him before crossing the room to drop the empty cup in the trash can. “You see that you do, but if you need anything else,” she trailed off and gestured to the call button.
“I’ll let you know,” Otto agreed, slipping his arm around my waist and tugging me closer.
When the door closed behind Paula, I started to pull away, but Otto wasn’t having it. “Where are you going, baby?”
“I, um.” I peered at him from the corner of my eye. Iexpected him to be angry, but he didn’t seem to be. “I’m crowding you.”
“You’re not,” Otto disputed, tipping his forehead to rest against my shoulder. “I want you as close to me as you can get.” He drew in a breath, very obviously scenting me. “Youandour child. Is that okay?”
I nodded. “Who, um, who told you?”
“About the baby?”
I nodded again and Otto shrugged.
“You did.”
My head jerked around so fast that I wrenched my neck. “No, I didn’t. Not even before.”
Otto’s lips were trying to smile but the corners of his mouth were still turned down. “You didn’t mean to,” he acknowledged, shrugging one shoulder, “but you did. Can I ask why you didn't tellme before?”
I sighed and figuring it was better to just rip off the bandage, I forged on. “You were really specific about not wanting to even be fuck buddies,” I said baldly. “I was afraid you would think I was trying to trap you,” I swallowed hard but forced the words out, “or worse.”
“Worse?” Otto parroted looking adorably confused for the split second before my meaning set in. “Oh, gods, Dex. You thought I..” Otto was looking a little green. “Jeez, I really have been a grade A asshat, haven’t I?”
I just stared miserably at the blanket over my lap as a stuffy silence surrounded us. Several long minutes passed before Otto cleared his throat.
“I know you don’t have any reason to believe me,” he said quietly, rubbing comforting circles on my back, “but I feel terrible about how I’ve treated you. Even though I thought I was protecting you, I went about it all wrong and was an absolute dick. If you’ll give me another chance, I promise I’ll do better.”
Better? Better how? I forced an inhale so I could ask.
“I’m not sure what you’re asking for,” I admitted.
“If you’ll have me, I want you, baby,” Otto said firmly. “In my life, in my house, with me in every way we can be. I want to take care of you while you grow our baby and spend the rest of my life showing you how much I care about you. Is that a little more clear?”
When I still didn’t answer, Otto moved suddenly, shifting me onto his lap. Shoving my shirt out of the way, he scraped his teeth over the sensitive skin of my neck before kissing away the sting.
“Not to put too fine a point on it,” he murmured into my ear, “but I want you to wear my bite for the rest of our days. Isthatclear enough?”
I shivered in his arms as my heart rate sped up.
“Dex?”
Right, he asked me a question. “Perfectly clear, Alpha.”
~*~
Otto
My big declaration fell pretty flat as, other than acknowledging that he understood me when I pressed, Dex didn’t speak, didn’t move, barely even breathed. In my chest, the bear was confused and bordering on anxious, pawing at me when his mate didn’t respond.
Would you back down?I huffed internally.He needs a minute.
Or longer, if I was honest with myself. After all, the more my memories returned, the more I understood why Dex wasn’t falling all over himself to accept my sudden about-face.
