“I’m just tired,” she grunted against my skin. “Of everything. Of being inside all the time. Of not being able to check on my shops. Of feeling useless while everyone else runs around trying to protect me. Of being pregnant and huge and uncomfortable every second of every day. I’m tired, Knox. I’m so fucking tired.”
I pressed my lips to her hair and held her tighter. “I know, baby. I know. And I’m sorry. I wish I could make this easier for you. I wish I could fix everything so you didn’t have to go through this.”
“It’s not your fault.”
“Feels like it is. You’re stuck in here because of threats against you. Threats that exist because you’re mated to me. Because you’re the Luna of this pack. If I hadn’t...”
“Don’t.” She pulled back slightly to look at me, her brown eyes fierce despite her exhaustion. “Don’t you dare finish that sentence. I chose this life. I chose you. I don’t regret it, Knox. Not for a second. I’m just tired. That’s all.”
Her eyes got suspiciously shiny as she spoke, and I watched in alarm as tears started to well up. Pregnancy hormones had turned my mate into an emotional rollercoaster, crying at commercials and getting choked up over songs on the radio. But this felt different. This felt real.
“Hey,” I murmured, cupping her face in my hands. “Hey, it’s okay. You’re okay. We’re going to get through this.”
“I know,” she whispered, but the tears spilled over anyway. “I know we will. I just... I miss feeling normal. I miss feelinglike myself instead of this huge, emotional, trapped version of myself.”
“You’re still you. You’ll always be you. The strongest, most stubborn, most incredible woman I’ve ever known.” I brushed the tears from her cheeks with my thumbs. “And I love you. Every version of you. Even the huge emotional trapped version.”
She let out a watery laugh. “That was almost romantic until the end.”
“I was going for honest.”
“You achieved it.”
Our eyes met and held, and the mood in the room shifted. The playful banter faded into charged silence as I watched her gaze drop to my lips. She leaned in slowly, giving me time to close the distance, and then we were kissing.
Slow at first. Gentle. The kind of kiss that said I love you without any words. But then she made a sound in the back of her throat, a tiny moan that went straight to my cock, and the kiss deepened into heated territory.
We hadn’t been intimate in months. I hadn’t pushed for it, would never push for it. Lina’s comfort came first, always. If she was too tired or too uncomfortable or just not in the mood, I was content to wait. I’d been content with my own hand in the shower, taking care of myself when the need got too intense while imagining her face, her body, the sounds she made when I was inside her.
I’d wait years for her if I had to. Hell, I already had. Those five years apart, believing I’d never see her again, had taught me patience I didn’t know I possessed. Now that I had her back, now that she was mine, I would never take her for granted. I would never pressure her for anything she wasn’t ready to give.
But now that I could smell her arousal, now that I could feel her desire flowing through the bond, my body responded with an enthusiasm I couldn’t control. My cock was rock hard in seconds, straining against my pants.
Lina’s hand found me through the fabric, and I nearly lost my mind. She stroked me slowly, deliberately, her fingers tracing the length of me while I groaned against her mouth.
I could hear the kids outside now, their laughter carrying through the window as they apparently played with water while Hunt supervised. Bless that man. He was keeping them occupied without even knowing he was doing me a massive favor.
Lina broke the kiss and pulled back slightly, her hand still moving against me. She looked at me with dark eyes and a wicked smile that made my heart pound.
“Lina,” I groaned, my hips pushing into her touch against my will.
Her smile widened.
Then the doorbell rang.
“Fuck,” I hissed.
“Shit,” she agreed, jerking her hand away.
Her expression shifted instantly from aroused to nervous. Every unexpected knock, every unfamiliar sound made her tense up now. The threats had gotten to her more than she wanted to admit.
“It’s okay,” I said quickly, pressing a kiss to her forehead. “I’ll check who it is. Stay here.”
I adjusted myself as best I could, willing my erection to calm the fuck down as I walked to the door. This had better be important. If someone was interrupting us for anything less than an emergency, I was going to be pissed.
I opened the door and immediately knew I was going to be pissed. Very.
Isabella didn’t wait for an invitation. She barged past me into the house before I could even open my mouth to tell her to go away.
