Sterling smoothed bellybutter over Adrian’s rounded stomach, rubbing it with his fingers until it soaked into Adrian’s distressed skin. The hardly there bump from five months earlier had turned into an impossible-to-miss, full-out baby belly. Adrian had struggled through a difficult semester as his pregnancy progressed, but he’d been adamant about graduating on time. Sterling couldn’t have been prouder, and he had no qualms with letting Adrian spend long hours at school if it meant he could spoil him on theweekends.
But now, school was out, Adrian had graduated, and they were settling into the understanding that they were to be a family. Adrian’s due date was next week, and all prenatal visits so far had confirmed that the baby was healthy. They’d made the decision together not to find out the gender of the child in advance. To Sterling, whether the child was a boy or a girl didn’t matter. His love was not dependent onchromosomes.
“Look at you,” Sterling murmured. His fingers dipped into the jar of belly butter again, and he spread it across Adrian’s taut skin. Adrian let his head fall back into the pillows, and he hummed in contentment around his cherry-colored ball gag as he pulled weakly at the restraints that locked his hands to the headboard. “Look at you, so beautifully pregnant. What a good job you’ve done so far. You make this looksoeasy.”
With a whimpered moan, Adrian lifted his hips. In the last month, he’d been hard almost all the time as his hormones geared up, preparing his body for the delivery. They’d spent more time in bed in the past few weeks, Adrian riding his cock to exhaustion, than they had throughout the length of theirrelationship.
Relationship, Sterling could now say with confidence, because itwasone.
Adrianwashis.
“Do you have any idea how good of a father you’re going to be?” Sterling asked. He leaned forward and kissed the peak of Adrian’s belly. He’d only just initiated play, but he was already hard. Whether it was his body reacting to the scent of Adrian’s pregnancy, or paternal instincts rising up from an innate part of his psyche, the sight of Adrian so pregnant never failed to turn Sterling on. “And how lucky this baby is tohaveyou?”
The way Adrian sucked in a needy breath told Sterling that he’d been heard. Sterling continued to rub, letting the product soak in. As soon as Adrian had started to become vocal about how much his stretched skin ached, Sterling had taken it upon himself to work skincare into their playscenes.
These days, some carefully executed praise and a little physical stimulation was all it took to send Adrian into subspace. So far into his pregnancy, and with Braxton Hicks contractions already a daily part of Adrian’s life, Sterling hoped it was stillenough.
“Think of how far you’ve come,” Sterling whispered against Adrian’s bump. He allowed his lips to brush against it as his hands worked Adrian’s skin delicately. “Think of how far you’ll go. Do you know how few people allow themselves the chance to do what you’ve done? How few people truly commit to betteringthemselves?”
Most of the time, when Sterling whispered sweet things to Adrian while they were in bed, Adrian was too absorbed in the moment to respond. He’d gasp, or arch his hips, or plead with Sterling to take him, but it never went much furtherthanthat.
But the tiny moan Adrian made and the way he wiggled his hips wasn’t typical, and Sterling saw whyrightaway.
The baby waskicking.
Sterling’s heart fluttered, and he smoothed his hand along the disrupted skin as Adrian struggled to regainhimself.
“The baby agrees,” Sterling whispered. He kissed where the baby had kicked, then lifted his gaze so he could gauge the reaction on Adrian’s face. To his surprise, Adrian had lifted his head. Eyes glazed with arousal and softened with love, it looked like he’d already foundsubspace.
Was it really going to bethateasy?
Before he could push Adrian any further into pleasure, Adrian rang the small bell in his hand, and Sterling abandoned his belly to undo the ball gag thatmutedhim.
Bright silicone parted from Adrian’s mouth, a strand of saliva adhered to the ball’s surface and left to stretch between Adrian’s lips and the toy. Adrian worked his jaw, then looked Sterling in the eyes with his hooded, mile-high eyes and spoke words that made Sterling’s jaw longtodrop.
“The baby is luckiest because she has you.” Adrian’s voice was small and rough from disuse, but Sterling heard it all the same. “Do you have any idea how amazing you are? How good of a fatheryou’llbe?”
Floored by what Adrian had said, he rose up on his knees and forgot about the belly butter for a little, allowing himself to climb Adrian’s body until they were nose to nose. By now, Sterling had learned to read the signs Adrian gave him. He recognized the slow, deep way Adrian breathed as his body let go and his mind soared free, and he knew the look in Adrian’s eyes of total, inarguable release. When they kissed, he read the passion in Adrian’s lips and knew that while Adrian was beyond himself from the scene, he was doing his best to drag Sterling alongwithhim.
No partner had ever done that for Sterling before. Love, delicate but confident, broadened Sterling’s heart. It would be like this forever—the chemistry between them wouldneverdie.
“She’s beyond lucky to have a man like you there to help her grow up.” Adrian’s tongue, usually sarcastic, was now sweet. Sterling shivered, the praise sinking through him in ways he hadn’t expected. Today’s play session was supposed to be about Adrian’s pleasure, but it looked like Adrian had other plans. He already knew pain—now he was learning pleasure, too. “To care for her, to see her through the hard times, and to celebrate with her throughthegood.”
Sterling’s cheeks heated. He tilted his head to the side and kissed the lips that praised him, the message made so much better for how unexpecteditwas.
“And she’s going to grow up to be just as kind as you are.” Adrian ended the kiss so he could speak, but his lips stayed close to Sterling’s. “She’s going to be every bit as wonderful as the father whoraisedher.”
“Thefatherswhoraisedher.”
There was no reply, but Adrian’s tiny gasp was answer enough. Sterling lifted himself from where he leaned, intending to take Adrian into his mouth while his hands rubbed in more belly butter, but the look on Adrian’s facestoppedhim.
Something waswrong.
Adrian tugged at the restraints keeping him in place, then winced and groaned. When he opened his eyes again, the cues that suggested he was in subspace were still present, but they’d become cloudedbypain.
“Sterling?” Adrian askeduncertainly. “Baby?”
“I’m here,” Sterling said. He undid the restraints immediately and worked Adrian’s wrists with his thumbs. They didn’t look injured, but he couldn’t be sure. There was always the chance that Adrian had started to cramp. “What’s going on? You need to tell me so we can work on ittogether.”
