Page 30 of Not Ready

I toss another pillow in the pile and lie down on top of the comforter I plucked off my bed. The floor needs a mat or cushion, but my impulses hum in approval of the confined space. I yank a pillow down, putting it between my knees. My alignment has been seriously out of whack the last couple of months. I’m hopeful everything will go back to normal once I give birth because the aches and pains are extreme.

“Hey, are you in here somewhere?” Bishop’s growly voice calls out.

“Yep, come on in,” I call, tilting my head to look at the door.

It flies open, and Bishop frowns. “Whatcha doing?”

“Nesting.” I pat the pillow in front of me. “Want to join me?”

“Sure.” He kicks his shoes off and comes in, closing the door behind him. “If you needed to nest this badly, I would have gladly got you moved into the primary suite. It has a setup that you’ve got to see to believe.”

“This house has two?” My jaw falls open, but honestly, that’s not impossible to believe with how enormous it is. “That’s probably something Mercer should save for his omega.”

“This is the other half of the walk-in closet for your bedroom. I put your bags in the half with the hanging storage, but this one is meant for dressers or boxes of clothing storage.” He lies down, facing me.

I pull my knees back so they won’t bump into his, but nothing can be done about the belly.

“Oh,” I whisper, sincerely wishing I’d kept my mouth shut. “Well, omega noses are extremely good at picking out scents. It’s probably for the best.”

“Actually, sweet girl.” Bishop scoots down until his face is only inches from mine. “That’s what I was hoping to talk to you about.”

My heart seems to stall, or maybe that’s my ability to breathe. He realized everything he got himself into by offering me a place to stay. He’s about to tell me I have to leave. And that’s okay. I’ve already majorly disrupted their lives over the last two days.

“How do you feel about maybe marrying me?” Bishop asks, sucking his thick lower lip between his teeth.

“What?” I squawk.

I’m not usually a squawker, but what did he just say?

“I can add you to my insurance if we get married.” His hand lands on my stomach, giving a tender caress. “I want you and the baby to have the best care you can get. I know you’re going to say no because you’ll feel guilty or worry that you’re taking advantage of the situation, but don’t. I guess I should have said we want you to marry us.”

My brow furrows as I squint, trying to figure out what the hell that means. “I’m actually more confused now.”

“Mercy wants access to his trust fund. Which makes him sound money hungry, but it’s for a good cause. It would help bankroll our initiative to take out the trash.”

My mind races.

That sounds a lot like a euphemism for murdering people. Maybe I’ve watched one too many true crime mysteries over the last year.

“What, exactly, do you do for a living? I mean, you do personal protection like bodyguard stuff, but…”

He sighs. “Assurance provides all kinds of contracts, from personal security to business threat assessments. We’ve got a killer cyber security division. Those things fund the company as a whole, but they're also a convenient cover for the contract work we do on the side.”

My eyes widen. “You’re a mercenary?”

“We don’t really use that word on US soil.” He moves his hand to cup my head. “There are some types of evil that are essentially untouchable by the law. If they go down, they always bounce right back up. Like sex traffickers. You take out one, and five more pop up in their place. What we don’t do is hurt good people. A huge part of Mercy’s inheritance would go to helping save omegas from that same kind of fate.”

So, they kill people.

I’m not sure how I feel about that, but I’ve had a feeling for a long time that he’s in the military or some kind of police work.

I’ve heard contract work is a common enough path for alphas leaving the military.

“Does that scare you?” he asks. “Under no circumstances would I ever hurt you or the baby.”

“I know that.” The level of relief I felt when he walked into my doctor’s appointment was so great, it should scare me. At first, I was frustrated because Cooper came up again, but Bishop was just there, giving me the physical comfort I crave and haven’t had for so long. All I wanted was for him to scoop me up and hold me tight. “I’m not scared of you. My impulses trust you. I haven’t had a lot of experience with alphas firsthand, but it’s crazy how much you put me at ease.”

A few pieces of blondish-brown hair have fallen out of his hair tie, and they float around his face as he breaks out into a wide smile.

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