Page 26 of His Protective Bear

Chapter 12

Hunter

I was on duty, but just like I had every day for the last two weeks, I stopped at the diner for lunch. When I walked in, Sage had just finished serving a table and moved towards the counter. When he saw me, he turned around and came over to me with a smile on his face.

“Afternoon, Sheriff,” Sage smiled up at me.

I grinned. Gods, I loved seeing this side of him. He was coming out of his shell, and his true personality was showing.

“Good afternoon Sage. How you doing, my love?” I lowered my voice because I knew how shy he got except in bed. He was not shy in bed.

His cheeks bloomed pink, and I couldn’t help smiling. I loved to make him blush. He was so damn pretty when he did.

“What would you like to eat?” he asked, looking at me beneath his lashes.

I so badly wanted to say ‘you’, but I held back because I could tell there were eyes on us. And as much as I enjoyed making Sage blush, I didn’t actually want to embarrass him.

“I’ll have the meatloaf with—”

“Mashed potatoes and cornbread,” Sage finished for me.

“Am I getting predictable?” I teased.

“Maybe I’m just getting to know what you like,” he said. Gods, that sounded amazing.

“I’m glad. Now, if you could join me for lunch, I would be the happiest man in the world,” I asked.

“I wish I could,” Sage looked up at the sound of the bell above the door.

“I guess the lunch rush is about to start, huh?” He nodded and looked genuinely sad he couldn’t sit and eat with me.

“I’ll make it up to you, though,” Sage promised, looking back at the kitchen, “I have to go.”

“I’ll hold you to it,” I said, “I’ll guess I’ll take lunch to go.”

He nodded, “Coming right up.” He glanced behind him, and somehow the diner had gotten even fuller while we were talking. “I really have to go.” He shot me an apologetic look.

“Go on then.” Just as he moved to leave, I breathed in his scent, and I had to do it again to be sure. I’d suspected for a couple of days, but now I was certain.

My mate, my omega, was pregnant. Sage was pregnant with our baby. I knew I couldn’t tell him right now, even though I so badly wanted to share it with him. But I’ve learned springing it on him wasn’t the way to go. I didn’t want to freak him out, and he couldn’t scent the baby, so it would be a surprise, and I wasn’t even sure how he would feel.

No, this wasn’t the time or place to tell him.

I was fucking excited. Gods, I hoped Sage would be too.

I couldn’t take my eyes off him as he took orders and chatted with customers. I tried to imagine him big with our baby, and fuck if that didn’t make me have some very dirty thoughts. And I also wanted to wrap him up and protect him from everything that could dare come near him.

When my order was ready, Sage brought my food to me himself and even walked me to the door. I pulled him to me to kiss him goodbye but stopped before I kissed him in front of the whole diner. “I’m sorry,” I whispered.

He held my gaze for a moment, then his hand cupped my neck, pulling me down for a kiss. When his lips met mine, I lost all control of myself. The love I felt surging through my body for him, and our unborn child made me so fucking happy. Remembering where we were, I gained a little bit of self-control.

When he pulled back, and I looked him in the eye, I couldn’t stop smiling. It shouldn’t be a big deal, but it felt like my mate had just claimed me, in front of everyone too. We knew everyone in Asheville had their eyes on us at all times, and we probably just set the gossip mill on fire.

“I’ll see you later,” I murmured, and I may have been smiling with all my teeth showing. I didn’t care how dopey I looked.

Sage smiled and nodded, “Later.”

I wore the smile all the way to the station, causing my deputies to give me sideways looks more than once.

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