Page 24 of His Prodigal Alpha

Regardless of what we were going to label our relationship, I couldn’t deny that it felt like we were heading towardssomethingmonumental….which was crazy, right? We’d only known each other for a few hours in total.

Rex’s hand drifted over my belly in slow, lazy circles, pausing as our son rolled and kicked out in the direction of his palm.

“That’s never going to get old,” he muttered, pressing a little more firmly, seeking out more contact with the child inside me. “I am really sorry I freaked out on you. I mean, back at the bar…and then also at Beck and Ollie’s place, too. I’m…well, let’s just say I don’t always deal well with change.”

A snort escaped me before I could rein it in. “Stop apologizing, we’re good. Otherwise, it makes what we’re doing now just plain awkward.”

Because we were still cuddling. He’d given me a massage, he’d talked me through a weird, hormone-fueled semi-meltdown, and now we were cuddling as though we weretogethertogether.

He let out a bark of surprised laughter. “It feels good, though, right? Just being close. Not even sexual. Just…close.” His voice lowered and turned soft and contemplative. “It’s been a long time since I’ve done anything like this with anyone.”

I couldn’t deny that I was on the same page as him. The big cat living inside my soul was practically purring at being so intimately connected with his mate.

No. Nope. Not mate. It’s too soon to be thinking of him that way.

I could picture my inner omega rolling his eyes at my refusal to agree. Even though it was all in my head, I struggled against my instincts sometimes. Logic and rationality should trump biological imperative, shouldn’t it?

“Can I take you out on a date?” Rex’s question startled me out of my thoughts. “I know we just agreed to raise our kid together…but, I mean, I want to see if we can be somethin’. A family. We can take it slow,” he hurried to add, as though knowing that his huge declaration would otherwise send me running for the hills, “as slow as you need. But…could we try dating?”

Would it really be all that different to this new strangers-who-cuddle arrangement? We’d already agreed that we needed to get to know each other better, and he was also insisting that he was going to stick around for our kid. My heart beat a little faster at the idea, but I reminded myself that I wasn’t going to make rash decisions anymore.

“Can…can I think about it?” I asked, feeling guilty when he tensed at my back. “I’m not saying no, I just…I need some time to process. And you should really do the same.”

His palm smoothed over my belly again, and his lips brushedthe spot behind my ear. “Of course you can, kitten. I’m gonna be here for you either way.”

Well, how was I expected to keep up my rational front against sweetness like that?

In no rush to end our impromptu snuggle session, we chatted about other things. He stayed true to his word, not pressing his desire to pursue a romantic relationship as he fed me snippets about his life. I’ll admit, I was surprised to hear that he was forty-two, considering he barely looked a day older than thirty-five…maybe thirty-eight at a stretch. When I told him I was twenty-five, I’m pretty sure he had a mild conniption.

“Twenty years,” he breathed.

“Uh, no,” I corrected playfully, “seventeen. I guess I’ll be teaching our kid math, huh?”

“I mean, I knew you were younger, but…”

“Hang on, are you trying to tell me I lookoldfor my age? I’d advise you to thinkrealcarefully about your answer.” I was enjoying teasing him, finding the banter came just as easily to me as the night we met. “Next you’ll be saying I look fat, too.”

“No, no, I…I just…I mean, the lighting that night…” Rex trailed off as I cackled with mirth. His fingers twitched where they still sat on my belly. “You’re trouble, you know that?”

I grinned. Even if he couldn’t see my face, I was certain he could hear the smile in my voice. “I’m pretty sure weestablished that the night we met.”

He hummed in playful contemplation, “Hmm, I’m startin’ to like your particular brand of trouble.”

Chapter Eight - Rex

Ason. I was having a son. Despite my thoughts whirring about like crazy, and my anxiety over sudden, unexpected parenthood making me dizzy, I was strangely excited by the news. And, as I’d told Damon, I would have been equally happy if he had said it was a girl, too.

It was like learning that extra information had made it all the more real. Having just held Beck’s kids, I could vividly imagine cradling my own in my arms. While I’d never thought it was something that I wanted, I couldn’t deny that I was rapidly warming to the idea. Then the little critter had started kicking, and Damon had allowed me to feel it, and my conviction to stick around had cemented.

Yeah, I was doing it because I wanted to cowboy up. I wanted to do right by my kid, and also the man carrying him. But it was more than just the feeling of obligation that made me want to stay. It was instinct. Something deep inside of me yearned for it…and formore.

Damon was right, though: we didn’t know each other. Wemight have been connected for the rest of our lives through the kid we’d made, but even if my new urges said otherwise, that wasn’t any reason to try and initiate one of those bond things I’d just learned about. In fact, to do so without talking it through would be crazy. To do so without trying to date first would be even crazier.

I hadn’t meant to put the idea out there so soon after just agreeing to take things at his pace but cuddling him so intimately seemed to make my inhibitions disappear, and that urge inside me to make him mine was becoming more and more insistent.

I needed to get a handle on that. Feeling possessive unnerved me. But that was my baby in his belly and the thought of him potentially moving on to someone else —not that there was anyone else in the picture at the moment— made me want to hiss and growl.Literally. That had to be the shifter thing manifesting, right? I wasn’tactuallygoing insane.

Oh, God, I really hoped I wasn’t going insane.

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