Page 20 of Sizzling for His Omega

That was my safety.

We walked into the bedroom. I had one of his boxes in my hands. “I cleared out half of the closet. Honestly, it was full of things I hadn’t worn in years. And I bought another dresser over there for your things. Your nightstand is clear. If you want the other side, I don’t care.”

“Leon”—he put his hand on my chest as I dropped the box on the bed—“thank you. You went to so much trouble.”

“Nothing I do for you is trouble, omega. I’d gut this house down to the studs and concrete and start all the building again if that’s what you wanted. Moving some clothes and other things around is nothing.”

“I’m sorry to make you go through all of this. I should’ve moved in weeks ago. When I first knew we were mates. Hell, I should have followed you home after the night you marked me. What a fool.”

“Hey now,” I said, pulling him in for a kiss. “No talking about my mate like that. Do you have to work today?” I asked. He had a schedule, but sometimes he liked to pop in and see how things were going. He trusted his staff, and they worked hard, so lately he had been checking in less and less, especially now that his belly was getting bigger and his energy waned.

“I hear you, alpha. And no, I’m not going in today. Want to help me unpack?”

I chuckled. “Absolutely.”

For the rest of the day, we unpacked his things, taking a break at noon to have lunch outside at the picnic table in the backyard. I gave him a tour of my workshop, and we talked about some changes he wanted to make. He said the bedroomwas too dark. He wanted to paint it a soft gray.

Hearing him talk about my house as our home made me smile.

“What is that smile about?” he asked, kissing each side of my mouth as we lay in the hammock bathed in sunshine.

“You are calling it our house. I like it. My jackal loves it. It is our home now.”

“Even though I still own my other house?” He laid his head on my chest. He always found a way to do that.

“Doesn’t matter. You could own a million houses and, as long as you’re with me, then that place is home.”

“That was so cheesy. I love it.”

“I love you,” I said, kissing the top of his head. I was well aware that this was the first time I’d said it out loud but I wanted to. I wanted him to hear the words and feel they were true.

He moved a little and looked up at me. The hammock swayed but I tried to keep us steady. “I love you, Leon. You and love and mating scared the crap out of me at first and, while I’m still scared, I do love you.”

“I love you, too, omega. And don’t forget our little one.” I reached down and rubbed my hand across his belly, the size of a basketball now. Pregnant certainly suited my omega. He looked adorable when he showed me his profile. I’d convinced him to let me take some pictures of him both with clothes on and without. I wanted him to see how beautiful he was in my eyes. Plus, the pictures would freeze these moments in time. I wanted to remember every second of his pregnancy.

“Oh, he is already loved more than I could’ve imagined.”

I chuckled as he spoke to his belly. “He is. You are both well loved.”

Tobias moved a bit. His hand slid from his belly to my groin. “I could think of a way to show me exactly how well loved I am, Leon.”

“So can I.”

Chapter Twenty

Tobias

I wasn’t allowed to paint our room. Quinn said that even the zero-VOC paints weren’t a good idea for a pregnant omega to spend a lot of time in close proximity with, so my alpha did the job. I was beyond frustrated, not just because of that one limitation but because it seemed that there were more all the time. Minimal caffeine. Not lunch meat. No sushi—not that I really like it, but I hated being told no. Always a trigger for me. And then he did the work while I was at work because obviously, I wasn’t supposed to be around it; but it meant I didn’t even see how it looked on the walls, and it made me nervous all day, leading to me spilling a whole vat of hummus right on my new sneakers.

If I wore Crocs, they’d have been a whole lot easier to clean, but they just weren’t my thing. No wonder so many restaurant workers did like them though. When I got home, my alpha was so proud to show me what he’d done that I didn’t even have the heart to be anything but grateful. We slept in the guest room that night, and that was kind of fun. Something about being in a different bed just got me going, and my alpha, though he had to be tired from all the painting, was very willing to accommodate my amorous leanings.

In other words, he fucked my brains out in the one position we could still manage, on our sides with him behind me.

I felt very proud of myself for having been such a good sport about his painting without me and went off to work the next day, pregnant belly leading the way. It was very busy at the restaurant, and I stayed longer than usual, coming home well after dark. I’d been trying to be home for dinner as often as possible, even if we did eat a little later than most people. Wedid what worked for us. But that night, I stayed all the way to closing, so I’d texted Leon to let him know to eat without me.

The house was dark except for a lamp in the living room when I made my way inside. Halfway up the stairs, the scent of paint tickled my nose. The zero-VOC type we’d chosen was supposed to have no scent, but my shifter senses were too strong for this and I had been smelling paint for a couple of days.

It was nice of my mate to paint our bedroom. I’d been able to go in and check it out this morning and it looked fantastic. At least I’d been able to pick out the color. I did enjoy those kinds of tasks, though, and it was disappointing not to be able to help. But it hadn’t smelled this strong then, and as I passed our bedroom door, it didn’t seem to be coming from there. Heading toward the guest room, I found myself pausing in front of the nursery.

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