Page 22 of Bound to the Mafia Guard

I smiled at his enthusiasm. HIs passion for his coursework was one of the many things I loved about my mate.

He was well into a long discussion about his bookstore finds when suddenly his face went pale, and he pushed his chair back so quickly that Louie had to catch it before it fell.

I followed helplessly as my mate ran from the room. I caught up to him as he pushed his way into the nearest bathroom and emptied the contents of his stomach.

I grabbed a fresh towel from the cabinet and wet it. “Baby? Are you okay?”

Rowan leaned back and clambered up. I held the cloth out to him, and he took it. “I’m fine. That was… That was weird.”

“Do you need anything? I can get water or maybe some ginger ale from the kitchen?”

Rowan’s mouth twisted, and he looked as if he might retch again. “No more food. I think… I mean, I don't want to assume.”

“That you might be pregnant?”

He smiled, despite the circumstances. “Yeah, that.”

I pulled him into my arms. His face was a bit warm and his skin clammy, but he was my mate and I wanted to hold him. “It's very possible.”

“That would be exciting. Don’t you think so?” HIs eyes were hopeful as he stared up at me.

“That would be beyond exciting, omega. I would be over the moon. Why don’t we go back to our room and get some rest? You’ve had a long day. We can reach out to Dr. Nindy tomorrow.”

Rowan’s body relaxed against mine. “Yeah. That sounds nice.”

12

ROWAN

"Are we going to live here or… what's our plan?" My words surprised me. Especially since we were still lying in bed together. We were both in the center of the king-sized bed. I instinctively curled around Trev while we slept. He didn’t seem to mind.

Early mornings were for cuddling, not for serious conversations that we'd been avoiding

"Do you want to live here?"

"Honestly?"

Trev pushed himself up on his elbow and gazed down at me. His hair was a mess of curls and his cheeks were unshaven. He was shirtless, and the scars on his chest were an array of white and pink. My gaze slid over them, and my fingertips followed. He was no longer hiding them from me, as he often had when we first met.

"I always want you to be honest with me. About everything. If there is something we disagree on, then we should talk about it. I don't want you to hide from me or feel like you can't talk to me about things."

I believed him. His words gave me the confidence to say what I had been thinking for the past few days. "I love the mansion, and I love my family. Getting closer with them has been the silver lining to that whole kidnapping thing."

"But?"

"But I didn't grow up in a mansion with staff and people everywhere. I most certainly didn't have a torture room."

Trev snorted at that. "Who says we have a torture room?"

I shot him a look.

He smiled. "All right, fine, we have a torture room. Possibly more than one."

"I'd like a small house. Couple of bedrooms. A master suite with a double sink so we can brush our teeth at the same time."

"Oddly specific, but I like it."

I trailed my fingertips over his temple and down his cheeks. His lips sought out the palm of my hand and he kissed it. "I just need you there. I don't need all this fancy stuff."

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