Page 29 of Hunting for Love

“I need more of your scent,” I murmur from beneath my mountain of blankets. “Take off your shirt.”

“I could grab one--”

“No. Absolutely not. I need the one you’re wearing right now.”

“Seriously?”

Star clears her throat, raising her brow at Ronny. Ronny lets out a sigh and starts stripping out of his shirt.

“Yes, thank you,” I say, grabbing his shirt and burying my face against the fabric. Oh gods, this is so perfect.

Another contraction goes through me and this one flows over me. I can feel my body preparing for our baby’s birth but this time I’m not fighting against the pain, I work with it.

“I think you should get under there with him,” Star suggests. “It’s just about time to start pushing and he’ll want you close.”

Ronny shimmies his way under the blankets with me. His warmth and scent cling to me, settling my inner omega. There’s pain and heat and pressure, but at the same time I feel acceptance and love and cared for. This is such a stark difference to JJ’s birth.

I lay on my right side with Ronny spooned behind me. He carefully lifts my left leg into the air while Star sits at the end of the bed. This is perfect. I’m comfortable and surrounded by Ronny.

“You’re doing so well,” Ronny whispers into my hair. “You’ve got this, Zander.”

I nod along to his words, concentrating on my body. When I feel the need to push, I bear down with everything I have. I’m not sure how long we do this, breathing through the pain and pushing when my body tells me. It could be minutes. It’s more likely it’s hours.

“Come on,” Star says, her voice spurring me on. “They’re right here. Give me one more giant push.”

I grit my teeth and give this push everything I have.

“There she is,” Star murmurs as my entire body goes slack with relief. It took so much to get her out but now that she’s here, my body finally relaxes. Ronny is gentle as he helps me sit up, staying near and helping me hold our daughter for the first time.

“She’s beautiful,” I murmur, looking down into bright green eyes that match my own. “She’s absolutely perfect, Ronny.”

Ronny kisses the side of my head and I can feel the love and adoration practically radiating off of him. It warms my very core. “You’re amazing. I can’t believe you did this, baby.”

“I didn’t do anything special.”

Ronny makes a noise of disbelief. “If you truly believe that then I have to step up my game. I want you to always know how special you truly are just from being yourself.”

My heart warms and tears prickle behind my eyes. “I love you,” I tell him, leaning against his side. His arms are wrapped around me, helping me support our baby. I feel completely encased in love, unable to escape even if I wanted. Which I don’t. Now that I’m here, truly loved and safe for the first time, I can’t imagine going back to a life where Ronny isn’t there.

“Do you have a name?” Star asks after cleaning everything up. Having her here was exactly what I needed. She guided me into trusting my instincts, making this whole process less stressful, less painful, and now, less messy.

“I was thinking of keeping with the J theme,” I tell Ronny with a soft smile. “Do you like Jordan?”

Ronny smiles. “I think that’s perfect. You are so very perfect, Jordan.”

Star and Ronny help me lean back against a pile of pillows. They help me out of my shirt so Jordan and I can enjoy some skin to skin time. I feel at peace.

The only thing that makes this moment better is when Star lets JJ into the RV to meet his new baby sister. Just as we all suspected, he immediately falls in love with her, whispering how he’s going to teach her to shift and take her on walks and always look out for her.

When I pictured my future, it was always filled with gritting my teeth and getting through life as best as I could. It was filled with protecting JJ. But now, I’m allowed to live not only for JJ but for me as well. For a long time I was hunting for something, I just didn’t realize that thing was Ronny and ultimately,love.

EPILOGUE

RONNY

I burymy toes in the sand. Our little beach vacation had to wait a few days, but we’re finally all here. We look like a ridiculous group of tourists, all bunched together on the beach with our giant umbrella that Jeff bought us. Martin refused to put on proper beach attire so he’s sitting in his chair with his combat boots, jeans, and black tee. He looks like he could murder someone with that scowl if he tried hard enough.

Hopefully after this tiny break, we’ll finally get some sort of proper lead for this case. I know it’s really weighing on him, being unable to figure this out. He’s always felt like he was all muscle and no brains but we all know that’s not true. Once Martin puts his mind to something hewillfigure it out sooner or later.

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