Page 17 of The Fated Mate Bandit

He stops the cart. “I want you to be comfortable, Lucas. Pick out some soap, shampoo, and deodorant. I also think we should get you some lotion. Pregnant guys like lotion, right? Isn’t that a thing?”

I hold back a smile. “I don’t know. Maybe.”

“Well, you should get some. Whatever kind you like.”

I scan the shelves of soaps and shampoos. There are so many options. Over the last few years, I’ve bought my soap and shampoo at the dollar store. It always comes in a bar, not a bottle. Even when I was growing up, bar soap was what we bought. It’s cheaper.

“Any kind I like?” I ask. “Are you sure? These are expensive.”

“Yes, I’m sure. Although, I won’t lie. I like smelling my soap on you.” He bites his lip and looks at me with a heat in his eyes that I remember all too well. Surely, he couldn’t be coming onto me. I’m six months pregnant and absolutely huge.

“Then I should use your soap, right? If you like it?” I say.

“Pick out some soap for yourself. You can use mine when you’re feeling flirty.” He smiles at me, and God. I can’t think when he smiles like that.

“Oh-okay. Yeah. Sure.” I turn to the wall of soaps. Even though there are rows and rows of options, one bottle calls to me right away. It claims to smell exactly like prairie wildflowers. I pick up the bottle and flip the lid. It’s close, I guess. I can pick out the floral undertones and the scent of the hardy grass that grows near the trailer park where we grew up, but the smell of dry earth is missing.

That’s probably for the best. My memories of that prairie are both good and bad. It’s the place where Silver and I cuddled and made love, but it’s also the place I took refuge every time my dad got angry. I don’t want to be dragged back in time every time I take a shower.

“I want this one,” I say, putting the bottle in the cart.

We find a shampoo and conditioner with the same scent. He even puts a lotion specifically made for a pregnant omega’s belly in the cart. I feel like a spoiled prince with all this stuff.

“Do you still love chocolate?” he asks, as we walk toward the register, hand in hand.

“Um, yeah, but you don’t have to?—”

He stops and tosses a big bag of chocolate peanut butter cups into the cart.

“Silver—” I protest, but he starts pushing the cart again.

“I’m allowed to buy my mate chocolate,” he says.

My stomach fills with butterflies.

9

SILVER

Lucas walks out of my spare bedroom wearing his new light yellow shirt and shorts. He looks like an entirely different man than the one I found on my porch last night. His lips are quirked up into a smile on one side, and his eyes are bright. Even the swelling on his face has gone down, leaving only a light patch of purple on his skin.

“Wow,” I say, openly ogling him. His long legs in contrast with his baby bump are undeniably sexy. I probably shouldn’t be into that, seeing as how I’m not the one who got him pregnant, but here we are.

Lucas bites his lip nervously. “Thank you for the clothes.”

“Of course.” I hook an arm around him and pull him in close, until our lips are only a few inches apart. “Anytime.”

His chin tilts up, as if his mouth is made of magnets and mine are pure metal. I love how easily he melts into me, like Daryl never existed. “How much time do you think we have before your brothers get here?”

I glance at the clock. It’s five minutes to seven. “I don’t know. Fifteen minutes? Quin is coming, so they’ll definitely be late.”

Lucas kisses me. His lips are soft and taste of chocolate. I sink my fingers into his hair, holding him close, and his body sags against mine, surrendering to me completely. I wonder what he would do if I gathered him into my arms and carried him to my bedroom. Would he let me make love to him?

“Ahem.”

I release Lucas and pull away from him to find a very flustered Tin standing in my kitchen. His face is red as a beet.

“Sorry to bother ya’ll,” Tin says. He grasps his cowboy hat and tilts it in Lucas’s direction. “Evening, Lucas. It’s nice to see you again.”

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