Page 26 of Two Wrong Turns

Snagging the blanket from the end of the bed, I tugged it up and over us. Barrett wiggled a big, then moaned in his sleep. My adorable mate wasn’t used to being locked on a knot while trying to rest. It was going to be an interesting nap for us both.

I shifted a bit until I had him pulled against me just right. With my arm around his waist, I kept us connected as I allowed myself to relax against him. Sleep would come for me eventually. Until then, I would bask in the beauty of our bond.

Fate had blessed me in the best of ways. I’d be foolish not to appreciate every second I could.

Chapter 11

Barrett

As a kid,I remembered seeing a woman in the grocery store who kept rubbing her stomach. We passed by her a million times in the one trip. I know because I was fascinated by her.

When I’d asked my mom if she had a tummy ache and needed medicine like I sometimes did, my mother had giggled and said, “Sweetie, I doubt it’s that. She could be pregnant though. Some women like to rub their bellies to remind themselves.”

Younger me had found the idea ludicrous. Why would you rub your belly to remind yourself you were pregnant? I declared women to be confusing creatures, and I thought nothing more of it.

Not until I was rubbing my own stomach five days after the first time I’d been knotted by my magical bear shifter mate.

Ok, so I might have been a hypocrite. There was something to be said about this whole stomach rubbing business.

It gave me a sense of peace. Like singing your favorite song or eating your favorite snack could. Not nostalgic, necessarily. More like a comfort.

Plus, I wondered how long it would take us to actually conceive. Was I already carrying our baby? And if I was, how long until I could confirm it?

The simple contact on my belly was one I repeated endlessly. It was the first full day Nolan had to go back to work. Admittedly, I was a bit lost without him around. Yet another reason the movement soothed me.

My mate had filled our days with laughter and activity. We’d walked around the woods together, him pointing out things I should know like what berries I could eat and what was poisonous. I had no desire to traipse through the forest without him, but I still indulged in his need to protect me.

We also cooked together, using his kitchen like we’d been together for years instead of days. Our teamwork was intrinsic. Sometimes, I thought it was the bond, since I could hear him running through the recipe in his head, which gave me the chance to hand over what was needed.

But he’d told me it was more than that. The ease at which we worked together wasn’t just because we were mates.

“You and I would have worked together even without Fate, I believe,” he’d whispered to me one night.

While I liked the idea of it, I couldn’t begrudge Fate for stepping in. This was the happiest I’d ever been in my life. Not even whenI had a full gallery and dozens of bids on my artwork did I feel as fulfilled as I do with my mate simply holding me in one of the chairs on our back porch.

Yes, I said ours.

Because as much as I felt like this place would be temporary at first, it isn’t. Nolan is my home. And this is where he feels safest. I wouldn’t dare ask him to leave.

There is plenty of inspiration here for me to work with. My job isn’t beholden to a specific location anyway.

Tonight I’d planned to make a special meal for my mate to show him how proud I was of him for going back to work. It was going to be a hearty meatloaf with mashed potatoes, green beans cooked in bacon fat, and for dessert, a pecan pie.

Maybe it was overkill, but I had this urge to cook and take care of him. I suspected it might have been linked to some kind of nesting my body wanted to do. I’d read more of those fan fictions in the downtime we had over the last few days. Several described nesting as an action leading up to a heat. Mine might have been over, but since it came on so fast, I thought maybe this was a post-heat nesting fit.

Either way, I’d spent all day cleaning things around the house and arranging them just how I wanted. I even pulled in a few things from my car to add my own touch and scent to the house.

That was another new thing. I could smell damn near everything for like a half a mile radius. I didn’t understand some of the scents. Nolan said they were most likely emotions. It would take me time to figure it out.

Other times, I could tell there was an animal nearby simply because I’d get a whiff of it while painting on the back porch. It was rather distracting, though also a bit exhilarating.

I wondered what else would come along too. My mate assured me I wouldn’t turn into a bear. Fate had merely decided I should get some of the benefits of shifter abilities while remaining as human as I could.

Working with my headphones on, I didn’t hear my mate arriving. But I smelled him. And oh, did he smell good.

Turning from where I was working at the counter, I found him leaning in the doorway. His outfit was the same work uniform he’d worn when we first met, meaning it wasn’t really even a uniform. Still, I felt that spark of need that always came when I took him in.

His pose was relaxed.

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