Page 48 of Kidnapped By the Wolf

When I built Cassie her studio out back, I never considered that she’d have to wade through eight inches of snow and navigate the slippery stairs leading up to the deck in her condition.

I’ve told her time and time again to let me help her. Hell, I set up a workbench in the main living area of our cabin, but she insists on giving me a heart attack by schlepping out to her little studio to work on her jewelry every day.

Once my mate waddles inside, I let out the breath I’ve been holding. Her puffy parka is open in the front. Thanks to her gloriously round belly, it won’t zip closed these days. The sight of her big with child fills me with a feral pride — and crippling anxiety.

Since the day Cassie appeared in my life, she’s been my whole world. The mating mark tells every other shifter that she’s mine, and here in Gold Creek, my pack looks out for her.

It’s given me peace of mind to know she’s safe, even when she’s not with me. But the pregnancy and upcoming birth . . . those things are outside my control. And we alphas are control freaks.

“Penny for your thoughts?” Cassie asks as she unwinds her fluffy scarf.

I shake my head. “I wish you’d at least get a bell so you could summon me when you need to come up.”

She rolls her eyes and crosses the room, planting a playful kiss on my nose. “You also wish I’d let you roll me in bubble wrap, but that’s not going to happen.”

“Just the bump,” I say, running my hands over her belly and planting a tender kiss there.

She narrows her eyes. “Liar.”

“Honestly, I’d ratherunwrapyou,” I say, helping her out of her coat and tugging her into my lap.

Cassie snuggles into my warmth and kisses me tenderly. She tastes like hot cocoa and fresh snow.

Threading my fingers through her silky dark hair, I turn her so she’s straddling me. Cassie gives a low hum of approval and nestles her soft mound against my erection. Even with our clothes between us, I can feel her damp heat and scent her sweet arousal.

Slipping my hand beneath the waistband of her leggings, I groan when I feel how wet she is for me. The pregnancy hormones have made Cassie crazy horny, and her carrying my pup turns me on in ways I can’t even explain.

Her swollen breasts, swollen ankles — I fucking love it all. Every change her body has gone through just makes her more beautiful to me.

Slipping a finger inside her, I nearly come in my pants. She is so tight and slick and ready. I want to rip off these damnedleggings and spank her for scaring me on those steps like that. But first I plan to give my mate some sweet, sweet torture.

A knock at the door derails my plans, and I growl against her mouth.

It was Cassie’s idea to invite company over. Don’t get me wrong, I love my pack. But if it were up to me, I’d spend every night rolling around with my mate, getting to know every inch of her newly filled-out body.

Incidentally, we’ve had a lot of new pups join the pack lately, and I know from my brothers’ experience that there will be much less time for rolling around once the baby gets here.

Sliding off my fingers, Cassie fixes her leggings and answers the door, greeting Damon’s mate Chloe as if they’ve known each other forever. Chloe and Cassie cling to each other like a couple of pregnant school girls, gushing over one another’s bellies and feeling the babies kick.

This one is going to be Damon and Chloe’s second, and my wolf brother looks much more relaxed than he did the first time around.

Damon’s sister Fallon flounces in a moment later, carrying an enormous pink gift bag covered in shimmery hearts and rainbows.

Did I mention we’re having a girl?

Just the thought of a little girl pup makes my chest swell with love — and makes me want to build a ten-foot wall around my cabin.

Eli shuffles in after his mate, carrying a stack of pizza boxes and looking as if he’d rather be anywhere else than caught between two gushing pregnant ladies and his equally baby-crazy mate.

“Who invited you?” Sebastian snarls at Damon when he walks in, a bottle of bourbon under his arm. He takes one lookaround at the females, who are now tearing up in unison over a tiny pink outfit, and rolls his eyes.

Some might say it’s a dick move to invite my unmated pack brother to be the seventh wheel, but no one ever invited me to these things when I was single, and it was really fucking lonely.

Plus I know I can count on Sebastian to keep the liquor flowing. Before Eli’s even set down the pizzas, Sebastian’s pouring a round of drinks. There aren’t nearly enough seats for everyone, and our tiny A-frame is considerably fuller than it’s ever been.

Before I met Cassie, I wasn’t sure I even wanted pups. But the moment she agreed to be mine, I knew I wanted to make as many beautiful babies with this woman as she would let me have. Soon we’re going to outgrow this place. I already have plans to build us something bigger — a cabin with four bedrooms at least.

Cassie moves to get a chair from the dining-room table, but I catch her hand and pull her into my lap instead.

---