Page 29 of His Innocent Omega
There was another side of me, the one that was obviously being ruled by stupid and irritating, out of control hormones, that nearly preened at the way he had come in and taken charge.Like he had every right in the world to do so.
That growly voice of his just didsomethingto my insides. Made me go all squishy and heated. I had to keep reminding myself that Grayson had known that night in the hotel that we were fated mates. And he hadn’t said a word to me. He had made the choice for both of us to just walk away.
I wasn’t saying I would have made a different choice, just that I would have liked to have some discussion about it. Some say in it. I was tired of people taking my choices away from me. It had happened all of my life and I had vowed when I moved to Sweet Alps no one would make decisions for me or my baby, except for me. But when he acted all sweet and caring, it just messed with the anger I wanted to hold onto for him taking that choice away from me.
I was a bundle of fucked up, messy contradictions that made little sense, and I knew it. I just didn’t have the spoons to deal with all the things I was feeling at the moment.
Honestly though, if he managed to procure a fucking bottle for Julianna, I wasn’t going to complain about anything he did right now. Because I didn’t think she was going to be content sucking on his finger much longer. There was no milk in it either, and she was going to figure that out pretty quickly.
The other alpha crossed her arms over her chest, standing to her full height. She was an average sized female alpha, standing about five foot ten or eleven and stockily built. “Mr. Cooper–”
“It’s doctor, actually,” Grayson interrupted her, and my eyes grew round. How did he know about my doctorates? Because they were plural, and I hadn’t told a soul in Sweet Alps about my academic titles, not even Miss Rose. “Dr. Cooper.”
The woman blinked, seeming to lose her footing for just a second, but she quickly regained her composure. “Dr. Cooperindicated on his intake he wished to chest feed.”
Opening my mouth to defend my change of position, Grayson beat me to it.
“And?” he questioned with just one word, but the way he said it was like five sentences strung together.
“Well, chest feeding is better for the pup. An omega’s milk holds many nutrients and it’s better for their immune system.”
“And?”
My eyes were ping-ponging widely between the pair, as I quickly blinked the last of this round of tears out of them.
“And what? I don’t understand what you’re asking? I just explained it.”
“No, you told me what Wyatt said he preferred when he was admitted. That doesn’t explain the situation I walked into. Are patients not allowed to change their minds? He stated in clear terms that he has asked for a bottle for our child. He has explained to you, and I assume as a professional you are able to observe this, that his milk hasn’t come in and neither has the…” he shook his head, “whatever that pre-milk is called. Can’t remember the technical term. Our pup is hungry and I’m really trying to figure out why you aren’t allowing her to be fed. In any way that is available.”
How does he even know this stuff, my giraffe asked in awe. Yep, they were besotted with the hulking, brooding wolf already. Didn’t take much to turn their head. Traitor.
The woman opened her mouth, but before she could answer, my nurse, Nikki, finally returned, bottle in her hand.
“I’m so sorry it took so long,” Nikki apologized with a warm smile. She started to hand me the bottle, then hesitated between Grayson and me, not sure who to hand the bottle to.
Grayson brought Julianna over and handed her to me withminimal fuss. When he extricated his finger from between her lips, she started to let out a howl. Nikki quickly handed me the bottle and as soon as the baby felt the rubber nipple against her lips, she sucked it in greedily. Her dark eyes closed, and her body gave a little sigh of contentment, that I wanted to mirror with one of my own.
Because the way Grayson had stepped in and taken control of the situation–had stood up for me–made me feel stupidly content.
Chapter Fourteen
Shifting on the bed, I couldn’t hold back my grimace as my muscles and stitches protested the movement. There were so many things about childbirth, and after childbirth, the books didn’t tell you. Or maybe they had, but reading about it didn’t prepare you for the reality of what happened inside your body.
“Let me take her so you can try to get comfortable,” Grayson reached for Julianna but I shook my head stubbornly. This was the first time in hours that she had been quiet. I wanted to enjoy feeling her in my arms, content for the time being. I just wanted to feed my baby. To hold her and cuddle her.
“Stop being so bossy.” My snappish tone was sharper than I had meant it to be. I was still annoyed with him, and I had to keep reminding myself of that fact. Even if he had come in andtaken charge of the situation. I was annoyed with myself for finding it so hot, too. “You can’t just keep trying to take over everything.”
For the first time since he had shown up, I noticed my duffel bag he must have placed in the chair, along with a white bag that the most tantalizing scents were drifting from. My stomach grumbled loudly, the sound filling the room. At some point, Nikki and the lactation specialist must have slipped out, leaving us alone.
Grayson’s lips twitched, but he didn’t crack a smile. “I went by your house and found what looked like the bag you had packed for the hospital. If it’s not, direct me to whatever you need and I’ll pick it up. And I brought dinner. Thought you might want something besides hospital food.”
“Oh,” ducking my head, I stared down at Julianna as she suckled. He had grabbed the correct bag, the one I packed just last week, too. All the books said to have the bag for the hospital packed a month before your due date, so that’s what I had done, never expecting to actually need it now. “That was really nice of you.”
Acknowledging the kind gesture was hard, and I had to keep reminding myself that I didn’t really know this man, even if he was Julianna’s other father. That I wanted to keep my distance. He had the power, if he chose, to take her from me. Nothing indicated that was what he was planning, but I had no doubt he was going to want to be a part of her life. That I was going to have to co-parent with him. Another thing in my perfectly laid out plans I had never counted on.
“Were the movers gone, then?” Very glad I had prepaid, it still made me anxious, thinking of the mess I was bound to have to take Julianna home to. Her crib wasn’t even put together yet.And I could only hope they had set up my bed. If not, I would be sleeping on the couch until I was physically able to do it. Or could hire someone. Plus, there was no way I would be able to even lift most of the boxes or move furniture around for several weeks.
He nodded, his gaze fixated on Julianna as well. For someone who hadn’t wanted a mate, let alone a pup, he seemed mesmerized by her. “They were. Miss Rose and Gigi were there. They were not happy with how the movers left your place, and I’m afraid I left them alone there, once we found your bag. Hard telling where you might find things, but I think they were hell bent on getting some things unpacked and set to rights for you. I heard something about ‘no one wants to have to worry about where the toilet paper is’, and I hightailed it out of there.” A faint blush rose above his closed cropped, salt and pepper beard. “Those two terrify me.”
