Page 89 of Where the Current Takes Him
“Tired,” Beau said quickly. “I’m tired, so I think we better get going.”
“Mhmm.” Jaime was giving Beau a look that was far too knowing. “These final weeks are very… tiring.” He grinned lasciviously at his mate. “I remember those times very clearly.”
“Yep, so, uh, thank you for dinner,” Beau said, feeling his face go red. “It was great to see you and the kids and we’ll host next time, okay?”
“Only if you’re not too… tired.”
“Goodnight!” Beau tried and failed to leap to his feet, taking Loriun’s outstretched hand with resignation.
“Night, you two,” Jaime said, snickering. “Make sure you’ve read all those pamphlets before you go to bed. There’s one with ideal…sleepingpositions for the third trimester.”
Vuos let out a low chuckle. “Very useful literature.”
Beau was almost certain the flush now reached all the way down his neck.
Loriun, completely oblivious, escorted his mate out the front door and to the muted gold sedan parked in the drive.
“Why are you pink?” he asked.
Beau groaned. “I really need you to start listening for subcontext.”
The Mer cocked his head. “I do not understand. Jaime was recommending a pamphlet on restful sleeping positions after you told him you were tired.”
Beau allowed Loriun to lower him into the passenger seat. “He wasn’t actually talking about sleeping.” Loriun closed the door with a snap and strode around the front, giving Beau an eyeful of his Alpha in that fitted, cream linen shirt. His broad shoulders pushed the seams to their limit and the sides tapered in to highlight his narrow waist.
Beau’s cock stiffened, pressing against the underside of his belly.
God, all it takes is a nice shirt these days…
Loriun slid into the driver’s seat. “If he was not talking about sleeping, then what was he talking about?”
“He was talking about sex positions, Loriun.”
His mate paused. “Positions for your current condition?”
“Yes.”
“Ah.” Loriun reached around behind Beau’s chair and twisted, backing the car from the drive, and forcing Beau to physically fight back a whimper.
Loriun said nothing more until the car was on the main road through the neighborhood.
“Jaime’s knowledge is quite useful,” he said finally, lips curling into a smile. “I am sure we have that pamphlet at home.”
Chapter 36
Loriun
“Beau, Loriun, come in.” Ileana’s voice had grown much weaker since their last visit. Her brown skin was dull and stretched across her bones. Loriun did not know very much about this human disease or human death, but even he knew her time was coming to an end.
“Hello, Ileana,” he said softly, leaning down and permitting the frail woman to embrace him. “It is lovely to see you again.”
Beau sat at her side, his smile fragile and trembling. When they were at home, in Miami, it was easy to be immersed in the thrill and fear of the impending birth of their child—easy to forget that any day could be Beau’s mother’s last. Loriun knew his mate desperately wanted his mother to live long enough to hold her grandchild, but it was seeming more unlikely with each visit.
Ashford sat on his wife’s other side. He, too, looked near breaking. No jovial performance, no underhanded threats—just a dull look of waiting grief. He barely greeted his son when they’d arrived. He was mostly silent, only murmuring the occasional Spanish Loriun couldn’t understand.
It was strange, seeing the politician like this. From their first interaction, Ashford had been every bit the scheming, power-hungry manipulator. Now, Loriun saw only a shell of that man. Whether it was for the better, he was unsure.
“Beau, stand up, let me look at you.”
