Page 49 of Dante
“Why am I suddenly very hungry?”
“Because it’s lunchtime, and not only have we expended a lot of energy today, but you are growing a baby, and that requires even more energy.”
“I want spring rolls all of a sudden.”
I chuckled. “Then you’ll get spring rolls,” I told him. I gently touched his chin to raise his face, and when I leaned down to kiss him, he didn’t pull away. Banner sighed when I ended the kiss, which caused me to smile.
“Did you want to eat here in bed or go down to the table?”
“Mmm…both are tempting. But downstairs requires clothes, and you’re seriously sexy without yours.”
I chuckled. “Does that mean you wish for me to eat naked?”
Banner blinked up at me. “Would you be opposed?”
I winked at my mate. “Not at all. I’ll help you sit up, and we can see how far into our meal we get before I’m on you again.”
Banner whimpered, and I swore that sound went straight to my dick. It started to plump at the thought of being buried deep in my mate and feeding him spring rolls. Now, there was a thought.
Chapter 18
Banner
Ugh. I had a board full of nursery ideas, but I still couldn’t figure out what I wanted for the theme for ours. I tossed my tablet over to the other side of the couch and glared at it. I felt our little one kick and looked down at my rounded stomach. I had gone from the “might be pregnant” look to the “there was no denying that I was pregnant” look. Even an oversized hoodie couldn’t hide my stomach anymore.
I was due in less than a month, three weeks to be exact, and I still didn’t know what our nursery theme should be. We had a closet filled with diapers and wipes, and Dante had helped me pick out the furniture for the nursery, but that was as far as we’d gotten. Why? Because I couldn’t decide what I wanted for that room. When had that become so difficult?
I sat up and rubbed my stomach when our son kicked again. “Yeah, I know. It would be nice if you could talk to me and tell me what color you want your bedroom,” I said while looking down at my stomach. I stood, with a bit of effort, and went to the kitchen. I wanted a snack, and I was going to see what we hadfor junk food. Yes, I should eat fruit or something healthy for the baby, but what I really wanted was nacho cheese corn chips. I was almost certain I’d eaten them all already, and Dante was at work.
I opened the pantry and walked in. I was still getting used to the fact that we had a walk-in pantry. One with shelves on both sides and in front of me. It was massive, but I also understood that I was a shifter, Dante was a shifter, and these houses were magically built with the thought of us raising shifter babies and teenagers in them. And shifters ate a lot.
I didn’t find the chips, but I hadn’t expected to either. I grabbed a bag of corn chips and glared at them as I opened it. They weren’t what I wanted, damn pregnancy cravings. Of all of the things that I had to crave, why nacho cheese corn chips? Why not apples? Or steak?
I moaned at the thought of a thick, juicy steak. I’d be sure to ask Dante if we could have steaks for supper when he got home. That was, if I still wanted one then. I never knew anymore. I left the pantry and took my bag of chips with me. I was crunching on them as I walked toward the stairs. I made it as far as the front door, where I heard knocking.
That was strange because I really wasn’t expecting anyone, and Dante never used the door, let alone the fact that he wouldn’t knock. I shuffled my way to it, and after peeking outside and finding Todd standing there in the snow, I quickly pulled the door open and stared at my friend.
His smile never left his face, but his eyes dropped to my stomach. Then he squeaked and stepped into the house with his arms outstretched. I hugged him back with my free hand, moving the bag of chips out of the way.
“Holy smokes, look at you,” Todd said. He took a step back and just stared at me.
“Not that I’m not happy to see you, because I am, but what are you doing here? Where are your babies?” I asked when I realized he didn’t have them with him. I moved around him to close the door because it was cold outside.
“They’re at home with Briggs.”
I blinked, confused. I grabbed another chip because I was seriously hungry and popped it into my mouth. “If your mate is home, why is mine at work?” Then it hit me, and my eyes widened. “He’s not going out on assignment, is he?”
Todd snorted as he reached into my bag of chips and took a chip for himself. “No. He came home for lunch. I asked if I could run over here real quick and see you since I’ve not seen you in what feels like forever.”
I leaned around Todd and looked at the closed doorway. “What do you mean real quick? Where do you live?”
Todd opened the door, stepped out onto the tiny front alcove, and pointed. “Right there,” he said.
I leaned around my friend and looked over his shoulder. “Right there?” I asked. “You’re telling me that you have lived right in front of me for a month and I didn’t know it?” I remembered Dante telling me that Todd lived close by, but I couldn’t recall if he’d said where.
“Yep.” Todd smiled.
My brain started working overtime. I was going to ask if I could come over, but I didn’t want to be rude. Todd’s mate was home, and I didn’t want to interrupt their time together.
