Page 40 of When She Needs Them Most
Lincoln carries me up the stairs and again props me against his chest to open the door. “This is my bedroom. I figured we’d shower together, then I can run over and grab some of your clothes.” He shrugs, biting his thick lower lip. “Or you can wear something of mine. Not gonna lie. I really love the thought of you in my clothes.”
Despite my confusion about, well, everything, he smiles so brightly that I find myself grinning back. “Okay, a shower sounds great.”
He chuckles, bumping the door closed behind us once we make it into the room. “It pains me to know the water will wash away my scent, but I figure I can always put it back.”
My thighs clench at the naughty smile that pulls at his lips. No doubt in my mind, Lincoln is way more than I can handle.
The gruesome scar on Linc’s back catches my attention as he hops into a pair of dark gray sweats following our quick shower. I gasp, my fingers flying to brush over the mark. He goes still, and I tug my hand away.
Wow. Way to overstep someone’s boundaries.
My head shakes, and I whisper, “I am so sorry.”
He shrugs, spinning to face me. “Why? It’s just a scar. I forgot about it. That’s all.” He twists his bicep, pointing between two of his black and gray tattoos. “This one is a bullet wound. The one on my back is from a knife. I didn’t make it out of the military completely unscathed, but I consider myself lucky.”
My teeth dig into my lower lip as I nod. He stretches over and grabs a pair of sweatpants from off the top of his dresser. It makes lithe muscles flex as his wet hair falls over his forehead.
My arm tightens around the top of the towel that he wrapped me in when we got out of the shower. Luna has been active since I first got under the stream of hot water. It’s a huge relief to be able to feel her wiggling around, but I have so many questions for my doctor.
Luckily, my appointment is tomorrow.
I’m still confused. I haven’t experienced anything like what happened this afternoon, not even once throughout my entire pregnancy. Then again, I haven’t spent much time aroundalphas since Clark, and I’m starting to wonder if that negatively impacted my system.
Linc drops to a squat and taps my ankle. “Lift up your foot for me, sweetheart.”
I comply, and he moves to the other leg before tugging the material up as he stands. He towers over me, handsome and relaxed, while I’m a bundle of nerves.
I need answers.
Was this afternoon a one-time thing?
What does it mean?
Lincoln snags a long-sleeve T-shirt from the pile he laid out. He tugs my towel off, tossing it into the hamper near the door to the bathroom. He nuzzles his cheek to mine and chuckles. “I bet you can guess what comes next.”
I nod, putting my arms up. It makes my breasts and stomach tighten, but I ignore the minor discomfort as he helps me into the T-shirt. It’s not cold in their house, so I’ll attribute the goose bumps to having the gorgeous alpha completely focused on caring for me.
“Ready to head downstairs?” he asks, brushing his thumb over my lower lip.
I nod, and my gaze snaps to the door as it flies open.
Kase also looks freshly showered, but he’s got a small stack of papers in his hand. He stomps closer with a serious look on his face, and my chest gets tight.
Linc steps back, and Kase comes to a stop in front of me. His curly hair is a mess, sticking up in a million different directions.
“I printed these out for you. Sorry, I came to find you to show them to you, but you two were already in the shower, so I decided to take one too.” He shoves the stack of papers at me, and I take them.
“Thank you, but what is this?”
“It’s a copy of our most recent test results. I mean, one for each of us.” He brings his huge palm up, and he cups my cheek while his other hand loops under my arms to caress my stomach. “I didn’t want you to worry, and I didn’t want you to have to take my word for it.”
I briefly scan through the pages, and all the columns saynegative.
“Thank you,” I whisper, and my teeth dig into my lower lip. That was incredibly thoughtful, because as much as I wanted to believe him, I’ve been beating myself up pretty hard.
It’s not just my safety but also Luna’s I have to consider. This is why omegas are taught to handle all important conversations well before a heat is scheduled to hit, because once the fog slips in, rational thought slithers away.
Kase grins. “No problem. Arden is on the way home with dinner. Wanna snuggle on the couch until he gets here?”
