Page 42 of Surprise Mother Pucker
“Where did all those blankets and pillows come from?” I asked, frowning at my sofa.
Micha looked behind him. “Oh, that? We may have gone a little overboard. Eli thought we should wash some of your sheets, so you could have fresh sheets when you started to feel better. Then we realized you only have the one set, so we ordered some stuff for me to pick up, and once I was at the store, I was kind of enraptured. Who knew there were so many varieties of pillows? I couldn't resist getting several of them.”
“You didn’t have to do that,” I said, but my words rang hollow as I marveled at all the soft bedding.
Micha shrugged. “We wanted to.”
Tears started to gather in my eyes as I resisted the urge to ugly sob. This wasn’t the first time Char had gotten sick, but this was the first time I had any support.
A desperate urge to hug him came over me, and before I could second-guess it, I lurched forward and wrapped my armsaround his very naked midsection. Micha let out anoomphsound and, after a second, wrapped his arms around me.
“Thank you,” I whispered quietly, nuzzling into his embrace.
“Any time, Kennedy. I mean that.”
“You’re being too nice to me.” I sniffed. His raspberry soda scent was so much stronger with my nose pressed against his bare chest, but I couldn’t pull myself away just yet.
“I’m really not. I’m just being a decent human being. We really need to discuss your standards because they seem to be under the earth’s crust. Never fear, though, Micha is here, and I’ll teach you all!”
As he spoke, he ran his hand along my back in soothing, circular motions.
“I see how it is. I get baby cuddles, so you have to have omega cuddles?” Eli asked in mock outrage as he stood in the doorway to the living room, Charlotte on one hip, my phone in his other hand.
“I’m sorry,” I mumbled, going to pull away, but Micha’s arms were rock solid around me, keeping me in place.
“Nope, you can’t start a cuddle, then stop it too soon. That’s a big no-no in snuggle law,” he said in a conspiring whisper.
“Snuggle law?” I asked tearfully.
He nodded, his face serious as I stayed in his arms. “The laws of cuddles are very important. I’ve watched enough legal dramas to know!”
They stayed at my house for another two days until they were certain I was well enough to look after Charlotte again. I wasn'tfeeling 100%, but I felt well enough to get back to class, and Charlotte was right as rain, so she could go to day care.
Still, once they left, they texted me nearly constantly, checking on how I was doing. It was nice to have someone who cared that much.
As I tucked Charlotte in and crawled into my nest, I couldn't help the pang of loneliness that hit me. In a startlingly short amount of time—a mere two days—I had gotten used to their presence, and now my home felt oddly empty without it.
Thankfully, I didn't get the impression that I would be on my own for much longer.
Chapter 18
Kennedy - Four weeks later
My stomach was in agony.
“What have you eaten for the last day or so?” Eli asked calmly as he knelt behind me, holding my hair back. “Did you maybe have something questionable?”
It was humiliating, but the stubborn alpha refused to let me suffer alone.
After Eli had nursed me back to health, I was sure I wouldn’t get sick again for a long time, but weeks later, here I was—sick. Again.
“I'm not sure. All I've been eating is your cooking, freezer meals, and cafeteria food,” I grumbled.
Eli huffed. “Well, that isn't exactly the healthiest of diets.”
“I eat veggies when you feed them to me,” I pointed out, leaning back and giving him a pained look. “I am so sorry about this. You did not sign up to play doctor. You've got enough on your plate as it is.”
“You won’t hear me complaining about getting to spend more time with my beautiful omega. I hate that you’re feeling like this, but I’m happy to be here. Not because you’re sick, but to support with this—” He gestured to the toilet, where I had been praying to the porcelain god for half the morning. “When you’refeeling better, I’ll go to the grocery store and get the ingredients to make chicken soup. Do you like it plain or with noodles?”
