Three Years Later…

As sleep finally faded, Nolan could tell Bryony wasn’t at his side. He could be kind of a stickler about her leaving their room without waking him, but a gentle nudge from her side of the tether told him he would find her out on the balcony. Other than their bed, it was her favorite place to be. He rolled up off their bed and pulled on the pair of jeans that had been hastily discarded the night before.

Her location wasn’t the only thing he could feel. Her back was aching again, as were her feet. Nolan shook his head. He was convinced if men had to carry every other baby, no couple would ever have more than two kids. This was Bryony’s first pregnancy and for the most part it hadn’t troubled her much. But for the past few weeks, finding a comfortable position in which to sleep had become elusive for his wife.

Nolan sidled up behind her, slipping his arms around her so that they rested gently on her belly. “I wish you’d wake me when you’re having a bad night.”

“There’s so much going on with the renovations across the river…”

“You let me worry about the renovations.”

“I am, but that’s why you need your rest.”

He patted her belly gently. “Uh, baby. I’m not the only one needing my rest. I love you.”

She smiled and leaned back against him. “I love you, too, and all of this is perfectly natural and normal. You have to know that. I swear you’ve read every book on pregnancy known to man. I’m going to be just fine.”

“I’m going to hold you to that.”

“Really?” she said provocatively as she wriggled around so she was facing him and could wrap her arms around his neck. He knew she could feel his hard length, pulsing between them. “I think I’d much rather you just hold me.”

He took her mouth with his, plunging his tongue deep inside her mouth to dance with hers in the same intimate waltz they’d been dancing for the past three years. There were times he wanted nothing more than to spend hours kissing her. This wasn’t one of those times.

Bryony took one of his hands in hers and brought it up to her breasts, which pregnancy had made so much more sensitive. Any more these days, he could bring her to orgasm just by playing with her nipples. She trembled in his arms as he began to purr. He circled her stiff peak with his fingers before gently pinching it, just to feel her go weak in the knees. His beautiful fated mate might be in the last stages of her pregnancy, but she was still a woman who reveled in her pleasure.

“Maybe when I can’t sleep, I should wake you up to do this,” she purred back.

“I would remind you that doing that is what got you into this condition.”

She laughed. “You can’t seriously believe that Nolan. We fuck three of four times a day. There is no way you can pin down the exact moment we conceived.”

“Not true. Male lions know these things.”

Bryony rolled her eyes and got a light swat to her backside, which seemed to send a jolt of pleasure to her pussy, as he could smell the increase in her arousal. He nuzzled her jaw before kissing and nipping his way down her throat. Everything so familiar about her, but still so arousing. His mate called to him in a way no other woman ever had.

He slid the strap of her sheer nightgown down her arm, exposing her breast before sucking her nipple into his mouth.

“Nolan,” she moaned, “someone might see.”

“Bryony,” he rumbled, “they already know we go at it at all times of the day.”

As he resumed his suckling, she arched her back and wrapped her fingers into his hair, raking his scalp with her nails. Without releasing her nipple, he slid the other strap off her shoulder and the diaphanous gown floated down into a puddle at her feet. Nolan trailed the falling silk with his mouth. She was now gloriously naked and wildly aroused.

“We both know I’m a bit of an exhibitionist, but I don’t know that our people want to see this?”

“What? Their alpha having his way with his mate? They’ve seen that plenty of times.”

“No, this,” she said, running her hand over her belly.

He tweaked her nipple with his fingers and then brought his hand down to rest on the sweet swell of her belly before kissing it.

“I do believe we’ve had this talk. I warned you the last time if the need arose to have it again, one of us wouldn’t be sitting down too comfortably.”

She smiled, tears welling in her eyes. “I love you.”

“And I you.”

“But I said it first,” she teased.

It was Nolan’s turn to roll his eyes. “You’re so competitive.”

“And you aren’t?” she said archly.

Kneeling before her, he nuzzled between her legs. God, she smelled sweet. There was nothing that smelled sweeter than his beloved fated mate’s arousal. Nothing. And nothing that tasted better. He routinely gorged himself on her honey and would never tire of feasting on her. He teased her labia open and felt the wet heat of her need.

He parted her legs and began to play with her clit. She leaned against the railing, giving him easier access, which Nolan took full advantage of. He began to stroke all around her sex—first a finger, then his tongue—making her squirm.

As he stood up, Bryony reached for his fly, unbuttoned it, and set his cock free. He drew her away so that her back was against the floor-to-ceiling window next to the French doors that led out onto the balcony. He lifted her up, using the window for leverage and then slowly penetrated her—not as deeply as she liked, but he wasn’t about to endanger her or the baby.

His hand found her clit again, playing with it as he thrust inside. Nolan felt her beginning to tighten around him as he thrust in and out in a slow and steady rhythm. As he pressed down hard on her clit, Bryony called out his name as her orgasm washed over them both. He rode her through her climax and then began to stroke her a bit faster and harder until his own release filled her pussy and his mind with a joy he had only known with her.