"Come on, babe. You need to get some rest. We're seeing Dr. Dean in the morning, and you've been at that monitor for seven hours."

I looked at my mate, so tense and exhausted. It had been five weeks since Yvonne and Tommy had given us the slip. So far, he hadn't been able to track either of them. Given that he was six weeks into a three month pregnancy, I was concerned for his health with the long hours he was putting in on the computers.

Frankie sighed and pulled off his glasses as he stretched his neck from side to side. "You're right, hon. I just feel like I'm missing something, you know? Like the answer is in there, but I'm not seeing it."

I picked up his dishes from lunch and kissed his forehead. "At least you polished off the sandwich I put here for you."

He looked at the empty plate and glass in my hand and blinked. "When did you leave food and milk here? And did I seriously inhale it without realizing? Wow. Talk about being in the zone."

I shook my head and set the dishes back down on the desk for now. "How did you ever survive without a mate to watch out for you? Now, let's go. Take a break. For me?"

Frankie nodded and tapped a few keys before standing. "I'll let the program run. It will mark anything I need to see the next time I get on. I'm all yours now, hon."

Stepping into his space, I loosely wrapped both arms around my omega's waist and rested my hands on those perfectly round buttocks. "Now that's what I like to hear. Why don't you go take a hot shower while I rustle up some dinner?"

"Can we eat in bed? I don't feel like peopling tonight." He looked so vulnerable with those words, it made my heart break a little.

"Yes, babe. Whatever you want, it's yours. You go shower and I'll head downstairs and get our dinner."

Frankie brought his hand up to cup each side of my face before leaning in to kiss me. Our lips brushed softly against each other, then I felt his tongue prodding my lips for entry. His head tilted as that tongue pressed into my mouth. Our tongues writhed together, the textures of our tastes buds contrasting with the silky under-tongue in a sensual slide and grind.

Breaking the kiss, Frankie chuckled and said: "I need to stop or I won't be alone in the shower and there will be no dinner."

Grinning my agreement, I said: "Yes. Self-care first, then we can play. Or rather, then I'll take care of you."

Frankie licked his lips and grabbed my crotch with a firm grip. "Unless I take care of you first, alpha."

I chuckled as he winked and removed his hands. After giving me one more quick peck on the lips, Frankie turned and quickly headed to the bathroom. Shaking my head, I went to our room and grabbed his robe and a towel from the stack on the dresser that hadn't been put away yet. When I went into the bathroom, he was already in the shower. And as I'd expected, had nothing to use when he got out.

"I'm leaving a towel and your bathrobe on the counter," I told him through the shower door.

He snorted. "I can't believe I forgot again. Thanks, hon. You always think of me."

"Of course, I do. That's what I'm here for, right?" I asked fondly.

"Well, that and a few other knotty things that come to mind."

"Babe? Please tell me that you did not just use my knot for a pun?"

"You know that I totally did. Now scram, quit making me think about your fucking knot! I'm eating for three, remember?"

I chuckled and turned to leave the room. "I'm going downstairs. Take your time, I'll go get dinner."

After I retrieved his dishes from the desk in his office across the hall, I left our living quarters and went downstairs to see about dinner. It was good that I'd become less hands on in our kitchen now. I planned menus, cooked here and there as I had time, and managed the crew. My staff had proven more and more lately how competent they were without me there to micromanage. Having a mate was really changing my priorities.

I greeted the cook and staff that were on deck tonight and found myself an open area to fix our meal without interfering with the guys who were busy working. Frankie had been craving beef and nacho cheese lately, so I decided on hot sandwiches. I quickly got everything together for french dips.

I made Frankie's sandwich with a scoop of melted nacho cheese oozing over the roast beef. After I plated our food with little cups of au jus and catsup for dipping, I added a pile of salty steak fries. It all got put on a tray along with two large glasses of iced tea with a sprig of mint. The final touch was a single red rose that I laid beside Frankie's plate.

After making sure that the staff was fine, and everything was going as it should, I ducked out of the kitchen with our dinner. Once I got up to the private family area on the third floor, I headed straight for our room.

Frankie was sitting on the foot of the bed, rapidly texting on his phone. He'd foregone the robe, but was wrapped in the towel with water dripping on his back from his wet hair. With a sigh, I set the tray down on the dresser and picked up another towel. "Babe, I thought you were done for the day?"

Absentmindedly, he answered me. "I was, that is, I am. I just had an idea while I was in the shower. I'm putting some feelers out with a few old military buddies." He kept rambling while I knelt behind and began drying his hair and back. I fussed over him quietly while he finished what he was doing.

A couple of minutes later, Frankie looked back over his shoulder with his lips puckered for a kiss. With a grin, I leaned forward and gave him a quick smooch before I stood and took the damp towel to the hamper.

"What's for dinner, hon?" I stopped to pull off my own clothes while I answered him. Frankie's towel snapped my bare ass with a loud crack, before he dropped it in with the other towel and my dirty clothes.

"That sounds delicious. How did you know I was craving nacho cheese tonight? And on a french dip? Not gonna lie, that sounds amazing."

"Hmm. It's almost like the man that feeds you actually pays attention to the things you like. Imagine that." I grinned and crossed to the dresser to pick up the tray. "Now, shall we eat?"

Frankie looked wistfully at the bed, then said: "We need to redecorate up here, hon. I know it drives you nuts when we get crumbs everywhere. Honestly, we should see about putting in a family area up here with a table, couch, TV, and all the other stuff that people in families tend to have set up. With the babies coming, we're really going to want a space that's just ours to hang out in aside from the bedroom or the office."

He sat down on the bed and scooted up against the headboard, getting into a comfortable sitting position before reaching for the tray of food. I went around and closed our door in case any staff wandered up here looking for me before I joined him on the bed. I sat down across from my mate, cross-legged so that we could share the tray that stood in front of him.

While we ate, we threw ideas around for this upstairs area. The office had been set up by me right after Frankie had come into my life. I'd surprised him with it a couple days after the fiasco with Yvonne. It had started out as a basic desk and chair combo inside of an unused bedroom. Over the past month or so, it had become a cozy representation of the man himself.

Framed posters of his favorite movies, a bookcase filled with everything from books filled tech jargon to little bobble-heads of his favorite comic superheroes. A woven floor rug had been added at some point, bright red and soft under the feet. His desk was what surprised me - it was surprisingly neat despite the three computer monitors that were lined up across the length of the desk.

I'd been surprised to see a large fern and a small bamboo plant appear in there a few days ago. Frankie had shrugged, then calmly explained the health benefits of having plants in your personal space.

"Why didn't your family ever do this before?" Frankie asked between bites. "I don't want to offend you, but it's depressing as hell up here. This is such a bland area, like a cheap motel or something. Yet the guest areas are plush and lovely. I mean, your dining room rivals some of the nicest restaurants I've been in, yet up here on the family floor, you eat from lap trays. It's not worth it, to put everything into making your guests comfortable but not yourself."

"Huh. I never thought about it, to be honest. My uncle probably didn't either. We just put so much into the rest of the place, you know? This has always just been a place to crash and store my clothes, not really a home. I wonder if that's why my cousin doesn't want to come home? But, Frankie. Seriously. We can do whatever you want up here to make this our home, if that's what you want."

"I do want. But not just for my sake. I know that this place is important to you, and this is where you want to stay. I'm fine with that. But I want our little family to have just as nice a home as the one that we provide for our guests and boarders."

"Well, there are six rooms on this floor, and we're only using two right now. What would you like to do first?" I took a sip of iced tea and dipped a fry in some catsup.

"Obviously, we have time to decide on the last two rooms, but for the two closest to us? We need to get the nursery put together first." Frankie tipped his chin toward the door that connected this room to the one next door. "Let's use that one for the nursery, so that our little ones are nearby. Then next to the office? I want to put in a family room like I was talking about before. Nothing fancy, just a table and chairs, a sofa, probably a coffee table and a small entertainment center."

I snorted and picked up another fry. "And on the entertainment center?"

Frankie rolled his eyes. "Duh. Obviously we're going to need a decent TV and a gaming system. Don't worry, I'll get online tomorrow and order a few essentials. Unless you want to help me pick a few things out?"

With an exaggerated shudder, I ate my last fry before I responded. "Babe. I'm already an alpha who likes to cook and is willing to take care of our babies while you work. But I gotta be honest here, taking care of us and running a B&B are the only non-alpha traits I have. Please don't make me shop or ask me to pick throw pillows. It won't end well, trust me."

Frankie looked around our bedroom with a wrinkled nose. "If this is your doing, then I will have to agree. But don't worry. I have a great shopping finger. One click shopping is my jam."

I was doubtful, but as long as he got the baby shit purchased soon, I wasn't too worried about the rest. Glancing down at our empty plates and glasses, I got up to put the tray on the dresser. I'd deal with it in the morning. I crossed over to flip out the light before climbing into bed.

Glancing around the room, I tried to figure out what was different. It was lighter in here, the moonlight filtering in through a filmy curtain.

"Babe? Where did my old blinds go?" I asked after I finally realized that the curtains were a new addition.

Frankie snorted as he cuddled up against my side. My arm automatically lifted to pull him up close. "They're in the dumpster like they should have been a long time ago."

"They weren't serviceable anymore?" I didn't care, I was just confused.

"Babe, they were broken, bent, and sagging on the one side. And ugly. Don't forget that part. No. They needed to die, so I killed them. A week ago, when I hung the new sheers."

Wait. A week? Wow, I wasn't sure which part bothered me more. That my omega who didn't notice that he'd even eaten while online had noticed and replaced my old blinds, that or I hadn't even noticed.

"Huh. Seriously? A week? And why didn't you ask me to help you install them? You're pregnant, you shouldn’t be doing that kind of stuff."

Frankie giggled, which always amused me coming from my tall, buff mate who'd actually spent time in the military. "You serious with that ‘me alpha, you omega shit?’ Please. Pregnant or not, I can get shit done. But, you might want to pay attention, there's a lot more changes I'm making around here. Or don't. I really don't mind if you don't notice the decor as long as you’re in it with me."

His hand was slowly stroking over my ab muscles, a favorite activity of his when he had access to my naked body. I rolled onto my side to face him, his face shining in the moonlight. I stroked a hand over his face, my fingertips brushing the hair back from his forehead. As much as I loved his sexy geek-chic glasses, I also loved seeing his face when we were in bed. It felt intimate somehow, that I was the only to see him without his glasses for a prolonged amount of time.

"You're right, babe. being in our home with you is all that matters. I don't care what it looks like, but I appreciate you going to the trouble to make it nice for us."

Frankie's cheek lifted under my hand as he smiled. "Obviously you don't care what your living space looks like, hon. I've seen army barracks with better feng shui than you have going on in here. but that's okay. Papa's nesting in now. He'll make it all comfy cozy up in here. while big Daddy keeps cooking up the orgasmic food."

I snorted out a laugh and captured his mouth under mine. After a thorough kiss, I pulled back and asked: "Big Daddy?"

Frankie's hand came out of nowhere to wrap around my rapidly swelling cock. "Well, we both know I'm not lying about the big part. But just in case I've forgotten, why don't you show me again."

"Is this your way of subtly telling me you want to get laid, babe?"

"Shit. That was subtle? You and I have much different understandings of the definition then. I was pretty sure that my hand on your cock was a pretty direct fucking clue."

I reached out and ran my slowly over his swollen belly, then wrapped my hand around his dick. As I began to stroke it, I asked: "Is this a direct enough response?"

Frankie released my cock and pushed his hips closer to mine. "Take us both," he grunted and dove in for a kiss. I pushed our cocks together and got a firm grip on them before I began to pump my fist over them.

"Yesss," my mate gasped against my lips, his hips bucking into my grip. Both our cocks were leaking already, adding a little glide to the slide as I kept up a steady pace. Frankie leaned over and kiss my claim scar, then pushed at my shoulders to roll me over.

He rolled right with me, so that he was straddling me while I kept jerking our cocks together. Frankie watched silently for several moments, before pushing my hand away. Scooting up, he lifted his hips and grabbed my cock long enough to line it up to his slick soaked hole.

My eyes almost rolled back in my head as he began to ride my cock. His hands braced on his own thighs, he pushed up and down at a fast clip. I grabbed his dick and began to pump it in my fist in rhythm with his movements.

It was over almost all too soon, my knot swelling fast as Frankie's dick erupted in my fist. Ropes of cum shot up through the opening in my fist, painting my chest. He was slowing now, his body jerking as he finished, but I sped up.

I grabbed at his hips, thrusting hard as I pushed up into slick heat of his clenching tunnel. The walls of flesh hugged my knot as it swelled, keeping me from pulling out any more. A fireball chased down my spine and up through my cock as I exploded into him, filling him with my cum.

After a few more spastic jerks of my hips, I finally slowed as Frankie all but collapsed onto my chest. Our sweat soaked bodies slid against each other as I carefully rolled us to our sides again. We did our now familiar post-coital dance of figuring out how fit our bodies around each other with my knot locked into his ass.

Brushing his sweaty hair back out of his face again, I leaned forward and kissed him goodnight. "I love you, babe. Get some rest, yeah?"

Frankie yawned and nodded complacently. "I'm about to sleep like a baby. Goodnight, my love. Sleep well."