Kerry pulled, hard. Closer, closer. She very nearly managed to put the hook in the eye. Nearly wasn’t good enough. “Arghh!” Why oh, why had she washed her bra without trying on the only other one she had first? Why?

She was an idiot! That was why. A total idiot. Stupid! Stupid! She stood for a few seconds, looking at herself in the mirror. Her boobs had gone up at least a cup size. She’d gone from someone who straddled the line between a B and C cup to a definite full C. That was for sure. Her boobs were huge. Gi-freaking-normous. At least, to her they were. She might be a little taller than average, but she had a small frame. Despite her baby bump, she seemed to be all chest at the moment. At least, it felt that way. Kerry made a face. Gone were her perky little numbers. Her nipples were this dark color as well, and even they were much bigger. She didn’t mind these changes to her body. She just wished she was in a better position to accommodate them.

There was a knock on the bathroom door. “Are you nearly done in there?” Cadon asked.

“No!” she yelled.

“Oh, sorry! Take your time.”

Kerry felt instantly bad. It wasn’t fair taking it out on Cadon. She sucked in a few gulps of air before throwing on a loose-fitting t-shirt and opening the door.

Cadon frowned. “Don’t get me wrong, you look great, but we are supposed to be dressed up. I don’t think t-shirts are allowed, even for females. I instructed—”

“I can’t go.” She shook her head. “You can leave me here.”

“You have to come with us. I can’t just leave you and I can’t not go either. The human warriors…” he looked like he was reaching to find the right word, “police …would be called for sure if Magnar and his males went out alone.” Cadon walked a few steps away before turning. Flip! He looked good in a navy blue button-down shirt and dark blue jeans. The buttons on the shirt were white. The cotton material fit him just so. His hair was styled. Those biceps… This was so not the time to be checking him out.

“I don’t have anything to wear,” she blurted.

“I’m sure you do. It doesn’t have to be anything too—”

“Nothing fits anymore.” She still had a couple of things, but she needed a bra, dammit. She wasn’t about to admit that to him though.

Cadon scrubbed a hand over his face. “Why didn’t you tell me? We’ve done nothing but shop over the last few days.”

“Men’s stores,” she sighed. “Besides, I …” She didn’t have money to buy anything right then, but she didn’t want to tell him that. It was bad enough that he had paid in cash for her doctor’s appointment. “I’ll hang with Worth, Andy and the gang. They’ll keep me safe.”

“No!” He shook his head. “I don’t trust the Fallen males around you without their leader. There are only three of them going. That means my males are outnumbered two or three to one. There is no chance. If one of those males decided they… No!” he growled.

“Magnar told them not to touch me.”

“I don’t trust any of them.” Cadon’s jaw tightened. “We may be uncivilized but the Fallen are without honor. Without code or a moral compass to guide them. I can’t take that risk.”

Fear caused her mouth to become a little dry and her hands a bit clammy. They walked around naked any chance they could get and ate like pigs, but things had started to feel fairly normal around there. She’d allowed herself to let her guard down a bit. At least they weren’t undressing her with their eyes anymore, but that didn’t mean they weren’t thinking dirty thoughts. Maybe she was becoming complacent in her thinking. Even Magnar was laying off them. What if she was wrong to have dropped her guard some? Cadon was right, that meant she had to go. “I guess I…I like to be self-sufficient. That means I didn’t want to tell you about my wardrobe problems. I was hoping I could hold out till my first paycheck. I’ve worked hard at standing on my own two feet. I won’t borrow money. Not for anything, I even bought my car outright.”

“You have a car?”

“Had.” She hadn’t planned on going down this path. Too late now. “I agreed to sell it and to put the money into getting me a new, shiny one, which Jeff paid the balance of. I didn’t think anything of it when he put it into his name. He mostly paid for it so…” She shrugged. “Turns out it was a bad idea. I can’t believe I made such a colossal mistake when it came to him.”

“We all make mistakes. You’re a sweet, trusting person.”

“I don’t know. I think I was just stupid.”

“Don’t say that. You trusted him and he let you down…let you both down.” Cadon glanced at her belly. “That’s on him, not you.”

“I should have seen it sooner, though.” She shook her head. “I guess if I was to analyze the whole thing, I’d say I was looking for a father-figure perhaps. I told you about my dad dying. I was with my mom when we found him…brains everywhere.” She made this squeaking noise in the back of her throat. Why was she telling him this? It was those eyes. Probing, disarming and yet warm and comforting. He was easy to talk to.

Cadon gripped her upper arms. “I’m sorry,” he said in a soothing voice. It made her feel better. It made her feel… He rubbed up and down.

“It happened a long time ago. He was in a lot of debt…my dad…credit card debt up to his eyeballs. He would use one to pay off the other. My mom didn’t know anything about it. She only found out after…after he…”

“He died.” Cadon’s eyes were locked with hers. They were tender. “I’ll tell Magnar we can’t make it tonight. We can—”

“Magnar would be pissed off. He and the other two guys have been so happy ever since you told them we would be heading out. That he could begin learning how to go about finding a mate.” She widened her eyes. “I think it’s the first time I’ve seen him smile about something other than when he’s being a dick.”

Cadon chuckled softly and let her go. “Yes, he would be upset, but he’ll get over it. You aren’t up to it, so…”

“It’s fine…I’m sure I’ll find something to wear.” She might look like a pregnant slut but she’d find something. The slacks were fine, she just needed a top that worked without a bra. It couldn’t be something big and baggy either.

“Are you sure? You don’t look sure.” He took her hand in his. It was weird, all this touching when they didn’t have to. It was like they were becoming accustomed to doing it. It was also Cadon being nice and nothing more.

“Yes, I’m very sure. I was just having a moment.” It wasn’t like they had a choice. “It’s fine.” She’d do it for Cadon. So he didn’t get into shit.

“Okay, but we are go shopping for you tomorrow. You’re getting whatever you need.”

“You’re really kind, but you can’t just buy stuff for me. Back to the part about me liking my independence.”

“Fine,” he growled. “I’m giving you an advance on your wages and we’re going.”

“Okay, that’s acceptable. I would appreciate it.”

“Any medical expenses while you’re here will be covered by our species. This whole thing isn’t your fault.”

Kerry nodded even though she wanted to argue. She didn’t have a choice here though. Not when it came to something so important. Her baby needed the care. “Thank you.”

Cadon sucked in a deep breath. “I know how it feels to lose someone.”

Kerry didn’t say anything. She was too afraid that if she spoke she would break the moment. She didn’t even want to breathe right then.

His eyes clouded, with a memory perhaps. He started to say something and stopped. His expression changed and she knew she’d lost him. “Mind if I use the bathroom for a few minutes?” he asked.

“Sure, go right ahead.” Who had he lost? When? A whole lot more of that type of question ran through her head but she wasn’t about to ask him. She knew how it felt when people pushed for answers to things she didn’t want to discuss. It didn’t matter that she burned to stop him as he walked away.

It was busy. People were standing around the bar and around little raised tables. They drank and laughed. It was a mixed bag, from groups of men and women, to couples, as well as singles out on the prowl. Those were easy to spot. Dressed to the nines and trying so hard to stand out. People were definitely here to have fun and to meet other people.

Kerry stood next to Cadon, who turned to her. “It’s quite warm in here, are you sure you want that on?” He gestured to her coat.

Kerry nodded. Even though it was killer hot in there, she’d try to keep the thing on. She’d even left it buttoned almost all the way up. On account of her nipples being all over the place. The top was a dark grey and made from a thicker fabric so at least it wasn’t see-through, but you could still see her nipples. You couldn’t miss them at the moment. She supposed, in a place like this, that it wasn’t the end of the world. Ladies wore tight dresses and short skirts. She felt weird though.

Magnar took a sip of his drink, ice cubes chinking. He grimaced.

“You picked whiskey.” Kerry shook her head. “I can’t believe you went with hard tack. Then again, I shouldn’t be surprised.”

“I quite like it.” He smiled. “Burns on the way down.”

“Yeah and tastes like…diesel fuel. Just terrible,” Kerry added.

Magnar shrugged. “I’ve tasted worse.”

“Hard to believe,” she muttered.

“I quite like it as well.” Maximus held up his glass before taking a healthy swig.

“This isn’t bad.” Hagan held up a half-full beer bottle.

“A much better choice,” she said.

Cadon sipped a drink of his own. A soda. Kerry took a sip of her juice. It cooled her down a little.

When she turned her gaze to Cadon, she noticed him looking at her funny. “What is it?”

Kerry had left her hair loose and had worn lip gloss, eye shadow and some mascara to, hopefully, make her eyes pop. It was the first time she had worn make-up. Maybe that was it.

“Nothing. I was just wondering why human females wear paint on their faces, and sometimes even on their nails?” Bingo!

“Why? Is it bad?” Before he could answer, she continued. “It’s called make-up. I don’t wear it very often and I don’t wear very much.” She shrugged. “Just not my thing, I guess. To answer your question, women wear it because it makes them feel good. It gives them confidence.”

“Oh! Okay, well then it’s a good thing.” He cocked his head. “You look very beautiful tonight. Not that you don’t normally look beautiful,” he added. “Is that cherry on your lips? I can scent cherry.” His nostrils flared.

He was looking at her mouth. Like really looking.

“Um…yes, it’s cherry lip gloss.” She smiled.

“Your hair looks good loose like that, and that shimmery golden stuff makes your eyes even more blue.”

“Oh, thanks.” He was just playing his role and doing a convincing job, if you asked her.

He tried to step in a little closer, preparing to say something else, but Magnar shoved himself between them. “You need to show us how to do it.” He was looking Cadon head-on.

“What?” Cadon narrowed his eyes.

“You need to show us how to win a female.”

“It’s not that easy. I told you.” He kept his voice down. “Winning a human is not the same as winning a Feral female. You can’t just wake up with an urge to mate, choose someone, test compatibility and mate. It doesn’t work that way.”

“I still can’t believe that’s how you guys do it. Crazy!” Kerry’s eyes were wide and her voice was filled with disbelief.

“If we had females, yes, it’s how we would do it,” Hagan said, before watching as a group of females walked past them.

“I have no idea, I just want one.” Maximus’s jaw fell open and he groaned. “They are spectacular. I want one so badly,” he repeated.

“We’re supposed to observe today,” Cadon said, squeezing the back of his neck. “I have a female, I don’t think—”

“Show us how to get a female. I’m not saying that you should mount her, just show us how to win one. We will observe how you go about it.” Magnar grinned, he was being an asshole again. Playing games with them. At least, that’s what it felt like.

“At best, I could get a female to agree to let me mount her,” Cadon said.

Her heart beat faster. She didn’t like the idea of him approaching another woman. Let alone trying to get said woman to sleep with him.

“She might give me her contact information so that I could call her for a date,” Cadon went on. “You remember what a date is?” he asked Magnar and the others.

“Yes.” Magnar nodded. “And you said getting a female to agree to a date would be better than mounting?” He looked like he found the idea bizarre.

“Yes, that would mean that she was interested in getting to know me and not just interested in my prick. If the first date went well, we would date for a period of time.”

“How long is a period?”

“Many moon cycles. It is a process.”

“Was it a process between the two of you?” Magnar asked, glancing at her.

How stupid of them. They had never discussed the basics of their so-called relationship. How they met. How long they dated before she became pregnant. None of it!

“Yes,” Cadon said.

“No,” she blurted at the same time. Dang it! They both looked at each other for a few seconds.

She needed to backpedal and quickly. “In human terms, it happened quickly but I guess, in Feral terms it was a process,” Kerry said. “We met, fooled around for a couple of weeks and I got pregnant. We’re just lucky we get along so well.”

“Get along,” Magnar snorted. “You’re definitely doing something wrong.” He laughed at Cadon. “Maybe several somethings.” He shook his head. “You need a real male.” He turned his eyes back on her.

“Stop,” Cadon growled. “Don’t go there or several humans might get hurt in the fallout.” His eyes took on this hard look.

“Go!” Magnar snapped. “Show us. Prove to me that you’re not full of hot air. I’m still not convinced Kerry actually wants to be with you. She seems to be running pretty cold, if you ask me.”

“No-one asked you,” Cadon snapped back. She could see that he was trying to keep himself under control. His hands were clenched into tight fists and his jaw was tense.

Kerry touched the side of his arm. “Forget about him and what he thinks. We know better.” She urged him with her eyes not to get caught up in the asshole’s sick sense of humor.

Cadon nodded once.

“I need proof of what you can do,” Magnar insisted. “What do the two of you think?”

“Proof sounds good to me,” Maximus said, taking another sip of his whiskey.

“Yeah, show us how it’s done,” Hagan said, eyes on Cadon.

“My female is with clutch, I think that is proof enough. We are here to observe. When I think you are ready, you can win your own female.”

“This isn’t a discussion,” Magnar’s voice was a thick rasp. Thankfully he spoke softly.

“It wouldn’t be right.” He took her hand in his and squeezed. His shoulders were tense. Cadon’s whole stance was rigid. “It would be disrespectful to Kerry. To my female.”

Magnar’s jaw was set and he was frowning heavily. This was spiraling in the wrong direction. “I told you that I don’t expect you to take this hard-won female home.”

Cadon’s jaw tightened and his eyes darkened. “And I told you—”

“Go,” she blurted. “We’re together. We know that.” She pushed herself between Magnar and Cadon and he reluctantly broke eye contact with Magnar. Cadon’s eyes instantly softened as they landed on her. “I’m very comfortable with our relationship and where we stand with one another. I trust you fully.”

“Comfortable,” Magnar snorted.

“Shut up!” She peered around Cadon. “Stay out of it.”

“All you have to do is chat up some lady,” Kerry said, feeling a little ill. “It’s not like you’re going to take her home or anything.” That would be awful. It didn’t matter that they weren’t really together. She still hated the idea.

“I say yes to the taking her home part,” Maximus piped up from somewhere behind her.

“You can take her home and give her to us,” Hagan added.

“It doesn’t work like that,” Cadon snarled under his breath. Cadon looked up at the ceiling before locking eyes with her. He still didn’t look convinced.

Kerry squeezed his hand. “It’s not like you have to actually do anything,” she added. “Show these losers how it’s done and we can go home.”

“I’m not a loser.” Hagan didn’t look impressed.

“That remains to be seen,” Kerry said.

“Okay, fine.” Cadon looked Magnar head-on. “I show you how it’s done and we leave. I don’t want my female on her feet for too long.”

“We can pull up a chair.” Magnar raised his brows.

“You know what I mean,” Cadon said. “I don’t want her here for too long. She needs her rest.”

“Fine.” Magnar smiled, looking downright evil. “Off you go.”

Cadon looked at her one last time, giving her a chance to change her mind. Kerry nodded once, she even managed to force herself to throw him what she hoped was a casual smile, even with her stomach twisted into knots.

Cadon sucked in a deep breath. He looked up and down the bar.

Kerry found herself hoping the woman he approached would be average, maybe a little dowdy. Let her be a normal, run of the…

No!

Not them!

Of course. He was going straight for the supermodel table. About five tables up from them were a couple of cheerleader types. The ones who would have sat at the cool table in the cafeteria when they were still in school. The girls who never spoke to her back then. The girls who dated the jocks.

Her stomach wound itself up into a tight ball. Why was she feeling this way? She was taking this whole pretend thing far too seriously.

“Jealous?” Magnar asked.

“No.” She shook her head, lying through her teeth. “I trust Cadon.”

Kerry watched as he began to talk to the women. There were three of them. All gorgeous and dressed to the nines. High heels and push-up bras. Their boobs boosted up instead of hanging free like hers. He talked and then smiled. He talked a bit more and all of them laughed. One of the ladies pointed at an open chair. She wore tight pants. She had a slim waist and a ton of cleavage. Come to think of it, she probably had the best push-up bra of the lot. Her lips were a fire engine red.

“Can you hear what they’re saying?” she asked Magnar.

“Yes, I can make out most of it. Do you want to know?”

“No, I’m fine. It’s all good.” She did want to know. She burned to know what the heck was so funny.

“So,” Magnar drew her attention back to him. “What is it that you see in him?” He paused. “What is it about him that makes you keep turning down my advances?”

“Where do I start?” She was feeling pissed at Magnar, blaming him for this whole situation.

Was she jealous?

Hell, yes! Denying it ‒ at least to herself ‒ would be stupid. Kerry was more jealous than she’d ever been in her whole life. Cadon wasn’t hers. This baby wasn’t his. The promises he had just made were null and void. He could take any of them home if he wanted to. Heck, he could take all of them home if he wanted to. She knew he wouldn’t, for her sake. To keep her safe from Magnar and to keep up pretenses, but what if he wanted to? He might be disappointed that he couldn’t do it.

“Are you going to answer the question?” Magnar asked.

“What question?” Had he asked her a question? Oops!

Cadon and the red-lipped lady were yapping away with one another. Her eyes glinted, not moving from his face. What could he possibly be saying?

Magnar chuckled. “Are you sure you’re not jealous? Sure you don’t want to know what they are saying.” Jealous as hell, and yes, she definitely wanted to know what they were saying.

“No.” She shrugged, forcing her eyes off of Cadon. Would he keep ‘Red-lips’ number to use at a later stage? Stop! “Cadon is funny and sweet. He’s really kind.” It was true.

Magnar burst out laughing. “So is my pet rabbit.”

“Just because we haven’t …” She realized she was yelling and quietened down. “Just because we haven’t…you know,” she widened her eyes, “in a while, doesn’t…”

“No, I don’t know.” Magnar shook his head, faking confusion.

“You do know. You know exactly what I’m talking about.”

“I don’t.” He was such a dick.

“Just because we haven’t had sex in a while doesn’t mean we aren’t interested in one another. I happen to think that Cadon is one of the most…no, make that the most sexy guy I have ever met. Remember earlier when I said that cocks were ugly?” She didn’t wait for him to respond. “I wasn’t talking about Cadon’s, he has an amazing cock. I am in love with his cock.”

“Just not so amazing that you want to ride it?”

“I do want to ride it.” She felt heat suffuse her cheeks but only because everything she was saying was true. “But not with a guard outside our door.” She needed to make up an excuse.

“I will remove the guard. He can sit down at the end of the hallway…” He frowned. This was Magnar still getting the hang of human terms. “He’ll be able to keep an eye on your door just fine from over there. You will have your privacy.”

“Fine,” she said. What had she done? Did this mean they had to have sex? Sex with Cadon didn’t sound all that bad. Not that she was going to go there, because she wasn’t. Did they need to fake it? Could they fake it? They might just have to.

She glanced over at Cadon, wishing she hadn’t. Red-lips was leaning forward, saying something to him. She touched Cadon’s arm. He said something in return and she threw her head back and laughed. Her hair was long and thick. A beautiful chestnut color that brought out her eyes. From this distance, she couldn’t tell if they were a light brown or green. Knowing her luck, they’d be green. Only a tiny percent of the population had green eyes. Blue eyes, in comparison, were a dime a dozen.

“You are jealous. Why don’t you just admit it?”

“Hi, can I talk to you?” It was Hagan, speaking from somewhere behind Magnar. Both she and Magnar looked over in that direction. He was talking with a lady. She was nicely dressed and looked to be middle-aged, sitting alone at the bar. Her hair was long, she was well groomed. Her eyes were a sparkling blue ‒ dime a dozen. Not thinking about that!

“Um, sure,” the lady responded with a friendly smile. “I’m waiting for my friends to arrive. You can sit with me in the meanwhile…I guess.” Her smile broadened.

“Thank you.” Hagan sat next to her.

“Wow, you’re a big guy.” She smiled.

“I work out every day.” He said exactly what Cadon had taught him. “I’m in security. I’m a bodyguard.”

“I’m not sure he’s supposed to be talking to the opposite sex,” Kerry said.

“They seem to be fine,” Magnar answered.

The lady giggled at something Hagan said. “Um…I guess so.”

“Back to Cadon and that female,” Magnar smirked. Cruel bastard!

She didn’t want to look.

“She’s all over him,” Magnar continued, eyes on the two of them. A sly smile on his lips.

Her gaze was drawn there like a magnet. Red-lips was laughing again. What was so damned funny? She twirled a strand of her hair around her finger and looked at him from under her lashes. An invitation if she ever saw one.

“Are you going to admit that you’re jealous?”

“Yes, dammit!! I’m jealous! Okay! Are you happy?”

“No! Not at all.” Magnar smiled when she looked his way. “I want you. I hate that you are jealous over that…over him. For the first time, I am feeling that I might have been wrong about the two of you. That there might be something there.” He looked from Cadon to Kerry and back again.

“Damn straight there’s something there. You set this whole thing up as a test, didn’t you?”

Magnar shrugged. “I’m looking around this room and the only female I want under me is you.”

Kerry made a choking noise. “That’s crude and really rude.”

“It’s the truth. If Cadon wanted you so badly, he wouldn’t be over there. No fucking way.” Magnar paused. “If you were mine, I would refuse to go anywhere near another female.”

“It wasn’t like you gave him much choice.”

“Fuck choices! I would—” Magnar narrowed his eyes as Cadon shook his head and stood up. Red-lips looked crestfallen. She said something and Cadon shook his head again.

“He isn’t seeing it through,” Magnar growled. “Why isn’t he doing what I tasked him to do?”

“He has that lady eating out of his hand. Enough is enough!”

“She hasn’t offered him her number or…”

“If he asked right now, trust me, she would hand it right over in a second.” Kerry couldn’t help the smile that had taken up residence on her face.

Cadon said something to everyone at the table. He turned, locking eyes with her as he did. It was so clichéd, but her heart skipped a beat in that moment. Not because she was in love with him or anything but because she was maybe a little bit in lust. Not that she was going to act on it. He strode back to them. Her heart beating faster with every step.

Cadon put his arm around her and brushed his lips against hers. “Cherry.” He made a humming noise. “Much more to my taste.” He licked his lips. Licked.

Kerry swallowed hard as she watched his tongue swipe across his mouth. She was ever so thankful in that moment that her underwear still fit and that she was wearing a pair right then because, she felt that swipe in places she really shouldn’t.

“You didn’t complete your task?” Magnar’s eyes were hard, his jaw tense. There was a vein in his forehead that throbbed.

“As far as I’m concerned, I did just fine. I’m not going to disrespect my female, and neither am I going to lead another one on for the sake of pleasing you.” He pulled her more closely against his side. “That was the first and the last time, so I hope you took notes.”

Magnar clenched his teeth for a moment. He made a soft growling noise that reminded her of her neighbor’s Rottweiler. It was a scary sound if she ever heard one. “You do as I say—” Magnar started to say.

“No! The agreement was, when it comes to the training side, I am in charge. I humored you tonight. Now I’m done and we’re going home.”

A woman laughed really loudly. It was the pretty older lady, she was holding onto Hagan’s arm. It looked like they had just finished a shot. They both slammed their glasses down. “What is it you do for a living?” the shifter asked.

“I’m an accountant. Work is boring though. I don’t want to talk about work.” The lady was smiling broadly.

Hagan nodded. “Happy to hear it. What is it you like to do for fun then?” He grinned.

“Fun!” The lady laughed. “I like having fun. Right now, I’m having fun with you.” She winked at Hagan and he blushed.

Kerry laughed. “Looks like someone took notes.”

“And you thought we were hopeless.” Magnar almost smiled.

“I might have been wrong. Maybe we should find somewhere to sit while this plays out. Somewhere close so that I can keep an eye on them.” Cadon kept his arm around her. “How are your feet?”

“I’m still okay, but sitting sounds like a good idea.”

“You sure you’re not too hot?”

Boiling! “I’m fine.”