Gray

Gathering himself up, he withdrew from Kelly and carefully scooped her up into his arms. She didn’t protest much, relaxing into his grip as he lifted her with ease, reminding her of the strength he possessed. He was careful not to fold her up too much, leaving plenty of room for her stomach. Wouldn’t do to get off on the wrong foot with the little one, now would it?

Gray made his way into the bedroom, and, while balancing on one foot, used the other to tug the comforter down with his toes. It was awkward, but Kelly was practically asleep in his arms by that point, and he didn’t feel like disturbing her. He could only be thankful that she didn’t stir to see what he was doing, and nobody walked in view of it either.

With the bed cleared he lowered her into it, and then carefully scrambled in the other side, drawing the covers up over them. His body quickly warmed the space and Kelly slid over to him, pressing her ass up against him and reaching behind her to paw at him. He eventually realized she was looking for an arm, and he draped it over her tenderly, holding her close.

Kelly made some contented sounds, wrapping her arms around his and pulling them close. He ended up cupping her breast simply because of where his palm was located, so it all worked out in the end. Moments later Kelly was asleep. Gray smiled and kissed her shoulders, drawing sleepy purrs from her still form.

He lowered his head to the pillow, contemplating sleep as well. It did seem like a wonderful idea, a short nap in the evening before whatever happened next.

Maybe she’ll want to go again?

A soft snoring sound from in front of him made it clear that she wasn’t thinking along those lines at the moment.

Eventually sleep claimed him as well, but not for long. When he stirred an hour later, he found that Kelly was still in his arms, snoozing comfortably. With as much care as he could manage, he extricated himself from her and slid off the bed. Padding into the kitchen as quietly as possible, he put his clothes back on before grabbing hers and laying them in a neat pile on the floor on her side of the bed.

Then he retreated to the kitchen, rummaged through several cupboards until he found the one with cups in it, and poured himself a glass of water. It disappeared in one long gulp, so he refilled it, taking his time after that.

“Hey.”

The quiet voice was so unexpected he jumped as Kelly emerged from the bedroom, clad in a robe instead of her clothes.

“I feel like I should be saying ‘morning,’” he joked. “But hi.”

“Maybe you’ll get a chance to do that anyway,” she suggested, bouncing her eyebrows suggestively.

“That’s a pretty big assumption, don’t you think?” he returned.

Kelly took it in stride, her lips twitching as she attempted to keep a serious face. Sliding a finger from her neck downward, she slowly forced the robe open, revealing copious amounts of skin underneath, including the curves of her breasts. She adjusted her stance to force the lower half of the robe to hang open, revealing almost everything to his sight, but stopping just short of giving him a show.

All she said was, “Is that so?”

Gray twitched. “I…”

Her hand dropped, pulling the robe tight and she adjusted her posture to close the gap between her legs. “Okay. I understand.”

There was a twinkle in her eye though, and he growled with delight, closing the gap between them in two long steps. Kelly yelped and tried to retreat into the bedroom, but he had her now.

Or at least, he had her robe, which she slipped out of in her attempt to get away, retreating into the bedroom now fully naked.

“Not fair!” she shouted, trying to cover her nakedness.

“I have no idea what you’re talking about.” He walked into the room.

Kelly crossed her arms over her breasts and one leg in front of the other, hiding her nudity as best she could given the nature of her body. Gray just stopped and stared, appreciating the sight.

She adjusted her grip on her breasts and extended one arm. “Robe, please.”

He eyed the garment in his hand, feeling the thick terry cloth under his fingertips. “Why? If you’re going to just keep taking it off again, maybe I should keep it? Might make less work for you.”

Kelly arched an eyebrow at him and walked forward, snatching it out of his hands and putting it on, giving him a full view of her body as she did. One corner of his mouth turned up.

“Pervert,” she said accusingly, her face matching his.

“You like it.”

She laughed. “Well, what now?”

He considered for a moment. “Hungry?”

Kelly hesitated, then nodded. “Yeah, kinda. I’ll heat us up some leftovers if that’s okay?”

He shook his head and reached out to snag an arm, pulling her close into a casual, relaxed hug. “It would be, taste-wise. But no, that’s not what I meant. You have a phone, right?”

“That’s a rhetorical question, right? I know it would be serious to another shifter, but I’m a human…”

“Got the number for a local pizza place? My treat.”

Kelly’s stomach answered for her.

“Perfect, dial it up. I’ll take an extra-large meat lover’s, with extra bacon. Also, if the place you call has like a special bread thing, like garlic or whatever their twist is on it, get a couple of orders of that too!”

“Are you sure?” she asked tentatively. “You don’t have to.”

He rolled his eyes and pulled several bills from his wallet, more than enough to cover the order. “Yes, I’m sure. I’m friggin’ starving!”

Kelly grinned and rummaged through her pile of clothes, pulling out her phone and fiddling with it for a moment. She dialed and placed the order. Just as she was finishing up with it, he leaned in, snatching the phone from her.

“Please double that order by the way. Two of everything she just ordered.”

There was a stunned silence from the phone and from Kelly.

“Are you sure, sir?”

“Positive. I know it sounds ridiculous, but please just do it.”

“Okay. Two large pizzas with pepperoni, mushroom, and onion, and two extra-large meatlover’s with extra bacon, and two side orders of wacky bread. Anything else?”

He thought for a moment. “Garlic and ranch dipping sauces. Throw in some of each, and some soda. Surprise us.”

There was another, longer pause.

“All right. I…well this is unusual, but it’s fun, so sure, I can do that!”

Gray nodded his silent approval. “Good stuff. Get it out here on the double and there’s a big tip waiting. We have a hungry pregnant woman.”

The three of them shared a laugh and then he handed the phone back to Kelly so she could give the address information. She hung up and turned to look at him.

“That’s a lot of pizza.”

“I’m hungry.”

“Even for a shifter, that’s a lot of pizza.”

He shrugged. “So there will be leftovers.”

Kelly glared at him as she realized what he’d done. By providing her with two or three meals’ worth of leftovers, he’d just effectively stretched her budget by an extra day. It wasn’t much, and he didn’t want to overdo it, but he had felt the need to do something.

Lavishing her with what she deserved was the end goal, but Gray was good enough at reading people that he knew her stubborn pride would take a while before it allowed her to accept his generosity. He would have to build up to it, little by little, doing small things one at a time, to get her used to having him do stuff for her. It would be slow going at first, he knew, but eventually it would work. But until she caved and accepted the fact that he was going to spoil her as much as possible, he was going to have to do it via things like this.

“I don’t need your pity,” she said at last.

Gray shrugged. “I’m well aware of that. Which is why you aren’t getting it.”

Her face became skeptical. “Right. So ordering all that extra pizza just so I could have leftovers after I mentioned having to work to stretch the budget they give us? That’s just coincidence?”

“Pretty much. Besides, if I’m staying the night I’m going to want breakfast.”

Kelly sighed. They both knew it was plenty even if he did that, which he had no intention of doing. “Okay, but this is it. I can make it on my own.”

Gray thought about telling her that he was well aware of that. That she was smart, capable, and more than able to do it alone. The truth was, he wasn’t doing it because he thought she couldn’t. He was doing it because she didn’t have to. Yes, she could scrimp and buy stuff that could go a long way, forgoing more delicious and fresher items. He knew that; he’d seen first hand evidence of it. But why do it when she didn’t have to? She’d been demonstrating for months now that she didn’t need his help.

But he could tell from Kelly’s demeanor that she wouldn’t accept that attitude. She would perceive his help and generosity as nothing more than a handout, which would be rejected automatically. He suspected the only reason she’d let him pay for the pizza was because she’d already fed him tonight. She would let him pitch in his share, but no more.

Not at first. So instead of arguing or agreeing to her demands, he took the easy way out, and did so shamelessly.

“Want to curl up and watch some TV until the pizza gets here?” he asked.

Kelly shook her head, not in a negative manner, but in exasperation. She could probably read his eyes, she’d known everything he just thought, and where things were going.

“Yeah, that would be nice,” she said, walking over to him and giving him a bump with her shoulder, a flirty way of telling him what she hadn’t been willing to say.

“This isn’t over yet.”