Rain and I spend the next two weeks on rinse and repeat. I show up, look pretty, piss her ex off (although I’m pretty certain he gets the message because he hasn’t come around after our little come-to-Jesus moment in Rain’s driveway), and kiss the girl. We have hot, dirty sex. She falls asleep and I watch over her or ride off if I’ve got club business to take care of. Thursday night we’re in bed, which is my new favorite place. I’ve had sex a million different ways but this bedroom business is new for me. It’s comfortable and not just because Rain owns a really awesome mattress and we make it bounce and shake. I’d never admit it but it’s kinda like our place, where it’s just the two of us even if the world fucking insists on knocking on the door.

Take now for instance.

We’ve just finished round three and I’m trying to convince Rain that a fourth round would be even better. Since I’m straddling her, my knees pinning her hips to the bed, I’ve got the upper hand so to speak.

“Practice makes perfect, sweetheart.” I nuzzle the spot behind her left ear that makes her wriggle. She’s super sensitive there, so I take full advantage, kissing and teasing her with my mouth.

“I don’t think you need any more practice,” she groans. Now she’s wriggling away from me, which isn’t so great.

I ease back so I can see her face. I need to understand what she’s really trying to say. “So no more sex?”

I don’t like that. Is she trying to put some distance between us? Is she done torturing Dick? I have three things to offer—my pretty face, my fists, and my own dick. If she doesn’t want or need these things, I’ll have to go.

Unfortunately, she picks this moment to clam up. Usually, I can count on Rain to fill any and every silence with words. It’s not that she babbles or chatters, but she has a lot to say and I like to listen to her.

“Rain?” I stroke my fingers over her cheek as I swing off her.

She makes a face, her cheeks pinkening. Okay. So she’s embarrassed and not mad? I can work with that.

“I’m sore.” She sort of stares at the ceiling as she spits it out.

I take a moment to process. It’s true we’ve had a lot of sex. I mean a lot. Rain’s a beautiful woman and my dick absolutely appreciates her—at least three times a day. And while I haven’t convinced her to try anal yet, she’s been up for just about every other position. Plus, I’m not only way more man than Dick, I’m also a whole lot larger. So maybe I do get why she’d be feeling sore. I’m just not sure what to do about it other than go away.

Or oral.

I could go down on her for hours. All she’d have to do is lie there and come. That has to work for both of us. I stroke my fingers over her pussy, getting ready to dive in and love her.

She giggles and jerks away. That’s another thing I’ve learned about Rain. She’s super ticklish in the strangest of spots.

When I swing between her legs, however, she bolts upright, or tries to. Since I’m pretty much in the way of her escape, all she succeeds in doing is flopping down on the bed. “Oh my God. What are you doing?”

I’m pretty sure she knows. I’m a big fan of oral sex and I’ve loved every inch of her these last few weeks.

“Checking things out,” I tell her.

She squeaks and slaps a hand over her pussy. Kind of like shutting the gate after the horse has long since bolted, but whatever.

“Absolutely not.” She sounds prim as fuck for a woman who spends the better part of the day staring at girl bits. Eh. I’m not worried about her mouth, even though I’ve kissed the hell out of her there too.

I press a kiss against the back of her hand. “Little pig, little pig, let me in.”

“Oh my god. Are you the big, bad wolf in this scenario?” She collapses in a fit of giggles. I can’t help but notice that her fingers are still firmly laced over her pussy.

“You bet.” I nip lightly at the closest fingertip. “Don’t make me huff and puff because I wanna see.”

She tries to wriggle away, but I’m still way bigger. I gently pin her hips in place with one hand. My wolf kinda wants to wrestle, but I’m not sure how she’d feel about the game so I resist.

“Did I wear you out? I’m sorry.” I ease my tongue between her fingers and lick sensitive skin.

“What are you doing?” Her voice comes out as a squeak.

“Apologizing.” I look up and wink. “And now I’m gonna kiss it better.”

“No, Fang.” She’s laughing, but she’s also shaking her head. I stop while I try to figure out this new mood. “My butt’s sore too and you are definitely not kissing that better.”

“Be happy to.” I grin at her. “But now you have to tell me why your ass is sore.”

She mock-glares at me. “I tense up when I come.”

Ah-ha. Got it. I’ve killed her with sex. I’m never gonna hear the end of this from my pack.

I give her pussy one more, quick lick and then I roll off her and grab my phone.

“What are you doing?” Rain peers over at me suspiciously. It makes me smile, the way she trusts me with all the big things but then obsesses over the small ones. I think about how my not-a-relationship with Keelie Sue went down. How I tried to make her be mine and how it all went wrong because I was an ass. Thank fuck. If I hadn’t screwed that up, I’d be pack alpha and I wouldn’t be here with Rain.

I really want her to trust me all the way, so I hold up my phone so she can see my search. “I’m looking up what I do for a sore pussy.”

Her face flames. “You can’t do that.”

“I promise to wipe my browser history.” Not least because it’s none of my brothers’ business what I do with Rain. Google promises me that Epsom salts and a warm bath are a good start on our pussy problem. I bring up Target.com and add fifty pounds of salt to my cart.

“Give me that.” She grabs for my phone and we play-wrestle. It’s fucking awesome and I’m even willing to let her think she’s winning. We roll around, demolishing her bed.

Rain’s straddling my back, her arms reaching over my head for the phone I’m holding away from her, when her pager goes off. I asked her once why she was still using a pager when the modern world had moved on to smartphones and she told me it was because of privacy concerns. Hospitals suffer data breaches all the time, plus no patient wants her biz exposed to the internet. It made sense, so I stopped giving her shit. Right now, though, I kind of want to toss that vibrating motherfucker into the can.

Rain groans, rolls off me, and snatches the pager up. Some women keep vibrators and lube in their bedside, but Rain has The Pager. It goes wherever she goes, so I always have to share her that little bit.

“Baby?” I’m happy for it, even though I sound grumpy. I know how much she loves ushering a new person into the world. She’s the world’s best welcome wagon.

“Yeah.” She nods, lips pursed as she reads whatever’s on the pager. After she explained HIPAA and a dozen other acronyms to me, I’ve made it a point to never, ever look at The Pager. Some things have to stay private.

While Rain gets up and takes a rushed shower, I load her to-go cup with a cold can of Coke. Her kitchen’s way prettier than mine. It’s all white with white marble countertops and shiny silver handles. Kind of like a snowstorm and a fairy fucked and this was the result. Flowers everywhere because, like babies, Rain’s never met a flower she didn’t like. Thank fuck she doesn’t have time for pets or she’d probably be owned by a dozen cats.

When Rain rushes in ten minutes later, dressed in scrubs and sneakers, I hand her the drink. The woman loves her caffeine. She drinks multiple cans a day, although she switches to diet after lunch. I’m amazed she ever gets to sleep at night.

Since I’m not sure what to say, I go with what I’d say to one of my brothers. “Kick ass.”

“Thanks.” She flashes me a smile, reaches up to press a kiss against my mouth, and flies out the door. I follow. Guess I’m gonna play the little lady and wave her off. It’s Saturday, I’ve met my editor’s deadlines, and Jace doesn’t have any club business for me. I’m thinking I’ll head down to the local plumbing supply store and see what I can do in the way of upgrading Rain’s bathtub. Given the way my dick and I feel about her, her pussy’s gonna keep on getting a major workout, so I should probably plan ahead.

I’ve barely reached the front door when Rain comes flying back. “Problem?”

She’s supposed to be halfway to the birthing center by now, so I’m guessing the answer is yes.

Her gaze flicks up and down my body. I do look awesome. I’m rocking a half-buttoned pair of jeans and nothing else. My ink’s on full display.

“Put some clothes on,” she hisses.

That’s new.

“My car won’t start.”

Also new, but not so surprising given that her vehicle is big on being eco-friendly and there’s nothing safer for the environment than a car that doesn’t run.

“You want me to fix it?”

She thinks about my offer for a nanosecond and then shakes her head. “Later. I need to get to the birthing center now.”

I nod. “And you want me to be your noble steed. Got it.”

She knows me well enough to clarify. Otherwise, I’d totally offer her pony sex. “Take me to the clinic?”

“Two minutes,” I tell her.

I may tease her, but I also haul ass and yank on my boots, a T-shirt, and my cut. I rode my bike to Rain’s last night, so I’m actually not comfortable just handing over my keys. Not only is my bike my baby, but Rain’s never ridden before. I’m happy to teach her everything I know, but now is not the time.

Plus, she asked me. You can wipe that smile off your face. I’m not a good guy. If I were an angel, the only thing I’d be using that halo for is opening beer cans. But this makes Rain happy, and happy Rain is gonna make me happy in bed. That’s how this works. Plus, I should check out her professional qualifications and this is my firsthand opportunity.

When I go back out, she’s by my bike. I hand her the helmet. My head’s hard. I don’t need it, but I’m not taking chances with Rain. She shoves it on and waits impatiently until I’m straddling the bike before she slides on behind me. We’ve ridden together and she knows the drill. She puts on my leather jacket and then tightens her hands over my stomach. She’s not falling or getting hurt, not on my watch.

We peel out of her driveway and I get her to the birthing center in record time. Since it’s Saturday, the parking lot is almost empty. There’s a minivan and a beater car parked right in front, and I pull up next to them. No parking underneath the berry tree for me today.

Rain is off the bike almost before I stop. It’s amazing how she changes as she approaches the front door. One minute we’re lovers and I’m loving her, naked and flushed, and the next, she’s this put-together medical professional, calm and collected. Christ, her scrubs are hot.

I follow her inside since she’s not sticking around to tell me not to. The waiting room is empty and Front Desk Gal is missing, probably off enjoying her Saturday. It’s pretty clear where the action is happening because childbirth makes more noise than my last fistfight. A slightly weedy-looking guy sporting a beat-up wedding band and a faceful of whiskery scruff hovers outside the doorway of the room from where the noise is emanating.

He gives me a sickly look as I approach. “You having a baby too?”

I’m not the kind of guy that others try to get friendly with, but he’s clearly willing to give it a shot. Or maybe misery just loves company.

“I’m with the midwife,” I tell him.

“Oh.” He nods and stares at me for a couple of seconds, maybe trying to imagine me and Rain in bed together. I give him a pass because baby-having is way less fun than baby-making. Judging from the sounds of things, he’s definitely a good nine months past the fun-having stage of things.

“You’re not gonna go inside?” I jerk my head toward the closed door.

“In a minute.” Baby daddy looks a little green. “They’re checking things out right now.”

Yeah. I can imagine there are things that are better left unseen. On the other hand, that’s his mate in there. If it were me—no. Fucking hold on a minute. That’s never gonna be me. I’m not the kind of wolf who mates, let alone the kind who becomes a baby daddy.

The door flies open and Rain strides out. She looks calm and collected. Baby daddy exhales visibly with relief. Rain’s the alpha of this pack and she’s taking charge of the situation.

“Missy’s ready for you to come in now.” She pats baby daddy on the arm.

“Okay.” His voice gets reedier. “Is she—”

“Missy’s doing great,” Rain says. She radiates confidence. “But she’ll do even better with you by her side.”

Baby daddy swallows but steps inside. I sort of make to follow him—fuck if I know why except that I like being near Rain—and she holds up a hand. “You stay outside.”

A small smile plays at the corners of her mouth. I’m not sure, but I think she might think I’m fucking cute. I’ll have to disabuse her of that notion later.

“I could be helpful,” I point out. I have no idea what I could do inside that room—it’s unlikely that anything needs killing or fucking—but I make the offer anyhow.

Rain shakes her head. “There are so many things wrong with that statement that I don’t know where to start. Let’s start with these two words: patient confidentiality.”

She thinks for a moment. “And these three words: trained medical professional.”

Details.

“If Missy were having her baby in a ditch or we were trapped in a cave, you’d let me help.”

Outside of the bedroom, Rain isn’t the most imaginative person. The look on her face makes it clear that A) we’re in neither a ditch nor a cave and that B) Rain would totally trap me in a cave right now if she could.

“I’ll see you later,” she says firmly.

She goes back inside the birthing room, shutting the door firmly behind her. I value my balls and my dick in their natural, pristine, whole state, so I don’t open it. Even though I totally want to.

“I’ll be right here if you need me,” I holler. Unfortunately, Missy is now making so much noise that I’m pretty sure no one hears me. I’ll bet Missy’s a screamer in bed because she holds nothing back. For a lady giving birth, she’s amazingly articulate. In the next hour, I learn all about Daniel’s sex life (I’m assuming Daniel is her Mr. and baby daddy), how said sex life is over (bad luck, chump), and exactly what Missy’s body is doing. She likes to catalog her symptoms out loud and some of the things I read in What to Expect When You’re Expecting suddenly make horrible sense.

Rain’s voice reaches me now and then, calm and patient. The nurse-person assisting her comes and goes, fetching stuff. I catch a quick glimpse of the room before I can remind myself to not look. I’d expected a sterile hospital room, maybe something with a table and lots of beeping equipment. Instead, Rain has made a peaceful, quiet den for Missy and her mate. There’s a queen-sized bed with soft sheets, muted lights, some kind of music, and candles. Missy’s in a tub in a corner of the room and Daniel’s climbed in behind her, supporting her against his chest as she arches into another contraction.

And… childbirth’s still the grossest, most horrifying thing I’ve ever seen. Honestly, I’m not sure my dick can handle going anywhere near Rain now that I’ve seen what can come out of a woman. It’s like trying to piss a prize-winning watermelon out your weiner. But it’s something else, too. I have to admit that. Rain’s amazing. She cares for that woman in the birthing pool, just like my brothers look out for me and for each other. I want this level for Keelie Sue. There’s something happening in there and it’s… special.