won’t be able to think straight, Lana.” He bent to kiss me before continuing. “From the first moment I looked into your eyes, you had me. I could never leave you, and dammit it hurts like hell to know you could leave me.”
A tear spilled down my cheek as I shook my head slowly. “I didn’t mean to hurt you, Adam. But if I stay, it will be forever, so you better not let Nero hurt you.” I kissed him and bit at his bottom lip playfully. “Or I’ll be pissed.”
He smiled and scooped me up into his arms. “Angry cats are the worst.”
“And don’t you forget it.” I laughed sliding my arms around his neck as he carried me back to the bedroom.
He laid me down on the bed and pulled me into his arms. “Malcolm was right about the baby.”
I looked up at him. “Really? You can tell too?”
He shrugged. “Your scent is different, and when I’m very close to you I can hear a faint heartbeat next to yours.”
“That’s impossible. Even if I was pregnant, it’s way too soon for a heartbeat.”
“Gestation for us isn’t as long as for humans. That’s part of the reason why a human woman can’t get pregnant with us until we convert her.” His hand slid down over my still-flat abdomen. “Jaguars must be similar. We’re both shifters.” Splaying his fingers out he smiled at me. “Plus, you’re glowing.”
“What?” Now I was completely lost. “You’re sleep-deprived. I look like hell.”
“No.” He smiled, looking way too sexy for anyone’s good. “You look amazing. More alive and more beautiful than you ever have.”
I kissed him and murmured against his lips. “Now you’re just trying to get lucky.”
“Is it working?”
I tangled my legs with his and slid his hand up from my belly to my breast. “What do you think?”
Chapter Forty-Four
I woke up when the first car pulled in, but I didn’t move. Lana was still sleeping, curled up and facing me. She had a hint of a smile on her lips. It was all I could do not to kiss her again. I wasn’t ready to get up and face the reality of what lay ahead for us tonight.
We had made love long and slow before falling asleep, whispering secrets we’d never share with anyone else. Her love filled a place in my heart that I never realized was empty. I never knew love could be so honest and real and overpowering. When she looked at me with her dark eyes filled with emotion, I felt like the luckiest man on earth, like a superhero, like anything was possible.
But none of it was going to bring my father back.
Another vehicle pulled down the drive to the barn. It sounded like Jason’s truck.
I kissed Lana’s cheek, drinking in her scent like a balm for all the wounds in my heart. She stretched and her lashes fluttered. The sight of her smile as she opened her eyes made my heart pound.
“Is it time to get up?” She stretched her arms over her head.
I nodded. “Yeah, the Pack is here. We better get down there.”
Her smile vanished, and she took my hand. “I’m sorry, Adam.”
I brought her hand to my lips and kissed the back of her fingers. “We’ll get through this.”
Then another sixth-sense-type realization hit me. Aren. Something was…off with him. I focused on Lana again. “This is going to sound crazy, but I need to tell you something.”
Lana chuckled. The sound of her laughter was a gift. I’d never be able to tell my father goodbye without her shoulder to lean on.
“I turn into a jaguar once a month, and I’ve seen what an amazing wolf you are when the moon is full. What could be crazier than that?”
“My dad used to have a sense about the members of the Pack. It was creepy sometimes how he’d know something was wrong and then just show up. He did it to me a couple of times after I first met you. Every once in a while he could almost finish your thoughts for you even though you didn’t say anything out loud.”
“Maybe he was a little bit psychic?”
“He said something to me last night about how I would know how to be the Alpha. I thought he was crazy, but now…”
Her brow creased. “Are you all right?”
I nodded. “I’m fine, it’s just that now… I sense them. Like when Jason drove in, I knew I needed to talk to him tonight. I could feel his guilt over my father dying.”
“But it wasn’t his fault.”
“I know that, but he’s our doctor. He’s worried Aren and I are angry with him, and that he let the Pack down by not saving Malcolm.”
She raised a brow. “That is kinda crazy.” Then she kissed me and smiled. “Crazy cool.”
My grin went crooked. “Too bad it doesn’t seem to work with you.”
Lana got out of bed, and my eyes slid over every curve.
“Good thing. I’m pretty sure it’d piss me off if you thought you knew what I was thinking all the time.”
“You’d change your mind just to prove me wrong,” I teased as I pulled on my pants.
Lana popped her head through one of my T-shirts and shot me an innocent look. “Who? Me?”
I kissed her tenderly and smiled. “Thank you.”
“For what?”
“For helping me get through tonight.”
Color flushed over Lana’s cheeks. “You don’t need to thank me. I thought we agreed we’re a team now, right?”
“I want to be your husband.” I hadn’t realized I was going to say the words, but once they were out of my mouth, I knew they were true. Lana didn’t say anything, and my heart started to pound.
“Are you asking me to marry you?”
I swallowed the lump in my throat as I looked at the tiny ball of fire wearing my shirt and a pair of wrinkled blue jeans. “This wasn’t how I pictured I would propose.”
Lana grinned and rushed into my arms, laughing. “Then it’s just perfect.”
I kissed her long and slow, savoring the way her soft lips parted and her tongue tangled with mine. I’d never get tired of tasting her. Never. I drew back with a smile.
“So is that a yes?”
Her eyes sparkled up at me. “Yes.”
I kissed her again, holding her so tight that her feet left the ground. With a single word, Lana had added light to a dark day in my life. I could face anything with her in my corner.
…
When we got down to the barn everyone had arrived except Gareth. The last remaining members of our elders, Nicholas and Wyatt, with their mates Laura and Sarah, stood together, stoic beside Malcolm’s body, saying their goodbyes. As Lana and I approached they both straightened and offered their condolences.
“Thank you.” I clasped their forearms. “It looks like we’re only missing Gareth.”
“He may not make it. He’s still mourning his brother.” Nicholas made eye contact with Wyatt. “Since Gabe was killed by a jaguar, Gareth is struggling seeing our Alpha with…”
His words died away, but I could feel my hackles rising. “She had nothing to do with Gabe’s death. She helped me try to save him.”
“So you say,” Gareth replied from behind me.
I didn’t turn around to face him. I wanted to blow my stack and attack him, but staring at my father’s body reminded me that I couldn’t be the hotheaded son of the Alpha anymore. I
