She reached out to take it but he quickly jerked it back and turned, bent, and placed it on her floor. He quickly stood and faced her again. “You shouldn’t be lifting anything.” His gaze dropped to her belly. His cubs were nestled in there.
At that moment, a sense of awe and love hit, and he slowly dropped to his knees in front of his female.
Darla gasped. “Gnaw?”
He reached out and gently curled his fingers around her hips. “You are a blessing to me.” They were almost the same height now that he stood on his knees. “No gift I could ever give you would compare to what you have given me.” Tears filled his eyes.
Darla stepped closer and lifted her hands, gently cupping each side of his face. “Don’t cry. Then I’ll cry.”
He rapidly blinked and tried to smile. “I never want to see you do that. It would hurt my heart.”
She inched closer. “Be honest. Are you upset at all that I got pregnant?”
“No,” he vehemently denied. “I am grateful. I didn’t want to be parted from you when my grouping came for us on the Elth ship. I wanted to take you to my home and keep holding you while we sleep. I couldn’t stop wishing you were still with me.”
She smiled and pressed up against him, putting their faces close together. “I missed you, too.”
“I will be a good mate. My word. I will protect you and our cubs with my life. My priority will be your happiness.”
She stroked the sides of his face. “Is that really what you want? I don’t want you to grow to resent me because you feel trapped.”
He slid his hands to her back and pulled her even tighter against him. “The Elth made me feel trapped when they locked me inside a cell. You are everything good, Darla. Do you understand? I am not good with words, but our bond has already formed, and I hope you feel the same for me. I don’t want to have a future without you.”
She smiled. “I feel the same.”
He grinned. “I want to strip you bare and give you pleasure.”
Her eyes widened. She also began breathing faster. “I’d like that.”
He adjusted his hold on her and carefully rose to his feet, before lifting her and walking toward the other door that should be her bedroom. The door opened as he approached—but he halted, a snarl tearing from his throat.
Dr. Brick stood between him and the bed, inside Darla’s bedroom. Her arms were crossed over her chest and she shook her head. “Date. Then bed. Come on! We went over this plan. You two need to be seen together, holding hands and stuff!”
“I dislike you,” Gnaw admitted.
“No one likes a cock-blocker. Got it. But remember what we talked about. Now put her down and take her out to dinner. Do you remember where the restaurant is? I hacked into their system and added you to the list. You’re both expected.”
He looked down at Darla in his arms. She met his gaze, her face a little pink. “I actually forgot she was here the moment I saw you. Jessa’s going to pack up my stuff, since she said you wanted me to live with you. She’s right. We should be seen before my hair and this dress get messed up.”
He groaned and spun away from the sleeping room, marching toward the exit. He paused before they reached it and gently put her down. “Take my hand?”
“I’d love to.” She clasped the one he offered.
They left her cabin, and he slowed his pace for her shorter legs. More humans were on their way to the closest lift and they openly gawked at them. It angered him, but he didn’t snarl at them. He did keep glancing at Darla, and he tugged her closer. She kept her chin up, eyes forward, and seemed to be ignoring the reactions they got.
He called for the lift and was grateful it was empty as they entered it together. The second the doors sealed, he reached down and gently cupped her chin, tilting her head. He examined her face. She didn’t appear upset.
“Does it bother you that humans react that way to me?”
“No.” She smiled. “I’m just not used to being stared at. I was raised with just my family in a greenhouse, remember? They’re probably jealous because you’re so handsome.”
His uneasiness faded and he grinned again. “They are taken with your beauty.”
The lift stopped and opened. He released her chin and walked out, heading toward Jorgio. He was told it was a nice place where human males liked to eat and take females while they were having a date.
The corridor was much wider in that section of Defcon Red. Instead of being closed, the double doors were open, with scrawled writing above them and merchandise displayed inside. He’d avoided the stores where humans liked to shop. The map he’d memorized told him that the place they sought would be farther up on the right.
Dozens of humans paused to watch them pass. Darla’s hold on his hand tightened, and he gave her a gentle squeeze back. “It is fine,” he softly assured her.
“I know,” she whispered. “It’s just that we’re really drawing attention.”
“They used to do this to Drak and Abby but humans adjusted quickly. These humans will adjust to seeing us together as well.”
Darla looked up at him and nodded.
“Someone is desperate,” a male yelled out.
Gnaw stopped, searching for the source, knowing it was an insult.
A familiar form stepped out of the shadows of one of the open stores and grabbed hold of a human male. Maith wrapped his hand around the human’s throat and snarled something low. Then he released
