“What?” She went through every line. “I don’t see any mistake.”
“There.” His finger landed on the space for “sex” where she had written “F.” “It’s missing a few letters. M, T, W, Th—”
“Oh, ha ha.” She poked him playfully with the end of the pen.
“What?” he asked innocently. “You do like it every day. And more than once—ow!” He rubbed at his arm where she jabbed him harder. “The doctor will need accurate information.”
Despite his strong-arming ways, there were some benefits to having him around. Having sex on tap did marvelous things for her overall mood and health. She couldn’t quite explain it—maybe it was the hormones, but she couldn’t seem to get enough of him. Maybe he did have a magical dick, because it never failed to satisfy her, while making her want more. She couldn’t decide which type of sex was better—hurried quickies in the morning, or lunchtime if they could get away—or the long, languid hours of lovemaking at night. Every night for the past two weeks, she’d stayed at his place, only going back to her apartment in the mornings to shower and change before work. No one at GI seemed to bat an eye at their … whatever it was between them, but rather, they accepted it. At least now they’ve stopped betting on us.
“Dr. Blake will see you now, Ms. Westbrooke,” the stern-looking nurse called. As she and Delacroix stood up, she frowned. “Patients only.”
He looked like he wanted to protest, but she put a hand on his chest. “It’s fine, it’s just a routine examination.” She did not want him in there while another male was touching her, even if Dr. Blake was a professional. Delacroix had become terribly possessive and was aggressive toward any male who came near her. The other night when they were having dinner, a waiter had accidentally touched her elbow and he nearly bit the man’s head off.
“But I want to be in there with you. I want to make sure the doctor doesn’t do any funny business.”
“Dr. Blake is a professional and also, so old, he actually assisted in my birth.” She rolled her eyes. “I’ll have the nurse call you when it’s done so you can be there during the assessment, okay?” That seemed to placate him, and he sat back down.
She went into the examination room. Dr. Blake was already there, and they proceeded with her first pre-natal exam. And as she promised, she had the nurse call Delacroix in before Dr. Blake discussed the pregnancy with her.
“Everything seems to be normal,” Dr. Blake began. “For a True Mate pregnancy.”
“What does that mean?” Delacroix asked, his knuckles going white as his fingers curled into fists at his sides. “Is she okay? Is the pup healthy? Will there be any complications? Pre-eclampsia? Or—”
“It means everything will be fine, Mr. Delacroix,” the doctor said reassuringly. “In fact, True Mate females have the healthiest pregnancies I’ve ever seen. “
The look of relief on his face was evident. “And when do we know if it’s a boy or girl?”
“When it’s born.” Dr Blake looked at her when Delacroix seemed taken aback.
“I’m afraid he’s not familiar with True Mate pregnancies, Doctor.” She turned to him. “While the baby makes me invulnerable to any harm, it also blocks my body from any type of invasive examination. Sonograms, X-rays, not even an MRI machine can penetrate whatever magical shield is around me.”
“Even now, we don’t know the reason why,” Dr. Blake continued. “We tried doing some studies and experiments on ways to examine True Mate fetuses over thirty years ago. Dr. Jade Creed, our leading Lycan scientist who studies magic, tried different methods, even magical ones, but to no avail.”
“Then how do you know the pup is healthy?”
“Every True Mate child I’ve witnessed being born or delivered myself has come into this world one hundred percent healthy,” he stated.
“Every one?” He sounded skeptical.
“Yes, since the first one in the last century.” The doctor gestured to Mika. “See for yourself.”
Delacroix’s brows wrinkled in confusion.
Dr. Blake frowned. “You really have no idea?”
“I haven’t told him.” She lay a hand on top of his. “It’s me. He’s talking about me. I was the first True Mate baby born in a very long time. I was told that up until I was conceived, True Mates were thought to be a legend.”
He looked flummoxed. “I didn’t know, cher.”
Of course not, seeing as they never talked of anything about their past. She’d never even told him about—
“Are you all right, Ms. Westbrooke? You suddenly seem pale.”
Delacroix’s dark eyes narrowed at her. “I thought you said pregnant True Mates were healthy, doctor?”
“I’m fine,” she managed to say. “Just … felt fatigued.”
The rest of the appointment seemed to go by in a haze. Dr. Blake talked about her progress and her due date, but it all went over her head. All she could think about was Joe.
Had she completely forgotten about him? Of course not. He had been her husband. Nothing was going to change that. But a pit formed in her stomach when she thought of Delacroix. He had no idea about Joe, and she didn’t know how to tell him. Should she casually mention it? No, the time for that had passed. Maybe she should sit him down … and tell him what?
“Are you sure you’re okay, cher?” he asked as they left the doctor’s office.
“I … I’m fine.”
He moved closer to her, bending his head, then stopped. As if her guilt wasn’t bad enough, her no-kissing rule was another thing that made her feel even worse. Despite all the ways they shared their bodies, they hadn’t kissed since the first time. He hadn’t pressed her, though she could see it was bothering him.
She did want him to kiss her, but it just felt so intimate, as if there was this invisible line between no kissing and kissing, and the moment she crossed it, she feared there was no going
