Page 96 of Hunting for her Heart
“A week?!” Several of them ask in shock. “You can’t mean that it will be healed that quickly?”
“Maybe quicker,” Bo says, winking at me.
“Time to go,” Hawk says, scooping me up.
“Give us until tomorrow night to rest and recover,” Bo tells his mom.
“But—”
She starts to argue, but Bo cuts her off, more sternly this time. “No buts, Mother. Willow was forced into the Mating Hunt against her will. We had to participate so we could win her and keep her away from everyone else. And the Hunt lasted a week this year. That's why we were gone for so long.”
She gasps, again. “No! Not that barbaric, archaic ritual!” She looks at me with pity. “You poor thing.” She steps back and nods. “Okay, leave everything to me. Nobody will bother you, but we expect to see you tomorrow night, for a sunset wedding.”
“On the beach,” Hawk says, to my surprise.
She nods. “On the beach.”
We say our goodbyes as we march down a small trail into the trees. It takes about ten minutes until we stop.
Hawk sets me down. On the ground is a pile of material and food, and I frown, not understanding why it's here, in the middle of the forest.
“Boy, they work fast,” Bo chuckles before turning to me. “So, what do you think?”
“Uhh…” I say dumbly, not sure what he’s asking me about. Ronan presses a finger under my chin and tilts my head up.
My jaw drops as I take in the sight above me. Built high up into the trees is a large home—no. A treehouse. It weaves through three large trees with rope bridges connecting the structures.
“It’s incredible,” I say in awe. “How is it none of you mentioned you live in a treehouse?” I ask as I look at my mates.
Bo shrugs, looking a little sheepish. “It never came up.”
Hawk turns me toward him as he confesses, “We did worry a little, at first, that you would be put off by the idea of it. If we knew we’d have a mate someday, we probably would have built our home on the ground.”
“I’m glad you didn’t,” I tell him as I glance back up at it. “It looks amazing. Does everyone here live in the trees?”
He shakes his head. “Only us. Ronan had the idea, and we loved it.”
“Me too,” I say, smiling at them all.
We spend the next few hours in my new home. They show me everything and it’s so much better than any home I’ve ever imagined. They all have separate bedrooms, but they show me a large space that they want to convert into a bedroom for the four of us to use together. Hawk and Ronan even go to work moving bedding around as I sit with Bo. He looks through the delivered materials, which turned out to be cured animal hides, which he plans to turn into clothing for me.
He makes me a cropped tank top and skirt, and I feel a little like a cavewoman in my new getup. But it's comfortable and soft, and Bo molds it perfectly to my body.
The outfit leaves my midriff exposed, and when he’s done assessing the final outfit on me, he pulls me close from where he’s sitting on the ground and kisses my stomach.
“You look delectable in this,” he tells me, leaning in to kiss it again. “And to think, you could have our baby growing in here, right now.”
My jaw drops open as I stare down at him in utter shock. “What?”
His brows pinch a little in confusion as he looks up at me. He takes my hands in his as he asks, “You do know how babies are made, don’t you?”
Ronan and Hawk step into the room and freeze upon hearing Bo, their wide eyes bouncing between us.
I try to focus on Bo’s question and nod. “Yes, I understand the theory of it but—” I cut myself off as I remember what we were taught. “I-I didn’t realize,” I tell him. “I mean, I know it comes from a man planting his seed in a woman’s uterus, but… I didn’t know that’s what we were doing. Nobody ever said making a baby would be so… pleasurable.”
A smirk pulls at Bo’s lips. I suppose they also hadn’t told us that sex could be pleasurable for a woman, if done right.
“Does it upset you?” Ronan asks as they step closer. “Knowing you could be carrying our child?” I place my hand over my stomach as I glance down at myself and consider his question.
