Page 88 of The Reluctant Alpha
"What?"
"When you're scared, when those old voices start talking, you come to me. You tell me. We figure it out together." His thumbs wiped away my tears.
I nodded, fresh tears spilling over. "I promise. And Bayer?"
"Yeah?"
"I love you too." The words came out rushed, almost panicked, and I pressed my lips to his. The kiss was soft at first, tentative—an apology, a question, a promise. But as his arms wrapped around me, drawing me closer, it deepened into something more.
His hands slid to my waist, lifting me effortlessly until I could wrap my legs around his hips. I clung to him, my fingers threading through his hair as he carried me to the bed, laying me down with such care it made my chest ache.
"I'm scared of how much I need you," I admitted as he hovered above me, his amber eyes reflecting the dim light of the bedside lamp.
"Not as scared as I am," he whispered, pressing a kiss to my jaw, my throat, the sensitive spot behind my ear.
That surprised me. "You? What are you afraid of?"
"Failing you," he murmured against my skin. "Losing you. Not being enough."
I pulled back to look at him, cupping his face in my hands. "You are enough. More than enough."
His smile was soft, vulnerable in a way that made my heart turn over. "Let me show you," he said, his voice rough with emotion. "Let me love you properly."
I nodded, words suddenly beyond me as he slowly, methodically undressed me, his touch gentle on every inch of exposed skin. When I was naked beneath him, he paused to look at me, his gaze traveling from my face down to my still-flat stomach, where his hand came to rest.
"Our cub," he said, wonder coloring his voice.
I covered his hand with mine. "Our cub," I echoed, the reality of it settling into my bones with surprising rightness.
Bayer lowered his head to press a kiss to my stomach, so tender it brought tears to my eyes. Then he was moving back up my body, his lips leaving a trail of heat in their wake. By the time he reached my mouth again, I was trembling with need.
"You're still wearing too many clothes," I complained, tugging at his shirt.
He chuckled, the sound vibrating against my skin as he helped me undress him, revealing the powerful body I'd come to know so intimately. When we were both naked, skin to skin, he settled between my thighs, his weight supported on his forearms.
"I love you, Danny Jacobson," he said, his eyes never leaving mine. "Every sarcastic, stubborn, beautiful inch of you."
"I love you too," I whispered back, the words easier now, truer than anything I'd ever said. "Now please stop talking before I die of frustration."
His laugh was cut short as I arched against him, our bodies aligning perfectly. He entered me slowly, carefully, as if I might break—until I dug my heels into his back, urging him deeper.
"I won't break," I insisted, nipping at his lower lip. "I need all of you."
Something primal flickered in his eyes, and he growled low in his throat, a sound that sent shivers racing down my spine. Then he was moving, setting a pace that had me gasping, clinging to his shoulders as pleasure built between us. Every thrust drove me higher.
"Mine," he growled against my neck, his teeth grazing the mark he'd left there. "My mate. My omega."
"Yours," I agreed breathlessly, arching into him as his hand slid between us, finding the place where I needed him most. "Always yours."
The dual sensation of his touch and his body moving within mine sent me spiraling over the edge, crying out his name as waves of pleasure crashed through me. He followed moments later, his powerful body shuddering against mine as his release claimed him.
As we lay tangled together afterward, his heartbeat strong beneath my ear, I traced idle patterns on his chest, marveling at how quickly my world had changed.
"What are you thinking?" he murmured, his fingers combing gently through my hair.
"That I never expected any of this," I admitted. "You, the baby, all of it. A month ago, I was just trying to survive Miss Anderson's bitching."
His chest rumbled with quiet laughter. "And now?"
