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then you risk having to go on bed rest for the whole pregnancy. And while
seven months isn t nine months, it s still a long time to sit in bed. Chances
are after you have the baby, you ll be back to normal. She poured herself a
cup.  In the meantime, you can have decaf. The caffeine is very minimal.
 I m glad you re okay. Nina ran a hand over her stomach as she spoke. Grace
realized the subtle change in the woman she d only known a few weeks. The
standoffishness Nina had shown had disappeared and she treated Grace with the
same snarky love that she did everyone else. That sort of acceptance made her
feel a lot more comfortable living in the house.
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 Me too. Listen, I ll schedule your prenatal exams this week and get the info
your way. I ve been thinking of putting a small health clinic down where the
lab is. The equipment is there and I don t know why we shouldn t use it. I can
see you here most of the time but occasionally, you ll want to come down there
so we can do an ultrasound and that sort of thing.
 Oh an ultrasound? I can see the baby and know the sex and stuff?
 If you like, I can try and determine the gender. No guarantees the baby will
cooperate. Sometimes they just turn and show you their little butts instead of
whatever they re packing or not, as it were. You hungry? Grace grabbed a
bagel and popped it in the toaster as she rummaged through the fridge.
 No, I just ate. Lex shows up every hour to shove food at me. He s already a
good dad. I just hope I can be a good mom.
Grace put the food on the counter and took Nina s hands.  You will be.
 I didn t have a very good example.
The mantle of being an Alpha was heavy. She wondered how Cade handled it,
feeling the emotions of all his wolves this way for so long. Nina s worry sat
on her tongue like bitter fruit.
 I don t know the whole story. Just what you ve shared. But I know you gave
your all to your brother, even when you were just a kid and despite his bad
choices, he still came to you when he was in trouble. He knew you d be there
for him. And in the end, what I hear about him was that he d become a decent
member of the Pack. A good man. She shrugged.  Seems to me, a kid growing up
on the streets the way he did along with you, that s down to you. The good man
part. It s going to be all right. You ll learn, Lex will learn and the kid
will own you. Grace grinned.  Anyway, Beth will be over here every day and
you can always call Layla.
 What about you?
 Me? My parents gave birth to two children and only one was ever important to
them. I don t think I had much of an example either.
 You re a doctor. You re compassionate and giving. I think you ll be a great
mother when the time comes. And Cade will dote and dote because that s his
way. Nina snorted and Grace piled stuff on her bagel.
 You have something to tell me, honey? Cade said as he strolled into the
room.
 Hmpf. That was a hypothetical discussion. Although they hadn t taken a bit
of precaution against pregnancy, it wasn t that easy for wolves to get
pregnant anyway.  It s time to go to the lab. Did the samples arrive yet?
He put his arms around her and hugged her, kissing the side of her face and
neck. She didn t even pretend to be annoyed, it felt so good.
 You smell good. And yes, they did and I sent them straight over but eat that
first. Everyone knows not to touch a thing until you arrive.
 You want anything?
 No I m good. I ate after you went back to sleep and I ve eaten my weight in
cookies. He paused and she grinned.  Yes, I baked earlier. You know, some men
get lap dances when they re stressed. You should be grateful I bake.
She turned in his arms and looked up at him.  I love that you bake cookies
when you re stressed. And some men don t have wives who d tear their throats
out if they ever let another female grind their feminine parts over their
husband s wedding tackle. You do.
He leaned down and nipped her bottom lip.  You know it makes me hot when
you re violent, right?
 You can collect your carnal due later on tonight. I have work to do. Getting
up on her tip-toes, she kissed him quickly and turned back to her sandwich.
Cade sat back and watched her dive in to her work at the lab. He also didn t
fail to miss the way the wolves showed her even more deference and respect.
News of what she d done to save Megan had spread quickly. People saw it in two
ways. First as a commentary of what Pellini was capable of but secondly, proof
their new Alpha was worthy of her position.
No doubt he was relieved. It hurt him to see anyone in the Pack snub her. He
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knew she felt it, even if she d protested that she understood it. And in a
selfish way, it made him feel better to know the wolves in Cascadia understood
the worth of his mate.
She moved through the lab, wearing a white coat and carrying a notebook.
Occasionally, she d stop at a microscope or a computer terminal for a bit. He
made phone calls but never let her out of his sight. Nearly losing her was too
raw to get past at that stage.
She didn t waste a single movement. He d realized over the time she d been in
his life how economical everything about her was. She didn t waste words or
movement. If she said it, it needed to be said and it came from her heart. He
liked that precision about her, found it sexy. Well, he found everything about
her sexy excluding that whole nearly dying thing.
After two hours had passed he waited for her to notice him. But she was
focused, her face a mask of concentration as she sat at a computer terminal.
 Grace? He approached quietly, working as hard as he could not to touch her
even though he wanted to.
 Hmm? she answered absently without even looking up.
 Two hours is up. About twenty minutes ago.
Dragging her eyes from her screen, she turned to him and took his measure. He
didn t want to stop her work, he knew it was important but damn it, she d
nearly died just the day before!
He lowered his voice and pulled up a chair.  I know you re busy and this is
all very important, but you promised. You need to rest.
 I m only just hours away from a few answers. I m not a virologist and I ve
had to re-learn a lot of stuff but this data from Warren s lab is huge.
 Grace, I respect that. I do. After a good night s sleep you ll be even more
able to concentrate and chase those answers. Giving in to his desire, he
brushed the pad of his thumb over her bottom lip.
 That s not fair.
 What isn t? He held back a smile, barely. If he had to use sex to get her in
line, he would. When it came to her well-being he wasn t above doing whatever
he had to do.
 I m going to get even with you.
He laughed, satisfied when she turned and began to turn off her computer.  I
can t wait.
Grace leaned into Cade as he opened her car door and she slid in after kissing
his shoulder. As much as she liked the Wardens and being so accepted by their [ Pobierz całość w formacie PDF ]