Lily
Seeing all of my rogue friends baking inside Wesley’s kitchen is strange. Tess, Claudia, Jenny, and Juanita are all here. Sophia—Juanita’s two-year-old daughter—is here too. She is currently trying to charm Wesley.
“Why are you so tall?” she asks, her little fingers poking at his jeans.
Wesley turns around, and I’m flabbergasted to see his face softening when Sophia beams up at him. Even Juanita leans forward to completely lean against the kitchen table with a dreamy expression on her face. She is a single mother and refuses to reveal who Sophia’s father is. It’s a well-kept secret only she knows the answer to, but it’s painfully obvious that she wants to bring Wesley home.
“He is so yummy...” she sighs. “Honey, if you weren’t my ride or die, I would steal him away from you in a heartbeat. That ass and those shoulders? Yum.”
I roll my eyes. “Wesley isn’t my boyfriend. He is just the father of my child.”
“And the Alpha of the Luan pack...” Juanita releases another dreamy sigh. “I think I’m in love.”
“You’ve known him for five minutes.”
She chuckles. “Doesn’t matter. I can already feel sparks flying.”
I roll my eyes again but can’t help but feel a pang of jealousy deep down. It’s not that I have feelings for Wesley, but the thought of him being with someone else, more precisely Juanita, makes my skin crawl.
“Wesley?” Tessa flutters her eyelashes when Wesley turns around, and I have to fight a growl when her eyes land on his chest muscles. “I...umm... uhh...would you mind passing me the...umm...sugar?”
“Here.”
Wesley barely touches her, yet she giggles—GIGGLES—upon having his fingers brush against hers. My blood is boiling, yet I somehow manage to sit still on the couch and when Juanita notices my expression, she laughs.
“Take it easy, big mama,” she says, grinning. “I wouldn’t want you to murder your own friend.”
“But-but-but she is flirting with him!” I whisper-yell.
“So?” Juanita lifts an eyebrow. “He is the Alpha of his pack—it’s only natural for every werewolf inside this room to want him, but trust me: everyone here is your friend and knows the man is yours. But let the girls dream, will you? We are all rogues, and having an Alpha’s attention isn’t something that normally happens to us except when they want us dead.”
A stab of shame pierces my chest. All the women around me are my friends, and I know they wouldn’t dream of stealing Wesley away from me. But here I am, green-eyed with envy because...because deep down, I’m aching for him.
I take a deep breath and try to calm myself down. Juanita is right, I trust my friends and Wesley too. Besides, Wesley and I aren’t together, and I can’t expect him to be celibate for the rest of his life. But it’s hard to ignore my feelings, especially when he is getting so much attention.
“Anyway,” Juanita stands up. “I know your back is killing you, but you make the best cookie dough ever. Your gender reveal party wouldn’t be the same without it, so...”
I sigh. “Alright, alright, just bring me a bowl.”
She grins. “Roger that!”
Juanita brings all the ingredients over to the kitchen table, and I throw them down into a bowl, adding a few drops of vanilla essence when nobody sees it since it’s the secret ingredient. Wesley notices me dripping it over my dough, but I just wink at him. He grins in return and turns around, and I try not to drool at his muscular frame and large butt. Part of me just wants to sink down to my knees and—
No! I need to focus. Those are just my pregnancy hormones talking, and I must ignore them.
I grab the spoon and start to mix the ingredients together. As I stir, I feel a tug inside of me and a sharp kick to my side. I pause and look down at my belly. My unborn child is growing stronger every day, and it’s becoming harder to ignore the maternal instincts that are starting to take over.
“You okay?” Wesley’s voice pulls me out of my thoughts, and I nod as I continue to mix the dough.
“Yeah, it’s just the baby kicking.”
He looks down at my belly, and for a moment, his eyes soften. “Are you excited to know the gender?”
I smile. “Yeah, I can’t wait. It feels like forever since we found out I was pregnant.”
“I know what you mean.” Wesley takes the spoon from me and starts to mix the dough himself. “It feels like you’ve been pregnant forever, and there’s an eternity left until our baby will be born. You’re just twenty-two weeks in.”
“Yet I’m already showing.”
“Barely.”
“I’m fat.”
“Thick, not fat.”
“My feet stink.”
He chuckles. “Keep your socks on.”
“I might take them off if you keep laughing at me.”
He pauses and looks at me with his emerald eyes. “Was that a threat?”
“Yes.”
His lips curl. “Scary.”
My heart flutters as I watch him work, admiring how his muscles move effortlessly beneath his tight shirt. Juanita is right: Wesley is a total snack. In the background, I can see all the girls leering at us, but when I send them a glare, they all return to working on the snacks for tomorrow.
But I can see the look on their faces and the sly grins that hints at them rooting for us. They want me to get together with Wesley, but that’s only because they don’t know how much the man dislikes me. He might be nice right now, but that will change once the baby is born.
“Earth to Lily,” Wesley snaps his fingers in front of my face, and I jump, startled out of my thoughts.
“What?”
“You were miles away,” he seems to stifle a laugh. “I was asking if we should walk out of the room. Juanita is about to add the color to the cake, and we want the gender to be a surprise until tomorrow, right?”
I nod and set down the spoon. “Yeah, let’s go.”
Wesley leads the way, and I follow him through the door, but we barely make it out of the kitchen before the baby starts kicking. Sharp pain shoots through me, and Wesley turns around with concerned eyes.
“Everything okay?”
I put a hand on my belly. “Yeah, the baby is just very active today. I think they are trying to make a jailbreak.”
Wesley’s lips part in surprise. “Can I...Can I touch your belly?”
“Of course.”
He still looks a little bit unsure, so I roll my eyes before grabbing his hand and placing it on my baby bump. There is a flutter there, a gentle movement. Wesley’s face softens, but he jerks away his hand when the baby kicks hard.
I wince. “They are pissed off today.”
“And probably hungry,” Wesley says. “They need to eat. You need to eat too.”
I can’t argue with that. I’m starving, but walking back into the kitchen is a no-go. It’s busy and hectic, and I don’t want to see what color Juanita is going to use for the cake. Wesley must sense this because he gives me a small smile.
“There is another kitchen on the second floor.”
I grimace. “Yeah, but walking there is going to be a pain in the freaking ass.”
To my surprise, Wesley says nothing. Instead, he grabs me and effortlessly lifts me into his arms in a bridal carry. I cling to his strong neck, worried he is going to drop me. I’m not exactly tiny right now. My stomach is round, and my thighs are thick, but Wesley doesn’t seem one bit bothered.
He carries me up the stairs with ease, his muscles rippling beneath his shirt. I can’t help but feel a twinge of desire as I wrap my arms tighter around his neck, feeling the warmth of his body against mine.
“Thanks,” I say as he sets me down on a stool in the second-floor kitchen.
“Anytime,” he says, flashing me a smile that makes my heart race.
I watch as he starts to rummage through the cupboards, searching for something to make me. I try not to stare at his muscular back, but it’s hard. I can feel myself getting wet as I watch him move. I’m so lost in my thoughts that I don’t hear him when he speaks.
“Lily, you okay?”
I shake my head. “What? Sorry, I was just...”
“Thinking about something?”
“Yeah,” I say, feeling myself blush. “I’m just...never mind. It’s stupid.”
Wesley looks at me. “Define stupid.”
I bite my lip, debating whether to share my thoughts with him. But then I decide to go for it. “I was just thinking about how attractive you are and how I can’t stop thinking about you even though you rejected me.”
Wesley’s eyes widen. “Wow.”
“I know it’s ridiculous, but I can assure you that it’s purely physical!” I’m lying but screw it. “I mean, I’m pregnant, and I’m not blind: you’re gorgeous and very strong and big, and...you have an eight-pack.”
“So what you feel is strictly physical?”
No. “Y-yes.”
He smirks. “You just want sex?”
The look on his face screams danger, and I gulp when it looks like he is about to take off his clothes. Is it hot in here, or is that just me?
I give him a faint nod, and Wesley’s smirk widens. “Well then, we might be able to arrange something.”
I almost choke when he drops down his shirt, but instead of approaching me, he starts cooking while only wearing his white boxers that leave nothing to the imagination.
This man is just...wow.
I try not to let my eyes wander down to his crotch, but it’s hard. I’m so turned on right now that I can hardly think straight.
“Why did you reject me?” I blurt out suddenly, unable to keep the question inside any longer.
Wesley pauses and looks at me, his green eyes meeting mine. “I thought it was for the best,” he says quietly.
“Why?” I press, not wanting to let the issue drop.
He sighs. “At first, it was because you were a rogue, but now I’m trying to fulfill Mirelle’s wishes. She wanted us to stay together forever, and after she died...” he bites his lower lip, looking pained. “I just can’t... I’m sorry.”
His words burn deep in my chest. I’m not going to lie, but since I’m desperate, I can’t stop myself from saying, “But what if we could have a strictly sexual relationship?”
Yes, I did just say that.