“Sure, but first, let’s move to the family room. I have a massage chair in there which will do wonders for your back and legs.” He stood and held his hand out to her like a dutiful gentleman.

  Placing her palm on his, she experienced a tingle that zipped from their connected skin all the way through her body. Inhaling sharply, she was keenly aware of his masculine scent her tiger liked so much. “Now, you’re speaking my language. I’d kill for a good massage.”

  “A real massage could be dangerous for the baby unless done by a professional, but this is just a vibrating chair. I’m sure it’s safe.” He led her back to the family room and pointed at a large leather chair in the corner. “Settle in, and I’ll grab the blanket for you. Once you’re comfy, we can talk more.”

  The chair was built for a big man. It seemed to swallow her up, but once Quinn draped the soft blanket over her, she sighed with pleasure.

  “I’m not even sure I need more than this. Forgive me if I fall asleep on you.”

  “Have you been able to sleep? Women in the last month of pregnancy generally don’t sleep much.”

  “Am I really almost there?” Aubrey recalled his words from earlier at the hospital. “If I’m really thirty-eight weeks, then that would mean I got pregnant almost a month earlier than I thought.”

  “I’m sure of it. I’ve been doing this a long time.”

  “Wow.” She stroked her belly through the blanket and her son kicked and squirmed. “Hard to believe I’ll be holding you so soon, Peanut.”

  “Peanut?” Quinn’s face broke into a smile, and Aubrey nodded.

  “It’s what I’ve been calling him since day one. I didn’t know what I was having, so Peanut fit either sex.”

  “My mom used to call me Peanut when I was little because I was smaller than all the other cubs. I didn’t really start growing until I was eleven, and then I didn’t seem to stop. In one year, she had to buy me three different sizes of clothes.”

  “Wow,” Aubrey gaped at him, “I can’t even imagine. I’m having a hard enough time coming to grips with the idea of being a mother, much less the mother of a son. I don’t know anything about how to raise a child.”

  “Do you have anyone who could help you? Your mom? A grandmother? Sister?”

  “No, sadly, there’s just me. My mom had me young, and we struggled all of my childhood. She worked two and three jobs sometimes, just to make ends meet. I’ve actually lived all over the country because we were always looking for something better.”

  “Sounds like you two were close though.” Quinn frowned, “What happened to her?”

  “Heart attack about three years ago. I think she worked herself to death. I miss her a lot.” Aubrey found herself crying again, and she giggled when Quinn passed her a box of tissues. “Thanks, I’m sure the last thing you wanted to do tonight was comfort a sobbing, pregnant woman.” To her surprise, Quinn reached for her hand and kissed her knuckles.

  “While it wasn’t in my original plans, Aubrey, I wouldn’t be anywhere else for any amount of money.”

  Her face flushed with heat, and she couldn’t tear her gaze away from his intense stare. The way his ice-blue eyes sucked her in was incredibly unsettling. Her tiger chuffed inside, and she heard a purr ripple from her chest. Quinn chuckled and the moment was broken.

  “Here’s the remote for the chair.” He passed her a small black control. “Press here to turn it on, and then here to—”

  “Oh! Oh, my God!”

  Quinn’s cock was rock hard from the sounds coming out of Aubrey. She smelled like a sweet treat, but her moans and gasps of pleasure made him want to sin. She was thoroughly enjoying his massage chair, and he was kicking himself. While he wanted to make her comfortable and happy, he’d also managed to put himself in a very uncomfortable position. The horny and hard position.

  Adjusting his dick in his jeans, he turned away from the beauty in the chair and rested his back against the sofa next to her. “I was born and raised just north of here in Wyoming. My family still lives there, but I had to move into the city when I started med school. I never left.”

  “I know doctors tend to make a good living, but you live like a king,” Aubrey said, gesturing to the massive room they were in.

  “I’ve always liked the research side of medicine better than the actual treatment side. Several years ago, I created a new system for finding and treating cancer cells in a fetus. The money I made from it has allowed me to be more than comfortable and stop regularly practicing medicine. Since then, I’ve devoted most of my time to continuing my research. I’m hoping to be the one to find a way to eradicate cancer completely.”

  “Wow. That’s incredible,” Aubrey said, looking at him like he’d just appeared in a puff of smoke to grant her three wishes. “I can’t imagine how many children’s lives you’ve saved with your research.”

  “Every child is precious,” he murmured, noting the way she absently stroked her hand over her tummy. He wasn’t sure if she was doing it to comfort herself or the child within.

  “So, if you don’t practice anymore, why were you working in the ER today?”

  “A favor for a friend. They’ve been short staffed, and I was available. I do it every now and again just to keep from getting rusty and for the excitement. You never know what you’re going to get in the ER. It could be an old man with pneumonia, a child with a broken arm, or—”

  “A pregnant tiger shifter on the run from her crazy ex-boyfriend?” Aubrey filled in with a laugh.

  “Exactly,” Quinn grinned. “Of course, it’s rare for a shifter to come into the human hospital. You only ended up there because you were unconscious when the paramedics arrived, and they had to bring you in for an examination.”

  “Yeah, if not for the car accident, I’d have kept driving until I either ran out of gas or came up with a plan.”

  “That was both brave and incredibly stupid,” he replied, making her frown. “What if you’d run out of gas on a dark highway? With temps like these, you and your child could have died before someone found you.”

  She looked away before she spoke, “Even death would be better than being held captive for breeding purposes for the rest of my life. Alex planned on keeping me pregnant as much as was physically possible, so he could build a pack of liger shifters. His legacy to the world. I couldn’t live like that. And what would he do with my children? Force them to interbreed to keep the species alive? That’s just…” she shuddered violently and shook her head.

  Quinn surged to his knees and reached for her, pulling her from the chair as her emotions once against bested her. “Shh… you’re safe now Aubrey. You and your Peanut are safe with me.”

  She curled her fingers into the front of his shirt and nuzzled his throat. He wasn’t sure if she was even conscious of the move, but it had a distinct effect on his already heightened libido. The fragrance of arousal filled the air, and Quinn groaned.

  “I’m sorry!” she hiccupped, wiping tears from her cheeks. “I can’t stop crying these days. Everything makes me emotional.” Her movements rocked her soft ass against his hard dick, and he groaned again, this time letting his eyes close as he fought for control.

  “Quinn?”

  His eyes shot open to find her staring up at him with confusion in her wide, golden eyes. She’d frozen, and he knew it was because she could feel his erection beneath her.

  “Ignore it. It will go away. It’s just a natural reaction to holding a beautiful woman. It’s been… a long time since I’ve done that,” he said through gritted teeth.

  When her palm came up to cup his cheek, his control broke, and he leaned in to capture her lips. She tasted like sweet cherries and ambrosia. She was addictive, and he couldn’t seem to consume enough of her. When she purred with pleasure and opened her mouth, granting him full access, he took it without a second thought.

  There was something absolutely incredibly perfect about the kiss. Need filled his veins, making his entire body throb as he imprinted every minute detail of the moment in his brain. When she turned into him, and her belly pressed against his ribs, reality slammed into his brain.

  She was nine months pregnant with another man’s baby, and she was currently under his protection. He couldn’t take advantage of her like this. It wasn’t right. Pulling back, he panted for air, and refused to meet her questioning gaze.

  “I think it’s time to show you to your room for the night. Tomorrow morning, we’ll regroup and decide what to do.”

  Aubrey was silent as she climbed from his lap and stood next to him. The movement put her pussy level with his face, and he inhaled deeply, his bear unable to resist the call of her sweet nectar. God, what he wouldn’t give to bury his face between her thighs and not come up for air for a month.

  “I’m sorry if I made you uncomfortable. My emotions are all over the place,” she said, pulling his attention away from the heaven he craved.

  “You have nothing to apologize for. If anything, I should apologize to you for that kiss. That was completely inappropriate.” He pushed to his feet and stood in front of her. He liked the difference in their sizes. It made him feel like ten times the man to tower over her tiny frame and know he could wrap her in his arms to keep her safe.

  “Inappropriate? Um… okay. Which way is my room?” She took several steps away from him, and it took everything he had not to reach out and pull her back.

  “I’ll show you.” Leading her down the hallway, he pointed out her room, “You’re here, there’s a bathroom attached, and if you need anything, I’m next door. Just call out, I’ll hear you.”

  She paused before going into the guest bedroom, “Thank you, Quinn.” The door shut between them, and Quinn instantly felt the loss of her warm presence.

  He’d been avoiding the truth until this moment, but now that he’d tasted her, it was impossible to ignore. Aubrey Celine was his fated mate. His destiny. The other half of his soul. He didn’t know why fate would bring her to him now instead of a year ago before she’d been with someone else, and he didn’t have the first clue how they’d make things work, but he’d be damned if he’d let her go now.

  She was his.

  5

  Aubrey managed to fall asleep quickly, but hours later, she was startled awake by a hand covering her mouth. Unable to fully process what was happening, she struggled against the person holding her, fighting to escape.

  “Shh. Aubrey, it’s me, Quinn. Someone is on the property. I need to get you to the safe room before I confront them.” His voice was more comforting than it should have been in their situation. Aubrey found herself relaxing into his arms and letting him pull her from the bed. They rushed down the hallway, past his bedroom door, and into an office.

  “I don’t think you should confront them. If it’s Alex, he might hurt you to get to me,” she said, watching as Quinn found a latch behind a stack of books and pulled a bookshelf door open. Behind it was an honest-to -God safe room, stocked with a radio, a phone, a sofa, and a shelf full of supplies.

  “I’ll be fine, but I can’t concentrate on him if I’m worried about you and Peanut. Once I shut this door, it will lock. Press this button here, and the only way it will open again is with a password in here. The password is Frost.” He gestured to a small control panel, and she tried to focus on what he was telling her. “There’s ventilation, and the security monitors are over there. No matter what happens outside this room, you are not to leave it unless the police are here. Understood?”

  “But…”

  “I can open it from the outside with the password, Aubrey. I’ll come back for you once I get rid of the intruders. Now hurry, close the door.”

  He stepped back and pushed on the bookshelf. Aubrey reached for the handle, pulling it into place and pressing the button he’d instructed her to. The silence in the small room was absolutely deafening. She hated knowing he was outside and possibly in danger while she just sat around twiddling her thumbs.

  The baby chose that moment to roll over, and her bladder responded. “Oh, shit.” She hurried across the room in search of the facilities. Surely a man with a safe room would consider the possibility of needing to use the bathroom while he was hiding out. Thankfully, she found a tiny closet-like bathroom behind a pocket door with a toilet and a sink.

  A nervous laugh slipped from her throat. Quinn likely never imagined having a pregnant woman holed up in his safe room. If he had, he’d have made that bathroom more spacious. She was barely able to get back up once she’d sat down on the toilet.

  Nothing these days was easy. Her back hurt all the time, her knees hurt, and her muscles didn’t seem capable of functioning properly most days.

  “Only a couple more weeks, Peanut, according to Quinn. And then the real fun begins.”

  Making her way to the bank of security monitors, Aubrey searched for Quinn’s form. There he was, standing on a deck staring out into the snowy night. His body language was protective and threatening. He looked as if he was ready to take on the world.

  God help him, she was afraid he’d have to, and it was all her fault.

  “I don’t know who the fuck you are, but you’re trespassing,” Quinn yelled, his voice instinctively taking on the rumble of his bear. He was protecting his turf and his mate. No one would get past him. A flash of yellow fur drew his attention left, just before he heard a voice speak on his right.

  “I’m here for Aubrey. Hand her over, and this ends peacefully.”

  Quinn turned to face his new enemy. Alex stood in human form, naked as a jaybird a few feet away from him. It irked Quinn that the man had gotten so close without him being aware.

  “Who the fuck is Aubrey?” Quinn snarled.

  “Don’t play dumb with me, Doctor.” Alex’s eyes narrowed and flashed with anger. “I know she’s here. I tracked her here after she ran from the hospital. She’s pregnant, and she needs medical care. Where is she?”

  “You already know I’m a doctor, so you know I’m perfectly capable of providing her medical care.”

  “If you touch her, I’ll kill you,” Alex hissed back, his feline features overtaking his human ones for a moment in his anger.

  “Ditto.” Quinn was purposely being flippant. He wanted to piss Alex off, just so he had a reason to beat the man’s face in. “I’d suggest you call off the cat behind me; otherwise, I’ll release my dogs for a hunt.”

  Alex’s head jerked back as if he’d been slapped, and his eyes bounced away from Quinn’s for just a moment. “There doesn’t have to be bloodshed here tonight. Give me my wife—”

  “She’s not your wife.”

  “How the fuck would you know?” Alex snapped, “I can only imagine what she’s told you. She’s done this before, you know? Run away from the den in search of someone rich she could scam. She’s a con artist, doctor. She’s looking for a meal ticket. Just like she was when she seduced me. If I’d have known what a crazy bitch she was, I would have never touched her. Hell, I’ve had to fight tooth and nail just to protect my child she’s carrying. Let me have her, so I can take her home.”

  Quinn considered the other man’s words for a few minutes. What did he really know about Aubrey other than what she’d told him? A niggle of doubt began to form in his brain. Was it possible Alex was the one telling the truth?

  “Then why are you here with your betas at your back instead of the police?” Quinn asked, crossing his arms over his chest. The bitter wind whipped swirling snow between them. Anyone not accustomed to the cold would have run for the warmth of the house already, but Quinn was a polar bear. He was built for this. He would wait it out if he had to. These lions would break before he did.

  “Because I prefer not to air my dirty laundry in public,” Alex hissed. “Now, if you would please return my wife—fiancée—to me, we will leave you in peace.”

  “I don’t believe I will. You see, she doesn’t seem to want to see you, and I’ve given her sanctuary here. If you’re to be believed, she’ll prove herself a liar and a thief soon enough, and I’ll kick her to the curb. Surely, she’ll come back to you in search of a warm meal?” The words were sour on his tongue, but he said them anyway. He could see that Alex had no intention of leaving Aubrey’s fate in her own hands.

  “That’s not acceptable. I’m not leaving here without Aubrey.” Alex’s eyes moved just a fraction, and Quinn spun in the direction of the lion stalking him from behind. He’d been waiting for the shifter to make his move.

  His bear sprang to the surface just as the lion leaped at him, and they collided in a mass of fur, fangs, and claws. Two predators, each determined to best the other. The female lion was no slouch in the strength department, and her three-inch-long claws left stinging cuts down Quinn’s arms as they fought. Quinn’s biggest advantage though, was his size. His paws alone were the size of the cat’s head, and with one well-placed swing, he knocked her across the deck and into a snow drift where she remained. He had no idea if the shifter was dead or just unconscious, but he didn’t have time to think about it as a second lion attacked him.

  Three more times Quinn eliminated his competition, throwing lion fur and blood all over the snow-covered deck. When the last animal went sailing over the railing into the darkness, Quinn let out a roar of fury and spun to where he’d last seen Alex.

  The man was gone, but that wasn’t a surprise. Quinn had expected the Alpha to turn tail and run when things got real dicey. Letting his animal instincts take over, he followed the scent of the lion through his home and into the family room. Just as he stepped through the doorway, a loud, angry snarl filled the air.

  “You touched her!” Alex spun to face Quinn, his face shifting between human and animal as he raged inside. “I smell her. I’ll kill you.”

  Before Quinn could brace himself for another fight, Alex was flying down the hallway in the opposite direction, following Aubrey’s scent. He paused at the guest bedroom door, then barreled into the office. Quinn stayed hot on his heels. As long as Aubrey did as she was told, she was completely safe behind the bookshelf.

 

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