“Sleep,” he ordered softly. He shook his head. “You rest. Naps are good for pregnant females. I have something to take care of but I’ll be back in a few hours.”

She wanted to know what he was going to do and why he thought he could order her to go to bed but he suddenly leaned down to brush a kiss over her forehead.

“Let me care for you, beautiful. I need to. I’ll return and bring you more food. I smelled some when I walked in so I know you have eaten recently. Close your eyes and rest.”

Becca closed her eyes until his weight lifted from the bed and she heard him dressing. She peeked through slitted eyelashes as Brawn zipped his jeans closed. He slowly walked out of the bedroom. Moments later she heard the door close behind him. Becca felt tears fill her eyes but wiped them away.

What the hell am I doing? She had no answer.

Brawn opened the door to the hallway, studied the three stressed Species officers and ducked under his friend’s arm to leave Becca’s current home. He closed the door behind him and studied the situation. Bestial stood with his back to Becca’s suite, arms across his chest, a menacing expression on his face, blocking the officers’ entry. Brawn arched his eyebrows as Bestial winked at him.

“They wanted to rush in there when they heard you and the female making up. I made sure that didn’t happen. Did you claim her?”

Brawn sighed. “She’ll take my body but she won’t agree to be my mate yet.”

Bestial shook his head. “Weird human females. Well, that’s a first step. You just need to convince her. It sounded as though you were doing well.”

Brawn grinned. “I do not need instructions.”

Bestial grinned back. “Good to know.”

“I’m going to my home and pack a bag. I am moving in with her.” Brawn chuckled. “Her shock will wear off soon and she’s going to be pissed but she is cute when she’s mad.”

“You are stubborn.” Bestial dropped his hands to his sides. “You will win.”

“I hope so. Otherwise perhaps my son can talk her into being my mate when he’s old enough to grasp speech.”

Laughing, Bestial shooed the officers away. “See? Things are fine. Go away.” He stared at Brawn. “I am sure there will be many sons between the two of you.”

Brawn took a deep breath. “I can only hope.”

Chapter Eighteen

Becca woke alone, stunned she’d actually fallen asleep and peered around the room. Brawn wasn’t there. She eased back the covers and headed to the bathroom. One look in the mirror had her shaking her head at her reflection.

“The guy kisses you and you fall into bed with him.” Her gaze raked down her naked body to her baby tummy and she spun around. “Not one of mommy’s proudest moments. Your daddy is hot though, in my defense, and a really great kisser.”

She adjusted the water temperature in the shower, stepped in and closed the glass door. Standing there washed away the traces of the sex but not the memories. She dumped body wash into her palm, rubbing it all over and sighed loudly.

“Pushover. It’s hormones. Yeah. I’m totally going with that.” Her eyes rolled and she leaned in to wash away the soap. “We’re in deep shit, kiddo.” She washed her belly. “And I have to email your grandpa with some new lie to explain why I’m late contacting him.”

The door to the shower was suddenly jerked open. Becca gasped and spun. Her feet slipped on the tub floor and she cried out as she frantically reached for anything to break her fall but two strong arms grabbed her before she slammed into the tile. She stared in shock at Brawn, leaning inside her shower.

“I’m sorry.” Brawn adjusted his hold on her. “Are you all right? I forget that you don’t have our hearing or sense of smell. I assumed you heard me come in. I didn’t mean to startle you. Are you well? The baby?” He lifted her out of the shower and hugged her.

Shock kept her silent but she was grateful his fast reflexes had saved her from a fall. Her hands gripped his biceps and he slowly lowered her.

“You could have knocked. You shouldn’t just walk into someone’s bathroom.” Her voice finally worked.

He released her once he made sure she was steady on her feet and grabbed a towel to wrap around her middle. Big hands patted her dry with care. “I heard you talking to someone and thought you had company in here.” Anger showed in his eyes as he glanced around. “Who were you speaking to?”

“The baby.”

His hands froze and he stared at the bump. “He can hear you? Us?” He grinned. “I didn’t know that.” He bent a little, put his face closer to her belly. “Hello, little one. I am your dad. I long to hold you in my arms.”

Definitely hormones, Becca decided as tears filled her eyes. That was sweet and it touched her that he’d say that to their unborn child. “I read baby books. They seem to think that while a baby can’t understand the words, they can hear voices and learn to recognize them. I talk to him constantly, probably too much, but I’ve been alone for a long time.”

Brawn straightened and held her gaze. “You will never be alone again. I have moved in.”

“You what?” Shock hit her again.

“I said I am going to care for you and I went to pack my belongings. I live here now with you. I turned over my council duties to the others. They were happy to fill in for me so you have me full-time.” He smiled, making her remember how handsome he was when he did it. “I’m all yours.”

A war raged inside Becca suddenly. She wished that were true. Looking into his sexy eyes made her want to never let him go but he was only there because she’d gotten pregnant. He was a stand-up guy, she’d give him that, but she didn’t want him that way.

“You can’t move in here.”

“I already did.” Muscles along his jaw clenched. “We will not argue.” His gaze dropped to her belly. “Our child will hear.”

Anger hit hard and fast. “Don’t use my own words against me.”

“Open your mouth.”

She lifted a hand and grabbed his jaw. “No. You’re not going to kiss me again and make me forget that I’m angry at you.”

“Why not? It worked. We can’t fight while we’re sharing sex.”

“You admit it then! You just had sex with me to get your way.”

Broad shoulders shrugged. “What is there to complain about? We both enjoyed it.” His hands slid to her hips. “I missed you, Becca. We have time to make up and we need to get to know each other before our child is born. I want you. It is just a side benefit that we can’t fight while we’re having sex. Don’t doubt that I really want you.”

She released his jaw and pressed her palms against his shirt, giving him a little push. “Talk instead of seducing me.”

A soft growl rumbled from him. “I want to do both. Let me take you to bed now.”

“No. It’s a bad idea.” She didn’t want her heart to get broken even more when the novelty wore off and he decided being with her was too much of a sacrifice. “You can see your son any time you want, Brawn. We don’t have to be together in order for you to be a part of his life.”

Beautiful blue, yellow-streaked eyes narrowed and he suddenly adjusted his hold, grabbed her and scooped her into his arms. He carried her out of the bathroom, strode into the bedroom and gently laid her on the bed. One hand fisted the towel and jerked hard, yanking it out from under her.

She grabbed at her breasts to cover them, bent her legs up and glared at him. “Give that back.”

Brawn reached for his waist instead, gripped his shirt and tore it over his head. “I’m going to make love to you.”

“No, you aren’t. Sex isn’t the answer every time we don’t agree on something.”

He cocked his head, dropped the shirt and bent one leg a little to toe off his shoes. “We’ll talk after. I want you.”

She grabbed the blanket and jerked it over her body, sat up and pointed at him. “Stop!”