Текст книги "Heat for sale"

Автор книги: Ursa Dox

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Nathan was charming but coldhearted. Adrien, on the other hand, lacked some of his omega parent’s intense charisma but more than eclipsed him in innocence and warmth. Though Heath was loath to declare one better than the other. Omegas were like any other kind of man—different from one to the next, with values and passions that didn’t always match the alpha they chose to breed with. It was why omega rights had become so important over the years. And why he had always valued Nathan’s unique mind and heart.

But, as he was finding now, perhaps he’d always personally needed someone more like Adrien. Someone who melted into him, opened to him, and trusted him against even his own fears.

“Here it is,” Heath said, shaking off his thoughts as he grabbed the book from the shelf. “Omegas and Pregnancy: What to Expect. This book contains explanations of heat, pregnancy, and birth, along with important questions to consider for the future of the family,” Heath read aloud from the cover.

“Fairly comprehensive stuff.”

Adrien watched from the bed, wide-eyed behind his glasses and still

flushed from the sex they’d shared. “I’ve always wanted to know more about how our bodies work but was always ashamed to ask,” he admitted. “I should have made it more of a priority in university. The omega research books in the library probably had some more detailed options for me to check out. I honestly just didn’t want to think about it.”

“It’s complicated,” Heath said. He got into the bed with Adrien, fine-tuned the brightness of the lights in the room, and adjusted the pillows so that he was comfortable.

Adrien curled against his side, easy as could be, like it was where he belonged. Heath’s heart squeezed, and he tried to keep himself from thinking along those lines. The questions at the end of the book—they wouldn’t reach them for many weeks if they read a few pages a night—might help clarify things for him, but for now he just wanted to enjoy Adrien’s scent and touch.

To feel his purpose as an alpha fulfilled by the man in his arms and the child he held within.

“‘Chapter One, Heat,’ ” he read aloud, curious if Adrien would protest that he already knew about that, having just gone through it.

But the boy kept quiet, rubbing his cheek against Heath’s chest hair and listening as Heath reviewed the subject in depth.

And when Adrien fell asleep in his arms, Heath admitted to himself that he’d be content to spend every evening just like this one for the rest of Adrien’s pregnancy. Everything felt right, and so long as he thought about nothing but Adrien, he could dare to let his heart dream.

Chapter Fourteen

“I THINK YOU’RE going to have to tell him,” Simon said, grabbing Heath’s arm by the massive front doors of the upstairs castle as he headed out into the midday sun for yet another appointment.

“Let the man gestate in peace,” Heath said, jerking his arm away from his oldest friend. “He doesn’t deserve to have his pregnancy all twisted up with information about his omega parent. He’s happy. Let him enjoy that.” Heath paused on the front steps and turned back around.

Simon stood framed by the big doors, arms crossed, and jowls shaking as he gnashed his teeth.

“He is happy, isn’t he?” Heath asked. Simon was with Adrien all day.

He’d know better than Heath who only saw him in the evenings after work and appointments were knocked off his calendar.

“I wasn’t speaking of Adrien, but, yes, he’s happy. Though you should tell him, too.”

Heath walked back up the stairs and tugged Simon into the cool shadows of the opulent entryway. “What are you going on about then?”

“Your brother. You should tell him about the baby.”

Heath rubbed his forehead. “I don’t see why I should.”

“Because he deserves to know that his and Ned’s fortunes have changed.”

Heath snorted. “Don’t think I’m not perfectly aware of why you want me to tell Lidell. It would make things easier at home for you.”

“That it would. Is my comfort in my home life so insignificant to you that you’d begrudge me that?”

Heath stared into Simon’s loving eyes. He knew the old man was using his affection to manipulate certain outcomes, but he couldn’t truly blame him for it. “I have absolutely no desire to endure Lidell’s tantrum when the child isn’t even born yet. Adrien is still very early in the pregnancy. He isn’t even past the point where I lost the last one.”

“That’s a fair observation,” Simon conceded. “But you know this pregnancy seems to be going much better than that one did. You’re bonding

well, and Adrien’s relaxed and eating nicely. Nathan isn’t here to put a strain on him.”

Heath felt the muscle in his jaw twitch, and he took an extra moment before replying, “It was never Nathan’s fault that my first child was lost.”

“Wasn’t it?”

“No!” Heath barked.

Simon shrugged. “It was a horrible thing to happen, and I understand your reluctance to deal with Lidell before you’re certain the pregnancy will come to term. But I also think you prefer to ignore what makes you uncomfortable in favor of concentrating on things that bring you joy.

Sometimes to the detriment of everyone around you and to your own goals.

You did that with Nathan. You’re doing it with Adrien and with Lidell.”

“I want to be happy, too, Simon. Am I not allowed a little of that? After all I’ve been through with Nathan and losing him, after dealing with Lidell and Ned’s misery-inducing complaints and problems for years, and after giving up my dreams of being an architect to run a musty old family estate, don’t I deserve to wallow in some pleasure and joy?”

Simon’s jowls jiggled again as he seemed to work out a suitable reply. “I always wish for your joy, but you bring much of that pain on yourself by refusing to face and deal with it from the start. If you’d accepted Nathan for who he was, hadn’t tried to change him, or if—”

“Don’t!” Heath said, putting out his hand to stop the unwanted flow of words. “I’m late.”

“By refusing to hear me out, you’re doing exactly what I’m saying you shouldn’t: ignoring pain in hopes that it will simply go away if you don’t attend to it.”

Heath turned on his heel, left Simon sighing in the entryway, and stomped out into the sun again. The car was waiting for him, and he pulled away from Clearwater Castle with his pulse thrumming.

Heath just wanted peace. Was that too much to ask? He wanted to spend the next few months of Adrien’s pregnancy enjoying the simple things, learning the man’s body and mind, hearing stories of his past, and maybe, just maybe starting to spin some hopes for their future.

Reality had a place in the future. He would eventually have to inform his brother and Ned about the changes in their fortunes, but there was no need to rush it. As for talking to Adrien about Nathan, obviously there would come a

day when he would need to explain. After all, if they did build something together, if their paths intertwined as a couple in the future, there would be no way to prevent Adrien from meeting Heath’s friends and family, all of whom would see the resemblance immediately.

But there was no need to rush that. They had months still, and Adrien was in the early stages of his pregnancy. There was no need to upset him just yet.

For a fleeting moment, Heath wondered how much it would cost him to bribe all of his friends and family to simply forget that Nathan had ever existed and to embrace Adrien without revealing the truth. But even he knew that was impossible.

The question of when to tell Adrien was an important one; the timing would need to be just right. He’d never intended for his heart to get involved or to even entertain the idea of Adrien being in his life going forward. He still wasn’t sure it would even play out that way. Adrien was easy to be with, and he’d taken to being cared for like a duck to water, but pregnancy hormones make all omegas pliant, amiable. Don’t they?

Heath scrubbed a hand over his face, wishing that he had simply told Adrien up front. Then there would be no question at all. Why hadn’t he foreseen that living with a pregnant, beautiful, willing, open-hearted, innocent omega might wake his heart from its slumber? It seemed obvious in retrospect.

All he knew for sure was that now was not the time to stir the pot.

Drawing up to the glittering high-rise where his first appointment of the day awaited, Heath straightened his tie and tried to pull his thoughts together.

Damn Simon for getting him riled up after such a blissful morning spent cuddling naked with Adrien, laughing and licking fresh fruit juice out of his ripe, red mouth.

As he stepped out of the car, he nodded firmly. Simon was right in one way: everyone would have to know the truth eventually. But he was wrong in another: no one needed to know right now.

Heath made his choice.

Confession could wait.

Chapter Fifteen

ADRIEN RAN HIS hand along the wall of concrete tunnel between the door that led to the larger part of the castle, back down to his bedroom, and out to the living room. Simon was in the garden pruning the roses, and he was inside wearing the soft, light robe that Heath had bought for him. Underneath, he was naked as a jaybird. The robe fluttered around his calves as he made what was becoming his daily meditative walk.

He turned around and headed back up the tunnel, his fingers trailing in and out of different colors of light funneled in from the high windows and the skylights above. Amber light, golden light, a creamy white that made his pale fingers look white as milk. He counted the steps as he walked, making a little song in his head.

The tunnel was comforting. It smelled of trapped cooking scents, usually whatever Simon had made that morning. Today, it smelled of freshly baked bread, yeasty and delicious, warm and homey. The day before it had smelled of peaches. He wasn’t sure what he found so perfect about light in the tunnel, but it was mesmerizing to him. He could walk the tunnel over and over, but the light was never the same twice, shifting as the sun moved outside and the angles changed too.

His two favorite places were the garden, with all the roses of different colors and scents, and the tunnel. In both places, he could relax his mind, breathe in and out, and simply let all the worries, questions, nagging concerns slip away like so much flotsam.

“You look beautiful in that light, little one.”

Heath’s voice brought Adrien out of his reverent study of the light, and he smiled to see his alpha standing at the end of the hallway. “You look handsome in that suit.” He waggled his brows as Heath strode to join him. “I want to rub all over it.”

Heath grabbed him in a kiss, and Adrien did just that, brushing his sensitive skin against the material that smelled so strongly of his alpha. It was a good, soft wool suit, made with quality and care. In his infatuation with

Heath’s suits, Adrien thought that when he returned to school, he might change his study focus from the cultural meaning in the design choices of Hontu handwoven fabrics and material art to studying the cultural meaning attached to the design of men’s suits. But that was bordering on a fashion focus and not an artistic one, not to mention it felt a bit fetishistic, given his current reaction to Heath in a suit.

“A quick fuck before dinner?” Adrien begged.

“No,” Heath said, a quiver of amusement in his voice. “First, a walk in the garden, conversation, and then we’ll bond our flesh.”

“But I want you.” Adrien flicked what he hoped was a sexy look from beneath his lashes.

Heath growled. “I want you too, but you’ll follow my commands.

Understand?”

Adrien’s knees went weak. He loved following Heath’s commands.

Though he couldn’t say just why, exactly. It made him feel safe, like he had when he was a child and his father told him what to do, how to think, and what to feel. Eventually, that had chafed when he hit adolescence, and he’d found his father’s commanding attitude stifling. But now, pregnant and ripening, a little frightened but willing to trust Heath, he found his commands intoxicating.

So he gave in to them without too much thought.

Seeing that Heath was with Adrien, Simon left them alone. The garden was beautiful, and the roses ruffled in the breeze all around. Adrien removed his robe and left it on a bench, enjoying the gust of air on his skin. He could almost feel the sweet perfume of the roses, it floated so thickly around him, and reached out his hand to fondle a big bloom.

“What did you do today?” he asked Heath as he bent to take a deeper sniff of the red rose.

“Attended appointments in the city, visited my nephew’s school to clear up a problem there, and argued with Simon.” Heath said the last reluctantly, and he plucked the rose, using his nails to dislodge the thorns, before putting it behind Adrien’s ear.

“Arguing with Simon about what?”

“About the future. I haven’t told my brother yet about the baby.”

“Won’t he be happy for you?”

“He’ll be furious,” Heath said, his mouth widening in a tight smile.

“Utterly enraged.”

“Why?” Adrien was mystified. He’d always believed that babies were a gift. That’s what his father had taught him and what the religion of his youth had touted. He’d never thought of a child as anything but something to celebrate, even if he, himself, had often been terrified by the prospect of growing one inside his body and birthing it.

“Because his son Ned is my current heir. Once this little one is born”—

Heath touched Adrien’s stomach, his warm fingers stroking over the hair between Adrien’s navel and his pubic mound—“Lidell’s son will be displaced. You can see how that might get under his skin.”

Adrien frowned. “He must have expected you to try for a child yourself one day?” It seemed obvious to him that Heath would want an heir of his own. It was what every alpha was supposed to strive for, and it was taken for granted that every alpha would do just that.

“I may have made dramatic, emotional statements in the past when I was grieving that led him to believe otherwise.”

“Ah.” Adrien didn’t like to think of the baby Heath and his other omega had lost. It felt like it might jinx things for him, bring bad energy to his own pregnancy, and so he refused to ponder it much. But of course Heath had grieved the loss. He was selfish not to have considered how much it must have hurt him.

Heath touched Adrien’s cheek. “Do you think I should tell my brother?”

“I think that we have a lot of time yet before we’ll know if the baby will be born healthy, or if it will be an alpha so it can inherit—”

“I don’t believe in those laws.”

Adrien’s heart fluttered. “You believe omegas should be allowed to inherit?”

“I believe that my own child should take precedence of another no matter the sex.”

Adrien nodded, thinking about Heath’s words about Lidell. “Your brother’s anger would make you unhappy, and if you were unhappy that would bring tension into the nest. Maybe I’m selfish to say this, but I don’t know that causing your brother upset would really be beneficial to anyone right now. Once the child is born, healthy and strong, then you will have a better position to endure his rage. Don’t you think?”

“So you advocate keeping our nest free of upset?”

“Until the baby comes,” Adrien said, touching his stomach, which had started to feel taut from the pressure inside but which wasn’t bulging quite yet. “I have put aside my worries about school and my fears for the future.

I’ve taken your command to enjoy myself to heart. I want you, as much as possible, to do the same.”

Heath studied Adrien’s face intently and then nodded. “I’ll do all I can to keep your nest a place of peace.”

Adrien smiled and leaned against Heath. He nuzzled his neck, enjoying the soft scrape of his suit against skin. “Our nest,” he corrected. “I’m still pretending this is the place you built for me, for us.”

Heath wrapped his arms around Adrien and pulled him close. “You don’t need to pretend. This nest has never seen a happier moment than the ones we share together.” They stood in the soft evening sun, the rosebushes casting shadows that danced on Adrien’s skin.

“Did I tell you I used to want to be an architect?” Heath asked. “That I designed this nest myself?”

“No,” Adrien said, looking up with wonder. “Tell me about it now.”

They found a bench in the gazebo. Heath stroked Adrien’s naked body as he talked, bringing him up to a full erection. Adrien asked halting questions as Heath chatted like he wasn’t also erect inside his suit. “And then my parents died, and my duties as heir took over my life.”

“You were passionate about it,” Adrien said, squirming as Heath began giving him a slow hand job.

“I still enjoy dabbling in design. I’d like to build a house away from here one day. I’ve never loved living in this rococo monstrosity.”

“What kind of house?”

“I’m not sure yet. When I decide, I’ll start drafting plans for it.” He rubbed his thumb over Adrien’s cock, smearing the pre-cum around the head.

“When I was younger, I used to dream at night about a house,” Adrien said, his hips shifting up and down in rhythm. “Not fantasize, dream. When I was asleep.”

“What was it like?”

“By the sea. Open. Broad. A lot of light.” Adrien moaned and turned his face to hide it in Heath’s neck. “I’m going to come.”

“Yes, I think you should.”

“I want to come with your cock in me.”

“That can happen later. Tell me more about this house.”

“The light was changeable…like…like the tunnel. Oh!” Adrien gripped Heath’s suit jacket, crying out against Heath’s neck, and orgasmed hard. Cum shot up in the space between them, and then fell, marking Heath’s beautiful suit pants.

“That’s good,” Heath whispered as Adrien came down from the sweet high. He indicated the cum on his pants. “Lick that up.”

Adrien hunched over and complied. His cum tasted different now that he was pregnant. It was less harsh like a salt-and-sour kick, more alluring like the sea. He hummed softly, wishing it was Heath’s cum, though. That always settled him down. Kept him flying high.

“You’re a good boy,” Heath whispered. “I could grow to…”

Adrien looked up, his heart feeling like it had been hooked by a fishing rod and jerked onto dry land. Please, he wanted to say. Please say you could care for me.

“You must be hungry to eat that up so fast.” Heath tugged Adrien to his feet. “Let’s go inside. Over dinner, I want to hear about your studies at school. You mentioned Hontu fabric the other day. What drew you to that?”

Adrien let himself be led inside, his balls buzzing with recent release and his body singing joyfully. He didn’t know what the future would bring, but this time-out from life was beautiful, and being with Heath only made it better.

He didn’t want anything to disturb it.

Chapter Sixteen

IT WAS HARD to believe that just under four months ago, Adrien hadn’t even been in Ron Finch’s office yet. His life had been so normal then. He’d woken up every morning, showered, eaten breakfast in the dorm, and gone to his classes. He’d been consumed by the questions of Hontu design, fascinated by the details of his studies. He’d hung on the lectures of his professors like his father had hung on the words of the preacher. Like they spoke the word of God.

Now, rubbing his gradually expanding stomach, he had a hard time understanding what had seemed so important in all that academia, what had held his attention so tenaciously. This new life, his changing body, and his slow-growing relationship with Heath seemed much more compelling. The inner world of his heart and mind, the development of the child inside, the small movements he was beginning to feel, and the peaceful pace of his thoughts were addictive.

His current life was far from dynamic. It was, if anything, even more steady and easygoing than the way he’d lived before. There was no pressure to be anywhere or do anything other than what pleased him. The academic world seemed fuzzy and almost silly in the scheme of the beautiful, endless mystery of generating new life.

None of the science he’d studied could fully explain the animalistic urges inside him to bond with Heath, to fuck and suck, or explain his sense of the growing child’s nature, already so different from his own. Life was slow and sensual now, but there was something new every day—in his body, in his small world of the nest Heath had built for this purpose.

The blossoms of the roses, the caterpillars, the butterflies, and the bluebird feather found on the bench in the gazebo kept him company while he sat naked most afternoons feeling the cooling breeze against his hot skin.

His baby was moving inside of him now, shifting languidly from one side to another, and he loved the flutter and kicks. They made him feel simultaneously tiny and infinite, tied to the universe yet just a speck of it. He

sometimes got a glimpse of the world from so far away that it was as though he were in the stars, and what he saw was the same across species: life striving for life. It was simple and stunning.

He was calm more often than not despite having not left the nest to even explore the castle. Heath had been right: the semen he swallowed or had deposited up his ass kept him sated and happy. It was almost like a drug, he supposed. But he couldn’t be bothered to really mind it.

Everything about his life now was sweet, and he couldn’t help but want it to last.

“Adrien,” Simon said, stepping out of the nest with his butler’s outfit askew. Heath had suggested he stop wearing it while taking care of Adrien, since they kept the nest so hot for Adrien’s comfort, but the old man was set in his ways and refused to completely let it go. He did unbutton and untuck his shirt, sometimes, to waft in some cooler air against his skin, and he carried a fan, too.

“Yes, Simon?”

“Dinner is ready. Unfortunately, lovey, Heath won’t be here tonight with you. He sends his greatest sorrow and wants you to know he’ll be back before the night is up, but he’s been called to the city to deal with a problem regarding his nephew.” Simon frowned. “He’s a disaster in the making, that one is. But that’s what we all said about Heath, too, and he’s turned out just fine.”

Adrien’s ears perked up at the mention of Heath’s younger days. He’d wanted to know so much more about his alpha’s life before him, but Heath was tight-lipped about much of it, saying it didn’t matter anymore. The future, the baby, and what they shared right now was the most important thing, he claimed. He often reminded Adrien, too, of his own words about wanting to keep the nest peaceful for the pregnancy, claiming the past was an unnecessary hornet’s nest and it was best not to kick it.

For the most part, Adrien understood. He didn’t want to spend a lot of time talking about his lost father, the years of loneliness on the farm, or retraining his brain from the religious doctrine he’d been spoon-fed since infancy, either. But there was so much more to Heath’s life, being older.

Adrien had more years ahead of him than behind, and hopefully Heath did, too, but surely there was some interesting history there?

Simon had turned to go back inside, but Adrien stopped him. “Stay,

Simon. Sit in here with me. There’s a nice breeze through the forest today, and the shade beneath the gazebo roof is almost chilly.”

“Are you cold? I’ll fetch you the silk robe—”

“No,” Adrien called out, patting the bench.

He did enjoy the silk robe Heath had brought for him, though he’d long ago stopped feeling shy about his nudity in front of Simon. Not after Simon had walked in on all manner of activities with Heath during the last few months, and not after his skin on his stomach had started really stretching with the baby and the rest of him came alight like exposed nerve endings.

Still, he did sometimes slide the soft robe on when he was chilled, but today he enjoyed the breeze across his skin, raising his nipples and ruffling his hair.

It made him feel alive.

“Just sit with me.”

Simon crossed over to him, bypassing some of Adrien’s favorite roses, red blowsy ones with a scent that made him moan, and took up a place in the shade across from Adrien. He fanned himself with his small fan and leaned back with his ankles crossed.

“Do you want to stay for dinner with me?” Adrien asked. He didn’t like to think of himself as needy. In the past he’d always been content alone, but now he was accustomed to spending his days reading or contemplating the clouds in the sky while feeling his baby move and the evenings lost in Heath’s company. An evening alone, too, seemed like too much.

“That is a kind offer,” Simon said, rubbing his jowl and smiling kindly.

“You’re a sweet man. I’m afraid I have other obligations in the evenings, however.”

He’d never wondered much before about Simon’s afterhours, where he went, or what he did, but suddenly he was curious about them. Did he eat alone at night or with the other servants of the big castle, always invisible since the first day? Or did he even live in the big place? Maybe he had a house on the estate somewhere or in the city. Perhaps a lover or a spouse. No children, though. As a beta, he couldn’t have any.

“Do you have someone waiting for you?”

“You could say that,” Simon said elusively. “Heath won’t be very late.

You could watch a movie, maybe. I noticed that you’ve barely touched the entertainment console in your room.”

Adrien shrugged. He liked to live in his dreamy, quiet contentedness

during the day, and at night Heath took far too much attention, what with his hard cock and strong arms and rapid-fire fucking. He felt his face flush at the memory and crossed his legs to hide his cock’s reaction. “I might. Or I could read some more.” He returned to his original reason to call Simon over.

“Or…I was wondering…does Heath have any old photo albums? From his youth or teen years, that is? Not recent digital pictures. Older than that.” He smiled. “I’ve been curious lately what the baby might look like.” It seemed a good enough excuse to want to see and didn’t sound as pathetic as admitting that Heath barely told him anything about his history.

“He does, yes,” Simon said. “Would you like me to get them for you?”

“Do you think Heath would mind?” That was a risky question, he knew, the one that might get this opportunity to explore even a little of Heath’s past revoked, but he wouldn’t have felt right not asking it.

“He might,” Simon said with a thoughtful expression. “But he hasn’t forbidden it. In fact, I’ve been instructed to give you anything you ask for.”

“Oh.” He sat in silence, Simon’s eyes on him intensely. Finally, he said,

“Will he be angry if I look at them?”

“Have you ever seen Heath angry?”

Adrien thought back to when he’d first met Heath, being ordered to show his hole, kneeling in the dirt to suck his cock, and then being fucked in the entry of the heat cabin as he felt the first real swells of the heat. He’d been hard, rough, perfunctory, but never angry. Never cruel or outright mean.

“No,” he said softly.

“It’s a rare event, but it does happen. I can’t tell you how he’d feel about you looking at the photos or what his reaction will be, but I can say that if you ask for them, I’ll bring them to you before I leave for the night.” Simon fanned himself more vigorously. Adrien tried to determine if it was due to nerves or heat.

“I’d like to look at the photos, please.” What harm could it do? He couldn’t imagine there would be anything in a family photo album that would be embarrassing or shameful. And if there was, then Adrien would just have to find the box of his things from his dorm where he’d shoved the photo albums he’d salvaged from his father’s house after his death. There were a good number of silly photos of him as a kid in there. Tit for tat.

“I’ll have the albums to you by nightfall. I’ll send Jonas with them.”

“Jonas?” Adrien said, uncrossing his legs and enjoying the wind fluttering

through his hair.

“He’s a young servant here. An alpha, actually. Heath is going to train him up to work in the business, but for now he keeps the files in Heath’s office.”

“Oh, Heath has an office…” Adrien trailed off. “I assumed his office was in the city.”

“He works from home most of the time.”

All day long while Adrien lolled about in the nest and the garden, Heath was on the same property? Somehow, he felt snubbed that he didn’t know this information before now. “Oh. What does he do in his office here?”

“He takes appointments, there’s always someone wanting to meet with him, and phone calls. Everyone wants to talk with him about investing in their schemes.”

“Does he? Invest in people’s ‘schemes’?”

“Sometimes. And sometimes not.” Simon heaved himself up. “Now, I’ll tell Jonas to put the books in your bedroom. If you stay out here for another half hour or so, Adrien, you won’t have to worry about putting on the robe.

He’ll be down and gone again.”

Adrien cradled his stomach, holding his hand over a spot where the baby was kicking in little flutters. He saw Simon hesitate, watching curiously.

“He’s kicking,” he explained.

Simon tilted his head. “Does it hurt?”

“No.” Adrien looked up at Simon and saw the bare curiosity on his face.

“Have you ever felt a baby move?”

Simon shook his head.

“Come here,” Adrien said, reaching out for Simon’s hand. It was soft but starting to get arthritis in some of the joints. He placed the old man’s hand on his stomach and hoped the baby wouldn’t get shy now.

“Oh!” Simon said, jerking his hand back when the baby gave a good kick.

“That’s strong!”

“Yeah,” Adrien said, grinning helplessly. He stroked his stomach again.

“He’s busy today.”

“Enjoying the fresh air, as he should,” Simon said, straightening up and lifting his wobbly chin. “Good evening, lovey. I’ll see you in the morning.”

Adrien lingered in the garden until the sun started to set, and he did grow chilly. He went inside and ate the dinner Simon had prepared for him: cold

salad and a delicious cheese-and-meat plate. He made himself walk around the living area, pretending that he might read a book or sit down on the sofa, but eventually he eagerly raced back to his bedroom.

The window screens were drawn, probably Simon’s doing. He knew that it unnerved Adrien to walk into the room at night and made him feel exposed to the forest. On the center of his bed were four thick photo albums, and he heaved them up into his arms, resting them on his stomach as he walked back into the cozy living room to take his time looking at them.