Alpha Dom and His Human Surrogate

Cora

I blow lightly on my cup of tea, doing my best to cool it and concentrate on the book that’s open in my lap. But even as I try, my eyes continually drift to the picture window in front of me that overlooks the front of our property, including the driveway where Roger’s going to pull in any minute now.

At least, that’s what I’ve been telling myself for the past two hours.

I sigh, frustrated. I sent him a text a while ago asking him to let me know when he’d be home not that I really need to know, I just…wanted to know.

But Roger is notoriously bad at keeping an eye on his phone, and I know that he and Sinclair have had a particularly stressful day today. So, I’do my best to just…exercise my patience.

But I sigh because, even though patience is usually one of my virtues…

Today? I’m finding it a little hard.

Happy!

The baby’s little tap comes skipping down the bond out of nowhere, and I burst into a grin, looking down at myself.

“Oh, so are you liking the ginger tea, little guy?” I ask, laughing a little as I stroke a hand over my belly.

He doesn’t respond because…well, because I asked him out loud, and he can’t hear me, but I smile nonetheless, taking another sip.

Happy? I ask, sending the word and the feeling down the bond to him.

His answer comes back in an instant. Happy happy!

I laugh again, desperately pleased at this, and wondering what’s going to come next with him. Because he’s getting bigger, I can almost feel him growing by the day, and soon he’s going to start feeling all sorts of new things. But will he even have words for them? Will we feel them before he does, and be able to pass the same emotions back and forth, asking questions like we do with happy? Will it be –

But even as I ponder it, excited, headlights flash across the drive and my face bursts into a grin.

down on the coffee table as I

continuing to stroke

making me laugh for

anything but

kid – already with his jokes. God, I

him and already looking up the

whips towards me, stopping so fast in his tracks that he almost trips over

are you doing in here?”

I say, my voice deep with sarcasm. “Am I…

scowls, hanging his head for a second and running a hand through his hair before looking up at me again. ” I’m sorry,” he says, and I

a day?”

he sighs,

I say, reaching for him and folding my

he says, glancing up the stairs. “Can we just

ask, going a little

he says, hanging his head again, almost begging for a moment. “I just want to go to bed. With you. And just…be there.

little disturbed now. Because I don’t frequently see him like this. Once we broke into Roger’s tough shell, he revealed himself to be funny, and sweet, and full of jokes. This Roger, which exists even beneath

if he’s showing me this side…he must really be

on my feet and moving to his side in a second. “Sure,” I say, nodding to him and taking his hand.

nods to me once, tugging on my hand and pulling me up the stairs with

the bedroom, instead moving smoothly through our evening routine. Roger gives a quick kiss before heading to the bathroom to take a short shower, washing off the day.

I turn on the fire because I want the warmth and a little light to see by, but otherwise shut off

something that I know he’ll tell me about in a few minutes when he’s ready. I can’t help admiring him a little when he

my desire down our bond despite my efforts to keep it to myself, Roger raises his head

naked in bedroom, the fire highlighting the carved lines of his body in a flickering

scootch across the mattress, pressing myself to his side, and Roger lets out a wicked little growl as he wraps

I murmur, running my fingers through his still-damp hair and cooing

a great deal of laughter

he likes. And Roger, to my content, starts almost to purr with the pleasure of it. Interestingly, for how much