Chapter 7
I awakened the next morning to the sun pounding down on me hot from the window above the bed. I was confused for a moment and had no clue where the hell I was, but when I looked down at myself, I saw that the swelling in my stomach was even larger than it had been the night before. I suddenly realized what was going on.
"Charles?" I asked, sitting up and looking around the room.
"Morning sunshine," Charles said, grinning at me.
The man's goatee had been trimmed recently, and I had no clue how long he'd been awake. I couldn't remember my dream last night, and for some reason I'd woken up feeling as if everything was okay.
"Good morning," I said.
Usually, after I'd had a horrendous one-night stand or a humiliating experience with someone, such as sobbing three times in one evening, I was so embarrassed by my presence and couldn't wait to escape. This time, however, for some reason, I just wished I could get closer to Charles. Charles perhaps sensed this and sat on the edge of the bed. He was already wearing a brand new pair of tight jeans and had showered himself in a spicy cologne that drove me wild. I snuck up closer to him until we were sitting close together on the bed.
How did you sleep last night?" Charles asked. "Was it weird? I know I hate sleeping in new places. I tried to make my den as comfortable as possible when I was building it. There isn't a day that I don't try to come home to sleep. It is nice sleeping under the stars and all, but it isn't safe out there anymore. I feel safe here.".
"I feel safe here too," I admitted.
"It's good to know that," said Charles. "So, how do you feel?"
"Not too bad," I said. "I just have so many questions."
"I'm sure you do," said Charles, smiling, his handsome face lighting up.
I was half-tempted to kiss him, but I had to hold back. Charles was not Deporta Enoch. Though it felt like we were close and everything was so comfortable with us, Charles might not be feeling the same way. It was better to keep myself distant than to make a fool of myself. Though Charles was cute and had given me the best sex of my life, it did not mean that we were dating. I did not just kiss him out of nowhere. Also, sex might hurt my pup. That is not something a good parent would do.
"You ask me them over breakfast?" Charles said. "I've been busy this morning. It isn't often that I have guests here, but I do try to entertain them properly when I do.".
"Thank you," I said, really surprised at the implication that Charles does not entertain frequently. I would have thought a man who looked that good and was unattached would be raring to go to find out what was on offer. Why else would he have been at the club that night when I needed him most?
Charles clapped me on the back and invited me into the kitchen, where there were delicious smells of food. My stomach growled loudly and Charles laughed.
"Sounds like you have a whole litter in there," Charles said.
"This is just my favorite meal of the day," I replied. Charles's shiny white teeth grinned out at me, and again, I could feel my heart fluttering with desire. I couldn't believe how gorgeous he was. I never considered myself the type of woman who would be attracted to older men, but in Charles, I could see every single reason why other men would pretend to be. There was just so much about this man that I adored, and I had known him for a mere few hours.
"So why do you never get settled down?" I cried out. I couldn't fathom how a person like Charles could stay single for such a long time. He was the ideal catch. He was gifted, smart, and so powerful. His body was amazing and had full instinct of how to pleasure other people. They were not characteristics that I expected in someone who was a bachelor. Maybe something terrible had happened to his family. I hoped not.
But Charles merely shrugged and smiled.
"I guess I just hadn't met the person who clicked with me," he said. "I don't really get on with most people. They annoy me. Being born a wolf shifter, it's a kind of normal rite of passage to end up at a motorcycle club like the one where I met you.". We go there to talk about issues in the community that are threatening our kind. The youth mainly just use it as a hook-up place these days, however. Especially that dirt hill in the city where you landed. You go there often or something? I've never seen you before, but it sounds like a stupid idea to go there at all if you ask me. At least if you are not already part of the pack or you do not already know the man you are with."
"Yeah, that was a pretty stupid thing to do. This was my first time I'd ever been to a shifter club period. Let alone a motorcycle club. I guess I was just acting out because I had just broken up with my fiancé. Deporta Enoch rejects shifters and I have it.". I've never actually spoken to them on a personal level, so I thought it was time. He always talked about how dangerous it was, but I'm not afraid. Or at least I wasn't. I might be a little more appalled now."
Charles laughed, his eyes crinkling warmly.
"Sounds like you got some insight on the subject," he said approvingly.
"Some," I answered, chuckling. "So what kind of things can I look forward to with this pregnancy? I know it's not the same as what women experience, but how does it differ?"
"In fact, I find the wolf pups mature a lot faster than human babies do. But you do have a lot of the same symptoms as the mothers of human babies. You do get a little nausea later, some bloating. Maybe some incontinence and mood swings. Don't worry too much about it, though. I can walk you through every step."
"You're not angry?"
Charles's face scrunched up in a puzzle. "Why the hell would I be mad? You haven't done anything wrong. If anything, I'm thrilled. Out of all the assholes in the world I could be having a baby with, I ended up with somebody who actually seems to be the kind of person I'd want to be having my kids. We don't know each other well, I suppose, but I just get a good vibe from you, you know?
Yeah, I know exactly what you mean," I said. "I feel good about you too.".
"Good well. Now I've got a crazy idea. What if we tried to do this together? It doesn't work out, it doesn't work out and we can deal with it like adults. We'll figure out a way to deal with the kid, and it will be okay. But if it does work out, maybe it'll be the best thing either of us ever did. What do you say?"
"I think I like the sound of it," I said to him. "I know this is crazy, but I never figured anything like this would ever be a part of my life. And I really do like you. I wasn't even thinking about Deporta Enoch when we were together. Which is weird. Because the reason I was looking for a shifter that night was revenge.". I wanted him to feel crap for what he'd done to me, and I thought this was the best way to get him to feel anything at all. He was the last thing on my mind yesterday and today, and I owe you one for that."
Charles laughed. "Well you certainly changed my plans for the week. But that's something that I'm not angry about."
What were you going to do this week?" I inquired.
"Shifter stuff, nothing special," said Charles.
"Like what?"
"I was going to go out into the woods and do some communing with nature. Maybe a little hunting? I love the outdoors, you know? You might like it too.".
"I don't know; I was raised in the city, so I haven't really had a whole lot of opportunity to be out in the world like that."
"Seriously? You've never slept beneath the stars? This would be a great opportunity to get out of the house and learn a little bit more about one another. We can see if this thing we're thinking about is feasible or not. What do you say? How about a camping trip?!"
Charles's face brightened, and I chuckled. He was such a puppy, so eager, and I could see more of the wolf shifter in him than I had yet. It was rather charming, really, and I knew there would be no refusing that eager face. For an older man, he could definitely look quite young at times. It had to be the wolf's spirit within him.
That sounds ideal," I said to him, and Charles let out a whoop.
"It's settled then; I'm going to start packing right now."
Charles leapt up from the table and rushed out of the kitchen.
"What about your breakfast?" I called after him, laughing and shaking my head from all the commotion.
"I'm fine, I'll eat when I'm done. You go ahead and serve yourself and don't bother to save me any, I ate while I cooked," Charles's voice shouted out, faint as he went about the house gathering items.
I smiled as I finished up my breakfast. This man was something else, and I was really starting to like that.