MoonlightDrifter (7 page)

Chapter Eight

At nearly nine o’clock the next
morning, Cain knocked on Allie’s door. He was late, but he had a really good
reason for it. Cain waited a few minutes then knocked again. Where was she? Had
she left, thinking he’d stood her up? There was a faint noise on the other side
of the door and then he heard the locks turning. When she pulled open the door,
he couldn’t stop the smile that sprang to his lips. She was too adorable for
words in her sleep tank and shorts with her hair matted and twisted from sleep.

“Morning,” he said.

Without a word, she stepped back
to allow him entrance into her apartment. She closed the door behind him and
went back into the bedroom. Curious, Cain followed her and shook his head when
he saw her fall face down onto the bed and snuggle into her pillow. Obviously
his mate wasn’t a morning person. He’d have to remember that.

“Did you forget we were meeting
this morning?” he asked.

“Too early,” she mumbled, not
opening her eyes.

“I’m actually late. By an hour.”

She groaned and burrowed her face
further into the pillow.

“You know, I had planned to take
you to the diner over on Fifth Street for breakfast. I’ve heard they have
really good biscuits with sausage gravy, and even better pancakes.”

He heard her stomach rumble and
grinned. She slowly rolled over, cracked one eye open and glared at him.

“That isn’t playing fair,” she
said.

“Come on, lazy bones. Why are you
so tired anyway?”

“A bunch of the women in the pack
came over after you dropped me off yesterday and they stayed until late into
the night. It was after midnight when I went to bed.”

He frowned. “You need your sleep
now that you’re pregnant. Did they know about the baby?”

She nodded. “That’s partly why
they were here. They wanted to congratulate me.”

“You should have kicked them out
by ten.”

“Are you seriously going to stand
there and tell me how I should run my life?”

He shrugged a shoulder. “I’m just
worried about you and the baby. I told you how hard it is for a tiger cub to go
full-term. You need to be careful, Allie. This isn’t your average pregnancy.”

“And what if the baby is a wolf?”

“I don’t care what we have.
Tiger, wolf. Girl, boy. I just want the baby to get here safely with all its fingers
and toes. It would just make me feel better if you were extra careful, at least
these first few months. I think if you can make it to four months, we’ll be in
the clear.”

She sighed. “The doc didn’t seem
worried.”

“Probably figured I’d worry
enough for the both of us.”

She shook her head and rolled out
of bed. “I need to shower and get dressed if we’re going out for breakfast. The
remote is on the coffee table if you want to make yourself comfortable. Or do
you plan to hold my hand in the shower, in case I fall?”

“Do you have to those gripper
things in the bottom of the tub?”

She growled. “Cain, out! Get out!
Get out! Get out! You can wait on the couch. If I even hear you near the
bathroom, I’ll throw your ass out of the apartment.”

It seemed his mate was testy
without her caffeine. He hated to be the one to tell her that caffeine wasn’t
good for the baby. As he studied her irate face, he realized now was not the
time for that conversation. Maybe he’d wait until she’d showered and dressed, and
then see if her mood had improved any. Getting upset wasn’t good for the baby
either. He’d have to figure out how to protect her without pissing her off.
Something told him that was easier said than done.

With a sigh, he turned and headed
for the couch, where it seemed he would spend the next half hour or so while
she got ready. He really hoped she wasn’t one of those women who took an hour
to get ready. His stomach had been growling for the past hour, but the stop
he’d made on the way to Allie’s had been very important. Cain just hoped she
agreed.

He picked up the remote, turned
on the TV, and began flipping through stations. There wasn’t much on at this
time of morning so he left it on one of those morning shows. It wasn’t like he
was paying much attention to it anyway. If he listened carefully, he could hear
the shower running and he knew if she cried out, he would go running to her.
Even if she did hate him for it. He’d never met a woman so determined to do everything
on her own, in her own way. Usually women loved it when he did things for them.
Not that he’d ever cared that much about them. They hadn’t been his mate and
had merely been there to scratch an itch. Might sound crass, but it was the
truth. No matter how many women his mother had paraded under his nose over the
years, none of them had been the right one. And he’d refused to settle for
second best.

When the shower shut off a few
minutes later, he was surprised. He’d thought she’d be in there at least twenty
minutes, not ten. Maybe she was as hungry as he was. The women he’d known had
always loved their showers and baths and had taken for fucking ever to get
ready. Was he lucky enough for Allie to be the exception to the rule?

Five minutes later, she stepped
out of her room in a pair of super short denim shorts and a tank that left
little to the imagination. Now that she was his, at least he hoped she’d agree
to be his; he wasn’t sure how he felt about her flaunting her body like that.
It wasn’t like she was trying to pick up a man. Or was she? The sooner they had
things settled between them the better he’d feel. Not knowing where he stood
was about to drive him insane.

“That was fast,” he said, rising
to his feet.

She shrugged. “I didn’t bother
with make-up or drying my hair. You seemed to be in a hurry.”

“Allie, if you need more time to
get ready, I’m happy to wait for you.”

“Are you saying I look bad?” she
asked, one eyebrow arched.

“No! I just… I know women like to
wear make-up and fix their hair and all that crap. I don’t want you to walk out
of here without going through your usual morning ritual.”

She snorted and moved forward,
grabbing his arm and tugging him toward the door. She picked up her purse and
keys before propelling him outside. After she’d locked up, she headed for his
truck, stopping by the passenger side. He hurried to let her in, not wanting
her to stand in the heat any longer than she had to.

Once she was settled, he walked
around the truck and climbed in. His heart felt like it was going to beat out
of his chest as he thought about their upcoming talk. Would she want to discuss
it on the way to the diner? Or would she wait until they were eating? He’d
never felt so unsettled before, and he didn’t like it one bit. She’d turned him
upside down and inside out without even trying. He wasn’t even sure she was
aware of it.

The diner was busy, but there
were still a few tables empty when they arrived. They slid into a booth near
the window and a waitress came over, dropping menus on the table. After taking
their drink order, she disappeared.

“So, you said some of the women
came over last night. Did you have a nice time?” he asked. “I’ve noticed you
don’t hang out with anyone in particular.”

“You’ve been watching me?”

He shrugged. “I notice lots of
things. You arrived shortly after I did, so I paid attention.”

“No, I don’t hang out with anyone
in particular and, yes, I had a nice time last night. Aislinn and Chloe came
over with two other women I haven’t hung out with before. They brought food and
we ended up ordering some pizzas, and watching movies, and chatting all night.
I’ve never done the whole girl talk thing before so that was interesting.”

“What prompted their visit?”

“Connor told Aislinn about me
being pregnant and you mating me, so she decided it
was
cause for celebration.”

He studied her a minute. “And is
it?”

Allie looked out the window for
what felt like forever before returning her gaze to his. She sighed and placed
her hands on the table, clasped together.

“Look. I have to admit, I’ve
always wondered what it would be like to find my mate. Never really thought
about having kids, except for a fleeting thought here or there. All of this is
new to me and happening really fast. But…the girls made me realize something
last night. As much as you drive me batshit crazy, I’m drawn to you. If I
weren’t, you wouldn’t have gotten as far as you did that night. No one else has
made it past a kiss or two, yet I let you steamroll me.”

“Thanks for the comparison to
being run over.”

She rolled her eyes. “You know
what I mean. You hit me head on and I wasn’t prepared for it. Even if I had
been, I’m not sure I would have stopped you. I wanted you that night just as
much as you wanted me.” She glanced down at her hands. “I’ve thought about that
night when I’m lying awake in my bed and, as much as I hate to admit it, I’d
like to repeat it. Once wasn’t enough.”

He reached across the table and
covered her hands with his. He knew the admission cost her, but he’d never
heard anything sweeter. Knowing that she still desired him was half the battle,
in his opinion. If she wanted to be with him again, then maybe they had a
chance. If she’d been filled with regret over their time together, he didn’t
know what he would have done. He supposed, if it was what she’d really wanted,
he would have walked away, kept an eye on her from a distance. It would have
killed him, but he’d have done it to make her happy. Connor had been right that
day. He loved her. Cain didn’t delude himself into thinking she felt the same
way, but he hoped love would grow over time.

“I guess what I’m saying is that
I would like to give our relationship a chance. If you still want me as your
mate, I would be happy to stand by your side.” She looked up at him.

“Of course I still want you,
Allie. Nothing would make me happier than starting a life with you. I know you
need some time to adjust, but I think the best way to do that would be to start
off the way we intend to go on.”

She frowned. “I don’t
understand.”

“We need to move in together. The
sooner the better. Matt emailed me some flyers for a few houses he has listed
right now; some that he thought might be good for a family just starting out.
They aren’t big, but they look comfortable. If, over the years, we have a large
enough family to warrant a bigger house, then we can go house shopping again.
But I have to warn you, most tiger families don’t have more than one or two
children. It seems most tiger males have a low sperm count.”

She laughed. “I don’t think you
have to worry about that, Cain. You knocked me up the first time we were
together, and you weren’t even trying. I have a feeling we can have as many
kids as we want.”

He smiled. “We can discuss family
size later.”

He released her hands and reached
into his pocket. After taking a breath, he held the ring up for her inspection.
It was a marquis cut chocolate diamond on a platinum band. It had set him back
a little bit, but he thought it was worth it. Allie deserved more than your
typical diamond engagement ring. He wanted her to have something as unique as
she was.

“Allie, I know we’re already
mated, but I want to ask you something. I want to make our relationship as
permanent as possible. Would you do me the honor of marrying me?”

Her eyes were wide with surprise,
and he thought he saw a glimmer of tears for a moment, but she got herself
under control quickly. With a shaky hand, she reached across the table and took
the ring from him, studying it as if she’d never seen an engagement ring
before.

“It’s beautiful, Cain. I never
thought I’d get married. Go through a mating ceremony maybe, but never
married.”

He shifted in his seat. “Is that
a no?”

She shook her head. “It’s not a
no
, you’ve just surprised me. You really want to marry me?”

“Of course I do, Allie. I know
you don’t feel anything for me, but…” He blew out a breath. “I promised myself
I wouldn’t tell you yet. I don’t want to scare you off.”

“Tell me what?”

His gaze held hers. “That I love
you. I think I have from the first moment I saw you step out of your SUV, at
the job site, the day you arrived in town.”

This time there was no mistaking
the tears gathering in her eyes. He reached for her hand, took the ring from
her, and slid it onto her ring finger. It looked right, like it belonged there.
A tear slipped down her cheek just as the waitress was returning. She seemed to
understand what was happening and handed Allie a napkin before setting their
drinks down. Allie hastily wiped the tear away and blotted her eyes to dry up
the ones that were gathering on her lashes.

“Congratulations,” the waitress
said. “Now, I’m guessing the two of you haven’t had a chance to look at the
menu yet.”

Allie smiled. “I’ll just take the
special. Oh! And some coffee, please. If you could bring a carafe I’d
appreciate it.”

The waitress’s eyebrows rose. “Do
you even know what it is?”

She shook her head. “No, but I’m
sure it will be fine.”

“How do you want your eggs?”

“Over easy.”

Cain smiled up at the waitress.
“I’ll take the same.”

The waitress scratched their
order down on her pad and walked off, leaving them in their own little world
again.

“You know caffeine is bad for
you, right?” Cain asked. “When my sister was pregnant, the doctor told her she
needed to limit her caffeine intake. He recommended cutting it out all
together.”

Allie rolled her eyes. “I’ll be fine,
Cain.”

When their food arrived, they ate
quickly. Just knowing that Allie was really and truly his had Cain hungering
for her more than usual. He hoped she felt the same way. She’d admitted she
desired him.