Opening my eyes, Reid was lifting me out of his car and carrying me inside his house, not the condo. I was ok with that though, this was even better. More private. Looking up at him as he opened the door, he looked down at me for a moment, and realised I was awake. 

“Hold on, I’m going to set you on the couch, then I’ll grab the food I picked up while you slept, and your things.”

I nuzzled into the side of his neck, taking a long and deep breath of his pheromones, before he set me on the couch. 

“I got you some things that shouldn’t make your stomach upset,” he said, and fixed my hair before he went back out to the car. Yawning, I set my hand down on my lower torso. I rubbed in circles and let out a deep sigh. 

“You’re already so hard on my body, but I’ll protect you. Just focus on growing and being healthy, so that you can get here safely and I’ll make sure that I handle everything else.”

Reid set the food on the counter and my bag beside the table leg. “Come here. Let’s get something in your stomach and get you into bed.”

“You know I’m alright.” I mumbled and stood up, stretching. 

“Doctor Connell suggested that you have some vitamins and supplements for the side effects of your pregnancy. He emailed me a list and picked them up while you slept in the car.”

“Oh, hmm. I’ll have to thank him for that, after I thank you for picking them up, of course. I’ll pay you back. Just send me the bill.”

“Nonsense. You won’t be paying me back. You’re my mate, Samuel, and that is our child. I am just helping. Anything you need, rely on me. I think at least until you give birth, the closer you are, the better,” he said politely and started to unpack the food. “I have a few supplements for you to take before you eat. At least testing them out. That’s if you think they are safe. You can look over them before you take them.”

“I trust Doctor Connell. He would look into the medications before he suggested I take them. But I’ll definitely look for myself. I don’t want to take anything that could even slightly harm the child growing inside of me.”

He handed me the bottle when I got to the table, and I looked over the food. Rice, chicken and steamed vegetables. It actually smelled very good. 

“Smells good.” I hummed. Sitting down at the table, I looked over the supplements and found it was all just safe herbs, and felt comfortable swallowing the two pills it recommended with water that Reid set down for me. 

He passed me a knife and fork, pushing the first tray of food to me. “I made sure they lightly seasoned yours for flavour, but nothing that should upset your stomach. If you need something with more flavour, I’ll find you a sauce or something in the fridge.”

After the first bite of food was chewed and swallowed, Reid finally sat down and started eating his own food. I half expected him to have something far more dressed up than what I did, but he got the same thing for himself: chicken, rice and veggies. I definitely hadn’t expected that at all. 

We ate and conversed about what our childhoods were like, and how the child I was currently growing was to be raised. 

“I would like you and the child to have nothing to worry about. I’ll make sure that you are both comfortable.” Reid said and ate his last chunk of chicken. 

Swallowing the mouthful of water I had, I chuckled lightly. “You don’t need to sell all this to me, Reid. I marked you, remember? If anything, I should be the one telling you what I can offer you, though it’s a little late for that now.”

“Offer me? Nonsense, you can’t top what you’ve already offered me. A child, and a mate.” 

“I suppose you have a point there.” I hummed. I hadn’t offered him either, and while I couldn’t take the blame for both solely, it felt like I should. But that kind of guilt would do me no good right now. 

Finishing my dinner, I set the fork down and offered to wash the few dishes. Reid took them and put them in the dishwasher instead and suggested I have a nice, long, warm bath to relax. 

“Good idea, that actually sounds fantastic.”

“Perfect. I’ll find you something to wear when you get out.”

Reid followed me upstairs and ran me a bath. He tested the water before he let me inside, dumping some bubbles and bath salts. I raised an eyebrow, but kept the comment I was going to make to myself. It didn’t matter where he got the bubble bath or the bath salts. 

Peeling my clothing off, I stepped into the tub and let the warm water envelop me even before it was filled. I closed my eyes and took a deep breath. I felt the tension in my body melt away and a sense of peace and relaxation wash over me. Opening a single eye, Reid set a black bathrobe on the counter with a towel. 

He used his phone to put on some relaxing music. “I’ll leave you with my phone because you might want to change the music.” He set the phone on the edge of the table right beside the bath. 

“Alright. If someone calls, what do you want me to do?”

“Ignore it. If it’s actually important, they will call the house phone here. Now enjoy your bath,” he said, and pressed a kiss to my forehead. I grabbed his chin with one of my hands wet from coming out of the tub and moved him so I could kiss his lips. 

“Thank you.”

I watched him leave the bathroom before I closed my eyes again and exhaled. The water was almost the perfect temperature. It was slightly too warm, but I would complain it felt far too good. Bringing some bubbles up to my nose, I let out a soft laugh. They smelled like coconut. It was a cheap imitation of Reid’s pheromones. The lime was missing, and the coconut wasn’t as deep and rich as his. But it was alright. 

After a few minutes, I was over the scent. I wanted the real thing. I wanted Reid’s pheromones. Stepping out of the bath, I drained the tub and rinsed off in the shower. I dried off the best I could before slipping the robe on and going to look for Reid. 

The robe was short, coming to mid-thigh on me, and clung to my still slightly damp skin, but that was bound to happen. The damn thing was soft and seemed like silk or satin. Neither I had ever owned. 

Wandering to the bedroom, Reid wasn’t there, but I could hear him humming to himself down the hall. Following the sound, he was sitting on the couch in a room with a book in his hand. 

“Hope I’m not interpreting.” I said and walked into the room. He looked up and his eyes scanned down my figure, and he took a deep breath, setting his book down. 

“That was a quick bath.” 

“I was craving you. Blame the knock off of your pheromone scented bubble bath.”

“Not as good as the real thing?” he asked. 

“Never could be as good as the real thing. Your scent is stronger and richer. The bubble bath smells flat in comparison.” I muttered, and came closer to him.

Reid’s eyes sparkled with amusement as I approached him. He reached out and pulled me onto his lap, wrapping his arms around me tightly. “Well, lucky for you, you don’t have to settle for the knockoff anymore,” he whispered, his voice filled with desire. I melted against him, inhaling his intoxicating scent. The familiar warmth and comfort enveloped me, making me forget about everything else in that moment. Our lips met in a passionate kiss, fueled by the longing we had both been feeling.

The world seemed to fade away as we lost ourselves in each other. Reid’s hands roamed over my body, leaving a trail of fiery sensations in their wake. Our connection deepened, the bond between us growing stronger with each touch.

Eventually, we broke the kiss, breathless and flushed. Reid’s eyes bore into mine, filled with love and a hint of mischief. “I think it’s safe to say that the bath was a failure to get you to relax, but a success to get you craving me,” he said, a satisfied grin tugging at his lips.

“Definitely a success,” I replied, nuzzling my nose against his cheek. “But now I want something even better.”

Reid’s eyebrows shot up in curiosity. “Oh? And what might that be?”

I leaned in, my lips brushing against his ear as I whispered, “I want you, Reid. I want to feel your touch, your everything. Right here, right now. I’m feeling pretty impatient.”

A shiver ran down my spine as he quickly stood up, carrying me effortlessly in his arms. Without a word, he carried me to his bedroom. He set me on the bed and unwrapped me, tossing the robe away and leaving me bare on the bedspread. He ran his hand down my chest, his fingers brushing over my stomach. I heard him mumbling about forgiving him.

Sex was fine, as long as he didn’t set out to impale me to my core and bend me like a fancy pretzel.

“Take your clothing off. I think you're a little overdressed.” I purred and watched as he did as I asked. Slowly, he tossed away bits of his clothing, his pheromones lightly encompassing the room.

“Come here, I want more. I need more.”