Page 85 of Brazen

* * *

“Is that a bulldozer or an excavator?” JT cried, tumbling out of my car after releasing himself from his booster seat. I’d driven him out to Sam’s property where Sam and his packmate, Rand, were leveling the dirt for the concrete footing for our ranch house to be poured.

Rand waved at me from the other end of the footing lines. He had a construction company, and Sam had worked out a killer deal with him to build our house. He pretty much offered to give us all materials at cost, and half price on his labor if Sam worked alongside him. At least a half dozen of the young men in the pack had also volunteered to help, and Sam thought we’d have the house fully enclosed by January.

“It’s an excavator.” I stooped down to zip JT’s jacket. The air had a bite to it now as we headed into October.

“Can I drive it?” His eyes stared at the big piece of machinery with glee.

“I don’t know, bud. Let’s go ask Sam.”

“Sam! Sam! Can I ride with you?” JT raced out in front of the excavator.

I sucked in a breath to yell at him to stay back, but Sam had already cut the engine and was climbing down to pick JT up and toss him in the air.

Sam looked over at me and winked. “Hey, beautiful.” To JT, he said, “I’m so glad you’re here. I need your help. You wanna steer the excavator?”

“Yeah! Yeah!” JT cried.

“Climb on here with me, then. You take the controls.” Sam put JT on his lap and started the big machine up again, sending a quick grin over his shoulder at me.

I smiled as my heart melted into a puddle.

I couldn’t believe how much my life had changed in one month. Sam had moved in the night he marked me. I got to climb in bed with that beautiful specimen of manhood every night. He took care of me and JT in every way he knew how, including hustling on getting plans drawn up for this house.

After moving from place to place the last five years, I was finally putting roots down. We’d have our own house. Plenty of room for JT to run and play.

It was more than I’d ever dreamed possible.

I’d finally put the past behind me. I did call Ted to congratulate him on setting a new record and let him know about JT. He immediately pulled a “Ted” by offering a large sum of money in exchange for keeping JT’s parentage a secret, especially from his pack. As I always thought, he wanted nothing to do with JT. Shelby, the Wolf pack lawyer, insisted on drawing up paperwork that we both signed. Ted happily waived his parental rights as long as I stayed silent. An easy trade. JT now had enough money to go to college anywhere in the world.

The excavator returned from its long sweep up and back, and Sam cut the engine again and hopped down with JT.

“Your turn to ride on my lap,” Sam declared, and I laughed.

He walked over to me and scooped his forearm under my ass to lift me to straddle his waist. He loved to show off his superior strength, and I couldn’t help but swoon every time he did.

He buried his nose against my neck and breathed deep. “Fate, you smell good.”

“Are you just smelling your mark?” I teased.

“No, you smell different, like–” He pulled his face back, eyes wide with shock.

“Like what?”

He spun me around. “Woo hoo!”

“Like what, Sam? What’s going on?” I kicked my feet for him to put me down, and he let me slide down the front of his body.

He licked up the side of my neck. “You smell like you’re carrying my pup,” he murmured against my ear.

“What?” It was my turn to go wide-eyed with shock.

He nodded happily.

“Oh my God!” I laughed hysterically. “Oh my God.” It had only been two weeks since he marked me. It had to have been that night!

“You’ve got some pretty powerful swimmers,” I told him. “I guess that bodes well for your semen selling business.”