Page 6 of Whole in His Arms

He laughed as they switched out the babies. “I think that might just be you, love.”

“Nope,” Ollie chimed in. “I have to agree there’s something so relaxing about that clean baby smell.”

Nix snorted. “I caught the addition of clean to your statement.” He looked down at the little cutie in his arms. “How bad can babies really smell?”

“Trust me, it’s bad.” Ronin mock-shuddered. “For humans that only drink milk … Trust me, it’s bad.”

Ollie elbowed his mate. “Those are our little bundles of joy you’re talking about.”

Ronin pulled Ollie into him. “I don’t see you denying it.”

Ollie smiled ruefully “Okay, fine. But I love our little poop machines.”

Nix laughed at Ollie’s words, but he saw his mate sniff the little guy again. Maybe it was a pregnancy thing?

When River was done sniffing Matthew, he spoke. “So, besides being totally in awe of Amelia and Matthew, what’s the best part of parenthood?”

Ollie tilted his head to the side, clearly thinking about an answer. His eyes went to Ro, and they shared a private smile that told him they were communicating via the mating bond.

Nix looked down at Amelia— the little babe was sound asleep in his arms— as he tucked her blanket down under her chin and imagined having a little person that was half him and half River.

“That’s an easy question, actually.” Ro’s voice had gone all soft. “You know there’s a feeling of terrified excitement having these two lives that are fully your responsibility. It humbles you and makes you realize that your capacity for love is greater than you’d ever thought possible.”

Nix’s eyes immediately went to his mate, and they shared the same thought. Even though they’d just found out about their little one, Nix loved them more than he could explain or even put into words.

He couldn’t wait to tell Ro and Ollie they were expecting a baby too now. Although there was a part of him that also loved sharing the knowledge with just his mate—and Ryder too, of course.

Before they could even think of a way to announce their happy news, Ollie asked, “So, are you guys thinking of having a baby any time soon?” He looked over at his mate, and his heart did that fluttery thing again.

”Well,” Nix started, but then a phone rang and interrupted him. Ro withdrew his phone from his pocket and looked at the screen. “It’s Zander,” he said before answering the call. “Hello?”

Ollie left his mate to it, turning his attention back to Nix. “You were saying?” he prompted.

Nix smiled but didn’t answer. He wanted to wait until Ronin could hear the good news as well. “I’ll finish in just a minute,” he said. He turned his attention to the call that Ro was on.

“Mmm, I get that, and I’d love to come, but Nix and River are here, and I really don’t want to leave Ollie home alone tonight with Amelia and Matthew. It’s hard to handle one baby by yourself, let alone two.”

Ro tossed Nix a look before he glanced over to Ollie. Ollie shook his head. “Don’t worry about me, babe. If you want to go out with the guys, you can,” he reassured his mate. “You’ve taken care of us round the clock. You deserve a night to do something for yourself.”

“Wait a minute, Zan.” He put his hand over the phone, “The guys are at the bar, and they want Nix and me to come over. I can’t speak for Nix, but I don’t need to hang with them. And you know full well being with you isn’t a chore.”

Ollie’s lips curved, and his eyes softened at Ronin’s words. And Nix’s mate chimed in with a teasing, “Aww, look at my baby bro, all grown-up.”

Ronin shook his head at River but focused back on his mate. “You know I’d rather hang out with the three of you.” He looked over at Amelia and then Matthew, who were both still sound asleep. “River and Nix too, I guess.” Ronin shot them a look, and he rolled his eyes.

Nix glanced over at River. He knew how Ronin felt. The guys had been his only family for a long time, and he would always want to hang with them, but his center had shifted the moment he’d met River. He wanted to be with his mate, and that feeling had only grown sincethey’d gotten the official news about River’s pregnancy. He really just wanted to spend the evening with his mate. “Yeah, I’m fine with staying in,” he told Ronin.

“What? Don’t be silly.” River nudged him. “You can go out and have a good time. Celebrate with your brothers. You know I can’t drink because of the pregnancy, but that shouldn’t stop you. I can hang out here with Ollie and his little ones.” He lifted the baby’s head to his nose and breathed in. “Mmm. Perfection.”

Nix snickered when Ro and Ollie looked in their direction. “You’re pregnant?” Ollie asked, eyes wide and a huge smile spreading across his face.

“I guess the cat’s out of the bag.” He chuckled. “That’s what we were going to tell you.”

“Oops.” River looked at him, although his mate definitely didn’t look sorry. River mouthed, “love you,” before turning to Ollie and Ronin. “We just got the official word today. We’re going to be parents.”

He didn’t blame his mate one bit because he’d been dying to blurt it out too.

Ollie grinned. “Congratulations, you two.” The omega looked at him, then over to Ro. “Then this is all the more reason you both should go out and have a good time. The babies are asleep, and even if they wake up, we’ll be fine,” Ollie said to Ronin. “Besides, you know your Papa will stop by at some point today.”