A Very Holland Valentine: Holland Brothers 6 (6 page)

Alex quickly removed his shirt, then reached in and picked up the red-faced little guy. "What's the matter, little man?" he asked his son in a soft voice.

Alex placed William against his chest so his head was cradled in the juncture of Alex's neck. He loved the feel of his son's skin against his own, and seeing as how it was so hot right now, all William was wearing was a nappy.

Sweat dampened the edges of William's light brown hair. His cheeks were red and tear stained. His chocolate-brown eyes brimmed with tears. Within moments of being placed against Alex's chest, his son started to calm down. Alex rocked him and rubbed his back as he walked around the bedroom, all the while cooing to William.

"You hungry or do you need a nappy change, huh?"

Alex looked down his son's back as he pulled out the back of the nappy. "Nappy change it is, then."

He chuckled as he walked over to the change table they had managed to fit in next to their chest of draws. Alex flicked on the light and made quick work of the change. William had calmed down completely by the time he was finished.

Once William was all clean and ready to go again, Alex blew a raspberry on his tummy, much to the delight of his son. His son's laugh was the most amazing thing he'd ever heard, and Alex looked forward to hearing it every day for the rest of his life.

He blew another raspberry as he heard the shower shut off. William's arms and legs were flailing about where he lay. Once William calmed down again, Alex picked him up and cradled him against his chest. William's skin was so silky smooth. Alex loved running his hands over it. William happily cooed at him.

The door to the en suite opened, Jason walked out in nothing but a towel. Drops of water still clung to the man's body in places, his nipple rings glinting in the light of the room. Alex wanted to walk up to him and lick the water off, but restrained himself. Jason grinned wickedly at him and winked.

"Later, love."

His mate knew him far too well. Jason walked over to them and placed a light kiss on William's cheek, before he leaned up and kissed the underside of Alex's jaw as well. William squirmed and make more happy noises, and Jason's loving expression didn't diminish as he watched them.

"Get dressed, sweetheart, I think this little fella wants some food."

Chapter Three

The table was full. Food covered just about every spare inch. Marcus walked into the kitchen and wrapped his arms around his mate's waist, pulling the man against his chest. "Smells delicious, babe."

"Hmm. Thank you. It's so good to be home."

"I couldn't agree with you more." He kissed the side of Brian's neck.

"I love your mum and dad, but I can't wait to sleep in our bed tonight or have the boys back in a room to themselves." Brian twisted until his heated stare met Marcus's.

Marcus roamed his hands down Brian's front, cupping his mate's slowly hardening package. He squeezed gently.

"Can't wait."

"Hmm. Me either, but first, dinner." Brian pulled away and Marcus reluctantly let him go. "Did you want to go gather the troops for me?"

"Anything you want." Marcus watched a second as Brian went back to fluttering around the kitchen, then headed off to the rest of the house to find the others.

It didn't take him long to gather everyone. "Dinner's ready," he said as he walked into the living room. He laughed as Alex, Jason, Rick and Jake all moved like their asses were on fire.

"God, how I've missed dinner. How was it fair that both Brian and Mum ended up in one house?" Alex bitched.

Marcus chuckled. "You survived. I believe there were several deliveries of food made here."

"It's not the same as having it served directly from the oven," Alex complained.

"Whatever, dude." Marcus shook his head.

Simon helped a very pregnant Zack up from where he was sitting on the couch and slowly make his way out of the room. Zack's face looked a little pinched, and Marcus hoped everything was okay. He could remember when Brian was that far along in his pregnancy. His mate had looked absolutely ravishing all swollen with his child, and Marcus had made sure Brian was aware of that fact, over and over again.

Now, though, he had a couple of terrors he had to wrangle into the kitchen. Charlie and William had been fed earlier as they were the youngest. They had rockers set up to the side with toys to keep them occupied. Samuel and Dylan were still in highchairs, but Marcus didn't know how much longer they would last. The boys were getting too big for them, but Marcus didn't yet trust them to be seated at the table on cushioned chairs. As it was, they had to be separated to opposite sides of Marcus and Brian. Otherwise they mucked around with each other too much. In addition, more food ended up on the floor than in their mouths when they were in the vicinity of each other.

If anyone ever said having twins was easy, they were lying out their asses and needed their heads checked as far as Marcus was concerned.

Chairs scraped across the floor as everyone took their place at the table. Alex dinged his beer bottle as he stood.

"I don't usually do this, but I just wanted to say, it's good to have you guys home again. The place hasn't been the same without you." Alex sat back down again and a chorus of "hear, hear" went around the table.

Utensils clanked against dishes as food was severed.

"Mum and Dad probably don't know what to do with themselves, finally getting their house back," Simon said, chuckling. Marcus laughed along with the others around the table. They all knew their mother had loved having them to stay, but Marcus was all too happy to be home again.

A small gasp from across the table had Marcus looking around. His gaze landed on Zack, who had stilled. Marcus didn't think he'd moved from when he sat down originally. His face was pinched tight and his hands were on his stomach.

"Zack, honey, everything okay?" Simon asked from beside him.

Zack didn't answer, just shook his head before he let out a pain-filled cry.

"Daddy!" Hayley jumped up from her seat. Marcus could already see the worry on her little face.

"It's okay, pumpkin. Daddy's going to be okay," Zack said tightly. Marcus could tell how hard the man was straining not to scare his child. "Brian, could you take Hayley for me?"

"Sure." Brian jumped up from his seat and picked Hayley up. "Come on, princess."

"No," Hayley wailed. "Daddy! I want to stay with Daddy." Hayley started sobbing as Brian raced with her out of the room.

Zack turned to Simon. "Something's wrong." He cried out again and slumped in his chair. Simon caught him before he could topple over.

"Someone call the doctor," Simon yelled as he scooped Zack into his arms.

"Already on it." Alex said as he too stood from the table, dinner all but forgotten in the face of the current emergency.

Simon hurried with Zack out of the dining room, and Alex paced the floor as he hurriedly explained to the doc what had happened.

Marcus pulled out his own phone and dialled. After several rings, the line finally connected. "Couldn't stay away from us, now could you, son?" his dad chuckled down the line.

"You and Mum might want to get over here as fast as you can," Marcus said, not beating around the bush.

"What's happened?" his father asked, all serious now. In a muffled voice, he said, "Maryanne, grab the car keys, we've got to go."

"Something's wrong with Zack. He just collapsed at the dinner table. Alex has called the doc."

"We'll be there shortly."

Marcus had heard his mother asking what the problem was when he disconnected the call and he was glad it wasn't him having to explain it to her.

He could still hear Hayley crying in the next room and wished there was something he could do to help.

Samuel and Dylan were still sitting quietly in their highchairs. They must have been able to sense that something wasn't right as they were behaving themselves. Marcus looked around the room, only Jake and Rick remained, Rick holding Charlie in his arms.

Jake looked from him to the boys. "You want a hand getting their dinner organised?" Marcus looked around at all the half-filled plates.

"That would be great, thanks."

"No worries, Zack's a tough guy. He and the cub will be fine, you'll see."

Marcus nodded. He hoped so. He knew not every pregnancy was smooth sailing, but Marcus hated that fact that something might be wrong with either Zack or his pup. He wanted to reassure Simon that everything was going to work out, but he had his own responsibilities. The faster he got his boys sorted, the quicker they could join the rest of the family.

Hours later the little ones had all been put to bed. Hayley had needed Maryanne to calm her down enough for her to go to sleep. The dinner that no one had eaten was packed away and the dishes cleaned up.

Now they all sat around in silence in the living room, waiting to hear news from either Simon or the doc. Brian sat curled up on Marcus's lap, Rick was leaning against Jake, and Jason was cuddled into Alex. Even their dad had his arms around their mum.

Finally they heard a door close down the hall, and moments later Stephanie Owens, the pack doctor, stepped into the room.

"How are they, doc?" Alex asked as he sat up straighter in the chair. The man still managed to look like a damn Alpha even with his mate cuddled into him.

"It was a close call, but I managed to stop the labour. It's far too early for the cub to be born. Zack still has three weeks before his due date. He needs to hold on for at least another week. I would be happier with two, but you don't always get what you want." Stephanie sighed and ran her hand over her head. The stress lines on her forehead, the slight bags under her eyes, and her pale complexion all told Marcus how exhausted the doc was.

"Zack's blood pressure is far too high, and there's pressures that babies put on a person's body that even we as shifters can't heal. Everything should return to normal just as soon as the cub is born, but I'll be keeping a close watch on Zack until then. I've placed Zack on strict bed rest. The man is not to move his ass from that mattress. For the time being, I've given him something to make him sleep. It should wear off soon, but hopefully he'll remain asleep. Simon is with him."

Jason shifted aside and allowed Alex to rise.

"Thanks, Doc." Alex walked over and shook the doc's hand. Stephanie smiled tiredly at her Alpha.

"Don't mention it, you'll be seeing a lot more of me in the coming days. I'll be back to check on Zack in the morning."

"Thank you, Stephanie," Maryanne said as she stood. She walked over to the doc and gave her a gentle hug before heading off down the hall.

"Let me see you out," Joe said as he too rose from where he'd been sitting.

"Thank you, Joe, I'd appreciate that."

Marcus let out the breath it felt like he'd been holding ever since dinner. It wasn't a complete all-clear, but both Zack and the cub were out of danger for the time being. Marcus turned to Brian.

"Come on, baby, there's nothing else we can do tonight. Let's head to bed."

They rose and said goodnight to everyone, then headed up the stairs to their room. The suitcases stuffed with their clothes from their stay at his folks' place sat against the wall. They hadn't yet taken the time to unpack. Marcus wasn't about to start now either, it could definitely wait for tomorrow.

"I hope Zack's going to be okay," Brian whispered into the quiet room.

"Zack's a fighter, baby. You'll see, both he and the cub will be just fine." Marcus walked over to Brian and wrapped his arms around his mate. Brian relaxed into his hold and sighed contentedly.

"It's so nice to be home again," Brian said as he leaned his head back and lifted up, looking for a kiss.

Marcus obliged and pressed their lips together. The soft supple flesh surrendered under his onslaught, and Brian's lips parted to allow him entry. Marcus took advantage, licking and tasting, he bit and nibbled on Brian's lips. Brian turned in Marcus's embrace until they were facing one another.

His mate's arms slipped around his neck. Brian tensed in Marcus's arms seconds before he leapt. Marcus made sure his feet were planted and caught his man, Brian's legs wrapping around his waist. He swallowed down Brian's moan as the man's hard length rubbed against his abdomen. His own prick was hard and aching in the confines of the shorts he'd changed into after work.

Brian ground his package against Marcus. The needy little noises he made never ceased to drive Marcus up the wall. Oh, Marcus liked that idea. He spun and took several steps until Brian's back was planted against the bedroom wall. When he was sure his mate was as secure as he could be, Marcus reached one hand between their bodies and started fumbling for the button and zipper on Brian's pants.

Getting frustrated, he pulled back from devouring his mate's mouth and looked down so he could see what the hell he was doing. Finally getting the damn pants open, Marcus felt like crying out in triumph. Brian, though, had other ideas. His eyes were closed, his head back against the wall as he arched his back, and his prefect prick sprang free from its confines as Marcus worked to remove his clothes.

Marcus growled in frustration because the clothes weren't coming off like he needed them to. He wanted his mate naked and now! Brian giggled and gently slapped him on the chest.

"Let me down, you big oaf. We can get naked and pick up right here again."

Marcus really didn't want to let his mate go, but he wanted to be buried deep inside him even more. With great reluctance, Marcus slowly lowered Brian to the floor and stepped back. He loved watching as Brian stripped for him. It didn't matter if the clothes came of slowly and sensually or if they came flying off in the heat of passion. His mate's skin being bared for his enjoyment was always a good thing.

Marcus wasn't even aware that he'd been stripping himself. He stood and stared: Brian completely naked was a sight to behold. He thanked God every day that he'd pulled his head out his ass and gone after his mate. Marcus also thanked Christ that his mate had a kind heart and forgave him for the shit he put Brian through.