Scorch: M/M Gay Shifter Mpreg Romance (Dragon's Destiny: Fated Mates Book 2) by Wolf Specter, Angel Knots

around tomorrow.
    It wasn’t really that late, but I decided to head to bed, too. Sleeping would make the next day arrive faster, and as guilty as I was starting to feel about my weakening resolve, I couldn’t wait to see Maks again.
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    I t had been four days since I’d seen Maks. The day after we’d gone down to the water park at Great Wolf Lodge, Sunday, he’d called to say he was going to be out of town for a few days. I’d been unreasonably disappointed at the idea of not seeing him.
    I hadn’t realized that it also meant I wasn’t going to hear from him.
    After a couple of days of my crankiness, Sarah’s patience had been stretched thin, and she’d told me to stop moping and call him. And I had. I’d left a voicemail. And then I’d texted. And then I’d done both of those things again. But now it was Wednesday, and I still hadn’t heard back from him.
    “Oh, honey,” Sarah said, slipping onto the couch next to me. “You need to get your mind off of him.”
    I couldn’t answer her around the lump in my throat. I’d never felt this badly in my life, but I wasn’t in any position to complain. The love of Sarah’s life had died . Maks—a man I’d only known for a month and had barely even kissed—had simply gotten tired of waiting.
    And he’d left me.
    Oh, God. I took off my glasses and scrubbed at my eyes. I was Not Going To Cry. It was my own damn fault for not giving in to what we’d both wanted. I really couldn’t blame him. But… it hurt.
    Sarah wiped my cheeks and took my chin in her hand, tipping it so that I had to look at her.
    “I’ve missed my chance, Sarah,” I said miserably.
    “Dev, honestly? I don’t know what’s going on, but Maks was so into you. I really think he’ll be back. And…” She bit her lip, as if she wasn’t sure whether I’d want to hear whatever she’d stopped herself from saying.
    “ What , Sare?”
    “If he does come back, and you want to be with him, I think you should.” She held up her hand to stop me when I tried to say something. “I know you think it could put my insurance at risk, but honey, I wonder if that’s true? I mean, we are legally married. I think that’s all that matters for the benefits to cover Holly and me, regardless of what you do.”
    “It’s not just that, Sarah. It’s… I promised. We said vows. I don’t want to break those just because something I want more comes along.” I realized what I’d just said as soon as the words left my mouth, and rushed to try and fix it. “I mean, not more. You know I love you and Holly.”
    “I know what you mean, Dev.” She laughed. “It’s fine. Trust me, I love you, too, but if I had the chance to be with Luke again… I know everyone said we were too young, but I loved him. We would have been forever. He was it for me.”
    “How do you know?” I asked, the lump back in my throat. I had no right to feel the same way about Maks, but that didn’t stop me from feeling it.
    Now she had to wipe at her own eyes. “Oh, honey, it’s going to sound silly. You know, Luke and I used to say that we were destined for each other. From the first time I saw him, that was it. There was no one else. It’s like he was the other half of me, and he felt the same. That’s why… remember when we got the call telling us that he hadn’t made it?”
    I nodded, reaching out to squeeze her hand.
    “Remember that I refused to believe it? It was because I couldn’t . I still felt him, here.” She put her hand over her heart. “I always thought that if anything ever happened to him, I would know , that it would be like the part my heart that was his was… gone. But even now, I can still feel him. I still love him. It’s like he’ll always be a part of me.
    “And, Dev, when Maks looks at you… it’s the same. The same way Luke used to look at me. I know you haven’t known Maks for long, but if it could be like what Luke and I had, I would hate for you to miss out on that. And I would