Marisa Chenery - Kye's Heart

He winced again as Roxie untangled his hair from the baby’s fist. “So this is what you have planned for me today? To learn how to take care of Nevaeh?”

“That, and I want you to take her to the zoo.”

Kye scowled. “Why the hell would I do that? She’s only three months old, for Christ’s sake. What the fuck would she get out of it? Ouch!” Roxie had smacked him on the side of his head.

“I told you to watch the swearing. She might not be an active participant, but she is a werewolf.”

“So? I’m a werewolf too, and I’ve never been to a zoo.”

“I want her to be comfortable with her wolf side. I want her to learn about other animals and nature. And if you haven’t, then this should be a new experience for you as well.”

He rolled his eyes. “God, you can tell how young you are with all that touchy feely crap. Back when I was your age, I swung a sword, fighting on battlefields.”

“Good for you,” she said sarcastically. “I still want you to take Nevaeh to the zoo today. It’s nice out, and not too hot. Who knows, you might even enjoy yourself.”

“I doubt it,” he said under his breath. By the scowl Roxie gave him, he knew she’d heard him. He breathed a deep sigh. “Fine, I’ll go, but I don’t want to push her in a stroller. That thing is nothing but a pain in the ass.”

“Then don’t take it. I have a baby sling. You can wear it across your chest. Nevaeh likes being carried in it.”

In no time, Kye found himself being given a quick lesson on how to change a diaper and how to heat a bottle of formula. Before he was practically shoved out the door, carrying Nevaeh in her infant car seat, he was given the aforementioned baby sling and a diaper bag. Jesus, he’d never known how much stuff went along with a baby until Roxie had had her daughter. It seemed as if he almost took the whole house with him when he left.

Promising to return in a couple of hours, Kye strapped the car seat into the back of his Jaguar. He got into the driver’s side and started the engine. As he drove to the San Francisco Zoo, he kept checking his rearview mirror, looking in the baby’s direction. He could only see the back of the car seat, since it was strapped in facing the rear. So far, Nevaeh was quiet, which he hoped like hell would continue for the entire time he was out with her.

Arriving at the zoo, he parked the car and got out. Since his was a two-door, he had to flip his seat forward to get to the baby. Kye took the seatbelt off the car seat and turned it so it faced him. Nevaeh was asleep. He smiled. She looked as cute as a button. He took out the sling and put it on the way Roxie had showed him. Then carefully, he unstrapped the infant and picked her up. He felt awkward as he placed her inside the baby carrier. She squirmed and whimpered a bit but settled once he rocked her for a few seconds. Before he locked the Jaguar, he took out the diaper bag and slung it over his shoulder.

Still thinking this was a stupid idea, Kye walked toward the zoo’s entrance. Whoever heard of taking a baby to a place like this? It would’ve been better to wait until she was at least a year old. Right now, he would be the only one who would get anything out of this trip, if he actually did. He wasn’t sure if it would’ve been better to sit bored, watching Roxie and Dirk on the computer all day.

Kye paid the fifteen dollar admission for himself, and wouldn’t you know it, the baby was free. Of course she was, since the zoo knew infants and children under four really wouldn’t pay much attention to the things around them, just as he’d told Roxie. Looking at the brochure he’d been given, he ran his finger down the list of animals on exhibit. There wasn’t a damn wolf on it anywhere. Figured. There were lions and tigers, but no wolves.

He walked farther into the zoo, heading to the first group of exhibits. His nose twitched as he detected all the different animal scents in the air. They just about overrode everything else. Some of them he didn’t even recognize.

Kye meandered from exhibit to exhibit. He had to admit, some of the animals he saw were interesting. He particularly liked the polar bears, watching them dive into the water of their enclosure. Probably forty-five minutes had gone by when Nevaeh woke up. She squirmed inside her carrier, grunting. He stopped and looked at her. The baby made a loud sucking sound as she crammed her tiny fist into her mouth. Since she didn’t seem upset, he continued on his way.

Another five minutes passed before the baby whimpered as she sucked even harder on her fingers. Kye looked around for a bench to sit on. There wasn’t one in the general vicinity, so he kept walking, hoping one was around the farther he went. Once he found what he looked for, then Nevaeh’s whimpers turned into full-fledged cries. And she’d completely given up on sucking her hand.

Feeling a bit desperate, Kye sat, pulled Nevaeh out of the carrier and held her against his chest. He put the diaper bag down beside him and opened it. He pulled out what Roxie had called an “on-the-go” bottle warmer and unzipped the smaller container. By now the baby’s cries were almost ear-shattering to his sensitive hearing.

He noticed Nevaeh’s wails of unhappiness had drawn the stares of the other people visiting the zoo. Not liking it, Kye put the warmer down and patted the baby’s back as Roxie had shown him. That seemed to quiet her a bit. He stopped the motion and went to reach for the bottle, which set Nevaeh off again.

“You look as if you need some help.” The woman’s voice came from a spot close to him.

Without looking up from where he reached, Kye said, “I need to get the bottle out of this warmer, but Nevaeh isn’t cooperating with me.”

“Here, let me.”

A figure moved in front of him, blocking the sun. As her fingers brushed his, he filtered her scent from the stronger animal ones around him. It hit him like a ton of bricks. His head jerked up as his cock went instantly hard, straining against the front of his jeans as his mating urge kicked in. Kye had to bite back a growl of need when he looked into the face of his would-be mate.

She was pretty in a cute way. She smiled, showing even white teeth as she returned his stare, her light blue eyes friendly. Her long, straight black hair had been pulled back into a high ponytail. He ran his gaze over her body when she straightened with the bottle in hand. It was hard to tell what it looked like underneath the zoo’s uniform she wore, but from what he could see of her arms not covered by her short-sleeved shirt, they were slim and toned. He assumed the rest of her was as well. But the only way to be sure was for him to strip her out of her clothes, which his fingers itched to do. The baby let out a loud wail, breaking some of the sexual haze that had descended over him.

His would-be mate held out the bottle. “I think you’d better feed her.”

He nodded as he clumsily settled Nevaeh in the crook of his arm. He reached for it, his fingers once again brushing hers, causing his cock to jerk. “Thanks.” He placed the nipple against Nevaeh’s lips. She opened her mouth and greedily latched onto it.

“Is this the first time you’ve been out with your daughter since she was born?”

Kye’s head snapped up. “She’s not my daughter. I’m her Pro…uncle.”

“So you’re babysitting,” she said.

“You could say that.” At that moment, Nevaeh decided to squirm against him, and what sounded like rolling thunder emanated from her diaper, along with the sound of something Kye did not in a million years, want to handle.

Some of what he felt must have shown on his face, because his would-be mate laughed. “Why do I get the feeling you’ve never changed a diaper before?”