Taming the Beast novel Chapter 8

(Keegan's POV)

I watched the game closely. It wasn't that I was a big volleyball fan or anything, I was just watching Caroline. I noticed the way her brow furrowed slightly and she chewed on her lip when she was concentrating. I noticed how she bit her lip after getting a point to keep from trash-talking. I noticed how it was harder for her to stretch her arm up on her right side than her left. I wondered what that was about. She spiked the ball, earning the Bulls the winning point. She celebrated with her teammates. I saw her glance at me. I smiled lightly as the guys dispersed to go talk to girls. I walked down to where she was standing. I had to resist the urge to touch her.

"Good game," I said, leaning over slightly so she could hear me over the noise. I smirked as I took in her volleyball spandex shorts and spandex top. All in all, they fit tightly, hugging every wonderful curve of her body.

"So, what, you're stalking me now?" she asked, amusement clearly written all over her face. Okay, so maybe I was stalking her a little bit, but she didn't need to know that. Thankfully, Nick already gave me a great excuse. I chuckled, trying to laugh it off, and motioned to the guys.

"They wanted to watch the volleyball team because of the shorts and dragged me along with them," I lied easily. Her cheeks turned rosy in embarrassment. All I wanted to do was touch her cheeks and pull her into me. Natasha called to me but I wasn't really paying attention. I kept up an easy conversation with Caroline. It was like breathing, it came naturally.

"Ninny!" a little kid screamed, interrupting our conversation. A wide grin spread across Caroline's face as she knelt to meet the little boy. She picked him up and kissed his cheek.

"There's my big boy. I think you're getting too old for this," she smiled towards him. The look of love in her eyes for this child made my heart break. The kid rested his head on her shoulder and it looked like a natural occurrence. The boy looked just like her, granted his hair was a tiny bit blonder and he was a boy, he looked just like her. I could only stare at them, shocked and... hurt. I was hurt because my mate already had a son. And if the son was here, the father was probably not too far behind. My mate already had a family. I wouldn't want to pull her away from her family... her son.

"Keegan, this is Preston. Preston, do you want to say hi to Keegan?" she asked motherly towards the child. I felt like my heart had just been ripped out and stomped on. It was getting a little harder to breathe. The kid clung tighter to Caroline, making her chuckle. She looked so happy. Blue... her eyes were blue as the skin around her eyes crinkled with laughter.

"He's really beautiful," I said politely. I couldn't help but think of what our children might have looked like.