I’m going to be so disappointed when I walk through my front door. I’ll shout at the guys. I’ll be grumpy for the rest of the night. I don’t want to be like that. I take in a deep breath as I pull up to my house. I don’t see Tri’s car. It doesn’t mean anything. Death might want to teleport me to his house. I’m not going to be a cranky fuck. I will go out with them. I will try to be grateful. I will try not to be disappointed.
“What have you guys cooked up?” I say as I walk through the door.
I drop my gym bag on the floor when I see Nia jump to her feet. She’s barefoot, wearing jeans and a…a vest, I think. I see a coat and a sweater hanging over the back of the sofa. “Nia,” I push out, sounding surprised to my core. I had done a good job of talking myself out of believing she would be here.
“Hi,” she half-whispers. “Please don’t kick me out. I hope you’ll hear what I have to say.” Her face is pale, and her eyes are huge and so fucking beautiful it hurts me to look into them.
Then it hits me. The way she looks. Nervous as anything…afraid. “Are you pregnant?” I blurt. I have the strangest emotions coursing through me. I want Nia to be pregnant, but I also don’t want that to be the reason why she’s here.
“No,” she whispers. A tear tracks down her cheek.
“No?” I repeat, lifting my brows. I close the distance between us. I tilt up her chin and use my thumb to wipe away the tear. Why is she so sad? I thought she didn’t want this.
“No, I’m not.” She smiles, her eyes glinting with more unshed tears. She sniffs softly.
I let her go. “You’re not happy?” I frown.
“I was so sure that I didn’t want to be pregnant, and yet as I got closer and closer to that time of the month, I started to find myself hoping my menstruation wouldn’t come. I wanted to be pregnant really badly, so I finally took a test. I was driving myself insane wondering.”
“It was negative?”
She nods. “Yes. I’ve taken four more tests since, and each one has made me feel more and more sad. It’s been so confusing. My mam is clever about these things, and about relationships, and about me.”
I don’t say anything. I can see that Nia is thinking things through. She looks up at me. “I thought I would go home and be at peace. That I would wake up and smell the salty sea air. That I would sit among my big, crazy family, and feel free and happy. Like myself again, but I didn’t.”
“How did you feel?” I ask her when she goes quiet.
Her lip wobbles. “Sad. More alone than I’ve ever felt. Considering I was shackled to a gate in the pits of hell for a year, that’s saying something. Considering five of my nine brothers still live in our very crowded house, that’s saying something for sure. My mam said something that rang true. She said that sometimes you’re more deeply afraid of the things you want the most. I was so afraid of trusting again, of loving…opening myself up…of giving away control…giving away a piece of myself. I’ve been so afraid of you, Rage. With you, I’d fall harder than I’ve ever fallen.” Another tear escapes, and she wipes it away with the back of her hand. “I’m still afraid. I’m terrified, but the best things in life aren’t always easy.”
“It might be easier than you think.” I smile at Nia. I want to pull her into my arms, to never let her go. She’s still vulnerable, so I refrain. “You might be surprised. What if you don’t fall? What if you rise up? People who love each other lift each other up.”
“That’s beautiful. It actually reminds me of something that Mam would say.”
“I just reminded you of your mother?” I raise my brows.
Nia laughs. “Not even close,” she murmurs.
“I’d like to meet your mom.” I mean it. “She sounds like a clever woman.”
“I’m so sorry I left,” she blurts, another tear slipping out.
“I’m not,” I say.
Her eyes widen. “You’re not? Shit! I’m too late. I’ve hurt you too badly. You realized that you don’t love me. That’s it.”
“That’s not it at all,” I tell her. “I’m glad you left because you needed the time to figure this out. I’m just glad it didn’t take months…years.”
She smiles, and it’s so sweet I feel myself getting warm inside. I scoffed at Bolt, Night, and the others for how sappy they became. Here I am ten times fucking worse. “Does that mean that you’re willing to give us a chance? I didn’t screw up too badly for—”
I put my finger over her lips. “You didn’t screw up a single thing. Did you find yourself?” I cup her cheeks.
Nia looks deep into my eyes. “I certainly did. Here I am.” She smiles, and it’s radiant. I think she sees her reflection in my eyes. “I’m right where I need to be. I’m home. Are you going to kiss me?”
“I thought you’d never ask.” I slant my mouth over hers. I moan because I’ve never tasted anything so sweet. Nia grips me tightly and moans as well.
I pour everything into this kiss. It feels amazing to have her in my arms. Nia is mine, and I am hers. I’m so grateful she’s trusting me with her love…her heart.
We eventually pull away. Her eyes are hazy. “Sex,” she says. “I also missed good sex.”
I laugh, picking her up. “I’m so glad you won’t need to be celibate, especially since you have one hell of a pussy. Would have been a shame.”
She laughs, slapping me lightly on the arm as I put her down on my bed. Then we’re frantically removing each other’s clothing, and I’m between Nia’s legs, licking and sucking on her clit until she’s scratching the shit out of my back.
She’s still on her back when I cage her with my body. I remember that we need protection. “Hold on a second.” I jump off the bed, almost falling on my face.
Nia giggles. Then I’m pulling out my wallet. I still have the one I didn’t use from when we were together. “Yes!” I say as I find it. I tear it open and slide it over my cock in one smooth motion.
Then I’m crawling back between her legs and rubbing on her clit. Nia moans, “I want you…now.” She sounds breathless.
I push inside her tight, wet heat with a hard grunt. “You feel…holy fuck…you feel good.” I try to keep my weight off her. Our eyes are locked on one another. I’m grinding into her.
Nia has her ankles crossed behind my back. She’s breathing hard…making noises that drive me fucking wild. Her nails are still clawing at me. “Yes…more…oh…”
I lean in and kiss her. It’s my new favorite thing…fucking the woman I love while kissing the hell out of her. “Nia,” I whisper against her lips.
I can feel her pussy fluttering around me…tighter and tighter. Her eyes are widening up. I take back her mouth as her orgasm hits. Her pussy clamps down on me. She bites my lip.
I come hard. I see fucking stars. I roar and grunt. I say her name a whole hell of a lot. Her legs are over my shoulders. Her head is thrown back. I’m still moving…still rocking into her.
I lean down and bite my girl’s throat. It’s a soft nip…not hard enough to draw blood but enough to have her clamping around me a second time. Her eyes go wide with shock and with pleasure. She yells my name and then groans hard. I feel her shuddering underneath me. I don’t pick up the pace. I draw out her second orgasm. I kiss her neck. I kiss her mouth.
I see my reflection in her eyes. I see her, “There you are,” I say. I’m whole again.
28
Nia
Two months later…
I thought the house I grew up in was a madhouse. It was nothing compared to this one right now.
“Uncle Tri is coming for you.” Trident is on all fours. He’s growling and snarling, pretending to be some sort of wild animal. He’s chasing after little Harley, who is laughing her head off.
Harley is Night and Shannon’s daughter. She can’t walk yet, but she can crawl at a startling speed.
“Ta…Ta!” Forge and Ava’s little boy yells. I think he is trying to say Tri’s name. The toddler is still unsteady on his feet, but that doesn’t stop h
im from trying to climb onto Tri’s back.
“Bruce!” Trident booms. “You little rascal.” He picks up the little boy and places him on his back, holding him with one hand. Then he proceeds to chase the squealing girl; he’s still on all fours.
Bruce screams with glee.
“My ears are bleeding,” Rage says. He’s smiling, so I can see he doesn’t mean it.
All of the dragon demigods are here with their partners. Everyone seems to be talking at once. It’s awesome.
“Hey, you lot.” Shannon walks into the room. I’ve met her a couple of times now, and I still can’t get over how beautiful she is. “It’s bedtime for little children.” Shannon is a full-fledged attorney, even though she doesn’t practice. She’s been nice enough to help Rage with his application into law school. We should hear any day now whether he was accepted. My stomach goes into knots just thinking about it. I know he wants this badly.
“Bedtime,” Shannon says again when everyone ignores her.
“No!” Bruce yells.
“Um…yes…” she says, hands on hips. Shannon looks my way. “Ava is busy getting dessert ready. Would you mind helping out with the kids?”
I want to turn around just to check that she’s talking to me. I know she is, so I nod instead. “Yes, sure. I’d love to help.”
“Great. Can you pick up the rug rat?” She points at Harley, who is still squealing even though no one is chasing her anymore.
I pick up the squirming baby, giving her a tickle on the ribs. Harley throws out a laugh.
“Come on, Brucie!” Shannon says. “Time for bed, buddy.”
“No!” Bruce starts to run away, but Trident catches him.
“No fun games next time if you don’t listen to your Aunty Shan.” He sets the boy back down.
Bruce makes a grumpy face, but he totters to Shannon and takes her hand.
“Night, night!” Trident yells. Everyone says goodnight to the children, and Shannon and I head down the hall.
“I still can’t get over how in love with you Rage is. I never thought I’d see the day.” She glances back at me, smiling. “I think it’s great. I’m so happy for you guys.”
We walk into a beautifully decorated nursery. “Thanks.” I feel my cheeks heat.
“I heard you moved into his place?” she asks, brows raised. She brushes Bruce’s teeth while she chats. He just stands there, clearly used to it.
Miss Madam Harley seems quite comfortable with her legs hooked around my waist. She’s watching her mom clean Bruce’s teeth.
“Yes. It’s amazing. I’ve never been happier.” My heart swells just talking about it.
“You’re a hellhound shifter?” Shannon smiles. “That’s so interesting. No wonder my dogs follow you around.”
I look down at the two pooches. “Yeah. Dogs love me. I’ve started a dog walking service.”
“That’s great,” Shannon says as she puts Bruce into bed. They’re already in their pajamas from when they bathed an hour or so ago. “Your turn, young lady.”
Harley gives her mom a toothy smile.
“Do you like being a mom?” I know it’s a stupid question. I can see that Shannon is besotted with her daughter.
“It’s the best,” she gushes. “Would you mind holding her while I brush her teeth? Easier that way.”
“Of course.”
Shannon gets to work. “I know it’s soon – Harley will only be one next month – but we’re trying for a brother or sister for her.” She smiles brightly.
I gasp. “That’s so exciting.”
“What about you guys?” she asks me.
“Um…Rage and I haven’t been together that long.” I must say it feels like I’ve known him my whole life.
“Has he popped the question yet? I don’t see a ring. I’ve noticed that these guys like to move with speed. When they find ‘the one’, there’s no slowing them down.”
I laugh.
“I’m making you uncomfortable. I don’t mean to. It’s just that in my experience, the more adamant they are against being in a relationship, the harder they seem to fall.” She laughs. “Don’t be surprised, that’s all.” She winks at me.
I’m expecting to feel nervousness and maybe some residual fear, but I don’t. All I feel is excited at the prospect. I’m head over heels in love with Rage.
“All done, my girly,” Shannon says to her daughter. She looks up at me. “Please can you can put her in the crib while I tuck Bruce in?”
“Sure,” I say.
I go over to the white crib and place little Harley down. I pull her blanket up and put a floppy bunny next to her. I’m surprised when she takes my hand. Her fingers are dimpled. She gives me the most radiant grin.
“She likes you,” Shannon says from over my shoulder. “She doesn’t normally take to new people so easily.”
I smile back, and Harley lets my hand go. “I like her too.” I take a step back.
“Night night, Harley-bug,” Shannon coos. She leans in and kisses her daughter.
I wave at Bruce, but he is already half asleep. So much for wanting to stay up.
We head back to the others, and dessert is served soon after. An hour later and we’re headed home. It was a lovely evening.
Rage is driving. “You’re awfully quiet,” he says, squeezing my leg.
“Oh…um…I’m just tired.”
“It’s more than that, Nia. What’s going on?” He squeezes my thigh again before putting his hand back on the wheel and making a turn.
I shrug.
“Out with it,” he presses me. “You know you can tell me anything.”
“I want kids!” I practically yell. “With you…I want kids with you. I know I said before that I never wanted them, but I do. I want all of it. You…me…us…a family. There it’s out.”
We sit in silence for a few beats. Shit! I blurted all that. It was a lot. I know Rage loves me. We’re living together. We had a pregnancy scare, but we haven’t actually discussed anything more since then. We’ve been enjoying each other’s company. Now I went and potentially messed it all up. Rage was quite adamant about not wanting kids before. He told me he would step up if I was pregnant, but that was because he had no choice. I know he would make an amazing father.
Rage chuckles.
“You cannot laugh after an admission like that,” I growl at him.
“I think you might have just asked me to marry you.” He grins at me.
I gape at him. “I did not!”
“I think you just might have, Nia. Sounded like a proposal to me.”
“Rage!” I yell. “Be serious. You’re about to start law school.”
“I haven’t been accepted yet,” he says.
“You will be. It’s a big deal. You’ll be really busy. That’s fine, though, because I’ll wait for you. You waited for me, so I can wait for you.”
Rage chuckles some more, and I want to smack him. He pulls over and shuts off the engine. Then he turns and takes my hands. “You don’t have to wait because I say yes, Nia. I would love to marry you.”
“Stop it!” I pull my hands away. “I’m old-fashioned. My Tad would never—”
Rage gets serious. His dark eyes take my breath from my lungs and my thoughts from my head. “I know you’re not proposing, even though you sort of did.” He winks at me. “I like how you speak your mind. I love you so much. My life has changed since I met you. I’ve changed too, and all for the better. You’re not asking me, but I sure am asking you. Will you marry me, Nia?” He pulls in a deep breath. “I know this isn’t exactly romantic. I’ll fix that by asking you again with all the fanfare, but— Oh, and I’ll need to officially ask your dad,” his eyes widen, “but I really would love it if you would say yes. Please say yes.”
“I don’t need fanfare.” I can barely catch my breath. “I just need you. Yes, I’ll marry you.” We kiss long and hard.
When we pull back, he smiles. “About a family. I want that too, Nia.”
I p
ush out a breath, feeling both happy and apprehensive. “It might not be possible.”
“We can’t say for sure. No one can say for sure, Nia.”
“You’re right.” I feel a weight lift.
“I have a photographic memory.” He bobs his brows.
“Is that supposed to turn me on?” I laugh.
“Yes. I’ll be at law school, but I won’t be all that busy. I always found school to be a breeze.”
“Lucky you.” I shrug, not sure where he’s going with this.
“What I’m trying to say is that we can throw away the birth control. We can do it now, if you’re ready.” And there it is.
My mouth falls open. “Are you serious?”
He nods.
I swallow down a lump. “Are you very serious and very sure? Because my cycle seems to be back on track, so it could happen.” I’m starting to feel nervous and excited and scared.
“It could happen, and yes, I’m sure.” He grins.
“It might not happen, though.” A lump forms in my throat.
“We’ll have to have plenty of sex, just to give ourselves a fighting chance.”
I laugh.
Rage takes my hand and kisses the palm. “We’re not in a rush. We’ll take things one step at a time. If it happens, it happens, and if it doesn’t, we’ll take the next step.”
“I like that plan.” We kiss again. I can’t believe this is happening. What if Rage is doing this just to make me happy? He’s sweet like that. “Then again, maybe we should wait until morning. Sleep on it.”
He chuckles and starts up the engine.
“Why are you laughing? This is a big decision.”
“We can do the whole wait and think on it thing.” He nods.
“It’s just that I want you to be really sure,” I tell him.
“I’ve been sure for a long time, Nia. Almost from the moment you first stalked me.”
I gasp, “I did not stalk you!”
“You so did. Then you begged me for sex. I’m glad you continued the trend of pushy behavior and asked me to marry you.”
“Rage!” I’m laughing. “Stop! If you weren’t behind the wheel, I’d hit you.”
Lord of Chaos (The Dragon Demigods Book 7) Page 21