Dark Choices: The Quandary (The Children Of The Gods Paranormal Romance Series Book 41)

by I. T. Lucas

  Smoothing his hand down her ribcage, he rested it on her soft belly. “It’s a crime to hide such a magnificent figure under clothing.” Since she’d been dressed nicely for a change, he omitted the word ugly.

  “Ditto.” Edna’s eyes were hooded with desire. “Your turn.”

  He was out of his clothes and on top of her in less than thirty seconds.

  Bracing his weight on his forearms, he kneed her legs apart and pressed his erection against her feminine core.

  With a roll of her hips, Edna wrested a groan from his throat. “Kiss me.”

  As he took possession of her mouth, she pressed her fingers into his bottom and rocked against his hard shaft.

  He broke the kiss to cup her cheeks and look into her eyes. “If you keep this up, I’ll be inside you in two seconds flat.”

  “And that’s a problem why?”

  Given the scent permeating the room, Edna was more than ready. Nevertheless, he would have loved to double-check with his tongue and his fingers, but Edna’s wish was his command, at least for the first round of lovemaking.

  If she wanted to be in charge, he would give her the opportunity. Snaking his arms under her, he flipped them around and pushed against the headboard.

  “I’m all yours for the taking.”

  There was a moment of hesitation in Edna’s eyes, but then she started to move, swiveling her hips and grinding her sex against his erection.

  Cupping her bottom, he pressed up, adding to the friction. “Put me inside you, beautiful.”

  She shook her head and kept going, her breaths becoming harsher the closer she got to climaxing.

  Was Edna just enjoying the foreplay too much to stop, or was she being shy?

  Or maybe she just preferred for him to take the initiative?

  The way she was going at him, though, he would come in no time, and he much preferred to plant his seed inside her rather than spill it all over her belly.

  It was an absurd notion that he could get her pregnant, but if he did, judge or no judge, she would have to be his.

  Would she resent him for it?

  Or would she feel liberated?

  If Edna resigned to become a full-time mother, no one would judge her for it. Motherhood was revered by the clan, and children were considered miracles.

  Nothing was more important.

  With a primitive urge to procreate surging through him, Rufsur rolled them over and plunged inside her.

  At the joining, they both groaned.

  And then he began to thrust.

  Like a rutting animal, he was driven by instincts he hadn’t known he possessed. Gripping her tightly, he went fast and hard with a ferocity that would have broken a human female.

  Except, Edna was an immortal, and his wild shafting excited her.

  Throwing her head back, she screamed out his name as her climax erupted like a volcano.

  As his own orgasm geysered out of him with no less ferocity, he hissed and struck with his fangs.

  Edna screamed again, and her sheath tightened around him in a vice grip that was almost painful, milking him for all he was worth.

  Rufsur had never climaxed so powerfully before, and for a brief moment, he felt like blacking out.

  Waiting for the weightless sensation to pass, he retracted his fangs and licked the puncture wounds closed.

  74

  Jacki

  Kalugal glanced at his watch. “When are your friends coming over?”

  Only the girls were coming, but they were Kalugal’s friends as well. “Our friends should be here at any moment.”

  He looked at Jacki with amusement in his eyes. “And why are you cleaning? Kian’s butler will do that after we are gone.”

  Jacki paused her scrubbing of the stovetop. “It’s dirty, and we have guests coming over.”

  He chuckled. “You’ve been at it for at least ten minutes. It’s clean.”

  “I’m restless. Okay? Cleaning calms me down.”

  He walked over and pulled her into his arms. “I thought that you wanted to go home. If you wanted to stay longer, you should have said so. We could have left after the weekend.”

  She sighed. “I’m conflicted. I want to go home, but I don’t want to say goodbye to my friends. I’m going to miss them.”

  “You are going to see them again in two weeks. That’s not a long time. And then two weeks after that when we get married for the third time.”

  She chuckled. “Let’s hope that third time’s the charm, and nothing will happen this time.”

  “Nothing happened the other two times. After we pledged ourselves to each other, we made love for the first time, and that was fantastic, and then we pledged ourselves again in front of our friends, and that was a beautiful moment I’m never going to forget. The only thing that got ruined was the party.”

  “You’re right. I’ll rephrase. I hope nothing happens to ruin our wedding celebration in the village.”

  “Nothing will. I promise.” He kissed her softly. “Your friends are here.”

  The doorbell rang a moment later.

  “How come you can still hear better than I do?” Jacki pushed out of his arms and headed toward the door.

  “Your transition is far from complete, my love. Your hearing and other senses are still improving.”

  Perhaps. Given the way her immortality test had gone, they might not. She was a weak immortal with diluted genes.

  “If you say so.” Jacki opened the door and grinned. “Hello, my besties. What do you have there?”

  “Food.” Jin walked inside and put a tray on the counter.

  Next was Callie and Syssi, each holding a container, and Amanda who brought a bag full of bottles.

  “I didn’t know what you had here.” She lifted the bag. “I’ve gotten everything needed to make margaritas.”

  “Vlad baked a chocolate cake.” Wendy handed the container to Hivak. “Thank you. It was getting heavy.” She walked over to the couch and sat down next to Kalugal. “How did you like the ceremony last night?”

  “Your friend Richard did well. How is he feeling today?”

  “Just peachy.” Wendy wiped a bead of sweat from her forehead. “Unlike me. I think I’m coming down with something.” She chuckled. “Or maybe I’m still in shock from meeting the goddess. That was an experience I’m not going to forget soon.” She rolled her eyes. “I almost fainted.”

  Jacki sat on her other side. “Annani is something, isn’t she?” She put a hand on Wendy’s forehead. “You feel a little warm. Maybe you’re transitioning?”

  Wendy cast Kalugal a sidelong glance and blushed. “It’s too soon.”

  “It happened pretty fast for me.” Jacki smiled. “But then I was induced by a demigod.” She winked. “His venom is probably more potent than most.”

  Kalugal cleared his throat. “I think I’ll join Rufsur and Hivak in the backyard.” He pushed to his feet, leaned, and kissed Jacki’s forehead. “Enjoy your time with your friends.”

  She didn’t try to stop him. He probably felt uncomfortable in a room full of women. Besides, Rufsur was in a bad mood, and she was sure he could use a pep talk from his boss.

  He’d spent the night at Edna’s, so that was a good sign, but perhaps saying their goodbyes hadn’t gone well.

  Except, after her friends had arrived, Theo and Jay moved from their station on the front porch to the backyard, and Rufsur wasn’t going to say anything about Edna in front of them.

  “Wonder apologizes for not coming,” Callie said. “But she couldn’t leave the café.”

  “That’s okay. I’ll stop by there on my way out. And anyway, I’m coming back in two weeks, so it’s not like this is really a goodbye party. Is Bridget coming?”

  The doorbell ringing was the answer.

  “That’s probably her.” Syssi opened the door.

  “Sorry I’m late.” Bridget walked in with a large salad bowl cradled in her arms.

  “You’re not late,” Syssi said. “We’ve j
ust got here.”

  “Who wants a margarita?” Amanda asked.

  “Everyone.” Syssi grimaced. “Can you make mine a virgin?”

  75

  Wendy

  While her friends chatted, snacked, and drank one margarita after the other, Wendy battled nausea.

  Could she be pregnant?

  After only two nights of sex, pregnancy didn’t make any more sense than transition. Neither could happen so soon. Besides, she and Vlad had been taking Merlin’s potion, which was supposed to prevent ovulation. So unless it was snake oil, conception shouldn’t be possible. But even if she’d somehow conceived, there was no way her symptoms could have started so soon either.

  Just to make sure that she was right about it, Wendy pulled out her new phone and did a quick internet search. Most sites claimed that two weeks into the pregnancy was the earliest nausea could start.

  So, she wasn’t pregnant. But feeling nauseous wasn’t one of the transition’s symptoms either. Could she have eaten something bad?

  From across the dining table, Bridget frowned at her. “What’s going on, Wendy? You look pale.”

  “I’m not feeling well. I think that I’m coming down with something.”

  The doctor pushed to her feet. “Let’s see what’s up with you.” She walked over and put her hand on Wendy’s forehead. “You feel hot, but my hand is not a medical instrument. I’d better take you with me to the clinic.”

  “Is Wendy transitioning?” Jacki asked.

  “She might be.” Bridget offered Wendy a hand up. “I need to run some tests and exclude other possibilities first.”

  As Wendy tried to get up, her head spun, and if not for the doctor’s hand, she would have flopped back down. “I don’t think I can walk to the clinic.”

  “Definitely sounds like transition to me,” Jin said.

  Bridget cast her a look that said she should leave the diagnosis to the professional, but Wendy had a feeling that Jin and Jacki might be right.

  She hoped they were.

  After all, she hadn’t had contact with the outside world to catch anything, and immortals didn’t transmit germs. Except, the nasties could have hitched a ride on one of them and then jumped over to the only susceptible host in the bunch.

  “I’ll ask one of the guys to get the golf cart.” Syssi opened the sliding door to the backyard where the men had been spending their time while the women took over the living room.

  A moment later, Rufsur stepped inside together with one of the Guardians.

  “I can carry you to the clinic,” he offered.

  If anyone was going to carry her, it would be Vlad. In fact, she should call him.

  “Thanks for the offer, but it’s not an emergency. I can wait for the cart.”

  “I’ll get it,” the Guardian said.

  As he headed out the front door, Wendy pulled out her phone and called Vlad.

  “Hello, Dona Juanita.”

  Wendy smiled. Even though she’d been the one who’d invented the nickname, she loved it when he called her that. It made her feel sexy, implying that Vlad thought of her as some great seductress with incredible bedroom skills.

  For a novice, she wasn’t bad, but she still had a lot to learn.

  They both did, and it was awesome that they got to do it together. It was a rare treat for two people of their generation to be each other’s firsts.

  Regrettably, though, she couldn’t call him Vlad the Impaler in front of her friends. “Hi, yourself.”

  “Are you ready to go home? I can come to pick you up in ten minutes. I’m almost done helping my mom with her new embroidery machine. You wouldn’t believe how sophisticated this thing is. She can design the pattern on her laptop, import it into the machine, and the thing does everything automatically, including choosing different color threads.”

  “Fascinating. But I can’t go home yet. Bridget is taking me to the clinic.”

  “Why? What happened?”

  Despite her attempt to deliver the news gently, he sounded panicked.

  “I’m running a fever, and I’m nauseous. I might be transitioning.”

  “So soon? Is it even possible?”

  “Bridget thinks it is.”

  “I’m coming over.”

  “Don’t. Go straight to the clinic. One of the Guardians went to get the golf cart, and he should be back any moment.”

  “Is it that bad?”

  “I’m dizzy, but it’s not bad. If I’m transitioning, it’s good.”

  “Theo is here,” Jacki said.

  To be back so soon, the Guardian must have either found the cart parked somewhere nearby or sprinted the entire way to the parking garage to get it.

  “I have to go. The golf cart is here.”

  “I’ll meet you at the clinic.”

  Aided by Jacki on one side and Jin on the other, Wendy followed Bridget out the door.

  “I’m coming with you.” Jacki helped her into the cart and then joined her on the bench.

  “Me too.” Jin hopped in on the other side.

  Bridget replaced Theo behind the wheel and waited patiently for Syssi, Amanda, and Callie to finish wishing Wendy good luck on her transition.

  Once the cart started rolling down the pathway, Wendy leaned her head on Jacki’s shoulder. “I’m sorry for ruining your going-away party.”

  “Are you kidding me?” Jacki wrapped her arm around Wendy and pulled her closer. “You’ve given me the best goodbye present possible. I thought that I would miss your transition.”

  “I don’t know if that’s what’s going on. I’m nauseous, so it might be food poisoning.”

  “Or you could be pregnant,” Jin said.

  “Not possible. Vlad and I made love for the first time the day before yesterday, and Merlin gave us a contraceptive potion to drink. But even if I got pregnant on the first go, I wouldn’t be nauseous yet. It’s too soon. But anyway, thank you both for coming with me to the clinic. It’s less scary with friends.”

  “Of course.” Jin patted her hand. “We are a team.”

  76

  Rufsur

  After Jacki had called Kalugal to tell him that Wendy was most likely transitioning, Rufsur wondered whether he could use the news as an excuse to see Edna.

  They had already said their goodbyes that morning, and Rufsur had nothing more to add to what had already been said, but he wanted to see Edna again. He wanted to memorize her face, kiss her one more time, and hold her in his arms for a few more minutes.

  He’d been fooling himself thinking that they could keep things casual. Apparently, immortal relationships didn’t work that way. Was there some chemical component to it? Some powerful attractant that made separation difficult?

  Since he hadn’t known Edna long enough to fall in love with her, that could be the only logical explanation.

  And if that was the case, then Dormants must produce the same kind of chemical, and that was why Kalugal had fallen for Jacki so fast.

  Did Kian and his clan members know about it?

  Did Edna?

  Perhaps that was the reason she’d resisted hooking up with him more than once. But why not tell him?

  Except, she kind of had. He’d just refused to listen and had kept pushing until she’d given in.

  Was he sorry for having done that?

  Hell, no.

  The addictively delicious cake might never be his, but that was no reason to give up on even one scrumptious crumb. Like a junkie, he would be returning for more as long as they kept coming. So yeah, it seemed that the next two weeks would be more difficult than he’d anticipated, but he would survive just so he could sample another crumb. Or two. Or three.

  “Just go.” Kalugal waved a hand.

  Rufsur stopped his pacing and looked at his boss over his shoulder. “Go where?”

  “You can’t fool me. I know you too well. Although I have to admit that I never expected to see you act like a love-sick puppy.”

  “I’m not in love. B
esides, you are one to talk.” Rufsur snorted. “The mighty Kalugal has not fared any better.”

  “True, but I didn’t try to pretend that it was nothing.”

  “You didn’t have to. To keep your woman, all you had to do was pay Kian twenty-five grand a day. I don’t have that option.”

  Kalugal rose to his feet and put a hand on his shoulder. “Perhaps a different kind of bribe would work on Edna?”

  Rufsur grimaced. “It has occurred to me. I’m still trying to figure out what that bribe might be.”

  That was a lie. He knew the answer to that. The only reason Edna would ever consider leaving the clan was if they had a child together, but the chances of that were so minute it was like wishing upon a shooting star.

  He’d even contemplated asking the clan’s fertility doctor for his potion and slipping it into Edna’s drink. Except, after a talk with Jay and Theo, he’d realized that wasn’t an option. Apparently, Merlin’s potions were formulated specifically for each couple, and what worked for one might not work for another. In addition, those taking the potions had reported that they were potently vile, which meant that there was no way to slip it into a drink unnoticed.

  Besides, it had been just a crazy idea, and he would’ve never done that.

  But what if he could tempt her with the prospect of motherhood? Given immortals’ life spans, she could take a hiatus from her responsibilities to dedicate twenty years or so to raising a child together with him. Wouldn’t she want to experience that?

  Hell, he would, and he’d never felt the urge to procreate before. But that was because the option hadn’t been on the table.

  Now it was.

  It was true that any clan female could give him that, but he didn’t want anyone else. He wanted Edna.

  Rufsur stifled a chuckle.

  No one could ever accuse him of shying away from a challenge.

  77

  Edna

  Edna had trouble concentrating on the complicated land deal that Kian had put on her desk. The words just swam in front of her eyes, and the legal jargon she was fluent in suddenly seemed incomprehensible.