by Kyle, Celia
“Next diaper is on you, buddy,” Deo popped out of nowhere and slapped Thayne on the back. He handed Caspian to his mother, and then offered Thayne a grin. “Might as well get used to it, huh?”
Thayne leaned back and smiled but said nothing. For a moment, he sat there and watched as the conversation drifted away from having children and becoming a parent. Still, the thought had been planted—or, rather, the weeds around that thought had been pulled, and now his desire was bare and raw.
Leaning over to Kiki, he brushed his lips against her ear.
“You know, I think they’re right,” he whispered. “We should start thinking about having a kid.” He waited for a moment, his heart tightening as he waited for her response. “I mean, you want to have children, right?”
“Oh, only a hundred or so.” She released a bright laugh, one so loud that almost every head turned in their direction.
Unseen, Thayne moved his hand under the table and grabbed Kiki’s. He gave it a gentle and tender squeeze, and they shared a silent moment, their thoughts and desires in complete sync. That was to be expected—they were Beloved, after all.
“I can’t wait to get started,” he whispered, and Kiki’s eyes fled straight toward the ballroom’s exit door. She didn’t even need to say it. A second later and Thayne was already on his feet, ready to get started on the baby-making.
* * *
Getting to the door was almost impossible.
Thayne kept leading Kiki through the crowd, his hand latched to hers, but everywhere they turned was a guest eager to congratulate them. Ten minutes had passed after they’d both eyed the door, but they had barely taken more than fifty steps away from the head table where most of the Nicolaides clan sat. Even though everyone wanted them to have kids, no one seemed willing to give them the time to get started.
“I can’t believe you two got married.” Kiki turned around to see Alena and Luca Ravenna standing beside them. Before she could say anything, Alena pulled her in for a hug. By the time Kiki had pulled herself free, another couple had joined the fray—Iris and Rafe Santos.
“Damn, what are you feeding that kid?” Thayne asked, patting the young Santos baby on the head. “She was pebble-sized just a couple of months ago.”
“Yeah, and now she has already taken her first step,” Rafe said with a proud smile. A second later and he had his phone in his hand, ready to pull up the video of that first step. Kiki closed in to watch it, but she found herself being pulled in a different direction. Hazel and Trinity stood right behind her, smiling so widely that Kiki swore she could almost count their every single tooth.
“Look at you, all grown up,” Hazel bit her bottom lip as she eyed Kiki’s dress. “I never thought I’d see the day.”
“Right on,” Trinity agreed. “We’re proud of you, girl. I mean, it sucks that we’re going to lose you as a roomie, but we’re happy for you.”
“No, you’re happy for yourselves,” Kiki said with a laugh. “I mean, it’ll be way easier for you guys to find new roommates without me getting in the way.”
“It’s not like that,” Trinity tried to say, but her thinly-veiled smile gave the truth away. Without Kiki to mess things up, they’d find new roommates as fast as they could snap their fingers.
“What the hell is this?” a loud voice drowned them out, and Kiki turned around to see Kelly Holloway rushing to the trio, a flute of champagne in her hands. “You guys are having a secret meeting and haven’t invited me? I’m offended.”
“This isn’t exactly a secret meeting.” Kiki waved her hand at the hundred guests surrounding them. “And if you weren’t spending your time ogling that table of—”
“I’m not ogling,” Kelly protested, but she lowered her voice. With a conspiratorial tone, she tilted her head at a table of rough and tumble-looking male fae. A couple of them had already noticed Kelly’s attention, and Kiki could tell there was some interest there. “I’m just observing. You know, I’m an observational kinda gal. I mean, look at them. You have any idea who these guys are, Kiki?”
“Yeah, please, do share,” Hazel agreed. “Those guys are hot.”
She was about to tell them the truth—which was that she had no idea about these guys—when Thayne appeared behind her.
“They were invited by Cora’s mother, who somehow involved herself in the preparations,” he replied, clearly amused with the women’s interest in the fae. “I wouldn’t advise getting tangled with them, though. These guys are the black sheep of the fae world. Outcasts.”
“Oh, really?” Kelly asked, and Kiki knew Thayne had only managed to amplify Kelly’s interest in the fae. “Then what are they doing here?”
“Cora’s mother is all about appearances,” he said with a shrug. “I guess she felt it was important to invite all of the connected fae families, even the ones we’d rather not have here. To be honest, I didn’t mind. I never thought these guys would actually show.”
“But they did,” Kelly whispered, more to herself than to the rest of them. Clearly ignoring what Thayne had said, she smiled, turning toward Hazel and Trinity. “I’m going to check ’em out.”
Before anyone could say a thing, Kelly pushed her way out of the group and started dancing across the floor, twerking her way toward the table of fae. Thayne arched one eyebrow as he watched the exaggerated butt-wiggling going on, but Kiki just laughed. That was Kelly in a nutshell.
“We, uh, are going to make sure she doesn’t get kidnapped or anything.” Hazel then dragged Trinity after Kelly. As the three women finally disappeared out of sight, losing themselves in the crowd, Thayne placed both hands on Kiki’s waist and spun her around. Once they were facing each other, and as if on cue, the music changed into a mellow beat.
“Care to join me for a dance, m’lady?”
“I didn’t know you could be such a gentleman.”
Kiki allowed Thayne to pull her onto the dance floor. Finally, they had a quiet moment. No one would dare interrupt the happy couple while they were dancing at their own wedding. Gently, Thayne leaned in and brushed his lips against hers.
“I love you, Kiki,” he whispered, and her heart melted for the hundredth time that night. She remembered the first time she had seen him, back at the shop, and she could barely believe they were here now—husband and wife, Beloved and Resonate.
“I love you too,” she whispered back at him, their feet moving effortlessly as they glided across the floor. “Can you believe any of this? I mean, the two of us…”
“Having regrets?” He flashed her a teasing smile.
“Not a chance” she replied. “You’re not getting rid of me that easily.” Only then did she notice what Thayne was actually doing. As they danced, he had been gently guiding her toward the exit, and they were now mere feet away from the door.
“You think anyone will notice if we slip out?”
“Maybe,” she replied, “but I don’t think they’ll come looking for us.”
“Good.” Resting his forehead against hers, he smiled. “Because I’m more than ready to get started on all those babies you want. I mean, a hundred? We’ll have to work hard.”
“Then we shouldn’t waste a second more.” With that, she grabbed his hand and dragged him out the door. Together, they marched out of the room…
And toward the rest of their lives.
* * *
I hope you enjoyed Kiki and Thayne’s story! If you’d like to read more vamptastic goodness, check out the rest of the Real Men of Othercross series starting with Vampire Seduction – He’s accused of a crime he didn’t commit, and she’s determined to get him off… in more ways than one. – http://bklink.to/oc1-amazon
About the Authors
Celia Kyle
Ex-dance teacher, former accountant and erstwhile collectible doll salesperson, New York Times and USA Today bestselling author Celia Kyle now writes paranormal romances. It goes without saying that there’s always a happily-ever-after for her characters, even if there are a few road bumps a
long the way. Today she lives in central Florida and writes full-time with the support of her loving husband and two finicky cats.
Website – https://celiakyle.com
Facebook – https://facebook.com/authorceliakyle
* * *
Marina Maddix
New York Times & USA Today Bestselling Author Marina Maddix is a romantic at heart, but hates closing the bedroom door on her readers. Her stories are sweet, with just enough spice to make your mother blush. She lives with her husband and cat near the Pacific Ocean, and loves to hear from her fans.
Website – https://marinamaddix.com
Facebook – https://facebook.com/authormarinamaddix
Copyright © 2020 by Celia Kyle & Marina Maddix
All rights reserved.
No part of this book may be reproduced in any form or by any electronic or mechanical means, including information storage and retrieval systems, without written permission from the author, except for the use of brief quotations in a book review.