“Can’t do it.” I’m quick to offer an apologetic shrug to Chloe. “I’ve got a sore throat and I don’t want to get you or the baby sick.”
Chloe’s eyes widen, then retract. “Wait a minute. You can’t get sick. You have a new body.”
“And I haven’t been to the Tree of Life in months. That’s the deal, remember? I need to replenish. My throat hurts. Who knows what kind of hybrid crap I’m capable of.” None of it is true. I’m actually not even sure if it were possible, but I think it’s safe to say I don’t owe Chloe Bishop an ounce of truth and we both know it.
Lexy scoffs. “Aw, come on. At least fake a smooch. No tongue. Make it look juicy, though. All this equipment is a pain in the ass to set up. I’m not coming back in a week just because you’re feeling better.”
Chloe slits those dark eyes my way. There’s a fury in her I haven’t seen in a good long while. Certainly it’s one that hasn’t been directed at me in a very long time, if ever.
“Do it, Gage. And make it look real.”
Lexy may have said it because she bought the bull I was slinging, but Chloe is demanding it because she knows the facts. Chloe and I are a sham, a shell of wedded bliss, and she knows it. I never promised her a rose garden or a slice of my ass night after night. That baby in her belly should be more than enough to satisfy her.
“Right now,” Chloe snips and I study her with dismay for a moment.
Here I am, right where I never wanted to be.
Dear Skyla, the lengths I will go to love you have no reasonable bounds. It is all insanity out here in deep space without you. All of my formidable affection for you is the only thing that keeps me going.
“Come on, come on!” Lexy harps, already looking through the eyepiece.
“Yes. Just one careful kiss.” I glower at Chloe a moment before closing my eyes and landing my lips to hers. Chloe’s mouth is soft but intrusive, demanding as she moans and presses against me as if she were about to infiltrate without my permission, but I hold strong, and soon enough Lex announces it’s a wrap.
Chloe backs up, lancing me with her eyes before putting on a cheery front for Lex and helping her put away her things in record time. But according to Chloe’s body language, the way she’s refusing to acknowledge me, her stiff movements, the haste in which her hands jam Lexy out the door, I know for a fact I’ve finally managed to push my new wife to the limit. And as pleased as a part of me is with the endeavor of pissing Chloe off, the far more logical part of me understands I’ve just skated my way onto paper-thin ice.
No sooner is Lexy out of our airspace than Chloe herds the boys back into the room and puts on a movie for them. My heart warms for a moment looking at the miniature versions of myself as they sit shoulder to shoulder just the way Logan and I did when we were kids, mesmerized by whatever they’re watching.
Chloe yanks me by the arm and violently drags me to the kitchen, slamming me against the steel fridge in a show of fury.
She steps in, her eyes glowing with fire. “You don’t humiliate me like that ever again in front of my friends. If I ask for a kiss, you will damn well give it to me.” Her lips are trembling, but Chloe is far from tears.
I step in close, my own fury percolating. “Then don’t ask for one.” I pierce her aggressive gaze with my own.
She takes a breath, her fury quickly morphing into shock. Chloe Bishop has never been spoken to that way. Scratch that, Chloe Bishop is always spoken to that way with the exception of me.
She thrusts her hands against my chest hard. “Why don’t you kiss me, Gage? Why don’t you come to our bed at night and do the things to me a husband does to his wife? Why is it the only passion I derived from you was that first night with Skyla watching? Was it all for her benefit?”
“No.” I force myself to soften. I need to get a handle on this shit or Chloe is liable to fly through the ceiling and take all of my rotten plans right along with her. “I’m sorry, Chloe.” I pull her in and hold her a moment, her body slowly melting to mine. “I’m trying, I am. It’s just, I’m not ready yet. But I will be. I just need a little more time.” I dig my fingers into her hair, land my mouth over the top of her head, and I can feel her breathe easy.
She pulls back and nods up at me. “Okay. I’ll give you the time you need, but I want you sleeping in our bed again. I want you to hold me sometimes, too.” Her finger outlines my jaw from my ear to my chin. “I need you, Gage. I love you. We’re not going anywhere.” Her lips curl with her signature dark smile. “We are family.” She hikes on her tiptoes and lands a kiss to my cheek. “And you, Gage Oliver, belong to me.”
She stalks off down the hall and shuts the bathroom door with a bang. No sooner do I get a breather than my phone vibrates in my pocket and I fish it out to find a text from Wes.
I don’t give a shit if you and Coop are buddy buddy. Do not invite him to another event where Laken and I will also be present. I mean it, Gage. I will kick your brand new ass if I see his ugly face again. I’m sick and tired of hearing about Coop.
I stare down at my phone a good long while.
Sorry, Wes. Coop wins this round—and every foreseeable round after that. As for the ass kicking, I might just welcome it. I can use someone to let out all of my aggression on.
The day winds down. Logan picked up the boys about an hour after he dropped them off and I hung out in Eversor until I knew for a fact Chloe had waddled off to bed. I head home to the butterfly room and wait for Rory to show up and shed that Skyla grin my way.
I let out all of my aggression on her beautiful body, one deep-throated kiss at a time.
“My God, Skyla, how I’ve missed your mouth, your body.”
I show her just how much I’ve missed her, all night long.
19
Logan
There was a time in life when it felt as if everything good was disbanding from my life, everything I treasured was melting away.
For so long I thought I was cursed, inflicted with a load far too heavy for me to carry. This was not my destiny. I would not, could not accept it. And then Skyla came back, flew into my arms like an injured dove, and I wrapped my soul around her in an effort to heal her. And here we are, together again, the whole world seemingly right—seemingly because outside of the family we’re building, everything has effectively gone to hell, including the one that we love, Gage Oliver.
Lexy Bakova shakes her head as she shoves her laptop our way. “You should go with fuchsia, Skyla. I’m telling you, it’s the color of the moment.”
Emily grunts out a laugh. “Don’t listen, Mess. Nobody should go with fuchsia. She’s just bitter that she’s not the one marrying Logan, and she’s going to try to turn your wedding into a circus.”
That’s right. Skyla and I somehow let Lex talk us into becoming our wedding planner. The three of us have been huddled at the dining room table in the Landon house for the better part of an hour looking at Lexy’s favorite wedding boards on Pinterest. And, oddly, Emily, Michelle, and Bree have given far more input than either of us has.
Michelle Oliver, nee Miller, shakes her head at her long-time best friend. “Do not listen to the negativity, Lex. You and I are going to be the best event planners this side of China.”
Lex shoots a sly eye her way. “The only business we’re in together is The Enchanted Closet. And right about now, that’s a big regret.”
If looks could kill, Michelle just eviscerated Lex. “The only regret you have has to do with your inability to bag an Oliver.”
Bree thumps her knuckles over the table. “I make a motion for us to find Lex a man. Cooper Flanders is a loose goose. You’ve already been on one date. I say you land that plane, Lexy.”
Crap. I’ll have to warn Coop.
Skyla sheds an apprehensive glance my way. “I do like pink, but maybe something more neutral? Or maybe just touches of pink?”
“Pink is perfect.” I give her hand a squeeze. “You can have polka dots, unicorns that puke rainbows at our wedding—I’m just thrilled you agr
eed to show up.”
The table breaks out into a choir of coos, sans Lex who seems disgruntled at my proclamation.
Michelle jots down a wash of notes on that bright yellow legal pad she’s toting. “We’re having a joint baby shower for you and Chloe. It’s at her place, your place, whoever owns that god-awful speck next to the Olivers’.”
Bree reaches out and takes ahold of Skyla’s hand before she can respond. “You’re going to love it. Trust me when I say, you will hardly notice the fact Chloe is there.”
“I don’t care.” Skyla musters up a heroic amount of fortitude. “I didn’t even want you to go through the trouble of a baby shower.”
Michelle gives a wistful shake of the head. “So, what are you having? Girl, boy?”
“Did Chloe find out?” Skyla’s response makes me take notice. It tears me up that Gage has turned his life, and by proxy hers and mine, into a spectator sport that none of us want anything to do with.
Lex waves it off. “Chloe’s all into that life-doesn’t-give-you-all-that-many-surprises bullshit. She’ll probably have a faun—half-man, half-goat.” She smears a grin over her face. “I’m taking an online class on Shakespeare to fill in some of my GE requirements.”
“Nice”—Michelle muses—“at the pace you’re going, you should have your degree by the time you’re forty.”
“Better than none at all,” Lex quips right back. “What are you two having?” She looks to Skyla and me. We know what we’re having. But do we want the world to know what we’re having?
Bree giggles into her sleeves. “Oh, come on. You’re having your baby girl.” Her eyes fill with spontaneous tears as she looks to her best friend. “I’m sorry, but I’m so excited I can’t fight it.”
Skyla bites down over her lip a moment, that huge smile blooming is proving to be unstoppable. “I can’t fight it either. It’s true. We’re getting our little angel back.” She looks to her mother and Lizbeth howls something out that would make every werewolf proud to have her as a part of the pack.
“A girl!” Lizbeth howls once again, this time commanding the attention of the entire house.
“A girl.” I tap Skyla’s lips with my own. “Our girl. And I cannot wait to hold her again.”
Lex twirls a pencil in the air. “That brings me to my next question. Do we have the bachelorette party before your monkey comes into the world, or per tradition a weekend prior to the big day?”
Bree tips her head our way. “I don’t know. Skyla’s going to have the baby just a few weeks before the wedding.”
“And she’ll be breastfeeding.” Lizbeth is quick to toss a boob into the mix.
“I will,” Skyla adds. “Which is exactly why I don’t even want a bachelorette party. With the baby and the wedding, and my hormones going wild, I think I have enough on my plate already.”
“Screw you, Mess.” Em dots her finger over Michelle’s legal pad. “Pop it in there somewhere before she shoots the kid out. I want tapas and margaritas, dammit. And you’re not ruining this for me.”
“Fine,” Skyla concedes. “But I get a say in it.”
Bree clears her throat. “Actually, Chloe called it. And, trust me, I know how weird that sounds, but nobody is happier for you than my other bestie. She’s not going to do a thing to stop this wedding. She’s pulling out all the stops to make sure this happens for the two of you.”
Skyla drums out a husky laugh. “And there’s not a force in the universe that could keep me away on our wedding day. I’ll be walking down the aisle that day in December come hell or high water.”
Lexy clears her throat. “Yes, well. Hell seems to follow wherever you go, and seeing that this is Paragon, there will be high water. What’s the contingency plan in the event it rains?”
“It won’t rain.” Skyla shakes the thought off just as a roar of thunder rattles the windows and the storm outside rages ten times harder as if Paragon were protesting. “My mother will ensure it.”
Lizbeth chortles from the kitchen as she bops her way over with Em’s baby girl, Ella, bouncing on her hip. “Don’t you worry, Skyla. I have friends in high places, and that day is as good as filled with sunshine.”
Lex clicks her tongue without looking up from her laptop. “If you’re talking about your boyfriend Demetri, he hates Skyla.”
“But”—Michelle lifts a finger—“he likes Skyla with Logan.”
Skyla pulls out an exhaustive to-do list Lex printed out for her. “Demetri Edinger isn’t happy with me in any capacity. Don’t be fooled. That man hates me.”
“Oh, Skyla,” Lizbeth grunts as if she shot her. “That man adores you. He was rooting for you and Gage the entire time. Anything that ended that union had to do with Gage and the fact he lost his mind. He’ll come around again, Skyla. That boy loves you something fierce. It wouldn’t surprise me at all if he came crawling back right before the wedding.”
Now it’s my turn to grunt, “Gage can do what he wants, but he’s not getting Skyla back.”
“Ha!” Tad shakes the newspaper he’s holding loose, and suddenly he’s visible to the room once again. The boys are squealing in the next room with their cousins as Drake and Ethan teach them how to slaughter an entire infantry with the latest greatest video game that’s harnessed their attention. “So you’re really next, huh?” Tad leers my way.
“That’s right. I’m the lucky one.” I thread my fingers with Skyla’s.
Tad leans in and scowls at the two of us. “So where, pray tell, do the two of you expect to shack up?”
“I’ve got a house,” I’m quick to answer.
“And”—Skyla takes a breath—“we will be moving in next December. Until then, we’ll be right here.”
“Oh, thank God.” Lizbeth groans with relief. “I need to have my fill of that baby before you leave.”
Lexy scoffs. “Skyla, Logan has a house. You don’t need your mommy to take care of your baby. People traditionally move out when they’re about to start a family. Why in God’s name would you want to stay in this hovel?”
“Ah ah ah!” Tad’s voice honks like an air horn. “This ain’t no hovel, sweetie. This is a den divine. And I know exactly why these two want to hang out on the Landon gravy train. They’re hoping to scoop up a piece of the pie.”
“I’m not looking for a piece of the Landon pie,” I’m quick to correct.
Lex bags up her things and bodies rise from the table, Tad and me included.
“Sure you are. You saw what a good deal that brother of yours had going and you wanted in on it. Free food, free lodging. And now I’m going to have to stare at your rump for the better part of a year while it sticks out of my refrigerator.”
“Enjoy the view,” I say as I twirl Skyla into my arms, our baby nestled between us just the way I like it. “I’m in Skyla’s life to stay.” Which is exactly why I summoned Dudley. “I’m headed to Whitehorse. I’ve got some business to tend to.”
“I’ll go, too,” she’s quick to volunteer.
Bree pops up and carefully wraps her arms around Skyla from behind. “You’re not leaving until we hammer out every last detail. This wedding is going to be here before you know it. And believe me when I say it will be the wedding of the century.”
“The wedding of the century,” Skyla bubbles the words out as her eyes sparkle into mine. “That is exactly what this will be.” She swings our hands between us as the boys come over and I pick them both up and toss them gently until they scream with delight.
“Wedding of the century. This will be the wedding to end all weddings, Skyla.”
She lifts a brow, her hands lovingly cradling our baby. “This will be the beginning to end all beginnings.”
“To a beginning that never ends.” I lean in and press a kiss to her lips.
Skyla and I will never end. And I will do whatever is necessary to ensure just that.
It’s raining up, down, and sideways. It’s pouring from the sky as much as it seems to be coming off the ground. The heave
ns are as black as Gage Oliver’s soul. I climb out of my truck and run into Whitehorse, speeding all the way down to the Wonderground.
Dudley’s Corvette sits out front, so I know the devil is here. And sure enough, as soon as I hit the over lit halls that Ezrina keeps as sanitized as her soul, I bump right into the ball of raging testosterone.
“What?” He glowers at me a moment before taking off and I follow him down the endless white hall that gives off an otherworldly appeal.
“Where’s the fire?”
Dudley slams me to the wall and my skull feels as if it just suffered a fracture.
“I’ll tell you where the fire is, Young Oliver. In your pants and not in the war where it belongs.” He pushes me away with marked aggression. “What in heaven’s name are you thinking?” His eyes ride down to my feet, then right back up with disgust. “Never mind. I know exactly what you’re thinking. Enjoying the honeymoon, are you?”
“Not technically married yet.”
“That’s not stopping you, is it?” He continues striding down the never-ending hall as we bypass room after room, or more to the point, lab after lab.
“That’s exactly what I came to talk to you about.” I catch him by the elbow and spin him toward me before he breaks out into an all-out sprint. “I want you to give me your time with Skyla.” I hook my eyes to his and don’t let go, pleading with him silently to go along with it.
Dudley barks out a laugh as he slaps me on the shoulder. “Thank you for that. I can always count on you for a bit of levity, can’t I?” He’s right back to glowering.
“I’m serious. I was going to ask Candace, but I thought I’d run it by you first. You know, in the event you’re willing to concede.”
“Concede to what? Skyla is my betrothed. The mother of my child.” He lifts a brow. “I’m afraid it’s destined to be. Immaculate conception was a one-off. My presence will most certainly be needed to produce our little miracle.”
Shit. “Fine. You can have her one night. Conceive your child, but I’m raising it.”
All Hail the King (Celestra Forever After Book 6) Page 39