by Claire Marta
“Okay,” she breathed. “I give up. Just what the fuck are you? Aliens? Monsters? Demons?”
“God forbid!” Iosefa exclaimed. “Our kind serves to ward off such evil. We have been doing it for centuries.”
Armed with this knowledge, she looked at Malik again and watched him shift back to his human robe of flesh. “You… you’re gargoyles. You’re gargoyles but you look like us. How is that even possible?”
“By the Grace of God,” Malik told her, crossing to join them. “When we took on these bodies, we were sent on a mission to find our perfect mates, to join with them and increase. Transformation only takes place in a fated mate. Morgan was the first to be found. You are the second. Our other brothers have yet to find their one true love.”
Casey didn’t bother hiding her look of hurt. Morgan’s duplicity was troubling. “Why the hell didn’t she tell me?”
Iosefa seemed to take heart that at least she’d said tell and not warn.
“She is sworn to secrecy, the same as you must be. Surely you realize the danger we would be in if others knew. The challenges will come soon enough. With our extended life expectancy, if we remain in one place long enough without creating new identities, the government will know that we are not what we seem. They will not hesitate to take us. Use us. Experiment on us. Humans fear what they do not understand. But the world needs us. Without us and others of our kind, the world will fall to the forces of darkness. We are pledged to see that the Light prevails. We serve to protect mankind and the world that the All-Father created. These robes of flesh were created for an even greater good—to help humans evolve, to take the next step toward returning to their twelve-strand potential.”
Casey pressed a hand over her womb. “And you’re telling me that I have a baby gargoyle growing inside me. With wings and claws and… holy shit. What happens when it’s born? Forget hiding it. It’s a viral post waiting to happen. We can never do walks in the park. Playdates. School…”
“Tobias has thought of this,” Malik told her. “You’ve seen the Citadel. We have a birthing room. A nursery. Emmett is prepared to homeschool. It’s our understanding that our children will look as human as we do, but they are certain to have special abilities. Superior strength. Possibly wings. Maybe not. The ability to shift should come with puberty. The sign that they have achieved a certain maturity. Although we cannot be sure. These children will be the first of their kind.”
Casey was trying to process everything they were saying. Her mind was still fragile from all that had happened. Yet deep down in her soul, something was whispering, filling her with acceptance and loving warmth. Telling her that what they were saying was the truth. That this was her destined path. There was nothing to fear.
Iosefa’s arms were still wrapped tightly around her as if he were frightened she might flee. Malik stood before her. The way his gaze wandered over her so lovingly made Casey’s heart ache. Yet the gaping unknown and the misery she’d lived with for so long held her back.
“I don’t know what to do,” she admitted in a small, vulnerable voice.
“Trust us,” Malik urged with a smile. “Let us love you and everything else will fall into place.”
Was it that simple? Her world was filled with rules and regulations and fraught with danger. Casey had joined the ATF to find her brother’s killer. The past two years, she’d lived for Ben. It was time to do what was right for her… to live for herself and her child.
“Helena is dying,” she told them quietly. “She has a few months to live at most. I don’t know how or if her accident will speed the process, but she needs help while her arm heals and she’ll need help when the cancer progresses. Say, your special powers don’t include miraculous healing?” she asked hopefully.
“Sorry,” Iosefa crooned, shaking his head sadly. “That gift is not one that we possess. We have accelerated healing and some regenerative abilities, but we can only do what is allowed. No more.”
Malik nodded, his mood somber after learning of Helena’s cancer. “I wish we could,” he told her. “To take away pain…, to perform miraculous healings…, what a gift that would be. But we are fortunate to heal quickly. It is a blessing, to be sure.”
Casey lapsed into a moment of silence, her head crowded with everything she now knew. “I need time to think. I need to focus on Helena in the time that we have left. I’m her goddaughter and heir and there’s so much I need to know… to learn… Especially about The Secret Garden Club. I’ve never managed a business, let alone a kink club. But at least I’ll have something to do when I leave the ATF.”
“You’re leaving?” Iosefa asked, relief flooding his features.
“I’ll email Mendez today and give him my two-weeks’ notice. With accrued vacation time, I won’t be going back to work when my doctor releases me. I refuse to put our baby at risk. I’m done.”
“When one door closes, another opens,” Malik reminded her. “It is time for something new. Safer. Time to make a better future than you could have imagined. We understand your circumstances. Precious Pet is dear to you. You need to be here for her, and we want you to know that we support your real-life choices. But,” he added, shifting to his true voice, “you must also remember that we are your Dominants, your lovers, and the fathers of your child. You’re not alone anymore. We are here for you, Casey Andersson. Whatever you need, if there is any way that we can help you, just say the word and we will do our best to see it done.”
Casey’s body reacted to his voice but with it came a wave of panic. She took a deep breath and released it before speaking. “If this is going to happen between us, we need to take it slow. I’m... I’m not sure I’ll be the same as I was before Ivan. What happened… you have to understand…, I don’t know how long it will take me to be intimate with someone again. Or if I even can. I have flashbacks, nightmares. I’m broken.”
Caressing her cheek with his finger, Iosefa’s touch soothed her anxiety. “We will help you heal. And Morgan is a psychologist. She will know how to help you take back your power. Reclaim the fire he stole from you. Malik and I will not push you into anything. We will not make you do anything you are not ready to do.”
Casey melted slightly into his hold but was still not fully able to let go. Not completely. “Thank you… I’m sorry.”
“Hush,” Malik hummed. “You have nothing to apologize for. We understand and we accept. I have one request, though. Would you spend Christmas Eve with us?”
She nodded, not having to give it any thought because it felt like the right thing to do. “I’d like that.”
There was still so much she didn’t understand. So much more to know about these men. Mysteries and secrets to learn. A future that was unfolding with two males who loved her and their child that was growing inside her.
Finding his shirt, Malik slipped it on and quickly re-buttoned it. “I sense you have more questions brewing within you, but we should put Helena’s mind at ease. She has been pacing for quite some time.”
Casey glanced suspiciously towards the door. “Let me guess. Super hearing?”
He smirked and gave her a wink.
In response, she rolled her eyes, stepping out of Iosefa’s embrace and entwining her fingers with his. “I’m going to need to know everything you can do. And I mean everything.”
When she offered her free hand to Malik, he took it without hesitation. “Precious Pet first,” he reminded her. “All else will follow.”
Casey led them through the palatial home to the large solarium located in the southwest corner of the house. Here, the glass walls and ceiling captured the most light in winter, allowing a roomful of rare and tropical plants to thrive under her godmother’s loving care.
Helena was sitting in her favorite cushioned wicker chair. A laden tea cart sat nearby. Her godmother directed the men to take the matching sofa across from her and patted the arm of the chair next to hers for Casey to sit.
“Casey, if you would serve us, please?”
Playing hostess, C
asey filled three cups and set platters of finger sandwiches, biscuits, and scones on the glass-topped coffee table. Adding a bowl of fresh ripe strawberries that she’d been craving lately, she poured the last cup of tea for herself and took a seat.
Unable to hold the saucer with her broken arm, Helena carefully lifted her cup to her lips, took a sip, and sighed with pleasure. The men sipped their afternoon Earl Grey under her watchful eye.
“Things are settled?” the older woman inquired.
Casey smiled. “Moses and Aaron have explained the situation. We’re going to take things slow for now.”
Happiness twinkled in Helena’s eyes. She looked pleased that the truth of their identities at the club had finally been revealed. “As their new boss, I expect you to see that they become Master Gardeners and make me proud.”
Christ on a cracker. Helena was right. Obviously, there were things that Casey hadn’t considered. Malik and Iosefa would be under as well as over her.
She wondered how in the hell that was going to work.
They’d have to maintain a clear separation of real life and playtime. There were times when she would be their superior and times that they would top her. Just the thought of them playing with anyone else made her gut clench and her teeth grate. Moses and Aaron were her Doms. She might be topping from the bottom, but she’d have their nuts if they tried to Dom anyone else. They needed to save those magical voices of theirs to send her into subspace.
“Did Casey tell you about me?” Helena asked them, sounding curious, nothing more.
“Yes,” Malik told her. “We are sorry to hear it. But we promise you, we will watch over her and keep her safe. Keep them both safe.”
Her godmother smiled. “I think you will,” she agreed. “Casey, dear, I’ll be calling my lawyer tomorrow, setting up a trust fund for your baby.” She looked at Iosefa and Malik. “I hope to keep them both safe, too. There’s money, property. Enough for them to both live more than comfortably even though Casey is a very rich woman already. If anything should happen, you have the means to disappear.”
Casey hadn’t talked to Malik and Iosefa about her finances. Morgan knew that she had money, but even her best friend didn’t know the extent of her family’s wealth. She shifted in her chair. If anything should happen, you have the means to disappear. Helena was alluding to Ivan. What could happen if he was ever set free. Not that it would. The evidence weighed heavily against him. Life in prison was looming.
She didn’t want to think about disappearing. Didn’t want to think about starting over with a baby and being alone. Fate had brought Malik and Iosefa into her life. For better or worse, she had fallen in love with them. She’d been transformed by them. She carried their child in her body. In this season of miracles, she was being offered a chance to have the family that she wanted and the happiness that she deserved.
It almost seemed too good to be true.
CHAPTER TWENTY-NINE
Casey took one last look around to make sure that she had everything. Her concealed-carry purse was with her coat. The presents she’d wrapped were in a sturdy handled shopping bag.
Grant, the Green Team’s leader, was something of a chef. He’d made fudge, divinity, peanut brittle, and an assortment of cookies, artfully arranged on a platter. While the rest of their team remained here, Grant and Tucker were assigned to drive her into the city, with plans to spend the day at the Citadel and drive back this evening.
Hopefully, her two bodyguards could find something to do there while she was with Iosefa and Malik.
Guilt assailed her for leaving Helena alone today. Deserting her when she deserved her full attention. At breakfast, all she could think about was that tomorrow would be their last Christmas together.
She looked at her security detail. “I know we’re already running late. I’ll be right back,” she told them, wanting to check on Helena one last time.
Her godmother wasn’t downstairs. Acting on a hunch, she went upstairs and headed for Helena’s room, thinking she might be taking another nap. She seemed to be needing more sleep these days, especially since Dennis had been released from rehab. He was convalescing here, despite the toll it was taking on Helena, seeing him hurt when he’d spent years driving and protecting her.
Casey heard a giggle coming from Dennis’s room and stopped abruptly. Was that…?
She drew closer. The door was wide open. There was no hiding the sight of Helena’s naked back sliding beneath the covers of Dennis’s hospital bed.
“You’ve been a naughty girl,” he growled. “I can’t spank you just yet, but don’t think I’m not keeping track. There’s a paddle with your name and a growing number on it, my Precious Pet.”
Christ on a cracker.
Helena and Dennis? The rich widow and her chauffeur?
Oh, my God. The submissive who’d lost her husband, partner, and Dominant had found another Master Gardener in her driver/bodyguard.
How fucking romantic was that?
Refusing to intrude on their private moment, she tiptoed back downstairs.
The trip took nearly three hours in holiday traffic. Casey sat nervously in the rear of the vehicle. Sending off a text hadn’t eased her anxiousness. She’d been experiencing bouts of morning sickness the last few days that put the pregnancy into sharp reality. Even knowing it wasn’t Ivan’s, a part of her wanted reassurance.
The front gates opened smoothly when they arrived without the need for calling through as if someone was expecting them. Two someone’s, Casey corrected. Since they weren’t here, they must be inside.
The outside of the Citadel was decked with white fairy lights that twinkled in the dark. A life-sized nativity scene had been set out on the winter-brown front lawn. A serene Mary sat cradling a baby Jesus. Joseph stood protectively beside them as the shepherds looked on in wonder. Far off across the expansive property, the shapes of three camels and riders were silhouetted by a star that hung from a security light.
“Wow,” Casey breathed, taking it all in as she exited the car. It looked like they took Christmas pretty seriously. These kinds of things weren’t cheap.
Grant retrieved the platter of cookies and treats from the seat beside her. Clutching her bag of gifts, Casey slipped out of the car.
Stepping up to the front doors with her bodyguards, she was greeted by Tobias holding a present in his hand.
“Merry Christmas, Casey. Morgan left this for you. She made me promise to give it to you first thing. I do not think she trusted Malik and Iosefa to not peek.”
Casey had called Tobias earlier to let him know that Christmas presents were coming. The cadre superior actually winked and smiled. Handing her the wrapped square box, he ushered her and the men inside. “I will show you up to Malik and Iosefa. They’ve been waiting for you patiently... for longer than you can imagine.”
“Merry Christmas,” she replied, clutching the reminder of Morgan’s absence. Her friend had flown home to see her parents with Zac and Aiden in tow.
Knowing what she did now, her usual ready words were missing.
Sounds of life were coming from the communal living area. A video game tournament by the noise. Voices raised. Laughter. The delicious scent of cooking infused the air, wafting from the kitchen somewhere else in the building.
“We’ll go join in on the fun,” Tucker told her with a grin. Grant gave her a nod as he passed, still carrying the platter. When they vanished into the room, a chorus of cheers went up. Casey frowned. They were acting a little too friendly. As if they all knew each other.
“Come with me,” Tobias instructed, gesturing along the corridor. Together, they headed upstairs. Casey held onto her purse, Morgan’s present, and the bag with the ones that she’d brought.
Pausing on the second-floor landing, he turned to her. “I have the items you had sent in my office. You are very generous. The men will love them.”
Casey flashed him a smile of relief. “Thank you. I tried to think of something they both like and hope
d that the others would, too.”
She’d been around them for months but with the secrets that they carried, she was only starting to really learn about them. All things considered, she knew very little about Malik and Iosefa but she loved and trusted them with her life.
For now, it was enough.
With her heart singing at the thought of seeing them again, Casey knew it was time to let her walls down completely. To let them in. Get to know the two men who’d watched her from afar since Morgan brought them to her door and protected her without her being aware of it.
They had loved her in secret and swore that they’d given her a child.
Come August, they would see. As much as she wanted to believe it, a part of her remained afraid that it was Ivan’s. She tamped down her fear, refusing to let memories of the Russian bratok spoil the day. This was her time with Malik and Iosefa. Their first holiday together. She hoped to make it full of happier memories without the ghost of her recent past spoiling things.
Tobias kept going, taking her to the third floor. Malik and Iosefa were waiting in the hall beside the opened door of their apartment, dressed in form-fitted jeans and button-down shirts.
“Thank you,” Casey told their leader, feeling suddenly nervous. She felt like she was a foreigner who’d arrived in a strange land without any idea of what to expect.
“Let me take your coat,” Malik said warmly, flashing his trademark grin. Iosefa held out his hands, offering to hold her things for her. Casey surrendered them and shed her coat, glad to get rid of it after walking up all those stairs. No wonder their calves were in such great shape. Their work as rehabbers doubtless helped, too. But their bodies were too sculpted to look like they did without some kind of workout program. No one achieved that look by labor alone.
Casey handed Malik her coat and watched him hang it in a small closet in the hallway that branched off the living room. Their space was decorated in earth tones with an eclectic mix of Art Deco, Neo-Classical, and industrial urban elements. A large brown leather sofa, matching loveseat, oversized ottoman, and recliner flanked a Mission-style coffee table where Iosefa deposited her things. The entertainment center across the room held an impressive wide-screen TV. Soft, orchestral Christmas music came from a Frank Lloyd Wright-inspired armoire that held a state-of-the-art sound system, shelves of CDs, and a collection of vinyl records.