by Lacey Thorn
She heard slow footsteps then the door opened. “I see you and Zane made it back.”
Diane gasped and pushed her way in, grasping Kenzie’s face and taking in her appearance. Her eyes were swollen and red, most likely from the tears that were still falling. Kenzie had a haunted look in her eyes—a devastation that made Diane’s heart ache for the other woman.
“Oh, Kenzie,” Diane said and hugged her close.
Kenzie clung to her for a long moment.
“I don’t know what to do,” Kenzie said. “I hurt. Here.” She touched her heart. “And here.” She dropped her hand down toward her belly, but Diane understood what she meant.
“I’m sorry, Kenzie,” Diane said in an attempt to soothe her.
“Did Zane talk to Tah?” Kenzie asked.
Diane nodded.
“So they know. They know my mate didn’t want me.”
“That’s not true” Diane argued.
“It’s the truth,” Kenzie said sadly.
“He left to protect you,” Diane countered. “Zane said it nearly tore Angel apart to leave you.”
“Gabriel,” Kenzie said. “His name is Gabriel.”
Diane nodded. “Gabriel then. Zane said he saw how hard it was for Gabriel to leave you. But think of the danger he’s in. We’re in danger, and I’ve never killed anyone in my life. Gabriel is the Angel. He attacks. He took out twelve men to get to you. I’m sure his enemies are vast and many. Of course, he’d want to protect you from that.”
Kenzie perked up. “You think that’s what he’s doing?”
Diane nodded. “Yes, I do.”
“God, it hurts. If he couldn’t stay, he should have never touched me. Then I wouldn’t be in this mess.”
“We’re all here for you,” Diane assured Kenzie. “And hopefully, you’ll be too busy over the next month to dwell on it.”
Kenzie raised wide eyes to Diane. “What do you mean?”
“That hunting party came too close to finding us. If Angel…if Gabriel hadn’t been here, we could be in a world of trouble right now. God, if those hunters had attacked while Abby was in labor.”
“Abby went into labor?” Kenzie asked.
“Yes, before you got here apparently. I delivered the baby,” Diane said and Kenzie flushed. “They have a baby girl. Regan Marie. She’s absolutely adorable. Abby would love for you to go see them.”
“Does Abby know about me?” Kenzie asked.
Diane nodded. “I told both her and Amia when I went to check on Abby and Regan. You need your friends right now, Kenzie, and we’re all here for you.”
Kenzie walked over, picked up a tissue and blew her nose. “God, I hate crying. It distorts my sense of smell.”
Diane dropped her hand to her belly, cradling the life already forming inside her. Kenzie wouldn’t be able to pick up on the change in Diane through scent. But was now the right time to share the news? Diane wasn’t certain, and the last thing she wanted to do was make her friend sadder.
Kenzie glanced at her, taking her in from head to toe before her gaze settled on Diane’s stomach. “You’re pregnant?”
Diane nodded, feeling guilty to have such joy filling her when her friend was obviously in pain. “Zane told me earlier. Hard to keep these things a secret in a house like this.”
Kenzie laughed. “Unless you were to hide yourself in your room and not see anyone.”
“I can’t do that,” Diane said then felt her eyes widen as her gaze swept Kenzie. “Wait. Are you saying what I think you are?”
“Gabriel mated me,” Kenzie said softly. “In every sense of the word. When I woke up, I felt the heat on me. The Professor gave me the shot first, remember? I thought it was funny, me getting a tetanus shot.”
“It worked on you, too.” Diane moaned, guilt eating at her now. “Oh, my God. I’m so sorry. This is my fault.”
“Stop, neither one of us knew what he was really giving us. Hell, I’m sure this wasn’t even on the Professor’s radar as a possibility. Besides, I don’t know for sure, yet. But it’s likely I may be pregnant with Gabriel’s child.”
“He didn’t…” Diane broke off as Kenzie glared at her.
“Mates don’t rape. You know that.” Kenzie shook her head. “I’m the one that forced this. I pushed until his control broke, and he took me. And I’m not sorry.” She sighed. “Even had I known he would leave me, I still would have pushed. And I feel guilty, but I really hope there is a baby in here, so at least I’ll have that much of him with me.”
“Oh, Kenzie,” Diane said.
“Yeah,” Kenzie said. “That’s exactly how I feel.”
Chapter Sixteen
Diane leaned over the monitor, rubbing her eyes as she looked again at the computer data on the strain of virus in Zane’s blood sample then flipped to what was in Gideon’s. It was similar enough to make her confident that Gideon had some version of the feral fever virus. But there was something different about what was in Gideon’s blood. It was that difference that scared Diane. Once again, they had no idea what they were dealing with.
“Hey.” Zane’s voice called to her as he entered the lab and headed toward her. “You ready to call it a night?”
She nodded. “It looks like Gideon has a variant of the fever, as well,” she told Zane. “I have no idea how he’s going to react.”
“We’ll figure it out,” Zane vowed as he rubbed her shoulders. “Right now, I want my mate to come to bed with me.”
“Mhmm,” she said and rolled her neck on her shoulders. “That feels good.”
“Just think of where I could get to if we were in bed,” he murmured. “Naked.”
She laughed. “Give me a second to wrap this up?”
“Of course,” Zane assured her.
She took a few more minutes to look at the similarities again then shook her head over the differences. She hadn’t bothered pulling Logan’s up as he was human and both Zane and Gideon were shifters. The anomalies in Logan’s blood were even more unique. She would give almost anything to get her hands on some hunter files showing exactly what they were dealing with. It would save a lot of time and countless headaches.
“Diane,” Zane said.
“Just one more sec,” she said, not taking her eyes off the computer as she went about closing her files and shutting everything down. “Almost…there. Done.”
She turned and caught her breath at the sight before her. Zane must have decided the bedroom was optional. He’d stripped out of his clothes and stood there stroking the long, thick length of his cock.
“Strip for me,” he ordered. “Nice and slow.”
She smiled and reached for the hem of her shirt, easing it up her torso before finally tugging it over her head and tossing it aside. She ran her hands down over her chest, taking the time to lift and caress her breasts through the bra she wore and even rubbing across her already hardened nipples. She skimmed her fingers over her belly and reached for the button on her jeans then pulled down the zipper. She spread the material wide, revealing her matching panties and teased him by running a finger along the top lacy band.
“Take them off,” he commanded. His eyes were golden fire.
She shimmied, and the material slid free to land like cuffs around her ankles where her shoes prevented her from stepping out. She started to bend to remove the shoes, but Zane was there first.
“Let me,” he crooned, lifting one foot to his thigh, untying her shoe and sliding her foot free of both it and her sock. He removed her jeans and lifted her freed leg to his mouth, placing a kiss on the sole of her foot before lowering it and reaching for the other.
He glanced up at her as he dragged the jeans off her other foot.
“Did you forget these?”
His fingers traced the edges of her panties.
“I left them for you,” she said.
“Did you?” he asked with a heated smile. He reached up and grabbed both sides of her panties, ripping them so they fell from her hips to land on the floo
r.
“Zane, I liked those,” she tried to scold, but it came out as more of a moan when he stroked a finger along the wet seam of her sex.
“We’ll get you more,” he promised and leaned forward, pressing kisses along the path his finger had just taken. He groaned against her and the sound vibrated, sending waves of pleasure through her.
“Zane,” she moaned again, reaching down with one hand to grip his hair and hold him there.
His warm breath fanned her swollen clit seconds before she felt the hard brush of his tongue. Up, over and around he went, again and again, and her thighs trembled from the exertion required to stay upright.
“Zane, I’m going to fall,” she whispered.
He stood quickly, sweeping her high against his chest. He didn’t turn to head down the corridor to the bedroom. Instead, he placed her on the exam table, urging her to lie back before pulling her bottom to the end. He spread her thighs wide and his head lowered once again, his tongue licking a fiery path from clit to opening.
“Ahhh,” she cried out as he thrust a finger deep inside her and began pumping it in and out. His lips wrapped around her clit, sucking gently on the bud. She pressed the heels of both hands beside her hips and rocked her hips up into his finger and mouth. She was close, so close to flying.
“Come for me,” he whispered against her sex then turned and scraped his canines against the inside of her thigh.
“Oh, God!” she cried out as her body shook with release.
He removed his finger and replaced it with his mouth, using his tongue to lap up the juices spilling from her.
“Mhmm,” he groaned, detonating another orgasm off inside her. Still, he kept licking and sucking, keeping her in the moment without allowing her to come down. When he finally eased up, she was boneless.
“I like seeing you this way,” Zane said as he stood, his hips spreading her dangling legs wider. “All wet and ready for anything. Can you take more, baby?”
She dipped her chin and licked her lips as her gaze landed on his bobbing erection.
“Are you sure?” he asked, running it along her folds.
She nodded eagerly.
“Tell me,” he ordered.
“Yes,” she answered.
“You want my cock, baby?”
“God, yes,” she moaned.”
He grinned down at her and gripped her thighs, putting his hands on the table and maneuvering her legs until her knees hung over his elbows. He leaned in close again, and his cockhead lodged at her pussy.
“Slow and easy,” he promised. “Until you beg me to take you hard, to take you fast.”
“Hard and fast,” she said, and he laughed.
“Not yet, baby. I want to savor you.”
He did exactly as he said, his cock easing in and out of her slowly. She tried to tighten around him in a bid to make him as crazy as he was making her, but he just smiled at her and kept the same pace.
“Feel me, baby. Feel how good we are together. We were made for each other,” he purred.
“I’m glad it was you,” she panted. “Glad I waited even before I knew I was waiting for you.”
“Me, too,” he swore. “I’ll be the only man who will ever know you like this. You’re mine. Mine,” he rumbled.
“Yours,” she agreed. “Give it to me harder, Zane. Faster. Deeper. Please.”
The purr rumbled from his chest again as he gave in, his hips pumping faster as he slammed in and out of her. It was exactly what she wanted. Her ass rocked against the vinyl as he picked up speed. She reached down, clenching her fingers over where his gripped the table and arched her breasts high, head dropping between her shoulders as she came around his pistoning cock.
“Fuck, yes,” Zane groaned. “Milk my cock. That’s it, baby. Ahhh!”
He thrust deep and held himself buried inside her as his cock jerked and filled her with warm splashes of seed. They stayed locked there for a long moment before he gently moved his hands, turning them in to cup the backs of her thighs and slide her legs down off his arms. He reached for her face and brushed a strand of hair away.
“I wasn’t too rough, was I?”
“Not possible,” she swore, wiggling her hips and loving the tug as his cock moved inside her.
He leaned over her, pinning her chest to the table with his. “I love you, Diane Renway. When we get the chance, I’d like to share the claiming ceremony with you. And if you’d like, we could be married.”
A smile split her face as she began to nod. “Yes. To both or either or whichever we can arrange. I love you, Zane Ephraim, and with or without a ceremony, I plan to spend the rest of my life showing you how much.”
“I know there’s a lot going on,” he said. “Three of us showing differing signs of feral fever. Lydia. Dillon. Moving west. Abby and the new baby. Kenzie. I want you to know that I will be here for you, in any and every way you need.” He glanced down when she tensed. “What?”
She wasn’t sure what to say, but she knew she couldn’t keep secrets from her mate. “The shot the Professor gave me.”
Zane nodded.
“He gave it to Kenzie, too.”
“I smelled she was close to heat,” Zane admitted. “When I walked into the cabin, and the scent of sex was thick.”
“You didn’t say anything,” she accused.
He sighed. “I’m sorry. I should have.”
“What’s she going to do if she’s pregnant?”
“I have a number to call. I won’t hesitate to use it if she’s pregnant. Did she tell you she was?”
Diane shook her head. “It’s too early. She’s just beginning to ovulate. I’m not sure how long shifter sperm will survive inside her. All we can do right now is wait and see what happens. And be there for her.”
“We’ll keep an eye on her,” Zane promised.
“She won’t want him to know,” Diane said sadly. “He left her. He made his choice, and it wasn’t his mate.”
“I know,” Zane agreed. “But I smelled the change beginning in her when I arrived. I wasn’t completely sure because my senses were wrapped up in you and your body’s needs. But I sensed something. As her mate, he would have felt it, and knowing all of this, I’m betting it played a hand in his inability to leave her untouched. He knows the possibility exists she could conceive. He’s not just trying to protect his mate. He’s trying to protect the unborn child she may end up carrying. God! Tah’s right. This is a fucking mess.”
“I’m so glad I have you,” Diane whispered.
“I’ll always be here for you,” Zane vowed.
“I’ll be here for you, as well,” Diane stated. “This is just the beginning for us.”
“Here’s to new beginnings,” Zane agreed and planted a heated kiss on her lips. “Now let’s go to bed,” he purred.
Diane giggled as he stepped back, his spent cock slipping completely free, before he lifted her into his arms. Whoever made it to the labs first tomorrow would find a pile of discarded clothes on the floor, and this time, they belonged to her and her mate. If she’d wanted to do one more thing before they left Colorado and this house behind, making love in the labs would have been at the top of her list. Finally, it was her turn for love.
About the Author
Lacey Thorn spends her days in small town Indiana, the proud mother of three. When she is not busy with one of them, she can be found typing away on her computer keyboard or burying her nose in a good book. Like every woman, she knows just how chaotic life can be and how appealing that great escape can look.
So, toss aside the stress and tension of the never-ending to-do list. For now sit back, relax, and enjoy the ride with Lacey. It’s your world…unlaced.
Lacey loves to talk to her readers and can be found at www.lacythorn.com. Join Lacey on
Facebook at: http://www.facebook.com/#!/authorlaceythorn Or on Twitter at
@laceythorn1And feel free to email the author at [email protected].
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