by Donya Lynne
"Yes, I’m ready." Ari got out of the car and walked around and took Sev’s hand, gripping it hard as his knees wobbled like they were filled with gelatin. "I’m not letting go of you in there. If I do, I might fall over. I’m so nervous."
Sev nodded at him. "I’ll hold you up if that’s what it takes, babe. Now, deep breath. I love you. You can do this."
"Okay, let’s go."
Ari walked side-by-side with Sev into his parents’ home, not bothering to ring the doorbell. This was as much his home – at least until his father disowned him in the next ten minutes – as it was theirs, so he had every right to barge in unannounced.
The smell of roasted meat and herbs drifted on the air and Ari followed the aroma into the dining room.
Unexpectedly, his parents were having dinner with Sev’s father, Lakota, and all five of them stopped and looked at each other. Sev tensed and Ari reached over with his other hand and steadied him. His father’s and mother’s gazes dropped to his hand clasping Sev’s, and the color drained from their faces.
"Arion?" His mother said.
"Son?" Lakota stood.
"This is your son?" Ari's mom stood up with a gasp.
Lakota's gaze never wavered from Sev's. "Yes. That’s my son." Lakota’s voice sounded strong and proud, and Ari thought he felt Severin bend emotionally just a little bit, but in a good way.
"What’s going on here?" Ari’s father rose from his own chair and took a step forward, his scowl fixed on their clasped hands.
Ari cleared his throat and tightened his grip on Sev. He felt so small in the gigantic room big enough to comfortably fit more than twenty dinner guests. The massive table shined, freshly polished after every meal. The chandelier sparkled, the windows gleamed, everything in the room was spotless and perfect, and suddenly Ari realized how wrong this entire house and everything in it was for him.
He lifted his head proudly, almost regally, and pulled Sev further into the room. "Mom. Dad. This is Severin Bannon, and I love him. I love him with my heart and soul, and," he turned and looked into Sev’s amazing blue eyes, "he’s my mate."
"This can’t be happening. Oh my God, what will our friends think?" His mom sounded positively panicked.
Ari rolled his eyes dramatically and looked at Sev, who grinned back at him.
"Oh, and I quit my job," he said, keeping his eyes on Sev’s. Then he said, "That’s what I put on Tristan’s desk: My notice."
Sev nodded approvingly.
His parents fussed and stammered, blabbering about their friends, the king, Persephone – everyone and everything but Ari.
"I love you," Sev said.
"I love you, too." Ari leaned forward and kissed him.
His mom gasped. His dad growled. But Ari didn’t care. He had what he wanted right here in his arms.
"You’re marrying Persephone, Ari, and that’s final!" His dad slammed his fist against the table and stomped his foot like a petulant child.
"No, I’m not." Ari refused to look away from Sev.
"He’s marrying me." Sev’s eyes twinkled. "He’ll be my husband or no one’s."
His parents fell into uproar, but their protests and pleas fell on deaf ears.
"Come on, babe. Let’s go home." Sev kissed his forehead.
Ari nodded. "You are my home."
* * *
Sev glanced back at his dad as he and Ari turned for the door.
His father had a grin on his face the size of Montana, and while Gregos and Christa argued and consoled each other, his dad tossed his napkin on the table and stepped away from his chair.
Once he and Ari reached the front porch, Ari stopped and looked up at the night sky.
"God, this feels good," he said.
"You feel good." Sev pulled Ari back into his arms and they looked up at the stars together.
The door opened behind them and his father stepped outside. He hardly slowed down as he passed them, but he did meet Sev’s eyes for the briefest moment. "I’m proud of you, son," he said. "Ari." He nodded at Ari then descended the steps in three long strides.
Sev just watched him go.
"Do you think you and your dad will ever kiss and make up?" Ari leaned back against him and placed his hand over Sev's around his waist.
"I don’t know." But Sev had a funny feeling they would. Not tonight and not tomorrow, and maybe not even next month, but maybe someday. Hell, if he could forgive the person who had tried to kill him, anything was possible. He watched his father’s Suburban pull around and head down the driveway.
"Come on, I’ve got more doctor’s orders for you when we get home." Ari turned around and kissed him.
"Mmm, doctor’s orders, huh?" Sev grinned. "Do they include digging into the drawer of your nightstand?"
Ari blushed and bit his lip. "Maybe. If you can handle it."
"Oh, I think I can handle it." Sev's left eyebrow shot up confidently.
Ari grinned and placed his palm on Sev's chest. "I'll take good care of your warrior heart." He caressed his hand up and down tenderly over Sev's sternum.
Sev shook his head. "Huh-uh, babe." What Ari had just done in his parents' dining room had taken more courage than anything Sev had ever faced. "You’re the one with the true heart of a warrior, Ari, not me."
"Seriously? You really think so?"
Sev shook his head again. "I know so." He brushed their mouths together. "Come on, babe. Let's go home."
Ari's fingers linked with Sev's and he took a deep, satisfied breath as they started down the steps. It felt good to be openly mated.
CHAPTER THIRTY-ONE
Ari checked his reflection in the mirror for the fifth time. "Are you sure I look okay."
Sev stepped up behind him and wrapped his arms around his waist. "This is what I love about you. You're going to meet my mother, who's a dreck, and who most vampires wouldn't give a rat's ass about making an impression for, but you want to make an impression." Sev grinned and kissed his cheek.
He leaned back against Sev. "Dreck or not, she's your mother. She's important to you. So, yeah, I want to make a good impression. I want her to like me."
Sev's arms tightened around him. "You look perfect, babe. My mom'll love you. Stop worrying."
Okay, so maybe Ari was being a little neurotic, but he really wanted Sev's mom to like him. They were going to spend the rest of their lives loving her son, and that would go over much better if they got along.
Sev kissed his cheek again then pulled away to finish getting ready. Ari sighed and brushed his palms down his black cashmere sweater then wandered past the bed they had spent the last three days soiling. They were making up for the time they'd lost while Sev had been in the hospital. Even now, the urge to take Sev again was already building inside him, and they just made love an hour ago. And an hour before that. And just a few hours before that, when Sev had awakened him in a fit of need.
He knew the pull was stronger between them since they were both males, but he had a greater respect for females of the newly-mated now. Man, what the calling phase put a body through. It was both bliss and agony.
"We'll need to hurry home," he said.
"I know. I feel it, too." Sev darted a smoldering look at him.
God, Sev really shouldn't look at him like that. Especially when they needed to be walking out the door.
"She won't be upset that we can't stay longer?" Ari grabbed his jacket.
Sev shook his head and joined him. "No. She understands."
"Just don't touch me a lot and I'll be okay." Ari started up the stairs.
Sev's hand caressed his ass and he nearly fell over from the strike of hormonal heat that surged through him.
"Damn it, Sev!" Ari turned around on the stairs and slapped Sev's hand away.
Sev chuckled at him. "I'm sorry. I couldn't help it."
Ari shook his head in frustration, but ended up laughing, anyway. "I'll make you pay for that later."
"Promises, promises."
Ari turned and
continued up the stairs. "Oh, I mean it. Count on that."
* * *
Sev grinned at the back of Ari's head as he followed him up the stairs then out to the garage, where they got in his Challenger.
After backing out of the garage and pulling onto the street, Sev reached for Ari's hand at the same time he reached for Sev's. He loved how they always seemed to be in sync with one another.
The last few days had been exhausting bliss with Arion. All the shit that had been interfering with their relationship finally found a place in the past, leaving only the two of them with no obstacles to overcome. No secrets. No meddling parents. No one trying to kill him. Just Sev and Ari. And they had taken advantage of the calling as it re-engaged at full strength. They shut off their phones and holed up in his basement bedroom except to eat and drink. And wash the sheets, of course. Sev had changed the sheets more times in the last three days than he had in a year.
"Do you want to have kids someday?" Ari said out of the blue.
Sev glanced over. "I don't think either of us has the right equipment for that, babe."
Ari grinned and rolled his eyes. "No shit."
Sev laughed.
"I mean, we can adopt. Or even try in vitro with a willing female."
Where was this coming from? Was Arion feeling the instinct to nest with him? Build a family. Sev liked the idea of having a family with Arion.
"Well, if we do anything, we'll have to decide whether we want a human young or a vampire."
"Or a dreck." Arion looked at him and gave a slight shrug, as if to say, Why not?
"Okay, yeah. That's a possibility, too." Sev squeezed Ari's hand. "I didn't know you wanted kids, babe."
"I didn't either, but for the past few days I've been thinking a lot about it."
Not unusual for a male caught in the throes of his newly-mated hormones, which demanded he sow his seeds often to ensure fertilization. Sev had to admit, he had been considering a child, too.
"Let's wait until the calling wears off and then talk about it again. That way we can see if it's just the calling or if we really want a family."
"Good idea."
A child of their own. What an idea. Sev had never thought he would have a family because of his sexual orientation. Can't have many kids of your own when you like to dip your wick into people of the male persuasion. You didn't see a lot of pregnant males, after all. Try never. Sev hadn't even considered adoption, though. But then, he had never been mated. Taking a mate had a way of changing your plans for the future, including the idea of children.
His mom would love having a grandchild, but, like him, she had never thought it would happen. Now, with Arion, Sev thought it just might.
It took them twenty minutes to get to his mom's house.
"You ready?" He looked at Ari as he shut off the engine.
Ari took a deep breath and nodded. "Yep."
Ari really didn't have anything to worry about. His mom was going to love him. But that was something Ari would have to find out on his own, apparently.
Hand-in-hand, they headed up the walkway to her townhome and he rang the bell. Within seconds, his mom pulled open the door and beamed at Ari.
"It's about time you boys got here." She stepped aside and the smell of homemade lasagna assaulted his nose.
"That smells delicious," Ari said.
"My mom cooks the best Italian." Sev hugged his mom and kissed her cheek. "Mom, this is Arion. My mate. Arion, this is Feelee. My mom." He had never introduced her to anyone as his mom before. Wow! The two most important people in his life, and he didn't have to hide from either of them who they were or what they meant to him.
He stepped back after making the introductions. His mom's gaze danced over Ari's face, her artistic eyes taking in his features and coloring, no doubt comparing the real thing with all the portraits Sev had given her of him.
"Such a handsome one." His mom's eyes jumped to him. "He looks just as you painted him."
Ari glanced at him. "Painted me? You mean, there's more than just the painting of me in your basement?"
Sev nodded. "Yes. I've painted you a lot, Ari." He looked at his mom. "Did you bring them?"
Her smile lit up the room as she took Ari's hand and led him through the front room and up the stairs. Sev followed behind and grinned when Ari turned and flashed him an inquisitive look over his shoulder.
"In here." His mom opened the door to a spare room Sev knew she used as a makeshift studio.
White sheets covered the floor, and an easel was set up in the corner. Her painting supplies were laid out neatly on a table against the near wall.
"Oh my God," Ari stepped into the room, his eyes skimming the portraits hanging on the wall as he stood in place and turned.
Every painting was one that Sev had painted of Arion after their interlude nearly two months ago.
"You painted all these?" Ari turned to Sev, awe and disbelief coating his features.
"Yes."
"When? When did you do this?"
"After I took you home when Micah tried to give you a facelift with his fists." He didn't want to disclose in front of his mother the sordid details of what had happened that night, so he only said enough to let Ari know when his painting frenzy of him had started.
Ari understood and smiled as he looked down almost bashfully. Then his gaze drew back up to the paintings. "They're incredible."
"This one's my favorite," his mom said, lifting a canvas that had been propped on the floor, facing the wall. She turned it around as she set it on the easel then stepped back. It was the oil he had painted of he and Ari, holding each other, their foreheads tilted together.
Ari stepped forward and stared at the painting, speechless.
His mom continued. "The first time I saw it, I felt the pain within the color. But now…" she stepped up beside Ari and put her arm around him. "Now, I just see the love."
Ari's shoulders jerked then Sev smelled his tears.
"My son loves you, Arion. And that's enough for me to love you, too. Welcome to the family."
Ari turned toward his mom and wrapped her in a tight embrace as she hugged him back. Sev wiped a tear from his own eye. Ari had lost his own family to be his mate. And he knew that had to hurt Ari on some level even if he pretended outwardly to be strong and not care that his father and mother had disowned him. But that didn't matter anymore, because now Ari was a part of his family. Their family.
"Thank you," Ari said into his mom's shoulder. "I'm honored to be part of your family."
So, drecks and vampires could get along. Sev smiled at the two people he loved the most but who came from two sides of the same war. He never would have imagined introducing a mate to his mother would be this easy and emotional.
"You honor me, Arion," his mom said. "I've always wanted my son to be this happy. And I can tell he is with you."
They hugged again then his mom stepped away. "I'll go downstairs and finish getting dinner ready." She gave Sev's cheek a little pat. "Don't be too long or it'll get cold."
"We'll be right down." Sev hugged her and let her go.
"Well?" He said to Ari.
Ari rushed forward and locked Sev into an embrace worthy of Hulk Hogan. "I love you."
Sev pulled him in even closer, holding him. "I love you. And I told you my mom would love you, too, didn't I?"
"Yes, you did." Ari nuzzled his neck, kissing him and sending fire through his limbs.
"No, no. You have to stop that, babe."
Ari pulled away and sniffled as he wiped tears off his cheeks. "Sorry…I just…"
"Ssshh. I know." Sev grinned. "Let's go downstairs. Otherwise, I might not be able to hold back and your portraits will have to watch me make love to you."
Ari composed himself and took a deep breath. "Yeah, okay." He looked around at the portraits again. "I'm, uh…" He swung his awestruck gaze back to Sev. "I'm a bit overwhelmed emotionally right now."
Sev followed Ari to the door before stopping wi
th his hand on the light switch. He turned and looked around at all the paintings of Ari. So much pain, emotion, and love had gone into each one. It seemed like a lifetime ago, and in a way, it was. He no longer needed to paint Arion's portrait to feel him. All he needed to do was reach out and Ari was there.
"Hey, you okay?" Ari touched his arm.
Sev smiled and sighed. "Yeah. I'm perfect."
He switched off the light and took Ari's hand.
"You are perfect," Ari stepped forward and dipped his forehead against Sev's.
"We're perfect together, babe." He closed his eyes and let his forehead rest against Ari's as they held each other gently. It was the oil come to life, the two of them still and holding each other, foreheads resting one against the other as they savored the love between them.
Hmm. His mom was right about her favorite portrait. He could feel the love in it, too.
ABOUT THE AUTHOR
I have always loved to write. I don't remember a time when I wasn't writing, reading, or dreaming up stories to keep me entertained in boring situations. I would lie in bed at night and conjure up all kinds of worlds and stories. My mind never turned off and was always filled with daydreams and fantasies, and I often wrote them down. When I was in junior high, my stories turned to more romance, and I filled notebooks with romantic escapades my friends and I took with our favorite band, Duran Duran. I always got John or Simon. LOL. At any rate, my friends ended up unofficially voting me as Most Likely to Become a Romance Novelist. Ha ha, right? But here I am, doing just that, writing romance novels. Prophetic, right?
I actually worked in the corporate world for over twenty years in office management and as an executive assistant to the owners, presidents, and vice presidents of corporate America, but in July 2010, I lost my job. Thus began a year-and-a-half journey of finding myself and what my future held. That's when I discovered role playing and met my co-author, who I work with now under the pen name, Jem Stone. Role playing (RP) served its purpose, and I met some truly wonderful people, but I eventually realized it prevented me from accomplishing what I wanted: Getting published. So, I hung up my RP hat and focused on writing, and my first short story, Moonlit Hearts, was published in September of 2011 in an anthology called Evernight.