by Danica Avet
Abruptly, all the fire went out of her. “Let them go and return to the Council, Lucian. Tell them I’m not going to be locked away again. I will fight you, and them, to the bitter end. I swear I will.” She spoke with quiet dignity, ignoring the curious eyes of the men Lucian had with him.
“I can’t do that, Ruby,” he said just as quietly.
She drew in a sharp breath. That damned pain arched through her body once more. He would never put her above his precious honor and Council, she thought bitterly. She wanted to hug her arms around her stomach in a vain attempt to comfort herself and her child. The child Lucian would never know because he was too busy being chased by his demons to realize honor was nothing without love.
“I resigned my position on Council a month ago,” he continued, watching her face carefully.
Ruby felt her eyes go as wide as half-dollars. Lucian resigned?
He nodded solemnly. “I was tired of pretending my duties were more important than you. I tied up some loose ends while I was able to, which took longer than I thought it would. Otherwise, I’d have been here sooner.” He smiled wryly. “Besides, I think my fellow Councilors were going to slip a knife between my ribs for being stupid enough to abandon my mate.” His smile faded again. “My parents have decided I’m no longer their son. But Pagan’s talking to me again, and she’s willing to add me to her team to do consulting work if I want it.”
Just standing there, Ruby stared at the man she loved more than anyone in the world, wanting so badly to believe his words, but unable to let go of the pain for long.
Lucian gave her another wry smile. “Yeah, I know. You don’t care anymore. But see, Ruby, I care. I care a lot. You had me so confused,” he told her, letting loose a self-deprecating laugh. “When I let Council take you, it was because you were coming to mean too much to me. When you entered the Council chambers like you owned the world and didn’t need me, I knew you’d realized you didn’t need anyone. Later that night, you saw me trying to find some way to push you out of my heart, but I couldn’t do it. Even then, you were my world, and I was too stupid and stubborn to realize it.”
Ruby shook her head. “No, I’m not, Lucian. Council is your world. It’s what you live for.” She gently reminded him of his words, words that had speared her heart a million times over the last few months.
It was Lucian’s turn to shake his head. “No. At one time it was, but not anymore. You’re what I live for,” he reached out and brushed his fingers along her left temple. “You’re my mate, my love, my everything, for eternity. I love you, Ruby Mae Blue.”
Feeling as though her knees were going to buckle, Ruby slumped against the tree, staring up at her lover with a strained expression. If what he said was true, he’d severed all ties with the people he’d worked beside for the last forty years, for her. Even though she desperately wanted to reach for the precious gift of his love with both hands, she was still too wary not to look for the catch.
Lucian seemed to realize she was still scared, his face tightening for a brief moment before relaxing into the boyish grin he’d given her so often their short time together. He fell to his knees before her, grabbing her hands and pressing firm kisses to the backs of them. “Will you marry me, Chieftain Ruby? Will you bond your life to mine forever? That is, if you don’t mind me being the First Consort.” He peeked at her through his eyelashes, looking both hopeful and fearful.
Raising a trembling hand to his beautiful face, Ruby stroked his cheek. She loved this man with all of her heart. God, how she loved him!
“Yes!” she screeched, throwing her arms around his neck, she hugged him fiercely.
Laughing joyfully, he squeezed her close, his mouth lowering over hers to devour her in a powerful kiss. Only when his hands moved down to clasp her hips and pull her closer did his kiss falter.
His eyes showing fearful hope, one of his hands roamed over her rounded belly. “Ruby?” he choked out, his eyes tearing up a little.
“Did I mention you knocked me up and have to marry me now?” she asked impishly, pressing a kiss on his astonished mouth.
He shouted in triumph and jubilation, picking her up and whirling her around before realizing she was probably too delicate for such activities. “When?” he breathed into her mouth.
Ruby grimaced lightly. “Probably right about now.”
Later, after she brought their first son into the world, Ruby wished she’d had a camera when she told him because the fearsome vampire known as Oculum Lucian Ravenswaay paled, his eyes rolling back as he fainted dead away.
Epilogue
“Are you kidding me?” Lucian roared at his wife. He paced around their bedroom, looking as harried as any sensible man could when faced with his wife’s insane ideas. Briggs gave a groaning sigh that suggested he was well-used to the sight of a vampire arguing with his mistress and it wasn’t worth waking up for. “No, absolutely not!”
“Lucian, don’t fight with me on this,” Ruby said firmly from her vanity. “I’m part of the Blood Maiden tribe and it’s my right and my honor to participate in the tournament.”
“You are not taking part. When I agreed you needed to see it, I didn’t mean from the bloody field! I thought you’d sit in the pavilion and cheer them on or something, not fight against Vandal the Violent!”
Ruby huffed and crossed her arms over her chest. After nearly three years of marriage, she and her mate still fought like cats and dogs. At first, it had been about who was going to attend their child’s birth and she’d won that fight, she thought proudly. It helped that Dominic’s arrival had come so quickly Lucian just wanted to get her in a bed and safe more than he wanted to fight with her.
Then, there was the fight about where they would live. He’d won that one. They kept a permanent home on his estate outside of Cypress Point, and Ruby had been happy to concede victory to her arrogant husband that time. She had tea with Kali once a week and attended every charity dinner, dance, and auction she was invited to. Considering her position as Chieftain and Lucian’s wife, it was a lot. Their social calendar was full. Add to that Dominic’s soccer practices and appointments for her Chieftain duties, and she was constantly on the go.
When Bretina and Albreda approached her with the idea of participating in the Whipping Post competition of the Battle of Lionesses, she’d jumped at the chance to do it. The Blood Maidens were in and out of her and Lucian’s home, and it wasn’t unusual for the house to be packed to the rafters with Amazons.
So she’d tricked Lucian just a bit about what she intended to do at the tournament, but when he’d seen her competition outfit, he’d thrown a fit. Was it her fault she’d never loss the bountiful breasts pregnancy had given her? The man was completely irrational and drop-dead sexy, she thought with hunger as he continued pacing around their bedroom.
She was wearing the outfit that started the argument, and Ruby didn’t see what the big deal was. The latex bodysuit actually managed to make her look svelte and the plain, rigid corset that went over it pushed her breasts together proudly, crowding the V of her suit. She hadn’t even put on the knee-high boots Rosetta had found for her and he’d thrown a fit.
“You are not going, that’s it. No compromise on this one, Ruby Mae,” he growled and paused in front of her.
Ruby licked her lips, peeking up at him through her eyelashes. “But baby, it’s just a little contest. I’m good with the whip, you know that.”
Those beautiful green eyes she’d never grow tired of kindled with desire. His eyes drifted over her ensemble, and she preened for him. The bulge in his trousers gave evidence he wasn’t unaffected by the sight of her in the skintight latex.
“The tournament starts in three days,” she said, stroking her hand down her cleavage and reveling in the thrill of feminine power she had over her husband. “If I compete, I get to keep this outfit.”
It was his turn to lick his lips, his eyes becoming heavy-lidded with desire. “Fine, but if you get hurt, I’m going to paddle your ass,”
he growled, yanking her into his arms and carrying her to their bed. “Now, show me how to get you out of this thing.”
* * * *
One week later…
It was no surprise the Blood Maiden tribe won the Battle of Lionesses again. Lucian had been granted special permission to attend the tournament and watched in tense silence as his wife battled contender after contender in the Whipping Post contest. The object of the contest was to lash your opponent as many times as you could in a two-minute period. The real competition was to see who could actually withstand the burning cuts and slashes from your opponent’s without stepping out of the circle.
He’d growled so fiercely every time Ruby got cut that the other spectators had moved away warily. But his indomitable wife defeated every opponent, including Vandal the Violent. Now, she stood with her sister Amazons and accepted the flagon of wine, toasting her husband with a cheeky grin. She was sweaty, bloody, and flushed with success, and he’d never seen a sexier sight in all his life.
Lucian couldn’t help the spike of pride he felt when she acknowledged him in front of the entire Amazon Nation. This brave, spunky, independent woman belonged to him, and he to her.
She’d made his life so full and given him a sense of peace he’d never experienced before. With her and Dominic in his life, he didn’t obsess about the past.
Ruby had forced him to return to Council because she believed in his vision for the future and that was something he looked forward to. Already, several decrees concerning sanctuaries were in the process of being passed through Council. If he sometimes became high-handed about his son’s daytime protection, Ruby just scowled at him and pointed out their son was safe with twelve Amazon “aunts” trailing him everywhere.
Lucian had a feeling his son would never settle for any woman less spectacular than his own mother, which was fine by him.
Ruby sauntered over to him in the high heeled knee-high boots Rosetta had found her. Lucian felt his blood growing hot enough to rival a supernova and he barely even noticed a disgusted Briggs waddling towards a bevy of Amazons carrying platters of food. He was man enough to admit watching his mate crack her whip with skill seriously turned him on.
When she finally reached him, he threw her over his shoulder and ran back to their tent. Ruby just laughed and urged him to run faster.
That night, Ruby and Lucian conceived an Amazon who would go down in history as being the first to single-handedly defeat a pack of renegade werewolves while serving in the capacity of Oculum. Her father, by then well desensitized by five Amazon daughters and two vampire sons, would just shake his head and wonder what he did to deserve it all. Her mother, the High Chieftain over a contingent of fifty Chieftains, would look at him with a grin and say, “We learned how to compromise, my love.”
THE END
About the Author
Danica Avet was born and raised in the wilds of South Louisiana where mosquitoes are big enough to carry off small children and there are only two seasons: hot and hotter. With a BA in History, she figured there were enough fry cooks in the world and decided to try her hand at writing.
Writing is how she gives the voices in her head a way out. They speak to her constantly wanting their stories told and she does her best to accommodate them. When she isn’t writing, working, or contemplating the complexities of the universe, she spends time gathering inspiration from her insane family, reads far more than any sane person would want to, and watches hot burly men chase an oblong ball all over a field.
Website: www.danicaavet.com
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/Danica-Avet-Writer-108148517161/
Twitter: https://twitter.com/DanicaAvet
Other Books by Danica Avet
Contemporary Romance
Crushes to Cravings series:
Freeze Tag
Playing Doctor
Kiss Chase
Southern Sin Trilogy:
Sweetest Taste of Sin
Born to Sin
Sinning to Win
Band Nerd series:
Steady
Root
Crash
Paranormal Romance
Cajun Heat:
Primal Song
Primal Design
Primal Flavor
Olympus, Inc.:
Immortal Love
Immortal Game
The Veil series:
Ruby: Uncut and on the Loose
Succubus-in-Waiting
Lifestyles of the Fey and Dangerous
Ain’t No Bull
Reindeer Games series:
Rude’s Awakening
Blitzen’s Savior
Sci-Fi Erotic Romance
Caressed by Starlight:
Meeting Croe
Adding Tyn