Unexpected Mates (Sons of Heaven)

by Lyons, Brenna

  Her father took a moment to compose himself. “Of course I’m interested. What man wouldn’t be? But...” He glanced at his wife.

  Sakkra’s wings ruffled. “We would never ask a mated man to leave his...wife. Diane is most welcome whenever you travel on Sakk business.”

  In the next heartbeat, her father was on his feet, offering Sakkra his hand again. “I’d say you’d just made my career, but the truth is you’ve just made my life.”

  Sakkra took her father’s hand but shot Amy a questioning look.

  She laughed. “It’s a good thing.”

  His shoulders relaxed, and he offered them a stunning smile.

  “And I know just the way to start,” he continued.

  “You do?” Sakkra seemed confused by that.

  “Exclusive first pictures of the local royal couple? Maybe from their honeymoon tour of the consulates? The bidding war would be formidable, and the proceeds could be donated to a charitable cause of your choice.”

  Amy pressed a hand to her scarred cheek, trying to reason herself out of being self-conscious. It was a lost cause.

  Sakkra squeezed her hand again. “Only from her unmarked side?” he suggested. “Until the surgeries are done.”

  She wrapped her arms around him, nodding her agreement.

  “Scarves are in this year,” her mother offered. “You could wear a large pair of glasses and a scarf wrap for a while.”

  “And there are cosmetics that can hide scars, once they’ve healed,” Jo added.

  “I know a fabulous photo journalist who has been trying to get an interview with Sakkra for months. She’ll agree to only photograph Amy from one side...if we give her dibs on the first full-face shots after the surgery.”

  Sakkra was silent for a long moment. “I believe, as humans say, you have a deal, Steve.”

  Chapter Eighteen

  Gabin waved Amy toward the waiting bio bed, and the human surgeon crossed the room to offer his hand to Sakkra. They’d been through this twice in the six months since Lucy’s attack on her, so there was no instruction necessary.

  They’d done the repairs to her face first, and the first full-face shots of her had graced the cover of People Magazine within weeks of the second repair.

  This would be the least of them, eradicating the scar on her shoulder. At least, if anything went wrong with this one, it wouldn’t show much unless she wore a strapless dress.

  Nothing has gone wrong so far. Nothing will go wrong this time. Labtrayel won’t stand for it.

  “Your healer has informed me about the changes to the process,” the surgeon assured Sakkra.

  Amy turned to them, confused by the pronouncement. “What would be different?” Why would it be?

  Gabin offered his hand to help her onto the bio bed. “It is nothing to worry about,” he soothed her.

  Amy levered herself up, but the discussion still bothered her. “Why would the process have to be different this time?” She insisted on an answer.

  Gabin looked to Sakkra, a sure sign that her mate had ordered the healer not to tell her. She shot a look demanding an answer at him, and Sakkra sighed deeply.

  He came to the bedside and raised her hand for a kiss. Her rings shifted, and she smiled at her mate.

  “You know the bio tracker monitors you constantly.”

  She nodded. “Of course.” It was part of Sakk tradition. The royal family was never unguarded.

  “Two days ago, the bio tracker picked up a subtle change in you, and test scans were ordered.”

  Gabin had told her the scans were simply in preparation for the coming surgery. “What kind of change?” What had they been looking for?

  He kissed her hand again. “You are bearing my daughter.”

  Her heart stuttered. “If this isn’t safe, it can wait.”

  Sakkra opened his mouth to speak.

  “I mean completely safe. If there’s any chance at all—”

  “Completely safe,” he assured her. “If there was any chance of harming our daughter, Gabin would not allow the surgery to happen. As it was, he simply made a small change in the medications.”

  Amy took a calming breath. “Okay. If you’re sure...”

  “We are,” Gabin assured her. “The medications will sedate you further than they have in previous surgeries. You will sleep longer. We will use a different type of pain relief and for a longer period of time, so we do not stress your system.”

  She nodded, taking it all in.

  Sakkra guided her back to the mattress and laid a kiss on her forehead. “And you will be the most beautiful woman at the President’s holiday ball.”

  She smiled, then laughed. Sakkra had said that more times than she could count, and she still didn’t believe it.

  It’s still good to hear it.

  “And Rietin will be very unhappy about wearing that tux.”

  Sakkra winked at her. “I hear he is cursing already.”

  Section Four: Genetically Inferior

  Jolene and Rietin

  Chapter Nineteen

  Rietin panned his gaze up and down the little temptress’s body, his cock pressing against his jeans. As if she felt his gaze, she turned, performed the same assessment of him, and smiled.

  She sauntered toward him, her musk rising. “Friend of Sakkra and Amy’s?” she asked.

  “You could say that.” Rietin wouldn’t presume to, but it explained his presence at the princess’s family holiday party without exposing his true purpose. Amy had been adamant about playing down the sheer number of guards they’d brought with them. At least half of them were wingless males who could pass for human.

  Being circumspect about his relationship to Sakkra and Sakku had another benefit. His interactions with Lucy Ferguson had taught Rietin well that either confirming or denying himself as a friend of the Sakkraas could result in unintended consequences.

  Two of her fingers walked up his thigh between their bodies. Rietin glanced around, assuring himself that they were unobserved.

  He smiled. “My room is upstairs.”

  “So is mine,” she purred.

  “Even better.”

  Sakkra and Amy had retired to their room more than half an hour earlier. That meant he was free to enjoy himself while the winged warriors stood guard overnight.

  “When?” he invited.

  “Now works for me.”

  He nodded and led the way up the stairs.

  A glance back at the turn revealed two more buttons open on the little temptress’s blouse. His cock took immediate interest in that, and he started unbuttoning his shirt in response. Whatever happened next was going to be a heated encounter.

  Good. It’s been too long since I’ve had one.

  She led him to her room—which was conveniently across the hall from his, halfway down the guest wing. Rietin closed the door behind them and turned to look at her. Her blouse was opened to her waist, and an appealing little wisp of lace covered her breasts.

  He pulled his shirt off over his shoulders and pitched it across the room. Hers came off slower, and she dropped it to the floor.

  Delicious anticipation scented the air. Rietin went to work on his jeans, and she did the same with her pants. She gasped as he slipped the jeans down his legs.

  He cocked his head to one side. “Problem?”

  She shook her head, swallowing hard. “I just like...”

  “Like?” he prompted her.

  “Commando.” Her cheeks darkened in a flush.

  That broke Rietin’s self control. He pushed his jeans off, toeing the soft leather shoes off ahead of them, then strode across the floor to her, completely naked.

  She didn’t back away. In fact, her hands released the pants and cupped his face. They met in a kiss that made him ache for more.

  He guided her toward the bed, taking mincing little steps in deference to the clothing ringing her lower legs. He was hungry. Beyond hungry. Ravenous for every sensation of her he could experience before daybreak.
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  She unfastened the bra and slipped it off between their bodies. It hit the floor with a whisper of sound.

  At last, she was pinned between his body and the mattress. A moan escaped her lips, and she pulled back from the kiss.

  “I’m on the Pill,” she gasped out.

  “I’m disease free.” Even if she wasn’t, there was nothing the humans carried that Sakk medicine couldn’t cure, on the off chance he was able to be infected. Still, Rietin knew that might not matter to her. She could still insist on a condom.

  I’ll wear one if she does. Though Rietin rarely indulged in a female, he always carried a few condoms with him. He preferred not to wear them though, so he didn’t mention it unless the female requested it.

  This one didn’t. She pushed down at her panties, circling her hips against him in the process.

  Damn, I need this. Rietin went to one knee, laying kisses on her lightly-tufted mound as he worked the panties down.

  She pulled at the elastic holding his hair back and released the short ponytail behind his head. His hair feathers cascaded around his face, springing into their natural curls. She combed her fingers through them, moaning again.

  He slipped off her flats, taking the pants and panties off of each foot as it was raised for him to remove the shoe.

  She spread her legs minutely, and he took advantage of it to stroke her ready body with his fingertips. She widened her stance more, and Rietin started working her with his mouth, savoring her feminine taste.

  Her hand fisted in his hair, urging him on. She gasped out a request for more.

  Gladly. Rietin doubled his efforts, drinking in every sound and squirming movement.

  She shimmied in a way that told Rietin her balance was uncertain. He closed his hands around her waist and lowered her to the mattress where she sat, trembling and gasping for breath.

  “Are you okay?” He reminded himself to keep his accent steady.

  She nodded. “That was...Wow! You have skills.”

  Rietin smiled at the compliment. “Well then...What will we do now?”

  She shot him a look of disbelief. “I suggest we test the limits of our endurance.”

  “I have quite a bit of it.”

  A smile pulled her lips up. “Prove it.”

  “Gladly.” Rietin crawled up between her thighs and lifted her at the hips.

  His first thrust had her arching her back from the mattress, her nipples hard little nubs.

  Oh, yeah. Just the sight of that will keep me hard half the night. The taste and scent of her would keep him hard longer than that.

  They moved in violent motions, both of them pursuing a shattering climax. Rietin couldn’t have recounted which of them came first. Sounds overlapped with sounds, her body milking his spasming cock until he felt as lightheaded as she had when he was eating her.

  They held to each other in the aftermath, sweat soaked and shaking. She wiggled against his cock, setting off aftershocks.

  Rietin half-withdrew from her heat in order to take one glorious nipple in. Her body reacted to the added stimuli with more tight contractions of her inner muscles.

  Oh, yeah. This isn’t ending anytime soon.

  “What is your name?”

  Her question came without warning, bringing a sense of guilt with it. He was going to lie to her. He always lied to women he bedded.

  “Josh. Josh Rietin.”

  “I’m Jo. Jolene Williams, but you can call me Jo.”

  “A lovely name, Jolene.” How he managed to say it without choking was beyond him.

  Rietin’s heart beat out a warning. This was Sakku Amy’s favorite cousin. He’d heard the name many times, though he’d never met the lady before.

  It doesn’t matter. She’s a willing human woman. There’s no reason for me not to take what she’s offering.

  ****

  Jo stretched in bed, coming up against cold sheets on the other side of the mattress. She raised her head, squinting in the sunlight streaming around the slatted wooden blinds she’d forgotten to fully close the night before.

  “Josh?”

  He didn’t reply, and she dropped to her back on the mattress.

  Pleasant little aches reminded her that she’d met her perfect match sexually. Josh knew precisely what she liked and offered it tirelessly.

  Why didn’t I meet him a year ago? Or two?

  Why? A year earlier, she’d been fresh from a breakup with Carl. She wouldn’t have noticed a guy then, even if Josh had grabbed her and laid one of those toe-curling kisses on her. Well, maybe then, she conceded.

  Earlier than that, she’d still been neck deep in a relationship with Carl and tying the noose around her neck by believing his lying ass.

  Maybe he’s not gone. It was possible that Josh had gone back to his own room to change or gone down to breakfast. If he had a room, it was a safe bet he was invited to breakfast.

  That in mind, she jumped from bed, grabbed one of the outfits she kept in the closet in her room at her aunt and uncle’s house, and rushed into the three-quarter bath that she shared with her sister’s room.

  Memories of the two of them in the shower sent shivers down her spine. The sounds he made when she sucked him were sinfully arousing.

  Move. Don’t give him time to leave without offering to meet him again.

  She rushed through a shower, dried off, and pulled her clothing on. That accomplished, she hung the towel and bathmat to dry and made her way downstairs.

  Uncle Steven and Aunt Diane sat at the table, chatting over plates of pancakes and cups of coffee. Jo went to the sideboard and filled a plate, then slipped into the closest chair.

  She looked around at the empty table, her heart aching. “Looks like everyone got an early start. Is anyone else still here?”

  Jo tried to keep her tone light. Based on her aunt’s non-reaction, she guessed she was moderately successful at it.

  “Just the three of us. Amy and Sakkra had an early shuttle to Bermuda. Their men left with them. Others ate an early breakfast and went off to whatever their plans were for the day.”

  She nodded and started eating, trying to hide her disappointment. There was no way to ask if Josh would be invited to the Easter celebration without her entire family scenting that she might be falling for someone again.

  Besides, if he’s a friend of Amy and Sakkra, there’s no saying Aunt Diane invited him.

  She sighed and tried to cover it with a sip of juice. Aunt Diane’s questioning look let her know she’d showed her hand...just a bit.

  ****

  Rietin stood on the beach, outside the small security shield, conspicuously dressed in jeans and boots, in contrast to the bikini-clad beach bunnies and the tourists in their t-shirts for the Frog and Onion Pub or Bone Fish Bar and Grill. His hair blew free around his face; he’d considered putting it up this morning, but—for a reason he couldn’t name—he decided to leave it down today.

  Inside the shield, Sakku Amy wore a one-piece maternity swimsuit in the royal white and ullium with a white sarong, and Sakkra wore a matching pair of men’s trunks. The slight swell of her pregnant womb was the subject of many of the pictures being snapped, Rietin was sure. A full dozen of Sakkra’s finest held position inside the shield, keeping watch on the tourists and paparazzi on the other side.

  Bermuda was one of Amy’s favorite places in the world, and she and Sakkra visited often. Though the day had started off with a meeting with the Bermudan government, they never failed to make a visit to the island a mini-vacation if they had the chance.

  Though Rietin was consciously scanning the area for any threats to Sakku Amy and Sakkra, he’d resigned himself to the fact that his subconscious was intent on torturing him with memories of Jolene. Her face at climax. Her body begging for him with signs of arousal.

  Watching her sleeping before he slipped out of her room and to his own had nearly broken his resolve. He’d considered waking her for one more round of what was undeniably fantastic sex. He’d nev
er met a woman he meshed so well with before.

  Reality had stayed his hand, of course. It would be unkind to wake her, both unkind to her and to himself.

  What can come of it? He wasn’t capable of giving a human woman children and probably wasn’t capable of giving a Sakk woman children, either. I’ve known that was the case since I was fourteen yans old, and the healers made it clear I would never be approved to take a mate.

  There are women who can’t have children, due to their own medical conditions. I could marry one of them. We could adopt children.

  He wondered if the Sakk would allow him to raise a surrendered child. Maybe a male who was genetically sound and could save his family line.

  You know they won’t. Not as a single male and not with a woman who isn’t Sakk-descended. Since I can’t mate with a Sakk-descended woman, I will never have a Sakk-descended child.

  And considering the bias against Sakk in other circles, the human authorities will not allow me to adopt a human child if I marry a human woman.

  Not to mention, any woman I marry or mate with wouldn’t be Jolene. It was enough to drive a sane man to madness.

  Rietin sighed and focused on his prince and princess again. His job was to ensure their safety.

  My job is all there will ever be for me.

  Chapter Twenty

  “Your cousin to see you, Sakku,” Colonel Muuzo announced from the doorway to the lounge in Sakkra and Amy’s quarters. Before an answer came from inside, he turned, bowed to Jo, and backed away to let Jo pass.

  Amy looked up from the book she was reading, her smile fading at her first glance Jo’s way.

  Jo felt her cheeks heat. That’s it. Amy will know something’s wrong. I’ve never had a poker face.

  Right on cue, Amy said Jo’s name, a question couched in it.

  Her knees quaking, Jo made her way to one of the other chairs and sank into it. “I need to talk to you.”

  She didn’t want to discuss this with Amy today. This was the last thing she wanted to do.