by Joey W. Hill
“I’m not going to leave you,” he said. “Not now, not ever. I don’t believe it’s going to happen, but if the babe isn’t safe with you, we’ll ask Jonah and Anna to raise her. We can visit her. We’ll do whatever we have to do to be her parents, which means making sure she’s safe and loved. Even if it can’t be by us, not directly.”
She stared at him. “But… you’d need to be her father. You couldn’t bear that. It would break your heart.”
“Yes, it would. The same way it would break yours. But we’d heal together, handle it together. The way we do everything.”
She’d torn her clothing when she’d shifted so quickly to the dragon form, so now she was entirely naked in his arms, just like on the couch. But she felt naked for more reasons than that with that quiet declaration. He was in her heart and mind, but she was in his as well, and what she felt there overwhelmed her. His hand slid down her shoulder, palm curving around her breast, feeling the weight. His thumb made a gentle brush over the nipple, a familiar touch, before sliding down her rib cage. She trembled. Seeing it, his eyes darkened.
He curved his fingers inward, so his knuckles followed that trail. Her breath caught and held as he moved in slow inches until he reached her abdomen. His hand unfolded there, rested on it. She kept her eyes locked on his face, saw the sudden surge of strong emotion in his eyes that made her want to cry, but he wouldn’t leave her out in the cold. With a ripple of muscle, he shifted her so she was lying upon him, her head on his chest, hip turned into the cradle of his thighs. One of his legs was firmly locked over her as they stayed twined together in air. Closing his hand over her wrist, he guided her palm until it settled over the one he had on her stomach, both pressed over that new life, swimming somewhere beneath their touch.
When she dreamed, she dreamed of the Dark One world, so sleep was rarely easy. It was better when David slept with her. Then the Dark One world could become white noise, like static on the TV when the reception went out. And sometimes when that happened, other dreams could happen.
“The other night…” She paused, pressing her lips together. Her fingers dug into his. She was missing the tip of one finger, a reminder of what she’d been, as well as what he’d become to her. How much she trusted him, needed him, enough to take all the steps she’d taken to come to this moment. “I had a dream about her. I was in my tentacle form, but I was swimming inside…me. Inside my womb. I found her, this tiny curlicue thing. She was floating so aimlessly, so carelessly. I wrapped my tentacles around her, held her still so she wouldn’t bump into the walls or end up in cracks and crevices where she might get stuck.”
“And did you start to constrict your tentacles, to choke her, squeeze the life out of her?”
“No. I just…held her. That was all. It was still, quiet. Like this.”
When he nodded against the top of her head, she clutched the knowledge he’d just pointed out to her, the seed of hope. “I’m so scared, David.”
“Me too. But I think that makes us pretty much the same as every new parent since the beginning of time.” He moved his free hand to her hip and stroked her upper thigh. “Spread your legs for me, Mina.”
He’d had her do that before, often enough she obeyed on instinct, a known ritual that pleased and oddly soothed her, the submission to his desires and her own. She shifted, sliding her knees over his thighs, parting herself to him and the open air. His fingers trailed along her skin, close to the soft petals of her sex.
“The very fact some part of you wanted my fertile seed, asked for it, says you know this is meant to be.”
“Maybe,” she said, then bit her lip as he touched her labia, gave it an idle stroke with his thumb. “But that doesn’t mean it will turn out the way we want it to. Lots of things are fated. Good and evil.”
“You have to have faith. You’re so much more now than you ever thought you could be.”
“Which is why we need to be even more careful, more wary.”
“Even after twenty years, you’re waiting for the other shoe to drop.”
“Yes, because it can. And you know I’m right, because you’re in my head.” She felt that frisson of panic start up again, but it was arrested by his fingers, sliding over her pussy. He pinched her clitoris, the kiss of pain making her dampen against him, as he knew it would. “David…”
He sealed in that sensation with his whole hand pressed against her mound. She quivered against him. “I like touching you. And wanting you. Tormenting and pleasuring you. You need both, and I like giving you both.” His fingers stopped moving, his breath against her temple. “I do understand what you fear, Mina. But I understand something else. The baby is about three weeks along, right?”
She managed to nod, gasped as he did something wonderful. She could feel him, hard and ready against the small of her back, and she wanted to defuse all the energy still crackling in the air, give it a channel, a focus, by straddling him here in the air. But he held her fast, the pressure of his fingers, as well as the steady, deliberate way he spoke, helping her pay attention.
“You’ve been carrying a pure innocent inside of you for three weeks. It’s upset you, worried you, because of what you might do to her. You reacted violently to me now because you bottled that up, and it’s all come spewing out. But you haven’t become unbalanced specifically because she’s inside you. I’m willing to bet my life that the Dark One blood inside of you could roar like a banshee, and you wouldn’t harm one hair on her head.”
She hadn’t even considered it. He was right. She’d been so caught up in what it could mean, having the baby, she hadn’t really thought about the significance of the child already being in residence. Raphael, the healing angel, thought Mina was able to tolerate David’s pure light proximity because they’d shared blood, years ago. Whether or not that was true or there was more to it, she and that fetus shared blood in a much more direct way. And while she’d felt the stirrings of life within her, she hadn’t felt the stirring of anything else connected to it, that itchy feeling that could start in her lower back when she had too much exposure to beings of pure light, which would expand into a crazed madness over time.
Her mind whirled over that revelation. Her gaze flitted up, desperate and seeking his. David tightened his arms around her. “Let me take you to the ocean for a little while. We’ll talk about this—without storm clouds and dragons.” His fingers dipped, pushing into her with unexpected firmness and ruthless demand. She arched, a whimper catching in her throat. “After that, we’ll talk about what you can do to make my leg feel better. Actions have consequences, sweet witch. When you misbehave, reparations are required.”
Part Three
He didn’t take her to a sand bar in the middle of the ocean, as she expected. Instead, he took her somewhere she’d never been before. He saw her dare a glimpse as they came in for a landing. The unique blue color of the water would tell her that the small, uninhabited island was in the Caribbean. When he glided in over the thick tree cover, he dropped down into it to bring her to the narrow beach of a secluded lagoon. The water was flanked by caves and, as he took her hand, guiding her into the mouth of one, her face brightened at the discovery of a chain of pools that formed when the current receded. That left the sea life washed in on the high tide trapped until the next cycle. Right now, that included a small school of darting, bright-colored fish and a languidly gliding barracuda shark, unconcerned about his circumstances, probably because of the darting fish. The pools also included a scattering of crabs that might have scuttled up from the beach, preferring to dine on what the ocean left in the tidal pools.
David watched his witch dip a toe in, a pleased look flitting across her normally wary expression as she found it comfortably warm. He knew how much she disliked the cold. He also knew she liked to explore new surroundings before she settled into anything else. So unstrapping his daggers and setting them aside, he squatted in a casual perch on a rock, his bare toes making sure purchase on the wet surface as he watched her circ
le the smaller tidal pools to see what was in them. When she returned to the largest one, the one containing the shark, she stood on the opposite bank, studying the sand-dusted rock below the water’s surface. He was reminded of a sharp-eyed bird, particularly when she dove abruptly into the water. Her hand brushed the barracuda’s back as she moved to the center of the pool and descended to the bottom. She came back up with what looked like a cheap bangle bracelet, the rhinestones glittering from the shards of sunlight coming in through the cave opening. Making a satisfied noise, she put it on her arm.
“My mate loves a sparkly,” he observed with a faint smile.
“There’s another one,” she said, and dove again. David chuckled. He made a casual leap from the rock to a lower point, using his wings for balance. In reaction to his avian-like shadow, the troop of fish darted away, then back. A couple narrowly missed the snap of the barracuda’s jaws as they swarmed around him, careless of the danger he posed in their attempt to escape the threat of what David was sure they thought was a swooping pelican.
“Whoops, sorry about that guys.” Folding the wings along his back, he eyed the barracuda, back to lazily swimming. “You’re more irritable than hungry. I have a feeling there were a lot more fish in here earlier.”
Mina emerged again, this time with three more bracelets, in different colors, same style. “It’s always amazing, how they’ll stay together like this,” she observed. “They may have floated together for miles.”
She had three on one arm, one on the other. While dark and light had to stay perfectly balanced inside her, David had noticed she had a penchant for wanting other things to be out of balance. If they were staying in a human abode, and it was furnished with two end tables for the couch, she would move one to an unexpected place, like the kitchen. Or into the bathroom, so she could sit on it while propping her feet on the commode and trying different cheap toenail polishes. Usually different colors for different toes. Candles were always arranged in prime numbers. His contrary witch, always full of surprises.
His beautiful witch. She was completely oblivious to how she looked at the moment. Her elbows were propped on the bank of the tidal pool, her legs idly scissoring in the water. She was turned at an angle away from him, not a stitch on her, such that he was watching the shift of her buttocks with her movements, the sweet profile of her breasts wavering beneath the water. The slope to her abdomen, which before long would be swelling with their child. He couldn’t wait to see her fully round and pregnant. In a perverse way, it aroused him, though he wasn’t sure why.
“Because it’s proof that you’re virile.” Mina’s voice deepened, emulating a caveman. “See my mate—look like fat-bottomed potato, walk like duck. I am male. I can reproduce.” Her voice returned to its usual sardonic tone. “Just like a Xerox copier.”
“Reading my mind?”
“You were thinking it at me. You wanted me to know you feel that way.” She slanted a glance at him, then her lashes lowered again, considering her bracelets. “You knew how it would make me feel.”
“And how’s that?” Stripping off his tunic, belt, weapons, and the beaten silver gauntlets that protected his forearms from enemy blades, he slid into the water. Stroking across it, he kept his gaze fixed on that enticing pale female bottom. Her legs scissored at a more indolent pace.
“You know.”
“I want to hear you say it.”
Her nose wrinkled, her eyes flashing with irritation. “I don’t want to feel that way yet. You want me to feel good about this. Maybe she’s just not big enough yet for the pure light thing to affect me. Or she could be a being of pure evil.” Her fingers tightened on the bangles, her chin dropping to her chest as her jaw set. “She’ll be part Dark One, David. And that means she’ll have to fight it, the way I have to fight it.”
“You’re just confirming that you’re going to be a good parent. Already worrying about the challenges she’s going to face, wanting her to have a better life than you’ve had.” He dipped down so he could catch her ankles below the water and slide his hands up her legs. He indulged himself with a thorough caress of her buttocks. As she let herself be pulled away from the ledge, she turned to twine her legs around his hips, but her crimson and blue gaze was troubled.
“Mina, she’ll also be part you. Strong, stubborn sea witch. And me; all-powerful and wise angel.”
She arched a brow, and he saw her fighting one of her tiny smiles. “All-powerful and wise? Did you get Inflated Ego Re-Certification with the Legion this week and forget to tell me?”
“Cute.” He acted as if he was going to dunk them both beneath the water, and she slipped away, treading across the pool. She stayed in human form, though, drawing his eyes to the sinuous movement of her body as she twisted in a spiral and did a lazy flip beneath the water, as lithely as if she were in merform. Her dark hair twined around her body like silk. He moved in a steady stalk, dropping down so he was gliding after her like a crocodile. “We have a more important consideration, though,” he said as her head broke the surface again.
“What’s that?” Mina considered her escape options, as well as how much effort she wanted to put into evading him, how hard she wanted him to work for her capture. Those factors also depended on how long her mate was willing to play the game. At a certain point, his hunting instinct would kick in and he’d prove—short of cheating and using her considerable magic on him—that she wouldn’t escape him.
“Discipline. Considering our daughter will have your genes, I’m thinking I better practice spanking now. Now, who can I practice on…?”
“You did plenty of practicing way before you even knew I was pregnant.” She gave him a challenging look, but she couldn’t help remembering those times, her body stirred by the memories.
“Well, you give me plenty of cause. It’s either spank or strangle you, and spanking seems to work out better for us both.”
He made a mock lunge, letting her sweep beneath him and get away. She emerged on the other side of the tidal pool, treading over the ripples they’d created. She saw him note appreciatively the way they lapped at the upper curves of her breasts. It made her nipples tighten, her skin tingle for his touch. Good. She didn’t want to think about the darker things that had brought them here. Maybe if she just ignored it, it would all go away.
“You’re not fooling me a bit,” Mina retorted. “You won’t even be able to raise your voice to her. I saw Jonah with Alexis. Anna had to do all the disciplining when she was young. And send him off with the other angels so he wouldn’t try to sneak behind Anna’s back to comfort her with hugs and toys.”
“I remember that. Anna didn’t have to discipline her much, though. All she had to do was threaten to send her to live with scary Aunt Mina, who might or might not chop her up as ingredients for her foul-smelling brews.”
Mina’s gaze narrowed to slits. Before she could retort, though, David had moved, faster than she could follow. But it wasn’t to grab her. He was positioned in front of her, with a dagger gripped in either hand. Even in the water, his stance was tense and battle ready as he faced the cave entrance. He’d moved so fast, the pool had barely rippled when he’d retrieved the daggers from the rock and returned to her. It couldn’t help but thrill her in low, swirly places, so Mina was already annoyed by whatever force was daring to intrude. She might turn the offender into ingredients for one of her potions in truth.
“David?”
He relaxed. Mina let her fingers do an itsy-bitsy spider crawl up the line of his spine as she hummed a short segment of the nursery song. “I’m going to tell him you let him creep up on you,” she whispered. “He’ll put you on the training field with his drill sergeants for a week.”
“You are mean,” he murmured back, and shot her a warning glance. “Do it, and you’ll get a spanking that will keep you sore for that whole week I’m gone.”
“I’m here,” David called, though Jonah already knew that. His commander was giving David fair warning as a courtesy, si
nce Mina was with him. Truth, it had been a somewhat unsettling couple of hours, but it was unusual for David to be unaware of another angel’s approach. While it was inexcusable, there was male pride to consider. Before his commander came into the cave, David shot back over to the rock and replaced his daggers, returning to his position with Mina in a blink and flash of feathers. When Jonah made his appearance, he was ostensibly in a relaxed stance, though firmly in front of his mate, who he was pretty certain snickered at him. He really should have brought some clothes for her.
Mina was not in the least bit modest, but David had some old-fashioned ideas about not letting other males see her naked. Since she knew that, he wouldn’t put it past her to tease him by swimming around like a sensual water nymph doing a Playboy centerfold shoot while Jonah told him whatever he’d come to say. Something that apparently couldn’t be communicated telepathically, in the way that all angels could communicate. David pushed down the prick of annoyance at the interruption, feeling guilty about his reaction, particularly when he saw Jonah’s concerned expression.
Jonah entered the cave on foot, his magnificent silver-white wings folded along his back like a centurion’s cape. From two other shadows outside the cave, David realized he wasn’t alone. Jonah had been intuitive enough to have them wait out of view. Hell, if he’d missed three angels approaching, maybe he should be on the practice field for a week.
“Problem?” David asked. When Mina moved, her breast brushing his arm, he reached back, caught her wrist and kept her in place behind him with an admonishing squeeze. A tentacle slithered around his hips, revealing that she’d shifted. It coiled low on his hips and around his waist as she slid her arms over his shoulders, holding onto him piggy-back and looking at Jonah over his shoulder, her wet hair covering all but the crimson eye. David was pretty sure she looked like a much prettier Tolkien’s Gollum, peering out in a sinister manner from the shadows. Jonah’s lifted brow and wary glance confirmed it.