by Lynsay Sands
Magnus smiled and nodded. “Yes. The history books recorded a great deal of that endeavor. What they did not record was that an attempt was made on Henry’s life the night before the Battle of Agincourt.”
“Really?” Allie asked with interest, and then demanded, “Tell me.”
Magnus chuckled, but complied. “One of the mercenaries was actually a French spy. He had traveled with us, eaten with us, and even fought at our side. He had everyone fooled.”
“Except you,” she guessed. “You must have read his mind and realized his intent.”
“I did,” he acknowledged.
Her eyes widened. “Oh, my God. You knew and didn’t say anything. You just bided your time and waited until he made his attempt and then stepped in to save the king at the last minute.”
Magnus grinned. “You know me so well already.”
Allie shook her head at the claim. “And I imagine the king was so grateful he granted you land.”
“And a title and even coin,” he assured her. “He was most grateful.”
“Oh, my God, Magnus,” she said on a laugh. “I can’t decide if that was incredibly brilliant or somewhat evil.”
“What was evil about it?” he asked, looking offended. “I did save his life. I earned that land. Certainly more than if I had just controlled Henry and made him give me the land and title of baron. And if I had not been there, the assassin probably would have succeeded. Everyone liked the man. No one suspected him of a thing. Even me until I read his thoughts.”
“All right, it wasn’t evil. Just a brilliant use of the situation,” Allie decided.
Magnus grunted, but still looked out of sorts about the evil bit. In fact, he reminded her of Liam when the boy got sulky.
Biting her lip to keep from laughing, she quickly put the remaining food back on the tray, set it on the dresser, and then climbed back on the bed and crawled to sit sideways in his lap.
“So,” she said, smiling at his startled expression as she snaked one hand around his waist and allowed the other to play over his chest. “You’re a baron with his own castle.”
“That turns you on, does it?” he murmured, running a hand up her outer leg.
Allie shook her head. “Your cleverness does. Castles are drafty old buildings. Besides, it’s probably a pile of rubble now.”
“Our castle is not a pile of rubble,” he assured her as his hand drifted up under his shirt to skim its way up her side.
Allie pulled back to peer at him with surprise. “Our castle?”
“We are life mates,” he said solemnly. “What’s mine is yours . . . Baroness,” he added with a grin.
She stared at him for a moment, enthralled at the idea of having a title, but then frowned and said, “But I have nothing to offer you in return.”
His hand had just reached the underside of her breast, but he withdrew it now to clasp her cheek and assured her, “You have everything. You are everything. You and Liam are far more valuable than the pile of rocks that make our castle. With the two of you there it will finally be a home. Anywhere we live will be a home with the two of you in it, and that is something I have yearned for, for more than a thousand years.”
“Home,” Allie whispered, surprised to find her eyes growing moist. But his words had touched her, and what he offered sounded so lovely. Home. She’d left her childhood home beaten and broken, had bought a town house, but it had never really felt like home. Although it had got close with Stella and Liam there to fill it with laughter and caring. But then Stella had died and she’d been forced to flee to save Liam.
Allie had spent the last four years dragging Liam from one temporary hidey-hole to another, always running, desperate to evade Abaddon. Now Magnus was offering her a home again. Himself. Because home wasn’t a pile of bricks or boulders, it was the people in it, and she was beginning to believe this marriage had not been a mistake. That she could make a home and a life with Magnus. One she wouldn’t have to flee.
Magnus kissed her nose, drawing her attention from her thoughts. Once she met his gaze, he smiled softly and said, “I know you do not love me. I know you agreed to be my life mate to keep Liam. But I want you to know that I love you. No,” he said firmly when she started to protest. “You no doubt think that is impossible, that it is too soon. But I know you, Allie. I know your whole life. I love you for your rebelliousness in making friends you weren’t supposed to, the strength you showed when, rather than crumble under the loss of your sister and mother, you walked away from the only home you had ever known. The determination you showed in getting through school and starting your own business. The kindness and friendship you offered to a lonely frightened woman despite the fact that she was what you thought of as a vampire. The love and courage you displayed keeping her child safe these last four years and taking him into your heart as your own son.”
Brushing away the single tear that slid from her eye, he added, “And I love you for your passion, and your sass, and your sense of humor. I feel happy when I am with you.”
Allie stared at him, her own thoughts in a jumble as she realized that she felt happy when with him too. She’d felt comfortable and safe with him from the start, but now she realized that she hadn’t been afraid since meeting him. Not really. She’d felt anxiety when she’d learned the immortals were in town, but not the outright terror she’d previously experienced on spotting someone with eyes that reflected light. There was a lot she liked and admired about Magnus—his cleverness, his kindness and care with Liam, the thoughtfulness he’d displayed repeatedly since they’d met . . . and she certainly enjoyed his passion too. The man could make her toes curl with a look. Was it possible she was falling in love with him too? She suspected she was.
Cool air brushing across her breasts drew her back from her thoughts to see that Magnus had undone the buttons of his shirt and opened it to free her breasts to his attention. Even now his head was lowering to claim one quickly hardening nipple.
Allie didn’t stop him. She wanted the distraction from thoughts that were almost more frightening to her than Abaddon was. Because love could kill you as surely as Abaddon would, but Abaddon could only take your life—love could destroy your soul.
Magnus’s lips latched on to her nipple then, his tongue rasping the sensitive tip, and Allie gasped with pleasure and relief as her thoughts scattered. This was what she needed. He always seemed to know what she needed. But maybe it was time she showed him some cherishing, Allie thought, and suddenly tangled her fingers in his hair and pulled his head away.
When Magnus raised his head, surprise and question on his face, she pushed him back on the bed. Shifting to straddle his groin, Allie smiled at his startled expression and reached to undo the dress pants he still wore, saying, “My turn.”
Seventeen
Allie woke up to find the bed beside her empty, but the smell of coffee redolent in the air. Confused, she looked across the bed at the bedside table. When she didn’t spot a coffee there, she turned to examine the one on her side of the bed, but her gaze halted on Magnus standing by the window. His hair was wet, there was a towel wrapped around his waist, and he held a coffee in hand as he gazed down at the yard. Allie remained still for a moment, staring at him. He was a beautiful man, she thought as she watched shadows dance over his back and arm, and then she realized it was shadows cast by firelight and glanced to the fireplace, surprised to see the flames flickering there.
“The room was a bit chilly, so I built a fire.”
Her eyes shifted back to Magnus to see he was glancing over his shoulder at her.
“I also brought you a coffee if you want it,” he added, and then turned to rest his behind on the window ledge and just looked at her with a small smile playing about his lips.
“Why are you looking at me like that?” she asked, shifting to sit up in bed and reaching for the coffee cup on her bedside table.
“Because I like looking at you,” he responded at once, and then added, “And because I cannot
believe I am lucky enough to have you for a life mate and wife.”
Allie stilled, her heart going all mushy in her chest, but she ignored it and said, “How do you know you’re lucky? Maybe I’ll be a terrible wife.”
He shook his head. “If you show me half the care and concern you have given Liam, you will be the most amazing wife,” he assured her solemnly.
That made her shift guiltily. She hadn’t left this room or seen her son since before the turn. She hadn’t even thought of him until Magnus brought him up. How many days had it been? she worried. And what must he be thinking? She was a terrible mother, Allie thought unhappily.
“He is sleeping,” Magnus said gently. “The children slept up in Stephanie’s room.”
Allie bit her lip uncertainly. “How long has it been since we came upstairs for the turn?”
He checked the bedside clock and she followed his gaze to see that it read 6:45 a.m. “Just short of fourteen hours.”
“What?” she asked with disbelief.
“We left the restaurant just after four thirty,” he reminded her.
Allie nodded. They’d got to the courthouse at three in the afternoon, were married and leaving by a quarter to four, and had gone to Bella Black’s for an early, celebratory dinner. That had been at Allie and Magnus’s suggestion. They’d known Elvi and Mabel were insisting on closing the restaurant to other customers during the celebration, and had hoped it would be over and done in time for the restaurant to open to regular customers by five thirty or six to handle the dinner crowd. She wondered now if they’d opened it up to others after they’d left, or had kept it closed to avoid the possibility of Abaddon and his crew going in and causing trouble.
“And we started the turn just after five p.m.,” Magnus continued. “Now it is nearly seven in the morning.”
“I thought days had passed,” she admitted. “I didn’t realize the turn had gone so quickly.”
“It was nearly two a.m. when I woke up and you were in the shower,” he said quietly. “That is relatively quick for a turn, but as I said, it is still going on.”
Allie nodded solemnly. “I guess we must not have slept as long as I’d thought between . . .” Flushing, she said, “When we passed out, I mean.”
A slow smile curved his lips and he straightened and crossed to the bed. Taking her coffee cup, he set it, along with his own, on the bedside table and then bent toward her. “We did not sleep long between . . .” he murmured, and then pressed a kiss to her lips. “The kids probably will not wake up for another half an hour or better.” He kissed her again. “More like an hour.” His hand found her breast and began to caress her through the sheet she’d pulled with her as she sat up. “I think we could manage another short nap before they wake up.”
“A nap sounds nice,” she said breathlessly, letting the sheet drop as her body responded to his touch.
His other hand immediately slid beneath it to glide down between her legs and he stilled briefly. When she opened her eyes, he was smiling and said, “You are already wet for me.”
“It happened the minute you got that naughty smile and started toward the bed,” she admitted huskily.
“I like that,” Magnus whispered against her lips, and then kissed her properly, his tongue sweeping out to invade her mouth, and his lips demanding. The minute she moaned, he urged her to lie back on the bed and started to come down on her, only to freeze and jerk the sheet back up to cover her when the door burst open.
“Mom, I’m hungry. Can we have pancakes for breakfast?” Liam asked, rushing into the room in a pair of the new pajamas Magnus had bought for him. These ones had dinosaurs on them.
Allie stared at the boy blankly, her brain slow to switch gears, and it was Magnus who answered.
“If Elvi has the fixings and it is okay with her I could probably manage pancakes.”
Allie swung her gaze back to him with surprise. “You cook?”
“No,” he admitted with a shrug. “But I am sure I can figure it out.”
“Yeah, right,” she said on a laugh. She was definitely cooking, Allie decided, and turned back to Liam, pausing briefly when she spotted Teddy Jr., Sunny, and Gracie peeking into the room from the hall. She smiled at them briefly, but then said, “Okay, Liam, go get dressed and I’ll find some clothes and get dressed too, then we’ll go downstairs and make pancakes.”
“I don’t know where my clothes are,” Liam said at once.
“They are up in the room you slept in,” Magnus told him. “The Walmart bags in the corner of Stephanie’s room. Find something to wear and then bring the bags down here. Your mother’s clothes are in the bags too.”
“Okay.” Liam spun away and rushed out of the room.
“Mabel did not know which bags held his clothes and which held yours and did not want to poke through them so took them all up,” Magnus explained as the door closed.
“Oh.” Allie nodded and then blinked as her eyes landed on the towel around his waist and she noted that it was presently imitating a tent.
“Do you think he noticed?” Magnus asked dryly, peering down at himself.
Allie burst out laughing at the question, and slid out of bed to head for the bathroom. “I’m sure he did. He rarely misses anything. I’m just surprised he didn’t ask you about it.” Pausing at the bathroom door, she turned back and warned, “But prepare yourself, because he’ll probably ask you later, and no doubt when it will be most embarrassing. Like at the breakfast table when everyone’s there.”
She heard Magnus groan as she closed the bathroom door and grinned as she turned on the shower. By her guess, she had just enough time for a quick shower before Liam returned. It was going to be a cold one.
“Where is everybody?”
Allie looked up from the crossword puzzle she was doing at that question, and smiled at Tricia as the blonde closed the kitchen door and bent to remove her boots. “Well, let’s see. Stephanie, Victor, and DJ are sleeping. They stood guard all last night, so headed to bed as soon as Tybo, Drina, and Harper got up to relieve them. Mabel and Elvi went to Mabel’s house to get a few things for dinner tonight. Tybo stepped out just a minute ago to check on something and said he’d be right back. The kids are in the rec room downstairs playing hoot owl, and Magnus went shopping.”
Tricia’s eyebrows rose at this news. “Shopping for what?”
“I don’t know. He wouldn’t tell me,” she said with a shrug. “He just kept smiling and saying you will see.”
“Oh. I see,” Tricia said with a knowing smile as she shrugged out of her coat.
Allie narrowed her eyes. “What are you thinking? Sex toys?”
A laugh burst from Tricia and she shook her head. “Why, Allie, who knew you had such a dirty mind?”
“You did,” Allie said dryly as the blonde walked over and dropped into a seat at the table. “Or you should. You’ve been reading my mind since we met.”
“I don’t remember reading any dirty thoughts before you turned,” Tricia assured her with amusement. “But I can read that you’re just teasing me now.”
“Yeah,” Allie sighed. “I was never really interested in sex before Magnus. Now I’m a raving horndog. Is that the nanos? And how long does it last?” she asked with frustration.
Tricia and Drina had said to ask them if she had questions, and she had questions. Mostly how long this torture was going to persist. All Magnus had to do was smile at her and her nipples got hard. The brush of his arm against hers made her shiver and get wet, and a kiss, even a light peck on the forehead or cheek, was enough to make her want to drag him upstairs and jump his bones. Allie knew this because the man had driven her crazy all morning before going out shopping. He’d helped her make pancakes this morning and she’d discovered the kitchen was much smaller than it seemed. They’d constantly been bumping into each other, and when they weren’t, he was touching her. Innocent little touches—the sweep of his fingers down her arm, his hand at her back, brushing against her as he reached for somet
hing. She’d been in a constant state of arousal since coming downstairs, and it hadn’t left when he had. She’d been sitting here pretending to do a crossword puzzle, but her mind was not on it. It was wondering how long Magnus would be, and if they could sneak upstairs for a quickie when he did return. Although quickies weren’t really quick when you had to factor in the fainting spell that followed.
“Yeah, it’s tough,” Tricia said with a grin.
“Your sympathy is underwhelming,” Allie said dryly, and another laugh slipped from the blonde.
“I’m sorry. I am sympathetic,” she assured her. “I remember how overwhelming it was at first. But you’ll adjust.”
“I’ll adjust?” Allie asked slowly, and then squawked, “You mean this doesn’t go away?”
Tricia shook her head, her smile turning wry. “Not as far as I can tell. You just learn to deal with it better . . . or multitask.”
“Multitask?” she asked with disbelief. “What can you possibly do while— I mean, you pass out at the end.”
“Yeah. That can be a problem,” Tricia admitted. “I was once sewing a badge on my uniform when Teddy started to . . .” Pausing, she apparently decided that was sharing just a bit much and simply said, “Anyway, I only had two stitches left, so I announced that I was going to finish while riding him.” She shook her head. “Should have just put it down. Only managed one stitch and it was crooked anyway and had to be redone. Plus, when I woke up after, it was to find the needle sticking out of his eye. I’d impaled him when I passed out. Nasty,” she said, shaking her head. “Fortunately, he was still unconscious. I pulled it out and he was all healed by the time he woke up. Didn’t know a thing.”
“Oh, my God,” Allie breathed with horror, and then shook her head. “Why would you try to keep sewing?”
“Well, it was my uniform,” she said as if that should mean something, and when Allie stared at her dumbly added, “My first shift on the Port Henry police force was just two hours away. My uniform was only delivered that morning, and I had to sew the badges on before I showed up for my shift. It’s not my fault Teddy decided he wanted to celebrate my first day that way.”