“She’s great. When we were riding in the backseat of the Navigator together, after you rescued us from Toltec, she held my hand the whole time. She’d been through so much, but she didn’t want me to be afraid.”
Pax smiled. “That sounds about right. She thinks the world of you, that’s for sure.”
They walked to the long antique table in the center of the room. Pax went around to the far side. “So, the books at this end haven’t been checked yet. The stuff down there is done.”
James looked at the stack. “Whoa. Is there any priority?”
“Um, I dunno. I’d probably just go with anything in English.”
“Either that or second year French.” He pulled a book off the top of the pile, glanced at the first page, and sat down across from him. He was two pages in when Pax kicked his foot. He looked up.
“Oh, sorry.”
James nodded and went back to his book, which was loaded with some kind of ancient vocabulary. How the hell was Adriana getting through this stuff? Two paragraphs later, he felt Pax’s gaze on him. He looked across the table. Pax’s eyes were glowing, but they were different somehow. Almost as though there were other colors underneath the bright amber. A shimmer. “Are you okay?”
“Me? Yeah, I’m fine.”
He looked back at the page. “I keep losing my place. Not that I can understand what I’m reading. It’s like the thing is written in tongues. Is there a third pile for what-the-fuck?”
“James?”
“Hmm?”
“I love you.”
James’s head shot up so fast it was a wonder he didn’t give himself whiplash. He stared at the male across the table while he tried to figure out if he’d nodded off at some point.
“I love you, James.”
Pax reached across the table and took his hand. The touch of their skin was kinetic. Little prickles of power crept up James’s arm. He lightly rubbed the soft spot under Pax’s wrist with his thumb. “I love you, too.”
The male’s grip tightened and before James knew it they had gleamed out and materialized somewhere behind the back stacks. Pax pushed him against a bookshelf and nuzzled his neck a little before going for the spot just south of his jawline. God help him this was so it. A satisfied sigh escaped his throat, and his camzah adjusted his weight so his arousal hit James’s thigh. He immediately slipped his hands down to Pax’s ass.
“Dame esa boquita,” Pax whispered.
Not the Spanish. Fuck. There was an odd groaning sound and James realized it wasn’t coming from either of them. Shit. “Pax, we’re going to knock over the…”
James swallowed the word books when the male’s lips hit his. Whatever. They could be picked up. He gave Pax a baby shock with his piercing. God, he loved doing that. He loved hearing Pax moan, and reveled in the fact that no one else could do it. Little cocky, but there you had it. Just as Pax took the kiss even deeper, he picked up on Ana moving through the room. He knew his camzah felt it too, but he sure as hell wasn’t doing anything about it.
The female stopped at the top of the aisle and crossed her arms. “Oh, for fuck’s sake, Valentino. Get a room. You’ve got two.”
Pax adjusted his position so he was standing behind James and wrapped his arms around his waist. “Oh, please. Like you and SE haven’t christened more than your fair share of rooms. You could write a book for the library. Let’s see. Hottest Places for Het Sex in the NB Mansion.”
The female looked as though she was about to make an equally sassy remark when, without warning, baby Maya materialized at Ana’s shoulder. She caught her thanks to her New Breed reflexes. Thank fuck.
There was a moment where James thought he may have actually stopped breathing. “Oh, my God.”
Ana lifted her into the air and the offspring smiled. “What are you up to? Are you using your power again? Huh? That’s my girl.”
James smiled and looked over at Pax. But the male wasn’t looking at the offspring. He was staring straight at Ana.
Richard walked down the second floor hallway and was about to knock on SE’s door when his female came flying around the corner. “Adri? What’s wrong?”
“She’s gone! Maya’s gone!”
She was about to run right by him, but he caught her. “Wait.”
He swept the mansion for their offspring’s k’ul in a matter of seconds. “It’s okay. She’s with Ana in the library.”
“Oh, thank the Goddess.” She laid her head on his chest. “I think I’ve officially gone insane.”
Richard put his arm around his mate and walked her down the hall to the conservatory. They made their way past the wicker furniture and potted plants to Adriana’s favorite spot on the settee. He pushed her dark waves away from her face.
“Are you okay?” he asked.
“Yeah, I’m alright. Just a little light headed.” She was still visibly trying to calm her breathing.
“Adri, I need to ask you something. Have you been thinking about binding Maya’s power? Assuming it’s possible?”
Adriana sighed. “No, not seriously. Although, it’s crossed my mind on a tough day or two. But I want our daughter to grow up knowing who she is.”
“Good. I feel the same way. I mean, right now, if you think about it, everything she’s doing makes developmental sense. She’s at the library almost as much as she’s in the suite. And going to Ana makes sense, too. So we’re still in a fairly predictable pattern.”
“That’s true, but what happens when she goes beyond those boundaries? I can’t gleam and I can’t sense her.”
“That’s why I’m going to teach you.”
Adri’s big brown eyes widened. “To gleam?”
He shook his head. “No. To sense her.”
“Oh, I don’t know. I’m far from a New Breed. Do shifters have enough k’ul for that?”
He touched her cheek. “You’re something much more important than a New Breed. You’re her mother. And I think we can use that connection. What do you say? Will you try?”
“Yes, of course. I’ll try anything.”
“I knew you would.” He kissed her softly, erupting into laughter and wrapping her in his arms.
“What’s so funny, my male?”
“I was just thinking about the night you told me you were pregnant. You were so nervous.”
She smiled. “I had to tell you I was pregnant nineteen years after mating and long after we’d decided against having offspring. Who wouldn’t be?”
He wrapped a long dark curl around his finger. God, she was as lovely as ever. “You know, our twentieth is in a couple of weeks.”
She wrapped her arms around him. “Mmm.”
“Have you thought about what you’d like?”
She smiled. “I want New Breed k’ul so I can chase our infant daughter all over the mansion.”
Richard laughed. “Short of that?”
“I want to spend it here with you and our family. Maybe some cake after dinner.”
He smiled. So easy to please. “Done. What do you say we go hunt down our offspring, female?”
Adriana grinned. “Now there’s a sentence you don’t hear every day.”
CHAPTER SEVEN
Dimitri walked down the mansion’s second floor hallway and knocked on his older brother’s door. “Viktor?”
“It’s open, Dimka.”
“Hey. I’m gonna head out for a bit. I need to pick up some stuff from the condo. I meant to tell you at dinner.” He looked at the mountain of papers piled on the desk. “What’s all that?”
“Pretty much every scrap of Intel I’ve gathered on the Drakon crime syndicate.”
“Jesus. That’s a lot. The Dragons, huh? They’re the operation who ganked the cousin who was after you and then sent the assassin instead?”
“Yep. I’m pretty sure they just got impatient with how long it was taking Elena’s family to do the job. That and they probably thought I knew too much.”
Dimitri picked up a file. “Apparently, you do.”
Viktor looked down at the desk. “Good point.”
“Look, there’s something I’ve been meaning to tell you. When Ana and I were out on duty the other night, Ekaterina Spanov decided to drop by and introduce herself.”
“Ahueyet?”
“Don’t what-the-fuck me, big brother. We knew it was going to happen sooner or later.”
Viktor cringed. “Yeah, but not ten minutes after we talked to Reyn about it. So, she knows who you are then?”
Dimitri nodded. “Yeah, we had some words. Then she shot me in the hand with a Berloque pistol. We had a great time. Very memorable.”
“You talked to her? What, did you two introduce yourselves?”
“Yeah, more or less. I think she kinda likes me.”
“Dimka, have you lost your mind?” He gestured to his head like Dimitri was somehow unaware of its location.
“Look, she knew who I was. All I did was confirm it.”
Viktor paced to the window and back. “All you did was confirm it. All you did was confirm it?”
Dimitri looked around the room. “Is there an echo in here?”
His brother put a hand on his shoulder. “All I’m saying is not to underestimate her.”
Yeah, he’d heard that one somewhere before. “I’m not, okay? Lesson learned. Do you need anything while I’m out?”
His brother shook his head. “Nyet.”
He headed for the door. “Okay. I’ll check you later.”
“Dimka?”
He opened the door to leave, but looked back at the male.
“Be careful.”
He rolled his eyes. “Would you stop worrying? I got this.”
He ran his hand through his chin length hair, and disappeared.
James sat on the bed cross-legged while Pax armed himself for duty at his weapons cabinet in the closet. He was so not looking forward to this. He knew he needed to talk to Pax about how he’d been feeling when he was by himself. When he was alone, he all he could think about was what he’d done to Seth. Sometimes his head seemed so clear and he thought he’d done the right thing. But at night, alone in his room, he felt angry. Guilty. It just sucked so much having this shit hanging over him when things had finally started to happen between them. He thought back to the library and could almost hear Pax’s voice saying those three little words. His insides started going off like roman candles. “Pax?”
“Yeah?”
“What does boquita mean?”
“Hmm? Oh, um, it means mouth, basically.” He poked his head out of the closet. “One you really like.”
“Oh.” He willed himself not to blush and actually pulled it off for once.
Pax pulled on his leather jacket. “Are you sure you’re going to be okay tonight while I’m gone?”
“Yeah, I’ll be fine.”
His camzah squatted in front of him. “I know you’re having issues being alone right now. You can hang in the pool room or maybe go see Christian.”
The fact that Pax had picked up on the issue made him want to stick the nearest sharp object in his eye. On the other hand, hearing him suggest he visit Christian with no sign of jealousy whatsoever was such a testament to the amazing male Pax was. He trusted him, even though he didn’t have any reason to trust anybody right now. It felt good. “Yeah, that’s not a bad idea. Maybe I’ll do that.”
The male stood up and took his cell off the nightstand. “Are you sleeping down here tonight?”
“Um, yeah.” He nodded.
“Okay. I’ll be back as early as I can.” Pax leaned down and gave him a quick kiss.
“Kick some ass.” James smiled.
“Promise.”
And then he was gone.
James looked around the room and thought about what he wanted to do. He wasn’t in the mood for TV or gaming. Maybe he would go down to Christian’s for a bit. He pulled on his Converse and headed out, walking through the gym, looking up at the basket as he went. Maybe Chris would want to shoot some hoops for a bit. He could tire himself out so he could sleep when he went back to Pax’s. He was just about to knock on the door when Rory came flying out.
“Oh, hi, James. Bye, James.”
“That was quick.”
Christian smiled from where he sat eating an apple on the bed. “She’s missing some TV show. Come on in.”
James left the door open, pulled out the desk chair, and sat down on it backwards. “I’m sorry I haven’t been around the last few days. Turns out we had a mating ceremony. It got pretty hectic.”
“Oh, yours?”
James laughed. “What?”
Christian grinned. “I’m just yanking your chain. Rose told Rory all about it. Something is different about you, though. You’re sitting about as far away from me as you can get in this dinky room, and you seem sort of, I dunno, settled? You and your New Breed work things out?”
“Not completely. We’re a work in progress. But I know I belong with him. Listen, I’m really sorry if I led you on. If I did, it wasn’t intentional.”
“Nah. Like I said, it was just a little fun. Honestly, it’s been really good to have a friend.”
James smiled. “Yeah, same here.”
Chris took a bite of his apple. “Okay, spill. Which male is it? The one with the eyes who was here to drop off the TV before?”
He shook his head. “No, that’s Diesel. He’s mated to Helen, our surgeon. It’s his partner, actually. Pax.”
Christian’s eyes widened with interest. “The dark-haired Latino type with the swagger?”
James laughed. “That’d be him.”
“Oh, my God. Dude, he is brutally hot.”
He looked down at his sneakers. “Yeah.”
Chris sat forward. “So, deets. How did you two…”
“He’s been my mentor since I got here.”
The male smirked. “I’ll bet.”
James rolled his eyes.
“I’m just razzing you.” The male looked at him appraisingly for a moment. “You really have no idea do you? James, you are a catch. You’re freaking adorable. I’ll bet he took one look at you and it was all over.”
James thought back to what Pax had said about wanting him at his first dinner with the brothers and their mates. He felt heat hit his cheeks.
Christian laughed. “Face it. You are cuteness personified.”
James groaned. What was it with everyone and that word? “So, how are you two doing down here? Okay?”
“Yeah. I don’t have much work for school left and Rory loves Rose. I just don’t know what to do about Columbia. I feel like if I go, I’ll be abandoning her.”
James leaned on the back of the chair. “You could always defer.”
The male nodded. “I’ve thought about it.”
“The thing is, Chris, there’s no way to really tell if you’ll go through the second transition or not. And it can happen when you’re eighteen or thirty-five. Maybe not at all. You’ve done an amazing job with Rory, but she’s safe here. Maybe it’s time to start your own life. I mean, that’s what you really want.”
Christian squinted his eyes. “How do you do that?”
“What?”
“I dunno. It’s like you can read people or something.”
James shrugged. “I’m not sure…never noticed it. You know, I did notice that lonely looking court out there, though. Are you up for some hoops? I swear I’ll spot you some serious pointage.”
The male grinned. “In that case, you’re on.”
Dimitri gleamed into his Midtown condo and headed for the fridge. Jesus, he’d forgotten talking to Viktor could be so intense. He took out a bottled water, twisted the top off, and immediately froze. He wasn’t alone. Fuck. There was a shifter in his bedroom down the hall. Rather than give whoever it was a chance to sense him coming, he gleamed out and materialized right outside the door. He pulled his pistol and quietly looked into the room.
He took one step in and, without warning, something heavy slammed into the bac
k of his head. “Ow!”
His New Breed sight went all wonky, so he quickly flicked on the lights. Ekaterina Stavros was headed for the balcony. He gleamed ahead of her, getting to the French doors first. He grabbed onto her sleeve and forced her to face him.
“What the hell are you doing? There’s nothing in my condo, you psychopath.”
“You are here, Dimitri Ivanovovich, and you are not nothing.”
She had him there. “Well, I’m not exactly the right Ivanov, am I?”
“Nyet. But now I at least know the condo is yours.”
He rolled his eyes. “Nothing you couldn’t google. So, what’s the grand plan, Stavros? Are you just going to follow me all over town? You’re kinda cramping my style.”
“Sooner or later you will lead me to him.”
He looked through the doorway and down at the floor of the bedroom. A stone bookend was lying on the hardwood. “A bookend? You hit me with a bookend? First my hand and now this. Keep it up and the only place I’m going to lead you is the emergency room.”
“A female must protect herself.”
Okay, he’d had enough. He yanked hold of her collar and brought her so close to his face he could feel her breath. “If I catch you following me again, I will kill you. Understand?”
He let go and gave her a shove toward the wall of the balcony.
She gave him a playful smirk. “Then I guess I will have to make sure you don’t catch me.”
He took a step toward her and she leapt over the side of the building. He turned and went back into the bedroom, slamming the door behind him. Gingerly, he touched the spot on the back of his head. Just a little tender. Maybe his NB bod would do him a solid and forego the headache. He picked up the marble bookend and put it back on its shelf. His drawers were a mess and so was his desk. Obviously, she’d been looking for Intel—probably on the Order’s location. The condo was in his name, but the mansion wasn’t. The female would have to track that info through dozens of companies. It was safe. Viktor was just going to love this. On second thought, maybe he did feel a headache coming on. Fuck. Me.
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