“Hee, hee, hee, hoo,” Dex breathed, repeating the steps as he sat in the center of the bed, his hands on his drawn-up knees, following along with the woman on TV as she breathed and pushed and screamed. Sloane’s stomach flipped, and he gripped the doorframe so hard he was afraid he was about to splinter it.
“What are you doing?”
Dex nearly fell off the bed. “Sloane! Jesus, you scared the shit out of me.”
“What is that?” Sloane squeaked, jutting a finger at the sweaty woman on TV. She looked like she was about to pop a spleen.
Dex looked from Sloane to the TV and back. “A Lamaze video.”
“Wh—What? Why? Why are you—What’s with the noises you’re making? What are you doing?” Why wouldn’t the woman stop screaming? The breathing was doing nothing!
Dex stared at him like he was crazy, and maybe he was. “I’m practicing my breathing. It helps get you through the labor pains.”
Clearly not, or the woman on the TV wouldn’t look like she was about to commit murder.
“Why? What do you think is going to happen?” Sloane was getting light-headed. He let out a gasp. “Are you pregnant?” Holy shit, he was losing it.
Dex arched an eyebrow at him. “Did you really just ask me if I was pregnant?”
“I don’t know! There’s the magazines, then the books, and I find you doing the breathing thing, and I don’t know what to think!” Sloane held on to the doorframe for dear life. “Are you having a baby?”
Dex got off the bed and slowly approached, his hands up in front of him. “Sloane, babe, you need to calm down. No one’s having any butt babies.”
“I can’t…. Oh my God, I can’t breathe. I—Wait, what’s a butt baby?” Sloane shook his head. “Never mind. I don’t want to know.” He was terrified as it was.
“Why are you so worked up?”
How could Dex not see? “Because it’s too soon, and I’m sorry, so sorry, if you have your heart set on it, and I think you’d make an amazing dad, but Dex, I haven’t even moved in yet, and I’m still working on not freaking out around kids, and have you seen the way they just touch everything with their sticky little hands, and—Teenagers!”
“Whoa, hold up.”
Dex gently took Sloane’s hand and tugged him away from the door. Sloane didn’t want to leave the door. It was sturdy and safe and away from the scary woman on TV.
“You think… this is for us?”
“Who else would it be for?” Sloane muttered, allowing Dex to pull him over to the bed, where Sloane sat on the edge in case he needed to make a break for the door to get away from whatever was going to pop out of that woman. The way the vein on her neck was bulging, it had to be at least an alien. Oh God, now he sounded like Dex.
“Debbie.”
Was he supposed to know who that was? “Who?”
“Only the most important woman at the THIRDS,” Dex huffed. “How can you not remember Debbie? Tall, big green eyes, lots of curly red hair?”
Suddenly it struck Sloane. “The canteen barista?”
“Yes!”
“I don’t get it. How is she the most important—Oh, because she makes your coffee.” It made sense. Kind of. No. No it didn’t. “I still don’t get it.”
“Debbie’s husband is a sergeant in Unit Beta, and he’s on loan to the THIRDS San Diego Division. I found Debbie in tears a few weeks ago after I stopped by the canteen to get my precoffee coffee. She was terrified her husband wouldn’t make it back in time, and then her Lamaze coach had a family emergency in Canada, and Debbie was having trouble finding a replacement.”
Sloane stared at him. “So you volunteered?”
“Babe, listen to me very carefully.” Dex put his hands up. “Debbie’s made my coffee nearly every day since I joined. She knows exactly how I like it. She gives me Belgian powdered chocolate on my foam. No one else gets powdered chocolate on their foam. Did I mention the chocolate is from Belgium?”
Sloane blinked. “Yes.”
“So you understand why I have a duty to this woman.”
“Ah, right.” Okay, yes, this was making sense now.
Dex’s expression softened. “Aw, you were really freaking out.”
“A little. I mean, I love you. I love you so much, but I’m still working on the living together part.” Now that he knew the truth, he felt kind of silly.
“Come here.” Dex drew Sloane into his arms, planted a kiss on his head, and ran his hand in soothing circles over his back. Sloane melted into Dex, his anxiety drifting away.
“Why didn’t you tell me?” Sloane mumbled against Dex’s shirt, inhaling his lover’s scent.
“Because I didn’t want to freak you out. I figured my doing it would make you think about kids and short-circuit your brain.”
“You were right. So right.”
Dex shrugged. “I was going to tell you once it got a little closer to her due date. I wasn’t expecting you home so early.” A thought seemed to occur to Dex. “Shit, you saw the stuff downstairs.”
“Yeah, it was the Dude, You’re Going to be a Dad! book that did it. Sounded like something you’d buy.”
“Because I did buy it. For Debbie’s husband. I ordered the books online a few days ago, and they just arrived.”
Sloane pulled back. He was pouting, but he didn’t care. “I’m sorry I freaked out. Please don’t tell anyone I asked you if you were pregnant during my momentary lapse into hysteria.”
Dex threw his head back and laughed, the rich sound making Sloane smile.
“Deal.” Dex grabbed the remote and shut off the TV. When he turned his attention back to Sloane, his bright blue eyes were filled with mischief. “Maybe I can’t get pregnant, but how about we knock boots like we’re trying?” He wriggled his eyebrows.
Sloane laughed. Now that he could do, and then some. This was turning out to be a pretty damned good day after all.
*~* visit Superiorz.Club *~*
More from Charlie Cochet
THIRDS: Book One
When homicide detective Dexter J. Daley’s testimony helps send his partner away for murder, the consequences—and the media frenzy—aren’t far behind. He soon finds himself sans boyfriend, sans friends, and, after an unpleasant encounter in a parking garage after the trial, he’s lucky he doesn’t find himself sans teeth. Dex fears he’ll get transferred from the Human Police Force’s Sixth Precinct, or worse, get dismissed. Instead, his adoptive father—a sergeant at the Therian-Human Intelligence Recon Defense Squadron otherwise known as the THIRDS—pulls a few strings, and Dex gets recruited as a Defense Agent.
Dex is determined to get his life back on track and eager to get started in his new job. But his first meeting with Team Leader Sloane Brodie, who also happens to be his new jaguar Therian partner, turns disastrous. When the team is called to investigate the murders of three HumaniTherian activists, it soon becomes clear to Dex that getting his partner and the rest of the tightknit team to accept him will be a lot harder than catching the killer—and every bit as dangerous.
Sequel to Hell & High Water
THIRDS: Book Two
When a series of bombs go off in a Therian youth center, injuring members of THIRDS Team Destructive Delta and causing a rift between agents Dexter J. Daley and Sloane Brodie, peace seems unattainable. Especially when a new and frightening group, the Order of Adrasteia, appears to always be a step ahead. With panic and intolerance spreading and streets becoming littered with the Order’s propaganda, hostility between Humans and Therians grows daily. Dex and Sloane, along with the rest of the team, are determined to take down the Order and restore peace, not to mention settle a personal score. But the deeper the team investigates the bombings, the more they believe there’s a more sinister motive than a desire to shed blood and spread chaos.
Discovering the frightful truth behind the Order’s intent forces Sloane to confront secrets from a past he thought he’d left behind for good, a past that could not only destroy him and his career, but also
the reputation of the organization that made him all he is today. Now more than ever, Dex and Sloane need each other, and, along with trust, the strength of their bond will mean the difference between justice and all-out war.
Sequel to Blood & Thunder
THIRDS: Book Three
New York City’s streets are more dangerous than ever with the leaderless Order of Adrasteia and the Ikelos Coalition, a newly emerged Therian group, at war. Innocent civilians are caught in the crossfire and although the THIRDS round up more and more members of the Order in the hopes of keeping the volatile group from reorganizing, the members of the Coalition continue to escape and wreak havoc in the name of vigilante justice.
Worse yet, someone inside the THIRDS has been feeding the Coalition information. It’s up to Destructive Delta to draw out the mole and put an end to the war before anyone else gets hurt. But to get the job done, the team will have to work through the aftereffects of the Therian Youth Center bombing. A skirmish with Coalition members leads Agent Dexter J. Daley to a shocking discovery and suddenly it becomes clear that the random violence isn’t so random. There’s more going on than Dex and Sloane originally believed, and their fiery partnership is put to the test. As the case takes an explosive turn, Dex and Sloane are in danger of losing more than their relationship.
THIRDS: Book Four
After an attack by the Coalition leaves THIRDS Team Leader Sloane Brodie critically injured, agent Dexter J. Daley swears to make Beck Hogan pay for what he’s done. But Dex’s plans for retribution are short-lived. With Ash still on leave with his own injuries, Sloane in the hospital, and Destructive Delta in the Coalition’s crosshairs, Lieutenant Sparks isn’t taking any chances. Dex’s team is pulled from the case, with the investigation handed to Team Leader Sebastian Hobbs. Dex refuses to stand by while another team goes after Hogan, and decides to put his old HPF detective skills to work to find Hogan before Theta Destructive, no matter the cost.
With a lengthy and painful recovery ahead of him, the last thing Sloane needs is his partner out scouring the city, especially when the lies—however well-intentioned—begin to spiral out of control. Sloane is all too familiar with the desire to retaliate, but some things are more important, like the man who’s pledged to stand beside him. As Dex starts down a dark path, it’s up to Sloane to show him what’s at stake, and finally put a name to what’s in his heart.
Sequel to Rise & Fall
THIRDS: Book Five
As the fiercest Defense Agent at the THIRDS, Destructive Delta’s Ash Keeler is foul-mouthed and foul-tempered. But his hard-lined approach always yields results, evident by his recent infiltration of the Coalition. Thanks to Ash’s skills and the help of his team, they finally put an end to the murdering extremist group for good, though not before Ash takes a bullet to save teammate Cael Maddock. As a result, Ash’s secrets start to surface, and he can no longer ignore what’s in his heart.
Cael Maddock is no stranger to heartache. As a Recon Agent for Destructive Delta, he has successfully maneuvered through the urban jungle that is New York City, picking up his own scars along the way. Yet nothing he’s ever faced has been more of a challenge than the heart of Ash Keeler, his supposedly straight teammate. Being in love isn’t the only danger he and Ash face as wounds reopen and new secrets emerge, forcing them to question old loyalties.
CHARLIE COCHET is an author by day and artist by night. Always quick to succumb to the whispers of her wayward muse, no star is out of reach when following her passion. From adventurous agents and sexy shifters to society gentlemen and hardboiled detectives, there’s bound to be plenty of mischief for her heroes to find themselves in—and plenty of romance, too!
Currently residing in Central Florida, Charlie is at the beck and call of a rascally Doxiepoo bent on world domination. When she isn’t writing, she can usually be found reading, drawing, or watching movies. She runs on coffee, thrives on music, and loves to hear from readers.
Website: www.charliecochet.com
Blog: www.charliecochet.com/blog
E-mail: [email protected]
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Twitter: @charliecochet
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THIRDS HQ: www.thirdshq.com
By Charlie Cochet
Between the Devil and the Pacific Blue
Beware of Geeks Bearing Gifts
Forgive and Forget
Healing Hunter’s Heart
Love in Retrograde
A Rose by Any Other Name
THE AUSPICIOUS TROUBLES OF LOVE
The Auspicious Troubles of Chance
The Impetuous Afflictions of Jonathan Wolfe
NORTH POLE CITY TALES
Mending Noel
The Heart of Frost
Vixen’s Valor
Loving Blitz
THIRDS
Hell & High Water
Blood & Thunder
Rack & Ruin
Rise & Fall
Against the Grain
Catch a Tiger by the Tail
Smoke & Mirrors
THIRDS Beyond the Books Volume 1
THIRDS Beyond the Books Volume 2
Published by DREAMSPINNER PRESS
www.dreamspinnerpress.com
Published by
DREAMSPINNER PRESS
5032 Capital Circle SW, Suite 2, PMB# 279, Tallahassee, FL 32305-7886 U-S-A
www.dreamspinnerpress.com
This is a work of fiction. Names, characters, places, and incidents either are the product of author imagination or are used fictitiously, and any resemblance to actual persons, living or dead, business establishments, events, or locales is entirely coincidental.
THIRDS Beyond the Books Volume 2
© 2016 Charlie Cochet.
s ~ u ~ p ~ z
Cover Art
© 2016 L.C. Chase.
http://www.lcchase.com
Cover content is for illustrative purposes only and any person depicted on the cover is a model.
All rights reserved. This book is licensed to the original purchaser only. Duplication or distribution via any means is illegal and a violation of international copyright law, subject to criminal prosecution and upon conviction, fines, and/or imprisonment. Any eBook format cannot be legally loaned or given to others. No part of this book may be reproduced or transmitted in any form or by any means, electronic or mechanical, including photocopying, recording, or by any information storage and retrieval system, without the written permission of the Publisher, except where permitted by law. To request permission and all other inquiries, contact Dreamspinner Press, 5032 Capital Circle SW, Suite 2, PMB# 279, Tallahassee, FL 32305-7886, USA, or www.dreamspinnerpress.com.
Digital ISBN: 978-1-63477-308-9
Published October 2016
v. 1.0
Printed in the United States of America
THIRDS Beyond the Books Volume 2 Page 15