Fates Altered

by Jules Barnard

  They drove into town and stopped at the local pizza joint. Theda glanced around nervously, her hand wrapped around the gold bangle she wore on her wrist. Now that Alex thought about it, she never seemed to take it off, along with the necklace she wore. “You okay?” he asked.

  She tried to give him a reassuring smile. “Yes. Fine,” she said, but he sensed her nervousness. He was nervous too. Would more people like the tracker come looking for her?

  They got out of the car and he put his hand on her lower back, guiding her to the restaurant. They put in a to-go order, but it would take thirty minutes to cook. He should have thought about that before they’d left the house. He could have called it in. But at the time, getting out of the confined space, where Theda was looking at him with sultry eyes, seemed more important for his self-control.

  He cared for her. He didn’t want Theda to leave. That was why he was so adamant about knowing her past. But she had important reasons for not telling him more, and he trusted in that. As long as she was safe, and the man who’d found her last night would never again return, why not forget the past and move forward?

  They took a short walk down the block while they waited for their food. An evening farmers’ market and small art exhibit were set up in one of the parking lots. They walked through and looked at the displays, and Theda seemed taken by what she saw, a smile on her face.

  “What will you do? Will you move on after last night?” He dreaded the answer, but he needed to hear it. To hear whether she’d leave him, now that he realized he didn’t want her to go.

  “I—haven’t thought about it. Do you want me to leave?” Her voice was soft, vulnerable.

  Alex stopped near a tiered fountain and grabbed both of her hands. “I want you to stay. I thought I needed to know where you came from, but that’s bullshit. I don’t care about that. I mean, I do, if you want to talk about it or why that man came after you last night. But it’s not necessary. I’m here for you. I don’t need the past. I just need you.”

  Theda bit her lip. “I can stay?”

  He pulled her to his chest, his hand on the back of her head pressing her near. “Please stay. Be my girlfriend in truth.”

  “In truth,” she repeated. “I’ve always been yours.”

  Alex pressed his lips to hers. He could do without just about anything—a home-cooked meal, knowing her past—shoot, he’d even live in that damned shed as long as she was at his side.

  He’d never felt this way about a woman.

  Somehow they made it home and he even remembered to bring the pizza, but it didn’t get eaten. At least, not right away.

  Alex was kissing and touching Theda before they made it inside the door. He kicked off his boots, and she tugged off their jackets as he tossed the pizza box on the table. His aim must have been off, because he heard it land on the floor.

  He didn’t care. He wanted her, and this time it wouldn’t be him putting on the brakes.

  He had given Theda plenty of chances to stay away, but she hadn’t. She was wiggling her way into his heart with her attempts at cooking and the purest, sincerest admission: I’ve always been yours. It was all he’d needed to hear.

  If she wanted him to stop, he would, no questions asked. But he was going to show Theda how much he cared, and how she made him feel—the electricity that had sparked from the moment he first saw her.

  He cradled her head in both of his hands, pulling far enough away to talk. “You won’t leave me, will you?” He tried to figure out what he was saying. “You fell into my life out of nowhere, and I suddenly have the worst fear of losing you.”

  She swallowed. “I will never leave you willingly.”

  That wasn’t an answer. It left too many alternatives, but her mouth was back on his, and he forgot what he wanted to say next, because she started unbuttoning her top, revealing pale, silky flesh.

  Alex swept his hands over each section of skin Theda exposed, helping her ease her top off, and revealing the large purple gemstone surrounded by diamonds at the end of her necklace. Wherever she came from, she hadn’t been poor. Then he took in the rest of her and his mind blanked.

  Seeing her in nothing but her bra—her delicate shoulders, the swell of her breasts—his mouth went dry.

  Reaching behind her, he quickly removed her bra.

  She leaned back a fraction, surprise filling her face. “You did that very quickly.”

  “Shhh,” he said, not wanting to explain how he’d come by that talent. His new motto: Leave the past in the past. “Nimble fingers.”

  Theda tried to unbutton his jeans, but he undid them for her, and had her jeans halfway down her creamy legs in seconds.

  He stood back in his boxer briefs and took in the beautiful woman in front of him in nothing but tiny underwear. “You’re stunning,” he said, his voice sounding deep and rumbly even to his ears. He wanted Theda. All of her.

  She looked away, as though embarrassed, her arms covering herself. “All of us are attractive.”

  “I don’t know what you mean by that, but I think you believe I’m talking about your body.” He eased her arms to her sides and touched her collarbone, trailing his hands over her breasts and the slight swell of her lower belly. “Your body is beautiful, but so are you. The way you care about animals, the friendships you’ve built with Leti and even my dad. They love you, Theda. I’m falling in love with you.”

  He set his mouth on hers and kissed her with all the pent-up passion that had been gnawing at his insides since she’d stepped into his life. And she seemed to have the same thing in mind, because her mouth was just as determined to prove her affection for him.

  He eased her back and her legs hit the mattress. They tumbled down until he was lying over her, bracing his weight on his arms.

  “Are you sure you want this?” He couldn’t believe he was even thinking about stopping, but this was her first time. He wanted to make sure she was ready.

  In answer, Theda reached down his back and slid her hands beneath his boxer briefs, squeezing his ass.

  That was a strong sign, but he needed to hear it. “Theda, answer me,” he said gruffly, his control slipping.

  She reached between them and tentatively touched the length prodding her soft thigh through the thin material he wore. And then she slipped her hand beneath the fabric and ran a finger down him, then two, and then her fist gripped him.

  He inhaled sharply and counted to five. She was killing him. In a good way.

  “Theda?” His voice came out on a choke.

  “Yes, I want this. I want you.”

  And then her panties flew off. Not really. He tried to act the gentleman, but he was a lot excited and a bit overeager to press her naked body to his.

  She pushed his boxers down with her feet—which he found extremely sexy and good improvising for someone who’d never done this before.

  His mind paused on that thought. He was going to be her first.

  And somehow that was just fine. He would never hurt her. He only wanted to love her.

  Their naked bodies finally touched and a gust of breath whooshed from his lungs. He savored the sensation of her skin and soft curves. Nuzzling her neck and running his lips along her hairline, he breathed in her light wildflower scent. And then his mouth was on hers and their bodies began to move of their own accord.

  Alex wanted to take things slowly, but she was giving him breathy sighs and little moans that had him gripping the blankets beside her head. He didn’t want to rush her. He’d touch her all night and be content if that was all she wanted.

  He didn’t need to worry, because the second his hand grazed her outer thighs she parted her legs just enough for his hips to slide between those silky, long limbs.

  You would think he was the virgin the way his arms quaked. He told himself it was because he’d been holding his weight over her for a good long while, but he was pretty sure it was because he’d never experienced this before. The connection they had was more powerful than love—deeper
, stamped in granite, and never to be removed. As though they were always meant to be.

  As though he’d simply been waiting for her, biding his time, until his real life could begin.

  At this moment, he was damn near ready to propose, but one thing at a time. He didn’t want to scare her off.

  Theda shifted, and that was all it took for him to penetrate the first half-inch that had them both moaning. He moved gently with her body, waiting for her to relax and allow him entrance, kissing her and touching her breasts and the sensitive spot at the juncture of her thighs. Her fingers gripped his hair and she shivered. He inched further with each short thrust, until he was fully seated inside her.

  “I love you,” he whispered.

  She rocked her hips, and Alex moved at the feel of her grasping his shoulders and holding him to her, urging him on.

  He kissed her neck and squeezed her breast, lightly circling her nipple with his finger.

  Soon, her breath hitched, and her body clamped on his, her back arching as a loud, sexy moan came from her. He held back just long enough until her body stopped quaking before his control slipped and his own orgasm hit him.

  He didn’t move until he could see again, because for a second he went blind with the power of his climax. Which was crazy. And wonderful. And all Theda.

  He lifted his head and looked at her sated smile.

  Kissing her eyelids, her cheeks, he savored the moment. He gave her one last kiss on the lips, assuring himself she was okay, and went to remove the condom. Fuck. And realized he hadn’t put one on.

  He’d never forgotten before.

  Whatever voodoo that had him racing through the dark last night, hearing her voice from miles away, must have also strung him too far out with lust to think clearly. He’d experienced a moment of complete stupidity.

  Alex collapsed beside her and tucked her near. Their relationship was fast, but in the end, it wouldn’t matter that he’d forgotten the condom. He felt in his heart that Theda was the woman for him.

  And what were the chances she would get pregnant the first time anyway?

  Epilogue

  Twenty-two months later…

  “She looks like you,” Theda said, lying on her belly on the floor.

  The baby sat on her round bottom and waved a colorful ball with tiny holes for her fingers back and forth. For the moment, Elena was stationary, but the minute her attention wandered she’d be up and walking around like a drunken sailor, as Alex liked to describe it.

  He quickly toed off his boots and dumped his coat beneath the front door, not even bothering to hang it, then rushed into the kitchen to wash his hands. He plopped down on the floor beside them. “She’s way too pretty to look like me. Her hair is darker than yours, but see”—he held up a strand of the baby’s hair—“my hair is black and our daughter’s is this reddish brown. She gets that from you. And her eyes… She has the most beautiful eyes.”

  Theda couldn’t argue. Elena had inherited both of their traits. She and her husband might be biased, but she thought they’d created the most beautiful child inside and out. At one year old tomorrow, Elena was sweet, with such a gentle soul.

  When Theda discovered she was pregnant, she was shocked. How could she conceive so quickly? She and Alex had only been intimate a couple of weeks, and only the one time without precautions to prevent pregnancy. But when Leti had suggested Theda take a pregnancy test, she did as her sister-in-law said. Apparently, Theda’s sudden craving for meat in large quantities had tipped off her friend, who was more experienced in these things. Alex and Theda soon discovered the truth.

  A daughter. He’d given her a baby girl.

  He sniffed. “I think she needs a diaper change.”

  Theda raised her eyebrow.

  “Right.” He hid his smile. “My turn.”

  Whenever Alex came home, he went straight to Theda and their child. He wasn’t afraid to change the baby’s diapers, and he still cooked for them—mostly because Theda had never quite mastered it and burnt more meals than she cared to admit. Fortunately, her daughter still ate baby food, and they’d only just started her on regular milk.

  Theda leaned over Elena so that the baby could play with her amethyst necklace while Alex made quick work of changing the diaper. As soon as he finished and cleaned up, he grabbed a notepad and leaned against the couch, a lock of black hair falling over his forehead as he studied his daughter with an artist’s eye.

  He had begun sketching again. She’d noted the sketches in his house when she’d first arrived, but she’d not once seen him create anything. Until she became pregnant with their child. And then her husband sketched nonstop. Landscapes, images of the family—images of Theda, though those had always concerned her.

  She’d never stopped worrying that her father would find her, or that another tracker would return. Most of the time, she hid the sketches Alex created of her or destroyed them entirely, though it pained her to do so. She loved everything he created and framed as many of them as she could. But she feared images of her were too dangerous to have around. And whenever a friend or family member wanted to take a picture of her, she always made sure to look down at the baby or turn her head away at the last second.

  But the sketches Alex made of Elena—Theda had an entire baby book full of them. One day, she would show them to her daughter.

  She shook a plastic rattle Mateo had outgrown above Elena, and the baby climbed to her feet to reach for it.

  “Would you like me to make something for dinner?” she asked.

  Alex looked up, his eyes telling her everything he was thinking.

  She smacked his arm. “Wretched man. I already made something. In the slow cooker. And it’s Leti’s recipe, so it’s safe.”

  He grinned mischievously. “I don’t know. Slow cookers. A lot can go wrong when you throw things in a slow cooker.”

  He was making fun of her. And she loved it. So much so that she tossed his notepad to the side and lunged across his lap, kissing his neck. She’d never tire of her husband’s scent—like the outdoors and everything comfortable mixed in one.

  Alex chuckled and wrapped his arms around her. “At least our daughter will grow up knowing how much her parents love each other, since you can’t keep your hands off me.”

  She pinched his waist and he laughed some more. “I believe it’s the other way around.” She gave him a knowing look.

  “Last night was definitely all me. It’s your fault for wearing that naughty lingerie Leti gave you at the wedding shower.”

  “It was getting dusty in my dresser drawer. I thought it needed to be aired out.”

  “Oh, it was aired out, all right—taken off and thrown right into the air the second you slipped it on.”

  She laughed and kissed his lips. “Everything’s set for tomorrow?”

  “Pretty sure Old Bob’s entire workforce will be there.” He kissed her neck and slid his palms up her top. “How will I keep my hands off you until they’re gone?”

  “By being good, you naughty man.”

  Standing in their living room the next day, the house filled with family and friends to help celebrate Elena’s first birthday, Theda never could have imagined such happiness if she hadn’t been living it.

  “Hand her over, sis. Let me get a snuggle from my little niece.” Tony leaned down and cooed in Elena’s upturned, smiling face, and Theda handed her daughter to him.

  She smiled, watching Elena squeeze Tony’s nose. He made a loud honking sound and the baby erupted in giggles.

  There was nothing more beautiful than her child’s laughter—

  A knock sounded at the door.

  Theda heard it because of her heightened senses, but it was too loud in the room for anyone else to note. Even Alex, who was gobbling up a slice of cake as he discussed plans for the new irrigation system with his father, hadn’t heard the sound.

  He looked at her directly, as if he’d sensed her staring, and his mouth broke out into a wide smile. He win
ked.

  Theda’s face heated. This man… She’d never known a man could be so kind—and, well, appealing. If they were not playing with their daughter, they were kissing. She wasn’t pregnant yet, but at this rate, they’d have another child soon.

  Imagine what her father would think if he knew she’d conceived so quickly. If only Fae understood the happiness a union with a human could bring. But Fae believed power and magic were all that mattered.

  If her father knew she’d borne a child… A stinging shiver racked her body. He could never know. He’d take Elena and wait to see if she possessed powers. They came from a strong noble line and there was a good chance Elena would grow up to possess a magical ability. And if her daughter did…Theda couldn’t think of it. She’d have to prepare Elena once she was older.

  Whatever circumstances lay ahead, Theda would protect her daughter at any cost.

  The door…

  She wiggled past friends and neighbors crowding the small living room, but a sinking feeling settled in her belly. It had been over two years since she’d run from Tirnan, but the fear of being found never quite left her. She’d married, had borne a child, and no one had found her after the tracker. There was no reason to believe someone would today of all days.

  She took a deep breath and opened the front door with a smile on her face, expecting another group of friends to have arrived.

  But the person at the front door wasn’t a friend.

  No. NO. Her body turned hot, then ice cold with fear.

  Adelmar Lucent stood on the porch in all his arrogant glory. “Hello, Theodora. I’ve come to take you home.”

  She’d softened since leaving Tirnan—grown more human, allowing her emotions to show. But she couldn’t afford to reveal what she felt right now. “I won’t go.”

  He peered over her head into the room. “You will, or everyone in this dwelling perishes. Is that what you wish?” He snarled down at her. Gone was the handsome courtier who’d at least pretended to admire her once upon a time. “To see your little human friends die in front of you?”