“Thanks, I really appreciate all that you’ve done, Larem.”
“I was happy to stay.” He backed into the hall. “I won’t be far. Don’t hesitate to call if you need anything.”
Clutching the covers with her hands, Sasha sat up. “I’d really sleep better if you stayed closer.”
He blinked in surprise. “Okay, I’ll go drag a chair in from the other room.”
“That’s not necessary.” She flipped back the covers from the empty side of the bed. “I was thinking a lot closer. Besides, we need to talk.”
Still he hesitated. His mind might know she was hurt and fragile right now, but he wasn’t so sure his body understood. Before he could make up his mind, he noticed her smile was quickly fading. The last thing he wanted to do was hurt her feelings. He walked to the side of the bed and kicked off his shoes. When he started to sit down, she stopped him.
“Such a gentleman. Look, you might as well get comfortable.”
In no mood to argue, he ditched his shirt and pants, conscious of her watching his every move.
“I promise to behave,” he said as he slid in between the sheets.
“I know,” she murmered.
Sasha slowly released the breath she’d been holding as Larem snuggled in close until her head was resting on his chest, his arm wrapped around her. Being near him soothed her in so many ways.
The two of them still had some major hurdles to face, no doubt about it, but for tonight, she needed his warmth and his strength to hold back the darkness. As they lay there in the quiet room, there was one thing she needed to know.
“Larem, how did you figure out that I’m pregnant? I only just knew for sure myself yesterday and hadn’t told anyone.”
“It’s part of my Kalith nature, a gift that has been lost to my people for generations because of the fading light in our world. But here, with your bright sun, I have become what you would call a healer.”
She could feel the rumble of his words through his chest as his hand brushed lightly up and down her arm, leaving a warm tingle in its wake. Gradually the warmth spread, easing the aches that had kept her from really falling asleep. On the other hand, she could feel Larem tensing up.
“Tell me more.”
“In my world, I could sometimes do small things—close up cuts, ease minor pain. But when Hunter was dying from a gunshot wound, I took a chance and tried to heal him. My efforts enabled him to come back faster than he would’ve on his own. By early the next morning, his injuries were all but gone.”
He took a deep breath, relaxing a bit. “Other than that one time, I haven’t used my gift on any humans or Kalith to heal major injuries until today.”
He’d been staring up at the ceiling but now angled his head down to look at her. “My gift doesn’t always work as it should, so I’ve been practicing on the abused animals at the shelter. Chance wouldn’t have survived his injuries without my help, and it may be the reason he’s learning to trust people again.”
She smiled against his skin. “What a perfect use for your ability. I can see why you’d have some misgivings about using it to aid Paladins on a regular basis. Is it weird to have so many friends among those you always thought were your enemies?”
He briefly squeezed her tighter. “It is a problem that all of us who now live in the light must come to peace with.”
“Do you think you’ll ever go back?” God, she hoped not, although she wasn’t sure she had the right to ask him to stay.
“I had hoped to someday, but now . . .”
She didn’t need to ask what had changed his mind, not when his hand immediately settled over her stomach. A feeling of warmth and well-being spread through her, right up until it occurred to her that his magic was Kalith and she was human.
She caught his hand with hers. “Is doing that safe?”
“I would not harm you or the child—our child.” But he withdrew his hand anyway. “But I understand why you would worry.”
“Can you tell if it’s a girl or a boy?”
“Not yet. Do you have a preference?”
She smiled again. “I haven’t thought that far ahead yet, but I don’t think so.”
“But you’ll keep our child?”
She turned to stare into his worried face. “Yes, I will.”
“But the Regents—”
She cut him off. “I’ll deal with them when the time comes, but the baby’s more important. Push come to shove, there are other jobs.”
His relief was obvious. “You’ll be a great mother, so fierce and protective.” He gently cupped her face, a small smile softening his somber expression. “Sasha, you know I want to be there for both of you.”
She turned to nuzzle his hand, pressing a soft kiss to his palm. “I never doubted it.”
When she yawned, he pulled her closer again. “Now, you need to sleep. I have to wake you up again in two hours.”
“All right.”
She closed her eyes and relaxed. Maybe she should be worried about how good sharing this moment with him felt, but that was something she’d deal with tomorrow. Or maybe the next day. Right now, she needed this man beside her and that was enough.
Morning came slowly. Larem hovered somewhere between sound asleep and pleasantly aware of the warm female currently half-sprawled across his body, her head tucked under his chin. If this was a dream, he didn’t want to wake up. If it was reality—well, he was in no hurry to let the outside world intrude.
Besides, neither of them had enjoyed a quiet night. Every couple of hours he’d had to make sure she woke up. Right now, it was enough to doze with Sasha in his arms.
“You’re thinking way too hard.” Sasha blinked up at him sleepily, her fiery hair surrounding her sweet face in a halo of unruly curls. “Got something on your mind?”
Yes, a couple of things, starting with how tempting it was to have her lush body so close to his. All that separated them was the thickness of his boxers and her pajamas. Even that kept them too far apart. Better to deal with one last issue.
“I was asked to befriend you deliberately.”
He immediately felt a new thrum of tension in Sasha when she asked, “By whom?”
He stared up at the ceiling, not wanting to see her reaction. “The other Kalith and their mates. They thought if the new representative got to know me as a real person before finding out I was Kalith, it would change how all of us were dealt with.”
“Why did they pick you instead of Lusahn or Barak?”
He didn’t even try to sugar-coat it. “Because I was expendable. If it blew up in my face, I could disappear more easily than any of them.”
Sasha was looking pretty darn fierce. “I understand why they did it, but that was mean of them.”
“They meant no harm. They were trying to protect themselves.” He trailed his fingers down her shoulder, trying to soothe away her anger.
“Yeah, I get that, but who was protecting you?”
Her question pleased him, sending another surge of desire for this woman burning through him. “I won’t complain, Sasha, not if it led me here. Don’t hold it against them. I wouldn’t have said anything, but I wanted nothing but truth between us. Okay?”
He felt her nod.
“There is one other thing on my mind.”
“Which is?”
When he didn’t immediately answer, she raised herself up to look at him. Her eyes widened and her mouth curved in a seductive smile. “Never mind. I think I can guess what it might be.”
Her playful mood had him smiling. “So now you’re a mind reader?”
“Oh, I don’t have to be when there’s obvious proof readily at hand.”
Her fingers traveled down his chest to stroke the hard evidence. He thought about claiming it meant nothing, that it was normal in the morning, but they both knew this time was different.
She caressed his cock slowly with the palm of her hand. Out of pure selfishness, he let her continue, wishing like crazy they could finish what sh
e’d started. Finally, he gently grasped her hand, threading his fingers with hers.
She pouted. “Don’t you like that?”
“You know I do, but you’re testing my already shaky control.” He kissed the top of her head.
“And if I want you out of control?”
She slowly slid her body up over his until her core was centered right over his erection. Dear gods, how was he supposed to think straight when she rocked against him like that?
“Sasha, I want you, but you were badly injured yesterday. I don’t want to hurt you.”
“Oddly enough, the pain is almost completely gone. Thanks to a certain healer I happen to know, I’m feeling positively frisky.” She nibbled on his chin after each word.
He might be cautious, but he wasn’t fool enough to dismiss her offer out of hand. Still, he had to ask, “Are we doing this because you were almost killed yesterday or because you really want me?”
She sat up and eased her hands under the hem of his undershirt and spread her fingers out over his chest. “A little of the first and a whole lot of the second.”
He appreciated the honesty. “Perhaps, as your healer, I should reassess your injuries.”
“Tell me what you want me to do.”
He gently rolled her back onto her own side of the bed, and then lifted her head enough to tuck his pillow in on top of hers. “Now lie back and relax. I’ll take care of everything.”
He knelt beside Sasha and took her hand in his. Closing his eyes, he slowly traced the length of her arm, pausing over each bruise or scrape long enough to add a small jolt of healing. He repeated the same procedure with her other arm before moving over her shoulders and neck.
Her hair slid like silk over his fingers as he checked the bump on her head. “Any headache?”
Her eyes were closed, her face peaceful. “Not now.”
“Good.”
He leaned forward until his palms hovered a hair’s breadth over her breasts. Sasha drew a deep breath and that small distance disappeared. When her eyes flew open at his touch, he started to pull back, but she stopped him by putting her hands on his.
“I like when you touch me.”
So he did, gently kneading the soft curves until her nipples pebbled. As much as he wanted to linger there, he had more territory to cover. He continued down her sides to the curve of her hips and then checked each of her legs, top to bottom and back again. Sasha’s breathing had sped up, as had his.
He held his palms over her stomach, smiling at the fierce bit of life that had taken hold there. Male, female, it didn’t matter. The miracle was that he and Sasha had created the child together. He lowered his mouth down to press a kiss right above where his child rested, smiling when Sasha’s legs stirred and her hips flexed.
The exam was quickly becoming a seduction. He eased the waistband of her PJ bottoms down and kissed the same spot again and then lower and lower still. Sasha lifted her hips in encouragement. He quickly peeled her pajamas off and then took his time driving his lover wild with his touch and his tongue.
Sasha shattered once and then a second time before she said, “Larem, I want you up here. Naked. Now.”
She punctuated her demands by taking off her top and flinging it aside. He’d never seen a more beautiful sight than this woman staring at him with such powerful desire in her eyes. His boxers joined her pajamas on the floor.
Then they were skin to skin, his knee between hers, pressing against the damp heat at the juncture of her thighs. He kissed her, trying to go slow and losing the battle. Sasha’s hands were everywhere, touching, teasing, stroking until she’d shredded what little sanity he had left.
“Sasha, I need to . . . no, we need to slow down.”
But how could he when everything she did only drove them both crazy? Finally, he wrested control of the situation by pinning her hands over her head while he did his own little bit of tormenting. She arched back, demanding more, as he nuzzled and tongued her breasts into stiff peaks.
“Like that?”
Her expression turned solemn. “I like all of this, so much that it scares me.”
She was right. What they shared was incredibly powerful. He wasn’t sure where this exploration would take them, but right now it was simply too amazing to resist. He released her hands.
“I won’t hurt you, Sasha.”
She stroked the side of his face. “You can’t promise that, Larem, but I believe you mean it.”
He wanted to deny the truth of that but wouldn’t lie to her, either. Instead, he set about stoking the fire again. Conscious of the vestiges of yesterday’s injuries, he didn’t want her to bear his weight. Instead, he turned her on her side facing away from him, her back against his chest. He lifted her leg back over his hips.
Slowly, he pressed forward, seating his cock deep within her welcoming heat. Sasha’s head kicked back as he thrust in and out, her eyes half shut, her breath coming in shallow puffs, matching his rhythm. He memorized her satin smooth skin, the plump softness of her breasts, the way they fit perfectly in his hand. He loved the firm curve of her hips, flexing to absorb the power of his thrusts, and the throaty little moan she made when he moved in exactly the right way.
There was no longer a Larem and a Sasha. It was as if they had forged someone new, a combination of the two seeking the ultimate joining. He stroked her with his fingers as he accelerated the pace, no longer able to rein in his need to take her fast and hard. Sasha whimpered and called his name. Then she was shuddering in his arms, pressing back against him as he rode out his climax.
Then the tension melted away, both left gasping for breath and basking in the aftermath. He gently kissed the back of her neck; there were no words for what had just happened between them.
Larem reluctantly withdrew from her body, once again stretching out beside her. “Are you all right? Was I too rough?”
“You were perfect. In fact—”
Before she could finish her sentence, Chance made his presence known, throwing a major fit in the other room. Larem could just make out the sound of the doorbell over the racket. There was a definite note of danger in Chance’s bark that had Larem rolling out of bed, pausing only long enough to snag his pants and shirt on the way out.
The dog stopped barking as soon as Larem reached the living room. Even so, he growled deep in his chest, positioning himself firmly in front of the door.
Larem checked the time. Had Devlin said that Barak was coming this morning or that Larem was supposed to call him? Who else could it be? All he could tell through the frosty glass in the front door was that the unexpected guests were most likely male.
He hopped on one foot and then the other to pull on his jeans and then yanked his shirt on over his head. Palming the gun Devlin had left with him, he disconnected the security system and then threw the dead bolt. Opening the door a few inches, he peered out.
Two young Paladins stood flanking a disgruntled-looking human male, perhaps in his late fifties. The human had been glaring at his captors but immediately turned his bad mood in Larem’s direction.
“Who is this guy?” Larem and the stranger asked at the same time.
The nearest Paladin ignored the human and responded to Larem instead. “This guy’s ID says he’s Charles Willis.”
The glint of red in the older man’s hair suddenly made Larem’s question unnecessary. He had no doubt that he was facing Sasha’s father. To once again quote Lonzo, Holy hell, the shit was about to hit the fan.
Chapter 18
Larem’s first urge was to slam the door, but panic wasn’t going to change anything. He opened the door the rest of the way and then grabbed Chance by the collar in case the dog took his same instant dislike to the man. Of course, that was probably a knee-jerk reaction typical of any male who’d just come from a woman’s bed and was feeling a bit guilty about it.
“Thanks, gentlemen, I’ll take it from here.”
Turning to Sasha’s father, he stood back to allow the man to en
ter. “Your daughter wasn’t expecting you.”
“No, she wasn’t, but I’m here anyway. Deal with it.” The man stalked through the door, careful to give both Larem and Chance a wide berth. “Where is she? Is she all right?”
“She’s fine.” Mostly anyway. Having her father show up on her doorstep would certainly complicate the situation.
“Have a seat and I’ll tell her you’re here. She was just getting up when the doorbell rang. I’ll make breakfast while she gets dressed.”
“Fine, and when you get back, you can tell me who the hell you are and why you spent the night in my daughter’s . . .” He hesitated briefly. “In my daughter’s home.”
Couldn’t the man figure that out for himself? Perhaps not. Most humans lacked the enhanced senses that Paladins shared with the Kalith, so maybe Mr. Willis really couldn’t detect the musky taint of sex in the air. If that was true, there was a small chance they could avoid a complete disaster.
Dragging Chance with him, Larem went back down the hall to the bedroom door and knocked. “Miss Willis, I hate to disturb you, but you have a guest.”
The door opened and Sasha peered out. “Who’s here?”
Larem glanced back toward the kitchen, hoping the man had stayed where he’d left him. “Your father.”
“Oh God, why? And how did he find me?”
There was a definite note of panic in her voice. When Sasha started to charge out of the room, Larem blocked her way. The last thing she needed was to encounter her father looking as if she’d just gotten out of bed, especially one she’d shared with her lover. Larem shook his head, begging her without words to stop and think.
“Miss Willis, I’m sure your father won’t mind waiting for a few minutes since he arrived unannounced. I’ll tell him that you’ll join us when you’ve had a chance to get dressed. As your bodyguard, I’ll remain here only until my relief arrives.”
He dropped his voice. “I’ll call Devlin and suggest he send one of the Paladins instead of Barak. I’m not sure your father has recognized me as Kalith, and I’d like to keep it that way.”
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