Reflections

by Susan Griscom

  You can do this too, you know. Cael reached for Addie’s hand and tangled his fingers with hers.

  Ha. You have more faith in me than I deserve. But I’ll still leave most of the cooking to you.

  “So, did anything exciting happen at the bar while we were gone?” Addie asked.

  Gerry passed the salad bowl to Cael. “Well actually, I had a call from an old army buddy today. You remember me telling you about Murphy Dunn and Finn Graham, my pals in the Scots Guards, don’t you Maia?”

  She nodded. “I think so. Weren’t they with you during the rescue of the children from the orphanage in the Gulf War?”

  “I didn’t know you were involved in the Gulf War,” Cael interrupted, unable to hide his excitement about a possible war story.

  “Yeah.”

  “Man, I’d love to hear about that sometime.”

  Oh … so now you have a renewed admiration for Gerry?

  Addison, I’ve always respected the man.

  No, you’ve always despised the man.

  Not true, now please be quiet.

  “Well, Finn called me this morning—hadn’t heard from him in a couple of years. Anyway, we started talking and, well, he’s always been a musician. He plays the keyboard and sings and has a band now with Murphy and Aiden.” He glanced at Maia. “You remember me mentioning Aiden McKnight—we grew up together in Glasgow. He was with us in the Gulf too. Aiden plays lead guitar and Murphy plays the drums. They’re coming to town to visit and wanted to know if I was interested in having them play in the bar. If they like it here, maybe they’ll stay.”

  “That would be awesome. Think of it, live music. Are they any good?” Addie asked.

  “Well now, if memory serves, they were pretty talented back in their twenties. I imagine they still are. What do you think, Maia?”

  “It sounds great, but where would they perform? The bar doesn’t have a stage.”

  “We might have to give up a few tables, expand a bit, but I think it will work. I’ve wanted to do something to liven up the place and when Finn mentioned this, I thought it just might be the thing to do. Of course, it would only be Friday and Saturday nights; any more than that would be too much.”

  “You might not need to lose any tables,” Cael said.

  “How’s that?” Gerry asked.

  “Well, you can build up a platform, say about a couple of feet or so, and the band can perform on it. I assume you’re not going to have them playing during lunch and dinner, right?”

  “Right, only after,” Gerry nodded, “… so I can put tables on the platform when the band is not playing. Good thinking, Cael. Maybe you’ll come in handier than I thought.”

  Cael narrowed his eyes. “I can help build the platform. I’m sort of handy with a hammer too.”

  “This is terrific.” Addie beamed, unable to contain her excitement. “With live music, we can pull in a younger crowd. I was beginning to feel like we lived in a land of sexagenarians with our current clientele.”

  Gerry coughed, choking on his champagne. “Sexagenarians? Where’d you come up with that one?”

  She waved her hand in the air. “I don’t know, I read it somewhere. But I know our bar has its fair share of them.”

  “Speaking of older people,” Maia began, “the strangest thing happened this morning when I was at the market. I encountered a little old woman. She seemed off … strange. Well, at first I thought she was having a stroke the way her face looked and her voice, it was so hoarse when she first began speaking, but then turned soft and sweet. She pointed at my stomach and said I had a precious cargo and that I needed to guard them. She used the word ‘them.’ Then, all of a sudden, it was as if she just realized where she was and acted like she barely noticed me and commented about the cucumbers.”

  “She was probably confusing you with someone else when you told her you were pregnant,” Addie said.

  “That’s the thing. I never told her I was pregnant, let alone that I was having twins, which I didn’t even know yet. I’d never seen her before and when I asked Manny who she was, he said there wasn’t anyone in the store except me and a few high school girls.”

  Addie played it as cool as possible, trying not to freak out. Her only living relative was having twins—a dangerous endeavor as far as Addie was concerned—and on top of that, getting warnings from some creepy old lady. Would Maia’s fate be the same as Addie’s mother’s?

  Chapter 3

  Fear in Check

  Moonlight filtered in through the large picture window of the beach house bedroom, casting enough light to see the bed and giving the room that romantic glow Addison loved. But the conversation they were about to have needed much more light. She flipped the switch on the small crystal lamp sitting on top of the dresser and slowly made her way across the room to the large four-poster bed. Sinking down on the edge, she hid her face in her hands, dreading to hear Cael’s opinion on the subject of babies.

  “Cael, this is so frightening. I know Maia is scared too. She may not appear to be, but I know her and deep down she must be petrified.”

  “This is something you can help with. You’ll be there with her every step of the way. You did an excellent job, by the way, of keeping your emotions to yourself.”

  She glanced at him and frowned as he sat beside her. Wrapping his arm around her shoulder, he pulled her against him and stroked her cheek in the way he did that always soothed her.

  “It wasn’t easy, but the last thing she needs is for me to project my own fears.”

  “What do you mean?”

  “I don’t really know. I mean, I would never, never suggest she do anything drastic to change what is already growing inside of her, but she seemed a little too calm about it all.”

  “What would you do in her place?”

  “I think that’s an unfair question, since I’ve never been in her place.” She wanted to add, and never want to be. The horrifying episode two months ago flooded into her mind, the way she’d had to kill Eidolon—causing that maniac to burst into flames with the simple wave of her hand. Ha, simple wave of her hand? No, it was more than that. The crystal and the book played a gigantic part in his execution. How could someone with that much power, power capable of destroying another human being—or whatever he was—even begin to entertain the idea of bringing a baby into this world? But Cael wanted kids. It wasn’t that she didn’t want children; she was just not sure she wanted to pass on the powerful, deadly gene she possessed. How had her parents felt about passing on that ability? True, the healing side of that power yielded some extraordinarily wonderful benefits, but was the good enough to outweigh the bad?

  “You’re right. I’m sorry,” he spoke softly but she wasn’t sure he really understood.

  Frustrated, she stood and headed toward the bathroom, hurrying across the newly installed hardwood floor now accented with throw rugs. Addie had destroyed the plush carpet that had been there during one of the nightmares she’d had about Eidolon. She’d accidentally set the room on fire. And that was exactly one of the reasons why she was afraid of having a baby. Could a baby accidentally set the entire house on fire?

  Cael walked to the dresser and emptied his pockets, placing all his change and wallet on top of the smooth cherry wood surface. He grabbed Addie’s arm before she could escape to the bathroom. She turned toward him and he released her arm, rubbing the back of his neck with his other hand, appearing as frustrated as she felt. “It’s just that last time we had any discussion about kids you escaped to the bathroom right after you indicated that you didn’t want any, just like you’re doing now.”

  Addie thought back to the conversation she and Cael had a few months back about kids, remembering how she’d acted, thinking of the horror that having a baby with him could cause. There was no doubt in her mind of the inevitability of supernatural powers in a child of theirs, and that was so surreal and frightening. How would they deal with it? Which abilities would it have? Or would their baby acquire all the powers th
ey both possessed?

  Adoption was always an option but not yet and thinking of Maia having twins, definitely not more than one at a time. Holy crap.

  “Look, Cael, you grew up differently than I did. My dad …” she paused as an ache pinched her heart at his memory, “… my dad, didn’t allow me to be exposed. Remember? He kept me hidden from everything that had anything to do with you, the Sectory and all the other people with powers. He didn’t even use his abilities around me, so I never had a clue. He hid our entire genetic background from me.”

  He sighed. “The circumstances were different. He didn’t want to expose his daughter’s vulnerability to the likes of maniacs such as Eidolon.”

  —And a promise he made to my mother to keep me safe and a secret from the society.

  Addie had come into her powers much later in life so her father never had to worry about that. What would happen to a baby with parents like her and Cael? They were Guardians of the Sectory, home of the Sectorium, a secret society for people with abilities. True, her father had also been a Guardian, but somehow he managed to hide it from her. Keeping her hidden away from the Sectory and relying heavily on her aunt to help raise her—an aunt who possessed no abilities—may have helped delay Addie’s gifts from developing. Some people needed the exposure, some didn’t. She’d come to learn there were no rules. How should she and Cael deal with it?

  She lowered her eyes and whispered, “I don’t want to have to do what my father did.”

  “So you’re saying you don’t want kids.”

  “I never said I didn’t want any kids. I just don’t want to have to hide them away. And I think you misunderstood me during our conversation. I said I hadn’t thought about having any.”

  “Oh yeah, with me.” He frowned down at his hands, apparently to avoid her eyes.

  “You know that’s not what I meant!” She waved him away and continued on to the bathroom.

  He grabbed hold of her hand, causing her to swing around to face him. “Do I?”

  Inches from his face, she stared into his blue eyes. Unable to deny those deep pools of sapphire, she sighed. “You are exasperating. I said—if I can remember my exact words or close to them—that I hadn’t given it much thought and that I’d never been involved with anyone before that I’d like to have children with.”

  Letting go of her arm he swiped his hand through the dark waves that hung down over the nape of his neck. “No, Addison. You didn’t say ‘before.’ You just added that.”

  “What difference does it make? You and I had just begun seeing each other. It was less than one week. What was I supposed to say?”

  “You could have simply said, ‘Yes, I want kids someday,’ and left it at that. Not that you hadn’t met anybody worthy enough.”

  “Worthy?” Where the hell had that come from? What happened to the arrogant man she fell in love with? That man would never in a million years consider himself not worthy of anything. “If that’s what you think, let me reassure your stupid, sudden insecurities. When I’m ready to have kids, you’ll be the first to know.”

  Now his eyes narrowed with anger—or was it hurt? “Oh well, gee, Addison. Thank you very fucking much. Isn’t this something we should both decide on, not just wait until you are ready? And I’m not insecure. I just like to know where I stand.”

  Bingo. There he is. “Please, Cael, let’s not fight about this. As far as I can see into the future, which isn’t very far, you stand a good chance of parenting a child with me.” She stepped toward him, played with the button on his shirt and gently touched her finger to his lips. “A very good chance,” she purred. A little more forcefully she said, “I want you—the guy standing in front of me.”

  He closed his eyes, contented, she hoped, for now at least. Giving him a delicate brush of her lips, she became elated when he returned the kiss, softly at first, then deeper. The sensation stirred all the reasons why she loved this man, the sweet taste of his kisses, the slow swirl of his tongue, the touch of his hands on the nape of her neck and through her hair. Hmmm … the already firm muscles in his chest tightened under her fingers. Intoxicating.

  Addie unbuttoned his shirt and he tugged her dress over her head, revealing the lacy undergarments she wore just for him. He pulled her against him and kissed her lips again. When he moved his mouth to her neck, she groaned with excitement.

  She raked her fingers through his hair as his lips skimmed over her breast, scorching her skin. Her breath hitched as his teeth scraped over one of her already firm nipples, accepting the tug on her heart as he began sucking, taking her to that place. The place where only the two of them existed; that place away from the worry of babies with unyielding powers and dangerous pregnancies.

  ***

  The need swamped Cael’s senses deep and hard, rendering him helpless, the way his body responded to Addison. Her sex appeal was undeniable; it didn’t take much.

  He hadn’t wanted to argue about kids, either, wasn’t even sure why he brought it up. He put it far out of reach in the back of his mind as he showered her body with kisses.

  She pushed herself into him, accepting him. The knowledge of her desire only heightened the sensation and his hardened cock pressed against her thigh. She gasped out a warm breath against his ear when his fingers found her already wet core and her first orgasm flowed from her. He picked her up and placed her on the bed, then filled her with another climax. He loved the way she looked. Her beauty overwhelmed him. His pants became extremely tight and his erection ached to be released. Standing only long enough to unbuckle and shimmy out of his jeans, he resumed his position beside her.

  The world could collapse around them and he wouldn’t care as he entered that silky den of ecstasy.

  She wrapped her legs around him, tugging, pushing, pulling him. Their eyes held each other’s, hers clear from worry, his heavy with need. He needed her so damn much. Did she know that? Should he tell her?

  “Addison, I …” His own orgasm burst as the sensation of hers battered within his mind, the words lost in the tsunami overtaking his body.

  Consumed with phenomenal pleasure, he sank his shuddering body on top of hers. Realizing she couldn’t breathe, he shifted his weight so that his upper body lay next to hers while his legs remained draped over her slender, satiny ones.

  Addison sighed and he opened his eyes to see the beautiful smile that graced her face. Troubles had been put aside for now, but nothing solved. Closing his mind to hers so she couldn’t hear his thoughts, he wished for a way to make her see that having a baby would be wonderful for them, not as scary as she believed. He knew having a family together was right as they lay there with nothing but the sound of their breathlessness.

  “Someday, I’ll want to have a baby, but not yet,” Addison whispered, breaking the silence in between the breaths. “I’m still dealing with all these new abilities I have and to be quite honest, the idea of having a baby with supernatural powers is a little frightening. I suppose the idea would be easier to accept if there was at least a fifty/fifty chance of not having a baby with abilities.” Addie glanced at him. Her own shock at what she’d revealed was clear on her face and she quickly added, “But it really has nothing to do with you.”

  Cael actually felt the color drain from his cheeks as Addison spoke. His mind raced to the conversation they’d had before her irresistible sexy nature took hold of him, keeping him from noticing the slip she’d made then. She’d used the word “parenting,” not fathering, meaning she didn’t want his baby. The fifty/fifty percentage wasn’t available with him. Whether the child was a boy or a girl, it would have powers. Addison wanted a baby whose biological father did not possess any powers. A kick in the balls would have hurt less. The jab against his heart sent a choking feeling to his throat and he closed his eyes tight with the effort of keeping his mind from hers. He didn’t think it would have been any worse if she had actually taken a stake and stabbed it directly into his heart.

  Chapter 4

  Wha
t’s Mine Is Yours and Sonograms

  Gerry was cool on the outside, but on the inside, his blood boiled hot. He didn’t want Maia worrying about anything in her condition. It was one thing to worry about having twins, mono … monoamniotic identical twins no less, another to fret over some crazy old woman’s warning. Gerry’s own concerns didn’t sit too well in the pit of his stomach.

  He knew Maia, and she was a straightforward and sensible woman, not one to imagine things. If she didn’t stop thinking about the crazy ramblings of some old lady though, he’d have to lend a hand. He’d never used his abilities on Maia before and didn’t want to start now. He considered Maia his partner, his lover. He’d won her love without any help from his supernatural gifts and he was proud of that.

  There were times in his past, more than he’d like to admit, when he’d used his powers to lure women into bed. Then, afterwards, he’d regret it. It was never very satisfying and didn’t do much for his ego either.

  “You shouldn’t be taking what some old crone said so seriously.” Gerry took off his shirt, tossing it over the back of the new plush green glider. Sitting to take off his shoes, he brushed his hand over the arm of the chair, a bit dumbfounded as to where the hell the thing had come from. Maia had been buying things for the baby—now babies—and it seemed as if there was something new in the house every other day. He didn’t mind, though; he figured they were all essential baby items and he’d given her carte blanche to acquire whatever she deemed necessary. He wished she’d allowed him to assist with the larger purchases, though. He didn’t want her dealing with deliveries and setting up furniture in her state.