Now she began to worry.
“We’ll step out,” Lorne offered, thank goodness, “but we’ll be right outside the door if you need us.”
They both leaned forward and placed a kiss on her forehead.
“I’m sorry they are a little overprotective,” she offered as the door closed behind them.
“Sweetheart, as they should be.” Her friend slid onto the edge of her bed and patted her foot. About the only place that didn’t hurt. “I know for a fact you haven’t had a check-up in the last year since you haven’t been in to see me. I don’t suppose you can tell me when was the last time you did have a checkup?”
Cherry’s eyes glazed over and her mind threatened to go back there. The pale green hospital room where she learned she would never be a real wife to anyone. Never know the feeling of holding her newborn. She was lucky to even walk again, they said, but all she felt for weeks afterward was void—hollow. Like a black hole swallowed her whole. She worked her throat past the dryness that clamped like a vise, fingers already working the ends of her hair.
“A year ago next month.”
Oh god, what did they find? Her heart rattled in her chest and heat bloomed from the middle of her chest. The beep from the heart machine ricocheted off the walls and grew louder with every beep.
The door bounced off the back wall and her eyes sprang open to see Lorne and Kohl’s golden eyes flared with anger.
“What the fuck is going on, Doc?”
“Mr. Wylde, Mr. Blackthorne,” the doctor warned.
Her breathing came fast. What if she had something incurable? What if she died and left Lorne and Kohl. They would be devastated. What if—
“Cherry, breathe. You’re okay. That’s it, in and out.”
Rachel signaled Lorne and Kohl over. “You can stay as long as you calm her down.”
Cherry tried but nothing she did worked to slow her raging heartbeat.
Both men took her hands and slowly the stars began to fade one tiny dot at a time. “Why do you guys have to have so much lead up?” she managed as her breathing took on a more normal pattern.
“I was trying to tell you, but you went into panic mode.” The doctor patted her foot from the end of the bed. “You can’t expect me to tell you congratulations when you look like you are going to pass out.”
She stared, mouth wide open. “You’re not saying what I think you’re saying, are you?”
Lorne and Kohl stayed silent for the first time in ever. Their grip became tighter.
“Yes. We don’t know for sure how far along you are, but you are definitely in your first trimester.”
“What? I’m sorry that can’t be. You see, I can’t have children.” Her heart sank. The false hope this gave the men would kill them when they discovered her tests somehow got mixed up with some other lucky couple.
“I assure you, Cherry, it’s very real. I would guess no more than two months along.”
“Doc, seriously?”
“Yes, Lorne, Kohl. I assume it’s the three of you in this unorthodox relationship.”
Kohl pegged her with a so what kind of glare.
“I’m not judging,” she added, holding her hands up. “But I am saying you are all going to be parents come February or March.”
“The fall. The hit she took. Is she okay? Did it hurt the baby or her?”
She forgave Kohl and Lorne acting as though she wasn’t lying in the bed between them. Anything to get the answers they all wanted faster.
“Thankfully, Kohl, you took most of the impact as I understand it.” The doctor looked at her for confirmation and Cherry nodded. “Though a hard enough hit and it doesn’t matter, but you guys were lucky this time. If I were you I’d stay out of territory fights.”
“Yes, ma’am.” Given the same circumstances she would do it again, though. There was no her without both of her men.
“Yes.” Rachel looked at her. “Your baby is fine. I wanted to keep you overnight but the last few hours have shown that you’ll be fine. You can go home now, but if you plan on staying in Claw Ridge, I’d like to see you back here next week for prenatal care and a full checkup. If anything comes up or you have any questions, I’m always on call.” Her friend gave her a warm smile.
Lorne took the card the doctor offered.
Cherry melted into the bed as her attention zoned out. Kohl’s father would hunt her down and make sure the world never knew Cherry Kennedy ever existed. Then he’d put his own son in the morgue—his words—and not bother with having to transport their bodies back here.
“But you’re not out of the woods yet.” A haunted seriousness came over the doctor’s expression and sorrow filled her eyes. “If you don’t go through with the claiming and I’m talking soon, you won’t be able to for another eight months. Trust me.” She pulled the collar down and showed her mark. “I know what I am talking about. The force of magic would risk the life of the baby.”
Cherry’s heart did a two-step. Pregnant. She was going to be a mother?
When they were finally alone, she looked between both Lorne and Kohl. “Guys, I wanna get married.”
CHAPTER TEN
An hour and a pile of papers the size of a small cat later, Lorne slipped the key in and stepped aside as Kohl carried her up the stairs.
“You know I could have walked, right?”
“Where’s the fun in that,” he scoffed. “Besides, I have to get practice in for when we put a ring on it.”
She laughed. “You did not just say that!”
“And we mean every word.” Lorne kissed her forehead as he held the door open for them. Her smile widened and her heart swelled with so much love. Love for both of them and she still couldn’t wrap her mind around the fact she had a little baby inside her. She splayed her hand over her stomach.
Kohl pressed his lips close to her ear. “You’re going to look gorgeous when you’re plump with our baby.”
She smiled. “I guess this is going to be home for a little while yet.”
“If that’s okay with you? We can look for a bigger place once you are able to move around without any leftover pain.”
Staying here couldn’t be more perfect and that scared her the most. How fast she could lose the happiness that she felt in every cell in her body at this very moment.
She couldn’t imagine anything better than a family with Lorne and Kohl, but it all seemed like a dream she was doomed to wake from any second. For so long the guys had treated her gently and kind, but until this morning and their kidnapping ruse she had no idea they wanted something more than a heated affair with the school teacher. Temporary school teacher at that.
“What’s on your mind, sweetheart?” Kohl asked as he bent and kissed the tip of her nose.
Where she would fit into their lives, Kohl’s father, and the fact her world was turned upside down in the span of the day. “Right this second? A shower.”
Inside, Kohl kicked the door closed behind them and slid onto the brown leather couch with her on his lap. A low coffee table accompanied the one piece of furniture the apartment offered that served more as a footrest than anything else.
“We’ll have to do something about the lack of a place to sit.”
“The kitchen too,” Kohl added.
“That’s really not necessary, guys.”
Kohl nipped the lobe of her ear and then suckled the flesh between the soft confines of his lips. “No arguments.”
She rested her head on his chest and enjoyed the moment, watching Lorne as he walked through the small apartment.
“Hey, you guys feel the need for a breadmaker and another couch, that’s fine by me.”
Smiling, Lorne shook his head as he drew the larger red curtains over the thinner white ones she preferred. Darkness cocooned around them and they were truly alone.
“A shower, huh.” Kohl looked as though he didn’t fully believe her. Smart man.
She nodded.
“I love it when you scrunch up your nose like tha
t when you try to lie.”
“My students call it my tell sign and my sister has the same twitch and uses it to blackmail me.” She tsked.
“And what about our baby? Think he or she will have the same little tick?”
She looked fondly at Kohl and imagined the boy or girl with the same golden eyes and dark hair both he and Lorne had. Kohl’s perfectly pouty lips or Lorne’s quick smile.
From across the room Lorne flicked on several lamps, and the soft light cast deep shadows on one side while bathing the other in a pool of yellow light. It created a warm, cozy feeling and it was what she loved most about the apartment.
Kohl gathered her hand in his and rested her open palm over his heart. The rhythmic beat fed into hers and for a split second she swore their heartbeats synced. “Tell us something, Cherry, have you ever imagined coming home to both of us every day and waking to us in your bed every morning?”
She bit at her lower lip. “Yes,” she admitted. “But…” How did she say this without hurting them?
“But what?” Lorne gently collected her legs and brought them over his lap while Kohl supported her back. She felt protected nestled in their arms, and for once it felt nice not needing to find all the answers as she had with her sister growing up. But she did need a few. “I refuse to marry only one of you. Unless some law changed in Alaska that I don’t know about. And honestly, I’m a little confused about all of it. Where I belong, how all this works. Our baby. I mean, how do we know who the father is?”
“I thought we were clear? You belong to us and there’s not a damn person in this world that can change that outside of you.”
She reveled in their possession. The gentleness by which they protected her and even now cared for her. Lorne passed her a water bottle he snagged from the kitchen, and Kohl fished out the prenatal vitamins from the bag the doctor had sent them home with.
“Thank you.” Capping the bottle, she fiddled with the label as she asked, “What about your father?”
Kohl’s eye turned somber and he tightened his lips into a thin line. In slow, lazy circles he rubbed the tender skin of her side as she waited for him to give a voice to the anger swirling in his amber gaze.
“You don’t need to worry about him. He won’t hurt you or our new family.”
Family. The word alone held the power of the universe. She only wished her sister could be here with her in Alaska, but that was a thought for another day. Right now she had to make sure she had a home for her baby.
“But he’ll hurt you. Maybe not physically, but we all heard what he said. You’ll be out. Disowned by your own blood and I can’t have that on my conscience. You need to make things right with him.” She wrapped her arms around his neck and offered what she had to him. Her love and support.
“Your heart is pure gold. You showed that today with Reaper and I don’t know how we ever came to have you in our lives but your kindness to those around you is probably the only thing that will heal many wounds others suffer.”
She didn’t know what to say to that. He was finally opening up to her and all she could do was sit there.
“Always. Kohl. Always. My heart is yours.” It was everything in this world she had to offer. She reached out for Lorne, wanting him as close as Kohl. “Both of yours.”
Kohl sighed heavily with a deep, frustrated growl working its way up the back of his throat. “We’ll die protecting that heart.” He promised and raised his gaze from their interlaced hands to seek out hers. “But you know there is no making things right with a man that is so steeped in antiquated beliefs that he can’t see the future I could give the den, our land, and family? In a way he’s as bad as the ice bear Elder.”
“We can’t keep this under wraps for long, guys. I can’t be your secret. People will see me around and talk.”
“We would never ask that. Besides,” Lorne spoke up, slipping her shoes off, “one conversation with old man Blackthorne won’t do the trick. He’ll have to see that our relationship is not a threat to him and his bloodline with his own eyes. Then he’ll come around.”
That brought up another matter that weighed on her since the hospital. “How do we know who the father is?”
Her question hit a nerve. Both of them stiffened. “Does it really matter, sweetheart?” Kohl tipped her chin up and looked her in the eye. “As long as it’s with you. That’s all that matters to us. Our child is a love baby born from our shared bond. You need to tell us if you are okay with this.”
Yes. No. Damn it. Her actions only caused him more pain. “I need to know one thing before I answer that.”
“Anything, you know that.” Lorne’s eyes darkened with worry, his brows pulled together.
“Will you both marry me? Not in the human tradition with a ring, but your way. I’ve done the ring and wedding route and we know how that turned out.”
“We want to, believe us. More than drawing our next breath. Hell, I had to fight Lorne down from doing it at the lake. But after the birth of our child you’ll have the power to shift, too. Are you ready for that?”
“I’ve talked with your mom, Lorne. I am aware and it doesn’t bother me. I’ve never felt like I belonged as much as I do with your family.”
“You have to know something.”
She looked between them.
“When we take you, Cherry, and mark you, it won’t be gentle and we will want all of you.”
“I’d say you already have me.”
“No, sweetheart. All of you.” The way he dragged out his answer while caressing her body with his gaze it was all she could do to keep from shuddering at Kohl’s promise, and she gave serious consideration to melting into a puddle of desire in their laps. “Not a part of your body unclaimed, unmarked… untouched.”
Oh.
Excitement rushed through her body and settled deep in her core. Like a knotted bundle of energy in need of release.
“Here’s your chance to run, Cherry.” Lorne rested his large hands on her ankles and his gaze on hers. Long wisps of hair played at his temples, lending a dark, dangerous vibe to the man she loved.
Her heart rate spiked.
Run?
Kohl growled long and low and the vibrations fed into her soul.
“Cherry,” he whispered.
Her breath caught at the intense look in his eye.
Did she dare? Three steps past the threshold and they would have her pinned in their arms and making sure she knew she wasn’t getting away. No way she’d make it back to Texas, that was for damn sure.
Hot molten stares followed her every move as she uncurled her legs from Lorne’s touch and glided to her feet. Her leg felt better, stiff, but not enough to keep her from walking.
As predicted she managed three steps before fingers entwined with hers. Gentle but firm. Warm lips caught her knuckles pulling a heavy sigh from her lips. From beneath hooded eyes she watched Kohl sidled up to her and wrap an arm around her middle as Lorne pulled her between them. Cast in shadow she couldn’t fully see his expression but the brightness of his irises said everything. He wanted her as much as she wanted him. “Are you saying I’m a captive here?”
Every inch of air between them filled with anticipation. Lorne bent and captured her lips, gathered her legs and stepped between them. “A willing captive?” he asked in a whispery question.
“Depends.” She countered. Kohl looped her arm around his neck as he guided her to rest fully against his chest. Her eyelids drooped as the rigid length of Lorne’s cock nestled between her legs, Kohl pressing into her backside.
Both men wanted her, but she craved the words from their lips like an addict.
“Are you both going to claim me?”
“Yes,” they answered. Kohl soothed her with kisses along her shoulder to her earlobe. He gave a nip and she shivered. She could live like this. Sandwiched between her men and never have another care. They would survive off tap water and donuts from Rone’s bakery for the next nine months.
Burying her fi
ngers into his thick hair, she teased, “Well, you know what the doctor said.”
“Basically gave us orders,” Kohl agreed around more kisses and licks.
He lifted her into Lorne’s arms and led the way to the bedroom tucked off to the side of the kitchen.
Beyond the open bedroom window a mixture of pink hues fused with purples as the endless Alaskan summer night took hold. Faint sunlight poured through the sheer curtains to cast long fingers of light over the bed that sat in the middle of the room back up against the wall. Either side bookended by nightstands with touch lamps. A frivolity she’d allowed herself the first week she arrived in Claw Ridge.
Gently Lorne settled her on the bed as though he would break her if he didn’t take care. “I don’t want gentle. I’m not a porcelain doll.”
“There’s nothing gentle about claiming a mate. Raw, yes. Passionate, without a doubt. Gentle no.” He flicked the button of his jeans loose from the hole and as the zipper rasped her insides quivered. Rich and thick with lust his promise sent a frenzy of fantasies through her mind. She knew what was coming, but the act of them claiming her body at the same time? She’d only dreamed they would take her in such a way.
She rose to her knees and crawled to the edge of the bed watching her men’s every move.
With the help of the lamps Kohl chased away the darkness and created a sensual den of lust and desire.
Kohl slipped from his shorts and edged up on the bed behind her until she leaned against his chest.
“I think Lorne wants to see you, sweetheart.”
She nodded as Kohl bent over her, slipped his fingers beneath her tank top the shade of an Alaskan summer night beyond the windows and pulled. With a flick he had her breasts unrestrained the heaviness of their weight a delicious bounce their eyes ravished.
A rush of cool air pebbled her nipples and she clamped them between her fingers and rolled her eyes at the exquisite shock to her clit.
Heat spilled down her spine and settled between her thighs until her clit swelled and throbbed.
“I think we better hurry, Lorne. Our girl is in need.”
Bear Their Secret: Wylde Den Three (Alaskan Den Men Book 12) Page 10