“How soon?”
“I believe the exact word she used was ‘immediately’, however given the circumstances, it might be best to wait until after tomorrow night.”
I sucked in air and glanced between my Mother and Amras. This was intolerable. I couldn’t lose Amras, not like this!
“And Lexi?” Amras asked his violet eyes focused on my Mother.
Mom looked at me and shook her head. “I’ve managed to distract her thus far. But it’s only a matter of time.”
“And the Sidhe doors? Will they be opened?” Amras continued, his voice sounding shaky.
She nodded and glanced at me. “I believe so. But there will be conditions.”
“Lexi cannot be one of them,” Amras growled sharply, pulling himself up straight in the chair. “I will return but you must not allow her to be used this way!”
She sucked in air and clenched her fingers in her lap. “Don’t you dare dictate to me! Lexi is my daughter, and in spite of her mixed blood, is being recognized as an heir to the thrown. As such she is subject to the Queen, as are we all! Had you stayed where you belonged this would not be a problem.”
Amras looked like he wanted to hit something. I’d never seen him this angry. “I’m sorry to have disappointed you, yet again,” he replied tightly. “Can I assume the engagement is formerly off?”
She gave him a dirty look but shook her head. “No, damn you!”
I gasped and swayed on the couch, stars dancing before my eyes as my vision swam in and out. I grabbed for my stomach, feeling sick. “Lexi!” Gareth cried out sharply, as my body slumped against him. “Come on sweetheart, breathe,” he urged while my eyes fluttered and I moaned. This couldn’t be happening! She’d given him to me I thought, as I felt a cool cloth sooth my cheek and forehead.
“Father said to tell you he loves you,” I muttered while my head lolled against Gareth’s chest and I struggled to open my eyes. My mother sucked in air and I cracked open and eye in time to see the shocked look on her face. “He also told me he sensed I was in danger and that night would protect me. I need Amras; you can’t take him from me.”
Her lips twisted and she shook her head. “Other guards will replace him. The Queen will see to that. I’m afraid none of us has a choice in this matter.”
“The Queen might be interested to know that Lexi has vowed to stay with us here for a year. I refuse to release her from her promise, but will allow a short visit. However an absence from our den for say, more than five consecutive days, will be considered a breach of our trust, in which case she will be forsaken,” Gareth added in his deep voice.
“Is this true?” my mother demanded, while Mi made her kitty cat laughing noises in her throat.
“It is,” I told her, pushing up from Gareth’s chest with a moan. “I gave my word; it is binding.”
My mother threw up her hands and looked at Mi who simply shook her head. “The Queen will not be pleased. And neither am I,” she told me flatly.
“Only because you will be expected to stay in her absence” Mi chided. “You’ve had fifty years Shaylee, Lexi has only had one! It won’t kill you to spend some time with your mother.”
Mom grimaced and shot Mi a nasty look. And I nearly felt sorry for my Mother. Nearly I say, because I was too relieved knowing I’d dodged that bullet at least for another year. Mom turned her look on me and I sat just a little straighter in my chair. “Goddess, I wish your Father was here!” she growled and Kit glanced at her and sat up straight in his chair.
“I could make that happen.” he offered with a sly smile, his black eyes dancing with mischief.
My mouth dropped open and I turned to him, my face covered in shock. Not nearly as shocked as my Mother who looked as if she might faint. “Yes please!” I whispered urgently and he grinned and snapped his fingers.
A silver haze appeared in the middle of the room and everyone leaned forward as the man from the portrait in my bedroom appeared. He was taller than Jace and built not unlike Gareth with short silver hair and light silver eyes. He was wearing jeans and a grey button up shirt with the sleeves rolled back to his elbows. On his feet were loafers similar to those Jace had on. He glanced around in surprise which turned to something much more shocking when his eyes lit on my Mother. “Shaylee!” he groaned. I missed seeing his feet move but he was just suddenly there in front of her, plucking her shocked figure from the chair and into his arms. Beside me Gareth and Jace both shifted uncomfortably on the couch as his mouth crashed down on hers passionately and they wrapped themselves around each other completely oblivious to the rest of us.
Mi sighed on the table and started purring while I felt my face go up in flames. Across the room Cursed and Amras both looked shocked. Owen’s face merely showed polite interest.
Inside me Goldy jumped to her feet and looked around, her nostrils flaring wide, her eyes whirling in agitation, until they lit on Roark. I placed my hand over my stomach and bent forward trying not to groan from her abrupt movements.
“Perhaps we should… give them a moment?” Jace muttered and glanced first at me in concern, then at Owen who lifted an eyebrow and snapped his fingers and my parents were suddenly gone.
“Oh God, you didn’t put them in my room did you?” I demanded, then groaned and sighed in relief when he laughed and shook his head. Goldy gave one last glance around the room then settled herself back in her cave with a mutter and a huff.
“I moved them to the sitting area in our rooms,” he replied. “I did however provide them with an appropriate atmosphere.”
Appropriate atmosphere, for Owen that meant throw pillows, fur rugs, and a roaring fireplace. I think I’m going to gag. There’s just something not right about knowing your parents are having sex in your home, right down the hall from you.
“I… I think I need to get out of here,” I muttered and Cursed and Amras quickly stood and nodded. Mi flicked her tail at me and winked out. Kit leaned back in his chair and spread his legs out in front of him, looking supremely pleased with himself. I gave him a sickly smile, while his head tilted to the side and a knowing look spread across his face. I raised my lower shield, not wanting to catch even a hint of what was going on down the hall. “I think maybe the training room? Owen, would you…?” and I motioned to my clothing, which he quickly replaced with my normal exercise outfit. Pushing up from the couch, I nearly bolted for the elevator, the rest of them right behind me.
Chapter 6
“Well so much for your artificial insemination theory,” Kit muttered, then laughed as I moaned and leaned my head back against the elevator wall.
“This isn’t going to change the Queen’s decision,” Amras added abruptly and I jerked and felt my eyes fill with tears. Jace placed his hand on Amras shoulder and nodded. When he shifted from my side, Amras turned and I felt his arms slide around me. The elevator doors opened and everyone except us got out.
“Use the conference room… and take your time,” Gareth muttered as he pushed the button to the first floor and slipped out. When the elevator stopped again and the doors opened, Amras lifted me into his arms and carried me through the lobby into the conference room. He shoved the door closed behind us with his foot, then lowered us to a pile of furs. I’d have to thank Owen later, I thought, then couldn’t think at all as the pain of losing Amras flooded my mind.
He eased back onto the pillows holding me in his arms tightly while I sobbed against him, my heart feeling like it was being crushed. My shield slid away as his hands soothed my back and his lips brushed my temple, all the while whispering words in Elvish which caused me to cry even harder. Why, oh why was this happening?
“I am so sorry,” Amras moaned. “This is my punishment for leaving the Sidhe without permission. I did not realize… I never would have hurt you.” His arms tightened around me and I felt the moisture from his own tears at my temple.
When my sobs turned to hiccups, then sighs, I reached for the buttons on his shirt. “Make love with me,” I urged as his l
ips found mine and our clothing disappeared under urgent fingers. He rolled me onto my back and slipped between my thighs, his erection pressing against my stomach. He slipped his hands in my hair and I opened my mouth for his kiss. I wrapped my foot around his leg and offered myself, then shivered when he ground his hips against me and lifted himself into position. He was so thick and long just as I’d made him, and I moaned as he stretched me to my limit while he gently eased himself within my body. When he was buried to his hilt my breathing quickened as his hips began riding me with sure even strokes.
“I will return with you and speak to the Queen,” I told him much later as we lay curled around each other. The loving had been bittersweet and my hands roamed his chest and stomach, as if I was committing the feel of him to memory.
He stiffened and reached for my hand. “You must not you put yourself at risk!”
I frowned and turned stubborn, my decision already having been made. Gareth and Jace were not the only ones I’d made a promise to. Amras let out the breath he was holding and ran his fingers over mine. “I don’t think that will work,” he replied. “But I am willing to try.”
I glanced up at him and smiled. “You told me she was fair and just. Surely she will at least hear me?”
His eyes went distant and he pushed back a strand of hair behind my ear. “We shall see. To be allowed to stay at your side Princess… we will try.”
“If this does not work, then we will think of something. Perhaps I’ll try to free the King and demand you as payment,” I told him, then smiled at the thought while he gave me a surprised look that quickly turned speculative. But first off I was going to have to go back downstairs and deal with my parents.
“Do you think he’ll kill me when he discovers I have been sleeping with his daughter while engaged to her Mother?” he asked with a grimace. I stiffened in his arms and gave that an unhappy thought.
“I didn’t realize the engagement wasn’t off,” I growled, feeling an icy shiver cross over my skin at the ickyness of it all.
“Obviously we both were mistaken.”
“This is giving me a headache,” I muttered then pushed up out of his arms and reached for my clothing. “A few laps around the track should help to clear my head.”
“And delay the time of my death,” he grumbled. “I have seen Dragons in action. After the look on his face earlier, I harbor no delusions of survival should he decide to challenge me.”
“Don’t worry, Daddy’s little girl will protect you,” I teased as I laced up my shoes and crawled to my feet. He gave me a wan smile but yanked his shirt over his head and reached for his leather pants. I watched in interest as he shimmed them up his perfectly muscled legs and nearly sighed when he tucked all of himself in, closing the buttons.
“Hold that thought, Princess,” he urged me. “It will help to remind you of why you want to keep me.”
I smiled down at him and replied, “I’m not likely to forget.”
The training room was its normal hive of activity as we stepped into the room. “I’d like to be alone,” I told Amras, taking off at a slow jog when he nodded, and moved to join Cursed who was busy directing one of the trainees in sword play. On my third lap, Kit loped up next to me in wolf form and fell into step, his long legs carrying him along at a trot.
“Your Father’s got stamina,” he informed me, then dodged to the side when I swung at him. “Just thought you would like to know that they are still going at it like two, ah… bunnies.”
“Arrughh!” I yelled at him. “Get away from me!” He laughed again but refused to leave me alone.
“Your Mother is more like you than you know,” he added and I had to stop abruptly and bend over at the waist, fighting not to gag at his comment.
“Why are you tormenting me?”
“I thought you wanted a little brother or sister,” he replied calmly. “Isn’t that what you told your Mother, someone to take the pressure off of you?”
I turned my head and glared at him. I’d been alone in my bedroom with my Mother and Mi at the time that conversation had taken place. Damn him, he must have been eaves dropping. “Yes, I said that! But that is hardly a science experiment going on in your living room! Not a beaker in sight,” I hissed at him.
“True,” he replied as he sat and lolled his tongue at me. “But Owen is here… and I believe he might be of some small assistance, if you asked him nicely.”
I stood abruptly and glanced toward the middle of the floor where I could see Owen chatting with Jace. With my shields lowered I yelled for him and watched as he jumped, coming down in a defensive position and apparently thinking he was under attack. “Oh good lord,” I muttered and waved him over frantically. He glanced around and started walking toward me which caused me to add. Hurry! And that got him nearly running in my direction.
“What?” he demanded, skidding to a halt and searching my face. Behind him Jace and Gareth were also coming at a jog.
“Quick! Can you make my Mother fertile?”
He looked like he was trying not to swallow his tongue and ended up nodding.
“Twins… can you give her twins or maybe triplets? All girls?” I demanded and he looked at me as if I’d grown a third set of horns. “Just answer the question!”
“Ah… yes with help.”
“Will you now… do it I mean?” I urged him.
“Lexi, are you sure this is a good idea?”
“No, it’s a great idea. Can you please just snap your fingers and ah… give her quadruplets?” Beside me Kit snickered, then flopped onto his side on the floor and laughed until he shook.
Owen continued to look at me out of his big brown eyes. “Shouldn’t your parents decide if they want more children?”
“Oh my God!” I nearly screamed up at him. “What do you think they are doing right this moment?” Owen’s face went from concern to surprise to amusement in a split second, and then he too was laughing so he had to bend at the waist to keep from falling over. He laughed so hard I was worried he’d forget what I needed him to do. Jace and Gareth pulled up and glanced between me and the other two. I gritted my teeth and growled, “Owen…please, before it’s too late!”
He pulled himself upright and held out his hand for me. Frowning I glanced up at him. “I need your assistance, Lexi,” he told me softly. Shrugging, I reached for him and when he closed his eyes, I felt a tug at my body that stole my breath. A ripple spread out from us, brushing those standing near in passing, then sunk into the floor, no doubt winging it’s way to my Mother some thirty or forty feet below.
“What the hell was that?” Jace muttered, rubbing his chest with a surprised expression as he stopped next to us.
“History being made,” I advised them, then glanced at Owen who opened his eyes and had the most beautiful smile I’d ever seen covering his face.
“Life,” he whispered. “It’s begun.”
“How many?” I demanded and he grinned down at me and kissed the tip of my nose. “You asked for quadruplets. Your wish is my command.”
“Still all girls?” I breathed my excitement so intense I thought I might pass out from it. When he nodded I jumped into his arms and rained kisses all over his face. “Thank you, thank you, thank you!” I laughed. He rumbled and I felt his hands grasp me tightly.
“Careful,” he muttered. “Or you will be next.”
I hugged him, and then wiggled, asking to be let down onto the floor. He sighed and held me a moment more, letting me feel the strength of him pressing in against my stomach so that I swallowed hard. On the floor at our feet Kit sat up and looked at us. “Excuse me, but I believe we agreed that I’m next,” he remarked sarcastically.
Owen glanced down at him and sighed, then let me slip from his arms. Gareth and Jace both gave me a look and I felt my cheeks go pink. “I don’t recall agreeing. How do you figure that, Demon?” he asked calmly.
“Because I am the only one around here that hasn’t had seconds yet!” he replied indignantly. Owen ju
st lifted an eyebrow and crossed his arms. “Besides this was my idea to begin with so, she should be thanking me!” he muttered and gave me an expectant look. He was right and I immediately sank to the floor and wrapped my arms around his neck, burying my face in his ruff. He chuckled and shifted so that I found myself straddling him with my breasts pressed up against his chest, his hand cupping my bottom in a tight grip.
“Now that’s more like it,” he whispered, then laughed again when I yelped and tried to get off him. His waist length silky midnight hair brushed my face so I grabbed a handful and gave it a yank, which made him growl sharply and swat my bottom. I ground my teeth and struggled to get off his lap. My movements caused him to groan and press himself against me in spite of our audience. I gave up and held still, knowing that my efforts only served to entice him.
“Will you please let me up?” I hissed at him. “You are embarrassing me.”
“You pulled my hair,” he informed me crossly. “One kiss to make it better.”
I sighed, not trusting him in the least. “One kiss on the cheek,” I negotiated.
“Done!” he replied, then lifted me over his head and turned me so that his lips caressed my bottom, very much to my dismay. Around me Owen and Amras chuckled. Apparently both he and Cursed had also joined us. I glanced at Gareth and Jace, not surprised to find they both looked exasperated. Gareth rolled his eyes. Jace sighed and crossed his arms over his chest.
When Kit finally released me, I felt like my face was going up in flames and scooted out of his reach as fast as I could. I managed to trip and found myself wrapped up within Cursed’s arms, my breath coming out in small pants I was so agitated. When his fingers splayed across my ribcage I dropped my head and muttered under my breath. My hair swung free nearly covering my face. I hadn’t anything to tie it back with before starting this little debacle of a workout and discovered I was almost grateful as it served to hide my embarrassment.
Cursed’s other hand reached for my hip, using it to pull my bottom firmly against the front of him, leaving me no question as to his current state of mind as he rolled his hips and pressed himself into me. The feel of him against my bottom caused me to stiffen, then relax. I figured he might as well take his due along with the others. Besides I couldn’t deny he felt good pressed against me this way and if I was going to be man handled on the training room floor at least it was by someone I actually enjoyed.
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