"Make sure?" Leyland asks. He pulls back a little and we look into each other’s eyes.
"Yeah. My mother. She told me when we met her on the cliff. As we were walking away, she hugged me, told me I was pregnant. Didn't believe her at first but ..." I gesture to the test and then the scan. Karl steps forward and pulls me up into his arms.
"I'm so happy, Everly!" Wrapping my arms around him, I squeeze. Garrot pulls me from his arms and embraces me, more gently than usual. So I bear hug him, making everyone laugh.
"I'm pregnant Gar, not made of glass. The baby is well protected." My eyes flick to Vic. As the newest member of my group I don't know how he will feel about this. We haven't even really had sex yet, sure we did things last night but it wasn't...we didn't ya know...go all the way so to speak. Just as he is about to say something to him, there is a series of loud bangs on the front door. I push from Garrot's arms, my own coming up defensively.
"It's just William's clan. I sent for them," Victor announces, leaving the room to let them in. I hug and kiss my guys again and sit on Leyland's lap as two huge men walk in.
"Everly, I'd like to introduce Lorin and Vlad." Victor announces as he steps into the room. Both new guys go down to a knee and I barely restrain myself from rolling my eyes.
"Please, get up. Where is William?" I ask Vic.
"At his lover’s. His arm, it was beyond repair. His Leviathan brethren took it off, it's growing back. But slowly." He looks deep in thought for a moment. "Mickey? Yes. Mickey is a witch, it turns out. He's spelled the house so that no one can get in. He will be arriving at any moment, to do the same here."
"A witch?" I look down at my ruined couch, poor William lost an arm to that psycho bitch, Selina. Shit.
"Could have used him a few days ago." Garrot snorts but then sobers.
"Everly, your life..." Leyland begins, but I cut him off.
"Yeah, yeah, Le, my life wasn't in danger though, was it? I healed faster than the time it takes to make a brew. I'm fine, it's fine. Chill." I turn and walk away. A thought randomly pops into my head...I wonder if my twin heals like me? And can do the things I can do—or am supposed to be able to do, that is. I've yet to learn my full capabilities.
Garrot swats my arse on the way past, and Karl wolf whistles. Breaking my train of thought. Men. But I love it. As I walk out of the back door, Vic is at my side. "You knew huh, beast?" I ask him.
"I did." he replies, he knew I was pregnant before I told anyone.
"How?" We walk across the grass into the middle of the field.
"I knew the moment I met you. I could smell the hormones while in Leviathan form. Subtle changes since then too. Your breasts," he flips his hand towards them, "are bigger already. Your hips, rounder. Sexier."
Wow. Smooth talker. I look down at my tits and frown. "Ha, bloody hell, Vic, you miss nothing." A small smile plays on his lips when I look up at him.
"I have had to study the four of you closely. Your interactions, I don't- affection doesn't come as naturally to me as it does the others," he admits. Aw. And a little creepy. Just a pinch.
"You're doing good, Vic, more cuddles, kisses, and orgasms and you're good to go." I laugh, but he seems to take it seriously because he pulls me into his arms and kisses me more tenderly than you'd think a giant like him was capable of.
Releasing me, he says "The baby, I will need you and the guys to guide me. I don't know how to do that. But I- I want to be a good father to him." Awwww, swoon!
"Him?" I raise an eyebrow at his use of the word.
"Oh, or her. Do you think you could want to carry my babe?" I'm so shocked by his words I choke on fresh air. Coughing while he taps my back, I fumble for the right words to say. "We have eternity my love, I can wait," he says, far better than I ever could say such a thing.
"Let's get this party started, bitches!" I jump in the air and bang the top of my head into Vic's jaw. "Ow. Sorry, big guy," I say, rubbing my head. He looks down at me and chuckles. Actually chuckles. My eyes go wide and I blink several times. The look on my face must be hilarious because more laughter bursts from his mouth and I almost faint. Instead I laugh along with him as he scoops me up and spins us around.
"My Queen!" he shouts to the skies.
I'VE BEEN PRACTICING my powers on a lot of guys today, Leviathans, sea serpents, Selkie. I have a ninety percent success rate by the time 3 p.m rolls around.
"You've got to throw it at them Evs, not just chuck it in their direction. Put some welly into it, yeah?" William says for the billionth time today.
"I am throwing it!" I protest. I even stomp my foot a bit. Storming away, I throw over my shoulder, "I've got shit to do, torture someone else for a bit.” I walk around the side of our home and slink into the shed. I've got everything I need, my delivery will be here at 6 p.m, just in time for what I have planned for tonight.
Karl
Everly has been kicking arse all day, the only one she has yet to beat is William, because she refuses to hurt him on account of his missing arm. Which he swears will grow back. And Victor. Everly has been trying, I'll give her that. But the beast seems determined to make her up her game. Several times he knocks her down, and each time she gets back up his smile gets wider.
He has bigger balls than me, I let her kick my arse, for fear of hurting her, or the baby. Baby Eros. Man, I have to admit I'm kind of jealous. But for the most part, I'm over the moon. I love Everly with my whole being, and I love Le too. It will be easy to love and care for a child of theirs, like it's my own. Looking at my watch, I notice it’s past dinner time. None of us have eaten.
"Hungry?" I shout, waiting for everyone to answer. I'm met with whoops of agreement. Okay, so they're hungry then. As I turn to walk into the kitchen I notice Ever break away and slip down the side of the house. Huh, must be going to take a break.
I decide on soup for dinner; I don't really have the energy to do anything else. I've been practicing my new powers and it's draining. I figured out that if I offer the Earth a few drops of my blood, it bends and follows my commands quicker, more efficiently. Of course, I don't tell Everly that; she'd kick my butt if she knew I'd been reopening a cut I made on my palm, letting the blood drop to the floor all day. No, best keep that one a secret.
I pull up short.
No. No secrets. I'll tell her after lunch. It's not like I'm self harming; I just want to become more powerful to protect her and baby Eros. I'm stirring the soup when Vic walks in, his toga replaced with a pair of my joggers. He doesn't bother with t-shirts, none of ours fit him anyway.
"Sup big guy?" I ask as I bring the wooden spoon to my mouth to taste the soup.
"I wanted to ask you something. Is it ok?" Damn, he looks so uncertain.
"Go for it, you can ask me anything." I stop what I’m doing and give him my full attention.
"Leyland and Everly, I wish to have that bond with her too." he says, sounding like he is struggling to find the right word.
Huh? Does he mean the baby?
"Er...not sure how pregnancies go in Atlantis big guy, but here-" I begin,
"No, not the babe. And they go differently than on land. But no. Their bond, they love each other implicitly. How do I have that with her?" he asks, the sadness in his eyes pulls at my heart.
Shit man. Don't we all. Ok, I'm not jealous of their bond, I revere it. I want that too, but Ever and Le have been like that since day one. She loves us all, I know that, but with Le, it’s as easy as breathing for the both of them.
"It's something we have to earn, beast, it can't just be there." I shrug, if I knew the answer, I’d have that bond with her too. I guess it's stronger because of the baby, too.
"I see. How do I... do that?"
"Love her. And she will love you, it's that simple with her. She isn't like other women I've known. She doesn't want anything from me other than what she deserves. Honesty. Love. Trust."
"Sex?" he asks, one of his massive arms around his chest, the other leaning on it, his chin propped in h
is hand.
"Well ... sure that's a small part of it. But real love is based on more than just sex."
"Hmm, I see. I'm finding this difficult to comprehend. I've never known real love before. I fear her rejection." his honesty floors me. I would have expected him to be scarred from his years of slavery, I guess it made him emotionally stunted. Understandable.
"She has already accepted you, Vic. You wouldn't be here if she hadn't." He looks deep in thought, so I don't say anything else. I dish up the soup and bread, then take it outside.
"Dinner’s up guys!" I shout so everyone can hear me. Of course Garrot is the first to get to me.
"Soup? Dude, we are fighting our asses off, and you feed us soup?" Shit, Garrot has got a point. "I'll do steaks for tea. You know, feed us like the manly men we are," he tells everyone as they eye the soup. Motherfuckers.
Chapter Twenty Nine
GARROT
Fucking soup. Does he think we are women? I slurp extra loud because I know it bugs the shit out of him. Pft, soup.
"Alright guys, it's closer to tea time now than dinner. So what say you to calling it quits for the day?" I stand and say loudly. Every single person raises their hand. "Great, see ya tomorrow." Turning on my heel, I walk back into the house.
Busying myself, I marinate the steaks and pop them in the fridge. Deciding on a shower, I make my way to the stairs, only to be stopped by Vlad at the bottom.
"Sup dude? I need a shower, excuse me." I say.
"No can do Sir, I have my orders."
"From who?" I ask.
"My Queen. She is busy."
Huh? What's Ever doing upstairs? It's then that I hear a giggle. I know everyone is outside. There is only Ever up there, right?
"Harder, Vol, push it further in." Her voice floats down the stairs to me. What the fuck? Who is Vol? Pushing past Vlad, I bolt up the stairs. Now, if Ever wants to add more to our group, that's fine. But when she added Vic she included us in the decision. I don't have the foggiest idea who this guy is that’s making our girl giggle and ask for it deeper. Just as I'm about to open the door, it opens from the other side.
"Excuse me, Sir, um ..." A stranger pokes his head around the door, then looks back into the room, his foot behind it so I can't get in.
"Oh, no! Don't come in, Garrot!" Everly screeches and slams her shoulder against the door, causing it to knock against my face. "Sorry! I um, I've got a surprise and I want you all to see it at the same time." Could this surprise be another man?
"Ok babe. Er, you want me to get the others?"
"Yes please. Gimme five, k?"
I grumble to myself the whole way down the stairs. I don't like surprises, simply because I don't like to wait. Whatever she's doing in there, I want to know now. I tell the guys Everly wants us, pouting like a child when I tell them how I wasn't allowed in. Le and K laugh at me as I follow them back up the stairs. Fucking cardio. Leyland knocks and waits for an answer.
"Can't tell where you end and she begins, LeLe," I tease, he sticks his tongue out at me, and Karl surprises us both by laughing. In the past, if Leyland and I were messing about, he’d go into commander mode and piss on our chips. So it's a nice change to see him laugh at our antics.
"Okay, come in!" Ever shouts through the door. Of course, I try to push past them but Vic is bigger and stronger, so he pushes in front of us all and we follow behind. When we enter, we all lose our breaths. Along one wall is the biggest bed I've ever seen in my life. Everly is laid in the middle, her head rests on her hand.
"Surprise!" she says excitedly.
Oh fuck yes! Taking a running leap, I jump on the bed. Le, Karl and Vic follow at a more reasonable pace.
"This is awesome, babe!" I tell her as I bounce on the mattress.
"Wow, did you make this?" Leyland asks. Huh, did she?
"Yup. Been working on it for weeks, Will's clan helped me bring it up and assemble it, ordered a custom mattress online. Boom ... massive bed." she giggles as we swarm around her.
"Wow, now we can all sleep together!" Karl says with a lot of excitement in his voice. Oh, the sexy times we can have here.
Everly jumps off the bed. Surprising us all by landing on her feet, she announces, "Right lads, time to go out. We've got an appointment." Huh? "Come, get dressed. Let's go."
We all meet Everly downstairs.
"Where are we going?" Karl asks her. She taps the side of her nose and saunters out of the door.
Leyland
The massive bed before me makes tears spring to my eyes. Everly built this so that the five of us could sleep together; it's beautiful. The base is painted to look like the sea with blues, greens, and dashes of white. Garrot of course jumps right on it, his delight pouring out of him.
As Karl, Vic and I walk towards our bed, I can't help but swell with pride. I can't believe she made this for us. I absolutely adore this woman. She worked on it for weeks. Sitting down, I get lost in her eyes. She looks so happy chatting away to everyone. My hand goes into my pocket for the millionth time today. Everything is ready. I'm so nervous my hands are shaking. Shoving them under my legs I turn my attention back to the conversation.
"Right lads, time to go out. We've got an appointment."
What? My plans!
"Come, get dressed. Let's go." Tapping the side of her nose, she walks out of the door. Leaving us with our mouths hanging open.
"Shit, thought for sure we were going to get a replay of last night!" Gar moans.
"Me too, only this time I wanted to actually cum," Beast says. He didn't?
"Well, come on then, lads, our lady awaits. Let's change and go." Karl claps his hands and we all spring into motion. I open the bags at the back of the room and start pulling clothes out.
"Sorry, Victor, we've only got joggers that will fit you," I tell the big guy. He shrugs, so I throw him a pair of Karl's. I take the small box from my pocket and place it on the bed. Three sets of eyes flick to me, questions on their faces.
"Guys, we need to talk. I want to-" I begin.
"Come on kids, Mummy is hungry!" Ever shouts from downstairs. A small growl leaves me, must feed Everly. Rushing to pull my clothes on, I miss a button on my shirt.
"Come here, Le, you look like no one owns you," Garrot pulls me forward and he unbuttons my shirt to redo it.
"We're so lucky Gar, Everly she is .. gods, she's amazing." I tell him as we lock eyes.
"She sure is, brother," he responds, a huge smile on his face.
Chapter Thirty
GARROT
"You're gonna be a daddy LeLe, a tiny little you running around." I finish straightening his tie and we stand there while the rest of the guys rush around. Victor jumps in the shower and Karl decided now is a great time to bring all our clothes in here. Makes sense, since Everly clearly wants us all to sleep here. The massive bed behind us is a testament to that.
"I've never been happier, Gar." He rubs the heel of his hand above his heart. "I could burst." His eyebrows draw down in a frown. "I hope that we can kill Poseidon, what if we can’t? I mean, the baby needs a world to live in..." Panic flashes across his face and he bends double, hands on his knees, panting.
"Calm down, brother, just breathe." I've never seen Leyland have a panic attack before. Karl had a few over the years, usually after coming back from a brutal hunting job. His nightmares feature real live monsters. If I had to see what he has seen, I'd have crumpled long ago. "That's it, breathe. Come, sit." I guide him to the bed and he plops down, his head in his hands.
"Ah, fuck me." He mumbles and runs his hands through his curly hair.
Kneeling in front of him, I say "Listen, the five of us will never let anyone or anything hurt this baby. You think Ever would let anyone hurt your babe? Nah, mate. She'd kick their arse, then probably explode them." He giggles, oh thank the gods, he's coming down.
"Yea she would. Badass." he says as he gets his breathing under control.
"She sure is. Now, you know if it's a boy, the name Garrot is
pretty cool," I say jokingly. While my name might have fit in one hundred years ago, it doesn't today. He laughs with me, we both know how I feel about my name.
"I'm so happy for you, Le," I say once I've pulled myself together. "You're going to be an amazing dad." I press a kiss to his bow-shaped lips and shout, "Let's get this party started!"
When we get downstairs Everly is sitting in her car, the engine running. Waiting for us.
"What's the rush baby girl?" I ask her as we slip into the car.
"I've booked a table. Food first, then ..." she winks at me as I climb into the back. Leyland gets up front with her. Resting his hand on her leg, he leans over to kiss her. Le's the romantic one, flowers hearts and all that stuff. He's so good at it. Me? I'm the joker, always up for a laugh and a good time. Karl's the boss, we look to him for everything, always have. And Victor, well, I'm still figuring him out. He struggles with affection and I see him watching us like he's taking mental notes or something.
"Where to, sweetheart?" Leyland asks her, he looks like he could just sit and kiss her all night. I understand that, wouldn't mind it myself.
"The Waves, I've got a craving for meat." Le and I both gasp and of course I say,
"I've got a footlong sausage right here for you babe." Making them both laugh.
Everly
Faking needing the loo, I head to the bar and pay the bill before one of the guys gets the chance. Then I actually do need to pee. Standing in the bathroom in front of the floor-to-ceiling mirror, I turn to one side and lift my dress to under my boobs. Yup, baby Eros is growing nicely. I'm bloated and my boobs are a bit sore. No baby bump yet, but ... soon. I can't wait. Leyland may be the daddy, but I know all four of them will be great dads to this baby. With Garrot's sense of humour and Karl's organisational skills, the little one will want for nothing. Walking back to the table, I announce my plans.
"Right, we are going to the beach." I hold a hand out to stop their complaints. "It's protected, Mickey spelled a spot on the south bay. A one-mile radius of untouchable space. No one can see in. Let's go." I clap my hands together a few times, channeling Karl in his commander mode. They all get up, and follow me out. Time to do what I should have done days ago.
The Everly Davis chronicles Page 36
