by Honor James
“Hush,” he murmured, hugging her tight to him. “You did just fine because somewhere inside you had faith I’d come back to you and I did. You believed in me and, while you were scared, you knew I wasn’t about to leave you to starve under Rayne’s less-than-spectacular cooking techniques.”
That had her giggling and she nodded. “I’ve eaten more take-out than I ever wanted to eat, honey,” she agreed. “So the sooner that you are up and on your feet the sooner that we can have some real and wonderful food, darling.”
“An amazing warrior, absolutely,” Slade snorted, “but a chef Rayne is not. And he dared to give me grief when I was taking my classes. I should make him suffer on take-out for the next month but he likes the crap and the Dragon burns through the calories so it’s not like he’d put on any weight.”
“Oh please don’t,” she said with the shake of her head. “I don’t think that I can survive much longer on take-out. It’s bad when I’m even turning to cereal for dinner because I just simply can’t handle any more Chinese, pizza, or Thai.” She wrinkled her nose. “Please.”
“Babe, you wound me,” Slade told her, pressing his hand to his chest. “I said Rayne, not you, never you. I’ll cook for you and I and he can eat whatever he wants.” He gave a soft chuckle. “But I likely won’t. He gets all pissy when he doesn’t get to eat all the good stuff.”
“Good, he needs to be able to eat and keep up his strength as well, darling. I really and truly do want to have lots and lots of time with both my guys and heaven only knows that it takes both of you to keep me and my insatiable needs satisfied,” she teased.
“I do so like how insatiable you are,” he told her honestly. “Especially when you get all handsy and start grabbing and demanding. And when you get all hot and bothered, start panting and moaning in need and Gods, how wet you are when I slide my aching cock deep into your pussy.”
Parker bit her lip and moaned, her pussy rubbing against his thigh in need as she did so. “God you are killing me,” she whispered. “Making it very hard to remember that you were hurt and can’t yet make love, darling.”
“Says you,” he told her. “You’re not the one with a throbbing, aching cock. But if you’d be so kind as to adjust your wiggling a little to the left maybe I can get a bit of relief?” Slade smiled at her and leaned in to kiss her cheek. “Come on, babe, help me and my poor cock get a bit of relief so that my poor balls don’t go blue on me.”
“I would never want them to go blue.” Parker nibbled on his chest lightly and then let her hand trail down his chest and to his cock. “So tell me, darling, do you want me to ride you?” God she shouldn’t, she really shouldn’t. She should let him rest and heal but she needed him so badly that she couldn’t hold back anymore.
“Oh Gods yes, you really should,” he told her, making it clear he’d heard her thoughts. “Get naked with me, Parker, and ride me until neither of us can walk straight. Please?” he whispered against her skin as he rocked his hips into her hold on his cock.
Parker leaned down and trailed her lips over his chest and nipped at his nipple lightly. “I love you, Slade, naked. Give me a second.” She purred and pulled back. Stripping out of her clothes she moved her hands over his chest and felt for his cock again. Leaning down, her tongue brushed the head of his shaft and she licked it. “I want you to lose all control, need you to really and truly fuck me if we are going to break my rules now, darling.”
“Oh Gods yes,” he moaned out. “I will fuck you six ways of Sunday if you’ll just get your pretty pink and so-wet pussy up over my fucking cock. Come on, baby, mount me and ride me damn it.” She was killing him with the little flicks of her tongue.
Oh yes, that was just what she needed. She moved from him and bracing her hands on his chest mounted him. “Help me out here, babe.” She wanted him to guide her into his body, wanted to feel his hands on her body again. “Touch me, Slade. Help me out, please, baby.”
Gripping her hip in one hand and his cock in the other Slade got himself positioned. “Down slow, baby, let me slide into you,” he said. Clenching his teeth tight he moaned again. “Oh Gods that’s it, slow, Parker, nice and slow.” He breathed as she slid her hot pussy over his hard, aching erection.
She was always so wet for him. She seemed to be constantly in a near state of orgasm when it came to him. Her nails bit into his chest as she slowly pressed down onto him. “God you feel so good,” she moaned. “I’ve missed you so very much.”
“I’ve missed you, too, Parker,” he whispered softly. Stroking a hand slowly up her body he cupped her breast and massaged gently. “It’s all you now. Just ride me however you want,” he told her, squeezing her hip with his other hand.
Parker did just that. She began to ride him, leaning down so that she could brush her lips to his and riding just a bit faster and faster as she did so. Leaning in close she nibbled along his jaw and then nipped his ear before whispering in it. “So good.”
“You definitely are,” he agreed wholeheartedly. Rocking his hips to meet her thrust for thrust Slade knew he wouldn’t last long. It had been too long without his mate and any intimate contact. “Move faster. I’m going to embarrass myself here soon and come before you,” he warned.
She did just as he demanded. Parker began to ride him faster and harder. Her breath was coming out in gasps of desperation and need. “Slade.” She gasped his name. Need filled her as she gasped and a simple shudder raced down her spine and caused her whole body to tighten on him. Her head went back and she screamed as she came.
Yelling her name as he slammed up into her Slade’s eyes rolled back in his head the pleasure was so intense. Collapsing in a pile of satisfied and happy goo on the bed he grinned as he sucked in huge lungfuls of air. “Fucking A,” he wheezed out. “Now I really feel better.”
“Me, too.” Parker was lying limp and loose against his body and smiled. “I really, really love that feeling.” When he came, it was as if there were sparks inside of her and she loved it. “I will never get enough of being with you, darling.”
Sliding a hand up her sweat-slicked back he smiled. “Me either, babe,” he murmured. Yawning suddenly Slade relaxed even more. “I think I’ll have a nap now that I’m not continuously distracted by my cock twitching every time I hear you breathe.”
“I think that sounds like a great idea, darling,” Parker whispered and yawned again. “Goodness I feel so very much better now.” She had felt remarkable with having Rayne making love to her but now that she was finally able to make love with Slade again she felt whole. “A nap sounds wonderful.”
“Good, then you stay right where you are because when we wake, we’ll be doing this again,” he told her. “But you do need to shift a little and grab the blankets, darling. They are just out of my reach and I feel much too relaxed to even think about moving.”
Parker reached for the blankets, feeling all around until her fingers touched them and then pulled them up and over their bodies. “Much better.” She yawned again and relaxed fully against him. “Good night, Slade, I love you, babe.”
“Good night Parker,” he said softly, stroking her hair off her face. “I love you, too, my little bond-mate,” he whispered. Lifting his head he pressed a kiss to her hair and then laid back. Letting out a sigh he let the heat of her body lull him into a deep, dreamless sleep.
Epilogue
Sticking the star on top of the tree Slade plugged it into the string of lights and gave Rayne the thumbs-up as he climbed down the ladder. Both men slid on sunglasses and Rayne plugged the tree in. Grinning they bumped fists as the tree lit up bright enough to run an airport and went to start hauling in all the gifts to go under the tree.
Humming along with the Christmas tunes Slade raced into the kitchen when the timer went off and switched out a baked tray for another that needed to bake. Jogging back to the living room he snatched up Parker when she crossed his path and spun her under the mistletoe and planted a big wet one on her cheek.
“Merr
y Christmas, darling.” He grinned against her cheek. “You ready for the party tonight?” he asked, spinning her into a dance. Singing along with Bing Crosby he dipped her back. “We have decked the halls, goodies have been baking all day, and all the food is ready to go into the oven at intervals throughout the rest of the afternoon and we will be ready right on the nose for seven. We shall be invaded by the whole horde, kids and all. You ready for a bunch of wee ones giggling and screaming?”
Christmas was the most amazing and magical time of year. It was one of Parker’s favorite seasons because of the scents, the sounds, the merriment that came from it. Before she lost her sight she had always loved Christmas lights, loved seeing Santa Claus and the sheer and utter joy found in children all around her.
This year was different from the previous several. This year Parker was able to actually celebrate the joy that came with the holiday instead of trying to hide from everything and everyone. “I’m so ready for them all, honey.” She ran her hands over his shoulders and felt every inch of his body. “I’m so very happy. We are a family. We have a wild and crazy bunch of men and women and children that are all a part of our family.” She laid her head on his shoulder and sighed. “I just wish that I could see them, if only once.”
“You see people more clearly than if you had your sight, Parker,” Rayne said from his spot organizing gifts under the tree. “Besides, we can’t change what is. We can only do the best we can with what we’ve been given. And you are doing amazing with what life handed you,” he pointed out, getting up to go and get more gifts.
“He’s right,” Slade told her, spinning her around in a slow circle as the music changed. “You are an amazing woman and we’re blessed to have you in our life. Never think otherwise, Parker. Without you we’d still be squabbling. Well”—he chuckled and dipped her back—“more than we do now I should say.”
Parker laughed at that and nodded. “This is true. The two of you do tend to love to give each other a hard time, especially when it comes to the TV,” she teased. “I’m so glad that I don’t have to watch whatever it is that you guys watch. Listening to it is bad enough.”
“Usually it’s soccer,” he told her.
“Football, you cretin!” Rayne yelled from somewhere in the house.
Growling Slade muttered foul names. “The English version of football, morons that they are, or rugby. He tends to get overly pissy when I put on American football.” Slade turned his head and raised his voice a little. “The real version of football, that is.” He dropped his tone to normal again. “Which is why the paint is peeling off most of the walls. He has a seriously foul mouth on him.”
Parker grinned. “Funny how both of you forget all about that when I come down and have barely any clothing on at all.” That was what she loved about these men. They made her feel beautiful, even when she knew she wasn’t. She was scarred and flawed but to them, she was perfect, and in her mind they were all that mattered.
“You are beyond perfect. You are magnificent, gorgeous, a goddess in your own right,” Slade told her, turning around with her in a slow dance. “Darling, you may be scarred on the outside but we all have scars to some degree, inside and out. It’s how we live, how we continue on from the experiences that mark us that truly shows just who we are.”
“I love you, too, Slade, so very much. I don’t care that I’m scarred, only that you and Rayne are in my life. I’m happy. I haven’t thought I would ever be this happy but I am. You are my miracle, you and Rayne, honey.”
“Don’t know about that but we try.” He chuckled softly. “Oops, gotta go and switch trays,” Slade told her before spinning her off to Rayne.
“Hello, sugar,” the big Dragon murmured, moving her into the dance. “Everything’s about set. Slade has a few more things to do for the big meal but we should be good. You can even get in a nap before they all start to arrive. He’ll be busy making snacks and finishing dinner and I think I may have been roped in. But we still have a good six hours until they start arriving.”
“I would like that.” She had been excessively tired lately but it was okay. “Wanna walk me up and tuck me in?” she teased with a smile. Turning her face up to him she added, “I seriously wouldn’t mind if you wanted to come to bed with me and keep me warm since I’ve been colder and colder as of late, darling.”
“How about I get you tucked in and then see if Slade needs a hand?” he offered. “If he doesn’t need me for a while I’ll come back up and snuggle with you and come back when he does need me.”
“Don’t need you for two hours, go away!” Slade yelled from the kitchen.
“Then again, we could just go upstairs and ignore the Sorcerer with big ears for two hours.” He grinned, pressing a kiss to her cheek. “Come on, sugar, nap time.”
“We could nap or you could wear me out just a bit more?” She ruined the question by yawning. “Or maybe you can wake me up with making love with me?”
“Can definitely do that.” Rayne laughed, scooping her up in his arms and jogging for the bedroom.
* * * *
Setting out the last dish Slade nodded. “We’re ready,” he said with a grin.
“And they should start showing up any time now,” Rayne commented, reaching for a cracker with something gooey piled on top. “Ow!” he whined when Slade smacked his knuckles.
“Hands off until people start getting here and digging in, you ass. You ruin one plate and I’ll neuter you in your fucking sleep,” Slade said, giving him a narrow-eyed look.
“You’re mean at this time of year, Slade,” he muttered.
“Yeah well, I usually hate this time of year so it stands to reason,” Slade muttered, moving to get ice and dump it into the container. Dropping the lid onto the bucket he looked up at a small sound. “Hot damn, Parker, you look smokin’, girl!” He grinned.
Tears were streaming down her face when she stepped into the room. She could see. Oh Gods, she could see! Parker ran full out to Slade and threw herself into his arms and began to sob. “I can see you,” she whispered. Pulling back she turned and looked to Rayne, running for him and hugging him as well. “I can see you both,” she whispered and pulled back to touch every inch of his face. “My God you are both the most amazingly handsome men ever. I love you both so very, very much.” She whispered, “I can see you.”
Rayne stared down at her and then looked at Slade before looking at her again. “What?” he whispered. Her eyes were clear. She was looking right at him. “You can see?” He blinked. “Holy hell, how?” he asked.
“Because even when things were at the worst, even when she was being beaten she still held onto her goodness,” the Goddess, Gaia, said as she appeared in the room with them. “No matter what, the innate goodness that was always a part of who she was remained intact. Even when it brought her pain she remained pure and good.” She smiled at the woman. “I’m sorry you had to suffer for as long as you did but it was all a part of bringing justice to evil. It also helped to bring together many bond-mates whose paths would have never crossed otherwise.”
“Should have guessed,” Slade said from where he stood and grinned at the Goddess. “Don’t think Rayne or I can top that Christmas gift though, rather embarrassing but at least it was a Goddess that showed us up.”
The Goddess smiled. “Oh you have given her a gift of your own, one that I’m surprised your Dragon friend hasn’t noted yet.” She shrugged. “Just love each other and always love each other. Know that I love you as well. I know that I’ve caused pain and harm, but it’s all been for a reason. Nothing comes without a price. Some people just simply don’t understand that, sadly. I will, however, leave you. Enjoy your lives together, you three, and know that where love is, you can always overcome.”
Moving around the counter Slade stopped before her and looked down into her eyes. “Come with me for one sec?” he asked her softly. At her regal nod he led her to the tree and, crouching down, found what he wanted. Standing he handed her a bag. “We weren�
�t sure that you would come around but we were hopeful. It’s not much. After all, what does one get a Goddess?” He grinned. “Merry Christmas, Gaia.”
She took the gift from him and smiled. “I…” She paused. “Thank you. I don’t think that I’ve ever had anyone give me a gift. Other than my daughter of course.” She looked at Slade and smiled. “Thank you very much for this. You have no idea what it means to me.” She hadn’t even opened the gift. Just the fact that they gave her something was enough for her.
Shrugging Slade smiled slightly. “Like I said, we had no clue what to get you but hopefully you can find a use for it,” he told her. “I’d give you a hug, too, but I’m always a little wary about doing such things without giving a little warning. Especially to someone that can wipe me from existence faster than I can blink.”
“You are welcome to hug me, Slade,” Gaia said and hugged the man. Smiling she whispered, “Twins by the way, one Sorcerer and one Dragon.” Pulling back she opened the bag and smiled. “It’s beautiful, one of your creations?”
Nodding he smiled. “I’ll tell Rayne later once his Dragon senses kick in,” he told her softly. Leaning in he kissed her cheek just as the doorbell rang. “And now it’s time for the party to start.” He grinned. Hugging her once more he smiled. “Merry Christmas, Gaia.”
“Merry Christmas to you as well. Tell my daughter I love her. I would remain but we both know why I cannot.” Zaidu had never forgiven her and never would. “Be happy, Slade,” she said with a smile and touched his hand. “If you should ever need me, call to me and I will come. Until then, be happy and know that Parker was always intended only for you and for Rayne. She balances the two of you out perfectly, her light to your darkness, her joy to Rayne’s sadness. It is as it should be,” she whispered and in a blink was gone.
Sighing when she was gone Slade took a moment to gather himself before he headed for the door. “I got it,” he called to the other two who still hadn’t moved from their spots in the kitchen. “Not that you even noticed,” he murmured, rolling his eyes. Hauling open the door he blinked. “Holy hell, did the lot of you all come in the same car?” he asked, looking at Talon, Cin, Zaidu, Bethany, Tryggr, Chrissy, Trey, Mac, Sully and Katherine. “Did you leave the others in the trunk?” He grinned as he waved them all inside.
