by Donna Raider
Leah: “You know how I like leather.
Mika: You are killing me. Must take confessions. Love you, so much.
Leah: Love you, too, darling.
Mika prayed a lot between confessions. Thanking her God for allowing her to have such a wonderful wife and son. Asking for guidance. She knew God had plans for them. She just wasn’t sure what they were.
##
Leah was barefoot in the kitchen, cooking dinner when Mika arrived home. She had ABBA playing loudly on her iPod dock and was dancing sensuously around as she moved from the refrigerator to the oven. Mika recognized the song she was dancing to: A Woman after Midnight .
Moving on socked feet, Mika silently slid in behind her, pulling Leah tight against her and moving them around the kitchen. Leah leaned back into Mika and let her wife guide her. Mika’s hands splayed on Leah’s stomach and lower abdomen, pressing her closer. She could feel Mika’s taut abs and muscles moving against her back as they danced.
“You and this song shredded all of my defenses at Samson’s birthday party. Remember?” Mika murmured into her ear.
“Um,” Leah hummed, pulling away from her only to dance seductively back into Mika’s arms.
“I almost threw you on the floor right there in front of everyone,” Mika’s voice was deep with emotion. She moved Leah toward the carpeted study and slowly lowered her to the floor.
“I wanted you, too,” Leah’s voice was husky with desire. “Much like now.”
Leah kissed her eagerly, demanding a response and receiving one. Her tongue explored Mika’s mouth. Her teeth nibbled Mika’s lower lip before pulling it between hers and sucking.
Mika’s hands found the hem of Leah’s skirt and slid it up to her waist. She was thrilled to find Leah wore no panties. She deftly unbuttoned Leah’s blouse, kissing every inch of gorgeous flesh that appeared as clothing was pushed away. Mika silently thanked her for wearing front fastening bras and expertly laid it open exposing the most titillating breasts she had ever seen.
Mika gently moved her lips to Leah’s breast. Leah moaned and pulled Mika’s mouth onto her, arching upward to push her breast further into her mouth. Mika alternated, kissing and caressing until Leah began to buck against her begging her to finish.
##
Later, as Leah lay in her arms, Mika kissed her gently. “I thought no one takes a queen on the floor,” she smiled mischievously.
Standing, Leah smoothed her skirt, fastened her bra and pulled her blouse back up onto her shoulders. She shook her head, allowing her hair to fall into place. She stared down at Mika in her haughtiest manner and said, “Congratulations, Priest, you just became someone.” She swayed her hips sensuously as she walked to the kitchen.
The slam of the front door announced the arrival of Richie. The priest quickly zipped her slacks. She was still laying on the floor on her back; her blouse pulled out and half buttoned. Thick strands of blonde hair hung down on her forehead. Leah was at the oven, removing dinner.
“Ugh, Mika, are you okay?” Richie gawked at Mika lying on the floor.
“Yes, I was just…ah…” Mika stuttered. She thought about faking a heart attack but quickly decided against it.
Richie’s eyes narrowed as he watched his mother smiling and carrying the casserole to the kitchen table. “Maybe I should call before entering my home,” Richie smirked.
“I thought you had football practice,” the priest said abashed. She quickly stood, straightening her clothes.
“I do, but I forgot my helmet,” Richie shrugged. “I’m sorry if I interrupted anything.”
“Oh, no, you didn’t, dear,” his mother spoke for the first time. “But in the future, maybe a phone call would be nice. Do you have a minute to eat something? If not, I will fix you a plate to go.”
“That would be great, Mom,” Richie’s appetite quickly overcame his interest in Mika’s appearance.
A subdued priest set the table as her wife fixed their son a go-plate. Mika walked their son to the door wanting to explain her behavior. “It is okay, Mika,” Richie grinned before she could speak. “After all, you are married.” The boy winked and was out the door.
“That was uncomfortable,” Mika said, pulling out the chair for her wife.
##
“Let’s watch a movie,” Leah suggested as they cleared the table. “It might be nice for us to be doing something besides making love when our son gets home from practice.”
Mika nodded in agreement and followed her wife to the family room. Leah sat down against the arm of the sofa, and Mika sat beside her, still somber from Richie’s appearance earlier. She couldn’t help thinking how embarrassing it would have been if their son had arrived fifteen minutes earlier.
“It’s not the end of the world,” Leah kissed her chastely. “I am certain he isn’t scarred for life.”
“I know,” Mika said as she stretched out on the sofa and laid her head in Leah’s lap. “I just try to set a good example for him.”
“As he said darling, we are married,” Leah leaned down and kissed her again. “That is what married people do. Only usually not as often,” she giggled.
Mika snuggled her head into Leah’s lap, pressing her cheek against her stomach. She could hear Leah’s heartbeat.
Leah’s heartbeat. It was very rapid. Panic spread through Mika. Something was wrong with Leah! No. Her heartbeat was strong and even. There was another sound, another softer, tiny, faster heartbeat.
Mika fought back the emotion that threatened to overcome her. Leah was looking down at her, watching her. Her rich brown eyes, shining with happiness. Mika’s eyes locked with her smiling brown eyes.
“Leah,” she gasped, “are you…are we…?”
“Yes, darling.” Leah’s smile was the most beautiful Mika had ever seen.
She quickly sat up, turning to face her. “How? When? Where?”
“Thank goodness you didn’t say, who,” Leah teased. That would have upset me. I’m sure you know, how. When, was the night of the bowling incident? When you were my angel. Where, was somewhere in the universe.”
“Ah, oh…I think I am going to hyperventilate,” Mika cried, doubling over to catch her breath. “Are you happy? Are you okay with this?”
“Of course, darling. I allowed it to happen. I love you, Mika.”
“You allowed…Of course,” Mika laughed at her epiphany. “Your magic. Your body. You have complete control over it. That makes it even more wonderful. It wasn’t an accident. You wanted it, too.”
“I did,” Leah smiled at her in wonder that she could be so excited at the prospect of having children with her. “I want your children more than anything.”
“May I listen again?” Mika motioned to her stomach.
“Of course,” she nodded.
Mika lay her head back in Leah’s lap, pressing her ear tightly to her stomach. As she listened, her eyes grew wider and wider. Leah’s heartbeat. Their baby’s heartbeat. Mika’s own heartbeat, no, but a third heartbeat. “Honey,” Mika looked at her in astonishment, “I think we are going to have twins.”
It was Leah’s turn to be surprised. “Are you sure?”
“Yes,” she breathed, in awe of the two tiny heartbeats, she was hearing.
“Oh, my gosh. Oh, my gosh,” Mika leaped to her feet, dancing around her. “I am going to be a mother, and you’re going to be a Mommy. You, you and me, we're having a baby. What should I do? Can I do anything for you? Can I get you anything?”
Leah caught her hand and pulled Mika back down beside her. “You can calm down,” she laughed. “If I had known you would be this happy, it would have happened a long time ago, except…”
“I know, the contract with Legion,” Mika grimaced. “Do you have a copy of it?”
“No. Legion always keeps the only copy.”
“It doesn’t matter,” Mika smiled, kissing her gently. “I can handle Legion.”
“We should tell Richie,” Leah leaned her head on Mika’s shoulder. “Maybe tonigh
t, when he comes home.”
“Yes,” Mika grinned. “He is going to be thrilled. He has been driving me crazy wanting a sibling.”
“I know,” Leah laughed. “Me, too. I can’t wait to see his face when he finds out he’s getting two.”
They waited for Richie to return home. They laughed and giggled like teenagers, making plans. They began discussing baby names. Mika kept hugging her and showering her with kisses. They decided to get a sonogram. “As you know,” Leah smiled, “I am really into instant gratification. I want to know the sex of our children as soon as possible.”
“Yes,” Mika agreed readily. “I will call Dr. Strand first thing in the morning.” Anything Leah wanted was fine with Mika.
“How long before we announce our joy to the world?” Mika asked, laying her head back onto Leah’s lap.
“I see no reason to keep it a secret,” Leah grinned. “Why don’t you make the announcement after the sermon Sunday? It’s December fifteenth. I’m about seven weeks along. The babies should be born sometime in July.”
“I can’t believe I didn’t miss Cranky Leah in November,” Mika laughed. “I guess I was too busy enjoying…”
“Yes,” Leah purred. “We both know what you were enjoying.” Her deep, sultry voice sent a shockwave through Mika.
“The floor, tonight,” Mika gasped, “did I hurt you?”
“Only the queen’s pride,” Leah laughed, “On the floor, was that payback?”
“You have teased me mercilessly today.” Mika hung her head slightly. Looking up through long lashes, she gave Leah her best little girl look.
“Um,” Leah hummed, “I do fully intend to follow thru tonight.”
Richie’s ringtone filled the room, and Leah answered her cell. “I will be home in ten minutes,” their son announced. “Try to be decent by the time I get there,” he laughed.
##
Richie was almost as excited as Mika had been at the news. He couldn’t stop hugging his mother and slapping Mika on the back as if the priest had accomplished a great feat.
“We’d like to announce it after the sermon on Sunday,” Mika informed him. “Can you keep it to yourself until then?”
Richie nodded. He wanted a few days alone with the information. His joy at the thought of a brother or sister, or both, was too precious to share outside his family right now. He gave his mother one last kiss and a big hug before running upstairs to shower. “Yes,” he danced a little jig at the top of the stairs. Twins born around the time of his birthday would surely result in a new truck and less of his mother’s smothering attention to his activities. He knew for sure his mother would never let him put two car seats in the rusty green Cuda.
##
Their lovemaking was slow and gentle, reiterating all the promises they had made to each other long ago. Leah clutched Mika to her, moaning her name into the darkness of the night. Mika paid soft tribute to her beauty and thanked her for having her children. Afterward, Leah lay in Mika’s arms trying to slow the beating of her heart.
“You know you don’t have to be so careful with me,” she whispered, cognizant of her son’s presence in the house.
“I don’t want to hurt you or the babies,” Mika said softly. “I don’t know what to do. I’ve never been in this situation before.”
“Neither have I,” Leah sighed. “I’m a little scared. I’ve heard horror stories about childbirth. Whatever you do, don’t leave me alone with Delilah. I am certain she will traumatize me.”
“I’ll be right by your side every step of the way,” Mika kissed her softly. “I promise you it will be the most amazing experience, and I won’t let anything hurt you. I have delivered babies before – Constantine – but I have no knowledge at all about intimate relations during pregnancy. Should we stop...?”
“I am sure celibacy is not called for,” Leah assured Mika, “but if it eases your mind, we can discuss it with Dr. Strand.”
“I love you, so much,” Mika pulled Leah tighter against her and fell asleep in the wonderful warmth of her.
Leah lay quietly in her wife’s arms. Her thoughts traveled in all directions: back in time to her awful life as the wicked queen; to when the curse broke; her brief affair with Emily; and the day Priest Mika Cross walked into her life.
Her life before Mika seemed like another lifetime lived by another person. Memories of it were vague and vanished more and more every day. She had married Mika with a great amount of reluctance. Reluctance to reach for the happiness she’d found with her, afraid it would be snatched away from her. Reluctance to allow herself to be happy, knowing all too well happiness never lasted long for her. Reluctance to trust Mika, everyone had always broken her trust and disappointed her. Most of all, she had been reluctant to love. Love was weakness her mother had hammered into her, but her mother had never met anyone like Mika Cross.
With her wife, love was happiness, peacefulness, and respect for one another. Mika had never asked her to love her. She had only asked Leah to let her love her, to adore her. Mika was happy just to be with her.
At first, that had been enough. Leah cared deeply for Mika and used her to satisfy her needs. She had been content to let Mika do all the giving while she basked in her adoration.
Leah couldn’t put her finger on the time when all that changed. She had simply realized that she couldn’t live without her wife. Mika’s love and desires became more important than her own, until she only found true happiness in Mika’s happiness. Mika was her life, the very air she breathed. She couldn’t imagine a day without her in it. Richie was right; Mika was their Savior.
For a long time, she had wanted to carry Mika’s child. Legion’s contract had always been the blemish in her perfect life. She had been afraid to tell Mika about the evil bargain she had struck with Legion. When she did tell her, Mika had simply shrugged as if a contract with the Evil One were of no concern. She knew in her heart that the priest would make everything alright. She always did.
Mika's sheer ecstasy only rivaled her own joy at finding herself with a child. She had never seen Mika so happy. Although Leah knew Mika wanted children, she had never asked her to bear a child. Leah wasn’t sure there was room in her heart to hold all the joy and love she felt for her wife. Mika’s arms tightened around her, and she pushed herself closer into her. That was what it was all about: total and complete happiness in the arms of the woman who loved her as much as Leah loved her.
##
The visit with Dr. Strand was a new experience for both Leah and Mika.
“Are you sure you’re pregnant?” Dr. Strand asked. “If you don’t want me to do an examination, why do you need me?”
“My wife has some concerns,” Leah said quickly.
“We just aren’t sure about intimate relations while Leah is carrying our babies.” The priest smiled. “We’re having twins.”
“How do you know?” Dr. Strand asked.
“Two tiny, rapid heartbeats,” Mika answered.
“You shouldn’t be able to hear them yet,” Dr. Strand argued.
“They’re very strong,” Leah sighed. “Do you want to do a sonogram?”
“Yes,” Dr. Strand handed her a paper gown. “Change into this. I’ll be right back.”
Strand had Leah lay down on the exam table. The cold gel made her gasp then he began moving the ultrasound wand around her stomach. His eyes widened as he picked up the two heartbeats. “You are carrying twins,” he smiled. “Very strong and healthy ones, too. It’s too early to tell the sex. Come back when you are twenty-three or twenty-four weeks along and we can tell.”
Strand left the room so Leah could dress, then returned when she called him.
“About our original question,” Mika blushed. She was very uncomfortable discussing their love life with others.
“You should be able to continue a healthy sex life as long as Leah is comfortable,” the doctor shrugged. “Leah will know when it is uncomfortable enough to stop. Just let her take the lead on that.”
“How often do you engage in sex,” he asked Mika as he made notes on Leah’s chart.
“Three- or four-times a—” Mika stopped as the doctor butted in.
“Three or four times a month or a week?” Dr. Strand smirked.
“A day,” Leah grinned wickedly at Strand, who had dropped his chart and pen on the floor.
“A day,” Dr. Strand glared at Mika daring her to confirm her wife’s statement.
“Yes, a day,” the priest blinked innocently at the doctor.
“I am not talking about how many times per ah…uh…encounter,” Strand clarified. “I am talking how many individual times per day do the two of you get together?”
“Three or four,” Mika said emphatically as if the doctor were deaf.
“How?” Dr. Strand ask incredulously?
“Don’t answerer that darling,” Leah caught her wife’s hand in hers. “We are not providing fuel for Strand’s perverted fantasies.”
Pulling her wife behind her, she glared at Strand. “We will see you in four months, doctor.”
The doctor had heard tales of the mayor’s insatiable appetite, but they were only rumors. He had attributed the gossip of her sexual prowess to myths perpetuated by overactive imaginations. Apparently, he was wrong. He wondered how the priest kept up with her.
##
“What’s up? You three look like you’ve been dipped in a tub of sunshine,” Ruth asked the glowing threesome as they arrived for dinner.
“Just happy to be here,” Richie’s grin covered his face. “Next year is going to be a great year for all of us. I will be starting quarterback. I am getting a car for my birthday. Mika and Mom will be celebrating their fourth wedding anniversary.”
“Um hum,” the wolf wiggled her nose, and her eyes widened. “I do believe dinner is on the house,” she smiled knowingly at the mayor.
Leah followed the waitress back to the counter. “Ruth,” she smiled shyly, “Mika wants to announce our good news after her sermon Sunday. Please keep our secret until then. She is excited. As am I.”
“Oh, my, gosh,” Ruth hugged her friend. “I’m about to burst, but I will keep your secret. I’m so happy for you. You and Mika have been married for so long; we were beginning to be afraid there was something wrong. That maybe the two of you didn’t want children.”
