by K. F. Breene
After a brief hesitation with the constant fear that sex might hurt the baby, Stefan let his lust and logic overcome the problems of his people. I felt his tip rub against my swollen sex, parting my folds with his velvety warmth. He eased into me slowly, the glorious girth of him lighting fires inside me.
Some women had no desire for sex during pregnancy. Some couldn’t get enough. I was one of the latter. Or maybe I couldn’t get enough of Stefan, I had no idea. But making love now was better than it had ever been.
I clutched onto his shoulders and lifted my other leg. He grabbed it immediately and curved it around his waist, holding me up. Gently but firmly, he thrust into me. The deep slide of his manhood made my head fall back and my nipples tingle. His lips left a hot trail down my neck. He sucked in at the base of my throat, right over my vein.
I rocked my hips upwards and back, creating more friction. “Mmm, Stefan,” I sighed, my eyes fluttering. My body heated up as he moved inside me. My moans became louder. “Faster,” I breathed.
Still as gently as he was able, he quickened his pace until his body was softly hitting against mine. Our breath mingled as our lips touched. His tongue licked my lower lip. His body filled me up, over and over, thrusting. Sending shooting sparks. Sending me to the edge.
“Oh God, Stefan,” I begged, working my body. Working his manhood. I tore at his neck and took a long pull of the sweetest taste I’d ever experienced. Stefan groaned. His arms tightened around me. He thrust into me harder. So deep. It felt so good.
“YES!” Blasts of pleasure filled my body as the orgasm overcame me. I took another long suck until he grunted in ecstasy and shivered in completion.
The clan doctor said he shouldn’t take my blood during pregnancy, but that taking his was natural and healthy for the growing fetus. For some reason, the taste had turned into something better than a dessert. I craved it, sometimes walking to him in the middle of a meeting, as if I was dreaming, sitting in his lap, and sucking his blood. Crazier? Everyone paused so I could satisfy myself. He welcomed me, took pleasure in my need of him, and everyone else waited patiently until I was done.
The place was a loony bin. Ann wanted to hear stories daily because she flat-out didn’t believe it. But yet…it was my life.
“The entire clan is jealous of me, did Jonas tell you?” Stefan asked as he got dressed a moment later. He slipped a black tee shirt over his gloriously sculpted chest.
“Always have been. When you’re mated to awesome-sauce, what did you expect?” I slipped into some designer sweats. I was starting to show now and none of my pants fit. Rather than maternity clothes, for now I was wearing sweats. The designer label meant I could get away with it without Ann making fun of me and calling me a soccer mom.
“Not only are you having my baby but I am still allowed to make love to you. Usually females are off limits.”
“I had no idea you guys had such a hard time procreating. I mean, I knew it because you’d said so, but I didn’t know you guys were so fragile. I wonder why that is.”
Stefan shrugged and waited for me to be ready. When I was, he threaded his fingers through mine and led me out of the room. “They marvel at how robust you are.”
“Robust? What the hell! I’m all baby right now. I only have a potbelly! They’re the bricks of muscle.”
Stefan laughed as we took the elevator down—he didn’t like me exerting myself on the stairs. And yes, this seemed normal too.
Get away, logic!
“Robust meaning tough. Aside from the morning sickness, which is normal, you’ve had no problems. You are healthy, no bleeding, and you run and use magic. A quarter of our females end up laying down for half their pregnancy.”
“Maybe you guys should move out of your clan a little more. Get some fresh bloodlines through here. I mean, we don’t need to create an Arkansas situation through here…”
I waited for the laughter with an open mouth and raised eyebrows. What I got was a confused look and, “Was that a human joke?”
“Well, Delilah’s got her own breeding project underway.” He just didn’t realize how funny I was. That was the problem.
“She’s a month along, I hear.”
Delilah had been successful with her man, who had only waited to mate her after she was pregnant because he was worried he couldn’t knock her up. After hearing about Stefan’s reaction, she wanted to try for the same thing. There were now two guys who knew, without a doubt, that their mate was having their baby. And while Tom was usually more of a beta, submitting readily to the more dominant males, he’d experienced quite a makeover where his mate was concerned. He threw some guy across the room that tried to entice Delilah over to his hearth, stating he could take better care of her. She didn’t even bat an eye at the violence.
We were cracked.
Seriously, get away logic!
“The clan is looking at humans in a different light, now,” Stefan said with pride.
“Selene is trying to get Paulie to mate her.”
“He’s…” Stefan paused as someone veered in toward me with a smile.
It was a youngish male still in school, probably up early for chores or to get a few more hours in before a test. With sparkling eyes he said, “Hia Mage. May I?”
He didn’t wait for a response. No one ever did.
The young guy put his palm on my bump and gave a little rub. “Good luck, young one. Hope to meet you soon!”
And then he was off, walking down the hall as if he’d just rubbed Buddha’s belly.
“I’m okay with you being overbearing, but I could really do without all the communal touching,” I grumbled as we made our way outside.
Stefan chuckled softly. “Paulie will be an excellent fighter.” Stefan led me out to the trees as the failing light sprinkled across the ground. Wind rustled the trees high overhead. The sky blazed pinks and oranges.
“Thank God his magic comes from his mother or I’d be down a strong human.”
“I don’t know for sure that it comes from his mother. But it’s introverted, definitely. We’re still repairing the wall for Master Bert. He wasn’t thrilled about his classroom being destroyed.”
Paulie had wasted no time getting the special runes that could throw magic. The guy was already covered in tattoos so what were a few dozen more? He’d also wasted no time learning to work the elements. With me helping, and Charles and Jonas tweaking the way he went about things, the guy was already the best human at working with magic besides me. Selene had misjudged him a little—it turned out he was orange but my special trait had him pushing up into a light gold. Even still, he was seriously a huge find.
And he was sexing his way through the Mansion. Oh, he still liked Selene best, it seemed, but he had taken a page out of Charles’ book. The guy was like a kid in the candy store, and with Delilah and I having been knocked up so quickly in their opinion, all the ladies were lining up. It was actually comical.
“I think the linking is going pretty well,” I said as I stood in a patch of sunlight and let the last rays of the day shine down on me. I felt a flutter inside me. “I think the baby likes the light, too.”
Stefan’s eyes went gooey as his gaze dipped to my stomach. He rested his palm on my bump. “When will I get to feel him or her?”
“I don’t know. You’ll have to ask the midwife. You know, that woman who unnecessarily checks in with me daily? The one who comes right after the doctor who also unnecessarily checks in with me daily?” I would’ve tapped my foot but I was too busy soaking up the warmth of the moment, both from Stefan’s touch and the sun.
“Here comes Jonas,” Stefan said to deflect my light rebuff.
“Boss, Human—this doesn’t count as walking. She needs to exercise.” He stopped beside us with a disapproving scowl.
“Jesus, Mabel, let’s calm down with the overbearing behavior, huh?” I felt Stefan’s tug and dutifully began to walk. But not because of Jonas. I made sure he understood that fact with a glare.
Delilah did what everyone told her. My meekness was limited to Stefan.
“Humans will be here at nine thirty,” Jonas informed us. “One of the twins can’t make it—she couldn’t find a sitter for Aurora.”
“I’m sure someone here would be happy to watch her,” I reflected, taking the path through the trees deeper into the wooded property. Aurora was Jen’s three-year-old and universally loved in the Mansion.
“She needs to go to bed. But we have everyone else coming in, so we should be…fine.” I could hear the clenched jaw.
“Jonas, I’m telling you—the link isn’t hard for me to hold. I’ve already work with that much magic. I just draw off the energy.”
“It’s still no occupation for a pregnant female.”
“Oh yeah? And when did you graduate from medical school?”
“He’s just looking after you,” Stefan hedged softly.
“Well, I need to work on that link. Paulie is still a little volatile—he needs to work with others more than me.”
“The human male bested three members on the Third Tier Watch,” Jonas said over my head to Stefan. He then laid his hand on my stomach and gave a little rub.
My stomach was no longer my own property.
“I heard. He’s a natural. Any idea who might’ve sired him?” Stefan asked, now letting me lead to my favorite copse of trees.
“None. With the blood mixed with human, there’s really no way to tell.”
“Have you let everyone know that pheromones are no longer to be used in sexual…situations?” I turned to Jonas and gave him the full weight of my stare.
Jonas stared back, that glimmer of craziness turning in his depths. “Yes, human. The problem is, humans don’t see us. Seduction is then impossible.”
“Only if you got no game.” I winked at him, earning a deep scowl.
“I got game.” Charles walked up with an easy glide. His knitting supplies were in a bag around his shoulder. He no longer cared about carrying something resembling a purse. Why? Well, because he had important business making hideous blankets, scarves and hats for the baby.
He seemed to think babies wore scarves…
“You got problems,” Jonas shot back. “Took you long enough to find us. What’d you do, track with your fingers?”
“Nah. I saw you headed this way so thought I might grab some breakfast first. I knew the Boss was with her.”
Jonas face turned red as he stared at Charles.
“No fighting in front of pregnant females, bro.” Charles grinned.
A vein pulsed in Jonas’ jaw.
Smiling, Charles stepped forward and rubbed my belly. “Anyway, what’s up for today?”
I let Stefan answer as I cherished the last minutes of the day. My magic rolled along the ground to expand my reach, feeling nature throb within the elements. I flicked and twisted off a couple spells creating colorful bubbles of light just for a way to interact. As the shadows swallowed up the ground, I did one hard pulse to reach that little farther before getting ready to pull it all back in. Spreading my magical awareness out so far was draining, but Toa said I should constantly push to improve my overall reach.
As I opened my eyes to lead the way back to the Mansion, I felt it. That magic. The shifter magic I’d felt four months ago.
Tim had been searching, and since Stefan found out he was going to be a dad, he’d been looking, too. No one had turned up any results. It was as if the guy knew he was being sought by the entire magical community, which was why he took off.
This guy was every bit as smart and trained as Tim and Stefan feared. Not to mention cunning and harboring some sort of agenda that had been devised out of town. He obviously had business here, because I knew for a fact that it was him. He was back. On our property.
“It’s that shifter,” I said in a hush.
Jonas and Stefan fell silent. Charles froze mid-rub.
“He’s here. Way on the outskirts of our property.” I focused my magic in that area, feeling his wisps of magic.
“The shifter who followed you?” Stefan growled. Jonas already had his phone to his ear.
“Yeah. He’s sitting in one spot.” I worked the elements for a cage to trap him, but with the distance I couldn’t be sure where exactly he was. It was like a blind man feeling the edges of a telephone. The guy would feel me poking and prodding him with magic. I said as much.
“Then don’t. Keep track of him.” Stefan put a possessive hand on my shoulder as Jameson came sprinting through the trees already dressed in battle garb. These men could get ready like firemen.
“Did you alert the Watch?” Stefan asked Jameson.
Jameson only had eyes for me. “Yes. They are getting ready and will be getting in position on all sides of that varmint. What do we do with her? Take her to the Farm?”
“These are shifters—strange shifters. They won’t give a crap about the truce with our own kind and pregnant females.” Charles still had a hold of my belly. “Tim even asked why they weren’t protected. He doesn’t get it even though he respects it. If we take Sasha there, we’ll need to take an arsenal.”
I felt movement. A slow, purposeful movement toward the Mansion. Night had fallen, now concealing a black cat like nothing else would. “He’s coming this way.”
“If we surround him, he’s still a cat. On four legs. He’s bound to be fast and agile.” I got the familiar tingle of battle coming, and a wave of unfamiliar vulnerability. I could run and leap and fight, not caring what happened to me, but now I had someone else to think about. Someone hitching a ride.
“This is terrible timing,” I muttered.
“Call Tim,” Stefan barked.
“On it,” Jonas responded.
“Get her into the Mansion,” Stefan said with a savagery I’d rarely heard. “Get some vicious members of the Watch around her. Get Paulie, too. She’ll need his power for a link, and he’s expressed that he owes her for giving him a sort of family. A loyalty bond is strong with street humans—use it.”
“Should I stay with her, Boss?” Charles asked, one hand on my back, one still on my belly.
“Yes. Jonas, with me. I can feel him now. He must be coming closer. I want to trap him. Tim can have his day, but if he fails, I’m taking over.”
A shiver went up my back as Charles gently pushed me back toward the Mansion. “C’mon, mama. We have to find Paulie then get you settled. That freaking male is trying to show me up in the prowess department. Did I tell you that? He’s got a ways to go, though. He might have magical sperm, but I can still make the girls scream louder.”
“Oh, good. I’m going to be hidden away from a stalker with you. What a wonderful start to my night.”
“I can hear the sarcasm, Sasha.”
“Well, good, because I was laying it on pretty thick.”
I had an unnatural fear that something would happen to Stefan. That this panther wasn’t what he seemed, and my mate would be in danger.
Chapter Eight
Paulie slid his palm up Selene’s perfect form. He felt her perky breast and tweaked a nipple. Her moan made him reach behind her neck and pull her forward, smashing their lips together. With one hand, he guided her toned body over him so he could position his tip at her opening. He guided her body down onto his shaft, plunging deep into her wetness.
“Hmm, yes,” she sighed with eyes closed.
She moved her hips in a figure eight, working his dick in a way he’d never experienced before. Not even with other women in this Mansion. He moved within her, a glorious friction along his sensitive shaft tightening his stomach. He thrust upward, banging into her as she sat down on him, hard and fast.
“That’s right,” she said, a small smile curving her perfect lips. “Hmm, just like that.”
His balls started to tingle with anticipation when his phone rang. “Come on,” he muttered, not able to stop.
He thrust into her harder. Her tight insides stroked him. Her mews grew louder and more aggressive.
The phone fell silent then started ringing again.
A swear riding a groan, Paulie stood in a rush and then threw Selene down onto the bed. She giggled in delight and reached for him. “Hang on, baby,” he said as he snatched his phone off the dresser. The face lit up with Charles’ name.
“Yeah?” he asked in annoyance.
“Wipe that tone out of your voice,” Charles commanded. Power and authority rode his words, something he rarely heard when Charles was with Sasha since Sasha outranked him. It meant he was speaking from his position as Watch Captain, and not as bodyguard.
Shit.
“Sorry, sir. What do you need?”
“That shifter’s back. The Boss wants Sasha quarantined. Meet me in the red library.”
“The shifter from that park?” Paulie clarified. He couldn’t help an uneasy feeling ice over his intestines.
“That’s what Sasha said. He’s lingering around in the trees, coming closer. We have no idea why.”
“Yes, sir. When?”
“Now.”
Air replaced words. He’d hung up. As Paulie turned back to the beauty laying spread eagle on her bed, her phone rang. A beautiful smile turned into a confused frown as her focus completely shifted to the phone on her nightstand. She hadn’t even hesitated like he had.
That was an ego crusher.
“Yes, sir?” she answered.
Paulie jumped into his clothes as he tried to spread his magic out like he had been shown. It wasn’t easy. He was pretty good with the elements, but getting his magic to spread out from his body to gain information was like sucking ice cream through a straw. Sasha was so much more advanced than anyone in the Mansion, including the teachers, and she didn’t even know it.
“We got a shifter loose,” Selene said, jumping up with a vicious light in her eyes.
His dwindling hard-on sprang back to life.
“I have to go to the Mage,” he said, stepping toward her with a goodbye kiss.
She ignored him as she strapped on some leathers. “Guard her with your life. She is carrying important cargo. She should be at the farm with the others, but we can guard her better here, so I get where the Boss is coming from.”
