She felt headachy and nauseous. Gaby quickly walked from the clearing in the direction of Phoenix’s cabin. She found the winding path. Maybe if she lay down for a bit she’d snap out of this. The thought of losing Phoenix scared her, she’d ended up falling for him. Yet, he’d never really known the true her. Carol had been right, he was a good man. He came from a really good family. He would ultimately do what was right possibly to the detriment of himself. He’d sacrifice to do the right thing.
Gaby wouldn’t let him.
After ten minutes of walking, she felt much better physically but her mind was still in turmoil. She needed to snap out of it before she faced Phoenix again. The only thing to do would be to wait until her demon came back from this semi hibernation and then she’d have her answers.
The path narrowed as it turned towards his cabin.
“Why did you leave?” Phoenix’s deep voice startled her.
She turned. “I met Carol, she’s really very nice.”
His eyes narrowed. “What did she say to you?”
Gaby shook her head. “She was lovely. Really very sweet.”
“Did someone else say something to you?” Every muscle on his hard body was rigid. It was like he was made out of rock.
“No.”
“Why did you leave? I can tell that something is wrong.” He shoved his hands into his jeans, looking anything but casual.
“You should be with someone like Carol. She’s great. She’s so sweet. So nice. I ‘m a killer. I know it doesn’t seem like it right now but I’m hard core, a bitch of note. I’m so the opposite of nice it’s scary.”
Phoenix pulled his hands out of his pockets. His eyes hardened. “Are you telling me this because you genuinely think I would be happier with a wolf or because you don’t want me?”
“I want you Phoenix. I just don’t think I’m right for you. A female wolf would take excellent care…”
“Stop.”
“I kill things. Often with my bare hands. I enjoy it. Sure, I’m a Chaser so lucky for me the things I kill are always bad guys but still…”
“Nothing that you’ve just told me makes me feel any differently about you.” He cupped her cheek, his eyes softened as they moved across her face. “You need to understand something about female demon wolves.”
“You don’t have to tell me, I’ve noticed how beautiful and how sweet they are. Not only that—”
“Be quiet for a second. You’ve had your say now it’s my turn.”
There was a whole lot more on the tip of her tongue, but she shut her mouth.
“You know what, you’re right on the money but sweet and submissive is not what I want in a woman. I dated a number of female wolves. Carol and I were quite serious. We were together for over a year.” He let his hand drop. “I met someone else. A human.”
Her hearts clenched. She was so not human it was scary.
“The relationship didn’t last but it made me realize that I wanted to be with a woman who had a bit of spunk. Someone who would be very much my equal. I needed to be with someone who would keep me on my toes. I get bored easily.” He shrugged his massive shoulders.
“And this is supposed to make me feel better...how?”
“Hear me out. At the time I thought that the perfect woman for me would be a human, but I was very wrong.” He slipped his hands around her waist. “It’s you. My perfect fit. The one who completes me. I’m crazy about you, Gaby. Do you get what I’m saying?”
She felt like crying some more and this time out of happiness but also out of dread that all of this would go away. “I do and I think that you truly believe everything you’ve just said, but we won’t know for sure until the babies come and my demon is back.”
“I’m sure right now.”
“I saw how you tensed up at any talk of mating. You may not realize it but your body language speaks volumes. I don’t think you’re ready.”
“I disagree. I want these babies to be born to a family who loves them with parents committed to each other.”
She smiled. “Are you from the dark ages or something? Plenty of children are born to loving parents who aren’t married or mated. Sometimes the parents aren’t even together...” She saw the look of horror appear on his face. “Relax Phoenix. All I’m saying is let’s wait a little bit longer. If you still want to mate me once the babies are born I’ll be more than happy to agree.”
His eyes blazed. “Oh that’s where you’re very wrong. I’m ready. The thought of being inside you again, of sinking my teeth into you does crazy things to me. I’ve told you before how afraid I am of hurting you and of putting our pups in danger. Do not misinterpret my fear as not wanting to mate you.” His grip on her tightened. Phoenix smiled and picked her up. “The time for talk is over. I need to show you how much you mean to me. How much I want you as a mate.”
Her blood rushed at the thought. Her teeth sharpened slightly. Her demon wanted it to happen. The beast might be sleepy and barely there, but it wanted Phoenix. Logic told her this was a bad idea. Gaby dug her fingers into his shoulder. “We should wait.”
“You are mine. There is no need to wait.”
She struggled against him but he didn’t seem to notice. His chest was a solid wall of muscle. His arms roped and bulging. She didn’t stand a chance. It both infuriated and excited her.
“Think about this, a few weeks won’t make any difference either way. I want you to be sure once you meet the real me.”
“I know the real you. I still need to be properly introduced to your demon, but I know we’ll get along just fine.” He strode towards the cabin.
“Phoenix,” Gaby clung on.
He tore open the door slamming it behind them. Not bothering with the lights, he made his way through to the bedroom even though Gaby couldn’t see an inch in front of her nose.
“Put me down.”
He did, onto a soft mattress, she felt it dip as he joined her. His lips covered hers. Gaby pushed against his chest with all of her frail human strength, but he didn’t budge. One hand clasped her chin and the other her waist. He slanted his mouth and deepened the kiss. As much as she hated herself for it, she moaned and her hands fisted his shirt.
His hand at her waist moved to her breast and cupped her swollen aching mound. He let his thumb slide across her nipple until the nub tightened. She gasped into his mouth.
Her eyes had adjusted somewhat to the darkness. She could make out Phoenix’s dark shape but there were no details. It heightened her senses. His hot mouth dropped to the sensitive patch of skin below her ear where he nibbled his way to her earlobe, doing the same there. Gaby could feel goose bumps rise on her arms. Her toes actually curled when he dipped his tongue into the shell of her ear. Phoenix moved back to her neck, this time he sniffed at her. His hot breath fanned against her skin. He nipped at her being a little rougher this time. She cried out but only because she liked it so much.
“You smell so good.” He sniffed her again and licked the patch he had just bitten. Heavy, languid strokes of his tongue. “I’m going to bite you here.” He squeezed her nipple as his teeth closed on her neck and she almost came. He didn’t bite her hard enough to break the skin though. She groaned. Her clit throbbed, her panties turned damp.
“Yeah, that’s the spot,” he growled.
Gaby was shaking with need. She felt like wrestling him to the bed and taking what she needed. As if. She was horrified to discover that she wanted him to bite her hard enough to draw blood even though she hadn’t changed her mind about mating him. “What did you do to me?”
“I just found your biting G-spot.”
“My what?”
Phoenix slipped his hand between her thighs and into the side of her panties. “When it comes to demons, we have more than just one or two erogenous spots. Oh we have the regular ones like this here...” he circled her clit with the tip of his finger. Her back arched as much as her pregnant belly would allow. “Of course we have this one over here as well.” He slipp
ed a finger into her pussy zoning in on her g-spot.
She groaned.
“And then we have one over here.” He nipped at her neck and she came apart spasming around his finger which continued to thrust in and out of her. Gaby threw her head back and let the wave’s crash into her. Phoenix lapped her with his tongue. Each stroke sent shock waves of raw pleasure through her body.
She finally came down enough to take in a deep breath. “You might have killed me. Oh my word. I didn’t know.”
Phoenix pulled away and switched on the side table light. It took a moment to adjust to the brightness.
“The neck is forbidden unless you’re serious enough to mate with someone. A bite to that spot, even without sex, could cause us to bond.”
She gasped and clasped at her neck.
“I didn’t break the skin so you don’t have to worry.” A look of regret crossed his face.
“I worry for you Phoenix.” She would somehow make him see reason.
“I almost mated with you that first time we had sex. My demon recognized you as my mate. I’ve never bitten a woman, period, let alone during sex. The first time was instinct, this time was to show you that biting is also about mates showing each other greater pleasure. It also shows a potential mate that you are serious. I am serious Gaby.”
She was in awe. His bite felt like a gift. It made her burn with the need to mate with him. She wished she could be sure that what he felt would last.
“In some ways I wish we had mated that first time. All of this back and forth would be unnecessary.”
She pulled in a breath intent on arguing.
He put up his hand. “We need to both want this. Every step in the process needs to be deliberate and I don’t want to wait Gaby. The problem is, I don’t want to hurt you during the mating.” He hung his head and his throat worked. “I need you to agree. I have this terrible feeling that if we don’t do this now it won’t happen. I know it sounds like I’ve lost my mind.”
“I’m not going anywhere.” She trailed her fingers up his arm. “You don’t trust yourself right now, so let’s just wait.” It made her feel good that he needed her so much.
He pulled her towards him and she snuggled up into his warmth. “God woman, you have no idea how much I need you...always.”
Gaby felt the hard ridge of his cock against her thigh but realized his words had nothing to do with sex. She just prayed that he would still feel this way about her when she was truly herself again.
****
Gaby felt cold, she pushed herself more firmly against Phoenix who mumbled something incoherent. He tucked his arm more firmly around her and rubbed her stomach in a lazy circle before his breathing picked up the same deep rhythm.
Her back was toasty warm but the bed itself was icy. She shifted again and realized that her nighty was wet. Gaby checked the time on the clock, it was only two hours since they’d gone to bed. Ever since she’d become pregnant, she’d had to go to the bathroom more often. Even having to get up several times during the night, but outright incontinence had never been an issue.
Gaby slid out from under the covers. She’d clean herself up first before waking Phoenix. As she stood, more liquid trickled down her thighs. What the…This wasn’t incontinence, more like her waters had broken. She took in a deep breath, screamed inside her head and then pulled herself together. She was in labor. Which was weird considering she didn’t feel any pain.
Gaby turned on her side lamp and Phoenix sat upright. “Is everything okay?”
“I think I might be having the babies.”
With one graceful leap he was out of the bed and directly in front of her. “What can I do? You shouldn’t be standing. Are you sure this is happening?”
She nodded. There was no other reasonable explanation.
“Damn.” He raked a hand through his perfect hair. Phoenix didn’t get bed hair. “I need to call the doc.” He paced back to his side of the bed and punched a few keys. “Sorry to wake you...” He listened for a few beats before turning to her. “How far apart are the contractions?”
“I’m not having any contractions.”
Phoenix relayed the information. “Doc wants to know how you know you’re in labor?”
She smiled.
Phoenix rolled his eyes. “Please sweetheart, this is no time to be coy.”
“I’m not being coy. Maybe if you’d waited two seconds to talk to me before running around like a loony you would know. Given the circumstances I will forgive you.” It was so sweet how Phoenix had reacted. This big badass top notch attorney completely lost his ability to think rationally. Everything in her melted.
This was it.
They were about to become parents.
“My waters broke.” She pointed at her wet clinging nighty.
His eyebrows rose and he filled Doc Devlin in. “Yeah, we are in Wilderness. We came with the chopper as discussed,” he paused. “Okay.” He looked up at her. His face had turned pale and his eyes widened. Phoenix looked at his watch. “Less than an hour.” He made a few more noises of agreement before ending the call. “You’re definitely in labor. Leaking amniotic fluid is a sure sign.” He moved to their suitcases and started throwing all their things inside. “The doc is concerned that you’re not experiencing any labor.” He stopped, took a deep breath. “We need to get you to Greenside Hospital ASAP. He will be waiting.” He ran another hand through his hair and then scrubbed the same hand over the six o’clock shadow on his face. “We have no idea what to expect.”
She walked over to her big, bad, very nervous wolf and put her arms around him. “Demon skins have been giving birth for years. We may not know exactly what is going to happen but my body does and from what I’ve read on childbirth, it’s all pretty instinctual. Doctors and nurses are there as a precaution.” She looked him in the eye. “We’re going to be just fine.”
“If anything happens to you...” His eyes turned hard for a second.
“I need to get cleaned up and will need something to wear.” She gestured to the overflowing bag on the floor. The one that had been stuffed with everything they had brought with them.
He grinned and shook his head. “I’m sorry, you go and do your thing, and I’ll unpack something for you to put on”—his eyes shot to her—“unless you need me to help you.”
She giggled. “No that’s fine. Get yourself ready. You’d better let the pilot know we’re flying out.”
Phoenix pinched the bridge of his nose. “I’m seriously losing it.” He nodded once. “I’ve got this. We need to take off in the next fifteen minutes. Will you be ready?”
She was no way near ready, but that wasn’t going to stop this from happening. Gaby nodded and tried to smile.
Chapter 8
The gurney was waiting on the hospital rooftop. Devlin waved as they touched down. Phoenix jumped out first, his boots crunching on the asphalt. Gray scooped up Gaby and handed her to him. A feeling of possessiveness like nothing he had ever felt before washed over him as he clasped his future mate in his arms. His first instinct was to growl at the Doc as he wheeled the bed in next to him. For a second he clutched her tighter, ready to fight anyone who tried to take her from him. Putting a sharp choker chain on his demon, Phoenix stepped forward and gently placed Gaby on the sheets, but only because it would be more comfortable for her. Also the realization that Gaby needed these medical staff hit him like a bulldozer. There had been very few times in his life where he’d felt so totally out of his depth. So ill equipped to deal with a situation. It made him want to roar out in frustration.
The best thing he could do was be there for his female. He’d give her all the support she needed...and then some.
He grabbed hold of her hand and squeezed. Gaby smiled up at him. She was handling this whole thing so well and pride swelled in his chest.
They were booked into a private room in the maternity ward. Gaby was moved from the gurney to a bed. A female entered carrying a hospital gown. He caught the scen
t of demon panther and had to suppress a growl. Dogs and cats didn’t get along on the best of days, but she was here to do a job so he’d play nice.
“This is Doctor Lisa. She is a paediatrician and will be assisting with the birth and taking care of the babies once they are here.”
He nodded once in the panther’s direction in way of greeting.
“Come with me while Lisa gets Gaby ready,” Devlin gestured to Phoenix.
“I’m right behind you.” He moved past the panther and leaned in next to Gaby. Her face was the picture of calm but he caught the faintest whiff of nervous tension. She wasn’t quite as relaxed as she wanted him to believe.
“Will you be okay on your own for a few minutes?”
Her full lips curved into a smile. “I’ll be fine.”
He kissed her forehead. “Call if you need me, I’ll be right outside.”
“Oh don’t worry about that. I might just yell down the whole roof if need be” The scent of nervous energy spiked.
Phoenix gathered her in his arms, ignoring the sound of Devlin clearing his throat. “We’ll get through this. I’m here for you.”
Thank hounds he felt her relax. “I know,” she whispered for his ears only.
He turned his eyes on the panther for a second and she looked down submissively. They’d better take good care of his Gaby or blood would flow.
Doc Devlin was waiting for him in the hall. “I’m not sure how this will unfold. We’ll monitor the situation and manage any changes. Right now we need to make sure that the three of them are okay and that they stay that way.”
“I take it you haven’t been able to find out anything more about demon skins.”
Dev shook his head. “Not a single damn thing. I wish I had more for you. Like I’ve always said, Gaby is strong, her demon may be dormant but it’s very much there. She’ll be fine.”
“The babies?” He found himself running a hand through his hair yet again. At this rate he’d be bald before morning so he jammed them in his pockets.
SKIN (Demon Chaser 4) Page 9
