When they reached the top, Harper motioned for them to follow her, and they headed for Des and Abby’s room.
They walked through the doorway to find Desmond sitting beside Abby on the bed, his arm wrapped tightly around her shoulders as he gazed down in nothing less than stunned wonder at the bundle in his mate’s arms. He looked rough, and Marcus knew that he had to have been seriously freaking out at Abby’s pain, and bit back a smile; understanding now how that felt to love someone so much that their discomfort was like a kick straight to the gut, their pain becoming yours.
When Desmond looked up as they entered the room, Marcus could see the utter joy in his brother’s features and his smile broke free. He pulled Liz up against his side and gave her a squeeze.
“Come and meet your niece,” Desmond said, his voice filled with pure, raw emotion. He placed a kiss against Abby’s temple and whispered I love you both so very much in her ear.
They walked over to the bed and Marcus felt his body tremble as he looked down at this beautiful creature being held so securely in her mother’s arms. She had a shock of blond hair that was so light it appeared almost white, and full, perfect lips, but it wasn’t until she opened her eyes that Marcus’s mouth dropped open and he heard Liz gasp from beside him. Her large eyes were a color that he had never seen before. They were definitely Desmond’s blue, but they had that incredible green cast of Abby’s, and the combination was beyond description. They were breathtaking.
Abby smiled down at her daughter. “I want you to meet your aunt and uncle,” she cooed, and Marcus swore that he saw the baby smile. He knew that it wasn’t possible, and yet… “Avery Hope LaGrange, meet your Uncle Marcus and Aunt Liz.”
“Avery Hope,” Marcus repeated on a sigh, in complete awe of this tiny being. She was less than an hour old, yet she had stolen his heart instantly, and he knew that he was going to be in some serious competition with his brother to see who could spoil her more.
Abby smiled up at Marcus. “Avery means Magical counsel,” she said with a smile that lit up her face. “Des and I thought it was appropriate, and of course Hope…well, because there is always that.”
“She’s simply beautiful,” Liz choked out, knowing without a doubt that this child would be loved so very much by the people around her.
“Is this a private party?” Liz turned to find Luke standing in the doorway, his son in his arms. “Kat’s sleeping and I figured we’d sneak in here for a minute so everyone could meet.” He walked over to stand beside the bed next to Abby, his face shining with pride.
Abby lifted her arm so that Luke would place Jakob in her embrace, and he happily complied. “He’s gorgeous,” she whispered.
Luke sat down beside her and ran a gentle finger over Avery’s cheek. The baby squirmed and opened her eyes.
“Dear God,” he breathed. “She’s incredible.” He looked at Desmond and chuckled softly. “Luckily, she looks just like her mother,” he laughed, giving his friend a wink. “I believe that Jake is going to have his hands full with this one.”
Jakob’s eyes opened and he began to fidget the moment Avery made a sound. The two squirmed and moved about, their tiny hands reaching out as if they were trying to find the other, and the group watched the pair in wonder. Tiny fingers finally made contact and seemed to take hold, as if they knew that the other was near, and that was all that they needed.
“They can sense each other,” Abby breathed, her eyes filling with tears. As soon as the contact had been made, both sets of eyes slid closed, and they both fell into a peaceful slumber.
Luke eased Jakob from Abby’s arms and stood. “Let me get him to bed and go make sure that my mate doesn’t need anything. Congratulations, you two.”
“You too,” Abby whispered, “Tell Kat that I love her.”
“Will do,” Luke walked up to Marcus and Liz and gave them a warm smile. “Good times… huh, Uncle Marcus?” He laughed before disappearing through the door.
Marcus kissed Liz’s temple. “Great times,” he breathed against her ear. “Listen, we’ll get out of your hair and let you guys get some rest,” he said, his attention going to Abby and his brother. He walked over and kissed Abby on the forehead before following suit on his niece’s cheek. “She’s amazing,” he said, exchanging a look with his brother that said it all. It was easy to see how these two amazing children were going to change their world.
Marcus walked back over to Liz and took her hand. “Get some rest,” he called, before leading his mate out of the room and toward their wing of the manor.
As soon as Marcus had closed the door to their bedroom, he swept Liz up into his arms and brought his mouth crashing down to hers, kissing her hungrily. He leaned back and caught her gaze, “Time to finish what we started before we were interrupted,” he growled and Liz burst out laughing. Although, if the truth were known, she was thinking the exact same thing.
She slid her fingers into his thick mane of hair and pulled his mouth back to hers, kissing him with a demand that couldn’t be denied. This man made her feel confident and sexy, and she had no qualms whatsoever about letting him know just how much she wanted him…always. The frightened, insecure Elizabeth Chase was long gone.
She laughed against his mouth when she felt him moving her over to the bed…quickly. He set her down and his hands went to the buttons of his shirt. Liz rose up onto her knees. Facing him, she stilled his fingers and began opening the buttons, not about to let him deny her the pleasure of undressing him.
In her need to feel his skin she forgot her advanced strength, as seemed to be the norm with her since she had been turned, and the shirt ripped open as if made from tissue paper.
“Oops,” she giggled with a guilty grin.
Marcus smiled as he leaned forward and took her lips once again, and in a second, the shirt that she wore was off her body with a mighty tear and sailing across the room.
“Hey!”
“Two can play that game,” he snorted and he went back to kissing her. She felt her bra disappear and then she was being lowered onto her back. Marcus’s head instantly dipped to her breast, taking the taut peak between his lips and suckling, his teeth nipping lightly. Liz arched up towards him, her hand moving to find the button of his jeans as he toyed and teased her nipple until she was aching with the need to have him deep inside her.
She pulled at the button and it came off in her hand. Marcus lifted his head and gave her a snarky grin. “If you don’t learn to control your strength…and soon, Sweetheart, I won’t have a stitch of clothing left. Not that I am complaining in the least, mind you,” he laughed.
Liz had adapted to being a vampire exceptionally well. The only speed bump that she had faced was not quite grasping her newfound strength. In their never-ending need for each other, Marcus had piles of ripped, useless clothing lying about.
His lips twitched as he fought to control his need for her. He wanted to take it slow, but Jesus, he loved this woman and he was always hard pressed not to just take her.
He slipped out of his jeans and threw them to the floor, not wasting a moment in removing the yoga pants that she wore. He slid them down her body and dropped them beside his next to the bed. Her underwear was the last thing to go, and with another mighty rip, they disappeared, and Liz burst into a fit of giggles.
“Not really a sound that a man wants to hear when he’s lying naked beside his mate, my love,” he teased, which only caused her to laugh all the more.
Marcus rolled over and pulled her against the length of his body, his eyes capturing and holding hers only a moment before he kissed her once again, slowly, tenderly and his hands slid across her satiny skin.
The laughter died in Liz’s throat the instant that Marcus’s hands began to travel across her body, and his tongue teased and chased hers. This man could make her forget her name when he touched her as he was. Her flesh felt electrified, and it hummed as his fingers drifted down her back to the curve of her bottom before curling and grinding her against
him.
Liz moaned deep down in her chest, her passion exploding in a burst of colors. She straddled his hips and sat up, her heat pressed up against his strong, firm manhood, and he stared up at her from hooded eyes filled with desire and so much love.
“Do you have any idea how very much I love you?” he asked softly, his eyes never leaving hers. There just didn’t seem to be words strong enough to convey everything that he felt for her. She had come into his little world and blown it wide apart. She had taught him how to truly love. He moved very carefully and joined his body with hers, finding home.
Liz smiled down at him as she began to move, her beautiful, full lips turning up in a smile that made Marcus’s heart soar. “I’m guessing about half as much as I love you,” she panted, and Marcus chuckled.
“Not a chance in hell,” he argued with a grin, only a moment before his hand curled around her neck and he pulled her down to take possession of her mouth. His hips curled upwards to meet hers, his body buried deep within her heat, and he was in heaven.
In a flash, he turned them over and rested above her, his hips grinding into hers as she purred into his mouth, that ever present fluttering hitting her belly full force as she trembled with the first orgasm as it rushed through her. Her oversensitive flesh buzzed from the feel of his body pressed so firmly against hers …and she had never been happier.
Marcus rasped out her name against her lips as his release followed hers. His entire body tensed with a muffled roar.
He fell to his back with a grin, pulling her snugly up against him. She draped her leg over his and looked up into his face. The smile slipped from her lips when she noticed the worry marring his brows. He seemed troubled all of a sudden, and she could feel sadness radiating off him in waves. “Marcus?”
He turned his head and looked at her, his eyes flashing with that hint of guilt that she knew all too well. No matter how often she told him that she didn’t blame him for turning her, he just couldn’t seem to let go of the pain of having to make that choice for her.
Liz cupped his face in her hand, her gaze holding his as her thumb traced the curves of his full, perfect mouth. “You have made me happier in these last few months than I have ever been,” she murmured, her blue depths sparkling with her words, and he knew that she was telling him the truth. “Marcus, I have found a home, a family,” she shook her head as her eyes filled with tears. “I have been fortunate enough to have found the love of my life. And to think that I will have an eternity with him is the greatest gift I could ever have been given.”
Marcus was silent for a long while, his eyes trailing over her face as his mouth turned up at the corners. “You are such an incredible gift,” he murmured. “I don’t know what I ever did to deserve you.”
Liz laughed, the sound low and husky, and Marcus shivered. “You were just you,” she told him.
“You don’t have any regrets?” he asked, and she saw the tiniest hint of trepidation in his eyes. “You don’t miss working with the network? Your old life?”
Liz gave him a gentle smile. “I think I was getting burned out,” she replied honestly. Her brows furrowed when she thought of Angie once again. Her body had finally been identified and Marcus had made sure that she had gotten a proper burial, but the loss of a life still stung. In the time that she had worked with Catherine and the network, there had been losses, and it always hurt. Catherine understood and was happy for her when Liz had called her and told her that she had met someone and that she was quitting and moving away. “And, as for my old life…” she kissed him, her mouth so soft and tender. “My life began when I met you. So please, don’t waste a single second more feeling as if you have taken anything away from me. You, my love, have given me the world.”
Marcus closed his eyes and groaned, knowing that she was telling him the truth. Because of their bond, he could feel her happiness, her contentment, and in that moment he finally let go of every ounce of guilt that he felt. This was destined. They were destined.
“You are everything to me,” he sighed. “I never imagined what true love was until you walked into my life. I love you, Elizabeth.”
“Good,” she giggled, “Because you are stuck with me for eternity.”
“Thank God,” he breathed, right before his mouth descended on hers, thinking once again, as he had every day since she had first told him that she loved him, that he was the luckiest bastard on the planet.
The End…
I hope you enjoyed Marcus and Liz’s story! How about a teaser from Book 4, in The Supernatural Desire Series.
Lucas Blackwater hit the floor with a resounding thud, and groaned loudly. “Christ!” he growled, glowering at the woman who had just tossed him onto his ass. “I swear to God, Brat, you have freaking warrior blood running through your veins!”He stood and looked at Harper, his mouth turning up at the corners and his amber eyes gleaming devilishly.
Harper Bradford returned his smile with a flip of her hair, her pride evident. She knew that her time with Luke had taught her more than she ever needed to know about self-defense, and that she was swiftly becoming a force to be reckoned with–yet, she didn’t want to take the chance and get soft.
“You know,” Luke said as he grabbed a bottle of water and guzzled it down. “You can kill with just a touch. You really don’t need all of this defensive training.”
Harper inwardly cringed at his words. Yes, she could take someone’s life with just a well-placed hand to their chest, but that was something that she would rather not have to do ever again. She didn’t like the fact that she controlled death with just a touch. It was unnatural. But then again, she thought with a snort, what in her life had ever been natural? She was a witch, whose sister was a witch, married to a Were, whose best friends were vampires and Fey! Christ! You couldn’t get any more unnatural than that!
She sighed as the memories came flooding back. Her sister Katrina standing there, under some horrible spell put on her by their evil, bitch of a mother, as Luke had been viciously whipped to near death. The witches bursting into flame…She shook her head, followed Luke’s lead, and grabbed herself a bottle of water. That had been over four years ago, and so much had happened in that time.
She had found a sister that she hadn’t even known had existed–and a brother, she thought with a grin and a quick glance in the direction of the man in question. She had been brought into a family that was unconventional at best, but one that she wouldn’t have traded for the world. Abby and Desmond LaGrange had accepted her without question. Kat and Luke loved her beyond reason at times, and she couldn’t have been happier. Not to mention Marcus and Liz. Harper adored Desmond’s brother and his mate. So, why then was she planning to leave?
“Your sister is going to tan my hide if she ever finds out that you’re forcing me to train you into becoming Xenia, the damn Warrior Princess,” she heard Luke grumble, and burst out laughing –actually doubling over from it.
“Geez, Jungle-boy,” Harper snorted, knowing that Luke hated it when she called him that. “I am going to be twenty-two in a few weeks. I think my mule-headed sister can handle me making my own decisions for a change.”
Harper adored Katrina. They were sisters in the fullest sense of the word, two halves of one whole, light and dark. Her sister, the giver of life, and she, she thought with a weary sigh–the taker.
“You’d like to think so,” Luke replied. “But, my mate is a bit overprotective at times, in case you haven’t noticed.”
“And, you aren’t?” she snorted with a roll of her eyes.
Luke watched Harper closely, knowing without a doubt in his mind that the little spitfire was up to something. Just what that something was, he didn’t quite know…yet.
Harper had grown into a strong, beautiful woman. Unfortunately, she was also as hardheaded and stubborn as her sister, he thought with a chuckle and a shake of his head. No matter what the little snot was planning, he knew that it would be damn near impossible for anyone to talk her out of it.
He only hoped that it wasn’t something dangerously stupid. For all intents and purpose, the supernatural world was changing for the better. The birth of their children was bringing the forces together little by little, but it would take time. There was still evil out there, and he was determined to protect his family from it.
He tossed her a towel and watched as she wiped the perspiration from her face, giving him a silent nod of thanks as she did.
“So…what are you up to, Brat?” he asked finally, his gaze catching and holding hers.
She gave him a sweet smile, her hazel eyes round and innocent. “Why, whatever do you mean?” she purred, and Luke burst out laughing.
“Christ, you get more and more like your sister every day,” he chuckled.
Harpers back straightened a bit at his words, taking them as a compliment. Katrina was one of the strongest people she knew, and there was nothing more she wanted than to be just like her…strong, independent, and lethal.
Harper pulled her hair up on top of her head and fastened it with a clip. “Thanks, Jungle-Boy,” she replied with a grin. “That’s just what I was going for.” She gave him a wink and began to stretch.
Luke watched her in silence, knowing that she had expertly changed the subject. No worries, he thought to himself. He’d find out.
“Hopper!” Luke turned to find Avery rushing through the door. He waited a moment for his son to come bounding in at her heels, and grinned. Those two were inseparable and he knew where one went, the other followed.
Harper glanced at Avery with a smile. For only four years old, the child was absolutely breath taking. She had hair that was so blond it was almost white and a mixture of both her parents’ eye color, which was a combination that was nothing less than amazing. Her gleaming hair hung over her shoulders in waves and her perfect, heart-shaped face held the best of both her parents. She was absolutely beautiful–inside and out. She was the sweetest, most loving child that Harper had ever known.
Jake was the spitting image of his father, and Harper glanced at Luke, who stood there watching the pair wrap themselves around her legs with a grin, pride shining in his eyes. Jakob was good-natured, yet intense, with his father’s amber eyes and black hair. Only the red hi-lights gifted to him by Kat differed from his father. At four, Jake was already tall and lean, and Harper was once again awed by these two amazing children. These were the children that would change their world, and if the past four years were any indication…they would do a fine job of it.
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