by Honor James
Pulling out the ring, he chuckled. “Darling, as long as you never shoot me I’m good with the rest of it,” he told her, standing. Taking her hand, he slid it on her finger and then pressed a soft kiss on her knuckle above it. “My mother would have been so pleased to know the woman I love more than life now wears the Ring.”
A shiver of knowledge swept through her as she squeezed the hand holding hers now. “Tell me about it, Laszlo?” It was a beautiful ring, simple in its design but elegant in a way that modern jewelers could never encompass.
“My great-great”—he paused to mentally figure it out—“great-grandfather had it made by a master artisan,” he murmured. “He placed it on his mate’s finger with his promise to always be there whether there be laughter or tears, whether famine or plentiful tables, no matter what because of his love for her as a woman. Each generation has followed the tradition to pass it on from the King to his Queen whenever they take the Throne.” Lifting her hand he pressed a kiss to her knuckles once more. “So I pledge to you, my mate, my Queen, my eternal love, that I will be beside you in laughter and tears, famine or plentiful tables, good times and bad, sickness and health for the rest of my days because you are all I will ever need to see me through all the days, may they be eternal”—he smiled—“for you are my heart and soul, Desmonda.”
“Laszlo,” she breathed and went to her knees beside him. “You are my everything, Laszlo, every breath I take and every move that I have made has been to bring me to you.” She kissed him once more and breathed him in. “You are my King, my lover, my heart and my soul.” Kissing his cheek once more, she said, “I love you, Laszlo, I will love you all throughout time.”
“You’d better, woman, I plan on being at your side for a very, very long time, my love,” he said with grin. Pulling her in close, he hugged her tight. “Now, why don’t you take your saltines and water into the living room and I’ll pop some popcorn so you won’t smell it too much. Nothing on it I promise and we can sit and eat it while we watch a movie with the pup who’s now awake and watching us.”
“What pup?” She grinned and feigned knowledge. “I don’t see a pup anywhere, I know that we had a little Kat with us but a pup? Are you sure, Laszlo?”
Katherine’s laughter floated up and around them, the next thing Laszlo and Desmonda felt was the little girl barrelling into them and latching onto their legs with a big bear hug.
“See, a little pup.” He grinned before scooping the girl up and blowing raspberries on her cheeks in big smacking kisses. “Feel better after your nap, little one?” he asked her as he looked up into her face.
Kat looked up and nodded. “Yep, and Auntie Des, are you feeling better?” She leaned over to Desmonda and placed her hands on Desi’s cheeks and then forehead, much like Des knew Mina would do to Kat when she wasn’t feeling well. “You don’t have a feber I don’t think so you must be okay.”
“You’re right, I think I just needed my little Katherine to wake up and smile at me again.” Desi grinned and touched Kat’s cheek. “Come on, let’s go and get our movies started while Uncle Laszlo pops some popcorn all right?”
Watching the two head for the living room once more, Laz let out a breath. God how he loved his mate and now, now she’d be his in every way, his and hers. Smiling he turned away from the view and began the popcorn, an ear turned to listen to the laughter of the two, the sounds of family easing his mind. Soon he hoped all their family would be as happy and, if he had anything to say about it, they would all be safe once and for all.
“Come on, Laszlo, we have the movie paused for you now so you need to get your rear in gear or Kat and I will begin our movie and make you wait outside of the living room without us,” Desmonda called through the house which made Kat giggle.
“You do that and there will be no more chocolate pudding for you until you’ve given birth,” he sent back as he shook out more of the popcorn into the bowl and kept an eye on the rest of the kernels.
“That’s seriously just not even funny,” Desi called from the living room and then bent her head to listen to Kat’s promise to smuggle in pudding anytime that she wanted it. Hugging the little girl close she laughed and tickled her belly. “I do love you, little pup,” she said with a smile for the little girl.
Walking in with the popcorn bowl, Laszlo glowered at them both, “No smuggling in banned goods,” he said as he fought to keep from laughing, he was so trying to be stern and it really wasn’t working with his lips twitching ever so slightly.
Desi frowned up at him and tried to give him a sorrow-filled face. “Pweeze?” Batting her lashes up at him, she held out her hand. “Will you still feed me pudding when I’m all grumpy and stuff?”
Taking her hand, he passed the popcorn to Katherine and, pulling Des up, sat in her place before tugging her into his lap. “Of course I’ll still feed you pudding, love,” he murmured, kissing her neck lightly. “And anything else you can eat, Des.”
“I know that you will, Laszlo.” Snuggling up closer to him, Desi closed her eyes as she breathed him in. “I love you, Laz, I love being held by you like this.” She looked to Kat and then grinned, holding out her arms Desi said, “Come here, kitten. I think Uncle Laszlo needs you in his lap, too, don’t you, Uncle Laszlo?”
“Oh sure, one more piled on won’t do any harm,” he said and tugged Katherine close dropping a kiss on her head. “All right, you two, silence is needed, the movie’s starting.” He grinned at Kat and stole the popcorn she’d just picked up.
Desi grinned as Laszlo and Kat took turns diving into the popcorn and closing her eyes listened to the movie beginning, only seconds before falling asleep.
Midway through the movie Kat moved to the seat beside Laszlo, on her knees and leaning against him as she watched the movie. “Uncle Laszlo,” she asked in a whisper, “why do you all call me a pup when I’m not a Wolf like you are?”
“Because to us you’re one of ours,” he told her softly shifting Des so she’d be more comfortable. “When Janos and Mina adopted you it wasn’t just them taking you in, baby, but they brought you into the whole of the family. We’re Wolves and our young are known as pups, so to our way of thinking, you are our pup.”
“Will I ever be a wolf like you and everyone else?” Katherine asked as she let the knowledge roll through her mind that she belonged to all of them, not just Janos and Mina. “So you’re all my family, closer than Uncle ’cause of mommy Mina and daddy Janos?”
Nodding, Laszlo smiled at her. “You got it, sweets, you’re my niece, that’s how I see you and I always will see you. If you need anything I want you to come to me if you need to and your parents aren’t available. As to being a Wolf, you could, later in life if you really wanted, become a Wolf. We’d all gladly be there for you for the change, Kat, but it’s something that would have to wait until you are out of your teens and have thought long and hard about it as well.”
Kat nodded and smiled. “Thank you, Uncle Lassie.” The little hand that petted him showed that she was only calling him that because she truly did love him, adore him, and it was something she owned, something that was only hers for him.
Wincing at the nickname Laz let out a breath, he hated it with a passion but knew she meant no harm which was the only reason he wasn’t blowing a fit. Kissing the end of her nose, he smiled. “You’re welcome, sweets, now, you should watch the movie if you can hear it over aunt Desi’s snoring.”
Kat did laugh at that. “Aunty Desi doesn’t snore.” She did however talk in her sleep, which was most interesting about ninety-nine percent of the time.
“Says you,” he said with a grin. “She snores when she’s tired, really tired or when she ends up on her back sprawled out. That one’s the worst, it sounds like a lumberjack starting up his chainsaw.” Laz gave a mock shiver.
It was Katherine’s laughter that woke Desmonda and with a smile she snuggled closer to Laszlo’s heat and asked, “What’s so funny, you two?” Her fingers stroked over Laszlo’s chest, soft
ly and gently she petted him more than anything else.
Putting his finger to his lips, he shushed Katherine silently. “Nothing, love, we’re just sitting here talking about the woman of my life, my most perfect mate.”
And if Desmonda believed that she would believe she had three heads. “If you say so, Laszlo.” Looking to Katherine she knew that she would eventually have the full story, one just needed to know how to be patient with Katherine around.
Snorting at her, Laz shook his head, not believing her any more than she did him. “Shh,” he said in a stage whisper. “We’re watching a movie here,” he said with a laugh. Kissing the top of her head he pulled in closer. “Go back to sleep, my love,” he whispered against her hair.
Desi could only smile and did just as Laszlo asked. She fell asleep in the arms of her soul mate and knew that no matter what else happened in their lives, she was always safe in his arms.
THE END
WWW.HONOR-JAMES.NET
ABOUT THE AUTHOR
Born in the mid-seventies, this thirty-something woman has only been writing for the last six years of her life, faithfully that is. Honor has always been scribbling a phrase, a curious word, or the oddest of thoughts down on anything she could find laying about. Now she piles them up before her and, if one catches her fancy, she further explores it to whatever its end might be.
A lover of books, her reading material spans from Shakespeare to mysteries and all the way to the erotic. Anything and everything she can lay her hands on she’ll read. Though, these days, she leans more toward the paranormal than anything else.
Poetry was her first love lasting about three solid years, don’t ask, she won’t show many of them to anyone. Then short stories became the focus and finally she began to write for more than just writing what came to mind, she started to write for pleasure and to tell the story that begged to be told.
Life and family came next, working full time as a Customer Service Representative and raising two children got in the way and the writing that she so loved as a teenager seemed to be pushed off to the back burner of everything.
So several years past and her children turned into more than the babies that demanded her attention and into young children and then teenagers with different demands, ones that allowed her to once more spread her imagination to the wind and ask for more, want more.
As with all great things the door to her notebook written word might have been closed and placed on hold, but where a door closes another one opens and in this case it was with the advent of buying a computer.
Honor spends many a sleepless nights pounding at the keyboards. She is a consummate professional in her daytime career however at night her visions swing to the fantastical and in those long hours after the children and husband are in bed, she weaves together words and blends up stories that not only bring a whole new meaning to romance, but sizzle the pages with a heat that will have the readers begging for more.
For all titles by Honor James, please visit
www.bookstrand.com/honor-james-0
Siren Publishing, Inc.
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