Unexpected Mates (Sons of Heaven)

by Lyons, Brenna

  Amy set her book aside. “Go on.”

  She glanced at the colonel. “Alone?” she requested.

  He waited long enough to see Amy’s wave of dismissal, then retreated and shut the door behind him. Jo sighed in relief at that. This was going to be hard enough without an audience.

  “What’s wrong?” Amy asked. A smile curved one side of her lips. “What is your mother furious about this time?”

  Jo winced. Furious described her mother’s current mood well enough.

  Her cousin’s smile faded again.

  “I need your help.” That’s the understatement of the century.

  “I can’t imagine I’d turn you down, but I need to know what the problem is to figure out what kind of help I can offer.” She wasn’t teasing. Amy had gone deadly serious, as if she’d grasped the gravity of the situation already.

  Tears pooled in Jo’s eyes. “I’m pregnant.”

  Amy’s jaw dropped. “You?”

  “Yes.”

  She nodded, seemingly stunned. Jo supposed that made sense. It wasn’t a situation anyone who knew her would have expected to find Jo in.

  “And before you ask...No, I don’t want to abort or to give the baby up for adoption.”

  “Oh, your mother is going to uncork.”

  The blunt statement drew a weak laugh from Jo. “Tell me about it.” She sighed. “She already has. You know my mother. You’re only twenty. Halfway through college. No husband. You’re ruining your life. You’re ruining my life.” I won’t be responsible for raising this kid, you know. “Uncorked is too kind a term for it.”

  “If you’re asking for a place to stay until this all blows over, you’re welcome. We have tons of space here at the consulate.”

  Jo stared at her clasped hands, at a loss for a moment. “That might help, but...” The rest stuck in her throat. She tried to calm her rioting heart rate and started again. “What I really need your help with is something altogether different.”

  Amy cocked her head to one side. “I’m listening.”

  “I need your help to find the father.”

  Words seemed to fail her cousin. “You don’t know who—?”

  “Of course I do. You know me better than that.” Jo fumed at the insinuation. “The one time in my life I have a one-night stand, and the contraception fails. I hadn’t been with anyone since Carl.” More than a year ago, but Amy knows that. I was crying on her shoulder the night I caught him with that slut. “And I haven’t since, so...there’s really no question who the father is.”

  “But you don’t know how to find him again?” she guessed.

  “It was a one-night stand, Amy.”

  “You can’t go back to where you met him and ask around to see if he’s a regular customer?”

  Jo swiveled her head in a negative response. “I met him at the family Christmas party, and we...sort of...uh... Well, I guess it’s obvious what we did.”

  “Then someone in the family must know him.”

  Jo shot her the standard ‘duh’ look. “You and Sakkra do, which is why I’m here.” She waved off Amy’s move to answer. “Please, Amy. He’s not listed in the phone book. I can’t find him on the web. I need to find him to let him know.”

  “He’s not Sakk?” Amy asked, seemingly perplexed.

  “Of course not. Don’t you think I would have told you if he was?”

  “But he said Sakkra and I invited him to the party?”

  “Yes. He did.” Was Amy being dense?

  “To a family Christmas party?”

  Jo dusted off the ‘duh’ look again.

  Amy put up a hand asking for calm. “Okay. I believe you, but I don’t remember us bringing or even inviting anyone along who isn’t Sakk.” Before Jo could protest, she continued. “What did he say his name was?”

  “Josh. Josh Rietin.”

  Amy’s eyes went wide. “Rietin? You’re sure he said his name was Rietin?”

  “That’s what he said.”

  Her cousin didn’t respond, and Jo’s blood ran cold.

  “Oh, God. He’s married. Is he married?” Josh wasn’t wearing a ring and didn’t have a pale band where he should be wearing one, but that didn’t mean he was single. There was a reason behind Amy’s shock, and Jo couldn’t come up with another one.

  “No. If it is Rietin, I guarantee he’s not married.” She rose and went to the screen in the wall. “Display a likeness of Rietin,” she ordered the computer.

  His picture appeared, surrounded by Sakk glyphs.

  Jo breathed a sigh of relief. “That’s Josh. Now...will you help me find him?”

  Amy’s intended answer never emerged.

  Sakkra opened the door and breezed through the room to his wife. “Ah. Two and a half of my favorite ladies.” His hand covered Amy’s midsection. “And what brings Jo here today? Just a visit?”

  Something told Jo that Sakkra’s presence here wasn’t a coincidence. Most likely, one of his warriors noticed her upset and called for him.

  Before Jo could open her mouth to repeat the request to find Josh to the Sakk prince, Amy answered him.

  “Jo has some news. She’s pregnant.”

  Sakkra smiled widely. “Such a blessing. Who is the lucky sire?”

  Amy cleared her throat, and Sakkra raised head to meet her gaze. She jerked her head toward the screen, and he followed her line of sight.

  His smile disappeared. A rapid-fire series of sounds in the Sakk language left his lips.

  Amy darkened. “Speaking in Sakk in this situation is incredibly rude, Sakkra. And, yes, she is absolutely certain it’s Rietin.”

  Jo pushed to her feet, stung by the predictable male response. “If you’re not going to help me find him—”

  Sakkra was at her side that quickly. “You don’t look well.”

  Though her heart was pounding and her stomach churning, though tears burned at her eyes, Jo straightened and offered a bald lie. “I’m fine.”

  “You’re not.” There was a note of alarm in his response that stopped Jo cold. “Amy, I believe the healers should give her a thorough check over.”

  Amy seemed to consider that. “That sounds like a very good idea. You are really pale, Jo.”

  That’s going too far. “I’m fine,” she insisted.

  Amy took her arm. “Humor him. It’s ingrained in Sakk males. Pregnant women are coddled.” She raised a beautiful ullium medallion with Sakk glyphs on it from her chest and showed it to Jo. “They monitor me all the time. One bad burp will set off an alarm in medical.”

  Jo wanted to argue that she was joking, but something told her Amy was being serious. But still...”It’s not...dangerous, is it?”

  Sakkra’s expression of offense taken was answer enough.

  “Okay. They can check me over. Then you’ll help me find Josh?” she asked. Even if it was some underhanded paternity test, Jo knew how it would turn out, and she didn’t doubt that Sakkra would do everything possible to make sure a pregnant woman had her baby’s father around to help her. It was part of the Sakk mentality about child rearing.

  “Of course,” Amy assured her, but there was an unexplained tension in the air.

  ****

  “Rietin, you are relieved,” Eli informed him.

  He checked the watch on his wrist. “You’re not due to relieve me for two hours.”

  Five yards away, the newest match was shopping with her mate, purchasing candies and toiletries to take to Sakk with her.

  “Sakkra requested your presence. It is likely Sakku wishes to dine out or has an event to attend.”

  Rietin grunted his agreement and left Eli in charge of the security detail. He started his van and headed for the consulate, deep in thought. Though Amy typically arranged things like that further in advance, it was possible that was the case, and one never kept royalty waiting, even if that royalty was as laid back and unassuming as Amy was.

  In all honesty, it was a relief to leave the detail he’d been assigned to. Protecting
a newly-mated couple was a bitter reminder of what he would never have.

  Too weak genetically to be awarded a match—on Sakk or on Earth—Rietin had long since resigned himself to bachelorhood and had petitioned for work as a warrior guard on a seed world. With the treaties on Earth, the need had arisen for wingless guards who could blend in with the native population.

  Blending in wasn’t enough. Rietin wanted more. Though human women were willing to share a bed with him on a regular basis, nothing more could come from it. It would be dishonorable to marry one and not tell her what he was, to let her hope for young that could never be between them.

  Rietin swallowed down the familiar dull ache and maneuvered into the bunker tunnel. The van had been outfitted with sensors that would release the sections of shield for him, as long as only he and members of the royal family were inside the vehicle. If there were any others aboard, it would be handled manually by the command center, and a full scan of the vehicle would be carried out between the first two shields. Since he was alone in the van, there were no delays in him passing through.

  Alone. Why did it seem everything was a reminder that he was and ever would be alone?

  The parking space closest to the doors was designated as his, thanks to Amy’s request for Rietin to act as her personal bodyguard on her outings. Rietin parked and left the vehicle behind, glancing at the white limo in the opposite spot. If Amy’s outing involved shopping or visiting her family, they would take the van. If it was a formal affair or dinner out with Sakkra, they would travel in the limo. They were the only two land-based vehicles Amy used.

  More than one warrior sneered at Rietin’s clothing, and he studiously ignored them. Blending in meant he could usually choose human clothing he found comfortable. In Rietin’s case, that meant jeans, t-shirts, a jean or faux-leather jacket, and cowboy or hiking boots.

  The others either wore cuzta or stripper wear. While the former was comfortable, the latter couldn’t be mistaken for it. A smile pulled up at the corners of his mouth at the undeniable truth. It was jealousy that made them sneer.

  He stopped at Sakkra’s office door and knocked.

  “In!” The reply was curt and without humor.

  Rietin winced. There was nothing worse than a prince having a bad day. He entered quietly and waited for acknowledgement.

  It didn’t come immediately, putting his nerves on edge. If Rietin was a general, he might be so impertinent as to remind Sakkra he’d been summoned, but he wasn’t.

  At last, the prince looked up...and scowled.

  Rietin’s heart skittered, and his mouth went dry. The copper tang of fear tainted his tongue, and he retraced the last week of his life. The last month. Sakkan, what have I done wrong? What will the punishment be?

  “There you are, Rietin.”

  “Yes, Sakkra. As ordered.” He always followed orders. Then how did I run afoul of the prince?

  Sakkra sat back in his chair and raised an eyebrow. “You act as guard to my mate often.”

  “I do.” Since he’d saved Amy’s life, she trusted him. “If I have offended her somehow —”

  “No. No offense.”

  Rietin breathed a sigh of relief. Since offending Sakku Amy could mean his head, it was good news that he hadn’t.

  Sakkra continued. “Did you enjoy her family’s holiday celebration?”

  “I suppose I liked it well enough.” Her family had provided meat-free dishes for the Sakk in attendance, and it was a joyous night full of color and scent and sound.

  Have I offended her family? That was unlikely. The event had been more than two months earlier.

  “And after Amy and I retired to our room?” he pressed.

  Visions of Jolene were potent, bringing his cock to life. Anger that the prince was interrogating him about his sexual exploits followed close on its heels.

  “I see.” The prince’s comment sounded like a condemnation.

  Rietin bit back four unkind remarks and two attempts to explain himself. There was nothing to explain. He hadn’t been on duty, and there were no rules against bedding willing human women. Jolene hadn’t been wearing an engagement or wedding ring, all of Sakku Amy’s cousins had reportedly failed testing as matches, and she’d been more than willing.

  “Did you enjoy Jo?” Sakkra challenged him.

  “Has the lady made some complaint?” he countered.

  “Not...precisely.”

  Rietin opened his mouth to offer the opinion that nothing else entitled the prince to this highly-inappropriate discussion.

  “She has brought something to my attention that demands...handling.”

  “And that would be?” I have broken no laws.

  Sakkra hesitated. “You may want to sit for this.”

  Something in his tone unnerved Rietin. Or perhaps it was something in the prince’s expression. “Sakkra?”

  “By Sakkan, sit!”

  His mind spinning at the change of mood, Rietin did so.

  Sakkra took his time. “The lady...Jo is bearing.”

  Another reminder of what I will never have. “You know very well that—”

  “I know she is Amy’s mother’s brother’s child, which makes her close family to my own mate. I know that, while all Amy’s other cousins tested negative as a match, Jo never tested. She believed her sister’s and cousin’s failures meant she would also fail. I know you are more human than most Sakk males.” He put up a hand to still Rietin’s protest. “Most of all, I know the bio bed has cross-matched the babe she carries to your genetic code.”

  His heart pounded hard against Rietin’s ribs, and his breathing went harsh.

  “Jo carries your daughter, Rietin, and there is a fair chance the young one is at least a short flight, based on her genetics.”

  He could hardly take it in. A female was bearing for him, and the child was of strong stock.

  “She came here looking for you,” Sakkra continued.

  “Why?” The question was out before Rietin could censor himself.

  “That is something only Jo knows for certain. I suggest you ask her.”

  Sakkra rose from behind his desk and ordered Rietin to follow him. In a daze, he did so, leaving Sakkra’s office and making his way to the main medical bay in the prince’s wake.

  The hostility of the other males drew his attention, and Rietin came to a startling realization. They are jealous, but not of my clothing.

  ****

  The door to the clinic opened, and Sakkra stepped through. Jo opened her mouth to ask him about his search for Josh, but only a squeak emerged.

  Josh loomed in the doorway, only inches shorter than Sakkra stood, his deep golden hair pulled into a ponytail behind his head. His fists were stuffed in his pockets, and his gaze didn’t quite meet hers. If she had to name his expression, she would choose either shell-shocked or discomfited.

  Jo eased her mouth shut, at a loss to tell him what she’d come here to say. If he’d seemed happy to see her at all, it would be easier.

  “You came to see me?” Josh asked softly.

  “I shouldn’t have,” she blurted out. This was a mistake.

  His head snapped up, and he stared at her, his face going an unhealthy color. “What do you mean?”

  Jo slid off the bio bed and pulled her tennis shoes back on. “This was a mistake. I shouldn’t have come here.”

  “But—but you’re carrying my child.”

  His confusion made it through her panic, and she stared at him, her sweatshirt in hand. He knew. That’s what she came here to do...to tell him.

  Her heart said that wasn’t what she’d come here for.

  What? You expected him to be overjoyed that a one-night stand got you pregnant? You expected that he’d say he missed you? That some romantic fantasy would unfold, where he whisked you off your feet?

  None of that was forthcoming. Jo pulled her sweatshirt on, fighting with the stubborn zipper, trying to avoid crying in front of him.

  “Jo? The bio bed says
the baby is mine.” He paused. “Ours, I mean.” That sounded like a concession.

  Her hair still trapped inside the sweatshirt, she looked at Amy, pleading for answers.

  Amy offered a weak smile. “Sakkra had them check.”

  “And you didn’t tell me. My own cousin didn’t trust me.” Today was turning out to be one heck of a disappointment.

  “I did. We both did, but...” She glanced at Sakkra. “You don’t tell a Sakk male he’s about to be a father without being certain.”

  Jo grasped at the edge of the bio bed, her senses reeling. Her eyes slipped shut, and strong arms encircled her. She didn’t question that it was Josh lifting her onto the bed and tucking the silky blanket around her.

  A cup of cold water touched her lips, and she swallowed a sip.

  “Healer?” Josh asked, his voice rough.

  An extended period of discussion in Sakk followed. Jo opened her eyes, focusing on Josh. She hadn’t been imagining it. He was speaking Sakk.

  “Josh?” He really is Sakk? That isn’t possible.

  His jaw tightened a notch, and he stopped speaking. “My name is Rietin.”

  Words failed her. His name wasn’t Josh? He lied to her? She supposed he wasn’t the first man who had, and he wouldn’t be the last.

  He sighed and met her gaze directly. “Working among humans, I needed to disappear in a crowd. I adopted a name humans would accept. My name is Rietin.”

  “You’re... No, you can’t be. You don’t have...” Jo looked at his shoulders, though she knew he didn’t have wings.

  “Neither does Sakku Amy. Neither does Representative Janice. With the breeding measures, not all Sakk have wings.”

  “But the Sakk men do,” she insisted.

  “Most of the ones who win the right to come to Earth to seek mates do,” he corrected her. “I never thought it was possible.” He shook his head, his expression unreadable.

  “Thought what was possible?”

  “That I would be blessed with a mate and a child.”

  Her heart skipped a beat. “M-mate?”

  “Of course. We must.”

  “Mate?”

  “Rietin,” Amy called out, clearly warning him off.

  He ignored her. “You carry my child, Jolene. Our daughter. We must mate.”