by Grace,Viola
Minerva ran her hands over his arms, shoulders and back. She stroked the hidden edge of his wings, and he thrust deep.
She lifted her legs and locked them at the base of his spine, pulling herself onto him as he slid into her.
He groaned into her mouth and pulled her hands away from his back, pinning them above her head as he thrust hard and fast.
Her peak rushed up and swamped her. She shrieked against his lips, and he shuddered against her, jerking his hips in short pulses.
He slowly lifted his head, licking at her lips, kissing her cheeks and brow.
“That, I want to remember.” He smiled and met her gaze.
His expression was nine shades of satisfied, and his eyes were gleaming.
She twisted her wrists in his grip. He let her go.
Minerva stroked his cheek. “I don’t know how this can work.”
“I believe we just proved that it can.”
She threaded her fingers into his hair. It felt like feathery down.
“That wasn’t what I meant. My friends, my family, my contacts are all here.”
He nuzzled her cheek. “I can have a fixed portal set, or we can move to my place in Corudet City. I should probably spend more time there, but there has never been a reason to settle in.”
She blinked. “You actually have a place in the city?”
“Several. I am the mayor or king or something. One forgets after time.”
Minerva stared at him. “This is going to require some logistics. I don’t know how it will work.”
“Do not worry. We have time. The child will not arrive for another eleven months.”
Minerva stiffened under him. “What child?”
“You are pregnant. I knew it the moment I saw you here. You quickened at our first meeting.”
She squirmed and bucked under him, but he seemed to have tripled in mass. He just waited until she got tired.
He was amused. “Now, now. That isn’t good for the baby.”
Minerva frowned and slumped back. “How can you be sure?”
“Well, your scent has changed, and a small marking has begun just above your pubic bone and is spreading upward. When it completely covers your belly, it is ready to come out.”
She tried to look down, but his belly was pressed to hers. “That is bizarre.”
“The wave changed me as it killed many in my village. I spent my first few years flying and seeking out others of my new kind. Two had mates, and this was their indicator.”
Minerva blinked at the conversation she was having with him still inside her. “You were near a wave point?”
“My village was split in two, and the survivors were all changed. Now, you would state it as ground zero. We absorbed magic that would not be seen again for centuries.”
“Where did you meet the gods?”
“When they were ready to leave their community and hide in the human world. Several chose death, but others scattered.”
“I have been warned against the surviving gods.”
Zemuel scowled. “Why?”
“They want to make another pantheon, and they need a new goddess to do it.”
He smiled slowly. “They can’t have you. You are mine.”
“I am my own.” She narrowed her eyes.
Zemuel started rocking against her, slowly delving deep with every inward thrust.
“I will agree that you are your own, but I am claiming the right to defend you and be your only lover from this point onward.”
She gasped, and he threaded his fingers with hers, kissing her softly as he moved inside her.
No words of denial worked their way through her lips, only small sounds of enjoyment managed to escape. When the fire growing inside shattered into waves of pleasure, she sighed and flexed her fingers against his. His groan was soft, and he moved his lips from hers and pressed them to her shoulder. His bite was soft, but she felt the sharp teeth pierce the skin.
She held perfectly still as the teeth went deeper and deeper, but he released her a moment later as he scraped his tongue over the wounds. She could feel the magic in his slow, wet strokes. Power was working into her skin.
It took her a few tries, but she managed, “So, were you planning on getting off me any time soon?”
“No. I plan to stay here forever.”
She sighed and wiggled her hands free. She put her palms on the balls of his shoulders. “That isn’t going to work for me.”
He wrinkled his nose. “You still think like a human.”
“I was raised human... mostly. I have a human mother, humanish friends. Time is still a concern, because they are in my life, and time is a major factor in the human world.”
Zemuel sighed and slowly lowered his head to her neck, licking and kissing his way down as he retreated down her body and withdrew from her sex with a wet sucking sound.
To say she was appalled when he pressed his lips to her bruised sex was an understatement. He slid his tongue into her, and once again, she felt waves of healing magic emerging from his appendage and working into her abraded tissues.
She shook and held onto the sheets as fire skimmed along her nerves, but before she could go over, he pulled back and licked his lips. His smile indicated that he knew what he had just done.
She sighed and slowly sat up. He helped her and held her against him, rubbing his hand up and down her back.
“You have enthralled Norman, by the way. In his eyes, you have always been a goddess and you should dress accordingly.”
Minerva leaned against him. “I know. He sent me a gown, but I have no idea where to wear it.”
“We will have to find an occasion. There are a few invitations that Matthias had for me when I arrived. Folk that wish to see me and a display of magical artifacts that he loaned to the museum. It is a good place for a date, I think.” He smiled.
“You... we... a date?”
He chuckled. “The courtship involves me winning your favour each and every day we are together. I do not want a running mate.”
She raised a shaking hand to her hair. “I don’t think I could walk right now, let alone run.”
He smoothed his hand over her back. “I should not be smug now, should I?”
She elbowed him, and he flexed his wing around her, supporting her like an upright hammock with the texture of chamois leather.
She wiggled her toes and waited for her limbs to come back under her control. “I don’t know what to do with you.”
He chuckled. “I can suggest a few things.”
She stroked a hand on his thigh. “I bet you could.”
He shivered slightly. “Never mind. I am pretty sure that it is something we will grow into over time. Just know that I will come when you call.”
She stretched and groaned at the double entendre. “Speaking of calling. I need to call my mother. If I don’t introduce you right away, I am going to hear about it.”
He perked up. “Would you like her to live near us?”
“Well, yes, but I don’t want her to move if she doesn’t want to. She enjoys gardening and meeting with garden clubs, but I have no idea what your city can offer in that regard. You should ask her about it.”
“Will I meet her soon?”
“As soon as I can get cleaned up, we will head over there. She will want to know what has happened and that I don’t have to dodge you anymore.”
“She was concerned?”
“She was terrified for me. It is one thing for me to adapt to what the goddesses said and another for me to deal with a dragon in pursuit because I flashed some ankle.”
“I was interested in your cleavage, not your ankle.”
She grinned and nudged him. “Come on. Let’s get a cab and go meet my mom.”
“Matthias has provided a car for me.”
“Even better. Just give me a minute to get dressed.” She levered herself upright.
He got to his fe
et and smiled. “I suppose for the sake of human modesty that I should get dressed.”
“Please. My mother isn’t extranatural.”
“I will be on my best behaviour. Promise.” He winked and gave her a quick kiss before he left her to retrieve his clothing.
She used a cleansing spell to tidy up as she walked into the living room to get dressed. He was quicker than she was and watched her slowly hide the skin that he had been so very enthralled with.
“I will enjoy seeing you in clothing more appropriate to that of my mate.”
She gave him a dark look as she zipped up her jeans. “Yeah, that isn’t going to happen.”
Chapter Eleven
Deirdre poured tea for them and looked Zemuel over. “So, you are a dragon?”
“Yes, madam.” Zemuel was being very polite. It was adorable.
Minerva had changed clothing when they arrived. Too much magic use tended to build up in cotton. Her jeans were ready to spark into something disastrous. She was going to have to soak the magic out.
The loose maxi dress she was wearing was comfortable and suited to the weather.
“What kind of dragon? I can’t do much reading in the magic books, but I know there are different kinds.”
He sipped at the tea, the cup ridiculously small in his fingers. “I am a stone dragon. Or earth if you prefer. My kind sleep for centuries under the ground and keep an ear out for what is going on in the human world. When we hear something interesting, we wake up.”
“Oh. How long have you been awake?”
He paused and tilted his head. “Four hundred years? I arrived before the colonists and settled into my home. I carved my home in the cliffs and then set about preparing Corudet City. I had no idea it was near a wave point until a century later.”
Deirdre gasped. “You are kidding.”
He leaned forward and whispered, “I am not. The ground cracked open in the centre of the city and energy poured out in a wave that spread outward like a pebble thrown into a pond. The ripples went on forever, and then the population showed up.”
Minerva was enthralled. “I knew it produced a lot of transporters, but I didn’t know it was a wave point.”
“Before the colonists, only those who had been at the wave could record it. I have tomes full of amazing extranatural occurrences in my library. I have always loved collecting books.” He set his teacup down and snagged a cookie.
“You collect books? What kind of books?” Minerva leaned forward.
“Histories. I have always been fascinated by histories. It is not enough to live the moment, but having you write it down and tell it from your point of view is essential. It makes the history come to life. It gives the moment a soul that allows it to live forever.”
His passion for the written word was obvious, and Minerva was shocked to share it. His holding court like an ancient monarch hadn’t really given her the thinker vibe.
Zemuel quirked his lips. “To use the vernacular, you thought I was a dumb jock?”
She blushed, and it was answer enough. He chuckled.
Deirdre smiled at the interplay. “Minerva would ride my corpse down the mountainside for a book.”
Zemuel was still amused. “I do not think she would be so extreme, but it would be a near thing.”
“You have not seen her in a studying frenzy. When she needs to look up the basics of a spell, there is no stopping her. She consumes every bit of knowledge and then goes looking for more. The Gangers have accused her of having perfect spells.”
“She does seem to go after everything with focus.”
She watched as her mate and mother seemed to be getting along fine. It was surprisingly touching. Deirdre offered him a tour of her gardens, and he took the offer immediately.
Minerva sat and watched the odd couple wander through the pathways that Deirdre had so carefully tended over the decades. He paused and asked questions that her mother gracefully answered. It was adorable.
Minerva was doing the dishes when her mother came into the kitchen. Zemuel had left for the evening, heading to his lodgings at the mayor’s home.
“He seems nice.”
The amused and dry tone made Min laugh. She put the last of the dishes away and sighed. “He wants me to move.”
“He told me. He offered to set me up with a garden three times the size of this one... and bees.”
Minerva snickered. “Wow, he knows how to get a mom on his side. What did you say?”
“I said I would have to see it to believe it.”
Minerva grinned. “Way to hold out, Mom!”
Deirdre hugged her. “He is a good partner for the destiny you are walking toward. He will be there when you need him.”
Minerva hugged her mom in return. “I am pretty sure he will, but where are you going to be?”
“Baby, you are a goddess. You are not going to age and wither. I will.”
“Don’t talk like that.”
“I will talk any way I please. I am going to get old and fade away. I am just hoping that I will get to see a grandbaby before then.”
Minerva froze. “About that...”
Her mom leaned back. “What?”
“Apparently, it is possible, in some strange stretch of the imagination and peculiar timing, that I could be pregnant.”
Deirdre blinked. “When will you know?”
“I don’t know. A month or so?”
“I had better learn to knit.” Her mom hugged her tight again.
Minerva rested her chin on Deirdre’s. Her mom was right. It was going to be hard if she was actually sculpted of ancient magics. Deirdre was going to be a great grandmother, but she would flicker and disappear in a few decades.
She never wanted to let her mom go.
* * * *
Zemuel stepped out of the car and smiled to his driver. “I will check in. You do not need to watch me.”
“I am under orders to follow you until you are back under Matthias’s roof.”
Zemuel walked to the door, and it was opened before he could touch it.
The butler nodded and said, “This way, please, Lord Zemuel.”
Zemuel followed the creature through the halls and into a large private office.
Matthias was at his desk, and his assistant was at hers. Leo was working and making calls. The vampire king smiled as Zemuel stepped forward. “So? How did things go?”
Zemuel sat on the backless bench that had been set out for him. “I believe I have made progress.”
The mayor of Redbird City snorted. “You are radiating satisfaction. I think progress was definite.”
“She is more than I was expecting.”
From her desk, Leo snorted. Matthias’s assistant had a highly amused expression, but she kept working.
Zemuel looked back at his host and smiled. “It seems that there is a consensus.”
The vampire king folded his hands on his desk. “You seem uncertain.”
“Do you know of any wandering gods in the area?”
Leo’s head snapped up. “That’s a thing?”
“Leo, please pretend you aren’t hearing this. I will explain it all later. No, Zemuel, there are no wandering gods nearby, but there are high incidents of summoned ones in the vicinity.”
Zemuel nodded and asked, “If that offer to the museum gala is still open, I would like to attend with Minerva.”
Matthias nodded. “Easily done. Leo?”
“Am I listening now?”
Matthias rolled his eyes. “Yes. Can you put Zemuel and Minerva on the list?”
“Already done. Even booked their driver. Anything else?”
“Have you looked into nursery schools for your niece?”
She wrinkled her nose. “Of course. Mind you, my sister doesn’t seem inclined to get back to work. Her flirting with the guys has taken on epic proportion.”
Zemuel sat there while they discussed the merits of sociali
zing the little girl with folk other than extranaturals. To his amazement, he realized that he was going to be having a similar discussion with Minerva one day. His grin was more than a little foolish when Matthias returned his attention to him.
“She’s pregnant.” Matthias chuckled.
“All signs confirm it. How did you know?”
“I have seen that expression thousands of times. I hope, for your sake, it isn’t a girl. Leo’s niece, Melody, is still an infant, but already, she takes up a lot of space and time.”
“I look forward to the challenge.” Zemuel smirked. “All I need to do is convince Minerva to move in with me. How difficult could that be?”
Matthias and Leo cackled for a solid five minutes.
* * * *
Minerva checked out her belly in the mirror, and there, under her navel and just above her curls, was a small tendril of colour. A small silver vine with a tiny leaf was curling upward.
“Well, hell. Hello, junior. I wasn’t expecting to see you, but now that you are there, welcome to your start in the world.”
She patted the small mark and felt the tingle of magic run through her fingers. There was power there, and it would take the entire gestation period before she found out if it was residue from its parents or belonged to her baby all on its own.
She slipped on her robe and went into the living room. Her mother was sitting with a book and a cup of herbal tea.
“What is it, sweetie?”
“Tell me about how you managed having a baby with magic.”
Deirdre smiled.
Minerva sat next to her mother for the next three hours and listened to how one went about diapering a baby that could levitate, as well as how one kept a child eating healthy when they could summon their favourite cake.
When Minerva went to bed, her mother tucked her in like she used to and pressed a kiss to her forehead. “Zemuel had better build me an impressive garden. I need to be a proper grandma to the little one. Oh, and I am going to need a new temple to the goddess.”
Minerva smiled as her mother stroked her cheek. “Make a list.”
