“Karri.”
“Hmm?” I pulled myself out of my self-induced panic attack and focused on him.
“I can hear you, in my head when you let your guard down or concentrate on me.” He shook his head and looked pained. “Honey, you are my mate. It doesn’t matter if you keep me around or not, I cannot and would not ever betray that. You are the only woman I’ve been with since I met you Karri-Lynn and considering I was there the day you born you should feel pretty damn good about that. Because that means I haven’t been with another woman in twenty-nine years.”
I couldn’t stop the swell of joy that rose. Pulling on the back of his neck, I brought his head down and kissed him with all my love.
He drew back reluctantly. “Kars, what do you mean when you said that you should have let them call me and shouldn’t have hidden something from me. What?” I could almost see the wheels in his head churning. He gasped. “No, Karri. Tell me that you didn’t leave and end up with Jean-Paul again. Tell me that you didn’t let another man enter you. Please.”
“Riston, Jean-Paul spent about three months sharing my bed.”
His eyes flickered back and forth from their normal blue to ice. His jaw tightened. “I’m going to kill him.”
I pressed my hand over his mouth as I stared up at him. “Oh, would you shut-up and keep your temper in check long enough to listen to me?”
He gave me a rather cold look and I took that as a sign to get to the point so I did. “Riston, he is the reason you’re going to be a daddy.”
Riston arched a brow and tipped his head, clearly not buying what I was telling him.
I kept my hand over his mouth. “I cut myself and forced my blood down his throat to save his whatever he calls his vampire self. Anyway, during the time that he was still out, still recovering, I got sick, Riston. Very sick. I knew it was coming I just didn’t realize it was going to happen that fast.”
He stopped looking like he wanted to comment and started looking concerned. I took my hand away from his mouth. “What happened?”
I glanced away from him. “I died.”
“You what?” He shook his head. “No. I would have felt it. I would have sensed your spirit trying to leave this plane, Kars.”
“You couldn’t sense what Jean-Paul wouldn’t let go of.”
“What?”
I ran my fingers over his full lips and offered him a small smile. “In his state of delirium, he still managed to sense what was happening in the next room. He held my spirit to this plane, Riston. He somehow managed to keep me from passing over while Seger and Matty fought to heal my body, make it strong enough to not only support me but the babies that Branson had instantly sensed.”
“Oh my gods. You ... ? I should have been there. I could have healed you.”
“Riston, they worked around the clock for days until Jean-Paul recovered and guided my spirit back to my body. But that wasn’t all he did, Riston.”
He gave me questioning look.
“He held the babies souls to this plane too. He held them to him just like he did me and refused to let anything harm them. He also helped them find their way back to my body, to grow and live. He did it all without being asked and asking nothing from me in return. He did it because whether or not he’ll admit it, he is my friend and he does have a heart capable of caring--of loving.” I cupped his face tight. “So, never let me hear you say that you’re going to kill him. He is the reason I’m here with you now. He’s the reason....”
My stomach instantly felt as though it were full hundreds of butterflies. I stilled. It didn’t. I felt something pushing against it, from the inside out. My breath caught as I seized hold of Riston’s arm and guided his hand down the length of my body. Pressing his palm to my lower abdomen, I waited. It didn’t take long. The movements began again, pressing and thumping against my stomach and his palm.
“Karri, is that ... ?”
I nodded. “It’s the babies.”
He withdrew from me slowly, as if he were doing his best not to disturb them. It was cute so I didn’t comment. When he moved down me with the speed of a supernatural to press his head to my stomach, as though he were listening to them, I gave in and giggled as I ran my hands through his hair. “I love you.”
Riston stared up at me through dark lashes. “Karri-Lynn Wallace, I love you more than life itself, more than words can even describe. And,” he pressed his lips to my stomach and kissed it gently, “I love our children and they aren’t even here yet. Oh, I need to get a nursery set up and get their rooms ready.”
I just bit my lip as I smiled.
His forehead creased. “Karri?”
“Yes,” I said, amused with his behavior.
“Where are we going to live? I mean, technically, we don’t live together--we’re neighbors and I....”
“Riston, I trust you and love you. I’ll follow wherever you go. Wherever you call home, I’ll call home too. Though, you should know, Mr. Meticulous, that children make messes and ruin things.”
A deep laugh tore free from him, catching me off guard.
“Riston?”
He kept laughing as he waved his hand in the air. His bedroom door slammed shut, startling me. He kissed my upper thigh and pointed towards the door. “Look closely at the wall.”
I did and sat up so fast that I nearly knocked him off the bed. I couldn’t believe my eyes, there, on the wall behind the door was a picture of the two of us. I could still remember the day that my father had been working on a project with Riston and I’d decided I’d do something nice for them. At the time, drawing a picture seemed like the perfect thing. I found a black marker on the table they were working at and used that.
I’d climbed the stairs, hunting for the perfect place to draw and when I found Riston’s bedroom door standing open, I knew where I wanted to put--somewhere he’d be able to see it when he woke up everyday. It had been hard work, making a picture just right for him. I’d decided to make him something special so I drew a picture of his house and the family I just knew he’d have some day. Granted, the finished product looked more like several starved stick figures in front of a giant rectangle with flowers and a big tree but the point was made.
“Riston, you kept it?”
His entire face lit as he smiled wide. “You remember making it for me?”
I nodded. “Yes,” I stood slowly, “I remember wanting to do something special for you because,” I thought hard about it, “it was your birthday, but I knew you didn’t tell anyone. I have no clue how I knew that. I just did.”
I went to take a step towards it and found Riston sliding his hands around my waist and pulling me to him while he sat on the edge of the bed. He ran his hand over my slightly swollen belly and planted a kiss on it.
“You can tell you’re pregnant when you stand up without your clothes on,” he said, lightly.
Running my fingers through his hair, I snorted. “Gee, thanks for pointing that out to me, honey. I love knowing that I’m getting fat.”
“Kars, you’re beautiful. This,” he rubbed my stomach, “is one of the most beautiful things I have ever seen, next to you that is. Well, its part of you so I think it still comes back to you being the....”
I laughed and pushed his forehead. “Okay, Romeo, you can stop laying it on so thick. You got me. I’m yours now, like it or not.”
“Mmm, I love it.” He kissed my arm, looking so happy that I never wanted the moment to end. “And I love you.”
“I love you, too. Now, tell me why you kept that behind the door. You were,” I glanced around his bedroom, “are a neat freak. Gawd, I can still remember my father finding me doing it. He yelled so loud that I instantly began to cry. He told me that I had to go sit in the chair until it was time to go and apologize to you.”
Cradling his head to stomach, I caressed the back of it gently, savoring the feel of having Riston all to myself. “By the time my father was done lecturing me about how wrong it is to draw on someone’s wall I wa
nted to crawl in a corner and hide instead of face you and tell you what I did. But you didn’t yell. In fact, you asked me to tell you all about it--who each person was and so on. I can’t remember much from there though.”
He squeezed me tight. “You pointed to the figure that’s me and told me that you drew me with glasses on because you thought they would help me see better since I would get headaches sometimes. You were right, Karri. Turns out that while my eyes are shifted, my vision is off the charts but in normal form, while it’s still better than an average humans, it’s not near what it is as a wolf. Most other shifters maintain one high level of great vision in both forms. Since mine varies so much, it tends to give me headaches.”
“I love you,” I said, feeling like it needed to be said every second of the rest of my life.
“I love you too, honey.” Riston planted kisses over my stomach and squeezed me again. “Mmm, do you know what else you told me that day, Kars?”
I shook my head.
“You pointed at the figure of the woman and told me that was my wife. I commented on how she was very tall and you said she would have to be.” He chuckled. “I asked why and you started on about how anyone shorter than her would need to stand on a chair to give me hugs or make me pick them up like I used to have to do with you. You also told me that you were sorry that you didn’t have any other color marker to make my wife’s hair blonde because you knew she would be.”
A tiny laugh escaped from me as I listened to him talk.
“When I told you that I hoped my wife would have big beautiful brown eyes, you just giggled and told me not to be silly, not that many girls had hair that was as blonde as you knew my wife’s would be and dark brown eyes.” He gave me a look that told me just how amused with the entire event he was. “You also told me that when you found her, because you were sure you would, that you’d bring her to me as a birthday present.”
Riston stood slowly, sliding his arms around me snuggly as he went. “You did it, Kars. You did what you promised. You brought me my wife on my birthday. Somehow, you managed to time your arrival perfectly, blowing in like a tornado on my birthday. I watched you, when I spotted you in your front yard with Amber, I....”
My jaw dropped. “The day I came here was your birthday?” He nodded. I flicked his chest with my finger and laughed. “And you pulled that going invisible thing and lurked around didn’t you?”
Putting his hand up, Riston did his best not to laugh. “Guilty as charged. I couldn’t help myself. You’re captivating, Kars. I had to be closer, hear your voice, find out anything I could about you. Hilary can sense me when I’m that way. She can do that to Eric too. That’s why she came running out. But the second she saw you dancing with Amber she was captivated too.”
He drew in a deep breath as he caressed my back. “Karri, you have no idea the havoc you caused on my system, on my senses. I couldn’t think straight. I could only stand there staring at you, trying to figure out how my entire body could be reacting to a perfect stranger. The minute you told me who you were I knew then that you’d held true to your word. You brought my wife to me on my birthday--you brought you.”
“Riston,” I sighed, “I brought nothing but drama back into your life.”
He balked. “Excuse me, sweetheart but did you happen to miss the fact that I head a team that guards one of the biggest portals to the underworld around? Everyday is chaos for us. Remember the ice cream man you so artfully scared away threatening commitment?”
I nodded.
“Yeah, that was a typical day, Kars. It’s why we live in a tight cluster, separated from humans. It’s why Eric keeps Amber so close. He’s scared to death that she’ll be attacked because of her gifts and taken to serve as a mate for some evil thing that is anything but her true mate.”
“Riston?”
He kissed the top of my head. “Yeah, Kars, I know there is something brewing between Eric and Amber. It makes sense. Paula wasn’t his true mate. She knew that, so did he. She wasn’t like you, Karri. She was able to have a family without hers. She was also able to love another fully. Most can. That’s why Victoria apologized to you. She knew that it was different for us--we aren’t the only ones like this. I don’t have numbers or anything but I know they exist.”
“Is Amber really Eric’s mate?” I asked, doing my best to follow along.
Riston shrugged. “I honestly don’t know. She might very well be but that’s something that only they can determine. I’m a little more concerned about who my niece’s mate might be and who my daughter’s will be.”
Hearing him talk about his daughter made it all so real. “Why are you worried about her? She’s not even here yet.”
“Karri, I was in the room when you came into the world. I will never forget it. The second that you let out your first cry and I spotted you, everything changed for me. I stopped behaving the way I had been and suddenly became a workaholic. Paula already told you that we figured out why, when you were a little over the age of one.”
I took a tiny step back from him. “Riston, nothing was wrong with the way things worked out for us. Nature keeps everything acceptable and I for one would love knowing that our daughter’s mate is someone we know and trust. Why are you worried about it?”
“What if someone like Seaton or Branson end up being her mate?”
I smiled. “Then I guess their days of living life in the fast track will end.”
“Honey, you’re missing my point.”
Reaching down, I took hold of his cock and began to stroke it slowly. “No, I’m not. You know how you are sexually and you don’t want to think about one of your friends or someone you know, who is as bad as you used to be, being with her when she’s an adult.”
“Exactly.”
“Hypocrite.”
He placed his hand over mine while I continued to stroke him. “Just tell me that we can lock her away from the world and never let any males see her and I’ll be a happy man.”
“What about your son?”
“Oh, well, we can only hope he gets out there and enjoys as many women as he can before he....”
I cupped him tight, almost too tight. “You were saying?”
“Uhh, oh, lock him away from the world too. Yep. Throw away the key.”
I pressed my mouth to his and continued to stroke him. “RJ, make love to me now. Worry about being an overprotective father later.”
“Yes, dear,” he said, smiling as he inserted a finger into my pussy. “You’re so wet and tight. You’re going to have to stop being this way every time we’re together, Kars or you might find yourself pinned under me upwards of six times a day.”
“Promise?”
He growled out and looked upwards. “I’d like to say thanks so whoever made my mate. She may be more insatiable than I am.”
“Riston, you do realize that you’re thanking my parents.”
He cringed. “Damn, now I know how Jack must have felt. How the hell did he not kill me?”
Snickering, I continued to caresses him. “My guess is because he asked the gods to bring you as much happiness as he had. Sorry, buddy but you got stuck with me. Now, make love to me before I flip you on your alpha ass and take advantage of you myself.”
Riston picked me up and laid me on the bed quickly. “I think I can handle that. So, tell me, Kars. Do I have to worry about you going anywhere or turning into anything that scares even me?”
“If you don’t fill me with you very soon you might.” I laughed as he wagged his brows. “But, no. Seger has given me a clean bill of health and Jean-Paul swears that since I married you that my darkness began shrinking away.”
Riston slid his body over mine and settled between my spread legs. “Mmm, please know that I am going to take you every way imaginable, Karri. I can’t get enough of you.”
“You’ll have to learn to share my time with the babies when they come.”
A wicked grin spread over his face. “Then I guess I should work overtime on
making love to you before they get here.”
“And if I’m right and the portal opens again soon, with an ass load of demons in it, you’ll have to share me too.”
He stiffened. “No, I won’t because you won’t be anywhere near the fighting, honey. You, Amber and Hilary will be locked in this house with a protection spell dropped on it. I won’t risk my family.”
He captured my mouth with his and went to slide into me.
A white light filled the room and Riston drew back a bit. A white piece of paper fell from thin air. Riston used his power to grab it to him and sank his cock into me as he drew it near. I grabbed hold of his arms and held tight as he read it.
“What is it?”
He smiled as he kissed the tip of my nose. “This session is going to have to be a quickie, honey.”
I made a pout face. “Mmm, no. I don’t want this to end.”
“Me either, but the idea of Jack walking in on me making love to my wife, uhh, his only daughter isn’t sitting well with me. Your mother was nice enough to send a warning that he’s coming to visit in an hour.”
“He’s what?” I asked, staring at Riston, waiting for him to tell me that he was joking. He didn’t.
He lifted the note again and read out loud. “RJ, you have exactly one hour to finish rocking my daughter’s world before her father shows up and rocks yours. Love, your mother-in-lay, Victoria.”
“See,” Riston said, thrusting into me. “I need to,” he kissed my lips sensually, “rock your world, honey.”
“Oh, you are way past that, RJ. Way, way past it.”
“I love you, Kars.”
“I love you, too, Riston.”
The End
Excerpt from Immortal Ops 2:CRITICAL INTELLIGENCE By Mandy M Roth now available for purchase at NCP!
Chapter One
I-Ops Headquarters, classified location ...
Geoffroi “Roi” Majors tossed his feet onto the conference table and leaned back in his chair. Captain Lukian Vlakhusha, his brother by way of shared lycan DNA, cast him a warning look. The Colonel was due in at any moment and he’d frown upon Roi’s behavior, not that Roi gave a shit.
Wicked Lucidity Page 32
