by R. E. Butler
“Now that would be cool.”
He kissed her so tenderly that it made tears spring to her eyes again. “Are you upset?”
“No, it’s a wonderful thing we’ve done. We found each other and we’ve started a family. You’re mine.”
“And you’re mine.”
When her stomach rumbled again, he reached for her cell on the nightstand and said, “What does my lovely mate want for breakfast?”
She watched him click the room service app and pull up the breakfast menu. Although she liked to cook for herself, she often used room service for those days when she wasn’t in the mood to make something for herself. “They have these little cinnamon donuts stuffed with sweet cream cheese and a breakfast meat plate that has amazing brown sugar ham on it. And you should probably get something for yourself,” she said, grinning.
“Oh, how generous of you, love,” he said, snorting. After making selections, he put down her phone and then rose from the bed, reaching down and lifting her into his arms. “Let’s clean up. Breakfast will be here in half an hour.”
“And then what?”
“Then we’re going back to bed to celebrate our new family.”
“Don’t you want to call your brothers and sister to let them know?”
He put her down in the bathroom and tugged the fabric curtain aside to turn on the water. “We can tell them tomorrow. I plan to be very busy with my tongue for the next day.”
Her stomach flipped at the thought of his wicked tongue. “I love how your mind works.”
Chapter 6
The following morning, Galen and Serena walked out of her room and took the elevator to the restaurant in the lobby. He didn’t want to leave their little love nest, but he wanted to share the news of her pregnancy with his family. He couldn’t believe that she’d become pregnant so quickly, and the joy he felt at knowing she carried his cub was far more than he expected.
He found his two brothers and their mates, along with Lia, at a table in the restaurant. Gretchen and Aubrey jumped up and hugged Serena. Aubrey smiled at Galen. “I’m so happy you found your truemate, Galen. I was worried you were going to have to leave to find her.”
Gretchen nodded. “Me too. It never occurred to me that the pink and gold of your dreams was Serena’s wings.”
Galen introduced his sweetheart officially to his family. Lia stood and hugged Serena. “Welcome to the family. You already know Caleb, and he’s happy you’re part of the family, too.”
Serena was beaming. Galen was thrilled that his sweetheart finally had the family she’d been missing out on. He was glad she hadn’t gone through with the arranged marriage, even though he was disappointed she’d been exiled for making her own mating choices.
“I have some news,” Galen said as he pulled out Serena’s chair for her.
Alaric kissed Aubrey on the cheek as she sat next to him and said, “Better news than finding your truemate so you’ll stop being a pessimistic ass?”
Galen growled sharply at his oldest brother. “Yes, you jackass.”
Aubrey giggled and Alaric made a face.
“My Serena is pregnant.”
There was a heartbeat of silence, and then the three girls leapt up and raced to Serena. They squealed in happiness, pulling Serena from her seat to huddle together in a tangled jumping-hug. Galen watched with amusement as Serena laughed and hugged them back, their excited chatter reaching a fevered pitch.
His brothers stood and came to him, clapping their hands on his back and congratulating him.
“Your cub will be the start of the next generation of our people,” Alaric said. “I’m happy for you.”
“Me too,” Slade said. “You deserve all the happiness in the world, brother.”
Galen grinned at his brothers. “She’s amazing.”
“Well, she’d have to be to put up with you,” Alaric said.
The group returned to their seats, and Galen slid an arm around his mate. A waitress appeared and took their orders.
Aubrey said, “Are you going to move to the fourteenth floor? I like the idea of our family all being on the same floor. Plus, the rooms are much bigger and with a baby on the way, you’ll need the space.”
Serena nodded. “Galen mentioned that Gretchen had moved there with Slade. It would be nice to have more room and a new place to live.”
Gretchen slid a keycard across the table. “This is coded to let you into the empty rooms. Aubrey’s room is the last on the left and ours is next to them. All the rooms are the same – three bedrooms and three bathrooms, plus a full kitchen and living room. It depends on what view you like best – the city or the river.”
“Probably the river, but we’ll see which suite tickles our fancy,” Serena said.
Lia shook her head with a smile. “I can’t believe that our family is complete now. It took Alaric a year to find Aubrey, but the rest of us have found our mates within a week.”
“It would have been sooner if I hadn’t been out of town,” Serena said with a grimace.
Galen kissed her cheek. “Your timing was perfect.”
When their meals arrived, Lia said goodbye. Because Caleb was a vampire, she was now sleeping during the day and up at night. After a leisurely breakfast, he and Serena went to the fourteenth floor to look at the suites while the rest of his family went to work. Aubrey was the hotel manager, and Gretchen was her assistant. Alaric was the head of hotel security, and Slade worked the security desk. When Galen returned to work, he would be working security with his brothers. Keeping Serena safe was his number-one priority, and there was no better place than the security desk in the lobby, across from her flower shop.
They exited the elevator. “Do you want to see the city or the river?”
“I think the river. The city lights might be bothersome at night, and I love to sleep with the windows open.”
He snorted as she opened the first door on the left. “As if you’re going to be sleeping that much.”
She gave him a heart-stopping smile. “I love your sexy threats.”
They toured the suite, but Galen wasn’t interested in being so close to the elevator. Like his brothers, he wanted to be close to the stairwell in case of an emergency, but he was thankful his sweetheart could simply fly off the balcony if the need arose.
They systematically checked the rooms on the left side of the hallway that faced the Belle River. Each suite had similar furniture but the décor varied. Some of the rooms were very masculine and some more feminine. In the suite next to Slade and Gretchen’s, they found a perfect mixture of the two. The master bedroom and bath were across the living room from the two spare bedrooms. As she walked across the plush, tan carpeting to check out the spares, Galen grabbed her around the waist and flopped onto the suede sofa.
“I’m happy,” he said, purring.
“Oh yeah?” She chuckled as he twisted their positions until she was under him and he was hovering over her.
“My truemate is carrying my cub, and we’ve got a great place to live. You do want this one, right? I saw the look in your eyes when you saw the Jacuzzi tub in the master bath.”
She stroked her fingers up his throat and smiled. “I like it.”
“Then let’s christen the rooms.”
“You have the best ideas.”
* * * * *
The following night, Jocelyn shoved the register closed as a customer turned away with a large bouquet of irises. “The flowers you made are so beautiful. They’re flying off the shelves.”
Serena smiled as she fluffed some baby’s breath surrounding large yellow roses. “They’re very special.”
Jocelyn, a sweet human who had been working for Serena for six months, yawned and stretched. “Well, feel free to produce plenty more special flowers, Serena. They’re amazing.”
Serena stifled a giggle, thinking about the cause of the flower explosion. She was sure that Galen would be up for some more workshop nookie anytime she suggested it. The idea made her smil
e, and she lifted her cell from her back pocket and opened a text.
I’m thinking about flowers, she typed.
After a moment, he texted back. Are you, love? Sexy flowers?
Or, the cause for sexy flowers. Like you and me on the counter.
I love how you think. I’ll be over as soon as your store is closed for the night. Feel free to be naked and waiting.
I guess you’ll have to wait and see.
As the night passed quickly, Serena waited anxiously for her truemate. She hadn’t expected to feel so connected to Galen so quickly, but she couldn’t deny that not only was she wildly attracted to him physically, he was a really wonderful man and cared deeply for her.
Jocelyn said goodnight and left Serena alone in the shop. Serena moved a vase of asters from one refrigerated case into another. The pretty flowers made her miss her sister.
“What is it sweet love?” Galen asked as he wrapped his arms around her from behind. “You look so sad just now.”
“Asters are Alanah’s favorite flower. I wish I could see her or that I could’ve helped in some way.”
She turned in Galen’s arms and rested her head on his chest. He held her close and laid his head on top of hers. “I know you’re sad for your sister, but you have to let her make her own choices. It’s unfair of your parents to care so much about their position within the fae commune that they allowed her to be forced into an arranged marriage with a man she doesn’t love. She could leave, and maybe she should. Or maybe marrying that guy will be the best thing to ever happen to her.”
She lifted her head and smiled up at him. “Lia told me that you were very pessimistic, once upon a time.”
He wiggled his brows. “Once upon a time, I was lonely as hell and couldn’t help but feel like I’d never find my truemate. Meeting you was the single greatest event in my life.”
“And our cub?”
“The second greatest.”
“No more pessimist?”
“I don’t see a reason to be a downer when things are amazing. And, even if things did get bad, we have each other and that’s enough for me to be happy and optimistic for the future.”
Her stomach flipped as his sweet smile slowly slid into a sly one. “Close the security gate, my sexy tiger,” she whispered.
“Go get naked. I’m in the mood for some cream.” He urged her toward the workshop, and she hurried inside, tugging off her clothes once she was out of view of the lobby.
“Come and get it,” she said as she hopped up onto the counter. Galen stalked into the room, kicking the door shut and stripping off his shirt.
She spread her legs and leaned back on one arm, crooking her finger at him.
“Oh, love, I’m so glad you’re mine.”
“I’m glad you’re mine, too. Do me a favor?”
He threw his jeans to the side and moved swiftly between her legs. Gripping behind her knees, he purred. “Anything.”
She pointed to her pussy and said, “Put your face here for about an hour.”
“Just an hour?”
“For starters,” she said, grinning.
Chapter 7
Galen took a drink from his coffee mug while his mate snoozed on his chest. She made the best blanket, draped over him and smelling of sex and sweet dreams. He wished he could help her sister, but the entire situation was out of their hands. He just hoped that Alanah would find peace with the choices she made and that Serena wouldn’t continue to feel guilty over her own choices.
The morning stretched ahead of them. After a night of making love in the workshop, and several hours putting the resulting explosion of flowers into arrangements and putting them for sale in the shop, they made love a few more times and then passed out. Galen wasn’t much of a late sleeper, so he’d gotten up and made coffee and snuggled back in bed with his mate.
As he listened to Serena breathe deeply in sleep, he thought about the future. Two months from now, his sister Lia would be marrying the master vampire of the city and her truemate, Caleb. Alaric and Slade were discussing asking their truemates to marry them as well and having a joint wedding ceremony. Galen had wanted to ask Serena to marry him from the moment they met, but he hadn’t wanted to move too swiftly.
Tonight was a great night, though, to begin the next chapter of their lives. He lifted his tablet from the nightstand and opened the browser to begin searching for local jewelry stores. As he stared at the images of engagement rings, a plan formed in his mind that began with asking her marry him and ended with him feasting on her sweet cream and her screaming his name.
* * * * *
Galen paid for the ring and waited while Slade and Alaric paid for theirs. When he had told them his plans to ask Serena to marry him, they’d immediately wanted to tag along to the jewelry store.
“Two weeks ago we were getting ready for a fight. Now we’re going to ask our truemates to marry us,” he said thoughtfully.
Slade gripped the velvet box holding Gretchen’s ring and said, “I can’t believe how things came together for us all. Gretchen is perfect for me. I don’t know what I’d do without her in my life.”
Alaric turned from the counter and said, “Let’s go ask our girls to make us the happiest men on the planet.”
“And the luckiest,” Galen added.
The three brothers exited the jewelry store and got into the waiting SUV. Serena, Gretchen, and Aubrey were working at the hotel. Galen and his brothers had concocted a story relating to picking up equipment for the security team, so on the way to the hotel, they stopped at an electronics supply store and purchased new walkie-talkies for the guards.
After making arrangements in his and Serena’s room for a special surprise, Galen walked into the flower shop in the lobby and found his sweetheart talking to a customer about some of the arrangements. He couldn’t help the smile that spread across his face as he looked at the flowers, knowing they came about because he and Serena had been making a lot of noise in the workshop the night before.
Serena glanced at him and winked, and his whole body warmed, his cat stretching and wanting to touch her. She finished the sale and the customer walked out. Then she moved swiftly to his arms, and hugged him. His cat purred as Galen inhaled her sweet scent.
“How’s my best girl?”
“Better, now that you’re here.”
“I’ve got a surprise for you, love. Let Jocelyn close up tonight.”
“A naked surprise?” she whispered, her brows wiggling as her eyes danced.
“You’ll just have to wait and see,” he said slyly.
It took only a moment for her to close up the workshop and say goodbye to Jocelyn, and then they were heading to their suite.
She leaned against him, her head resting on his chest, as the elevator climbed to the fourteenth floor. He led the way to their room and stopped, drawing a length of black silk from his pocket.
She eyed it. “What’s that for?”
“So you’re really surprised.”
“You could just ask me to keep my eyes closed.”
“Where’s the fun in that?”
She hummed in her throat as he tied the silk around her head, making sure she couldn’t see. Unlocking the door with the thumbprint pad, he ushered her inside. He stopped her at the edge of the living room. Previously, he’d moved the furniture out of the way so the center of the room was empty. On the floor were flower seeds that he’d carefully arranged to spell out a message.
He kept his hand on her shoulder and said, “There are seeds on the floor. I want you to grow them.”
“I need my wings, hold on.”
He felt her skin hum as her power flowed and her wings extended.
“Whenever you’re ready love,” he said.
Her wings fluttered slightly and she lifted her hands and moved them as if sensing where the seeds were and then making them grow. He’d watched her grow seeds several times since the night they met, but he was still in awe of her power. She could take something the s
ize of a pinhead and turn it into a gorgeous flower within seconds. The seeds trembled and then shoots popped out and grew.
“You’re so amazing,” he said, kissing her ear.
Her wings fluttered faster, and he watched the flowers reach their full potential. The entire center of the room, a ten by ten square, was filled with flowers. Pastel carnations, lilies, and asters made up a background in which bright yellow daisies spelled out Marry Me. A border of yellow roses enclosed the square and added a fragrant scent to the room.
“I’d like to ask you a question, love,” he said, as he untied the blindfold.
“Oh?”
He removed the scarf, and she gasped. Dropping to one knee next to the beautiful garden she’d made, he lifted the ring from his pocket and said, “I love you, Serena. I love waking up to your smile, your silly sense of humor, your beauty inside and out, and I even love how you keep stealing my morning donuts from the security guard station.”
She giggled and tears slipped over her cheeks.
“You’re my truemate, but you’re also the center of my universe and the only woman I’ve ever loved. Be mine, Serena. Love me, marry me, and make me the luckiest man on the planet.”
“I love you, too, Galen. And yes, I’ll marry you!”
He slid the ring on her finger and stood as she jumped into his arms with a laugh and kissed him. “I’ll never stop stealing your donuts.”
“I would never ask you to. How do you like my surprise?”
“It’s so beautiful. Thank you for doing something special.” She moved to the garden, plucking one flower from each and making a small bouquet. She set them in a vase on the kitchen counter and then stood before the garden again, lifting her hands as her wings fluttered. The flowers slowly disappeared as if they were being sucked back into the seeds.
“Now we just have to clean the seeds up so I can use them in the shop.”
