by Mary Winter
“No, it’s not that. Give me a minute.” Laura closed her eyes, searching through her body for the confirmation that Te was right. “Te sensed something in the ritual. I just want to see if he’s right.”
Reid stilled next to her, his suspicions making his breath catch. “Are you?”
Laura held up her hand, silencing him. “Give me a minute.” Her heart hammered. She ignored her sweaty palms. Drawing a deep breath, she worked on centering herself. The lussor newly bonded to Reid leapt to do her bidding. Slowly, she focused on her body, drawing her senses inward until she felt a tiny spark of power deep inside her womb. It fluttered, hardly large enough to be noticed. But it was there.
She was pregnant.
“Oh God,” she breathed. Her gaze rose, colliding with Reid’s. “Te was right.” She reached for him, circling her fingers around his wrist and pulling his palm to her abdomen. “Do you feel that?”
Reid pressed his hand flat against her stomach. She watched him concentrate, his eyes closing so he could focus better. The slash of his cheekbones, his determined chin, his sensuous mouth that she’d kissed not that long ago, something fluttered deep inside and it wasn’t her baby. His lips parted and when he opened his eyes, his surprised gaze met hers. “You’re pregnant?”
Laura nodded, half-afraid to talk.
“That changes everything.”
“It does?” As far as she was concerned, it changed nothing. Even if she weren’t carrying Reid’s child, she’d still love him and she’d still stand up to her father. Now, knowing she was pregnant only made it imperative she get out of Brazos. But not before she told her father. Surely he, in his old fashioned ways, might admit that with the biding ritual completed—or at least she thought it was completed— and pregnant with Reid’s child he couldn’t stand in the way of her happiness.
“Yeah,” Reid sounded reverent. He kept his palm on her stomach, his attention dropping to it before returning to her face. “If I had known, I wouldn’t have let you face your father like that.”
“What would you have done? Wrapped me in cotton and kept me safe?” Though the words sounded harsh, she smiled.
“Yeah, I would have. Got a problem with that?” He moved his hand long enough to pull her against his chest. Leaning back, he tugged her on top of him until they sprawled on the couch. “Have I told you lately that I love you?”
“Not recently enough.” She said, lowering her lips to his. They met with a joining of flesh, hearts, and souls. Reaching up, she threaded her fingers through his sandy hair. His tongue stroked her lower lip, and willingly, she opened for him. Deep inside her lussor flared, reaching out to wrap around him in a magical joining so profound, she had no doubts everyone in the house felt it.
~* * *~
Sitting at the end of the table in the large boardroom her father used for Conclave business, made Laura feel like a naughty child. Her father occupied his usual place at the other end of the table, the long sides taken up by her father’s goons. She pretended as if she didn’t recognize them, especially since she knew at least a few were on her father’s short list of marriageable partners.
No one said anything about last night. With dawn’s light, Laura knew she was free to leave. Sure, Hettie still invited her down for breakfast, though she and Reid had eaten alone. She’d pointed him in the direction of the workout room, figuring he needed to work off some tension. Plus, if her plans went well, they’d be back on the road by mid-afternoon.
Dressed in a dark suit, a perpetual scowl on his face, Xavier Ingress created an imposing figure. “I don’t have to tell you that I’m not pleased with your little stunt last night. Binding yourself to someone—”
Laura held out her hand. “Will you knock it off, father? What’s done is done. Furthermore, if you’d paid any attention to the energy signature last night you’d realize something else. I’m pregnant.” She threw the words onto the table, wanting him to know exactly where she and Reid stood with regards to the Conclave. Being pregnant gave her the power.
Her father visibly flinched. He waved his hand, dismissing the men along each side of the table. “This is between my daughter and me,” he said in a low, tight voice.
Chairs scraped as the men fled the room like wisps of smoke. The door closed behind them with a click.
Xavier stood. He circled the table, coming to one of the chairs next to her. Pulling it out, he sat down. Taking her hand, he cupped it in his. “Is it true?” His eyes shone glassy.
Laura nodded. In her dreams, she never planned that this would be how she’d tell her father that she carried the next generation of Sorcerers. Deep in her heart, she always imagined a Bonding Ceremony with the man she loved, her father standing there by her side. “Yes,” she confirmed. “I’m carrying Reid’s child.”
“And you’re sure it’s his?”
Laura yanked her hands away. “Father!” Shoving her chair away, she rose to her feet. “How can you think that?”
He leaned back, clearly offended by her outburst. “How could I not? I know nothing of your life Laura. You shoved me out of it.”
“Because you wanted to dictate my life.” She drew a deep breath, mindful that her life suddenly held the spark of another. Taking another shaky inhalation, she steadied her nerves. “I’m sorry I’m not the son you wanted. But I’m sick and tired of hashing this out. Reid and I are returning to StarMyst and if you want anything to do with your grandchild’s life then I suggest you let us go back.”
“Your mother would be very proud of you.” Xavier’s soft words hung in the air between them.
Laura stared at her father. Though he tried to be the hard-assed patriarch of the Brazos Conclave, deep inside she saw he was walking wounded. Her mother’s death, something Laura suspected he always blamed her for, weighed heavily on him. That she hadn’t given him a son, but a disobedient daughter, must have made the hurt all the worse. “I hope she would be,” Laura admitted.
For the first time, a soft, sad smile curved Xavier’s lips. “I see a lot of her in you. She was a proud woman who didn’t like to be told what to do either.” He sighed, and suddenly looked aged.
Laura stepped forward. Could it be her father wanted to reconcile? She took another step then another, until she had returned to her chair. Instead of sitting, she knelt down beside him. “Why didn’t you tell me this before?” Her heart ached with the words. Baby, I promise that we’ll be better parents to you than he was to me. “All you did was push me away.”
“I know.” He reached for her then curled his fingers into a fist and stopped. “Even now, I feel that boy’s lussor on you and I know he’s not good enough for you.” Xavier shook his head and pulled away, returning to his position at the head of the table. “Go back to Illinois. I won’t try to bring you back to Brazos. As to who will take over when I’m gone, it won’t be you or your lover. Good bye, Laura.”
Laura stood, realizing that this meeting with her father was over. Squaring her shoulders, she went to the door. “I never wanted your Conclave father. All I ever wanted was your love.” With those parting words, she opened the door and left. The heavy wooden door closed behind her. She leaned against it, realizing that she’d just had an anti-climatic end to her battle with her father. She was free.
She wished she could be happier about it. Thankful she didn’t meet anyone in the halls, she went back to her rooms. They were empty. She stood in the center of the room, looking at the trappings of her childhood. The suite hadn’t been redecorated since she was in high school. Making slow circles around the room, pausing to pick up knickknacks and replace them on the shelf. There was the small porcelain unicorn her father had bought her when she was six, because he told her she was his fairy tale princess. There was a Japanese fish statue one of her father’s guards had bought her in high school. He’d been her first crush. A mishmash of styles and décor and at one time she’d loved it. No longer.
In the bedroom, the large bed drew her. Last night she and Reid had snuggle
d, her in a lace nightgown, he in his boxers. Snuggling had been nice, something she and Reid hadn’t done enough of in her opinion.
She went to the closet and retrieved her suitcase and his bag and started to pack. Once that was done, she’d figure out what she wanted to take with her and what she was willing to leave behind. Because once she drove away from Brazos, she suspected she’d never see this place again.
Five hours later, Laura was ready to tear her hair out. She hadn’t seen any sign of Reid. She’d even gone down to the workout room once she’d finished loading a few things in boxes. Hattie had even brought her the packing materials, dabbing at her eyes when Laura had told her she’d be leaving. The two women had embraced and promised to keep in touch with letters. Hattie didn’t have a computer.
When she didn’t find Reid in the workout room, she wondered where he might be. A part of her feared her father had stayed true to his word and sent him back to Chicago on the first plane. But Hattie told her no cars had left and her young man had been called into a meeting with her father. At the news, Laura’s heart leapt into her throat. She returned to her suite, determined to stay as calm as possible.
That had been an hour ago.
The door opened. Laura jerked awake from where she’d been sitting, half-dozing on the couch thinking about last night when she’d discovered she was pregnant. Her mind swirled in circles. Her indiscretion with Reid’s brother haunted her, and now, she carried Reid’s child. He showed no signs of remorse, no signs that her past actions still hurt him, though she suspected they did. He was a completely remarkable man.
Reid stepped into the living room.
Laura rose from the couch, racing across the living room and throwing herself into his arms. “You’re back!”
He embraced her, drawing her against his body like a starving man. Breathing deeply, he kissed her cheeks, her forehead, her nose, and finally, her lips.
She melded into him, letting her worries dissipate into nothing. Opening her mouth, she invited him deeper. His tongue stroked hers, kindling a fire deep inside. Her pussy tightened, her womb hungering for the thrust of his cock. She arched into him. The ridge of his arousal pressed against her stomach, and he walked her backwards to the couch.
“I need you,” he groaned against her mouth when they parted for air.
Laura didn’t answer with words. Instead, she reached for his shirt, tugging it free from his jeans. She fumbled with his belt, opening it then sliding his jeans down to reveal his briefs. She pulled him toward the couch and they tumbled to the soft cushions together.
His hands slid beneath her shirt, caressing her skin. He unlatched the front catch of her bra and palmed her breast. Her nipple beaded instantly into his hand. The flutters of his fingers across the swell of her breast, tugged at something deep inside. Though she’d been pregnant for less than a week, she swore already her breasts were becoming more sensitive, more tender. He rubbed his thumb around her areole, drawing a shudder from her.
She moved restlessly between him. Parting her legs, she worked to wrap them around her waist, pressing her stockinged heels into the backs of his thighs. The metal teeth of his zipper edged into the front of her linen pants. The tiny bite of pain only fed her pleasure, made her think of the long length of his cock trapped behind the cotton of his briefs. She whimpered, clenching her fingers on his shoulders, sliding them down to the waist of his pants. Yanking up his shirt, she flattened her hands on his back.
His heated skin burned her. She traced the ridges of his muscles, following his spine to his shoulder blades then back down to find every rib and oblique muscle.
Reid reared back. He released her long enough to sweep his shirt over his head. He slid his foot to the floor and quickly shed his pants, shoes, socks, and underwear. Naked, he stood next to the couch.
Laura spun, pulling her knees back so she could straddle his legs. His erect cock hovered inches from her mouth. Leaning forward, she wrapped her lips around the tip and gave him a long, slow lick.
“Laura,” Reid groaned. He reached for her, but her playful hands batted his away. She pinned his arms at his sides, her fingers curling around his wrists. Holding them against his hips, she dipped her head forward to take more of him into her mouth.
He filled her mouth, the head of his shaft bumping against the opening of her throat. Relaxing her muscles, she took him deeper until her nose nestled against his wiry hair and she could lave his entire length with her tongue. Slowly, she released his hands, reaching around to cup his ass. He thrust against her lips, and she welcomed it, spreading her legs as warm heat pooled between her thighs. So hot, so wet, she wanted him fucking her now.
She was way overdressed, yet reluctant to take her hands from him to do anything about it. She caressed the indentations of his hips, loving the sleek valleys his muscles created. She loved all of him, from the salty taste blossoming on her tongue to the husky moans he made as she sucked him.
Laura hollowed her cheeks. She gave him one, long hard suck before she released him enough to shed her own clothes. Shimmying out of them, she grabbed his hands and pulled her back down to him, bare flesh to bare flesh.
“Much better,” she murmured against his collar bone as her legs wound around his hips. Her slick folds welcomed the head of his cock.
Laura moaned at the exquisite slide of flesh against flesh as the head of his shaft found the place high and deep inside her. For long moments, they lay unmoving, joined together. Winding her arms around him, she squeezed him to her, half-afraid if she let go she’d lose this moment forever. She turned her head, her lips colliding with his collarbone, his neck. She peppered him with tiny kisses.
The lussor bound them together now, more than just bodies. Heart and soul, she belonged to him, and as he began to move, she realized that just as she had what she wanted—a chance to return to StarMyst and be with Reid—the prospect scared her too. Drawing a quick breath, she closed her eyes, trying to block the swirling thoughts from her mind.
Reid. She focused on his cock, the way he tilted his hips to find her sweet spot. The hard muscles in the back of his thighs clenched and released with each thrust. Bracing his hands on either side of her on the couch, he loomed above her, a port in the storm that her Conclave had created. She drew his scent into her lungs, savored his skin brushing against hers. And God help her, she couldn’t imagine a life, a single day, without him.
Deep in her womb, the lussor grew. It centered there, a pulsing thing that surged in time with his movements. She directed it around them, wrapping them in a cocoon of power so great she doubted any sorcerer could break it. She hugged it to her, to them, a symbol of their union. Above her, Reid groaned. His pace increased and she opened her eyes to watch the cords in his neck stand out with the effort.
He was absolutely, utterly beautiful and she couldn’t tear her eyes away from the sight. Her nipples tingled where they brushed against his chest. A subtle shift of her hips rubbed her clit against him and her heels inched higher to press into his buttocks. Please. Please. She mentally chanted, willing her body to explode, willing him to come deep inside her.
With a low moan, he dipped his head. Finding her lips, he kissed her, hard and hungry. His tongue plunged into her mouth. She accepted the dual claiming, his cock, his tongue, and with hips and mouth urged him deeper inside her. Tiny contractions, the start of her orgasm, rippled along her sheath, and she clung to him with a whimpering cry.
Reid thrust again. His deep penetration made her come with a ragged cry. Tearing her lips from his, she struggled to draw air into her lungs as her release exploded through her with the force of a freight train. So hard, so fast, her body tightening more and more, until even the tiny shifts of his body became too sensitive, too much to bear.
Her fingers clawed at his back. Her heels dug into him as he stilled deep inside her.
“God, you’re beautiful,” he whispered in her ear. Nuzzling her, he drew the fleshy pad of her ear lobe into his mouth and sucked
.
Laura moaned, lost in a haze of pleasure as he began to move once more. Her pleasure built, and when she came again, Reid was flying with her. His cock twitched, his hot seed splashing her insides with an intimacy that underscored the fact that she already carried his child. He dropped onto her, pressing her into the couch and she relished the contact. Their panting breaths mingled. Sweat cooled on overheated skin. And deep inside her, Reid’s cock stirred to life once more.
“I love you,” Reid said. He touched his forehead to hers and kissed her lightly. “You know that, don’t you?”
Laura nodded, her throat suddenly tight. Taking a deep breath because he hadn’t just said anything she didn’t already feel, she released it and forced her eyes open. “I know.”
“Even with all of this, the binding ritual, your father’s acquiescence, I still want to do the Bonding Ritual. I want to stand in front of my Conclave and announce my love for you. I want us to be tied together in the eyes of our people and in the eyes of a government.” Reid eased his weight from her. “I think we can find a way to make it work.”
Laura exhaled. “One step at a time, okay?” She debated about wriggling from underneath him. With so much naked male flesh pressed against hers, she really couldn’t think straight. Reaching up, she brushed a lock of hair away from his forehead.
Reid paused. He looked down at her for a moment, his face an unreadable mask. He moved to the side, one leg sliding to the floor.
She took the opportunity to pull her legs to the side, swiveling so she sat on the couch. Her nudity didn’t bother her, though she glanced at her clothing lying on the floor. He never made any move to dress, so she didn’t either.
“You okay with everything?” Reid asked. Reaching out, he toyed with strands of her hair.
