Amador laughed. “Yes. And powerful. In the womb he marked his mother. The morning before he arrived, Deryn woke to find her wrists burning, buzzing with power that felt so much like yours that she dreamt it was you at first. I watched as the ancient symbols for mother, wife, beloved and warrior appeared as bands around each wrist. They were written from a son to his mother. They were done to give her hope that they would be all right--that she was loved by both he and his father. That they, you and he, would always be there to protect her. I did not know how to tell Deryn that she must have stopped sensing your presence when she was pregnant with Alex due to the drain he put on her system because she’d already come to terms as best she could with you being dead. To give her hope only to find that you never came for her would have been worst thing I could have done to her. Alex disagreed. That’s why he marked her. He wanted her to know you were still out there--still loving her. He was powerful enough to do that and he wasn’t even here yet, Alejandro. Do you think the enemy will care how tiny he is?”
Another growl tore free of him. “No. I will not allow them to harm my family.”
“Then,” Amador tipped his head and let a slow smile spread over his face, “get your ugly ass in there and make sure your wife knows that. She is positive you will leave.”
“Hey, his ass is identical to yours, and ugly is the last thing I’d call them,” Ondrea said, covering her mouth as soon as it popped out.
“Deryn’s awake? How is she?”
Amador nodded. “She is as she will always be so long as you are alive and by her side--she is in perfect health now. As it was meant to be.”
He stilled and eyed his grandfather carefully. “What do you mean, perfect health?”
“You have already felt the way your body naturally mends hers. So long as you are with her, she is as strong as she would have been without the attack in her past, without the strain of having Alex. Had this Vonni not interfered, Deryn would have had no complications during the pregnancy because your body would have known what to do. You would have caressed her, kissed her, made love to her, healing her from the inside out without thought. It is part of who you are, Alejandro. She is part of you. Born for you. Cherish her. If you do not, I will.”
Alejandro didn’t miss the threat at the end. A low growl of ownership rippled from him. “You will not touch her. You can’t anyway. I’m her mate. Not you.”
“Then act like it or I can and will release the part of my scent that is identical to yours, Alejandro. You seem to forget you come from me--my bloodline. You are almost a mirror image of me. That alone is enough to cloud Deryn’s protests. Do you honestly think she would turn me away?”
In an instant he was across the room and slamming Amador against the wall. He held a clawed hand to his throat and let his eyes swirl with shades of green. “You will not take my family from me. I have lost too much time with them as it is. I will not let you sweep in and take the rest of it. She is mine. Alex is mine. I love Deryn more than life itself. Without her, I won’t wander around fucking endless strings of women to get her out of my mind.” He growled. “I will cease to exist. I would die without her. I know that. I realized it over the course of what has been three small weeks to me. Three weeks! That is all it took me to know I can’t be without her. Do you think finding out I have a child born from the woman I can’t be without will diminish that?”
Alejandro didn’t give Amador a chance to answer. He continued shouting, “Hell no! She is my heart. My soul and I can’t even get near Alex yet but already I know I feel the same for him. He is mine. He is part of Deryn. I will not allow some cocky fucking god who I happen to look like, waltz in and take them from me. Family or not, I will kill you over her--over them.”
“Alejandro.”
Turning, he found Deryn standing in the hallway with a woman who could have been her twin had her hair been blonde. The woman offered him a soft smile and he realized who she must be.
“Nava?”
She nodded. “Alejandro, kindly retract those claws. Amador is goading you because he is so very like you that he knows how to get under your skin. What makes you tick. He too is a stubborn fool. That’s why he is working overtime on assuring you do not repeat his mistakes.”
Ondrea let out a tiny squeal. “Nava! You’re here. The two of you never show up here at the same time. I about fell over the day he showed up while you were helping to deliver Alex.”
Nava smiled, as her gaze stayed on Amador. “If you’ll remember, I really did fall over. The man scared at least a hundred years off of me popping in behind me like that. He hadn’t done that in almost....”
“Thirty years,” Amador whispered.
Alejandro stared at his grandfather, wondering what his secrets were. What the pain was that he spent so long trying to erase and what would keep he and Nava separated for so long if they had been as close as Kane and Deryn were.
Kane.
It hit Alejandro then. Amador, like Kane had developed feelings on some level for a woman he couldn’t have. Had Amador’s feelings been even more intense than Kane’s?
It wasn’t a question he was prepared to ask and he was quite certain Amador would avoid the answer so he let it be. Instead, he focused on his wife. She was breathtaking. Her skin had a natural glow to it and her eyes were a blue unlike any other found in nature. The fact that she was wearing another long skirt, this one a soft pink with an even lighter pink cropped tank top was not lost on him.
Nava patted Deryn’s arm and winked at him. “Who would have guessed I had a woman beneath all that ruggedness in my granddaughter? It turns out, having Alex brought about her nurturing, softer side. It made her whole. It made her see her true beauty.”
Emotions swelled in him that he couldn’t control and didn’t even want to. Retracting his claws, he turned his attention to Deryn. He closed the distance between them and gave into what he felt. For the first time in his life, he surrendered to the tears that wanted to come and dropped to his knees before her. Wrapping his arms around her waist, Alejandro kissed the very spot he’d harmed her and held tight to her. “Amorzão.”
Deryn ran her hands through his hair and cradled his head to her body. A choked sob came from her and he knew then that she was crying, too.
“I’m so sorry.”
Sinking down before him, she cupped her face and forced his gaze to her. “Eu te amo.”
As the words fell from her lips, Alejandro felt what control he had left crumbling. Unable to help himself, he pressed his mouth to hers and savored the salty sweet taste of her tears as he thrust his tongue in, kissing his wife with all he had.
The second he felt Deryn’s tongue returning his advances he let go--gave into the carnal need to be even closer to her. He took her in his arms and eased her to the floor, never once breaking their kiss. With his body over hers, his cock pulsed to life, hardening at an alarming rate.
The feel of Deryn’s erect nipples poking through her thin top, scraping his chest was more than he could bear. Instinctively, Alejandro went for Deryn’s skirt, pulling it up, caressing her thigh as he went. Her hands were suddenly between them, unfastening his pants as she bit at his lower lip. He slid his hand up and cupped her ass at the same moment she pushed his jeans down a bit, freeing his cock in process.
Someone smacked his ass cheek and he knew it wasn’t Deryn. Her hands were stroking his cock. He froze, realizing what they were doing--going at each other in a hallway full of people. Not just any people either. No. They were doing it in front of their grandparents.
“Oh, would you look at that ass,” Nava said, laughing softly. “Amador, have you been hiding one that sexy from me all these years?”
Amador chuckled. “Well, Nava, you spent the greater part of our lifetime threatening to kick it, so I thought it best to keep it covered.”
“Hmm, if I could persuade Alejandro to roll over, would I get an accurate idea of what else you’ve been hiding from me?”
Alejandro stiffened
and Deryn burst into laughter. Shocked, he stared down at his wife. “You think this is funny? Your grandmother just smacked my ass and wants me roll over and give her a view of my....”
Deryn pumped his cock and wagged her brows. “And, oh, what a view it is. Use your magik and make them all go away or shut up and fuck me.”
Amador burst into laughter. “Oh good gods, she is certainly your granddaughter, Nava.”
“I was not that bad.”
“Was?” Amador asked. “Am I to believe the legendary lover, Nava, has given up on sex?”
She sighed. “Correct me if I’m wrong, Amador, but whose name means lover? Right. Yours. And if you dare bring up the time I made R’quem late for battle I will kick that amazing ass of yours. You’d had his attention on the battlefield for months. I needed attention, too. I’m sorry I kept him a little longer than I should have.”
“A little? He was two days late for the battle. Two days, Nava.”
She laughed. “Oh, I didn’t realize that. We never left the bedroom so I sort of lost track of time. Sorry. My apologies. You’re right, she’s as bad as me. We should go now and let them do what they need to do.”
“No,” Amador said. “I for one would like to be able to walk in the hall sometime in the next two days. Alejandro can use his magik to move them to their bedroom. I suggest he do it soon before the pressure of having us as an audience affects his performance. That or his son will need his mother’s attention. Either way, he should get a move on.”
Deryn let out a sultry laugh as she stroked his cock, her hand and his shaft were carefully hidden between their bodies. “I don’t think it will be a performance problem. Fulk is with Alex now but he’ll need to be breast fed soon so you better hurry up.”
Alejandro arched a brow. “You better be talking about my son latching onto those breasts and not Rodriquez.”
Deryn’s jaw dropped and Alejandro laughed as he drew his power around them, coating them in it. He moved them quickly to the bedroom and stared down at Deryn. Her blonde hair fell in waves around her and her lips were swollen from their kiss.
“You are the most beautiful woman I have ever laid eyes on, Deryn. I still can’t believe you’re my wife. That I get you for eternity.”
“Mmm, flattery will get you everywhere, Colonel.”
“Right now, I’m hoping it gets me in you.”
She kissed him gently. “Make love to me, Alejandro. My body has ached for you for a year. Make it stop.”
He slid his hand up her skirt and stared at her with wide eyes. “You’re not wearing any panties.”
A sly grin came over her face. “One of the perks of wearing dresses now that you’re home is that it makes for easier access.”
“Home.” He kissed the tip of her nose. “I like the sound of that, Deryn. You have my word that I will never purposely separate us, our family, again. I love you.”
“I love you, too. Now, about that making love to me thing.”
Aligning himself with her wet core, Alejandro plunged in, taking himself to the hilt and groaning out at the feel of sheer ecstasy he felt being in Deryn once more. He wanted to come then and there, give into it but the idea of taking before he gave pained him.
Deryn wrapped her legs around his waist, allowing him to sink even deeper into her silken depths. “Ah, baby, don’t move.”
Ignoring him, she countered his thrust, rubbing her clit against his lower abdomen. Alejandro sensed how close she was to coming and gave into his much needed release. His cock twitched as cum shot forth from it, filling his wife fully.
Deryn cried out and cinched his waist with her powerful legs as her pussy milked him. Tears came to the corners of her eyes. “I thought you were dead. I thought....”
“Shh, I’m here now. And you will be with me wherever I go from here on out. You and Alex.”
She ran her foot up the back of his jean clad leg. “Now that we got a quickie in, would you like to meet your son?”
Alejandro let out a nervous laugh. “What if he doesn’t like me? What if I make him cry? What if he wants Amador instead of...?”
Pressing her lips to his, she silenced him.
What if you just shut up and meet your son.
As Deryn’s thoughts entered his mind, he closed his eyes and kissed her passionately.
I love you.
I love you too, marido.
There was a collective uproar from the other end of the house and a pounding on the bedroom door. Alejandro withdrew from Deryn and went to work righting himself as he ran towards the door.
“Deryn!” the sound of an unfamiliar male voice shouting for his wife left Alejandro’s beast threatening to surface. “Deryn, I will beat the door down to kill that bastard.”
“Ellery, no,” Deryn said, pushing past him. “I’m fine. He didn’t mean it. He didn’t know it was really me.”
Ellery?
“Open the door or so help me I will kick it in.”
Never one to back down from a challenge, Alejandro got to the door just before Deryn did. He pushed her behind him and tossed it open. A six foot one inch man with shoulder length dark blond hair stood there glaring at him.
Deryn weaseled her way around him and put herself directly between him and the blond guy. Alejandro took another look at the man and realized he was wearing a fur loincloth. Tiny scars were scattered about his upper body and a band of Avatarian symbols stretched around one bicep.
“Who the fuck is this? Tarzan?”
Deryn gave him a hard look. “Enough. Alejandro, give me a minute with him. Please?”
“Who the hell is he?”
The look on Deryn’s face told Alejandro that he wouldn’t like the answer. He drew in a deep breath. “Vonni was right, you moved on.”
“What?” Deryn asked, looking as if she’d been slapped. “How dare you bring up a woman’s name who kept you from me for a year? She denied you the chance to be there for your son’s birth and she left me without a mate. And you dare to bring her name up in my house?”
“Go back to whatever rock you crawled out from,” the man said, his accent one Alejandro couldn’t place. “She was ready to move on. She was finally....”
“Ellery, no,” Deryn said, going to the man and touching his cheek. “Don’t do this. You have been with me every step of the way. You know how much I wanted this--how much I wanted Alejandro back in my life. Please be happy for me. For us.”
Ellery cupped Deryn’s face. “The others told me what he did. They told me he was ruthless with you and with as weak as you had been, they said that you could put up little fight. I rushed back. I thought you were dead. Ondrea caught me and told me he healed you. Still, he hurt you. How could he not know you? You told me that you gave him your blood--your scent and that he was your true mate. He should have known it was you.” The man drew in a deep breath and turned. He took off down the hall with a speed that was anything but human.
“Ellery, what is it?” Deryn ran after him. “Stop!”
Alejandro followed close, wanting to gut the bastard for pointing out everything he hated himself for. As they rounded a corner, he found Ellery staring Fulk down. Fulk had Alex cradled to his chest and a clawed hand out.
“Who are you?”
Ellery let out a soft laugh. “I should have let you drink that water.”
“Water?”
The realization of what Ellery was saying sunk in. Alejandro’s stomach cramped as he thought about how he’d laughed off the idea of being jealous over a monkey. “Che?”
Ellery glanced over his shoulder. “What?”
Fulk gasped. “It’s the fucking monkey?”
“Fulk,” Deryn said sternly, pointing to a sleeping Alex. “Not around the baby.”
“Give me the child. Quickly.” Ellery put his arms out.
Taking a step back, Fulk shook his head. “Colonel?”
Amador and Nava appeared in the doorway. Amador glared at Ellery. “They approach. Do what you do. Protect the c
hild.”
“The shape shifting dog will not allow me to,” Ellery said evenly.
“Coyote, you mangy excuse for a monkey.” Fulk held Alex’s tiny body to his large chest. “And I won’t let anything happen to my nephew, umm, I mean Deryn’s son.”
Nava clapped her hands together and brought them to her lips. “This is the one you shared your power with?”
“Yes, grandma. His name is Fulk but just about everyone calls him Rodriquez.”
Nava smiled. “But you, Deryn, you can call him something else now can’t you?”
“Huh?” Fulk asked.
Alejandro growled. “If you even....”
Deryn pushed him in the chest. “Stop it. You’re acting insane. I didn’t realize when I shared my power with Rodriquez that I was sharing a piece of myself--the line of magik I come from, my family with him.”
“What are you saying?”
Nave stepped forward. “She is saying that Fulk’s slip of tongue in referring to himself as Alex’s uncle is more than accurate. In the mystical and Avatarian sense of the word, he is her brother now. Her family. As is he mine since he shares blood and power from me as well. Welcome, Fulk Rodriquez. I am Grandma Nava.”
Fulk beamed. “Bookworm, you adopted me. Ah, I told you that you’re good people. Do I have to put the baby down now? He makes the cutest little noises when he sleeps. And he purrs when you rub his back. And he does this little....”
Laughing, Deryn went to Fulk and eased Alex out of his arms. “I know, Fulk. He’s adorable. I love him, too.” She kissed Alex’s almost bald head and gave him a tight squeeze. “Ellery, give me one second to let Alex meet his father before you take him.”
“They are close. Hurry,” Ellery said, glaring at Alejandro.
“Take him? He’s not taking my son away. I just found him. I’m not letting....”
Deryn handed Alex to Alejandro, not giving him a choice but to take him. The second he looked down into his son’s tiny, tan face, he felt his heart melting. “He’s so little,” he whispered. “Why is he so little?”
“Because he’s just a baby, honey,” she said, stepping in close to him. “He’s only three months old. He doesn’t do much beyond eat, sleep and mess his pants but when he does look at you and smiles you know how very smart he is.”
Shifter Fated Mates: Boxed Set Page 81
