Total pages in book: 23
Estimated words: 21582 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 108(@200wpm)___ 86(@250wpm)___ 72(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 21582 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 108(@200wpm)___ 86(@250wpm)___ 72(@300wpm)
Athan took a deep breath, and I thought I’d gotten through to him until he turned his head, and I saw the wildness in his eyes was still there. Only now it was mixed with the desire I recognized all too well.
I immediately removed my hand, and he was gone an instant later.
Thana’s jaw had dropped, and she looked shell-shocked as she stared after her friend and brother.
“Shouldn’t we—?”
I shook my head.
“I need to help—”
Gathering her in my arms, I shook my head again before giving her a deep kiss. “She’s his consort,” I explained after our lips separated. “Anyone who tries to get involved is likely to end up with a stake in their heart. It won’t kill us, but it hurts like a son of a bitch.”
Thana looked after her friend one more time, then sighed and let me tuck her into my side once more.
Stephan came bounding up then and stole my girl, swinging her around as he sang, “Happy Birthday.” Thana threw her head back and laughed while Stephan grinned at my low growl.
He put her on her feet, and I tugged her back into my arms, ready for this shit to be over with so I could get her alone. Her eyes flared with desire as she felt my thoughts, and I gave her a wicked, completely unrepentant smile.
The joke was on me because it was several hours before the party began to die down.
I’d given Thana her presents this morning over breakfast in bed, and she was waiting to open her gifts from everyone else tomorrow. For tonight, I was going to dance with her a little longer, then take her back to our bedroom and give her additional birthday orgasms.
“Happy Birthday, my love,” I whispered as I twirled her around and back into my arms. “This has been the most wonderful year of my life.”
“I think we can top it.” She beamed up at me with a gorgeous smile. I was often stunned speechless by her beauty, but tonight she had a glow that seemed to be coming from inside her. “You know, it’s pretty darn hard to keep a secret from your husband when you share a mind,” she teased.
I frowned and narrowed my eyes. “You shouldn’t be keeping secrets from your man, baby.”
Thana giggled, and her smile got wider. “I have a birthday present for you.”
I raised an eyebrow at her cat that ate the canary expression. It was adorable. “It’s not my birthday.”
Thana’s eyes sparkled, and she bounced a shoulder. “It’s really for both of us.”
She stared up into my eyes, and her mind opened completely. My knees went weak as the picture of a sonogram swam before my eyes.
“You’re pregnant?”
She stuck one of her hands in the folds of her skirt, and it reappeared, clutching a piece of paper. It trembled as she lifted her hand up. I took the picture, and a smile began to split my face.
“You’re pregnant?” I shouted, my smile so wide it actually hurt my face.
Thana glanced around and giggled. “Shhhh.”
I straightened and swung Thana around in a circle, the sound of her laughter breathing life into me. “WE’RE PREGNANT!”
Once we’d made a full rotation, I gently set her over my shoulder and shouted one more time, “Party is over! Get out!”
Then I stalked out of the ballroom and down the candlelit hallway. “That was so rude!” Thana said, hitting me on the derriere.
I growled, “Keep it up, wife, and I’m going to remind you what a spanking really feels like.”
Thana gasped, and I groaned when I felt her desire through our connection. When we reached the bedroom, I slid her halfway down my body and cupped her bottom to hold her so that her legs went around my waist. “Are you happy?” I asked softly.
“You can’t feel it?”
I shook my head. “I want you to tell me.”
Thana kissed one corner of my mouth. “So.” She kissed the other side. “Very.” Her lips brushed my right eye. “Very.” Then the left eye. “Happy.”
When her mouth gently met mine, I lost it and kissed her deeply. It was carnal and full of love wrapped in desperate passion.
Hours later, as we lay in bed, naked and sated, she cuddled into me and sighed. “I love you.”
I tightened my arms around her and kissed the top of her head. “I love you, too. Forever.”
Epilogue
Thana
“Ronan, you come back here right this instant!” I yelled at the top of my lungs, uncertain where my five-year-old had disappeared to.
Something Kieran had neglected to warn me about when it came to raising daywalker children was how young some of them were when they gained the ability to teleport. Our son was only three when he shocked the heck out of me by pulling a disappearing act while I was in the middle of explaining why he couldn’t have another cookie. He’d popped up in front of me again about a minute later—with crumbs on his shirt, a smudge of chocolate on his chin, and an innocent smile. I’d asked Kieran to have a stern talk with him afterward, where he’d told our son that his gift should only be used in the case of an emergency. What he hadn’t taken into consideration was that Ronan’s definition of a crisis covered a whole lot more scenarios than ours did.