Laura's Secret (25 page)

When her hair was smooth and flowing over the bed, he got up and found her favorite moisturizer. Unwrapping one leg, he began massaging it in to her skin. “Most of the lotions and potions women use, the scents are too strong. I love the light lemony scent with a hint of lavender you use. I always want to be near you and breathe you in. Of course, your natural musk is my favorite of all. Lapping up your cream, bringing you pleasure while I listen for those little sounds you make. Won’t you wake up so I can make love to you?” he asked again.

For the next twenty minutes he continued rubbing the moisturizer into her skin until she was pink and glowing with health. Then he gently moved her under the blankets and got in next to her, pulling her into his body to share his heat. All the while talking to her, trying to get her to respond and wake up.

He kept running his hands over her body and noticed her nipples had tightened into tight buds. Her body at least was responding to him and he took it as a positive sign. Still talking to her, he began to deliberately arouse her, moving his hand down her body to the nest of curls at the junction of her thighs.

“Come back to me, Laura, be with me. Don’t you want to tell me about the babies you’re carrying? When did you find out?” he asked her as he strummed her clit. A small orgasm rolled through her and her eyes popped open. Turning her head, she looked at him and then around their bedroom.

“Was it all a dream? A horrible dream?” she whispered.

“No, my love, it was all real. I’m sorry I wasn’t here to protect you. I’ll never leave you again,” he swore as she started to cry. Gathering her into his arms he let her cry. He knew she needed the release of tears to wash away the ugliness. He held her and whispered in her ear how much he loved her and would cherish her and their children.

Finally the sobs lessened and with hiccupping breaths, Laura reached over to the nightstand for a tissue to blow her nose. “I don’t want to talk about those men right now. Tomorrow we can go over everything that happened. I want to know how you found out about the babies. I was planning a whole romantic dinner for us tonight so I could tell you then,” she said with a voice that still wavered a little.

“I’m sorry if your surprise was spoiled. Incanta told me about the babies. Are you healthy enough to carry twins? I don’t want you to get sick,” he said. He was so happy she was talking and awake, he leaned over to give her a kiss before she could respond.

“I’m fine. I’ll be completely healed and walking well before I’m even showing,” she told him when he let her come up for air.

“I need to make love to you,” he said moving over her. “I’m sorry, you scared me, I can’t wait, I have to have you now.”

“Yes, now,” she said, opening her legs and wrapping them around his hips as he surged into her. She was still wet from her earlier orgasm but she felt each exquisite inch of him as he moved in and out.

Leaning over, he set his teeth to the sensitive line of muscle connecting neck to shoulder and lightly bit and suckled, sending her up another peak. “Yes, come for me, again!” he said, reaching down to pluck at her clit. He wanted her to have pleasure upon pleasure, her spasms stroking and squeezing his cock as he continued to thrust in and out.

No longer able to speak because her body had aroused so fast, she tossed her head back and forth on the pillow and moaned even as her nails scored his back when she pulled him closer to her.

He kept her off balance by changing his speed. Fast shallow thrusts followed by a long deep one fusing their hips together. He knew every spot on her body to stroke to increase her sensation. Running a nail along the line of her previous paralysis sent her over another peak.

He relished the sting of the sweat that ran into his eyes, it was another reminder of the strength of their passion. At last he drove her up and over one final peak and allowed himself to follow her, his hips pounding and jerking as he spilled his seed deep into her womb. Collapsing beside her, he pulled her back into his arms, kissing her temple as they both regained their breath.

The stress of the day and the relief of being in each other’s arms caught up to them and they both slipped into sleep.

Two hours later a light beeping noise woke them up.

“Maggie, why are you calling?” asked Laura.

“A pregnant mother needs nourishment. There is a meal waiting for you and your mate in the sunroom. Lola says to tell you it is romantic. She has lit candles and instructed me on what music to play during the meal. She explained this would help you to feel better. My research concurs with her suggestion about a relaxing meal, I am still researching the need for burning pillars of wax. Your romantic meal will be ready in fifteen minutes,” Maggie told them before going silent.

“Um, Alex, how come Maggie is so concerned about my health?” Laura asked from where she was snuggled in his arms.

Alex’s cheeks turned ruddy in color. “I may have given her permission to monitor you during your pregnancy?” he mumbled, causing Laura to giggle.

“I wasn’t paying too much attention at the time. I was more concerned with caring for my mate,” he said.

The two of them kissed a little longer and then Alex got out of bed and threw on his flannel lounge pants. Wrapping a robe around Laura, he carried her up to the sunroom. Her main wheelchair was still there from earlier in the day. Seeing it brought back everything that had happened earlier.

Alex felt her stiffen up in his arms. “Don’t think about it. Remember, we’re not going to discuss it until tomorrow. Tonight is all about our celebrating the babies,” he said.

Laura looked up into his face, “I love you, Alex.”

He bent his head even as he lifted her close in his arms to kiss her. “I love you too, you are my life, never forget that.”

When he put her down in one of the regular chairs at the table, instead of her wheelchair, Laura took a good look around the room. The lights had been dimmed and the surrounding trees filled with fairy lights. There were also lighted candles on the table. Next to the table was a warming tray with covered dishes on it. Alex served them both and they spent the next hour enjoying their meal and talking. For this meal they didn’t discuss shifter politics, potential uses for the underground facility, the thirteen magical artifacts or anything else except for their love for each other and plans for their upcoming family.

It wasn’t until the end of the meal that Alex dropped his conversation bomb. “Now that there are babies coming, remind me to call my mother. She’s been nagging me for grandchildren for years. She’ll probably want to come visit right away to make sure you’re taking care of yourself,” he said casually.

Laura sputtered her wine, “Your mother? What if she doesn’t like me?”

“My mother will love you. And since you’re giving her two grandchildren in one shot, she’ll probably kiss your feet. You have nothing to worry about. Now how about some dessert?” he asked, changing the subject.

“I don’t see anything on the cart for dessert,” she said.

“That’s because I’m the one who’s going to be eating it…in our bed,” he said, standing up to come around the corner of the table to pick her up.

“Well, after you have your dessert, I insist on having some of my own,” she said.

They were on their way out when Maggie interrupted, “Laura, how many estimated calories are in your dessert. I will need to add them to the nutritional database I’m building to monitor your health.”

“I’ll tell you tomorrow, Maggie, good night,” Laura said with a giggle.

*****

The time flew by. After the
incident
on the road, Alex and Marshall increased security around the house and Laura was assigned a personal guard of twelve shifters that worked in groups of four for eight-hour shifts. She had two guards within sight of her at all times, which she hated. For the time being she would let Alex get away with it because he was still getting over the
incident
as everyone had taken to referring to it. And she finally got him to move the guards from standing outside their bedroom door at night when she threatened to cut off sex. There was no way she was going to be moaning and screaming out his name with them on the other side of the door!

The one humorous item attached to the incident happened the next morning. Frieda had Maggie tape a news item from the night before. Some hikers had reported what looked like a dragon flying through the early evening sky. They were being checked over at the local hospital for drugs or poisons.

In a few months she wouldn’t be able to shift to defend herself anyway, so she reluctantly conceded the guards were probably a good idea and stopped complaining to Alex about them all the time. However, she had no intention of letting Alex know she was giving in. The man would become obsessive and his alpha ego did not need any more stroking!

One good thing she learned was how to change a human into a shifter. Jason, the guard who had all his magic stolen from the Shayatin sorcerer, had lost his ability to shift. With Frieda’s help, she was able to give him the gift of shifting again, reinstalling his magic so to speak. She had absorbed all the magic the sorcerer had stolen throughout his life. It turned out that Jason was the wolf mated to her physical therapist, JoAnne. And after discussing it together, not only did Jason regain his shifting abilities, but JoAnne was granted shifting magic as well.

She and Jason had been mated for three years and she had been considered a pack member. Now she was able to fully participate in all the pack activities. Though she confessed she didn’t care for chasing down and killing things. The chasing was fun, it was the killing part that bothered her. Jason was giving her lessons but she would always be an omega wolf. Her healing abilities were strengthened when she was given the gift of shifter magic.

So Laura benefitted in return. She was walking now with the help of a cane and hoped to be able to lose even that small amount of assistance soon. She and Alex took slow walks in the woods every day, Maggie had prescribed exercise as being good for the babies. For now Laura was allowing her to be a little autocratic. If it got to be too much, she would just override the programming.

She understood all their fussing was how they showed her they loved her.

Epilogue

It was the second week in July, Laura and Alex were hosting a barbeque. The porch was filled with about twenty shifters from the local packs as well as a few of the shifters they had invited to live in the underground facility.

Laura had gotten bored with calling it the “underground facility” and started calling it Moleville, because of all the tunnels. Lola’s brother, Lars, and sister, Lila, had arrived and brought some Barbegazi with him. The Barbegazi were snow dwellers and normally didn’t come out of their tunnels until after the temps dropped below freezing, usually sleeping during the warmer seasons, kind of like a reverse hibernation. They also preferred the higher elevations, like the Yeti. However, when they heard Frieda had come to the mountain, a small family had decided to emigrate, joining Lars and Lila on the journey over.

They quickly made themselves at home in Moleville and were currently taking care of any tunneling needed. Marshall immediately hired them to work at the ski resort during the winter. They could travel at high speeds over the snow and even had the ability to ride an avalanche. They would be wonderful additions to the ski patrol.

The barbeque was going well, Alex’s parents had arrived the previous week. She loved how his mom called him Sasha, which was the traditional Russian nickname for men named Alexander. She had started calling him Sasha too, she felt it made her one of the family and Alex didn’t seem to mind. He loved hearing her say his name, especially in the throes of passion. She remembered when she had first met Bella, Alex’s mom.

“Alex, how come you don’t take better care of your mate? She’s limping! Come to me, katushka, I will take care of you,” she said. As a Kodiak bear shifter she was also a big woman, standing six feet tall in her stocking feet. She wrapped Laura up in her arms and squeezed her tight. Now she knew where the expression ‘bear hug’ came from!

“You are too skinny. I will make pelmeni, Russian dumplings, you have to take care of your babies, katushka!” she had scolded. When Laura had explained about her wheelchair and learning to walk again, she got more hugs and kisses. It was wonderful!

Today it was hot and called for casual. For the first time in her life Laura felt she had legs worthy of showing off. Her muscle tone was well defined and her legs no longer looked skeletal, though they were still very slim. She wore cuffed shorts in poppy red and a white shirt with a sequined American flag on the front. Mara had given it to her as a gift for the 4
^th
of July party they’d had. With blue flip-flops on her feet, she was sitting on Alex’s lap and feeding him potato salad.

“I’m going to go inside and check to see if Lola made some more lemonade. It’s nearly as popular as the beer,” she said, giving her mate a quick kiss as she got up.

Alex enjoyed the view as she walked away. While she wasn’t showing, and wouldn’t be for another couple of months, he was already looking forward to seeing her waddle around, her belly round with their cubs. He was enjoying the pleasant daydream when the perimeter guards alerted them to a strange vehicle coming up the road.

Since Laura’s house was the only one on the road, they had posted it as private property where it met the highway. There were always shifters roaming the nearby woods.

Jason, one of Laura’s guards, stood up from his chair and picked up his walkie-talkie. “What’s the make and model of the car? We’ll run the plates,” he asked.

“There are several males in the vehicle it has a rental sticker in the window. They look to be human. I think Alpha Laura’s family has arrived,” said the guard at the road. He set up a howl and the shifters in the woods went on alert and started converging on the road and more specifically, the path up to the house. They were still unseen by human eyes, and alert for any possible danger.