CONCEPTION (The Others) (32 page)

Her “Oh” was a soft exclamation.

Her muscles rippled again, squeezing him and stretching her.
Seed poured from his body in a burning rush. Her eyes flew wide with panic and
pleasure as her womb stretched, putting pressure on the nerves connected to her
clitoris.

He kissed the top of her head. “Let the pleasure come.”

“I can’t take any more.” The last word ended in a gasp.

“Your climax will signal the end.”

“Pull out.”

“I cannot without damaging you.”

“Oh God.” The scared little cry came as her body worked his
penis. He held her close, keeping her as still as possible, not sure himself
how much more she could take. She was not Chosen. He was taking it on faith
that this would not harm her.

He slid his hand between them. Her stomach bulged with what
she had already taken. She struggled as he pressed, nature fighting for what it
wanted, wiggling her hips, jostling him within, drawing more semen from his
balls long past when he thought he should be empty.

The urgency increased between them. Eden panted and moaned,
her nails digging into his chest as she grasped his cock with strong muscles,
her scent, her need, demanding he satisfy her.

He was helpless to do anything but give her what she needed.
The tension in his balls spread outward, hardening his muscles into a solid
knot of desire as he battled to keep the flow light, trying not to overwhelm
her. The next clench of her womb tore the last of his control from his grasp,
squeezing him so hard and long that the dam broke, and he arched beneath her,
mindless with the primitive need to answer her call, his body bucking against
her as she screamed and climaxed above him, milking him to the last drop, eager
for everything he could give.

She fell against him as he bucked one last time. His cock
vainly trying to give her another drop, another piece of himself. She groaned
and braced her hands on his chest, as if to pull away. He grasped her thigh
before she could do herself damage. He caught her hand in his and brought it to
her stomach. “You did well.”

She knelt stiffly above him. His cock still firmly embedded
in her womb, too big to withdraw, the echoes of her climax rippling through
them both.

He felt the distress shudder through her. “What is it?”

“Your hand.” She bit her lip and closed her eyes before
admitting. “It’s too much.”

He was not surprised. She had taken more than he would have
expected. He gentled his touch but could not resist curving his fingers on the convex
curve of her stomach. A seeded woman was a thing of beauty. “You are
beautiful.”

She looked down, shock in her eyes and voice as she saw the
small distension caused by their union. “I’m a bloated cow.”

“Any Chosen man who saw you now would be instantly in rut.”
She cast him a glance that indicated he’d lost his mind.

“There is something beyond beautiful in a seeded woman to
the point that many of our women wear clothes to imitate the state.”

“You have got to be kidding me.”

He stretched his fingers wide and then pulled them back,
soothing her discomfort as best he could. “It is much the same as the padded
bra you wore when we first met.”

She blushed. He traced the heat as it raced over her skin,
up her chest and to her neck where the bruise from his bite remained. “I would
show you off now.”

“I don’t think so.”

He laughed, biting back a moan as his cock softened and
slipped a little. “I do not know of another woman as greedy for her mate’s
seed. I am feeling quite proud.”

She shifted.

“Unless it is your intent to mate again, you would do well
to sit still and allow my cock to soften.”

“You could do that again?”

“I am Chosen.” He pushed her hair off her shoulder, tracing
her collarbone to her breastbone, following it down to the softness of her
midriff, irresistibly drawn to the bulge of her stomach. “I can do that as
often as you require.” Desire and heat flared anew. He hooked his finger in the
joining ring that glistened with her pleasure and lifted his gaze to hers. “It
is no hardship.”

The tiny answering clench of her pussy froze her stiff.
“Please, Deuce.”

He shook his head at her ignorance. “I was but teasing,
mate. I cannot seed you in succession.” Though he wished he could. He would
love to see her abdomen distended with his come, love to parade her past the
Others with a belly so round she would have to waddle as Chosen had in days of
old, her stomach marking her so much his that none would dare to trespass.

“You mentioned other women.”

“Yes.”

“Where are they?”

“With their mates.”

“They’re not here?”

“No.”

“Their husbands don’t want to risk them being hurt by the
Coalition, do they?”

“Our females cannot be risked.”

“That makes sense.”

He still felt her hurt and despair. She was a social woman.
A woman who took pleasure in people and came alive at parties. To be viewed as
a pariah, even for the most logical of reasons would bother her. “It will not
always be like this, Edie.”

“I know.” She stroked his chest. “It’s not your fault.”

She forgave him too easily. “It is, but I will correct it.”

She didn’t say anything, just lay above him, for once quiet,
her weight off to one side to accommodate his possession. There was silence
while he stroked her back. Her ribs rose and fell under his hand. Peace reigned
for a few minutes, then there was a hitch in her breathing and a transition. He
waited for the question he could feel building.

“How will you get it out?”

“You will relax and bear down, and I will gently withdraw.”

The way her nails cut into his arms let him know relaxing wouldn’t
necessarily be accomplished easily. She was very nervous about this. He was
soft enough to pull out now, had been for several minutes, but he liked being
joined with her. “We could do it now.”

“It’s going to hurt, isn’t it?”

“You will not mind.”

He cupped his hand low on her stomach, shaking his head as
her panic began. He adjusted her breathing and adrenaline levels before
ordering her to bear down. She did, yet managed to clench at the same time. He
rolled her to the floor. He braced himself over her and settled his thumb on
her puffy clit. He stroked it gently as he withdrew. “Bear down, Edie mine.”

She did. The way her eyes flew wide told him she had
expected pain, but the pleasure took her by surprise. His fingers slid easily
over her sensitive nubbin, rubbing gently until her breathing came in hard
gasps. He pulled harder, pinching her clit as his cock head popped free. She
cried out, taking the pain as pleasure. Her pussy was swollen, almost raw from
the unaccustomed activity. The extra heat bathed him in residual pleasure.
Deuce bent his head to her breast, sucking her nipple and nipping the taut
crest as he milked her clit until she climaxed. Her hands fisted in his hair,
yanking hard before she arched her back and screamed, her mind accepting the
embrace of his—at last.

As the last of her climax rippled away, he heard what she
did. A strong female voice screaming,
Run
!

Chapter Seventeen

He could not trace the source.

A woman connected with the Coalition had a private path to
his mate, a path so strong she could block Eden and his child from his senses
while she could communicate at will. He did not like it at all. He held Edie
still beneath him and tried to find the connection point, but the woman ducked
his efforts, anticipating what he wanted to know and moving on. She was very
skilled. And she wanted Edie to run.

As she retreated he built barriers around Edie’s mind. They
would not keep her out forever, but they would slow her down.

As if she heard his thoughts, Eden pushed at his shoulders.
“Let me up.”

Deuce caught her before she could slip from beneath him.
“Remain where you are.”

“I have to go.” She wiggled down and to the side.

He stopped her by simply resting his elbow on the floor.
“There is no need to run.”

She froze.

“You heard her?” Surprise pitched her voice to an octave
above normal.

“Yes.”

“How?”

“We are mates.” He touched the pleat between her brows, an
indication of the worry tensing her muscles.

“That’s your excuse for everything.”

“It is not an excuse.”

“It’s not a reason either for invading my privacy.” She
shivered. “Stay out of my head.” The order lacked strength.

“No.” He lifted her away from the coolness of the floor
before gliding to his feet. She swayed. He pulled her to him. The taut swell of
her stomach against him reminded him of her fragility. He cupped her cheek in
his palm. “I have said they will never touch you.”

Shadows haunted her blue eyes. “They know where I am.”

“That is not certain.”

Edie pushed away his arm, rejecting his touch. “She would
never tell me to run unless they were close.”

He caught her wrist, drawing her up short. She winced as she
took a step, the delicate muscles between her thighs protesting movement.

“Who is she?”

“I don’t know.”

“They use her to find you?”

“Somehow.” She cast a glance at the door.

“Yet she protects you.”

“I think so.” She took another step and winced again.

“She is connected to you.”

“I don’t know how.”

He
would—soon.

“But you trust her enough to run on her order?”

“Yes.”

“You will do so no more.”

She took a deep breath and closed her eyes, but shielding
her gaze could not hide the turmoil putting the tremble in her hands and mixing
the scent of desperation with the scent of satisfaction. “I don’t know what to
do.”

“I do.” She flinched on the next step. He slid his arm under
her knees and swung her up against his chest. She lay against him, neither
cooperating nor fighting.

“I can walk.”

“You are sore.”

“Whose fault is that?”

He lay her on the white comforter, “Mine, which makes the
healing my responsibility.”

He brushed her hair off her cheeks. She seemed to glow from
within as she lay on the bed, her skin whiter than white and her hair brighter
that gold. Her breasts were still swollen, would stay that way as long as his
seed sought fruit. He trailed his fingers down her throat, over the mark of his
possession, down into the damp center of her cleavage, to her upper abdomen,
until he reached the well of her navel. He circled the rim before dipping his
hand to cup the evidence of their mating. He knelt, brushed the small mound
with his lips, and breathed deeply of her scent. “You are the mother of my
child, the keeper of my future.”

Her hands slipped between his mouth and her skin. “Will this
go away?”

He glanced up, running his tongue between her fingers,
sensing the shivers that ran up her arm, giving her more. “If you do not
conceive, yes.”

He knew she heard the hope in his voice, the excitement at
the thought of her pregnancy, by the shock in her voice. “You want me to
conceive?”

“It would please me.”

“It wouldn’t please me.”

Her unease was strong. He had flashes of the baby and a
sense of danger. “Because you see the future as uncertain.”

“Because I’ve just had a baby.”

That was not the reason, though it might be if things had
been normal. “You are uncertain.”

“Aren’t you?”

“No.” He wanted another child with her more than anything.
He wanted to be with her from start to finish, to guard her, ease her through
the changes, watch them both bloom. He touched her stomach. The comforter
rustled as she shifted uneasily. He leaned in until he could cup her stomach.
“Another child would be a gift.”

“He’d be hunted.”

“It will be a girl.”

“How do you know?”

“Chosen and human matings always produce girls.”

She shifted again. “That must piss you off.”

“I do not like your swearing.” He stood and moved to her
head. Her confusion and frustration consumed her emotions. He would lessen both
if he knew how. “And why would you think any child would be a disappointment?”

“Men always want sons.” There was resentment in her voice
that he could not understand.

“Any child gifted to the Chosen is valued by all.”

She shifted up. He caught her under the shoulders, helping
her past the last of her weakness. “So pretty much, I’m just a baby machine to
everyone these days.”

He accepted the lash of her bitterness without correction.
“You are my mate.”

“You didn’t want me until you knew Jalina was yours.”

“I wanted you.”

“I could tell by how fast you came for me.”

Pain overwhelmed the bitterness in the words, the dual
emotions lashing out from within the residue of her satisfaction. He had an
impression of hope gone dry and a hell beyond endurance. His grip tightened on
her shoulder as guilt flowed from his center. “You believed I would come?”

Her gaze dropped from his, as if there was shame in a woman
believing her mate would do anything less. “It was stupid.”

“It was not stupid.” He did not know if he would ever learn
to live with the ways he had failed her, the marks her body bore because he had
grown complacent. Marks he would not heal as they served a warning to him of
how dangerous complacency could be. “I did not come because I thought you dead,
but never again will I accept less than proof from my own eyes.”

She shrugged, her breasts rising and falling on the lie. “It
was just one of those things.”

He tipped her chin up. Her eyes did not follow, remaining
instead locked on her clenched hands. “You will not hide behind polite words.
Your faith in me was broken.”

“I didn’t know you well enough to have faith.”