Night Games

17

Two weeks had gone by and they hadn’t gotten anything settled yet. It was getting on Jack’s last damn nerve. It didn’t help that he’d been pulled on to the Karsen case, which just got to be a bigger and bigger media circus by the day. Someone was leaking information to the press, and it was skating dangerously close to requiring a telepath go and adjust some Normals’ memories.

He pulled into a parking space in front of Sugar Rush, where Selina had insisted that she get the chance to show Peyton what real congolais tasted like. His cousins Holly and Erin had been thrilled to host Selina’s first post-shooting outing, Erin promising the best congolais she’d ever made.

Peyton and Tess climbed out of the car behind him. As Jack suspected, most of his family had shown up for the event. Thanks to the miracle of Magickal healing, she’d been officially cleared to go back to work the following week, so using the excuse of watching over her recuperation wasn’t going to keep her in his house much longer.

They needed to get things hammered out. Tonight. He was tired of this going back and forth to fetch stuff from her place bullshit. He wanted her to move in permanently. She hadn’t wanted to be in her house since Isaak left his evil stench behind, but if she changed her mind and wanted to live there, or if she wanted to find something new together, that was fine. Whatever. As long as they settled on some permanency. She’d said she wanted to get married, and he wasn’t waiting around for a year like Merek had. A trip to the local courthouse would suit him just fine.

“Quite a crowd,” Peyton observed.

“Yep.” It wasn’t just his family gathered on the patio. No, that was Delta sitting between Selina and his parents. Luca stood nearby, a glass of wine in his hand, blatantly flirting with Jack’s human cousin, Erin. Then there were Millie Standish and Alex Nemov, as well as Merek and Chloe, newly returned from their honeymoon. And a whole boatload of animals. Selina’s dog, Chloe’s cat, and a bunch of others he’d never seen before. What the hell was this?

Tess made a sheepish face. “I, uh, may have mentioned to Chloe that we’d be here tonight. I didn’t know she’d invite herself.”

“And the whole neighborhood, too.” Jack motioned the others ahead of him.

Peyton moved with the caution of a man unsure of whether he’d be fried alive. He kept a wary eye on Chloe but let his hand settle at Tess’s back, which was as close to a public display of affection as Jack had seen from the two. Luca took in the gesture, and his expression went carefully blank. Erin glanced between Luca and Tess. Her eyebrows arched, and comprehension dawned on her face. Well, good. At least Jack wasn’t going to have to have a chat with her about getting involved with Luca. He’d rather not have his cousin turn a love triangle into a square.

Jack dismissed the exchange from his mind and stepped up behind Selina, set his hands on her shoulders, and bent to kiss her cheek. “Hey, you.”

Reaching over her shoulder, she patted his cheek. “Hi.”

He had that rush of gratitude that he’d felt every time he saw her, alive and whole. It could have gone so much worse. He’d come so close to losing her, to losing everything. A few seconds later and he wouldn’t have been able to stop the bleeding in time. If Gregor hadn’t shown up, Isaak would have finished her off. If any one of a dozen things had gone the other way, she wouldn’t be here now. Thank God. Thank God.

Grim walked up, healthy and still the biggest attitude on four legs. One kitten rode on his back, another dangled from his collar by one paw while swatting at the German shepherd’s identification tags. A third kitten attacked his tail.

Jack arched his eyebrows. “Okay. What’s with the petting zoo?”

“Ophelia wanted to come. Which meant her kittens wanted to come. Which meant her new manpanion came along, too.” Chloe gestured to two adult cats peering down from a windowsill. One was a dainty chocolate-point Siamese. The brute beside her was the biggest orange-striped tomcat Jack had ever seen. He had a few scarred-over bald patches and a flattened ear.

The kittens were a strange mixture of the two. One was a big, fluffy marmalade with two white paws. Another looked just like Chloe’s familiar. Slim, elegant, chocolate-point Siamese. The third was probably the most gorgeous cat he’d ever seen. It was Siamese in coloring, but its points were orange-tabby striped.

Millie reached down to pat that one on the head. “Pretty, isn’t she? It’s called flame-point. It only happens when you mix a Siamese with non-Siamese. A purebred can’t be that color.”

“Whose familiar is he?” Jack tipped his head at the big, scarred tomcat.

“He’s a stray.” Millie sniffed disdainfully. “A plain, old alley cat. Not a familiar. She went slumming.”

Jack nodded to the cat. “Good for you, Ophelia. Some of us non-Magickal types are just fine.”

Tipping her head back to look at him, Selina winked. “I think so.”

The flame-point kitten hopped up on the table, scooted to the edge, wiggled her butt for a moment, and then gave a death-defying leap toward Peyton. Only his lightning-fast wolf reflexes kept the kitten from hitting the floor. He lifted her up until they were eye level.

“I think she wants you, Peyton. Ever had a familiar before?” Tess stroked the kitten’s head.

Casting her a disbelieving glance, he tried to hand the cat to Chloe. “I’m a wolf. I can’t have a cat familiar.”

“A pretty, dainty, Siamese she-cat familiar, even.” Darren chortled. The big wolf lounged in his chair. His recovery had been slow, but he was starting to bounce back. A dark mark still scored the flesh above his collarbone—even his werewolf healing hadn’t been able to get rid of it. “The pack is going to love this.”

Selina coughed. “It’s my understanding the familiar picks the person, not the other way around.”

“That’s how it happened for me.” A wicked grin on her face, Chloe held up her hands, refusing to accept the cat. “Ophelia came to me and that was that. End of story.”

Peyton stared at the kitten that fit in the palm of his hand. She mewed at him, turned her head, and licked his thumb. He sighed, the sound long-suffering. But he stroked one fingertip down her tiny skull and she purred, her eyes closing in ecstasy.

“Aww, Peyton. That’s so cute,” Delta crooned from her seat, laughter shaking her shoulders. “What are you going to name her?”

He grunted and said nothing, but he perched the kitten gently on his shoulder.

The big marmalade kitten wandered over and plopped himself on Luca’s expensive Italian loafer. The vampire picked him up by the scruff of his neck and said, “No. I’m not what one would call a cat person. You don’t want me.”

The kitten paddled the air, batting at Luca’s jacket sleeve until he sighed.

“This is inconvenient.”

“Suck it up, Cavalli. Apparently, we’re handing out familiars tonight.” Chloe made a wry face. “There’s one more. Anybody else want a kitten?”

“Me!” Delta jumped out of her seat, reaching for the little Siamese. “Come to Mama, baby. Oh, I’m going to spoil you so rotten.”

The gathered crowd laughed, and Jack’s cousins brought out trays of pastries for everyone. The mood was festive. Everyone had made it through alive and in one piece. Jack could definitely live with that kind of outcome.

Millie leveled a beady stare on Selina, her crisp voice ringing over the babble of chatting voices. “You do realize you’re pregnant, don’t you?”

Jack and Selina both froze, and shock punched through him. He felt a little light-headed, and Delta laughed, shoving him into a chair. “Sit down before you fall down, Laramie.”

He groped for Selina’s hand, which had gone ice-cold. She stared at Millie. “You’re shitting me.”

“No, I can sense it,” Tess interjected quietly. “I thought you knew.”

“Wow, I didn’t see that coming.” A broad grin creased Merek’s face. “Congrats, Grayson.”

Jack was going to be a father. Soon. Jesus Christ. He’d been thinking maybe someday he’d ease Selina into it, but this was a lot sooner than he’d anticipated. A child. A child that was half him and half Selina.

“I’m going to be a grandmother,” Angela sang, all but dancing in her seat. “It’s about damn time. I wonder if it’s a boy or a girl.”

“Girl,” Selina and Merek said at the same time.

Merek nodded. “Yeah, this one’s a girl. The next one, too. Both elves. Hellions, too. Have fun.”

She flicked her fingers at him. “May you have four boys before you manage a hellion daughter of your own. You deserve to have her wrap you around her little finger. Kind of like Chloe has.”

Chloe laughed up at her husband, while Alex shook his head at them. “I’m going to have brothers and sisters someday? Why didn’t I even consider that option?”

Ignoring all of them, Selina turned to Jack. Her dark eyes were wide, and she looked as dazed as he felt. “What do you think?”

“Three things.” A wild mixture of disbelief and wonder burst inside him, and a wide smile broke across his face. “First, we’re getting married tonight. These are all the people we’d want there, right? Between Millie and Luca, they should be able to pull enough strings to make it happen for us.”

“My uncle is a judge. It shouldn’t be an issue.” Luca had his kitten cuddled to his chest. For a non-cat-person, he seemed to be doing just fine.

Jack ignored everyone else and continued. “Second, we’re moving your stuff in this weekend. None of this dual residence shit. Third, I think ... Elizabeth Angela. Or maybe Angela Elizabeth. What do you think?”

“Elizabeth Angela. I like it.” After her cousin and his mother. Two women who had helped shape the people they’d become. It seemed fitting.

“And the rest?” He arched his eyebrows at her.

She nodded and rolled her eyes, which had brightened with tears. “I’m in if you are.”

“I’m all in, honey.” He brought her fingers to his lips and kissed them. A singular moment of peace stretched between them, and he sighed. After Heather had died, he’d never thought he’d find anything like this. Someone he was willing to take a risk on again.

By some twist of fate, by some miracle, he had a chance at a life far fuller than he’d ever imagined. Gratefulness flooded him. He’d fight to his last breath to keep this, to keep Selina happy and safe, to protect this child and any other they were blessed with. He’d never wanted anything so much in his entire life. Thanks to her, he’d gotten everything he’d never known he wanted. It had been a bumpy ride and they’d been through hell, but damn if he hadn’t landed somewhere that felt pretty perfect.

Tragedy could still strike. He had a dangerous job and so did she. But she’d never willingly leave him, and he was with her until the wheels fell off.

It was a start.

She was married. And pregnant.

Selina felt dazed when she walked into Jack’s house later that night. Their house. She lived here now. With her husband.

That nagging feeling that everything was going to change had eased in the past couple of weeks. Life as she knew it had come to an end. She just hadn’t had to die to make that happen.

Jack ruffled Grim’s fur as the familiar came inside. The dog grunted and went to sprawl in front of the couch. Erin had loaded him down with homemade dog treats, and he’d been groaning in the backseat on the way home. Jack closed the door behind them, locking it and engaging the security system. Selina automatically threw up shielding spells around the place. An extra layer of protection.

He leaned back against the door and folded his arms. “This place is going to get crowded if Merek’s prediction for two kids comes true.”

“It will. Magickals are allowed to have two children per century.” She shrugged. “Prevents overpopulation. Though since I’ve never had any before, we can probably get a dispensation for more, if you want.”

“Two is good with me, unless you want more.” He rolled his shoulders, his gaze locking on her face. “Your place is bigger. Are you sure you don’t want to live there?”

An involuntary shudder went through her. She’d been back a couple of times to pick up clothes, but it still had that taint to it. She couldn’t stay there. She’d never feel safe, even though Isaak was dead. “No, I can’t. He was there, in my space. We can move my stuff out this weekend, like you said. If you want to shop around for something bigger, we can. I like your neighborhood, with your cousins’ café down the street, and Grim likes the park nearby. We can see what’s in the area.”

“Whatever you want, sweetheart.” Rubbing a hand over the back of his neck, he sighed. “Millie pulled me aside after the ceremony and told me to let you know that the Elven Assembly got an anonymous delivery yesterday. A cursed talisman. She served as a witness for the All-Magickal Council while the Assembly leaders destroyed it.”

A breath eased out of her lungs. The evil object had been destroyed. Thank gods. No one else would feel that touch of darkness. The black mark of it still marred her forearm. The doctors told her that Darren’s wolf healing might whittle away at his mark, but as an elf, hers would never fade. A constant reminder of what she’d been through. But she’d survived, and the rest she could live with. She was learning, slowly, to forgive herself for Bess’s death. Instead of just suppressing the guilt, she had to accept that the past couldn’t have turned out any differently. She sighed. “Did they ever find out where Isaak got it?”

“No.” He pushed forward and came to take her in his arms. She let herself relax against his chest. “The Assembly is looking into it, of course, but that’s a question we might never get an answer to.”

“Officially, anyway.” They might hear through the grapevine, or Millie might let them know what she found out, but Selina doubted the Assembly would ever publicly admit there had been a cursed talisman still floating around out there.

He kissed her forehead. “I can’t believe Gregor turned it over.”

“He’s not evil, you know. He’s just not that good. There’s a difference.” Gods, didn’t she know that. She’d seen the clear distinction between the two Night brothers. One who lived by his own tarnished code of ethics, the other who had none at all. “My question is, did he know Isaak had it in New Orleans or did he find out here, like the rest of us? Another question we’ll probably never get an answer to, huh? I doubt Gregor’s stopping back in for a debriefing.”

“Yeah, that’s unlikely. I don’t want to talk about our enigmatic Mr. Night.” Jack nudged her chin up and smiled at her, everything she felt reflected in his eyes. “I’m much more interested in making love with ... my wife.”

The word sent a shiver through her. Gods, she was married. It was insane, and it felt amazing. There’d been no frills to it, but she didn’t have time or patience for that anyway. It had been just right. He took her hand and led her toward the bedroom. He didn’t have to tell her twice. She couldn’t get enough of him, and she doubted she ever would.

He pulled her into his arms and danced her up the hallway and through the bedroom door. When he stopped next to the bed, she leaned in to kiss her husband. His lips moved over hers, savoring. Damn, but he could kiss. She smiled against his mouth, sliding her tongue in to deepen the contact.

He groaned and drew her closer, his arms tightening until she could feel his erection prodding her belly. Heat unfurled within her, spreading tendrils of lust and magic to every part of her body. She coasted her hands up his chest, enjoying the bunch and flex of muscle there. She moaned when his big palms curved around her ass and pulled her up on tiptoe so that his cock settled in just the right spot.

Releasing her lips, he worked his mouth along her jaw and down her neck. He sucked and bit lightly until her breath rushed, and magic began to sizzle over her skin. He groaned. “Give me the spell.”

She did, twining their desire together until they were one. His cravings stoked hers, and everywhere he touched her left a trail of golden light that glowed on her flesh. He tugged at the bottom of her shirt and pulled it over her head. A grin spread over his face when he caught sight of her magenta bra. “I do love your lingerie collection.”

He bent forward and sucked her nipple into his mouth, right through the fabric. The lace scraped against the sensitive flesh, and her back bowed as lava flowed through her veins. She let her head fall back, whimpering at the intensity of the feeling. So good. She bunched her fingers in his shirt, wishing she could stroke his skin instead. Her magic responded to the barely formed wish, and his clothing disappeared.

Biting down on her nipple, he made her cry out, shuddering and twisting in his arms. He straightened to look at her, his pupils dilated so that only a thin rim of blue showed. “No fair. You still have clothes on.”

“I wanted to touch you.” She suited actions to words and drew her hands down his torso until she cupped his hard cock. She pumped his thick shaft between her fingers, and he groaned, his hips arching to increase the stimulation.

Jerking away from her touch, he flicked open the fastenings on her pants, hooked his fingers in the waistband, and drew both slacks and panties down her legs. “Step out of them.”

The low rumble of his voice made moisture flood between her thighs. She loved when he used that tone. Goose bumps went down her arms and legs as she obeyed him. She reached behind her to pop open her bra and let it slide away.

Dipping his fingers into her sex, he stroked her clit until she was grinding her hips into his touch, her hands braced on his shoulders. Pleasure spells whipped out of her, flowing like liquid fire over their bodies. His fingers pierced her sex, driving in hard. The heel of his hand rubbed over her clit, and his fingertips curled until he hit her in just the right spot. She bit her lower lip, her nails digging into his flesh, and her sex spasmed. So close. She was so close.

He pulled his hand back, and she cried out in denial. He couldn’t stop now. But he did. “Get on the bed.”

“You had better make that up to me.” She turned and crawled onto the mattress, not at all surprised when he swatted her ass.

A chuckle rolled out of him, affection warming his tone. “I love you.”

Her heart turned over. She reached for him. “Jack ...”

He rolled them to their sides and she hooked her leg over his thigh. The hot stretch of his cock penetrating her sex made excitement quiver through her. When he was seated to the hilt within her, he stopped. His eyes were a dark, fathomless blue. “I want to hear you say it, Selina.”

She hadn’t said it much since that first time, too terrified to let herself really believe that she could keep something so good. It felt like forever since anything earthshakingly good had happened to her. Only death and loss and loneliness. She held his face between her palms and met his gaze, no pretenses, as open as she’d ever been in her life. “I love you, Jack. I love you so much. You make me happy.”

Happy. The feeling was so rare, so precious. She’d loved her family, even the ones who’d turned on her, but happiness? She wanted to hold on to this forever.

“Again. Say it again,” he whispered, and plunged his cock into her slick sex. The rhythm he set was slow, but he powered into her with each stroke, burying himself deep. He picked up speed and force, and it was all she could do to hang on to her control.

“I love you, Jack. I love you, love you, love you.” She chanted the words in time with his swift thrusts, and every movement pushed her closer to the edge. She laughed, holding him tight. Clenching her inner muscles around him, she made him groan for her.

It was as good with him as it had always been. No, it was better. The feeling was somehow richer, deeper. There was none of the desperation to forget the past or the future, no need to deny the present. It was honest. Perhaps more honest than anything she’d ever done in her life.

He sank into her, and every other thought disintegrated. The way he filled her was so right, the fit as perfect as if he’d been fashioned just for her. She tightened her leg around him, arched her body into his, and let herself revel in being alive and with him. Her heart pounded, her muscles shook, and she teetered right on the edge of orgasm. The sound of their skin slapping together was loud in the room. Each time he entered her, his pelvis made rough contact with her clit. Her pussy contracted around his cock, and she couldn’t hold back even if she wanted to.

“Jack! Jack!” Her back bowed, shoving her forward so that her pussy sealed tight to the base of his cock, taking all of him. Pleasure burst within her, and magic exploded out of her. Her sex clenched again and again, milking his shaft.

The sound he made was like a human volcano erupting, and he hammered into her sex. His hot fluids flooded her pussy, and the sharp ecstasy of his orgasm crashed through her mind, dragging her under yet again. Her pussy spasmed as she came hard, the pleasure endless. Magic and physicality merged, became one. Their desire was one need, their love was one feeling.

“I love you, Selina.” His voice was low, husky, and shook with emotion. He squeezed her so tight, her ribs compressed. He buried his face in the crook of her throat. “When I saw you in that hallway, I thought I’d lost you. Hell, you and Grim. There was so much fucking blood. Jesus.”

“I’m here.” She stroked his hair, his back, everywhere she could reach. “I love you. I’m not going anywhere.”

“Don’t. Don’t ever leave me.” There it was, the deepest wish in his soul. The spell that connected them had sunk far deeper than she’d ever let it before, and she knew far more than his lust for her. She knew his utter need. Just the way she needed him. To never leave her, to always want her.

“I love you,” she whispered.

“I love you, too.”

In the quiet afterward, she lay in his arms, her back to his front, and felt the stirring of magic within her. She pressed her hand to her belly. The tiny life inside her, just a bundle of cells, was emitting a small shimmer of her own magic.

A child. She could ask herself when this had happened, or even how this had happened, but she knew. The exact moment she’d opened herself up to the possibility of a child was when Jack had asked her if she wanted any, and the clear vision of her daughter had come to her. Apparently, she’d inadvertently shut down the magic potions that were supposed to keep her from getting knocked up. Wonder suffused her, which didn’t quite cancel out the shock she had yet recovered from. Over four hundred years old and she was going to be a mother for the first time.

This child’s life would be so very different from hers, she would make sure of it. This child would never be called a bastard. She would have parents who loved her and loved each other. This child would know she was wanted. The depth of feeling that shook Selina was both heady and terrifying.

It was another bond, when she’d spent so many years refusing to open herself to any of them. She’d been drifting since Bess died, disconnected from any other person. Grim had been a slim tether to the here and now, but as much as she loved the damn dog, he wasn’t the same as human contact.

But Jack.

Gods, Jack had been like a hand reaching into the darkness of her world, grabbing hold of her and refusing to let her drift away entirely. He was a connection she couldn’t escape, couldn’t deny, even when she had wanted to, even when she’d been ready to let go.

All those people and familiars spilling into the courthouse to be there for her wedding had shaken something deep inside her. The loneliness, the isolation. She’d been alone for so long, just her and Grim, that she’d stood there stunned for a moment, just staring around at the joyous noise and chaos. Her familiar had sat in the middle of it all, a kitten pouncing on his tail and one of the most powerful witches in the world stroking his ears. He’d looked about as dumbfounded as she’d felt.

But it wasn’t bad. She might even learn to get used to it. The mattress dipped as Jack shifted in bed, returning her to the present. He squeezed her to him, brushing a kiss over the back of her shoulder. His hand moved down to settle over hers, covering where their child grew within her.

Yeah. She could definitely get used to this.