A Desconian Marriage of Convenience (Siren Publishing Ménage Amour) (14 page)

Tosh tried to smile with her. Deanna had been exhausted, emotional, and overjoyed when her babies had been born, but it hadn’t stopped her from asking how long before she could safely become pregnant again. The woman had simply been a natural at having babies. Unlike some of the poor women who suffered through months of morning sickness, bloating, sciatica, and every other uncomfortable side effect of pregnancy, Deanna had practically glowed the entire time. Considering she’d carried triplets, it had seemed damn near miraculous to the medical staff caring for her.

But if Jenelle didn’t want to ask Deanna, then what choices did they have? Asking a complete stranger to carry a child for them felt wrong and fraught with terrifying possibilities. There was no legal precedent for who would, in the eyes of Desconian law, be considered the parents. It would be much better if they could find someone close to them.

“What about Galeena?” Jenelle asked quietly. “She once told me her fertility issues were about her eggs, not her womb.” She laughed softly. “We actually joked at the time that between us we were one whole woman.”

It hurt him to hear her describe herself as incomplete, but it was why he’d sought an answer for her medical issue in the first place. They were happy to love her exactly as she was, but she would always feel inadequate. Hopefully with children in their lives that would change.

“Are you sure?” he asked as so many possible problems ran through his mind. “She hasn’t been the easiest person to get along with recently. I still haven’t forgiven her for upsetting you at dinner three months ago.”

Jenelle nodded in agreement. “That’s true, but we’re friends now. We might not be best friends yet, but I think sharing a pregnancy would help with that.”

He wasn’t so sure. He’d loved Galeena like a sister ever since he’d met Jax, yet he’d been surprised by her reaction to Jenelle. He wouldn’t have thought her capable of such vitriol until it had come out of her mouth. But asking her to carry their baby to term didn’t seem like such a good idea.

“What if she won’t give the baby to us once he’s born?”

Jenelle moved closer, wrapping her arms around him as she spoke. “The day that Galeena and I were joking about being one whole woman, I realized then that if I could have given her my ovaries I would have. Children are so important in Desconian families I would have been pleased just to be able to give you guys a niece or a nephew.” She reached up and cupped his face so that he was looking directly into her eyes. “With this procedure you’re describing, it sounds like my wild imaginings might actually be possible. If it’s okay with my husbands, I’d like to offer Galeena the chance to have her husbands’ children as well.”

“You’d do that for her?”

“Of course,” she said, looking a little bit surprised by his reaction. “She’s family.”

Tosh held his wife tighter and tried to blink away the tears filling his eyes. This was why he loved her more and more each day. He had no idea how someone who’d lived through the things she’d lived through could have such a generous heart, but he thanked the goddess that she’d come into his life.

There was a list of things that could go wrong, a veritable cargo load of trouble they might face, but if he knew one thing for certain, it was that they’d face it together—him, Jax, Baylen, and the incredible woman that they’d never, ever considered a
convenience
.

RACHELCLARKEROTICROMANCE.BLOGSPOT.COM

Rachel loves romance in all its forms. She writes contemporary, BDSM, paranormal, and science fiction in MMF, MF, MFM, MMMF, and lots of other pairings. Her one unbreakable rule is that every story must have a very happy ending.

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Siren Publishing, Inc.

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