BirthControl (4 page)

Tyrone leaned forward and placed a kiss on her cheek before returning to the car. Tyrese brushed a kiss on the other cheek, but held her for a second. “We're leaving only because we know with certainty that he won’t hurt you. Never think we’d leave or allow you to walk into a dangerous situation. We wouldn’t. Not now, not ever. We’d die first.”

She froze at the mention of them dying, and then squeezed his shoulder. “I know, Rese. I know.” Heart locked in her throat, she pecked his cheek and then walked with what she hope was a dignified gait to the front door. Refusing to look over her shoulder at her sons, she straightened and raised her hand to knock, fully prepared to battle the wolf in his den.

Silas opened the door before her hand touched the wood. Her eyes widened at the sight of him. The man was a yummy package who set off a firestorm of need in her. He wore a pair of washed out fitted jeans and a royal blue tee-shirt. The shirt stretched tight across his chest highlighting his firm pecs and flat tapered waist. His dark black hair was brushed back, falling down his neck. Piercing green eyes held her rooted to the spot. For a second she wondered if her babies would have green or blue eyes. With her brown eyes, it didn’t seem likely, but stranger things had happened.

He didn’t smile. But at least he wasn’t frowning either.

“Come in. Dinner’s ready.” The husky timbre of his voice had a lazy quality that tempted her to relax her guard. The aromatic fragrance of herbs and spices teased her to cast aside their differences for the next twenty minutes as they enjoyed their meal. In silence, she walked across the threshold without a backward glance. In the distance she heard the roar of an engine but was too preoccupied with the view before her.

The front of the house looked like a cookie cutter ranch home. But inside was an entirely different vision. The back walls seemed to disappear and the dining area was a part of the patio. Mesmerized, she strode to the exquisitely set table, which boasted of crystal that caught the beams from the moon. Looking up, she marveled at the clear sky and shaded moon.

“This is beautiful,” she whispered, looking into the trees surrounding the house. The scraping of a chair drew her attention. Silas stood behind it, waiting for her to finish gawking and sit down. Her face warmed as she strode forward and sat.

“Thank you,” she murmured, placing her purse on the chair next to her.

His fingertips brushed against her shoulder before he walked into the kitchen.

Inhaling, she clenched her hands in her lap as memories of their last time together rose before her in a haze of lust. He hadn’t been gentle. But he’d given her exactly what she'd needed.
He can smell your need
. It’ll give him the advantage. With iron clad determination, she slammed the door shut on her libido. Dealing with Silas would require all of her wits.

He returned with two plates. “What would you like to drink?” His eyes were now a compelling bright green. She blinked to break away from his stare, and gazed at the table. Although mystical creatures weren’t really her thing, she remembered reading in one of her novels that wolves could hypnotize you with their eyes. She frowned. Or was that vampires? She wasn’t sure.

“Water will be fine.” She nodded to the sweating glass in front of her.

He poured a healthy dose of red wine from a bottle into his glass and then took a sip. She eyed the bottle and then said her grace. It didn’t escape her attention that he didn’t wait for her to finish blessing her food before he ate. His lack of manners refortified her resolve to make sure her children were raised with decent morals and manners. Clearly, left with Silas, they’d be flags blowing in the wind.

They ate in silence. Jasmine’s thoughts turned into a dark monologue exposing every fear and concern she’d ever had. It wasn’t enough that she was in her late thirties and pregnant. No, memories of the pain and disillusionment she’d felt when she was pregnant at the age of sixteen ran rampant through her mind as well. Her heart raced and fine tremors racked her body as arctic tendrils of loneliness eased down her back.

“Do you like it?”

“Huh?” she asked to give herself a minute.

Silas pointed to the steak and garlic mashed potatoes on her plate. “You haven’t eaten much.” He put his fork down. “You’re not vegetarian, are you?” The distaste in his voice snapped her out of her funk.

Picking up her fork, she dug into the potatoes. “No. I like meat. All kinds of meat.”

The frown he wore disappeared. “Eat now. We’ll talk when you’re done.” He waved at her full plate. She noticed his was empty.

“Okay.” The aroma of the succulent meal turned her stomach. No doubt it was nerves, but her robotic movements signified her true fear of their upcoming conversation.

When her queasy stomach could take no more, she pushed her plate away and pasted on a smile. “That was really good. Thanks.” She patted her lips without looking at him.

He grunted as he removed both their plates and put them on the countertop. “There’s some apple pie and ice cream for dessert.”

As good as that sounded, she knew her stomach would never agree to another morsel of food. “I’m…” She cleared her throat. “I’m good, thanks.”

“Jasmine,” he growled.

She jumped and met his gaze.

“I’m not going to eat you. Not unless you ask me too. So relax. We have a lot of things to discuss and I am not in the mood to deal with you like this.”

“Like what?” she asked without thinking, but his comment set off opposing bells inside her.

Releasing a long, loud sigh, he shook his head and waved toward the family room. “Let’s just do this.”

Jasmine wiped her palms with the paper napkin and followed his lead. Sitting on the soft leather loveseat across from him, she waited.

“We’ll be moving to my home by the end of the week. My godson, Cameron, is already there and I need to check on him. Plus, I have some other matters that need to be taken care of. I know the twins told you I offered them a job with my security detail. They agreed and will be moving with us. My administrator is preparing your wing.”

Her head snapped up. “Wing?”

“Yeah. You’ll have your own space, separate entrance, living quarters, and outdoor space. It should be ready by the time we arrive.”

He really doesn’t want to have anything to do with the babies
. So why insist I come along? “I see you’ve thought of everything,” she said, curling her lips.

“I know you don’t want to have my pups, or move to West Virginia. I’m trying to make this as pleasant as possible so you won’t be miserable. I don’t want to turn my home into a constant battleground.”

“I’m not having pups. I’m having babies.” She corrected angrily. “And no, I don’t want to go to your home or have anything to do with you. But my sons seem to think I need your protection, or rather, my children need your protection. Regardless of how I feel about this entire situation, and I think it’s fucked up, I won’t do anything to endanger my kids.”

“Why?” He leaned forward with his elbows on his knees.

Frowning, she gazed up at him. “Why what? Why won’t I endanger my kids?”

“No. Why do you think this situation is fucked up? I told you there was a good chance you’d get pregnant when we had sex.”

“Yeah, but you also said you’d never made anyone else pregnant. Since you’re three hundred years old, I thought the chances of getting knocked-up were slim. Do you know I’ve never been on a date?” Her throat tightened. “Before my pregnancy I was too young, and marriage left such a bad taste in my mouth, after Davian died I avoided getting involved with anyone.”

She paused and looked away. “My babies were finally grown. I’d just started making plans to live my life in a way that I’d never had a chance before. To do things for me, things that interest me. Travel – see more of the world. Take some art classes, dabble in photography, learn how to make jewelry, hit some beaches… getting pregnant at sixteen and married at eighteen, I missed doing a lot of things. No prom, Rone was sick so I missed my graduation, and the senior trip was out of the question.” She chuckled. “Now, I have to put things on hold again. So yeah, this situation is fucked up.”

He sat back in his chair and steepled his fingertips beneath his chin. The heat from his eyes warmed her skin. She needed to leave before she did something she’d regret later, like beg him for sex.

“You can get a sitter, take your classes, go on dates, take trips. No one’s stopping you from that. You can arrange to have your security detail stay back to give you space.”

“Security detail?” Had she missed something?

“Jasmine, how many times do I have to explain? The fact that you’re giving birth to my pups makes you a target for my enemies. You and my litter are under my protection.”

The tone of his voice reminded her of the many times she'd reprimanded her twins for a repeated infraction. She knew he was right, the twins had explained the need for safety to her a hundred times. Still, it irritated her to lose control of her life.

“You don’t have to explain anything to me, Silas. I was simply answering your question. I’ve already agreed to move to backland USA. Tonight I wanted to go over the ground rules with you.”

“Okay. What did you have in mind?”

Swallowing hard, she met his gaze. “I want control of the children’s schooling.”

“They will attend a school with other shifters.” The swiftness of his response surprised her. He’d given this some thought. Tyrese had told her about the superiority of those schools and while she had no real objection, she needed to start the game.

“I need to be comfortable that my children are receiving the best academic education as well as being exposed to the arts.”

“If the shifter school does not have whatever else you require, hire a tutor or sign them up for extracurricular classes. But make no mistake, my pups will attend a school for my people. That is not negotiable.” He hadn’t raised his voice, but a vein throbbed in his forehead.

She exhaled. “I want control of their spiritual growth.”

“I refuse to have a bunch of prudish moralist views stuffed down the throats of my pups. There will be balance. They will spend as much time learning of my faith as yours.”

“What do you believe in?’ she asked, surprised he had any spiritual leanings.

“I serve Luna, Goddess of the moon.”

Her mouth dropped open. “Serious?” Certain he was messing with her, she searched his face for signs of flippancy.

“Of course. She is the reason I accept the half-breed pups you will bear. It is her gift to me after so many years.”

Chapter 3

Silas watched her grapple with his comment. A flash of anger crossed her face when he called his litter half-breeds. Jasmine Bennett was an interesting package. As he’d listened to her account of her life, he was impressed by her strength and determination to survive. She probably had no idea how remarkable she was. But he did. It took a lot to handle rascally pups and her sons were a handful. That she’d raised them into men of honor was a testament of her character.

“I’d like to read up on your faith, just so I can be familiar with its boundaries.”

He nodded. “I look forward to discussing it with you. Is there anything else?”

She straightened in her chair before speaking. “Dating.”

That surprised him. “You want to date?”

“I’d like to know what we’ll say about our situation. Are we dating? Or what?”

He stared trying to understand exactly what she was asking. “I don’t need to explain my actions to anyone. You’ll be living in my compound with my litter, that’s all anyone needs to know.” He ignored her flinch at his tone.

“So I’ll tell my family I met you, we had sex and I’m living with you because of the children? That won’t work. They know I have my own place, or I could afford to move and live somewhere else. It’s going to be strange when they come to visit if I don’t have a good reason for living with you, but separate from you.”

“I don’t care what you tell your family, as long as you don’t mention shifters.” He glanced at the clock on the wall above her head, he’d hoped for a sexual romp with her but it didn’t seem like it was going to happen tonight.

“So you’re okay with me telling them we’re dating?”