Cosmos' Promise: Cosmos' Gateway Book 4 (24 page)

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Authors: S.E. Smith

BOOK: Cosmos' Promise: Cosmos' Gateway Book 4

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Cosmos laughed as he thought of Maria and her tenacity. He felt almost as sorry for Bullet as he did for Core. Avery had disappeared shortly after she collected her ‘bonus’ a little over a month ago. It had taken a while to ‘clean’ up Avilov’s mess. She had been working closely with a special task force the President had formed. Only a few of his cabinet members and high ranking military officers were aware of the on-going visits from another world.

When she returned to work, she had refused to discuss what happened. He hadn’t talked to her since her return but he suspected she might have bitten off more than she expected. She had immediately signed on for another mission.

He didn’t go on missions anymore since Hong Kong. His sole mission in life was making sure Terra was safe and happy. They had been busy the last couple of months anyway with trying to see if the mating serum that they had developed worked. He had to admit, that was one mission that he didn’t mind participating in.

I enjoyed it too and it was very successful,
she murmured silently, threading her fingers through his and resting it on her swollen belly.

Do you think your father is disappointed that you are only expecting one baby?
He asked.

If he is, then he can have the other one,
she growled softly.
I have been there through the births of Tink, Hannah, and Tansy’s babies. Their mates know what it is like. Tansy made Mak go through the entire thing with her. He still looks at her in awe when he holds one of the twins. He swears he cannot figure out how something so large can come out of something so small. None of them want to have any more for a while after Tilly made them sit through that video on childbirth! You heard mother had to revive father after he passed out in the middle of it!

He chuckled as he remembered Tilly, Angus, and Tresa laughing one night after dinner about it. Teriff had denied it was because of the film but when Tilly asked if he would like to watch another one he suddenly remembered that he and Tresa were needed elsewhere. He had overheard Tresa telling Terra that he had begged for her forgiveness for putting her through that five times. He swore he would spend the rest of his life making it up to her.

Cosmos leaned his chin on Terra’s shoulder, enjoying holding her close as he listened to Lal tell them more about what was happening at the palace. He already knew most of it thanks to RITA and RITA2. Nothing much got by those two.

He knew that Teriff was upset because Derik kept periodically disappearing through the Gateway. Teriff threatened RITA2 if she didn’t quit opening a portal for Derik he was going to disable DAR for a month. All RITA and her sis would tell him was that Derik said he was looking for something. Cosmos suspected it was more of a someone and he had a feeling that it was a girl with a penchant for hacking into computers. He knew Avery was looking for Runt as well since she disappeared almost a year ago from his warehouse.

“Cosmos, how long are you staying this time?” Ava Raines asked after a while.

Cosmos looked down at Terra with a sigh of regret. “We are working on several big projects right now, mom. We can only stay a few days but we’ll be popping back and forth. You can always come and stay with us at the warehouse,” he said.

“No!” Lal growled out, possessively pulling Ava closer to him. “She will remain here.”

“I declare,” Ava said glaring up at the huge warrior. “I can come and go as I please, thank you very much!”

Cosmos bit back a smile as he watched his normally placid mother turn and glare up at the man towering over her slightly plump frame. She was beginning to blossom again. Tilly and Angus both said they had seen a difference since his mom had met the huge warrior almost four months ago.

“You are mine, Ava Raines,” Lal growled out in a low voice. “I cannot protect you on your world.”

Ava’s eyes widened when she saw the silver flames burning deep in his eyes. Her hand rose to cover her heart that was fluttering as if she had just run a mile. Her hand fell to her side when he suddenly reached out and touched her cheek with the tips of his fingers.

“You are my bond mate,” he said quietly. “I will wait for you until you are ready. All I ask is that you stay here where I can see and protect you.”

“I …,” she turned to look at Cosmos, her eyes pleading. “I think it would be better if I stay here … for a little while.”

“I think that is a wonderful idea, mom,” Cosmos said. “I think that dad would feel better if you were to stay here too.”

Ava looked at her son, tears glistening in her eyes as she thought about her late husband. “Do you really think so?” She asked in a voice filled with hope.

“I know so,” Cosmos responded gently. “He wouldn’t want you to be alone. He would want you to live life to the fullest.”

Ava’s lips trembled for a moment before a small smile blossomed and her whole face glowed. She looked up at Lal again and this time he saw the hope, curiosity, and – something else shining in the depths of her beautiful brown eyes. He held his hand out waiting to see if she was ready to finally take the first step toward healing and accepting him. His expression softened as she tentatively reached out and placed her trembling hand in his.

“We’ll see you both at dinner,” Lal said respectfully.

“Or not,” Ava said under her breath as Lal pulled her away toward a small group of woods.

Terra grinned as she watched Lal help Ava over a small dip in the trail away from the house. She leaned back against Cosmos and let out a tired sigh. She was suddenly very sleepy. That was not uncommon since she became pregnant.

“Sleepy again?” Cosmos asked, drawing her down beside him in the tall grass. “I know something that will help you sleep better,” he whispered sliding his hand over her fuller breast.

Terra rolled her eyes. “We are out in the middle of a field. Someone might see us,” she chuckled.

“No one is going to see us,” Cosmos murmured persuasively right before a large shadow covered them.

“I owe you an apple pie, J’kar. You were right. They are getting frisky in the grass,” Tilly sighed.

“I told you, Tilly,” J’kar said with a grin. “It is the chemicals. I could not keep my hands off Tink when she was pregnant.”

Cosmos groaned as he buried his face in Terra’s neck. “Please tell me the whole family isn’t standing there watching us.”

Terra peeked over Cosmos shoulder. Sure enough, everyone except for Ava and Lal were standing over them grinning. She giggled when Cosmos let out a muffled curse when he heard the squeals of the babies. Turning her head, she brushed a kiss against his ear.

“They are all there,” she whispered. “Including…”

“Hi Cosmos! Guess what I can do now?” RITA said cheerfully. “I thought I’d come visit my sis for a while!”

To be continued with Merrick’s Maiden…

Characters’ Relationships:

Teriff, Prime Leader of Baade -
mated to
Tresa: four sons, J’kar, Borj, Mak, and Derik and one daughter, Terra

Angus and Tilly Bell, humans – married: three daughters, Hannah, Tansy and Tink

Warriors of Baade:

J’kar ‘Tag Krell Manok
mated to
Jasmine ‘Tinker’ Bell: twin daughters, Wendy and Tessa

Borj ‘Tag Krell Manok
mated to
Hannah Bell: twin boy & girl, Sky and Ocean

Mak ‘Tag Krell Manok
mated to
Tansy Bell: twin daughters, Sonya and Mackenzie

Terra ‘Tag Krell Manok
mated to
Cosmos Raines

Derik ‘Tag Krell Manok
mated to
Runt

Members of Cosmos’ security team:

Garrett Avery

Trudy Rose

Rico

Maria

Prime Warriors of Bade:

Merrick, Eastern Clan Leader,
mated to
… (Look for
Merrick’s Maiden
coming soon)

Core
mated to
Avery

Lan
mated to
Natasha

Brock
mated to
Helene

Lal
mated to
Ava Raines

Gant, Western Plains Clan Leader

Brawn, Desert Clan Leader

Bullet, Southern Clan Leader,
mated to
Maria

Hendrik, Northern Clan Leader

RITA (Earth)
zapped by
FRED

RITA2 (Baade)
zapped by
DAR

ABOUT THE AUTHOR

Susan Smith has always been a romantic and a dreamer. An avid writer, she has spent years writing, although it has usually been technical papers for college. Now, she spends her evenings and weekends writing and her nights dreaming up new stories. An affirmed “geek,” she spends her days working on computers and other peripherals. She enjoys camping and traveling when she is not out on a date with her favorite romantic guy. Fans can reach her at
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