Hide and Seek (11 page)

Smiling at Sophie, Josephine let herself be led around the side hall and into one wing of the house. Even though it wasn’t far at all from the kitchen, the old winding corridors gave the feeling of being far removed from the main dining area. William opened a door and led her through the connecting rooms into what surely was his part of the expansive old house.

William threw his small overnight bag onto a couch and placed her larger bag by the closet door. Dragging her into his arms, he embraced her fiercely and kissed her long and hard. Feeling a bit stunned when he finally pulled away, she tried to gather her scattered wits.

“Welcome home, Josephine.”

Chapter Nine

Blinking rapidly, trying to dispel the fog created by William’s passion, Josephine felt the words sink in her stomach. Was this really her home? If she stayed here, then Artemais or Sophie would eventually wear William down and he would propose. And much as she’d love to get married and raise her babies here on the edge of the most beautiful forest she had ever seen, he would be marrying her for all the wrong reasons. She wanted to be married for herself, because her man simply couldn’t live without her, not because she was carrying his children or his family had backed him into a corner.

Josephine would love nothing more than to have William declare his eternal love and devotion—both to her and their children—but she refused to be forced or bullied into a marriage simply because she was pregnant. She deserved more. Her babies deserved more.

Looking around the rooms, wondering how long she should stay, she mentally debated the wisdom of sharing her thoughts.

“I know that look,” William growled. “Josie, tell me you aren’t thinking of leaving again!”

Josephine blushed. William had always had a fair grasp on her emotions, now he seemed even more attuned to her.

“Well,” she hedged, “I’m not going to stick around if you’re going to be forced to propose to me. Think of how embarrassed you’ll be when I constantly turn you down!”

“Why would you turn me down, love?”

Allowing him to lead her carefully over to the window seat, Josephine sat down and tried not to lean into the comforting warmth of William’s body as he sat down next to her.

“Because I deserve more than to be married simply because I’m pregnant and it’s expected of you.”

William opened his mouth to protest, but Josephine cut in.

“No, William, think about it. Marriage hadn’t really crossed your mind before Sophie brought it up. So you can save us both a stack of embarrassment and not propose. My answer will be no, so let’s just say you did and move on, okay?”

William narrowed his eyes and stared at her thoughtfully.

“Does this have anything to do with my being a werewolf?”

Josephine looked confused. “No. Why? Should it?”

William looked at her a moment longer, then stood up, holding out his hand.

“I really don’t want to argue. Let’s go take a walk in the forest before dinner. I can show you some of my favorite spots. We’ll take it slow and easy so you don’t tire out.”

Agreeing readily—there was no point in saying anything more on the subject of marriage—Josephine changed into a clean pair of jeans and walking shoes and followed William outside.

William led her around their backyard, taking his time and slowly pointing out the herb garden their mother had planted many years ago and that he and his brothers had kept weed-free and fertile in her memory. The backyard itself was quite large, with a meandering path that seemed to increase its size, not decrease it.

When they finally reached the gate in the back fence, William opened it and let her look at the dense forest beyond. When she stepped forwards, expecting to wander a short distance into the forest, William stood still and gently held her hand back.

“It’s the National Park out there. I really wish you and Sophie didn’t wander alone out there. Sophie, lovely girl that she is, has no sense of direction. She’ll get you lost faster than you’ll ever realize. I hesitate to forbid you to do anything…”

Josephine glared at him, a dangerous glint in her eye. She hoped William understood that she wouldn’t take orders very well at all.

“…but I really want you to think hard about your own safety, and the safety of our children before you go wandering around without me or one of my brothers. Okay?”

Josephine saw the genuine concern in William’s eyes, and smiled. He really wasn’t trying to play Lord of the Manor, but make her realize how serious the situation could be.

She nodded. “Okay, William. I won’t go wandering out of the backyard without you or one of your siblings.”

William hugged her close and kissed her tenderly. “Thank you, sweetheart. That means a lot to me. Let’s head back—I bet you’re hungry.”

Josephine grinned as her stomach rumbled.

“Oh boy, am I hungry. Feeding your sons is proving to be my ultimate downfall. Is Art a decent cook?”

William laughed. “He wasn’t always, but with Sophie eating him out of house and home while pregnant, he learned a number of important lessons—like when to
not
wake up a sleeping pregnant woman, how to cook a decent, hearty meal, and that the pregnant wife is
always
right.”

Sobering up mid-laugh at the word “wife”, Josephine looked away.

“Hey,” William caught her chin and tilted her face to look directly into his. “You
will
marry me, love. You’re carrying my kids and you’ve come to me for help and protection. Whether you realize it or not, you trust me and you care for me.”

“It’s not a matter of what
I
feel for you. I know those feelings. It’s more I don’t want you to feel trapped, that you
have
to marry me.”

William shook his head. “Arguing logic with pregnant women is insane. Art warned me, but I didn’t listen to him. Talk to Sophie if you don’t believe me, Josephine. She knows better than anyone else how much I care for you, how much I worried for you these last few months.” Kissing her gently, chastely, he drew back before Josephine felt herself falling too deeply under his spell. She was both relieved and frustrated as he pulled back.

“Come on, let’s go inside,” he said, taking her hand again.

Josephine trailed a step behind her lover, mulling over his words. As she entered the massive house, she heard raucous male laughter from within the kitchen area. William swore under his breath and, after squeezing her hand a moment, hurried in that direction.

Happy for the brief moment to catch her breath and steel her courage, she too followed the sound of laughter and cheerful male jeering.

“So your ladylove is pregnant with
twins
?” she heard a man’s voice crow. “Wills, you nearly lost your stomach watching Sophie give birth, how will you cope with watching
two
of them pop out?”

Josephine felt herself bristle and start to storm into the kitchen to defend her love. She felt a delicate hand hold her arm back. Turning, she saw Sophie grinning behind her.

“Hang on a sec, let me give you the background on these guys first. That’s Dominic teasing William. You might want to know he was standing next to William on the far wall, about to toss his cookies in the birthing room. He was as bad, if not worse, than William.” Josephine felt a smile cross her face as Sophie winked cheekily at her. “No point in simply blowing your top. Might as well know the inside information.”

“Thanks,” Josephine grinned and stomped into the kitchen.

“The way I hear it,
you
must be Dominic.”

Her loud comment, easily heard over the male laughter and ribbing, had the exact effect she desired. The four brothers all stopped their laughter and looked slightly embarrassed caught jeering each other about her impending labor.

Josephine glared at the sexy man with shoulder-length hair the same dark brown they all wore. Beautiful blue eyes turned to her, full of laughter and mischief and she squashed the impulse to forgive him his teasing.

“The way I hear Sophie’s labor went—you weren’t in much better shape. Standing against the wall for support, right next to William, looking ready to empty your own stomach.”

Raising an eyebrow at the shocked expression on all four male faces, she wondered if she had hurt their male pride more than she bargained for. Remembering William’s casual arrogance, she instantly dismissed the stupid notion. When first Artemais, and then Samuel held their stomachs and started laughing so hard tears fell from their eyes, she grinned mischievously at Dominic.

Looking from one brother to the other, and then focusing on her, Dominic crossed the room. He enveloped her in a huge hug, and kissed her on the cheek.

“One thing you can say about William, he has impeccable taste in women. Welcome to the family, little Josephine. Man,” he commented, pulling back to get a proper look at her belly, “I’m glad I was warned they were twins, otherwise I’d be worried you were carrying a giant in there.”

“That’s no way to talk to my woman, Dom! Apologize right now!” William growled from the doorway.

Josephine smiled and patted Dominic on the cheek. Turning to William, she smiled. “That’s okay, he didn’t mean it in a rude sense, I understand. But I am
starving
. When’s lunch?”

Both Dominic and William looked at the still hysterically laughing Art and Samuel.

“I think we can whip something up. What do you say, bro?”

“No problem,” William responded easily. “Josephine, take a seat. How would you like some pasta?”

Letting herself get helped to a seat at the kitchen table, Josephine smiled at her lover.

“Pasta sounds just fine thanks. How about a salad as well?”

Chapter Ten

By unspoken agreement, there was no mention during the huge meal of Josephine and her plight, or her running away. Dominic and William cooked up enough al dente ravioli and bolognaise sauce to feed an army. Between the four large men, Josephine’s enormous appetite, and Sophie grabbing her own bowlful, there wasn’t a lot left over.

After a heated argument on the propriety of largely pregnant women doing so many dishes, the six adults settled down in easy chairs, Josephine being pulled into William’s lap.

“So,” Art started, “tell us what’s been going on. I have bits and pieces of the story from Sophie, but she said much of it was in confidence between the two of you, so I’m still hazy on the details.”

Josephine, feeling sleepy from the sensation of a full belly and the comforting warmth of William’s embrace, nudged him.

“It’s okay, you tell them. I’ll sit here and interrupt you every now and then.”

Quickly and succinctly, William explained the story. When he mentioned the burnt CDs, both Art and Samuel instantly pounced.

“CDs? Where are they?” they asked, practically in unison. William smiled up at a drowsy Josephine.

“Oh, I hid them down in William’s apartment a couple of mornings before I originally left. They were…uh…in the back of his cupboard under the bathroom sink, but I collected them and handed them over to him before we left to come out here. He put them in his backpack—I’ll grab them—do you have a laptop you can set them up on?”

Dominic and Artemais instantly started planning their method of attack as Samuel rushed out, presumably to get the laptop. Josephine hid a smile at how William simply sat back, thinking. As she stood up out of the chair to go and collect the CDs, she noticed his strange expression. He had finally realized one of the significant actions of where she had hidden them.

“Isn’t that where we hid…?” he quietly started, then trailed off. She smiled.

“Well, yeah. It seemed fitting somehow. I knew eventually you’d clean up under there and come across them, and I knew they’d be safe there and in your care when you found them.”

The morning after what Josephine privately thought of as their chocolate sauce night, she and William had reverently placed the then-destroyed paintbrush in the back of the cupboard. William had insisted it be their secret, as either one of them could get it the next time they were in the mood for a little body painting.

Josephine had been looking for months for a safe hiding place for the information. She decided to keep the printouts with her, but she worried about losing the CDs. She felt a sense of unreality at how everything turned out all right, even though she hadn’t always been sure what was going on.

Josephine looked down at William. For a minute, she wished she could read minds—his in particular. William’s eyes were scanning her face, but she couldn’t read any of the thoughts going on behind his eyes. She simply looked back at him.

William looked at her for a minute longer, then returned to the main conversation as Josephine headed toward William’s rooms.

Quickly grabbing the CDs from his backpack, she hurried back to the main living room. Samuel had already set up the thin, top-of-the-line laptop, which Dominic was typing furiously on, brow furrowed in concentration. Samuel was searching the carry-case the laptop had evidently been removed from, griping about the two cheap-ass CDs he had found inside it, which Dominic would have to use to copy the information onto. Art and William were chatting in the far corner, too far away for Josephine to overhear what they were talking about, but by the serious look on their faces she bet it was related to her plight.