Sebastian (Bowen Boys) (10 page)

The being Bill turned to look at him.
“Mayhap, my lord, he does not know he has it. And if he doesn’t then perhaps he doesn’t know what it will give him. He may be very stupid, sire.”

He doubted that but said nothing
, He stared, and the blip didn’t move again. He asked Bill why not. He turned back to the keyboard and punched in a few more keys or whatever he had to do, and an address popped up.

“She works there. It is a pizza shop that a werebear owns and operates. Have you had one of them?
Pizza, not bear, my lord.” Wanera’s mouth snapped closed on the story he was about to tell about a she-bear that he’d had once. She had been very chewy and he hadn’t cared for the aftertaste. Then he realized what Bill had said.

“She has a job?
What does she need to work for? If she belonged to me, I would never have her work.” He glared at the screen. “Where does her mate go when she is slaving for him?”

“He
, too, is at work.” The screen moved at a dizzying speed and stopped when another blip appeared. “He is at his computer store. What I wouldn’t give to go there and see the things he has.”

Wanera looked at Bill.
He’d been there, and found nothing extraordinary that would have made his voice sound like Bill’s did when he talked about the things that might be in the store. Wanera looked at the equipment that he was using.

He’d noticed that the computers in the store were much smaller than this one. The screen here was thick and small
, and it wasn’t in color. The ones in the store had been in colors so bright that he’d been surprised by them, and at how thin the screens were. He also noticed that the keyboard that Bill used had letters missing; not keys gone, but the letters were no longer visible on them. He decided to have him a new computer set up soon, and tried to think what had been on the shelves. He gave up; there were just too many things he had no idea about.

“What if I took you there
...to his store? Would you be able to purchase a more updated model that I could see in color on? This one is very primitive, and it’s hard on my eyes.” Bill turned to look at him, shock on his face. “You’d have to be invisible, as would I, but if you show me what you need, perhaps we can get it at another store.”

“I could do that.” He sounded so excited that Wanera was embarrassed.
“I would be able to get the best for you, sire, if you so desired.”

“Yes, the best would be good.
Do you know what you need?” Bill nodded, reached into the top box sitting next to him, and handed him a file. “You’ll have to come with me. I can’t figure out any of that crap.”

Seconds later
, they were both standing next to the line of computers. They found everything they needed, and some things they didn’t, within an hour. Next, they went to another store and found the same items, but their prices seemed a bit higher. Appearing in the store, Wanera was ignored for the better part of an hour before someone came to help him. Two hours later and a good deal broker, Wanera willed all the things home to the room where Bill was.

“Oh my
, sire. You’ve gotten a filing cabinet as well?” He touched each item as he set it up. “And a video player, too?”

“It was free.” It hadn’t been
, but when the man said that it was a must-have for a new computer, Wanera had seen no reason not to get it as well. “You’ll have this set up when? I’d like to be able to watch without having to strain my eyes.”

“Tomorrow when you rise, sire. I will have it set up for your pleasure.”
Wanera nodded and left him to it. He’d never given anyone anything before and had been…well, he’d been embarrassed. Going to his room, he decided that he needed a few things for in there, too, and made plans to visit a few of the other realms’ homes to see what they had in the way of furniture. Going to his bed, Wanera felt good, but not great.

Maybe, he thought
, if he did a good job at making his lair look good, his bride would be happy. He had a feeling that a happy mate would be a good deal easier to live with. He just didn’t want any trouble right now or when the baby came along.

Closing
his eyes, he tried to think if he’d ever seen a baby before. He didn’t think so. If he had it had been so long that he could no longer remember. He began to think that having a mate long enough to breed with, then tossing her away, wasn’t such a good plan. He might need her to help him with the child. He thought he’d heard somewhere that mates, female ones, were supposed to be good with children. Wanera fell asleep smiling.

Chapter
10

“Mistress, I was wondering if I may have a word with you.” She turned to see Peter standing in the doorway to the kitchen. He looked like he was very nervous about something. She shoved the next load of dishes into the washer and turned and smiled at him.

“What is it?
Have I done something to upset you?” He shook his head then frowned at her. “Come on, Peter, it can’t be that bad.”

“Mistress, I was wondering if you could…I would never ask if I…you see
, there is….” He sat down at the table he often had lunch with her at. “I wish for my wife to have a child. I was wondering if you could see her.”

She sat down beside him and
tried to think. She had no idea what he was talking about and took a deep breath to try and figure this out. But he started talking again.

“I know that faeries have some powers.
And you being an earth faerie would be a great deal more than the normal…I’m not saying this right. Let me begin from the start. My wife is pregnant. It’s the tenth time we have tried.”

She sat back
, sad for them both. “What is it you think I can do? I mean, I don’t know a great deal about my kind, but I’ll help you in any way I can.”

“You can heal the sick.
I know this; I’ve read it in the tomes we have. But it is said that you can help a child, too, before it’s born. I fear that if we lose this one, my wife will go as well. I can’t lose her. I love her too much.” He took her hand. “You need only to touch her and tell the child to hang on. And it will for you, my lady. I know it.”

She nodded
, and he pulled her out of the chair and toward the dining area, a place she’d never been since she’d started working there. But there was no one in the big room except a small woman who sat in a booth. Peter took Ama over and sat beside the small woman.

“My lad
y Ama, this is my mate and the love of my life, Doris. Doris, this is my dishwasher, Amarizi Bowen.” The woman nodded and stood up.

“My lady.” Doris bowed.
“He never said that you were…of course, he couldn’t tell me, but you’re a queen, aren’t you?”

“So they tell me.” Ama looked at her swollen belly.
“You’re not just a little pregnant, are you?”

“Seven months. But the doctor says that I may lose this one as well. He said that I have a problem holding them safely. Bed rest doesn’t work
, but I want this one so badly.” Peter held her as she cried. Ama wanted to go and find the doctor who would say something like that to a woman and expect her to be happy about it. Ama reached for Monica and asked her if she knew of a good doctor. The two of them had been talking about some of her panther-related questions.

“
I have a very good doctor, and he just happens to be nearby. We both are. Khan and I were having lunch with Walker and Caitlynne before they went back to DC to finish up things there. Can we come to you? And Walker wants to know the name of the doctor she’s using now.”

Ama asked the couple and then repeated the information to
Monica. She said she’d be there in ten minutes, to have Doris sit down and put her feet up. When she arrived fifteen minutes later, she had not only Walker, but Caitlynne and Khan with her. They each had a bag in their hands.

“I’ve brought help. And you need to find another doctor
. Yours is a quack.” Walker took Doris’s blood pressure and temperature. “You’re as healthy as a bear, aren’t you?”

Monica
sat back but said little. Ama knew she was watching the pregnant woman until Walker turned to look at them both. He didn’t look happy, and his next words confirmed it.

“There was a rumor going around before I left the hospital that Dr. Anderson was poisoning his patients. Not to kill them but to give them a miscarriage.
I tried to figure out more, but he moved out of the hospital setting a few weeks later and I thought he’d retired. Apparently not.” Walker sat down and looked at Doris. “You’ve been given a vitamin, correct?”

“Yes.” Doris reached into her purse and handed him the bottle
. Walker opened it and sniffed it. “He told me to take them twice a day. Should I take more?”

“No.
They’re toxic. And as they build up in your system, they slowly kill your unborn child. You’ve known that, haven’t you?”

Doris flushed.
“I haven’t been taking them for a few months. And tomorrow…I think he knew it, and he was telling me that I need a transfusion. It was set up for me to go in tomorrow so he could pump me up full of those things. I decided…I told Peter that I’d rather die than to go do it, and he brought me here.”

“He more than likely just saved your life and
your children’s.” Walker looked at Caitlynne. “And my lovely wife here would like to do everything in her power to make sure it doesn’t happen again.”

“I’d like to have you come to the clinic we’re opening
in a few weeks.” Doris nodded at Khan and Ama raised a brow. “I don’t tell everyone everything I’m doing. Monica and I have been thinking about it for some time and I talked to Walker about it yesterday. With the president retiring, he’s going to have a bit more time on his hands now and has agreed to help us.”

“And I would very much like it if you came to work for us.” Doris flushed again at Monica’s
invitation. “You’re a secretary, aren’t you? We’re going to need someone to help out in the office.”

“I’d like that.
I haven’t been…my boss told me that I couldn’t come back after this baby was born. He said that his own wife needed to get out of the house more and she wanted my job. We were…Peter and I were wondering how we were going to make it.” She smiled. “I don’t think he’ll be so happy to have her there when he finds out she can’t file a thing and thinks answering the phone is beneath her.”

They all laughed
. And when Doris stood to leave, she hugged Ama tightly. “Thank you, my lady. I can see why Peter thinks so highly of you.”

“
He is a wonderful man, and you two are going to be great parents. I know it.” After another hug from her, Peter simply nodded. She figured he’d know about the male touching thing more than anyone.

Ama went back to the kitchen to finish the dishes when she heard a
chair scrape across the floor. She turned to see Monica sitting there smiling at her.

“Peter is making us dinner. I’ve called Sebastian and the others
, and they’re coming over as well.” She nodded. “I have a favor to ask you.”

“Anything.”
Monica smiled and patted the seat next to her. “You’re not going to ask me to leave Sebastian, are you? If you do, I’m going to have to tell you no.”

Monica laughed.
“No. Nothing like that. I need your job. Not me precisely, but someone I know. You see, there is this man who works for us. He’s the gardener...I think you met him.”

“Yes, Conrad I think his name
is.” Monica nodded. “What does that have to do with my job here?”

“His son.
He had a son that’s been in a bit of trouble with the law. Stealing and vandalism just to name a few. I’ve been talking with the judge, and he said that he’d release him to work if I found someone that would keep him in line.”

“And Peter agreed.”
Monica shook her head. “Then I don’t understand. If you don’t want him to work for Peter then…. You are asking me first.”

“Yes. It would only be fair.
I didn’t know if you’d agree or not, and didn’t want Peter to think you’re keeping this job because you feel you owe him. You don’t, you know. We do, but you don’t.”

“How so? I needed a job when no one else would hire me.
He didn’t really want to hire me because he knew what I was, but he did. He’s a wonderful man.”

Monica smiled as she stood up.
“And he kept you here for Sebastian. If he hadn’t hired you, where would you be right now?”

She didn’t know and
thought Monica knew it. She looked around the room that she had come to like because it gave her a sense of pride to have a job. She looked back at Monica.

“If Peter agrees
, I can let the boy have the job. But if he screws up one thing, I’m coming after his ass.” Monica told her she’d not have it any other way.

~~~

Khan watched Sebastian and Ama and wondered not for the first time in the past few days what was going to happen to them once this thing with the demon was over. Would they be required to go to some other place to be in some castle, or would they be able to live here and work? He wanted them here. He wanted them all here. He looked at Walker when he sat down next to him, taking his last slice of pizza.

“George isn’t going to be happy with his favorite uncle when I don’t bring him home leftovers.”
George was Walker’s little boy, and he and Khan had a blast together when he came to visit his cousins. “I’m going to tell him his dad had his piece.”

“I already talked to Peter
. He’s making me one to take him. He’ll think his dad is the greatest.” Khan was pretty sure the kid already did. “Your daughter is going to break hearts when she grows up, don’t you think?”

“She’ll never date
, so it’s a moot point. I’m training her how to unman the first person who tries anything with her, too.” Walker laughed, and they were joined by Sebastian. “You gonna get your pretty mate married to you before you have a baby?”

He reached into his pocket and pulled out the little box and handed it to
Khan. Opening it under the table so no one could see, he whistled. It was the biggest emerald he’d ever seen.

“It matches her eyes.”
Khan nodded at his brother as he handed it back. “I was going to ask her tonight, but Monica called and asked me to come here. I guess I’ll have to wait now.”

“Why?
” Sebastian flushed. “You don’t think she’s going to turn you down, do you? Christ, the woman can’t take her eyes off you. She loves you too much for that to happen.”

“I’d do it now. What better
place for her to turn you down than in front of family and friends. It will be something I laugh about for decades.” Walker slapped Sebastian on the shoulder. “Go for it. She’s not going to turn you down.”

Sebastian stood up
and started toward Ama. Khan held his breath, thinking he was going to chicken out, when he suddenly dropped to his knee. The room grew quiet as they all turned to them. Khan felt Monica move up behind him and put her hand on his shoulder. He was as happy as he’d ever been.

“Amarizi
Auburn, I love you with all my heart, and was wondering if you’d do me the honor of marrying me. And just so you know, Walker thinks you’re going to turn me down.” She looked at Walker and stuck her tongue out.

“Give her the ring
, moron.” Khan laughed when Sebastian nearly fell over trying to get it out of his pocket. He’d never seen his brother so flustered before.

He handed her the box and then took it back.
He started to hand it to her again when he looked at Khan. “Take it out and put it on her finger. Christ, are you this stupid in bed, too?”

“No
, he is not.” Ama turned bright red when she realized what she’d said. “Behave, Khan, or I’ll turn you into a frog.”

“Amarizi Auburn, will you please marry me?
I promise for as long as we live I will try to make you as happy as I am right now. I’ll keep the toilet seat down and I’ll even make the bed every day if you say yes.”

“Yes, I’ll marry you.”
He stood up and pulled her into his arms and swung her around the room. Khan couldn’t believe how relieved he was that she’d said yes.

Khan pulled Monica to him and kissed her
hard on the mouth. “What was that for? If you think this is going to get you lucky later, you might be right.”

“I’m lucky right now.
As lucky as any man, human or otherwise, has ever been.” He pulled her down to nibble on her ear as he whispered against it. “You’re in heat again.”

When she looked at him
, he could see her desire flare to life. Christ, he wanted her right now. Taking her hand to his mouth, he licked along the vein that heated under his touch. She moaned softly, and he nipped at her flesh.

“How much
longer do we have to be here?” He stood up and started for the door. “Hurry, Khan, please?”

If anyone spoke to them as they were leaving
, he didn’t hear. He needed his wife right now and there was going to be hell to pay if someone tried to stop him. When he got her to the car, he knew that he wasn’t going to make it, and pressed her against the trunk and held her there.

“I need you right now.” She nodded and rolled
over to her belly with her legs spread. Reaching under her tiny skirt, he tore her panties off as he ripped his zipper open. Tiny teeth hit the pavement. Before he could think about where they were, he slammed into her heat.

“Fuck, you’re so tight.”
He pressed her down on the lid and ripped her shirt off her shoulder. “I need you to come when you can because the way I feel right now, I won’t be able to wait for you.”