Undying Hope (36 page)

His eyes searched her face, and his mind brushed against hers for a brief moment, leaving behind a tingling warm sensation. He got down on his knees in front of her, clasping her tiny hands in his massive ones. The man was so large that even on his knees, Haven was just barely taller than he was. There was a sweet nervousness about him, and his voice was a whispered plea. “Give yourself to me.”

She knew exactly what he wanted because of the book Wolf had given her, and because she wanted it, too. She knew her smile was shaky, but the swell of emotion in her was making it difficult to think straight. “To you, my lifebond, you are my heart, my soul, my life, in your hands I trust all that is me. I will be what sooths you and keeps you whole. That is the promise I give to you. I give you all that I am, trusting myself in your safe keeping.”

* * * *

Donovan’s shoulders were trembling again as he looked into those pale green eyes with so much love and so much trust. He loved this woman with every fiber of his being, and this day, she would be forever his. “To you, my lifebond, you are my heart, my soul, my life, in your hands I trust all that is me. I give you my strength, my courage, and all the power within me to keep you safe and whole. You will always be in my care. I take all that you offer to cherish and hold forever.”

He swept her up into his arms. The power surged within them both, binding them together for all time. It was a sweet mingling of light and dark, of souls coming together as one. He fastened his mouth to hers, needing her sweet taste, needing for them to be joined in all ways. He carried her up the stairs and carefully stripped her of her shirt after he laid her on the bed. He shed his pants before he climbed next to her while she wiggled out of her pants. His whole body covered hers. He took his time, enjoying her as he worked her into heated velvet under him. When he sank into her soft core, finally he was completely whole.

Two Months Later

Something was wrong with Haven. He could sense her discomfort, but she wasn’t talking to him. Donovan prowled his office as his stomach clenched and twisted. Hell, she’d gone to see Riordan alone. That could only mean her health was in jeopardy in some way. For the life of him, he couldn’t figure out what. The Undying couldn’t get the illnesses that humans did. When he heard the door open, he tore through the penthouse and was standing next to her when she shed a spring sweater and hung it in the closet.

She appeared as if she wasn’t feeling well. Damn it, the woman’s skin was nearly green, and she didn’t smell the same, either. She dropped her purse onto the entry table. She went up on her toes and kissed his cheek. “How was your day?”

He put a hand up against the wall when she tried to walk past him. “Haven, what the hell is wrong? Why aren’t you talking to me?”

She winced, and then she really did turn a shade of green as she put a hand over her mouth. She whispered, “I need the bathroom, now.”

Alarmed, he moved out of her way and followed her as she ran to the downstairs powder room. She threw up the lid of the toilet and emptied the contents of her stomach. Flushed, she sat back onto the cool tile. She was up and washing her mouth before he even had a chance to react.

“Goddamn it, woman, you will tell me what’s wrong with you!”

She turned and lifted a brow at him. “Nothing is wrong with me.” Then she glided past him and went into the kitchen to start a pot of water to make herself some tea. She ignored him while she sat down at the table and started to go over Bastian’s homework while the kid played video games in the living room.

He dragged a hand through his hair, seriously thinking of pulling it all out. She was nervous, that much he could get, and she was worried and excited and terrified of telling him something. She shut off the contact whenever he’d get that far. He sat down in the chair next to her and pulled her into his lap. He ignored her squawk of protest and brushed a silken strand out of her face. Their gazes locked. “You can tell me anything, sweetheart.”

She closed her eyes and opened her mouth, but nothing came out, and then she promptly burst into tears. That produced a loud rumbling from under the kitchen table where Nikon had settled after they had gotten home.

“Shut up,” Donovan snapped at the wolf.

He rested his head on Haven’s, now truly terrified of what she was going to tell him. “Sweetheart, just tell me. I promise I won’t be angry.” He brushed at her tears.

Her bottom lip trembled and she curled into him. “You’re going to be a father. I’m pregnant.”

Everything inside of him went still. He was going to be a father. His Haven was going to give him a child, his own child with Haven as the mother. His eyes were suddenly damp, and he tried to blink the tears back. He stared down at her in complete awe. Even with his great strength, he found it almost impossible to lift his hand to lightly caress her still flat belly. He brushed his mind against the baby’s. Just a tentative, gentle sweep, afraid of hurting the life inside of her.

He gathered her into his arms and nearly crushed her too him. Tears rolled down his rugged face. “Thank you, Haven, thank you so much.”

She reached up and brushed the tears from his cheeks. “I love you, my Quinn.”

He rested his head against the top of her head, taking in her pregnant scent and letting it flow through his lungs. Haven, his sweet Haven, who had already given him life, was now going to give him the one thing he never thought he would have—a child of his own. Love swelled for her, and he knew his Haven was worth the two thousand years he’d waited for her.

Emma Weylin fell in love with the written word as a child. She loves to create her own worlds full of magic and wonder. One of her favorite things is populating those worlds with interesting and true-to-life characters who experience everything from epic love and heartrending battles to seriously silly or embarrassing “duh” moments. She believes love can and does conquer all things. When she’s not writing, she enjoys her family and has a copious yarn addiction. For more please visit her at
www.emmaweylin.com

If you enjoyed UNDYING HOPE be sure not to miss A.S. Feinchel’s

When Demons threaten Regency London, only a Lady can stop them.

Lillian Dellacourt is beautiful, refined and absolutely lethal. She’s also the most feared and merciless demon hunter in The Company. She’s come a long way from the penniless seamstress’s daughter sold to the highest bidder, and it wasn’t by trusting a man, let alone an exiled Marquis with more on his mind than slaying the hellspawn…

For Dorian Lambert, Marquis de Montalembert, being sent to keep track of Lillian is no mean task. He’s wanted the fiery vixen since he first heard of her five years ago. But wooing the lady while fighting the demon uprising is no easy feat, especially when the lady’s tongue is as sharp as the Japanese
sai
blades she favors for eviscerating the spawn of hell.

These two will have to learn to trust each other fast, because the demon master is back, and he’s planning to turn
Edinburgh
into a living hell…

Read on for a special excerpt!

A Lyrical e-book on sale now.

http://www.kensingtonbooks.com/book.aspx/31375

Gripping the chair arms to keep herself seated, Lillian fought an urge to leave and never set foot inside Castle Brendaligh again.

It had been a demoralizing battle and they had lost, but they had lived. They had done all they could, but still the demon master had ascended into man’s world.

“You failed and we are all likely to die because of it. I hold every person at this table responsible for the state of England. You have ruined us.” Lord Clayton’s voice grated on Lillian’s nerves.

Accounts of the battle were clear. Nearly everyone in the room had risked their lives trying to disrupt the ascension, not to mention keep the earl’s daughter, Belinda, from becoming a demon sacrifice. Making such a show of ferocious reprimands insulted their brave and selfless efforts. If not for the fact that he was her best friend’s father, she might have indulged her desire to pull a
sai
blade from her boot and slice his throat.

As if Lord Clayton, the Earl of Shafton, needed to attract more attention, he waved his hands. “You had one mission, to keep the master from entering our world. All you had to do was kill one demon, but you failed. You should all be shot for treason. Treason!”

His bright red face gave her hope his heart might fail and save her the trouble of killing him.

Other hunters at the table murmured, but no one spoke out.

“Everyone in this room is to blame. You had the perfect opportunity to end this mess. Now the master is free of his realm and living in ours. It’s only a matter of time before he is strong enough to destroy everything we hold dear. When your families are killed mercilessly, will you sit here so unrepentant about failing in your duty?”

“Father, really.” Belinda Thurston rolled her eyes.

Lillian missed Reece’s steadying presence. Reece might have even been able to stop his lordship’s tirade with a few quick-witted remarks. Her partner had nearly died, and now lay upstairs recovering from demon poisoning.

“Don’t you roll your eyes at me, Belinda. You are equally to blame. You were with the master for days and made no attempt to destroy him.”

Gabriel, Belinda’s husband, bristled. It was of course a ridiculous statement. The Earl of Tullering was not used to public abuse of his family. “Just a minute, my lord. You are out of order. Belinda was in no position to defeat the demon master. The information she gathered will be very helpful in our eventual victory.”

Shafton pointed a fat finger. “I do not want to hear about information that will take years to decipher. You, Tullering, are by far the most culpable. You and that woman”—he pointed at Lillian—“made a conscious choice not to destroy the master.”

Lillian reached toward her boot and let the hard steel of her
sai
blade handle bring her comfort. One second and Shafton’s head could be rolling down the long table and land in Drake Cullum’s lap.

Besides Shafton, Drake and his assistant, Dorian Lambert, were the only ones present who had not been at the battle. Their leader, Drake, had attended to assign new orders to the hunters.

Shafton said, “You could have destroyed the beast as it rose and was weakened. I know you had the opportunity, but you chose to save yourself. It was selfish and stupid.”

Lillian could kill him and no one would be able to stop her. Of course, there were always consequences when dealing with men in power. She’d lose her home within The Company. Yet another arrogant earl would not take her from her rightful place. She was in control. It was nothing like her youth and the titled man who’d ruined her life.

Belinda said, “They saved my life, Father.”

“It was the wrong choice, Belinda. You might have cost us our one chance to stop this.” Shafton narrowed his eyes on Lillian.

Lillian said, “I can imagine your pleasure if we had allowed your only child to become the master’s sacrifice. Perhaps we should have stood by and watched until the master, with his full power rose, from the depths of hell and destroyed us all. As it is, Reece Foxjohn is still recovering from battle and the rest of us might have been sucked into the demon’s realm. But by all means, my lord, go on and tell us how you know we willfully failed on our mission. I do not recall your life being in danger that day at Fatum Manor. You were safely tucked away in your castle while the rest of us faced death or worse.”

“You are out of order, Dellacourt.” Shafton said her name as if it were a curse.

Lillian wasn’t sure when she had stood up, but clutching the leather wrapped steel, she rounded the table toward the earl. “If you have something you want to say about my abilities, my lord, I suggest you do so. I will be happy to display them for you, and we can evaluate them together.”

“Miss Dellacourt.” A warning came from the other end of the table.

“You were not there. You cannot know if we could have destroyed the master. As far as I’m concerned, we made the only choice possible under the circumstances. Maybe if your intelligence had supplied us with the location of the gateway before the master had grown so powerful, we might have been able to seal him in.”

“How dare you imply that I failed in some way? You who completely disregard orders at will.”

She had only ever hated one man the way she despised Shafton, and he too was an earl. At least that one was dead. Steeling her nerves, she slid the
sai
blade through the pocket cut in her skirt. “You speak of orders that were selfish and almost succeeded in getting your own family killed.”

“You have no right to question me or my motives.” To his credit, he faced her and stared her in the eye.