Chapter Eight
The storm had slowed down considerably, though the ground was already blanketed in snow. Killian leaned against the wall, looking up at the building across the street, watching the lights go on and off through the windows.
As soon as Meredith, Daric, and Luna disappeared, Killian left the Enclave. He told Grant that he was going home, but somehow he found himself outside the converted warehouse loft where Meredith and Daric lived.
His inner wolf was restless. It wouldn’t stop hounding and scratching at him, urging him to try and get as close as possible to Luna. This is as close as we get, buddy, he said to the antsy wolf, but it wouldn’t listen. It needed to know she and the pup were okay.
With an impatient sigh, he crossed the street to the building. Meredith and Daric didn’t have a security system in place which made his life easier. Picking their lock and getting in was the simple part. As he crept into the living room, he sighed in relief as he saw the layout hadn’t changed much since the last time he was here. He walked across the loft to the hallway on the right which led to the set of bedrooms. Luna’s delicious scent lingered in the air, and he only had to follow his nose to know which bedroom she was sleeping.
Killian supposed it was apt that moonlight streamed straight down from the skylight and onto the bed, illuminating the woman who had been occupying his mind for the better part of the last four months. She faced him, her features calm in repose as she slept on her side. She was wearing a sheer cotton nightgown and he could make out a nipple poking through the fabric. Desire surged back to him, but he wasn’t sure if it was ever really gone.
“Are you just going to stand there?” she asked, her eyes staying closed.
“How did you know I was here?”
“I can smell your cologne,” she sighed as her lids opened. “What time is it?”
“Just after two.”
She sat up slowly and Killian couldn’t help but follow the line of her body. Her breasts seemed lusher and made his cock stand to attention. When his gaze landed on her swollen belly though, pride and something primal filled him. He stifled a groan, his emotions churning. At this moment, Luna carrying his child was the only thing that made sense in the world.
“It feels like it’s been a million years since I left the restaurant,” she said. She swung her legs over the side of the bed. “What are you doing here?”
“I needed to see you. To make sure you’re okay.”
“As you can see, I’m all right,” she stated. “Now, please go.”
He nodded and turned to leave, but when Luna’s face twisted and her hand dropped to her belly, he suddenly found himself sitting next to her on the bed. “What’s wrong? Are you okay? Is it the baby? Should we call the doctor?”
“No, don’t bother Dr. Faulkner. It’s just…” She looked up at him. “The baby is awake.”
His eyes glazed over as he looked at her belly and his breath caught in his throat.
“Do…do you want to touch?” she asked, her voice hesitant. “I’m not sure how much you can feel. He or she is only about the size of a lemon.”
Killian desperately wanted to but knew he had to tread carefully. “Only if you want me to.”
There was a pause, but she nodded, her short, shiny locks bobbing against her chin. He wavered for a second before placing a large hand on her belly. As soon as he made contact with the bump, he felt a small surge of power. His eyes widened and a lump got stuck in his throat.
When he opened his mouth to speak, it was only then he realized he had stopped breathing. He put both hands on her belly, trying his hardest not to lean down and lay his cheek against her.
“I’m sorry about your father. Meredith told me he died.”
Killian froze. He thought he had lost two people that day—Archie and this child. He searched within himself, trying to find that anger at Luna he had held on to all these months, but it just wasn’t there.
“I’m sad Archie’s not going to be here for this,” he answered, rubbing her stomach.
“He knew?”
“Yes, he was the only person I told.” He took a deep breath and withdrew his hands. “He was excited about being a grandfather.”
“But he wasn’t your real dad?” Luna asked.
“No. Archie adopted all of us, but not at the same time. I was the first.” He looked to the large window on the far side of the room, watching the tiny snowflakes drifting across the glass. “When I was six years old, my entire clan was murdered and we—the children—were taken away. Another group of Lycans were going to train us to become compliant soldiers for their cause.” He paused at Luna’s soft gasp before continuing. “I was in their facility for a year. All the children were separated, made to stay in single rooms. I don’t remember a lot from that time except being bored and hearing other kids cry. Sometimes, I would cry too.” A small, warm hand wrapped around his. “It was a year later that Archie found me. He broke into the facility which was easy for him being a master thief and all. He took me and brought me home.”
“What happened to the other children?” Luna’s voice creaked as if she was afraid to know the answer.
“He tried to go back for the other kids, but when he got back to the facility, it was gone. Burned to the ground.”
Luna let out a soft cry and wrapped her arms around herself.
“Archie told me he kept trying to find them, but he never did. It’s a long story, but basically, there were some bad Lycans allied with our enemies who were trying to build an army to take over both Lycan and human society. Archie kept the files on all of us and I read mine, including some of his notes. He thinks that it was too risky to kidnap the children outright and keep them so instead, those traitors did what they could to ensure that more and more Lycans were torn apart from their clans to force them to become Lone Wolves like us. They kept track of those Lone Wolves and a few months ago, made them fight in their war.”
“Meredith? Your other brothers? Archie took them in, too?”
He nodded. “Yes. They have their stories to tell and I don’t know all the details. But, Archie found us and saved us.”
“He sounds like a good man. A good father,” Luna said.
“Yes, he was.” He looked down at her, sensing her fear and hesitation. “Those traitors are gone now. We defeated them and they won’t be back. No one will ever hurt you or our child.”
Luna said nothing but swallowed visibly. She crept back into bed and under the covers. “If you want to…you can stay. Looks like the storm’s picking up again.”
Outside, the wind was blowing the snow sideways and the windows rattled. “I’ll sit over there,” Killian said, walking over to the easy chair in the corner. By the time he sat down, Luna was fast asleep, her breathing even and steady. She was so achingly beautiful and Killian felt regret creeping in.
Moving to New York seemed like a good idea at the time because he knew that even if she had aborted their baby, he wouldn’t have had the strength to stay away from her. He would have crawled back, asked her to forgive him for leaving her holding the bag; would have done whatever it took to make her his again. His need to be with her all this time and the hatred he had felt for her was an internal battle he’d been struggling with for months. Now, he couldn’t find a reason to hate her anymore—but she still loathed him for destroying her life. He had to find a way to make it up to her.
The chair was much too small for him and no matter what position he curled into, there was no way he was going to get any sleep. Glancing over to the large bed Luna occupied, he told himself there was lots of space. She was curled up in one corner. He could lie down beside her and never touch her. Besides, they had shared a bed before. He pushed those thoughts away quickly since most of those times never involved sleeping. Decision made, he stood up and padded over to the bed, removed his shoes, socks, and pants, and then lay on top of the covers as far away from Luna as possible.
***
The smell of fresh rain in the morning wrapped around Luna and for a moment she thought she was stuck in some dream of the past. But no, she was definitely awake in the present, and the heavy arm over her waist was very real.
Luna held her breath. Her back was pressed against a very hard, masculine chest. Memories of last night came back into her foggy brain, and she realized it was Killian’s muscled arm draped over her waist, his large hand spanning her belly. Glancing down, she recognized the wolf’s head tattoo on his forearm. She remembered how much she loved tracing her fingers over the ink, but never had the courage the ask him what it meant. Now she could guess.
The weight of his arm was uncomfortable and she couldn’t breathe, so she shifted, lifting her torso up so she could move his arm away. However, this only gave him an opportunity to slide his other arm underneath her, his arms wrapping around her and his hand landing on her breast.
Her nipples instantly puckered and wetness pooled between her legs. Luna had heard that pregnancy hormones made women horny, but she supposed that with being exhausted—first from the trial, then moving to New York, she hadn’t had time to think about sex. But now here she was, wrapped up in the arms of the man she was supposed to hate and all she could think about was how long it had been since she’d last had an orgasm.
And maybe it wasn’t just her thinking about sex. Something very hard was pushing against her ass. She pressed back which made him groan sleepily and nuzzle her neck. Oh God, that almost made her cream her panties. Killian knew how much she loved having her neck kissed and it was like he was torturing her on purpose.
“Kill…” she moaned softly. Really, she meant to make that sound more irritated, but it came out like she was in heat. Oh dear, he was grinding against her ass now, and his hand began to knead her breast. She bit her lip. She was afraid of waking Killian, but she wasn’t sure whether it was because he would stop or if he would take this further.
“Luna,” he murmured against her shoulder. “So good…”
Damn pregnancy hormones were going into overdrive. Oh, fuck it. Not like she’d ever get another chance to get off again. She grabbed her borrowed nightgown (saying a silent sorry to Meredith) and raised it up over her waist so she could feel him. Killian shifted his hips to push his underwear down and a very hard and very naked cock pressed up against her back.
“Oh…” she moaned as his hand snaked down between her legs. The rough pads of his fingers worked along her already wet slit, teasing her before parting the nether lips to slip inside.
“Killian. I—” She turned her head to look back at him and he moved his mouth over hers. The first touch of their lips sent shock straight down to her core, igniting something she thought was gone. As his fingers plunged into her pussy, she felt the edges of a white heat slowly spreading through her body. She moved against him, bumping forward to meet his fingers as her ass cheeks pressed back onto his cock. Pre-cum leaked from the tip of his cock, smearing her backside.
He released her mouth, his lips going for the soft spot behind her ear. She moaned aloud, feeling his teeth scraping the skin. His hand found her breast, tweaking her sensitive nipples through the cotton fabric.
“Killian!” she mewled as her orgasm hit her fast and he plunged three fingers deep inside her. She moved against him and he let out a groan as thick spurts of his seed painted her back. God, it was so hot, and her body was buzzing with excitement. Sex with Killian was the best she ever had, that was for sure.
His ragged breathing turned even and she felt a soft cloth rubbing on her. Turning back, she saw Killian had taken his shirt off and was wiping her clean. He tossed the shirt aside when he was done and then slipped back into bed, cuddling her from behind.
“Why did…what did…?” She wasn’t sure what to say. Was he just going to spoon her as if nothing had happened?
“I could smell how aroused you were.”
“Smell how…” Oh right. Lycans. Oh crap, did he always smell her?
“I can smell when you’re wet and when you’re horny,” he said in a teasing voice.
“You can not,” she countered, turning around to face him.
“Oh yes, I can. In fact, you’re still horny now. Want another orgasm?”
She grabbed a pillow and hit him over the head, but he only chuckled and tossed it to the floor. “Is that a yes?”
“Killian…” she warned in a serious voice. “We can’t do this.” She wanted him, that was for certain. Sex was never a problem between them. But there were too many things going on right now. She pulled away from him, trying to put some space between them.
He took her hand. “Move in with me. Today.”
God, he was stubborn. “I can’t.”
“What do you mean, ‘you can’t’?” he asked. “Your place is with me. In my home and my bed. I think we just proved that.”
Anger bubbled inside her and she rose from the bed. “We didn’t prove anything.”
“You still want me,” he said smugly as his eyes dropped to her puckered nipples. "You want me right now."
The look on his face made her want to smother him with a pillow. “Get out.”
“Only if you come with me. To my place.”
She let out a frustrated groan. God, the man was stubborn. “Didn’t you hear me? I have a life and an apartment and job—”
“And I said you never have to work again for the rest of your life. You’re the mother of my child, and I’ll be damned if you go back to that place or work at that restaurant.” Killian rolled off the bed and stood up, towering over her, his arms crossed over his chest.
Luna’s face flushed with anger and her hands drew into tight fists at her sides. “You can’t tell me what to do!”
“Hey lovebirds, knock it off!” Meredith’s voice rang through from the other side of the door. Before either of them could say anything, she barged in. “Jeez Louise, are you guys boinking or fighting? Either way, keep down will ya!”
“Sorry,” Killian grumbled.
“It’s all right, we’re awake anyway,” she shrugged. “Breakfast should be here in five minutes. Come to the kitchen when you’re done whatever it is you’re doing.”
Luna blushed and Killian smiled smugly.
“And for God’s sake, Killian, put your dick away.” Meredith gagged and slapped her palm over her eyes. “No one wants to see that shit. Except maybe Luna.”
As the other woman walked out, Luna felt her face get even redder. It had been ages since she had last seen Killian naked. She’d forgotten how utterly delicious he was. His broad chest was muscled, and she noticed that he had a new tattoo on his shoulder, another wolf’s head. A sprinkling of dark hair went all the way down, marking a happy trail that crossed over his defined six-pack. His cock, which was already semi-erect, was thick and long. As he bent down to pick up his discarded jeans, Luna’s eyes remained glued to his taut backside, the muscles rippling with every movement.
“So, you do like my dick, huh?”
Bastard. Luna turned around to hide her embarrassment, stomping over to the closet to grab one of the robes hanging inside. Wrapping the thick fabric around herself, she hoped it was enough to stop him from smelling how horny she was. Fucking hell. Mustering up her courage, she stalked back to him. “What happened this morning cannot happen again.”
He crossed his arms over his chest and stared down at her with an amused look on his face. “Oh really?”
“Really. And I’m not moving in with you.” There. She said it.
“We’ll see about that, sweetheart.”
Ugh, stupid man.