Tia

The next morning I wake up wide awake. With a happy little sigh on my lips, I stretch and look at my alarm clock, shocked to see it is after eleven a.m. I slept for fifteen hours straight.

I sit up slowly, pressing my hand to my belly, realizing my body must have needed the sleep. As my palms rest there, I swear my belly doubled in size overnight. A smile spreads across my face as I run my hand over my stomach, offering a silent prayer that my children will be okay.

When I come downstairs, I learn that while I was sleeping, life carried on. Salinger is at the office, apparently, there all night. Banks is at his laboratory, and we are all under strict orders not to interrupt him unless it’s an emergency.

“Sleep okay?” Emerson asks, handing me my daily vitamin and a glass of orange juice, along with a cup of his mom’s tea.

I grin. “Do you see what time it is?”

He laughs. “You missed the goodbyes though. No one wanted to bother you.”

“They’re all gone?” As much as I enjoyed everyone being here last night, part of me is looking forward to spending time together as just a family.

“Yeah, my parents left about ninety minutes ago; farm work calls. And then Miriam and her husband left last night after you went to bed.”

I drink the juice, wondering where Beth and Caroline are.

Reading my mind, Emerson tells me they are on a walk with Fallon and Giles. Huxley went back to town to get the rushed order.

“Crazy,” I say, opening the fridge and grabbing a carton of eggs. “Do you think things will ever slow down?”

Just then the doorbell rings. Emerson chuckles. “I’m guessing no.”

“I’ll get the door,” I tell him. When I see Kate and Lilah through the window I tell Em, “Call Fallon and Giles and make sure they keep the girls hidden. They can take them to the creek to pick wildflowers.”

“You don’t trust them?” Em asks at the same time the doorbell rings again.

“I do, but I think the fewer people who know they’re here right now, the better.”

“You’re right,” he says, taking out his phone and disappearing into the study.

A few minutes later, Kate and Lilah have joined me at the kitchen island, both women brimming with excitement, and I can tell they have news for me.

Emerson returns a few minutes later and I meet his eye. He nods and I know that he’s told the husbands to keep the girls out of the house until our company leaves.

Emerson begins breaking eggs to make omelets and Kate’s eyes widen.

“Wow,” Kate says impressed. “None of my husbands cook. At least, not well,” she giggles.

A surge of pride rushes through me. My husbands are so good at caring for my every need. Pouring coffee for my friends, I ask them to fill me in on their lives.

They still don’t know I’m pregnant. When people discover that I’m carrying sextuplets, I won’t be safe. So, for now, I have to continue to keep it from my only girlfriends, and I’m grateful I’m wearing a loose dress and drapey cardigan because it hides my growing belly.

“I haven’t seen either of you in ages,” I say, bringing over cream and sugar. “Anything new in your lives?”

They exchange a look, and then both women share matching smiles. Together they say, “We’re pregnant.”

“Really?” I clap my hands in front of my face, tears gathering in my eyes at being able to share something so special with my friends, and I almost tell them my own news, until I catch Em’s gaze.

We have to be careful.

“That’s so exciting,” I say, taking their hands and giving a squeeze. “How far along are you?”

“I’m sixteen weeks along,” Lilah says, glowing.

“And I’m almost twenty weeks.” Kate’s grin is infectious.

“And you’re just telling me now?”

“We wanted to wait...” Lilah winces. “To see what we’re carrying. With the risks...”

“I understand,” I say. “So?”

“We’re both having boys.” Kate’s smile falters only slightly, but I understand the mixed feelings.

While a girl means freedom, it also brings greater fears.

“I’m so happy for you both.”

“What about you?” Lilah asks. “You seem to have that special glow as well.”

I touch my cheek with the back of my hand. “I do?”

“I told you, Kate,” Lilah says, eyes widening. “She is pregnant.”

“I--”

“Come on,” Kate says. “It’s us. You can tell us. Are you pregnant?”

I sigh, not wanting to keep it from them. “Yes.”

The women cheer and wrap me in a hug.

“We’re going to be moms together. Isn’t that exciting?”

“It is,” I whisper, knowing Emerson is frowning, even though I don’t look up to meet his gaze when he places a plate of eggs and toast in front of me.

“Are you ladies hungry?” he asks.

“No.” Kate shakes her head. “I haven’t had an appetite.”

“I didn’t either until I started taking Em’s mom tea,” I say. “It really helps with morning sickness.”

“It helps with more than that,” Em murmurs.

“Do you have an extra?” Kate asks.

“I’ll take anything that helps,” Lilah says, an edge of fear in her voice. She says softly. “As excited as I am, it’s still scary.”

You could protect them, my brain reprimands. You carry the cure.

A shiver races down my spine, and I feel a large hand on my back. I look up and meet understanding turquoise eyes. My lion. So fierce and protective, and I know he reads my fears.

“I can have my mom ship a couple crates of her recipe to you both,” Emerson says. “Banks has already shown that it’s safe. If you keep taking it throughout your pregnancy the risks are--”

“Em,” I say, probably a little too harshly. But I don’t want him giving them false hope. Banks may have proven the flower is safe, but there is no evidence that it’s a cure. No matter how much we all want it to be.

The only cure is living inside of me. And Huxley did what he had to do to make sure no one would ever get it.

Guilt washes over me. I could save them. Save millions.

“Tia?” Kate says, placing a hand on mine. “Are you all right?”

“Yes, I...” Glancing over at Emerson, I know I need to go to Banks. I can’t just sit idly by and wait. “I just realized that Banks asked me to bring him lunch today at his office. Sorry to cut this short.”

“Of course,” Kate says, standing. “We’re the ones that came over unannounced.”

I hug them both, congratulating them again on their pregnancies and promising to have Emerson ship them some of his mom’s myosotis parviflora tea.

When the door shuts behind them, Emerson is beside me.

“You’ve got that look,” he says, brows drawn down in concern. “Like you’re about to do something you shouldn’t.”

“I just need to speak with Banks.”

Maybe there’s a way he can take a small amount of fluid without any harm to the babies. All I know is that if my friends die, and I could have done something to protect them, I’ll never forgive myself.

An hour later, after passing security, and having Salinger walk me up to Banks’ labs, I find my husband bent over a microscope, his lab coat discarded across a chair, his button-down rolled up, exposing his muscular forearms, his tie draped loosely around his neck and the top three shirt buttons are undone.

He looks incredibly sexy with his dark hair tousled, and scruff coating his chiseled jaw. My body clenches immediately with need, remembering our first time here in this same office.

But that’s not why I’m here.

“Can you leave us for a moment?” I say to Salinger when he looks like he’s going to stay.

His jaw twitches and he gives me the same look Emerson did when I asked him to drive me here. Like he doesn’t know if he should trust my intentions. My husbands know me too well.

“I just want to talk with Banks.”

“Okay,” he mutters, before turning and shutting the door on us.

Banks, so focused on what he’s doing hasn’t noticed me. It isn’t until I place my hand on his arm, that he jerks his attention to me.

“Damn, you scared the hell out of me,” he mutters, then wraps his arms around me and kisses me hard.

The kiss is uncharacteristic and filled with a lightness I don’t feel.

“Banks--”

“I’m glad you’re here. I was just about to call you--”

“We need to talk.” I place my palms on his chest and push back.

“What’s wrong?” He frowns down at me.

“I can’t do this.” Tears blur my vision, but I blink them away. “I can’t live knowing I could help others.”

“Tia--”

“No, I need to get this off my chest. Kate and Lilah came to the compound today. They’re both pregnant. They’re carrying boys, so they’ll probably be all right. But if something happens.” I shake my head, my words pouring from me. “And all the other women, not only in Alaska but in the world. How can I let them all suffer when I hold the cure inside of me?”

“Tia, listen to me--”

“There has to be a way that you can extract the fluids without harming the babies. Maybe if you just extract a little at a time, or--”

“Tia, the flower works.”

“Or when I’m about to deliver, you could--”

“You’re not listening.” He cups my jaw. “I looked into the research Miriam was talking about. The Greenland flower. I believe the myosotis parviflora is the same species. I’ve run a hundred tests overnight with different potencies. It’s not as simple Em’s mom’s tea. I’m still not sure why she had such incredible results from it, but I’m assuming it has something to do with the women on the island taking the flower regularly from a young age.”

“What are you saying?” I’m trembling.

“I still have more tests to do, but I believe I’ve come up with a potency that if delivered on a regular basis creates antibodies and regulates fluctuating hormones. But most important, it stops the women’s body from attacking the female fetus.”

Hope stirs inside of me and I’m not just trembling, I’m shaking. “You’re sure?”

“I wouldn’t lie to you.”

Tears that I’d been holding back begin to roll down my cheeks. “Then you’ve found a cure?”

The biggest smile I’ve ever seen stretches across Banks’ face. “I believe we have. Thanks to Emerson and Grace. I can’t wait to tell them. But what Miriam said last night about Greenland, it’s a warning. Until we’ve harvested and secured the flower, we need to keep this quiet.”

I wrap my arms around his neck and kiss him, hard.

The guilt I’d been holding onto washes away. “Thank you.”

“It wasn’t my research that--”

“It may have been Em’s flower, but you’re the one who never stopped believing, never stopped working tirelessly.”

He shrugs, and I can tell he has no ambition to take credit for it. “I have a lot of work still to do.”

“I know.” Overwhelmed by emotions, I bury my face in his chest and inhale his scent. “But do you think you could take a few minutes over your lunch break...” I glance up at him, a smile tugging at my lips. “To celebrate.”

“I am hungry.” He chuckles, locking his door and then placing a palm on my lower back and pulling me against his growing hard-on. “I think I can take more than a few minutes. Especially since I’ll be putting you on bed rest soon.”

I pout up at him. “I feel fine.”

“Are you going to disobey your doctor?” He raises a brow at me.

“No. But what exactly does bed rest mean?”

“There are still risks involved with carrying multiples, Tia. I was reading up on some research from the early twenty-first century, and most doctors recommended to stop sexual intercourse around twenty-four weeks.”

My mouth drops open.

He chuckles at my apparent shock. “There are other things we can do.”

“I know, but...”

“You still have time before then, but I know you’ll obey me.” He tilts my chin up, his dark eyes study mine.

“Yes, sir,” I say, my lips twisting up. “But maybe you should show me some of these other things we can do.” I shrug and give a sheepish look. “Just so I know.”

“I’m going to need more than a lunch break.”

“You’ve always been a quick teacher. I think you can handle the challenge.” Then I bite my bottom lip. “But you know... I think you deserve a thank you gift today. What you’ve pieced together is a cure for the human race.” I run my finger down his chest, tugging at the belt on his trousers.

He wraps his arms around my waist, pulling me to him. “Oh, wife, this is much better than lunch.”

My eyes sparkle as I lower myself to my knees. “It’s dessert.”

Taking his thick cock in my hand, I begin to run my tongue up and down his shaft. Looking up at him, he groans in pleasure.

I take my time with his cock, licking and running my hands up and down him. Squeezing his ass, I drag his groin closer to my willing mouth. I part my lips, taking him in. I love it when I’m filled with him, it makes me feel so good inside. My husbands care for me in so many ways, I love getting to care for them, too.

“That feels so good,” he moans as I bob my head up and down, sucking him hard. I love the moment when his pulsing cock explodes in my mouth, his creamy release sliding down my throat, it fills me with a warmth that doesn’t compare to anything else I’ve ever experienced.

“Oh, fuck.” Banks thrusts deep in my mouth before stilling.

I swallow him, relishing this perfect moment.

“God, Tia, you’re fucking perfect.”

I kiss the tip of his hardness, a final drip of come ready for me to lick away. “The pregnancy is making me all kinds of… excited.”

“How excited?”

I massage his balls, loving the way they get so nice and tight after he comes. “I had a crazy dream last night.”

He runs his fingers through my loose hair. “A sex dream?”

I nod. “Yes, my husbands all took me, one after the other. Remember at the barn loft?” I ask. “When I sucked you all off, one at a time, as I sat in the center of a circle?”

Banks grunts, telling me he remembers, but I’m still stroking him nice and gently, and it’s causing his cock to throb in my hand all over again.

“Well, in this dream, I had, I was lying in a meadow, myosotis parviflora was growing all around me, and I was very pregnant, my breasts were huge and we were all naked…”

“And?” Banks asks, cupping my cheek so I look up at him.

“And each of you took me, ravishing me, while everyone else watched. It lasted hours, everyone taking their turn to make love to me.”

“Damn, you know you can’t talk like that and then just leave my office.” He pulls me to stand.

My eyes widen, hoping he’d say something like that. Truth is, I need him inside me before I can bear to go. “No?”

“No.” He pulls up his pants, then walks over to his desk, unlocking a safe. I don’t see what he takes, but I do notice a black handgun. Knowing this is a high-security laboratory, I don’t ask questions. I’m glad my husband has protection in a place as dangerous as this.

Looking up at my man, I ask, “What did you have in mind, Sir?”

“I bought something for you, in case you showed up at my office again.”

I smile. “A present?”

His lips twist, holding something behind his back. “Something like that.”

“Show me.”

He frowns. “Show me, Sir.”

I bite back the grin, loving it when Banks begins ordering me around. “Will you please show me, Sir? I will beg if you want me to.”

He narrows his eyebrows, a glint of pleasure in his eyes. “Yes. I need you to beg me for the gift. Up here, on the desk.”

He pushes aside the papers and file folders with his arm, and I gasp, shocked at his willingness to make a mess in order to turn me on.

Then again, it’s turning him on too. I see his cock so big and hard under his slacks.

“Take off your clothes, wife,” he orders. “All of them. Then sit down on this desk like a good girl.”

I look over at the door, grateful it’s locked, and that there are no windows here. Without hesitation, I unbutton my blouse and begin removing one item at a time until my body is naked. Stepping over to his desk, I notice the way his hungry eyes rake over my body, and I know he loves the way my breasts are growing in size. As I pass him, he stops me, lowering his head, and pulling one of my tits into his mouth, sucking my nipple until I’m whimpering. “Oh, that’s good, Banks.”

He stands, looking down at me, pressing a finger to my lips. “No talking.”

Obediently, I sit on the desk, very aware of how hot my pussy is, my eyes on that bulge in his pants, salivating at the knowledge that he is going to fill me up soon.

He uses one hand--the other one is still hiding my gift--and pushes my knees apart. Then he dips a hand between my thighs, touching my heat. He brings a finger to his mouth, tasting me.

“So fucking sweet.”

“More,” I moan as he begins to touch me again, this time stroking me in a way that has me leaning back, resting on my elbows. “Please Banks. I need you.”

“What did I tell you about being quiet?”

I press my lips together, trying to stop making noise.

It’s near impossible with his fingers fluttering against my clit, my core.

“I think it’s time for your present, Tia,” he says. I sit up, interested in what he could possibly have for me.

“I shouldn’t get a gift,” I say, my fingers on his collar, loosening his tie. “You are the one who found a cure.”

Banks smiles, revealing what was behind his back. It is a strap of leather with a buckle, and a rubber ball in the center.

“What is that?” I ask my eyes widening.

“A ball gag,” he says lifting a brow as if gauging my reaction. “Last time we fucked here you got so loud I know everyone heard us. This will keep you quiet, wife.”

“How does it work?” I ask, already reaching for it, ready to try it on.

Banks helps position it, buckling it against the back of my head, the ball between my teeth.

“Too tight?” he asks.

I shake my head, unable to answer any other way.

“Good. Then it’s time for me to fuck your pretty little pussy the way you always dreamed.”

He pushes down his pants and pulls my ass to the edge of the desk.

Then he takes me, hard, until my pussy is dripping and tears of pleasure are rolling down my cheek. My breasts bounce as his cock is buried so deep inside of me I forget to breathe I can’t even think. If this gag weren’t in place, he is right, I’d be drawing all sorts of attention to us.

Instead, he comes in my pussy, my slit dripping with him, then he pulls me to stand, flipping me around, and taking me against his desk. His hands squeeze my ass cheeks, spreading them apart as he buries himself deep inside me. I press my fingers to my pussy as he takes me from behind, my thumb on my clit, the hard numb heightened to a point of pleasure I’ve never felt before.

My pussy hums. I feel so alive. A trickle of sweat forms between my breasts as I rock my hips, letting him take me however he pleases, as long as he wants.

He lifts me up, off the ground, and my legs wrap around his waist as he sits on the edge of the desk. He sucks my tits as I sink back down on his cock.

When he takes off my gag, his lips need mine as he kisses me in a desperate way. His tongue pushes past my teeth, our hearts pounding and our desire met, and yet always needing more.

“I love you, Tia,” he says, running his hands through my tousled hair. “I couldn’t live without you.”

Our foreheads touch as we ride the wave of our multiple orgasms. “Then it’s a good thing you found a cure,” I breathe as newly found relief washes over me.