go.”
“You sure?” Decker gave Thanatos the evil eye.
“She’s sure,” Than growled, at the same time Regan said, “I’m sure.”
Decker shot Thanatos another hateful glare as he moved to the door, and the second he was gone, Thanatos swung around to Regan. “You are never to be alone in a bedroom with a male.”
She snorted. “You have no say over who I have in my bedroom. If I want to invite the entire Miami Dolphins team into my bed and have a big orgy while covered in chocolate sauce, you have no say in that whatsoever.”
The brief image set fire to his blood, but he kept his temper on simmer, unwilling to let her bait him. Still, he kind of wanted to hunt down every player on the football team and turn them into stains on the Astroturf.
“My house,” he gritted out, “my rules. No chocolate NFL orgies in my keep. I think that’s a reasonable request.”
“For Christ’s sake,” she said, throwing up her arms. “Do you seriously think my mind is set on getting Decker into bed?”
“He wants you.”
“No, he doesn’t. And even if he did, it’s not like I’m a real prize right now. My feet are swollen like overcooked hot dogs, I have stretch marks, I’m fat and ugly and awkward—”
“Stop.” He clenched his fists at his sides to keep from reaching for her. She was so pretty in her indignation, her cheeks pink with a delicate blush, her dark hair framing her face in tousled waves that gave her a wild fierceness that wasn’t diminished by her pregnancy at all. “Never say that to me again. You aren’t fat or ugly. There’s nothing more beautiful than a woman carrying her mate’s child, and—” He broke off with a horrified grunt. Mate? What an idiot. “Not that you’re my mate. It’s just that breeding women are—”
Once more, he broke off, aghast at his rambling, moronic self. Humiliation turned his cheeks hot, and he spun around, intent on leaving, but her soft voice stopped him, and he swung back around.
“Breeding? Look, if I’m going to stay here, we’d better set some ground rules.”
“Like?”
“Like you aren’t going to order me around. And I get my own bedroom. And I want ice cream. The good stuff, not the icky ice milk crap.”
He cocked a tawny eyebrow. “Anything else?”
His sarcasm wasn’t lost on her, but she ignored it. “Yes. While we’re at it, I want some Guardians here with me.”
Regan held her breath, wondering if she’d gone too far as he moved toward her, his big shoulders rolling, his eyes flashing. When he was close enough that their bellies touched, he dipped his head so low she thought he was going to kiss her.
Crazily, she didn’t know if that would be a good thing or a bad one.
“Here’s how this goes. No Guardians. I don’t trust any of them, including you. You can have as much ice cream as you want. I doubt I’ll stop ordering you around.” He turned his face away and put his lips to her ear. “And you don’t get your own bedroom. You sleep here. With me. Remember what I said.”
How could she forget?
Reaching up, she fisted a handful of silky hair and forced his face back toward hers. His firm lips were a mere inch from hers, and she went up on her toes to get even closer, so close his heat caressed her skin.
“Yeah?” she murmured. “Want to wager on that, Horseman? You’ll be dying to get rid of me long before eight and a half months comes around.”
He brushed the tip of his finger along her jaw, a teasing, sensual touch that didn’t match up with what he said next. “I already am.”
There was no reason, none whatsoever, for the sting of rejection Than’s words brought. But there it was. Dropping back down on her heels, she released him.
“Then let me go. I get why I can’t leave right now, but when The Aegis has a new, secure headquarters, let me go.”
“Do you know how often I pleaded with Ares and Limos to do the same to me over these last months? Not aloud, since I couldn’t speak, but in my head.”
What did one say to that? Regan could only think of one, lame thing. “I’m sorry—”
“You’re sorry? Really?” His voice became a low, silky whisper. “Then prove it.”
His hand snapped to up to grab hers, and as her heart pounded out of control against her rib cage, he slapped her palm against his chest. Slowly, so slowly, he dragged her hand down. She tried to stop him, but she was no match for his strength. Her palm slid over hard, rolling abs and, guided by Thanatos, slipped lower, to the thick length behind the fly of his pants.
God, he was so gloriously hard, his cock pressing so firmly against the fabric that she could feel the curves that defined the smooth blunt head and the rigid shaft.
Clearing her throat, she managed a raspy, “You’re insane.”
“Yeah?” He stared down at her, his guttural words rumbling through her in a wave of heat. “I was a virgin before you. You woke a sleeping demon, Regan. I tried to sate it myself, but failed. Now you’re going to deal with the consequences.”
With that, he broke away from her and strode out of the room, leaving her confused, pissed off, and … really,
Things were getting hairy.
In the last nine months, the human realm had become a battleground, and Reaver had spent much of it in training, working to hone his battle and healing skills in preparation for Armageddon. But for the last month he’d immersed himself in the heavenly Hall of Records, desperate to find any scrap of knowledge that might reveal something about Harvester’s history.
He’d been gunning for her for nine months, ever since she’d taken him captive in Sheoul, cut off his wings, and tried to get him addicted to marrow wine. He couldn’t kill her, not while she was assigned as the Horsemen’s evil Watcher, but he suspected she’d been involved in the deception that had led to Regan’s pregnancy, and if so, she’d be fired—likely with actual fire—and destroyed.
Smiling at that thought, he popped into Than’s place, and instantly the smile disappeared. If the grim expressions on everyone’s faces hadn’t been a clue that something was wrong, the fact that Kynan was torn up was proof.
“What happened?”
Limos attacked him with a huge hug, as usual, and as soon as she stepped back, Kynan stood with a wince. “You don’t know?”
Reaver crossed to him and gently palmed his shoulder. Divine energy flowed through Reaver and into Kynan, and in an instant, he was partially healed. As a battle angel, Reaver’s healing abilities were limited, but his recent training had given him some small talent for repairing damage caused by fallen angels.
“If I knew what happened, I wouldn’t be asking,” Reaver said wryly.
“Where have you been?” Limos interrupted.
“In the Hall of Records.”
“For a month?”
“It was only hours for me. Time runs differently in Heaven.” He focused on Ky. “Now, what happened? And why is everyone here? Where’s Thanatos?”
“I’m right here.” Than emerged from the dark shadows of the hallway, a hot flush coloring his skin.
“The baby has been born?”
Than snorted. “Great. You were in on it, too? You knew they were planning to give my kid away?”
“Someone had better tell me what is going on,” Reaver said slowly. “Right freaking now.”
“Regan is here,” Limos said brightly. “Than kidnapped her.”
Thanatos folded his arms across his chest as if waiting for Reaver to dig into him. Reaver wasn’t going to waste the time. “And the baby?”
“Still percolating,” Than said. “They’re both safe in my bedroom. The baby seems to be offering her some protection.”
