Night’s Mistress (Children of The Night #5)(26)
Author: Amanda Ashley

Mara moaned with pleasure as his touch reawakened places within her that no other man had ever stirred. She murmured his name, her hands skimming restlessly over his back, his shoulders. She ran her teeth along his neck, tears burning her eyes as she trembled on the brink.

“Logan . . .” She whispered his name. “Now, Logan . . .”

She clung to him, weeping softly as his body merged with hers, sweeping her away to another place, another time, when he had been her willing slave and she had been the queen of her world . . .

She came back to earth slowly, her face buried in the hollow of Logan’s shoulder, more confused than she had ever been in her life. If she truly loved Kyle, how could she find such pleasure, such contentment, in Logan’s arms? Of course, Logan wasn’t an ordinary man. She tried to tell herself that she had been helpless to resist him, that he had seduced her with his innate charm and preternatural power, but she knew it wasn’t so. He had wanted her and she had wanted him. It was as simple as that.

She stared up at the ceiling, wondering again if it was possible to be in love with two men at the same time. It wasn’t, she decided. It was just that Kyle’s leaving had wounded her pride, made her doubt her femininity. She had been feeling vulnerable and alone and she had turned to Logan for comfort and reassurance, or maybe making love to Logan was her way of getting back at Kyle for leaving her. Whatever the reason, it had been wonderful, comfortable, familiar. No doubt she would feel guilty tomorrow, she thought, but for now . . .

“Oh!” Sitting up, she splayed her fingers over her belly.

“What is it?” Logan asked. “Are you in pain?”

“The baby . . .” She looked at him, her eyes wide with wonder. “It moved.” She grabbed his hand and placed it over her stomach. “Can you feel that?”

Logan swore softly as he felt a faint flutter beneath his hand. Mara’s child, alive and kicking. It was the most miraculous thing he had ever experienced. “Does it hurt?”

“No,” she replied, her voice tinged with awe. “It feels . . . amazing.”

She had never looked more beautiful to him than she did in that moment, with her cheeks flushed with excitement and her eyes filled with wonder. And he had never been more envious of a mortal than he was of Kyle Bowden.

“I’m really pregnant,” she said, slipping back down beside him. “Logan, I’m going to be a mother.”

“Yes,” he muttered dryly. “I know.”

She had bought a calendar a few days ago and penciled in the due date the doctor had given her. Until now, it had stood for the day when this part of her nightmare would be over and she could pursue her dream of becoming a vampire again. But now it meant so much more. For the first time, the child she carried was more than an inconvenience. It was real, a living being growing inside of her.

Logan put his arms around her and drew her close to his side. Gazing into her eyes, he felt his throat thicken with emotion. In all the years since she had turned him, he had never looked back, never lamented the life he had lost. The most miserable people he knew were those who were forever looking backward, longing for something they could never recapture. He had accepted being a vampire along with everything it entailed but now, seeing the joy in Mara’s eyes, he regretted the fact that he would never know the thrill of holding a child of his own.

“A baby,” she murmured. “We’ll have a baby in October.”

Logan grunted softly, and then he chuckled. “If it’s a vampire, it’s gotta be born on Halloween.”

“I don’t see how it can be a vampire,” Mara said, her brow furrowed. “Kyle is human, and I must have been more human than vampire when I conceived.”

“I guess so,” Logan said. “But I’m still hoping she comes on Halloween.”

“She?” she asked, poking him in the ribs.

Logan shrugged. “Or he.” He kissed her, his hands delving into her hair, loving the way the silky strands curled around his fingers. He had never known a woman with such beautiful hair. He took a deep breath, inhaling the musky scent of her skin. That quickly, he wanted her again.

“It’s a boy. I just know it,” she said, smiling. “Can we go to the bookstore?”

“Why?”

“I need to buy some books on child rearing and cooking and . . . everything!”

His hand slid along the curve of her breast. “Now?” “Yes, now! I have so much to learn.”

“You can find it all online tomorrow.”

“I don’t like reading on the computer.”

“Mara . . .”

But she wasn’t listening. She was already out of bed, pulling on her discarded clothing, looking for her shoes.

With a sigh, Logan went into the bathroom. Before they went anywhere, he needed a shower. The colder, the better.

Chapter Fifteen

Rane paused in the shadows, taking a moment to enjoy the quiet beauty of the night before he returned home. It was late. Savanah and the baby had been sleeping peacefully when he’d left the house to go hunting. His prey had been a woman in her mid-forties. He had found her walking aimlessly down a dark, deserted street, the picture of despair.

Her grief-stricken countenance and slumped shoulders had tugged at his heart. After mesmerizing her, he had eased his hunger, then escorted her into a bar where, after releasing her from his thrall, he had bought her a drink and listened to her tale of woe. She had recently lost her teenage daughter in a car accident. Her husband had left her for a younger woman. She was contemplating suicide. Though he rarely interfered in the lives of his prey, he had mesmerized her again; then, speaking to her mind, he had assured her that her life wasn’t over, that, in time, her pain would ease, that the day would come when she would be able to smile again when she thought of her daughter. He assured her that she was better off without her husband, that she would find love again. Searching his pockets, he had given her all the money he had, released her from his spell, and sent her on her way.

He was almost home when a ripple in the air told him he was about to have company; moments later his brother and his father materialized on the street beside him.

“Looking for me?” Rane asked.

“As a matter of fact, we were,” Rafe said. “It’s been a long time since the three of us spent any time together without our womenfolk.”

“So, what’s wrong?” Rane asked.

“I heard a rumor about Mara,” Vince said.