Dark Storm (Dark #23)(89)
Author: Christine Feehan

Jubal pulled a chair from the patio dining set and gestured for her to sit. Jasmine made a face at him, but slipped into the chair. Jubal covered her with a quilt. It was quite beautiful, woven of special material. Jasmine bunched the material in her hands, obviously finding the quilt soothing.

She took a deep breath and sent them another shy smile. "I’ve never spent much time in a city and sometimes it feels as if I can’t breathe here."

Juliette had informed them that Jasmine had spent her life in the rain forest.

Jubal pulled up a chair beside hers and sank into it, leaning a little toward her, looking almost protective. "That’s understandable."

Dax threaded his fingers through Riley’s hand and held it tight against his chest. "You’re going to have that baby very soon."

Jasmine nodded. "I certainly hope so. I feel like I’ve been pregnant forever." She gave a little laugh, and for the first time, she sounded young instead of tense. "She kicks all the time."

Juliette, Jasmine’s sister, came out onto the terrace carrying two glasses. She handed one to Jubal and one to her sister. "You need to stay hydrated, Jasmine."

Jasmine made a face at her when she continued to stand over her, frowning. "I’m all right, Juliette. At this point, if I go into labor, it’s all good, right? I couldn’t stand staying indoors another minute. Jubal came with me and Dax is out here so I am perfectly safe."

Something in Juliette’s manner alerted Dax that Juliette didn’t think Jasmine was safe in the least, but she merely shrugged, pulled out another chair and sat down. The terrace was filling up fast. Something was going on here, and that added to his uneasiness. Riordan had greeted them and left in haste. He obviously knew Gary and Jubal, but what Carpathian male would leave his lifemate and sister-in-law unprotected with an unknown hunter so close to his family? Times had certainly changed. And what emergency had drawn him from the residence?

Juliette smiled at Dax and Riley, but her smile didn’t light her eyes. "Riordan will be home any minute. I’m so sorry he had to leave abruptly."

"Jubal, how long have you known Jasmine and Juliette?" Riley asked. He seemed so comfortable with the family, and they’d greeted both Gary and Jubal as old friends.

"We’ve made a few trips here," Jubal said, "and they’ve always put us up in one of their homes."

"We enjoy their company," Jasmine said. "Speaking of, where is Gary?"

"On the phone," Jubal answered with a little grin. "He and my sister Gabrielle talk endlessly and they’re very excited about a flower Dax found for us up on the mountain."

"A flower?" Juliette leaned forward. "Gary and Gabrielle have been working hard to discover why we can’t carry our children. I thought it was the microbes …"

"In part," Jubal agreed, "but Gary says that doesn’t explain everything. Both he and Gabby think there’s a combination of things that have led up to the reason infants can’t go to ground, mothers can’t carry or breast-feed and only male children were being born."

Riley’s heart jumped. She had known the Carpathian species was on the verge of extinction, Gary had given her a brief overview, but she hadn’t considered what that would mean to her and Dax when they chose to have a baby. She wanted children. Lots of them. She had been an only child, just as her mother had been. She’d been lonely at times and envied her friends who had siblings.

We will have many children if that is your desire, Dax assured. He brought her hand to his mouth and nibbled on her fingers, sending little darts of fire racing through her bloodstream. You are very fertile. I am capable of having children. If there is a problem, as I understand, with the soil, I’ve been in a volcano, and the earth would let you know not to rest where there is anything that would harm you.

He had a way of speaking so matter-of-fact, with absolute calm, that she couldn’t help but believe him, the tension instantly fading away.

"The worst is carrying to term and having the child for a few months only to lose it," Juliette said. "So many of our women had to suffer miscarriages, stillborns or losing their children in that first year." She shook her head. "I don’t know if I could bear that."

Jasmine placed her hands protectively over her baby. "That would be so awful."

"It isn’t going to happen to you," Jubal assured, putting his hand on her arm, a gentle, reassuring gesture.

Jasmine remained relaxed, even with Jubal’s touch.

I saw her in his memories, Dax told Riley. She didn’t even like to be around men after what happened to her, but both he and Gary made a point of building a friendship with her. Jubal has two sisters, and he hated that she was so alone all the time. He’s really made an effort to spend time with her.

He’s a good man, Riley said. I don’t know what I would have done without the two of them, Gary and Jubal.

"I didn’t have a chance to tell you how sorry I am about your mother," Juliette said. "A terrible loss. Gary and Jubal told us what happened."

Meaning they knew the truth. Riley’s fingers curled in Dax’s hand. She was glad he was there beside her giving her comfort. Without being surrounded by plants and the soil, Riley felt her mother’s loss acutely. Dax slipped his arm around her, pulling her beneath his shoulder.

"Sometimes I feel like our world has been turned into a killing ground," Jasmine said. "I dread going back there with my baby, but I don’t like the city."

"Why don’t you recoup in the Carpathian Mountains?" Jubal suggested. "Solange is there right now with Dominic. We could take good care of you there. And your cousin would be thrilled to see the new baby."

Juliette stirred, scowling at Jubal, obviously not caring for the idea.

Jasmine’s face lit up. "That’s a good idea. I never thought about going somewhere altogether different, but I’d love to visit that area. It looks so beautiful, and it’s remote enough that I think I could breathe there."

"Riordan won’t be able to get away from here for a while," Juliette cautioned. "Months maybe. We’ll take you as soon as we can though, if that’s what you want."

Jasmine reached out her hand to her sister. "I’m quite capable of going by myself, Juliette. You can’t spend your entire life worried about me. You’ve already spent far too many years doing just that. I’m all grown up."

"You’re my family, Jasmine," Juliette said. "I like being close to you. It’s important to me. If you think for one moment you’re a burden, you’re not and never have been. I’d hoped you and Luiz …" Her voice trailed off.