Two Roped and Ready [Bewitching Desires 6] (Siren Publishing Menage Amour) (11 page)

Offering a piece of bread to his daughter—or maybe his niece, stepdaughter, half-daughter—Aaron grinned. “You should see the look on your face, Quayde. I can promise you the kink factor isn’t an issue. We found a solution that makes all of us happy, and the family accepts it.”

Unable to keep his thought to himself, Quayde finally gave in to the urge to comment. “But bigamy’s illegal. At least in this country.”

Rebeka adjusted the quilt covering the baby nursing at her breast. “We aren’t married. At least not in the traditional sense. We’ve taken vows as those who choose marriage do, but without the ability to divorce, our spoken promises form a bond stronger than any legal document.”

Still letting the silky strands flow through his fingers, Quayde breathed a mental sigh of relief. Breaking the law didn’t appeal to him. “What kind of promises?”

She hesitated. “Ilona should be the one to discuss this with you. Since she’s unable to, I’ll tell you this much—you must freely give your love, life, and loyalty to her, as she must give hers to her mates.”

“Right now, I’d gladly switch places with her. She saved our lives with her time-traveling rhyme.” He blinked to clear his suddenly fuzzy vision, but more of the conversation from moments before the tornado struck filled his mind. Rubbing at his forehead, he waited for the dizziness to pass. The men hovering near Rebeka came into focus first, and then the guys who looked like bodybuilders next to Lujza. “Sandor and Konrad are Elemental warlocks, and Amalric and Ranulf used to be fourteenth-century knights. Ilona told us her secret.”

The dinner guests fell silent, staring at him like he’d sprouted horns.

On the opposite side of the bed from his best friend, PC blew out a shaky breath. He must not have been the sole recipient of another vision. The spontaneous bursts of memories were coming at more frequent intervals and in acute detail. While Quayde seemed to have flashed back to waking up tied to the bed, PC had relived thrusting his cock inside Ilona until he’d come so hard he wanted to collapse. The sheer joy on her face had stolen his heart and soul.

He hadn’t shot his load remembering the pressure of her inner muscles milking him dry, but he’d come damn close. Setting his plate on his lap, he hoped no one had noticed the hard-on pushing at the fly of his jeans.

Lujza handed her son to Amalric and then strode to the foot of the bed to stand with her fists on her hips. Her stare focused mostly on Quayde from what PC could tell. She could easily pass for an Amazon warrior with her intimidating stance. “You know, huh? Do you also know that if you tell anybody, you could endanger not only her but her entire family?”

Leaning forward, Quayde glared at the only woman in the room outspoken enough to attempt to threaten them. “Ilona warned us about you and your penchant for turning people into toads. I would never do anything to hurt her, so back off.”

Aaron snickered. “Your reputation lives on, Lu, and it looks like I’m not the only one who isn’t afraid of you.”

Beside him, Kata rolled her eyes. “No antagonizing. Since Ilona already told Quayde and PC about herself, I’d say she’s made up her mind that they’re her mates. The issue is whether or not she heals before the third-quarter moon.”

PC allowed only a moment of relief to ease the tension in his body. “What does the third-quarter moon have to do with anything?”

“It signifies the end of her fertility cycle. The joining ceremony has to take place on the evening of the last phase before the new moon.” She shifted in her seat as if she knew the explanation didn’t tell him all he needed to know.

“The joining ceremony is the exchange of vows, right?”

She nodded.

“What about the—what did you call it? The fertility cycle?” PC’s gut somersaulted with the idea circling in his head. Fertility usually meant conception.
Am I ready to be a father?

Sitting up straighter in her chair, she exhaled. “Normally, Ilona would tell you all this. Under the circumstances, well…Part of the seven-year fertility cycle of the women in our family involves conceiving a daughter. An heir to the Macska name. Ilona is experiencing her first fertility cycle right now, which means that if she finds a mate, or mates, and becomes pregnant between the full and third-quarter moons, she and her mates may join. If she doesn’t conceive a child by her lovers, they can’t be her true mates, and the joining won’t be permitted.”

Quayde’s foot jiggled back and forth, shaking the mattress. “All the babies. You’ve all gone through the fertility cycle within the last, what, two years? And the woman in the library, she was pregnant too.”

Jolán stroked the slight bump of her belly. “Yes. There’s something else you should know. Making a child together requires more than sex. You have to love her without any reservations. Truly and completely.”

“I can do that.” Quayde carried his plate to the cart that had been wheeled into the room loaded with supper for fourteen. His confident walk suggested he believed his statement.

Following his example, PC stacked his dish on top of Quayde’s. Everyone else seemed to take the hint that the meal was over and the time had come to leave. They filed into the living room, Ranulf bringing up the rear as he rolled the cart out the door.

Quiet farewells preceded Lujza’s final warning. “I’ll find you if you hurt her.”

PC didn’t doubt her for a second. She’d spent much of the evening sneaking worried glances at Ilona, and she seemed to be more concerned than the rest that her cousin wouldn’t recover from Kazmer’s poisoning. Hell,
he
wasn’t convinced Ilona would ever wake.

The door to the hallway finally closed, shutting out Ilona’s relatives but not the turmoil from the night’s revelations.

Quayde returned to his post at Ilona’s side. “Do you think they were screwing with us?”

Stretching out on the bed, PC shrugged. “I can’t see what their motivation would be. Besides, they’d all have to be damn-good actors to pull off something like that.”

“Yeah, I s’pose. Remember when you asked her about getting pregnant after you came inside her? She said the timing wasn’t right. I think she meant it was too soon after meeting her, that we couldn’t have been in love with her yet. The whole thing makes sense now.”

PC slipped his fingers through Ilona’s to clasp her hand. The touch of her skin against his soothed his itchy nerves. “I guess. Add to that what Romána said about sex not equaling love. That means Ilona can’t be pregnant. What if she doesn’t get better before her fertility cycle ends? I’m not making love to her when she isn’t able to have a say in the matter. I don’t think I can leave her, either.”

Leaning on his elbow, Quayde looked over the sleeping woman between them. “Are you in love with her?”

That question had danced around in PC’s head for most of the day. With every minute that passed, the edge of the cliff seemed closer. If she stood with him, he’d take the leap, but he had no idea what was in her heart. “I don’t know. Maybe. Are you?”

“Pretty sure. Becoming a father scares the hell out of me, though. It’s not like we had anyone to show us how to be good parents.”

“Yeah, well, we had plenty of bad examples to teach us what the wrong way is.” Closing his eyes, he imagined holding his and Ilona’s daughter for the first time. A dark-haired, dark-eyed baby gazed up at him, and he had to swallow hard against the lump in his throat. “I bet Ilona will make a great mother.”

Quayde chuckled. “You’re so full of shit. If she wasn’t unconscious, you’d fuck her ’til your dick fell off trying to get her pregnant. Admit it, Pax. You fell for her the second you laid eyes on her.”

He’d been utterly infatuated, yes, but he hadn’t been in love. No, the beginnings of that emotion had hit PC when he’d seen her reaction to them not recognizing her. He’d wanted to erase the hurt and disappointment from her expression, hold her, and never let her go.

Burying his face in her thick mane, he surrendered to the overwhelming rush of love.
I’d give my life for yours if I could, Ilona. Please get well.
“I’m staying, even if she doesn’t wake up before the end of her fertility cycle. We belong together. I know we do.”

“We’re in agreement then, because the only way I’m leaving is if she tells me to take a hike. Hell, I’m not going anywhere even if she does.”

PC blinked at Quayde with bleary eyes, exhaustion from doing nothing but worry and wait catching up to him. “You willing to go up against a houseful of witches to stay?”

“Absolutely. I’ll take on that bastard who poisoned her if I have to. She’s ours, and we’re hers. Forever.” Quayde nuzzled her cheek. “Right, darlin’?”

Holding his breath, PC silently begged for her to answer with a resounding “yes,” but her chest only rose and fell in slow, measured rhythm. Her eyelids didn’t twitch, and her hand still refused to tighten around his. She’d claimed him and Quayde a split second before he’d exploded inside her a hundred seventy-five years ago. That would have to suffice for now.

Chapter 10

A week of not riding and shoveling horse manure had Quayde so restless he’d spent half the morning lifting weights and jogging on the treadmill Amalric and Ranulf had brought to the apartment. Knowing that today marked the end of Ilona’s fertility cycle didn’t help.

The third-quarter moon would rise at midnight, and his and PC’s shot at joining and making children with her would end until seven years passed. Romána hadn’t mentioned their predicament during her daily visit to Ilona. She’d only positioned herself at the foot of the bed, her wrinkled hands resting on top of covers. The old woman’s hair had faded a little more each day, changing from the silvery gray Quayde had noticed in the window’s reflection that first night in the Macska mansion to stark white. Her spine still held her straight, but she’d aged at least a decade in a matter of days.

Turning off the shower faucet, he grabbed his towel and dried the water from his skin. Ilona might not be conscious to smell his sweat, but he wasn’t about to climb into bed with her stinking to high heaven. With the towel wrapped low on his waist, he ran a comb through his damp hair and swiped on some deodorant before walking out of the bathroom.

He dropped his makeshift kilt as he reached the bed. “Anything, Pax?”

From his place on the other side of Ilona, PC shook his head and sighed. “No change.”

Quayde slipped between the sheets to lie next to her. Pressing his lips to her forehead, he breathed in the familiar scent of eucalyptus and warm candle wax. “We’re with you, darlin’. Nothing and nobody can make us leave you.”

“I reminded her what day it is.” PC’s voice cracked as he spoke, revealing the same ache living in Quayde’s soul.

“Doesn’t matter. I’m staying.” He gathered her hand in his, tears stinging his eyes. “I love you, Ilona. I’ll be right here with you until I take my last breath.”

“I’m making my vow to her now, Quayde. Who needs a ceremony?” Lifting his palm to her cheek, PC cleared his throat. “I love you, Ilona, and I pledge my heart and my life to you. Forever.”

The long seconds of silence became minutes, the minutes an hour. His hope for her miraculous recovery wasn’t realized, but Quayde had no intention of giving up. He and PC would share more of their past with her while she slept. They’d already told her about the less-than-perfect childhood they’d endured and their desire to provide a better home life for their children. Admitting that she’d been the first woman either of them had sex with had been easier when their audience only listened.

Quayde rolled to his side, studying the graceful line of her jaw. “I’m glad I waited for you, darlin’. I can’t wait to teach our children how to ride and take care of the horses. Jolán says your family has half a dozen mares out in the barn. PC and I trained ranch horses before we got sent to Encanto.”

His fingers combing through her hair, PC leaned in the touch his lips to her forehead. “You suppose we’ll ever find out who took us into the past? Not that I’m complaining. We lost our jobs when the rancher sold out to a big conglomerate, and every minute of that month in history was worth meeting the woman I adore.”

A knock sounded at the outer door before it opened and closed. “Hi, it’s Heléna. I brought your lunch.”

Quayde’s stomach had no interest in food, but he offered a polite greeting. “Hi, come on in.”

“Not awake yet?” She balanced a tray as she entered the bedroom, aiming for the dresser. “Looks like I need to light the new candles, too.”

PC levered up on his elbow. “Thanks, Heléna. Can I ask you a question?”

Striking a match, she touched it to a clean wick and then repeated the process with the remaining two candles. “Sure.”

“Will the family bless our joining if Quayde and I take the vows, even if Ilona can’t do the same yet?”

She pursed her lips, and her eyebrows furrowed. “I don’t know. The situation has never come up.” Turning back to the candles, she blew out the flames of the old trio. “Ilona’s very lucky. You’ve proven your love and loyalty many times over.”

The girl’s wan smile didn’t match her encouraging words, and Quayde could only guess that she hadn’t found a mate—or mates—to make her feel special. “Do you have a mate, Heléna?”

Ducking her head, she picked up the plates from the tray and delivered one to PC’s nightstand. “My twenty-first birthday is in twelve days. My fertility cycle starts on December twenty-fifth.” She rounded the bed, placing the second dish on the other night table. “It’s too dangerous to leave the estate or allow anyone in. Perhaps the shifter will no longer be a threat by my next cycle.”