“We’ll need to make plans to begin building cabins within the estate, though. If we don’t, this house could end up filling fast with the pitter patter of little feet.” He didn’t sound upset over it, merely worried.
“The children will be in more danger than we were, Callan,” Taber told him softly. “Doc needs to figure out how to control this before it’s out of hand.”
“Merinus went out of heat when she conceived.” Callan shook his head. “She hasn’t suffered from it since, though my DNA still marks her.” He sounded haunted. “She still carries it.” They weren’t entirely certain how that happened, but Merinus still carried traces of Callan’s unique DNA in her blood. It hadn’t changed her body, hadn’t reshaped her genetics in any way. Rather, it had marked her blood, her saliva, even her perspiration, with traces of the same hormonal variances that Callan carried.
He should have stayed away from Roni, Taber thought tiredly as he glimpsed the shadows in Callan’s eyes. They worried constantly that somehow, some way, the Council would manage to get their hands on Merinus and her unborn child. During high alert times Callan rarely slept and would re-check their security on the hour—damned near every hour.
“I can’t let her go,” Taber whispered. He only wished he could.
“I know.” Callan wiped his hands over his faced wearily. “I know exactly how you feel.” Chapter Eleven
Roni came awake, bathed in perspiration, her flesh feeling irritated and achy. Her breasts were swollen, her nipples throbbing. Between her thighs her pussy clenched, wept, as she remembered the hard driving thrusts of Taber’s cock inside the narrow channel.
It hadn’t been the romantic interlude she had always fantasized about. There had been no candlelight, no Taber on his knees begging for forgiveness, instead, there had been blistering heat, intensity, and some unnamed desperation clawing between both of them that refused to be ignored. The orgasm that ended it had blown all her preconceived notions of what an orgasm could be, right out the window. Now, if she could just get him to do it again.
She would have to find him first, though. She looked around the room. Night must have finally fallen. The room was dimmer than before, lit only by the soft glow of the lamp beside the bed. The heavy dark wood of the furniture gave the room a protective feeling. Sturdy, uncluttered, and yet uniquely Taber’s.
On the far side of the room a large picture of him standing in front of the garage he had owned in Sandy Hook hung prominently. Several trophies he had won in shooting contests were displayed on the dresser beneath it. Taber hadn’t been an excessively public person, but he had been well known. Well known and well trusted.
She tried to get her bearings, to fight the insidious arousal building in her. He had said she was in heat.
That she would be unable to deny him. Unable to deny his touch. This went beyond denial; this was a beast clawing at her womb, screaming out in demand for the explosive orgasm he had given her before.
She moaned weakly as she turned to her side, wondering at the tight cramps in her lower abdomen.
With each spasm her vagina pulsed and throbbed in accompaniment. With each twisting contraction her anger grew. Taber had done this to her. Where before her arousal and need for him had been only a hypersensitive irritation, it had now become an agony.
“God, it could only happen to me,” she whispered into the silent room as she stared at the wall across from her.
“Not exactly.” A sympathetic female voice spoke behind her, causing Roni to jerk over in the bed, clutching the comforter to her bare breasts as her eyes widened.
She remembered meeting Merinus the day before, though only vaguely. Her mind was consumed with the memory of the heat, the driving need that had tormented her. And Taber. Fierce, savage, determined to claim her despite the fact that he had been the one to walk away months before.
The other woman watched her with deep brown eyes filled with compassion. She was slender, about Roni’s height, with long, light brown hair and compassionate eyes. Her expression was calm, sympathetic, and brought a lump to Roni’s throat. She had never truly had friends, at least not once they met her father, and this woman’s gentle manner made her realize all she had given up over the years.
Merinus, despite the luxurious surroundings of the estate and what Roni remembered of this house, didn’t appear to adopt a “lady of the manor” attitude, though. She was dressed in faded jeans, a loose cream-colored cotton shirt and sneakers. She seemed the type more at home camping in the great outdoors than supervising a mansion.
“Where’s Taber?” She looked around the room to be certain he wasn’t there.
“He’s with Callan at the moment. He’s head of security here at the estate, and some of the new measures they were putting in place required his attention.” Merinus stood up from the chair she had been sitting in and padded over to the bed.
“I have some clothes that should fit you laid out in the bathroom if you would like to wash up and get dressed. I’d suggest a bath for now. It seems to ease the worst of the mating effects for a short time.” Roni felt heat rise in her face as the other woman mentioned the insane desire that had held her in its grip earlier. She could handle wanting the man until she ached, but this was ridiculous.
“For a short while?” she asked her fiercely, frowning. “No.” She shook her head at that one. “Something has to stop this. Now.” She couldn’t accept anything else.
She could feel the heat rising in her body once again. Her skin felt irritated, sensitive, her breasts swollen, her clit throbbing in demand. She couldn’t handle this. It had been bad before, but this was worse than she could have imagined.
She wondered if Taber was even suffering from it. More than likely not. And if any man deserved to, it was he.
Merinus sighed. “The effects are temporary, Roni, but not without a certain price. Take your bath while I call down and have your dinner brought up. We’ll talk when you’re done.” She turned to leave the room, leaving Roni with too many damned questions and no answers.
“Wait.” Roni wrapped the comforter around her as she slid from the high bed. Dammit, did Taber think everyone was as damned tall as he was? “Tell me how to stop this now.” The look on Merinus’ face when she turned back was somber.
“You can’t stop it now. It has to run its course. Now go bathe. The time you can stand to wait for Taber is limited. I know you have questions, and some of them I can answer. But not until you’re more comfortable.”
Roni drew in a rough breath, staring at the other woman’s implacable expression. She looked more than determined, and Roni had a feeling she was used to getting her own way.
“This bites,” she snapped, turning away from Merinus. “If I wanted to bathe first I would have asked.” But she stomped to the bathroom anyway, determined to get it over with and get her questions answered as soon as possible.