Taken Read Free

in that big tub all by myself, but I'll just have to make do, I suppose. I've been wanting to try out that hand held shower head you had installed. Surely one of those jets can relieve this tension that I'm suddenly experiencing.”
    Her voice had dropped with each sentence, her words husky and seductive. Kosmas' swollen shaft twitched, his imagination kicking into overdrive as he pictured her directing the shower head over every inch of her body. Would she linger between her legs, in the area he adored so much? As erotic as the thought was, he quickly found himself growing jealous. He refused to allow her to orgasm without his participation, he wasn't selfless enough to ever deny himself that kind of pleasure.
    “Oh. Hell. No,” he growled out, leaning forward to swirl his tongue around one taut nub. “I order you to wait until I return. I'll bathe you then, and I promise you, by the time I'm done you'll feel boneless.”
    Kosmas anticipated taking her as much as he had in the beginning. Time hadn't dimmed his lust. With Keely, everything still felt fresh and new. His body still thrummed with the thrill of the chase, his shaft still hardened by the thought of her curves. He would never give up trying to win her, a day would never pass them by that he wasn't as flirtatious and bossy as he'd been from the beginning. It was his way of showing he cared. He was obsessed with his mate, and he wasn't too proud to admit it. To himself, at least.
    “Well, since you say it so temptingly...”
    Keely's words were cut off with a gasp, as she suddenly pressed her hand against her stomach, her face pale. Kosmas immediately leaped up on his knees, his own hand reaching out to her stomach. Leaning forward, he hissed, “What is it, Keely? Is it the baby?”
    His body filled with cold terror at the thought. There were no words to describe just how much he wanted his son or daughter, and everything that her pregnancy represented. Kosmas couldn't bear the thought of their happiness being ripped away from them, he couldn't take the thought of losing that tiny fetus growing within her. Nothing in his life had ever prepared him for the horror that engulfed him. Kosmas would rather face a horde of the biggest, deadliest vampires in existence than see the worried expression across his mate's face.
    Keely didn't answer him immediately, but her eyes flitted up to meet his as she frowned. She looked puzzled. Spreading his fingers wide across her stomach, Kosmas felt the tension in her abdominal muscles. “Do I need to summon a doctor?” he pressed her, but a small movement against his hand stopped him.
    “No,” she replied, her frown dissolving as her lips spread into a large smile. The sheer happiness on her face took his breath away. With her long, tousled red hair, pale skin, and pink cheeks, she was the most beautiful female he'd ever seen. He never tired of watching her. “I'm pretty sure it's nothing more than our child making his presence known.”
    Kosmas lowered his eyes to her stomach, as emotion flooded him. He'd anticipated this day from the moment he'd discovered she was pregnant, and feeling his child's movements against his hand was an incredulous, humbling experience. “He's kicking,” Kosmas muttered in a low, hoarse voice. “Our baby is kicking.”
    Keely made a sound that was half-sob, half-laugh. Her eyes filled with tears, her voice reflecting her own wonder with the moment when she agreed with him. “He is, and from the feel of it, your son is going to be just as strong as you are.”
    “Of course,” Kosmas replied, filled with pride as he moved his palm in a circular motion against her skin. “After all, he comes from good stock.”

Chapter 2
    Kosmas stood to the side of the space plan, crossing off items from the clipboard in his hands as his guards continued to carry items out. It was a mundane task for a man that thrived on danger, but none of the men around him would have ever been foolish enough to comment