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  Now, I was resisting the urge to stroke his chest rather than reach for the coffee cup.

  “Please forgive me.”

  I smiled at him. In my memories of him when his name was Alaunus, he very rarely apologized. This was a refreshing change.

  “Of course I forgive you,” I replied. Relief filled his expression. “I knew you would be angry when I did what I did. I expected it.” I patted his chest. “And I even expected you to need some time away from me. I won’t lie, it hurt when you said what you did, but I know you, Ewan. I was almost certain you would return to me once you cooled down. Maybe not right away or even after a few days, but eventually.”

  He gripped my hands tighter. “I would never be able to stay away from you for that long,” he admitted. “And I was sorry for what I said as soon as it came out of my mouth, but I was still too angry to be reasonable.”

  “And now?” I asked.

  He kept his hold on my fingers but removed them from his chest, resting them on his thighs instead. “I understand why.” He sighed, laughing a little. “After talking with Harrison, I even agree.”

  “Harrison? Really?”

  He laughed again. “Yes, in this one instance, I do.”

  I stared at him for a long time, my answering smile fading. “It’s truly over,” I murmured. “I can’t believe it’s finished.”

  He let go of my hands, lifted his fingers to my face, and stroked my jaw. “It’s not over. It’s just beginning.”

  In a week, my entire life had changed, but he was right. It wasn’t an ending.

  When he leaned in to kiss me, I met him halfway. Relief, regret, and joy tangled into a ferocious knot in my abdomen.

  Our lips clashed and his tongue spiked into my mouth, tasting me. Suddenly the barrier he’d erected between our minds disappeared and I could sense his emotions once more.

  His feelings mirrored mine, relieved that it was over, yet mournful of what we had lost.

  Macgrath laid me back on the bed, stretching his body over me. I wore nothing but a t-shirt and loose cotton pajama pants. He must have put them on me while I slept.

  His hands were gentle as he stripped the shirt from my body, revealing my naked torso. When he lowered his mouth again, it was to my breast rather than my lips. His tongue flicked over my nipple before he wrapped his mouth around me and suckled.

  My back arched and I buried my hands in his short hair. His lips and tongue felt incredible as they moved over my skin.

  Then I remembered what I’d tried to tell him two days ago before he walked away and I yanked on his hair.

  “Macgrath, about our daughter…”

  He lifted his head and his eyes were glowing. His hand swept my hair back from my face as he stared down at me. “I wish I had gotten to see her.”

  I touched his cheek. “She didn’t die as I thought. The Goddess—” I stopped, realizing it would be easier to show him what had happened rather than tell him. I closed my eyes and sent the images through our mental link, showing him the woman who took our baby, how she raised our child with love, and how our daughter had lived a long, blessed life.

  When I opened my eyes, a single tear trailed down his cheek. “I’m still angry,” he admitted.

  “I am too, but I’m glad she had a chance to live and live well even if I would rather have had her with me.”

  There were so much more to say, an enormous tangle of emotions I still needed to unravel. No, not I. We. Macgrath and I would deal with our feelings over the loss of our daughter together, in our own time.

  Our arousal had waned and Macgrath rolled onto his side, pulling me against him so my cheek rested on his chest and my arm was thrown over his belly. I lifted my right leg and draped it over his thigh, curling deeper into him and enjoying the press of my breasts against his bare ribs.

  His hand stroked over my hair absently as he asked, “Have you ever thought about having another child?”

  “Not really,” I admitted. “But only because I never found anyone I wanted to have a child with. What about you?”

  I lifted my head so I could see his face and rested my chin on his chest. Macgrath stared at the ceiling and shook his head.

  “Not really. At least not until today.”

  I turned over more, stacking my hands on his ribcage and resting my chin on them so I could look down at him. “Not until today?”

  “I know we can never replace our daughter, Ava, but…” he trailed off, his eyes moving from the ceiling to mine. “But it’s not about replacing her. I want a child with you. I always have. I want to create a family with you. Something beautiful from the both of us that will live on when we die.”

  His words touched me and I stared down at him, my throat too tight to speak.

  “Ava?” I felt his gentle probing at my mind before he smiled. “I see I’ve finally rendered you speechless. I’ll have to mark the day on the calendar.”

  That was enough to rouse me from my emotional stupor. I pinched his chest lightly and he jerked, laughing as he grabbed my fingers.

  I studied his smiling face and sparkling eyes and came to a decision. “I want to create a family with you too, Ewan. But not just yet. I’m not ready. And,” I lowered my mouth to his, the tip of my tongue tracing his bottom lip, teasing him. “I want you all to myself for a while first.”

  He rolled us so he was on top of me now. “We have plenty of time,” he murmured as he held my head in place so his lips could come down on mine. Apparently he was tired of my teasing.

  “Yes, we do,” I agreed.

  Epilogue

  A year later

  Macgrath

  I pinned Ava’s hips down beneath my hands and devoured her pussy with my mouth. She moaned and tried to buck her body, which was why I held her down in the first place.

  She’d been tormenting me all day, sending me sexual thoughts and images through our mental connection every time we were apart.

  By the time she’d come home from The Magic Bean, I’d been ravenous. As soon as she walked in the door, I pounced, lifting her off the floor and carrying her into our bedroom.

  She hadn’t resisted, even when I tore the dress from her body, ripping it down the center.

  “Ewan,” she moaned, her nails scraping my scalp. “I-I—” She didn’t finish her sentence. Her back arched as I sucked her clit into my mouth and flicked it rapidly with my tongue. I could feel how close she was to coming and I pushed her harder.

  Suddenly, she threw her head back and cried out as wave after wave of pleasure assailed her. I kept my mouth on her body, wringing every last spasm from her body. When she finally collapsed against the mattress, I rose to my knees and wiped a hand across my mouth.

  She stared up at me, her purple eyes heavy lidded and glittering. Ava reached for me as I leaned over her, pulling me down for a kiss.

  “What’s gotten into you?” she asked, grinning.

  I reached down and ran the head of my cock over her clit, making her squirm and moan. Then I moved lower, lining our bodies up so I could slide deep inside her. “I think you know exactly what’s gotten into me.”

  Her low laugh was wicked and sexy as she lifted her hips to pull me deeper into her body. When I was fully seated inside her, she lifted her head and sank her teeth into my shoulder. “I couldn’t help myself,” she admitted. “I was feeling very…amorous today.”

  I let my fangs scrape the side of her neck as punishment for the bite she’d given my shoulder. Then I withdrew nearly all the way from her body and thrust forward, hard and fast.

  Ava threw her head back and groaned, the sound throaty and pleased. I took my time and slid out of her body once more, waiting until she looked up at me with demanding eyes.

  “Ewan,” she growled.

  I shook my head, smirking at her. “You know what I want.”

  She huffed and wiggled her hips a little. “You want the same thing I want,” she argued.

  “And I’ll give it to you, but first you have to sa
y it.”

  Her brilliant purple eyes flashed to mine, bright and defiant. But through our bond, I knew she was enjoying this. She liked it when I took charge, even though she fought me every inch of the way.

  “Please.”

  As soon as the word left her lips, I moved again. I rode her hard, lifting her hips into my thrusts. She cried out and clutched my shoulders, her pussy tightening around my cock.

  I could hear the rapid hammering of her heart and see the flutter of its rhythm in her neck. As she gasped beneath me, getting closer and closer to orgasm, I put my fangs against that pulse and sank them into her throat.

  With the first pull of my mouth, her body clamped down hard around me and she came again. And again.

  The third time she came, I joined her, using my arms to crush her to my body as I emptied inside her. I relished in the tremors that wracked her as I withdrew my fangs from her neck and licked the wound to help it heal.

  Resting my weight on my elbows and knees, I remained inside her, enjoying the occasional flutter of her muscles around my cock.

  “If that’s what I get for teasing you all day, remind me to do it more often,” she murmured, her lips brushing my shoulder.

  I chuckled and finally slipped from her pussy, rolling us over so that I was on my back and she lay against me. I loved tucking her against my side, holding her close. It was as if she was made to fit there.

  As we lay in silence, catching our breath, I sensed something. A change inside her, and I knew.

  My thoughts must have given something away, because Ava lifted her head and looked down at me. “Ewan?”

  I stared up at her, in awe of what we had just done.

  Her face grew worried as she studied me. “Alaunus?” she said, prodding me with her hand. “What’s wrong?”

  Unable to help myself, I placed my hand on her abdomen, resting it over her lower belly. She understood immediately.

  “Truly?” she asked.

  I nodded. We hadn’t been trying long, a few months, but I knew she had begun to worry she wouldn’t be able to get pregnant again. I could feel it at the edges of her mind.

  Now, we knew.

  “It’s a boy,” I murmured, feeling the first stirring of life within her.

  She laughed. “They’ve proven gender isn’t determined until later in the pregnancy,” she pointed out.

  I gave her a dry look. “Then it will be a boy.”

  Ava smiled and placed her hand over mine. “A son. I can’t believe it.”

  “Would you have preferred a girl?” I asked.

  She shook her head. “I don’t care as long as our child is healthy and happy,” she sighed, her gaze still on her abdomen.

  “I feel the same.”

  Ava lifted her eyes to mine and tears shimmered against the lavender of her irises. “You were right, you know.”

  “About what?” I asked, pulling her face toward mine so I could kiss her.

  “This is the beginning. Our beginning as a family.”

  The End

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  Excerpt from Bite Me

  Forevermore is the third book in my second paranormal romance series, Blood & Bone. What you may not know is that Blood & Bone is a spin-off of the Bitten series, which is already complete.

  If you loved this book, you can get Bite Me (Bitten, #1) for FREE!

  Ch. 1 of Bite Me

  The light in the bar was dim but the patrons were loud. Between the music and the clientele, I could barely hear the order I was taking. Trying to ignore the way the guy’s eyes were glued to my cleavage, I leaned a little closer.

  “I’m sorry, what was that?” I asked.

  He stared at my breasts, which weren’t exactly impressive, as he answered, “Gin and tonic.”

  I really wanted to smack him on top of the head with my drink tray but just managed to refrain. Instead, I smiled brightly.

  “No problem.” I looked at the other two guys at the table, who were already pretty tipsy. “Anything for you?”

  They both shook their heads, and I turned and headed toward the bar. Lauren, the bartender, started pouring the drink, looking as tired as I felt. I shifted my weight from foot to foot, trying to relieve the pain in my arches. It was almost one-thirty in the morning. Last call would be in another fifteen minutes, and I could not wait. The night hadn’t been busy but steady. My feet and my head were killing me.

  I glanced around the bar to see if any of the other patrons were ready for refills. For some reason, my eyes were drawn to the corner. It wasn’t even my section, but I still looked. There was a table tucked away there, usually occupied by couples or those who wanted the illusion of privacy. Tonight, a man sat at the table, hidden in the shadows. When my gaze reached him, he shifted forward into the dim light. I felt my chest tighten. He was beautiful, beyond beautiful. His hair was dark and long, almost to his shoulders. The bones of his face looked as though they had been sculpted by a master. His high cheekbones and strong jawline should have been considered works of art. However, it was his eyes, those piercing blue eyes that I couldn’t look away from. I felt pinned.

  “G and T, Donna.”

  Lauren’s voice jerked me out of the hot guy trance, and I turned to look at her. She smirked at me when she noticed who had distracted me.

  “So you saw Jenna’s hottie from last night?”

  I blinked. I remember Jenna had been going on and on about some guy in her section last night and how he was gorgeous. Of course I had blown her off because she was twenty-two and tended to exaggerate.

  “That’s Jenna’s hottie?” I asked incredulously.

  Lauren nodded.

  “Wow, I guess she didn’t overstate it after all.”

  We both laughed and I took the glass from the bar. As I walked back to deliver the drink, I could almost swear I felt the man’s eyes on me still. I refused to look. I just knew that I would trip or do something equally embarrassing if I so much as glanced in his direction. I focused on my walk back to the table I was serving and tried to ignore the prickle on the back of my neck.

  I set the gin and tonic on the table and gave the total to my cleavage ogler. Again, the three men all eyed me like a group of wild dogs would stare at a juicy steak. I was beginning to feel uncomfortable with their obvious staring.

  “Anything else, gentlemen?” I asked. They all shook their heads. “All right, well last call is in fifteen minutes, so let me know if you need one more round.”

  A table nearby was ready to cash out their tab, so I headed back to the bar to get their credit cards. I couldn’t stop my eyes from straying to the corner, but the man with piercing eyes was gone. Ignoring the vague feeling of disappointment, I served drinks for last call, cashed out tabs, and cleared tables. The table of three men cleared out soon after I served the gin and tonic. They even left me a very hefty tip. I decided I could deal with their staring if they were going to be such great tippers.

  Finally, at two forty-five, Lauren, the other waitress Sandy, and I were finished with clean up. I walked out with them and climbed into my car. I was just about to follow them out of the parking lot when I realized that I had left my cell phone inside. I really didn’t want to go back in for it, but I needed it. I had cancelled my home phone service several months ago, and it was my only means of communication. Quickly, I whipped my car around to the back entrance. I checked the parking lot, which was still empty, and headed back into the bar. I was glad the manager trusted me enough to give me a key and the alarm code. Within a minute, I had my phone, rearmed the alarm, and locked the back door.

  I finished locking the door, but when I turned to head back to my car I stopped short. The three men from
earlier were shoulder to shoulder in front of a big, black SUV. The blood in my veins turned to ice. They did not look friendly, well, not the kind of friendly I would appreciate. This was not good. Not only were their eyes crawling all over my body, I knew exactly how much alcohol they had that evening. It was enough to bolster their courage to do something stupid, but not enough to prevent them from raping me until they were tired of the game.

  Muscles tense, I maneuvered my keys so they stuck out between my fingers like spikes. I cursed my own stupidity for not carrying the pepper spray key chain my friend Shannon had given me. It would have given me time to get into my car with the doors locked. The ringleader, Mr. G and T, stepped forward. I slid sideways away from the door, toward the road. Maybe I could make it to the street. There was a twenty-four hour diner half a block away.

  My hopes were dashed as the other two men spread out to cut me off. Okay, obviously that wasn’t going to work. I decided to try talking my way out of the situation, though I was smart enough to know it was likely futile.

  “Hey, guys. Did you forget something back in the bar? I can call my manager and have him come down and let you in.”

  None of them spoke. They only continued to close in on me. Frantically, I tried to think of something I could say that would dissuade them.

  “Well, it was nice to see you again, but I have to get going. My boyfriend is expecting me home in the next few minutes, and he’s likely to show up looking for me if I don’t get there soon. You know how paranoid cops are…” I trailed off. They weren’t backing off at the mention of a boyfriend or the cops. Shit.

  They were almost within arms’ reach now. I tried to slow my breathing. I wouldn’t have much of a chance to get away, so whatever move I was going to make was going to have to be quick, efficient, and effective. I tried not to think of how creepy it was that none of them were speaking or responding to me when I spoke. Almost like fucking robots.