Heart's Storm (Falling Underhill Book 4) Read online

  “Yes, a person who starts off small and grows strangely rapidly. I believe they are called children.”

  She blushed. “Yes, but as the biological delivery system, I had just never given it much thought. I guess we didn’t use protection.”

  “Nope. Not once. The intent of this project was to try and start the next generation. The anchor that I mentioned earlier.”

  “Oh. Wow. So, that is the anchor that binds the layers together.”

  “It is. Blood between the layers is what does it. What holds the connection.”

  “So, if I was pregnant, I would only be a few days along.”

  “Correct. So, you do not even need to worry about the signs. There won’t be any yet.”

  She gave him a side glance. “So, the time in Underhill doesn’t count?”

  He grinned. “It might. I haven’t done this before.”

  She started googling symptoms of pregnancy, and she looked at what may or may not occur. “You will like this one. My boobs will get bigger.”

  He snickered. “That is interesting, but I am delighted with your body just the way it is.”

  She had a flashback and fought hard to keep her shiver from manifesting. About eighty-five percent of their intimate moments had involved his hands on her breasts. Yeah, that didn’t seem like someone who was looking for something else. She smiled and looked out the window as the countryside blurred past.

  He reached out and put his hand out, palm up, on the seat between them. She placed her hand in his, and their drive continued in a warm silence. It was time to see what he expected her to work with.

  Chapter Nine

  He unlocked the gate off the highway with a remote, and they drove down the snowy road that led into the farm.

  They were out of sight of the highway when he pulled up next to an old set of buildings that looked like they had seen better days. That wasn’t what Audra was looking at. She was looking at the trees.

  She left the seeds on the hood of the truck and walked to the four-year-old pine trees. “Oh, aren’t you just the cutest?”

  She walked through the rows and looked back to where Raiden was standing. She grinned. “They are adorable.”

  “Do you want to see the other fields? There are twelve in total.”

  She ran back to him and squealed, jumping into his arms and kissing him. “This place is perfect, aside from the lack of housing.”

  He smiled. “Anything that puts that expression on your face fills me with delight. And you can jump at me whenever you wish. I will always catch you.”

  She had her legs locked around his waist, and she brushed her lips against his. “So, where do you folk get the money?”

  “Making and finding gold and gems is something that we are very good at. Matter manipulation is our primary skill.”

  He held the backs of her thighs and spun around with her. She squealed and hung onto him with her arms around his neck. He laughed and held her tight.

  “There is nothing I would like better than a handfasting with you right now.” He rumbled it in her ear.

  She chuckled. “Somehow, you made that sound dirty.”

  He shifted his hands to her butt and rocked her against him. “It definitely could be.”

  She leaned back in his arms. “So, what is needed for the handfasting?”

  “You, me, a ribbon, and an open area. My preferred environment is inside a compressed storm.”

  Audra looked at him. “Seriously?”

  “Seriously. That is my environment.”

  “How would I get inside it?” She cocked her head.

  “It would form around us.” He grinned. “You are really willing to do this now?”

  She chuckled. “Why not? No one else will notice, and my parents are busy trying to plan tours on their cruise.”

  “We will have a civil ceremony when they return.” He pressed his forehead to hers.

  “Or after six weeks. Whichever comes first.”

  “Why six weeks?”

  She tutted. “It will be considered normal for a dating couple in a rush to do that if they find out they are pregnant.”

  “Oh. Right. Hey, I get to be pregnant, too?” He spun her around again.

  “Of course. Modern phrasing for the modern age.”

  He kissed her quickly. “Good, then I will try extra hard.”

  She blushed. “Please, don’t try harder. I don’t think I will be able to walk if you try harder.”

  He grinned. “I am not sorry. You respond so perfectly to me that I want to try everything at once.”

  “And you have tried that twice.”

  “Well, I had to make sure that you would not protest, so I spaced out the attempts.” He smiled. “So, shall we go to be handfasted?”

  She glanced up at the sun nearing a noon position. “I think it would be a good idea. Since you mentioned it, I am guessing that the handfasting is something that goes along with the gingerbread house, the time in Underhill, and the fact that I don’t want to let you out of my sight. I think that ritual might alleviate some angst.”

  “It will certainly have that effect.” He grinned. “So, that is a yes?”

  She nodded. “It’s a yes.”

  He smiled and walked with her into the woods that weren’t a field of pine. She was still clinging to him like a monkey, so there was a bit of rubbing going on between them. They travelled only a few hundred yards before they were in a clearing.

  He set her on her feet and stepped back. “Pardon me, but I am a stickler for formalities.”

  She didn’t know what he meant until the air around her grew cool, and she felt the lack of underwire on her skin a moment before silk was pressing against her breasts. She glanced down and was wearing the same overlapping gown that she had been wearing before.

  His own clothes dissolved until he was wearing the long skirt, the long flowing vest, and his crown of clouds and lightning. Power was rippling along his skin. If she had seen him all kitted out like this at his full height the first time, she might not have agreed to ride his unicorn.

  She was grinning at that thought as they stood in the centre of the space, and he held out his hands. She slid her fingers along his, and the clearing around them began to suffer the effects of a very localized storm.

  Black ribbon appeared above them and wrapped around their wrists, tying them together.

  “Audra, since Puck told me and the others that he could find us brides, I have been skeptical. No woman could understand us or even begin to become proper partners. Not only was I very wrong, but I am enthralled with the thought of you at my side for the remainder of my existence.

  “I offer you all that I am and all that I have. I wish to wake with you in the mornings and hold you through the night. I want to offer you a future that lives up to your potential. So, if you will accept that I will stumble and make errors, but if you help me through the storm, I promise a life of minimal regrets.”

  He smiled, and she knew it was her turn.

  “Raiden, you were not what I expected for my future. You make me laugh, you make me groan, and you know very well what else you make me do.” He grinned.

  “The transfer to Underhill was a surprise, meeting you was a shock, and getting to know you has been a pleasure. For a long-lived species, you are in a remarkable hurry, but I can roll with that. My life has revolved around the family business, but now, it will transfer to another family business. Our family, I suppose. Yikes. Okay. So, in conclusion, I am not going to let any other guy offer me a ride on his unicorn.”

  He laughed and kissed her. The ribbon dissolved into four bracelets, two on each of them.

  The storm around them got wild, and she clung to him as he pressed his hands to her hips. She gripped his shoulders as they were wrapped in writhing clouds and streaks of lightning. The kiss got deeper, and Audra felt the weather getting more violent around them.

  She kept herself pressed
to him as the storm raged, and when she felt her clothing moving, she fought her grin. He encouraged her legs up around his hips, and she felt him nudging at her folds. He moved his mouth away from hers and trailed kisses down her neck. Her dress opened completely, and his lips found her breasts as he thrust into her. She moaned, and the wind swept her cries away. The wrap of clouds and lightning concealed them, which was probably a good thing because with the lack of a surface to brace her against, Raiden had to hold her hips as he thrust into her while moving his mouth from one breast to the other.

  Her senses were overloaded, and then, lightning played across their skin. They writhed against each other, and soon, they shuddered in unison, slowly drifting back to earth.

  Audra looked at her hands and watched tiny arcs of lightning skating along her skin. She tried to speak and had to make another attempt. “I would say that my legs still work, but I am not sure that they do.”

  He grinned and pressed his forehead to hers. “I think that it is entirely likely that mine don’t work either.”

  She giggled, and he laughed, and they remained locked together until she was able to unlock her ankles, and he held her as her legs gradually remembered what they were supposed to do.

  They walked back to the truck with their arms around each other’s waist. It wasn’t fast, but they didn’t want to let go.

  She saw the basket on the hood of the truck and chuckled, closing the front of her dress. “I had forgotten about those little critters. Right. I saw a spot on the way to the grove that will suit them. We will get them settled, and in the spring, you can give them a solid rain and wake them up.”

  “They won’t need it. The moment that they touch soil, they will lock in. Make sure you plant them as you would adult trees, not seedlings.”

  “I have to do this?” she raised her brows.

  “You are the storm queen. It is your duty to finish what you start.”

  “Wait. Having sex with you comes with a title? It isn’t really that impressive.” She blurted it out before she could stop herself.

  He snorted. “Is that a challenge?”

  “No, I just didn’t think I needed a prize for it.” She smiled. “All I do is react.”

  He grinned. “When I am less impatient, you will have more time to explore before I overwhelm your poor mortal senses. Well, not mortal anymore.”

  She had just taken the basket, and she turned to look at him. “Wait, what?”

  Raiden put his arm around her waist and started to walk her back toward the forest. “I gave you half of all I am and all I have. That is power and my very extended lifespan. You gave me detailed knowledge of the modern world and the promise of a future link to this plane.”

  “Link... oh. Right.” She looked down at her flat stomach. “That.”

  “Yes. That. Wars have been fought over the right to start the next generation. While I am not going to start a war, no one will have an opportunity to threaten you or our children when they arrive.”

  They were walking slowly back through the forest until they reached the glade where they had handfasted.

  “That is really sweet. Creepy as hell but sweet.”

  She put the first acorn down and nestled it into the snow. She paced out twelve feet and put the next one down. She continued around the grove until she had created a circle around the space that still crackled with energy. By the time she finished, the first acorn had sprouted and was on its way to becoming a sapling.

  She looked at Raiden. “I am assuming they are going to be fine.”

  He laughed. “They have the soil and the energy of a heavily populated world to draw on now. They are going to do fine. Now come with me. We will get back to the city and have dinner. Then, we will debate where we are going to live until the house is built here.”

  She looked down at the gown. “You are going to change me back to my normal clothing before we leave, right?”

  He grinned. “You look lovely this way and are so very accessible.”

  “In the privacy of our own space, I promise to wear Minoan formalwear at least once a month.”

  He cocked his head. “I don’t understand.”

  “When I have my phone back, I can show you.” She chuckled. “I can guarantee your interest on some level.”

  “Guarantee?”

  She smiled, and there was a blush on her cheeks as they returned to the truck in their finery. “I am fairly sure that it will spark some interest.”

  “Yes, so you have said. I am not familiar with those fashions, but I suppose I can return you to yours.” He sighed, and her winter coat, jeans, and boots wrapped around her. Her shirt was in place, but there was something missing.

  “Where is the underwear?”

  He sighed. “You won’t need it.”

  “Dude, there is cum running down my inner thigh... for some reason.”

  He chuckled. “I am sure I have no idea.”

  She fished in her pocket for her phone and searched the clothing she had mentioned. He tucked her into the truck and climbed into the driver’s seat. “So, what is so special about this outfit?”

  She showed him the image, and he blinked. He swallowed. He carefully enlarged the image.

  Audra asked, “Can you make something like that for me?”

  “I will have to do some research, but you are right. This definitely sparks interest.” He gave her a slow smile and returned her phone to her.

  “How much am I going to regret showing you that?”

  He put the truck in gear and shifted to his own normal clothing as they drove down the road and got back to the gate. He closed the gate behind them and lifted her left hand to his lips. “Oh, I should think that if it turns out as I imagine, it will definitely cause you to regret mentioning it.”

  “Oh, balls.”

  He chuckled and kissed her hand again before they started the discussion of where to live while they began the process of building a house on that property. He wanted to do things the mortal way so that anyone inheriting the building would get a legal residence. He was perversely happy to be doing things the human way, and she was happy to have a familiar process to fall back on. It was strange to find comfort in bureaucracy, but she did.

  Chapter Ten

  He gave her his address, and they returned to the greenhouse to collect her car. Takeout was on the agenda. She was starving.

  Audra shook her head in surprise at the house being two blocks away from the greenhouse. She pulled up behind the truck in the rotunda and parked, heading inside. Her clothing would be transferred to his place discretely, and after a few weeks, she would tell her parents about their relationship. They didn’t really watch her comings and goings that closely, so it shouldn’t be a problem.

  She approached his front door and raised her hand to knock. The door swung open, and he pulled her inside. He hugged her tight, and then, he breathed a little easier as she wrapped her arms around him.

  She murmured against his chest. “Dude, it has been five minutes.”

  He chuckled. “It has been an eternity for me. So, when do you want to move in?”

  She laughed and looked up at him, only to see that he was serious. “Um... Why didn’t we cover this on the way home?”

  He grinned. “Because then I would not have had the chance to be persuasive.”

  Her stomach rumbled, and because they were pressed together, he could feel as well as hear it.

  “I suppose that since I tired you out, it is my duty to provide for you.” He winked.

  She patted his chest. “Even a thousand years ago, that would have been the case.”

  “I would have been responsible for bringing it home. You would have had to prepare it. Well, if we didn’t have servants to do it.”

  Audra laughed. “I can cook if that is what you are getting at, but I need to be able to move around. You have quite a grip.”

  “I don’t want to let go.” He leaned down to
nuzzle her neck.

  She huffed. “At least close the door and let me get my jacket off. And my boots.”

  He sighed reluctantly and closed the door. She heard the bolt settle into place, and he released her to unzip her coat and ease it from her shoulders. He hung it up in the entryway closet and offered her his arm.

  “I don’t think I need an escort into your home.”

  He murmured, “But I really want you touching me.”

  She cuddled up to him, wearing her t-shirt and jeans. “So, what are we going to have for dinner? Or a snack or nachos?”

  He sighed and pulled out his phone. He scrolled through some options, and they discussed what they were craving. At some point, Audra ended up leaning against the counter, and he was behind her, scrolling as she made up her mind. She picked ribs and all the trimmings.

  “That can be a bit messy.”

  She shrugged and sighed. “I suppose I will just have to wash up, and since I have nothing here to change into...”

  “Right. Extra sauce.” He flicked his fingers and sent off the order.

  She giggled and turned in his arms. “So, how long until this feeling of being on a honeymoon wears off?”

  He lifted her and set her on the counter. “It might wear off into a general hum of wellbeing in a decade or so.”

  She grinned. “A decade?”

  He nuzzled her neck, and his tongue flicked against her skin. “Maybe longer.”

  “How long until the food shows up?” She tilted her head, and he took full advantage of the curve of her neck.

  “Forty minutes.”

  “Well, I wonder what we can get accomplished in forty minutes?” She reached out to unsnap his jeans. Her fingers grazed his belly, and the muscles flexed under her touch.

  He bit her neck gently as she eased his zipper open and coaxed his erection into her hand. She stroked him slowly, breathing in deep as he moved to the other side of her neck. Her hand stroked up and down, enjoying the velvety feeling of him in her hand.

  He murmured against her neck, “One of us is wearing too many clothes for this.”

  She chuckled. “I get to undress myself?”