Khan (18 page)

“It’s the extra energy you’re burning.”

She flushed.

“Not just with the sex, but as the
partial panther you’ve become. We burn hotter, and though you can’t shift, you’re
still burning a great many calories. Wait until you’re pregnant. You’ll really
pack it away.”

Her fork stopped halfway to her mouth. “Do
you want children? With me? I don’t know what sort of mother to be to panthers.
Do they require anything different?”

“Yes. They eat raw steak at birth and
they can chew your breast off when you nurse them.” Her fork dropped and he
burst out laughing. “I’m kidding. No. They’re normal babies until they reach
around thirteen. Some can shift early, like my mom, but mostly it’s around
puberty. You should have seen the look on your face.”

Monica threw her napkin at him. He
smiled at her gently and took her hand. She loved it when he looked at her like
that.

“And in answer to your question, yes, I
want to have children with you. As many as you’re willing to have. I want as
many as my mother had, but you’ll be the one that has to carry them, and I don’t
want anything to happen to them.”

They finished their meal and went back
out into the cold. He took her to one of the nicer shops on a side street and
told the lady behind the counter they had an appointment. She apparently knew
Khan.

“Khan, it’s been an age. Where have you
been hiding yourself? Are you buying for that special lady in your life?”

Monica looked at him, wanting to both
leave and kill him at the same time.

“No. This is for Monica. Monica, I’d
like you to meet Alice Combs. Alice, my mate. My mother said she talked to you
this morning and you knew what I wanted.” When the woman nodded and walked away,
he turned to her. “I buy things in here for my mom. Ask her. I buy her a formal
dress that she wears to the charity thing they have for Panthers without
Parents. I do it every year.”

She believed him, but didn’t want to let
him off the hook that easily. She walked up to him and cupped his cock in her
hand, and he stood very still. When she gave it a sharp but short tug, he
groaned. “You want to keep this impressive appendage, then I would suggest that
you never take me anywhere that you took that bitch. Understand?” He nodded. “And
for the record, when I see her, I’m tearing her eyes out.”

When she removed her hand, he pulled her
to him for a hard kiss. “And so you know, I’m going to let you. And she would
never come in here. This place is owned by the woman that you just met and not
a big brand name shop. Roseann was big on names.”

The woman was pushing a rack. On it were
several gowns and a few wraps. Monica looked at Khan. He only shrugged. She was
going to murder him in his sleep as soon as she got him alone.

“Warren and Marshall have invited us to
the Christmas Ball at the White House tonight. It’s a private affair, they said,
but it’s formal. I wanted you to be able to dress up. So I had Mom call Alice
and had her find you a few things to try on.” He took her hand and kissed it. “Besides,
I thought it would be a nice break for you to think about something besides
Barr for a little while.”

She looked at the dresses hanging there
and back at him. “These are very expensive, even I can tell that. I can’t let
you—”

He kissed her. “You can and you will.
Besides, I’ve taken the advice of a very wealthy woman and had everything I own
put into your name as well, Monica Bowen, but we’re going to take care of that
as soon as we can get this other mess taken care of.”

She thought he was hiding something from
her, but didn’t know what. When Alice showed her the fitting room, she
followed. There were things there already laid out for her as well.

“Corrine didn’t know for sure what size
you were, so I put several different sizes in here for you. Some of them go
with specific dresses so we’ll look at those if we get that far.” Alice lifted
her hair up off her neck and twisted it into a sharp bun. “You have such a
lovely neck. I would think that wearing your hair up sort of like this would be
just lovely.”

She fussed with some of the items and
handed her a pretty bra and panty set. Then she handed her a robe. Alice told
her that she’d have her put the dresses to her skin to see which ones suited
her before she tried them on.

“But I must admit, I believe that there
is only one dress that’ll do for you. It’s the cranberry one that has the… Let
me get rid of Khan, and you and I will play. He mentioned shopping for his tux
as well.” She disappeared, then returned a short time later. “I told him that
when we found a dress, he wasn’t to peek until you got to the ball. He said
that he would try to promise that, but wasn’t making any kind of guarantees. He
loves you very much.”

Monica nodded. “And I love him as well. But
I don’t…I don’t want you to be insulted, but this is going to very expensive
for him. I know that he says he can afford it, but I don’t want him to spend
money on me for a dress when I’m sure I could borrow one of the other ladies’.”
She fingered the cranberry dress. It was so beautiful, but she was afraid of
the cost.

Alice tisked at her. She looked like she
had a secret too. “When I first started this business, nearly ten years ago
now, Khan and his mother were my very first customers. He wanted a dress for
her for some event and I barely had enough money after buying this place to pay
the payment much less purchase the money for the material needed to make a
dress I could already see Corrine in. He made the arrangements to pick it up,
even inviting me to the hotel where she was staying to help her put it on
correctly. He said he’d pay for such service. And he did.” She took the dress
off the padded hanger and handed it to Monica. “Before he left, he handed me
some money and his business card. He said that he knew it was expensive to run
a shop and wanted to make sure that his mother looked good. He winked at me, then
left. I looked down at the cash in my hand.”

The dress slid over her head and pooled
at her feet like it had been lengthened just for her. When she looked in the
three-sided mirror, she watched, mesmerized as Alice zipped up the back, the
dress seeming to mold to her body. Even the bodice seemed to have been made for
her ample bosom. “How much did he give you?” Monica asked the woman smiling at
her as she held up her hair. “He gave you enough to run this place, didn’t he?”

“Yes, for a very long time. I will never
forget him or his mother. They have been and always will be the best people I’ve
ever met. And you should know that he will never hurt you and will love you for
the rest of his days.”

Monica looked at herself in the mirror.
She almost didn’t know the person staring back at her. Her eyes were darker
than they’d ever been, cheeks flushed with rosy health, and her lips, even
after being kissed by Khan so long ago, looked fuller and more lush.

“I think this is the one.”

Alice nodded.

“I’ve never seen a more beautiful dress
in all my life. Thank you for this.” She hugged Alice, then stepped back to
look at the shoes she’d brought in for her to wear. They made her several
inches taller, and when she’d lifted the dress, her legs looked fabulous. Monica
couldn’t stop looking at it.

“It’s not just the dress, my dear. Even
though I made it, I can honestly say that I doubt anyone would have been able
to make it look even half that good. It’s as if it was made for you.”

~~~

The limo pulled up in front of the White
House at a quarter till seven. They were supposed to be there at seven, and
Monica was sure that they were running behind. Caitlynne had had to answer the
phone seven times, and Walker had to assure his mother numerous times that his
dad was wearing a tux and not his jeans and t-shirt. They were a group to
reckon with. Even Dylan had come up for the event.

Each of the Bowen men had on a tuxedo. And
each of them looked good enough to eat. She decided that if a woman had to wear
heels and an expensive gown to mingle with people she didn’t know, these were
the men she wanted to do it with. And Caitlynne looked amazing. She remembered
the conversation again that they’d had when Caitlynne was having her makeup
done.

“Isn’t it great what they can do with
maternity clothes these days? Alice said I should show off my baby, not hide it
away. I didn’t tell her that I’d been having a hard time simply putting on
clothes. I was so tired all the time, and I’m only six months pregnant.” She
looked at her in the mirror over her vanity. “Do you know what it is? The
doctor doesn’t have a clue.”

“Yes. Do you really want to know? Because
once I tell you, I can’t un-tell you.”

Caitlynne bit her lip then nodded.

“It’s a boy, and he’s full blooded
panther. He’s going to be big, so you’d better be resting.”

Caitlynne finished her makeup and sat
down. She looked pole-axed, yet very happy. Monica smiled at her when she
turned from the vanity.

“I know that Walker said he’d be happy
either way, but the thought of trying to raise a girl terrified me. I don’t
know anything at all about being a girly girl, and it would be my luck she’d be
one.” She looked around the room. “It won’t be long now. The end of April.”

“You’ll make a wonderful mother. And
Walker a great dad. You two have so much family around you that you can’t help
but do wonderfully. And the baby will be so spoiled.”

Caitlynne nodded.

“I envy you. Khan said that it’s not
time for us yet. I’m not sure when it will be.”

“He means you’re not what they refer to
as ‘in-heat.’ I know it sounds weird, but that’s what Walker called it. He said
it’s a quarterly thing for us. I don’t know how they can tell, but they can.” She
looked at her with a smile. “We were so happy to get started on a baby. You’ll
be that way for an entire week, and you simply cannot get enough sex.”

Monica wondered how that was possible
since she couldn’t get enough now. When they were told by the maid that the car
was here, they both put on their capes. Neither of them had wanted their mates
to see the dresses they had on. And now here they were.

Monica knew she’d picked well when Khan
growled low as he buried his face in her neck. She nearly knocked him to the
floor when he nipped gently at her flesh. He lifted his head from her and
looked deeply into her eyes.

“Any man that touches you tonight will
be dead within the hour. Remember that when someone asks you to dance.” She
believed him. He looked positively feral, and she had never felt so loved in
her life.

The president and Marshall met them in
the main hall. They were both dressed in tuxedos as well. When Marshall reached
for her, she remembered what Khan had said and nearly backed away. He laughed
at her.

“He won’t mind tonight. I’ve helped him
with a special treat for you.” He put his arm around her waist, but she did
notice that he didn’t actually touch her skin. “Come on, everyone. Everything
is ready.”

The room they were led to was decorated
beautifully. There was a huge Christmas tree as well as a great many gifts
under it. She walked to the tree to see the tiny white ornaments, and that’s
when she noticed the altar.

She looked at Khan, then back at the man
who walked toward her. This wasn’t a dinner party after all. Khan held her hand
as he led her to the front of the room. When they stood before his family, she
started to cry.

“I know that some of you knew what was
happening tonight, and I want to thank you for helping me make this happen.” He
looked at her. “Monica Preston, will you become my bride tonight and allow me
to spend the rest of my life making you happy and keeping you safe?”

The second ring he slipped onto her
finger was a band that was encircled in diamonds. These were all white with a
single chocolate one on top. He kissed her again and then led her to the altar.
They were getting married.

When Corrine and George stood with them
as their best man and matron of honor, Monica knew for the rest of her days she
would remember this day as the most wonderful one in her life. She looked up at
Khan. “I didn’t say yes.” He looked at her wide-eyed, and she nearly laughed. “You’ve
been handling me again, and we had a talk about this, remember?”

“Yes, but I—”

“No buts. You told me just this morning
that we would make sure that we discussed any big decisions and not make them
without consulting the other.” She looked over at George who looked ready to
bust his buttons on his jacket. “Would you consider this a big decision,
George?”

“Yes,” he told her with a strained voice
full of humor. “I would say this rates right up there with one of the biggest.”

“Dad, you’re not helping.”

She turned him to look at her when he continued
to glare at his dad. “You think you need help with me, big boy?” He shook his
head then leaned down to her ear. When he nipped at it hard, she knew she’d
gone too far.

“No. You don’t need help. Because if you
don’t stop this right now, I’m going to make you wish you had.” He kissed her
on the mouth. “Marry me?”

“Well of course I will. I’m so glad you
asked.” The wedding proceeded with everyone laughing right along with them.