Lost Paradise (32 page)

Devlin clasped my hand in his loosely. “I
think you did and said what needed to be done and said,” he said
evenly.

“I didn’t want them to know all that. I
didn’t want them to have to deal with the darker side of
things.”

“Like me, you mean?” Devlin said, annoyed.
“Like our deal?”

“No,” I said. “I didn’t want my mother to
worry about me. I didn’t want her to know I could teleport, that I
was part demon. She goes to church regularly. Even though she’s not
a zealot, she can’t help but be influenced now by what I told her.
She’s going to look at me differently.”

“But you are different than you were,” Devlin
interjected. “You’re also right in that there is no undoing it. You
would have had to tell her, sooner or later.”

His words reminded me of Lash’s, the jerk
who’d started this whole mess. “And where’s your henchman? I hope
you didn’t leave him at the party to add to this mess.”

Devlin squeezed my hand, then let it go. “Do
you want me to punish Lash for telling them?”

“No. Just tell him not to talk to my parents
again. The last thing I need is for them to find out about him, me,
and The Lust.”

“I’ll take care of it,” he said, then
inclined his head slightly. “Do you want me to leave, or stay?”

I looked back at him, wanting him desperately
to stay, to make love with me, to sing to me, to love me. I took a
long shaking breath. “Please go.”

“Will you allow me to come and see you?”
Devlin, taking my hand again. “I’ve missed you, Sar.” He stroked my
wrist, then my arm. “I lie awake at night wishing you were with
me.”

Go now, or you’ll give in to him
. I
got up abruptly. “I’m sure by this time you’ve found someone to
ease your loneliness,” I said spitefully, then strode into Danial’s
room.

I waited there, not sure if I wanted Devlin
to come after me, or not. When a knock sounded some time later, I
hesitantly called out, “Come in.”

It was Danial, not Devlin. “Dev told me what
happened. Tina is never going to let me forget what I did,” Danial
said miserably. “As if I could anyway.”

“She’ll forgive you, Danial. Just give her
time.” I gave him a bright smile. “How was the party?”

“Much enjoyed,” Danial said, flashing a
smile. “But we were talking of your mother. Why do you forgive so
easily, and she doesn’t?”

“Because I’ve done a lot I needed forgiveness
for. I’ve been lucky, in that most of the people I wronged forgave
me. I try not to withhold forgiveness, if someone is really
contrite.”

Danial looked at me pointedly.

“Sometimes there is just too much to
forgive,” I said softly, then went into the bathroom to shower.

“Never can true reconcilement grow where
wounds of deadly hate have pierced so deep,” Danial intoned
softly. “I hope in time you’ll reconsider, Sar.”

I didn’t answer him, biting my lip.

* * * *

By June first, Stephen announced my babies
would most likely be born in mid-August.

“But that is over a month early, right?” Theo
said worriedly.

“The dhamphir would have matured a little
early in any case,” Stephen said patiently. “But the werecougar is
developing much faster than it should, Theo. As this also happened
previously with your daughter, it’s likely due to something with
your physiology.”

“Is the were going to endanger my child?”
Devlin asked.

Stephen didn’t immediately reply.

“Answer me, Camlyn,” Devlin said roughly.
“Now.”

“Probably not,” Stephen said finally. “It’s
the dhamphir who is a danger to the werecougar.”

“What?” I asked, confused. “Why?”

“The babies are close together, Sar. Every
day, as the were child gets bigger, it presses more and more
against the dhamphir, whose fangs are already forming. Sooner or
later, the dhamphir is going to realize that it has a source of
nourishment right next to it—”

I let out a scream, remembering Perseus’s
idle comment. “No!”

“What can we do?” Devlin said. “Will giving
her blood help? If the dhamphir is getting enough blood, it should
negate the desire to feed, like it does in a vampire.”

“I’m going to prescribe some capsules of
blood,” Stephen said, nodding. “It’s our best chance, I think. Sar,
I want you to take them every day. It might mean the difference
whether both babies survive.”

“I’ll take them,” I promised, squeezing
Theo’s hand in a death grip.

“Is everyone ready?” Steven said brightly,
smearing goo on my abdomen.

I nodded. Today we’d find out if the twins
would be boys or girls.

Stephen began the ultrasound. “There they
are.”

The blobs were bigger, but I still didn’t
really see anything that resembled a baby.

“Devlin, Theo, we can tell now which child is
which. Theo’s is in cougar form, see the tail there?”

I looked and saw nothing resembling a child,
or a tail, or anything else recognizable. “Sure.”

“That one’s a boy, according to the
blood—”

Theo squeezed my hand hard.

“The other there is Devlin’s,” Stephen
finished, pointing.

“And mine?” Devlin asked hopefully. “Is it a
boy?”

“Devlin, your child will be a girl,” Stephen
said, beaming.

I couldn’t look at Devlin. He had to be
disappointed, especially as Theo was getting a boy, and Danial had
had a boy. But I was thrilled to be having a girl, my heart light
and happy.

Devlin tentatively touched my hand, then
clasped it. I gently squeezed his hand. He squeezed back gently
once, then let me go.

* * * *

In the last week of May, as we’d planned,
Theo, Elle, and I took a plane, and went to Wyoming. We stayed in
the house that Theo had lived in.

There were a few awkward moments. The first
was when Theo and I picked up the keys from the landlord, and he
warned us to tell him if we saw any prowlers. “Some jackasses broke
in one night, and tore the place up,” he said grumpily. “They
ripped both phones out of the wall and broke them, and cut the
cords. It looked like someone had tried to tie someone to the
bed.”

I pretended to be appalled and looked away,
trying to keep the heat in my face from rising.

“That’s bizarre. Sure, we’ll be careful,”
Theo said neutrally, then shot me a disbelieving look. Later he
told me that he thought the man was making up that story, but that
he couldn’t figure out why anyone would. I agreed, shrugging my
shoulders.

On our last night in town, we went out to
dinner, and had the second awkward moment. We were perusing our
menus when a voice said, “Theo?”

I knew that voice. I looked up to see Aspen
standing there. Worse, she wasn’t alone. She was holding a little
girl that looked about three or so. A beautiful girl with brown
hair and blue eyes.

All the blood drained out of my face, and
Theo’s.

Elle looked at her with interest. “You must
be Aspen?” Theo shot her an unhappy look, then gave me an accusing
one that said I’d told. I shrugged and made a face in response that
said I hadn’t.

“Yes, I’m Aspen. This is my daughter,
Heather. You must be Elle.”

“I’m her husband, John,” a gruff man said,
appearing from behind her and extending his hand to Theo.

I breathed a huge sigh of relief, as did
Theo. “Good to meet you, John,” Theo said, shaking his hand. “This
is my wife, Sar, and our daughter, Elle.”

“You smell a little odd. Are you cougar too?”
Elle asked John.

He gave her a smile, and nodded. “Aspen
changed me,” he whispered, giving his wife a look of love. “It was
love at first sight. She felt the same, but she was worried I
wouldn’t love her because of what she was. I let her change me that
night. We married the next week.”

I thought my marriage had been fast, or my
Oathing to Danial. I guess I just needed a comparison point like
this one to feel better. “That’s very romantic.”

“We live in Colorado,” Aspen said, giving
Theo a smile. “We came up here to get away for a while.”

“Same here,” I said, smiling as
good-naturedly as I could under the circumstances. “We were seeing
relatives, too. This is our last night.”

“Give her to me,” John said, holding out his
arms for Heather. “I’ll go get us a table. You need to sit down
too, honey.”

Aspen looked at him adoringly. “I’m only a
week late. It could be nothing.”

“I hope it’s something,” John said
meaningfully, then looked at us. “It was good to meet you.”

I watched him move off, wondering if he
always was so forthcoming to strangers. Maybe it was just because
he knew about Theo being an ex-boyfriend.

I noticed Aspen had stayed, and was looking
at Theo. “Theo, why don’t you go outside for a minute? Elle and I
will wait here.”

Theo nodded to me and then headed outside,
Aspen following. Elle let out a growl, watching them leave.

“Knock it off,” I said, handing her some
money. “Go play the crane machine for a while.”

“She tried to break you and Theo up. I don’t
like her.”

“Terian told you about her, didn’t he?”

She nodded.

I was going to have to have a talk with Tears
when I got back. “Elle, Theo has things he needs to say to Aspen,
things that he didn’t say to her back when he left. It’s okay if he
says them to her now.”

Elle didn’t reply, she just took the money
and headed to the machine to play.

When Theo and Aspen returned a half-hour
later, it was obvious they had both been crying. But there was also
an air about them both that something had built for a long time had
finally been resolved, bringing not only relief, but also a sense
of peace.

The rest of the meal passed in a rush as we
hurried to make our flight. When we were driving to the airport, I
noticed Elle didn’t have her toy. “Where’s your lion?”

“I gave it to Heather,” Elle answered, “She
was making it roar. Didn’t you see?”

“I did,” Theo said, choked up. “That was a
very kind thing you did, Elle.”

I didn’t say anything, just squeezed his hand
in mine.

* * * *

As we were flying home, I reflected on the
trip, and how well it had gone. My in-laws had been supportive and
loving, the white water rafting on the Colorado River had been
exhilarating, and we’d resolved the whole Aspen issue, too. There
was only one thing bugging me: piano lessons.

My in-laws had a piano. My mother-in-law had
helped Elle learn a few keys during our visit, then encouraged me
to send her for lessons. The trouble was the piano wasn’t one of
Tutor Bill’s skills, and letting another human in on Danial’s
home’s coordinates wasn’t an option. And I knew already who Danial
would push for the moment Elle asked him for lessons: Devlin.

* * * *

“You know what I’m going to ask,” Danial
began hesitantly.

“I do,” I answered, closing the bathroom
mirror. “If you want him to give her lessons, it’s okay with
me.”

“Are you sure?” Danial asked. “That means him
coming here, as I don’t want Elle at Hayden.”

That had something to do with Lash, though
what the real reason was for Danial’s hatred of him, I wasn’t sure.
“I’m sure. Dev will be a good teacher. He was when he taught me to
sing.”

“All right,” Danial affirmed. “I’ll ask him
tonight.”

Even with his neutral tone, I could tell
Danial was very pleased, that he thought this was my first step
toward a reconciliation with Devlin. I didn’t have the heart to
tell him there wasn’t going to be one, no matter how much he wanted
it.

It had become apparent in the months I hadn’t
been with Devlin that my feelings for him had faded. I’d always
desire him for his gorgeous body, and his beautiful eyes, and the
tender way he could be when he wanted to. But I was much happier
with him not in my life. I didn’t miss his volatile personality. I
was also worried that as soon as I popped out his girl, Devlin
would start pushing for another child. He hadn’t given up on his
desires. He was just biding his time.

Chapter
Thirteen

In the second week of June, Serena finally
came to visit me via Titus.

The first thing I did was show her the garden
that was just beginning to sprout. “Just because I’m not at Hayden
doesn’t mean that I can’t teach you gardening,” I said with a
smile. “We can talk as we dig weeds.”

“We have three new guards, all single males.
I’m busy,” she joked. “That’s all my news.”

I chuckled. “That’s—”

“Why don’t you condemn me like everyone
else?” Serena asked me suddenly.

How had we gotten so deep so fast?
Probably because she’d had no one to talk to. “It’s not my business
what you choose to do with your life,” I said with a shrug.

“But how can you be so permissive—?”

“Do you like having sex with the men you’re
with?” I said bluntly.

She looked unsure.

I held her gaze. “It’s an easy yes or no
answer.”

“Yes,” she said finally. “I always liked sex.
My partners are considerate and the sex is safe. And the pay is a
hell of a lot more than I could make being a short order cook, not
to mention the protection working for Devlin offers me.”

“Then you enjoy your work, you make good
money, and you get paid to do something you love,” I summed up.
“I’d say that was better than most people’s careers.”

“You are the oddest woman I think I’ve ever
met,” Serena said, tilting her head. “And I’ve met some odd
ones.”

“I get that a lot,” I said, grinning. “I’m
not sure why.”

“There’s also a new maid,” Serena said.
“She’s a werewolf.”

That was a little much for me, a real
werewolf. Strange that the idea was so peculiar to me, when I was
surrounded by all kinds of other real life non-humans. “How is
she?”