REGENCY: Loved by the Duke (Historical Billionaire Military Romance) (19th Century Victorian Short Stories) (26 page)

Chapter 7

Tabitha drove down the winding gravel road with her big, dark chocolate eyes as wide as they could go. Drinking in the gorgeous mountain views that peeked through the snow-dusted evergreens lining the path. She cracked her window just enough to breath in the crisp, crystal clear air tinged with the scent of pine that was exactly like she remembered as a little girl.

The pine boughs were heavy with last night’s snow fall, making everything look perfect and clean, almost pristine. She could just make out the tiny foot prints of small woodland creatures that had been out scampering in the early morning and it made her smile to herself.

As she continued up the icy road, she slowed as the White Mountain lodge peeked into view. It stood solid, cheerful, and beautiful. As much a part of this wilderness as the trees of the mountain itself.

Tabitha pulled her red SUV into the parking spot with her name on it and parked. Getting out of the car, she grabbed her oversized tote from the back seat and took a deep breath, inhaling the sweet pine scent that always permeated the air around the lodge.

After a year, she still couldn’t believe that she had found this place. Or that it had found her. The lodge had become her new home, offering her a beautiful space to stay, and permanent position teaching five to ten year olds how to ice skate.

It was a dream come true, and when she thought back to where she had been a year ago, she almost didn’t recognize the stressed out, hyper tense person she used to be. She was so much happier now, sometimes she had to pinch herself just to make sure it was real.

Tabitha walked inside and saw Bea standing in her usual spot behind the massive wooden counter that served as a front desk. Bea looked up as Tabitha neared, beaming at her, her robin’s egg blue eyes shining merrily in welcome.

“Lovely!” Tabitha always smiled when Bea used her nickname for her.

“How are you, dear?” There was a warmth that emanated from the older lady that never ceased to amaze her. Especially after finding out the truth. As it happened, Bea had been the same woman working there when Tabitha was a little girl. As a dragon shifter, she had a much longer life span that humans, or even other species of shifters.

It took Tabitha a long time to get over the shock of that discovery, but as she continued to work at the lodge she soon realized that Bea was the most kind-hearted person…er, dragon, that she had ever met.  She always had a nice word and a hug for everyone, and the work that she was doing at the lodge was astounding.

The shifters who came to White Mountain Lodge needed sanctuary, and peace. And Bea always knew what to say, or how to act, to make everything better. It was a skill Tabitha hoped she could pick up on.

“I’m doing great!” Tabitha set her big bag down behind the counter with a clunk as her skates rattled together inside.

“I was hoping to get a little time in on the ice before the little ones get here.” She checked her watch, she had just over an hour before her first class started arriving.

Bea stepped closer, a knowing smile on her face as she patted Tabitha’s rounded belly, just starting to show under her tight athletic long sleeved shirt.

“And what about this little one, huh?” Bea’s voice softened as she whispered to baby, “how are you doing, sweetie?”

Tabitha rolled her eyes, albeit good naturedly. Ever since she had announced her pregnancy, Bea had made this her daily morning ritual. Whispering words to the little baby growing inside her. In six short months, Bea would get to ask the baby itself, instead of talking at her stomach.

She grabbed her skates from her bag, waved a goodbye to Bea, and set off for the pond.  Walking the now familiar path up the small incline, she took a moment just to stare at the beauty of this wild, magical place.

There was nowhere else like it, and Tabitha loved the fact that it was unique, and that she had finally found her place here. Spying the bench on the other side of the pond, she trudged through the freshly fallen snow, and scoped out the ice on the pond. But it looked like someone had already been there to clear it off, and now the ice was smooth and shiny, glistening in the mid-morning sunlight.

Tabitha sat, taking off her boots, and replacing them with ice skates, the leather warn from use but soft and molded perfectly to her feet. She thought back to that first day here, so long ago. She had tried to go skating, but it had been too early in the season and the surface had cracked, causing the blade to stick. She had twisted her ankle and Sebastian had been there instantly, carrying her around like some he-man.
             

The memory made her chuckle, and she cupped her arms around her burgeoning middle. Before long she would have to take a break from skating, but for now, the ice looked perfect.

She slid gracefully onto the ice, not trying any complicated tricks or jumps, simply enjoying the feeling of freedom and exhilaration that always came over her when she was skating.

The bright morning sun made everything look hazy in the beams of light, like she was still dreaming. She looked over at a noise, but didn’t see anything. Tabitha continued skating in lazy circles before calling out.

“I know you’re there Sebastian!”

He appeared from behind some trees and sauntered towards her.

“How do you always know when I’m there? I’m the one who’s supposed to have animal hearing.”

“You’re not very graceful?” Tabitha tried with a shrug. It was a blatant lie and they both knew it. He moved with all the grace his king of jungle side had. Which was a lot. It took her breath away sometimes, watching him move, the gleam in his golden eyes when he looked at her. Just like he was looking now.

“What are you doing out here by yourself? I thought you promised you would be careful.” He walked onto the ice, the tread of his boots providing enough traction that he didn’t slide as he moved towards her. When he reached her, he wrapped his big arms around her, hugging her from behind so his hands rested on the swell of her belly.

“We have a little cub to take care of now.” The pride and joy in his voice was unmistakable, and warmed her to the core despite the chilly morning breeze.

“I’m always careful.” She scrunched her nose up at him, and he laughed, grinning that silly grin of his that always made her heart feel like it was doing cartwheels in her chest.

“Uh huh, sure. It took you two extra months to heal that ankle because you refused to stay still.”

“I can’t help it, I’m used to moving.”

“Oh baby, you know how much I like it when you
move
.”

“Stop it, Sebastian.” Tabitha turned in his arms with a laugh. “My class starts in less than twenty minutes, the kids are going to start getting here.”

His only reply was a husky laugh and a sexy grin.

“Well, we better move fast then.”

Tabitha’s grin matched his as he swept her up into his arms, just like had almost a year ago, and started in the direction of their cabin. She couldn’t hold back the shriek of laughter as he broke into a run, and she threw her arms around his neck. She had no intention of letting go.

THE END

Chapter 1

“Hello, this is Dr. Pearson, from the fertility clinic. Kaeden, we’ve found your match. The one you’ve been looking for all this time, we finally found her! Give me a call, she is due back in two days for the procedure. Call me back.”

“…Kaeden, This is Dr. Pearson again. I know we are supposed to confirm with you before going ahead, but we’ll never find a better match, and she more than meets all of your criteria. She’s coming in today for the operation. Please…call me back immediately.”

Kaeden cursed as he pressed the red button to skip to the next message and held the phone to his ear, straining to hear the words over the pounding of his heart.  Finally, after all these years, a true match! He couldn't wrap his mind around it. And it had already happened…he checked the date of the first two messages…almost ten days ago, and he hadn’t been there!

He cursed again, this time directed at the Sanctuary Ranch, and its lack of cell phone reception, where he had been for the past two weeks trying to diffuse the ever-worsening situation between Rafe and Luca. His brothers were going to be the death of him.

Sanctuary was an oasis for down-on-their-luck Shifters from all over the Great Plains. He should know, he had shown up with two younger brothers, still just cubs, and a giant chip on his shoulder, and they had taken them in, no questions asked. So when Mama Jones called telling him his idiot brothers were causing problems at the ranch, he had dropped everything and immediately headed there to straighten them out. He loved his brothers, but really, they were going to kill him. 

“Hi, Dr. Pearson here. Kaeden, call me back as soon as possible. She’s coming in this afternoon for the follow-up. We will see if the procedure worked…Just…call me back!”

Kaeden looked at the time of the message, then up at the clock flashing red from the dash of his truck. The last message was from just under an hour ago. The clinic was about a three hour drive from the ranch, if he hurried he might just get there in time to catch her. He grinned at the thought, threw the old pick-up into gear, and slammed his boot into the gas pedal. Disbelief and doubt warred with excitement as he made his way toward the Doc, this mystery woman, and he dared hope, his future child.

Amelia Price stared at the mint green clock ticking annoyingly, aggravatingly on the equally mint green wall of the waiting room. Normally, she found the soft grey and light green color scheme of the Jackson Fertility Clinic soothing, but not today. No, especially not today.  Today was not just any day. Today was the day she would find out if the procedure had worked, and if she was really, truly pregnant.

Her stomach rolled, and it felt as if her heart was trying to beat itself straight out of her chest and onto the cream and grey checked linoleum floor. For about two seconds, she had tried to read one of the family planning magazines, but all the happy, shiny couples holding perfect little babies was just altogether more than her nerves could handle.

What if it hadn’t worked? What if the results came back negative? It had been almost an hour since Dr. Pearson had taken the pregnancy tests, and she was told to have a seat in the waiting room. It shouldn’t be taking this long, right? She pressed clammy hands to her jittery stomach, trying to soothe the nerves that were threatening to overwhelm her.

Amelia had wanted children her whole life. When other girls had grown out of playing with dolls, she had clung to the dream of having a baby of her own, to love and cherish. Well, actually a houseful of children.  As she got older, went through High School and then College for her degree in elementary education, she had just been waiting for that right guy to fall in love with, and help make her dream a reality.

But, as it turned out, she was incredibly unlucky in love. Like, abnormally unlucky. First there had been John. Sweet John, charming John, cheating John. The second year of college, she had met Nathaniel in her Intro to Children’s Literature class, and was sure that he shared the same dreams that she did. They had dated almost a year and half before she discovered the reason he would never move past second base probably had something to do with the stash of men-on-men porn she found in his closet.

At the time, she had been heartbroken…again, but now she could chuckle at the irony of Nate hiding gay porn in the closet. They were still friends, even after she broke off the relationship, and had spent years encouraging him to be honest, at least with himself, about his sexual preferences.

After that had followed an even sadder parade of guys just looking for a one-night stand, or if they were interested in more, Amelia just didn’t feel the spark that she was looking for. As much as she wanted a slew of children, she had dreamed of those children being a result of a warm, loving relationship with a man she could spend the rest of her life with.

Now, at 29, she had an amazing job that she loved teaching kindergarteners at one of the best k-12 charter schools in the area, and a quaint home of her own, which she had signed the last check for six months ago.

But for years she had felt the empty ache in her life continue to grow, until she found herself reading an article about a woman who had gotten pregnant using donor fertilization at the Jackson Fertility Clinic.

For the next three years Amelia had worked hard, saved her money, and delved into research, learning more about the donor fertilization process, all the while hoping for the right guy to come along. Well, she was tired of waiting for Mr. Right to happen by and make her dreams come true.  She was ready to take her life into her own hands.

Amelia was about to get up and ask the nurse at the reception desk how much longer it would be, when the chime of the door opening chirped loudly. She turned to look at the new comer, desperate for a distraction, and froze.

The sexiest man she had ever seen stood just in the doorway, looking concerned, not slightly perturbed, and his dark brows slashing over unusual gold eyes. Her gaze swept up and over jet black hair that curled just slightly where it brushed the tops of his broad shoulders, lending him an unkempt, wild look. Her eyes took in the chiseled pecks and the hint of a six pack under his tight white t-shirt. Oh my! This was one handsome beast.

Caught up in enjoying the sight of this fabulous man candy, it took her a moment to realize that those amazing golden eyes had settled on her with a razor sharp stare. Amelia jumped at the visceral response, like a physical touch as he returned her thorough perusal. She didn't think it possible, but his gaze sharpened, brows lowering even further as his nostrils flared, almost as if he could smell the delicate lemon verbena perfume she had donned earlier that morning.

“Ms. Price, the doctor will see you now.” The receptionist nasal voice broke whatever spell Mr. Tall, dark, and dangerously handsome had thrown over her, and she jerked around just as a pink flush rose, tinting her normally pale cheeks.
Get a grip
, she mentally scolded herself as she grabbed her bag from the seat next to her, and walked down the hall toward Dr. Pearson’s office.

  Kaeden exhaled roughly, finally able to breathe as the dark haired beauty disappeared through the frosted glass door that he knew led down a hall to a set of offices, including Dr. Pearson’s. He started toward the front desk but couldn’t shake the image of the wide, grey eyes staring at him from across the room, and wavy auburn hair reflecting the cool fluorescent light. He mentally traced each and every delicious curve accentuated by the white lace dress she had been wearing. She had looked like a sexpot dressed up as a pre-school teacher.

His mouth salivated at the juxtaposition of unbelievably sweet and undeniably sexy, remembering her ripe, pouty mouth glistening slightly pink, and her scent. Something light and citrus-y, but underneath, all woman.

“I need to speak with Dr. Pearson.” His voice came out as more of a growl, husky still from the thoughts of the tempting woman who had just stood where he was now, her perfume filling his senses, distracting him anew.

“I’m sorry, Dr. Pearson is busy. He’s seeing a patient right now. You can take a seat if you would like to wait.”

“Well, this is an emergency! I need to talk to him right nnn….” His words trailed off as his brain made the belated connection that
she
was the perfect match the Doc had been referring too.  That angel was going to have his child? Pregnant with his seed? He was instantly hard at the thought, and took a deep breath to get his body back under control. He took off toward the glass door that separated the waiting room and the back offices, throwing the door open and striding through. It closed violently, muffling the receptionist’s admonition to wait.

He stood still a moment, concentrating on breathing normally, but the spike of excitement and adrenaline was still wreaking havoc with his body. He fought to keep his thoughts clean, trying to calm himself before he walked into Dr. Pearson’s office. The last thing Kaeden wanted to do was to scare the future mother of his child, even if she was only a surrogate.