SKIN (Demon Chaser 4) (10 page)

“Put me down.”

He did, onto a soft mattress, she felt
it dip as he joined her. His lips covered hers. Gaby pushed against his chest
with all of her frail human strength, but he didn’t budge. One hand clasped her
chin and the other her waist. He slanted his mouth and deepened the kiss. As
much as she hated herself for it, she moaned and her hands fisted his shirt.

His hand at her waist moved to her
breast and cupped her swollen aching mound. He let his thumb slide across her
nipple until the nub tightened. She gasped into his mouth.

Her eyes had adjusted somewhat to the
darkness. She could make out Phoenix’s dark shape but there were no details. It
heightened her senses. His hot mouth dropped to the sensitive patch of skin
below her ear where he nibbled his way to her earlobe, doing the same there. Gaby
could feel goose bumps rise on her arms. Her toes actually curled when he
dipped his tongue into the shell of her ear. Phoenix moved back to her neck,
this time he sniffed at her. His hot breath fanned against her skin. He nipped
at her being a little rougher this time. She cried out but only because she
liked it so much.

“You smell so good.” He sniffed her
again and licked the patch he had just bitten. Heavy, languid strokes of his
tongue. “I’m going to bite you here.” He squeezed her nipple as his teeth
closed on her neck and she almost came. He didn’t bite her hard enough to break
the skin though. She groaned. Her clit throbbed, her panties turned damp.

“Yeah, that’s the spot,” he growled.

Gaby was shaking with need. She felt
like wrestling him to the bed and taking what she needed.
As if
. She was
horrified to discover that she wanted him to bite her hard enough to draw blood
even though she hadn’t changed her mind about mating him. “What did you do to
me?”

“I just found your biting G-spot.”

“My what?”

Phoenix slipped his hand between her
thighs and into the side of her panties. “When it comes to demons, we have more
than just one or two erogenous spots. Oh we have the regular ones like this
here...” he circled her clit with the tip of his finger. Her back arched as
much as her pregnant belly would allow. “Of course we have this one over here
as well.” He slipped a finger into her pussy zoning in on her g-spot.

She groaned.

“And then we have one over here.” He
nipped at her neck and she came apart spasming around his finger which
continued to thrust in and out of her. Gaby threw her head back and let the
wave’s crash into her. Phoenix lapped her with his tongue. Each stroke sent
shock waves of raw pleasure through her body.

She finally came down enough to take in
a deep breath. “You might have killed me. Oh my word. I didn’t know.”

Phoenix pulled away and switched on the
side table light. It took a moment to adjust to the brightness.

“The neck is forbidden unless you’re
serious enough to mate with someone. A bite to that spot, even without sex,
could cause us to bond.”

She gasped and clasped at her neck.

“I didn’t break the skin so you don’t
have to worry.” A look of regret crossed his face.

“I worry for you Phoenix.” She would
somehow make him see reason.

“I almost mated with you that first time
we had sex. My demon recognized you as my mate. I’ve never bitten a woman,
period, let alone during sex. The first time was instinct, this time was to
show you that biting is also about mates showing each other greater pleasure.
It also shows a potential mate that you are serious. I am serious Gaby.”

She was in awe. His bite felt like a
gift. It made her burn with the need to mate with him. She wished she could be
sure that what he felt would last.

“In some ways I wish we had mated that
first time. All of this back and forth would be unnecessary.”

She pulled in a breath intent on
arguing.

He put up his hand. “We need to both
want this. Every step in the process needs to be deliberate and I don’t want to
wait Gaby. The problem is, I don’t want to hurt you during the mating.” He hung
his head and his throat worked. “I need you to agree. I have this terrible
feeling that if we don’t do this now it won’t happen. I know it sounds like
I’ve lost my mind.”

“I’m not going anywhere.” She trailed
her fingers up his arm. “You don’t trust yourself right now, so let’s just
wait.” It made her feel good that he needed her so much.

He pulled her towards him and she
snuggled up into his warmth. “God woman, you have no idea how much I need
you...always.”

Gaby felt the hard ridge of his cock
against her thigh but realized his words had nothing to do with sex. She just
prayed that he would still feel this way about her when she was truly herself
again.

****

Gaby felt cold, she pushed herself more
firmly against Phoenix who mumbled something incoherent. He tucked his arm more
firmly around her and rubbed her stomach in a lazy circle before his breathing
picked up the same deep rhythm.

Her back was toasty warm but the bed
itself was icy. She shifted again and realized that her nighty was wet. Gaby
checked the time on the clock, it was only two hours since they’d gone to bed.
Ever since she’d become pregnant, she’d had to go to the bathroom more often.
Even having to get up several times during the night, but outright incontinence
had never been an issue.

Gaby slid out from under the covers.
She’d clean herself up first before waking Phoenix. As she stood, more liquid
trickled down her thighs.
What the
…This wasn’t incontinence, more like
her waters had broken. She took in a deep breath, screamed inside her head and then
pulled herself together
.
She was in labor. Which was weird considering
she didn’t feel any pain. 

Gaby turned on her side lamp and Phoenix
sat upright. “Is everything okay?”

“I think I might be having the babies.”

With one graceful leap he was out of the
bed and directly in front of her. “What can I do? You shouldn’t be standing.
Are you sure this is happening?”

She nodded. There was no other
reasonable explanation.

“Damn.” He raked a hand through his
perfect hair. Phoenix didn’t get bed hair. “I need to call the doc.”  He paced
back to his side of the bed and punched a few keys. “Sorry to wake you...” He
listened for a few beats before turning to her. “How far apart are the
contractions?”

“I’m not having any contractions.”

Phoenix relayed the information. “Doc
wants to know how you know you’re in labor?”

She smiled.

Phoenix rolled his eyes. “Please
sweetheart, this is no time to be coy.”

“I’m not being coy. Maybe if you’d
waited two seconds to talk to me before running around like a loony you would
know. Given the circumstances I will forgive you.” It was so sweet how Phoenix
had reacted. This big badass top notch attorney completely lost his ability to
think rationally. Everything in her melted.

This was it.

They were about to become parents. 

“My waters broke.” She pointed at her
wet clinging nighty.

His eyebrows rose and he filled Doc
Devlin in. “Yeah, we are in Wilderness. We came with the chopper as discussed,”
he paused. “Okay.” He looked up at her. His face had turned pale and his eyes
widened. Phoenix looked at his watch. “Less than an hour.” He made a few more
noises of agreement before ending the call. “You’re definitely in labor.
Leaking amniotic fluid is a sure sign.” He moved to their suitcases and started
throwing all their things inside. “The doc is concerned that you’re not
experiencing any labor.” He stopped, took a deep breath. “We need to get you to
Greenside Hospital ASAP. He will be waiting.” He ran another hand through his
hair and then scrubbed the same hand over the six o’clock shadow on his face.
“We have no idea what to expect.”

She walked over to her big, bad, very
nervous wolf and put her arms around him. “Demon skins have been giving birth
for years. We may not know exactly what is going to happen but my body does and
from what I’ve read on childbirth, it’s all pretty instinctual. Doctors and
nurses are there as a precaution.” She looked him in the eye. “We’re going to
be just fine.”

“If anything happens to you...” His eyes
turned hard for a second.

“I need to get cleaned up and will need
something to wear.” She gestured to the overflowing bag on the floor. The one
that had been stuffed with everything they had brought with them.

He grinned and shook his head. “I’m
sorry, you go and do your thing, and I’ll unpack something for you to put on”—his
eyes shot to her—“unless you need me to help you.”

She giggled. “No that’s fine. Get
yourself ready. You’d better let the pilot know we’re flying out.”

Phoenix pinched the bridge of his nose.
“I’m seriously losing it.” He nodded once. “I’ve got this. We need to take off
in the next fifteen minutes. Will you be ready?”

She was no way near ready, but that wasn’t
going to stop this from happening. Gaby nodded and tried to smile.

The gurney was waiting on the hospital
rooftop. Devlin waved as they touched down. Phoenix jumped out first, his boots
crunching on the asphalt. Gray scooped up Gaby and handed her to him. A feeling
of possessiveness like nothing he had ever felt before washed over him as he
clasped his future mate in his arms. His first instinct was to growl at the Doc
as he wheeled the bed in next to him. For a second he clutched her tighter,
ready to fight anyone who tried to take her from him. Putting a sharp choker
chain on his demon, Phoenix stepped forward and gently placed Gaby on the
sheets, but only because it would be more comfortable for her. Also the realization
that Gaby needed these medical staff hit him like a bulldozer. There had been
very few times in his life where he’d felt so totally out of his depth. So ill
equipped to deal with a situation. It made him want to roar out in frustration.

The best thing he could do was be there
for his female. He’d give her all the support she needed...and then some.

He grabbed hold of her hand and
squeezed. Gaby smiled up at him. She was handling this whole thing so well and
pride swelled in his chest.

They were booked into a private room in
the maternity ward. Gaby was moved from the gurney to a bed. A female entered
carrying a hospital gown. He caught the scent of demon panther and had to
suppress a growl. Dogs and cats didn’t get along on the best of days, but she
was here to do a job so he’d play nice.

“This is Doctor Lisa. She is a
paediatrician and will be assisting with the birth and taking care of the
babies once they are here.”

He nodded once in the panther’s
direction in way of greeting.

“Come with me while Lisa gets Gaby ready,”
Devlin gestured to Phoenix.

“I’m right behind you.” He moved past
the panther and leaned in next to Gaby. Her face was the picture of calm but he
caught the faintest whiff of nervous tension. She wasn’t quite as relaxed as
she wanted him to believe.

“Will you be okay on your own for a few
minutes?”

Her full lips curved into a smile. “I’ll
be fine.”

He kissed her forehead. “Call if you
need me, I’ll be right outside.”

“Oh don’t worry about that. I might just
yell down the whole roof if need be” The scent of nervous energy spiked.

Phoenix gathered her in his arms,
ignoring the sound of Devlin clearing his throat. “We’ll get through this. I’m
here for you.”

Thank hounds he felt her relax. “I know,”
she whispered for his ears only.

He turned his eyes on the panther for a
second and she looked down submissively. They’d better take good care of his
Gaby or blood would flow.

Doc Devlin was waiting for him in the
hall. “I’m not sure how this will unfold. We’ll monitor the situation and
manage any changes. Right now we need to make sure that the three of them are
okay and that they stay that way.”

“I take it you haven’t been able to find
out anything more about demon skins.”

Dev shook his head. “Not a single damn
thing. I wish I had more for you. Like I’ve always said, Gaby is strong, her
demon may be dormant but it’s very much there. She’ll be fine.”

“The babies?” He found himself running a
hand through his hair yet again. At this rate he’d be bald before morning so he
jammed them in his pockets.

“Well, they’re also very much demons. In
fact, hybrids are much stronger because they have the traits of both demons so
I’m not worried. Let’s not jump to any premature conclusions.”  The Doc pushed
his glasses more firmly into place. The motion struck him as weird only because
it was unheard of for a demon to have any type of physical ailment. He’d have
to ask the good doctor what was up with the whole glasses thing one day.

“Hey, Phoenix.”

He looked up and spotted the big human
male that had punched him for hurting Gaby. It felt like that incident had
taken place more than just a few weeks ago. A nurse blocked Jack’s path. He
flashed her a grin followed by his badge. She giggled, blushed and stepped
aside.

“How’s Gaby?” 

“Doing well considering.” As much as it
disgusted him, he found himself liking the human.

“How are you holding up? Can I get you
anything?”

“We’re good thanks.”

“A couple of us from DCA are in the
waiting room. Let us know how things are going and Phoenix”—Jack gave him a
quick tap on the arm—“let us know if I can help in any way...I have cigars...we’ll
be waiting.” The human pulled out several wrapped cigars.

“Yeah thanks, I’ll let you know.”

The human turned and walked back out
through the double doors at the reception area.

****

Devlin attached a heart rate monitor on
each side of her belly to monitor each of the babies’ hearts. A device was put
onto Gaby’s finger to monitor her heart beats.

“I’m still worried, Doc,” said Gaby.

“Both heart beats are strong. I assure
you the babies are fine.”

“It’s rare to go this long without
feeling any movement. It’s never happened before.”

Devlin took hold of Gaby’s hand and
Phoenix grit his teeth to keep from snarling. He realized he was feeling
irrational and concentrated harder on controlling his demon.

“You’ve never been in labor before
either, so rare in this instance could be quite normal. If you find yourself
getting concerned, look at the monitor over here...” He gestured to the top
screen next to the bed. It had a dual face that showed a steady jumping green
line on each one. “The babies are just fine. Your IV is all setup. I suggest
you get some rest while you still can.” He smiled warmly at her and turned to
Phoenix.

“I’ll be back soon to check in. Push
that red button if you need me.” He pointed to the remote control device on the
table next to the bed. As he left, he turned the dial located on the wall next
to the door down and dimmed the lights.

Phoenix pulled a chair next to the bed
making sure to choose the side opposite to the heart rate monitors and IV
stand. He took Gaby’s hand in both of his. “You heard the Doc. You need to try
and rest.”

“I’m feeling nervous as hell.”

“You’re in good hands. You told me
earlier that your body will instinctively know what to do. Doc’s not worried
about any of you. I’m right here if you need anything.”

“I’m worried about what kind of mother
I’ll make. I never had much of an example growing up.” She took a plump bottom
lip between her lips, but not before he noticed it quiver. “If you hadn’t put
the nursery together and bought the rest of the things they needed they’d have
nothing.” She sniffed. Phoenix could tell she wanted to cry. It felt like
someone had kicked him in the gut.
Hard
.

“Don’t say that. It’s not about
possessions. There are only two things in this world that babies need, their
mother and a truck load of diapers. Everything else is obsolete.”

She laughed and he could breathe again.
Then she took hold of his jaw and kissed him. Her soft lips meshed perfectly
with his for a few perfect seconds. As soon as they parted she said. “That’s
where you’re wrong, they also need their daddy.” Her eyes widened and her lips
made an o-shape. “We don’t have any names. Our children will be born nameless.”

“Relax, sweetheart. Its wolf tradition
to name pups after they’re born. It’s not unheard of for a child to remain
nameless for days, even weeks after birth.”

“You’re just trying to make me feel
better.” The smile that graced her face was a tonic to him.

He pushed a wayward strand of hair
behind her ear. “No. I’m serious. It’s considered bad luck. It took my parents
the better part of a month to name me.”

Gaby laughed clasping her hand to her
mouth. “Oh my word. Are you serious?”

“Totally and you think after all that
time they could’ve come up with something better. Who in their right mind names
a wolf pup after a bird? You have no idea how much I was teased.”

She laughed some more and he could feel
the tension ease. She turned her green tinged, hazel eyes on him. “I happen to
really love your name.” Her cheeks flushed but she kept looking him straight in
the eye and carried on anyway. He loved that about her. “The Phoenix is not
just a bird but a majestic fire spirit which can never die since it regenerates
itself. It is said that the name Phoenix can only be given to an exceptional
man.” She smiled.

‘Shesh, no pressure. Exceptional...” he
rolled his eyes.

“You are exceptional. Let’s see,” she
counted out on her fingers. “You turned into a big bad wolf and saved my ass.
You’re one of the best defense attorneys in the country, oh and best of all you
managed to get me pregnant with just one shag.”

A laugh found its way out of him.
“Hardly just one. More like four or five...”

“Try six.”

They both laughed.

He turned her hand palm up and kissed
her there. “I need you to know that I love you, Gaby.”

Her eyes darkened. Why was she
struggling so much with this? Did she really think he’d change his mind once
her demon came back?

“Please wait until the babies are born.”

“I hate to break this to you, but
they’re on the way.”

“You know what I mean.”

He pulled in a deep breath. “I had to
tell you now and I’ll say it again”—he paused and even though she shook her
head he continued—“I love you. I’m sure I’ll love your kick-ass demon just as
much.”

She narrowed her eyes at him. “Stop
saying that. I really…appreciate it, but you need to stop.”

He put up his hands. “Okay...you win,
I’ll stop but only if you promise to believe me in a day or two? Even better,
do you promise to show me how much you appreciate my love sometime in the very
near future?”

She smiled. Phoenix noticed that dark
rings had formed under her eyes. “You need to rest.”

She tried to argue so he stood and
kissed each of her eyes and ended on her mouth. A brief brush of the lips.
“Sleep my love.”

****

Phoenix woke to the sound of panting,
his hand was in a vice like grip. “They’re coming. Push the button. Push the
damned button.”

Although he felt like jumping across her
hospital bed, he refrained.
Only just
. Instead, he carefully pried his
hand from her grip and strode to the side table on the other side. He pushed the
button twice. Gaby’s back bowed off the bed and she screamed fisting the
sheets. Adrenaline surged. He roared Devlin’s name. Phoenix didn’t need to look
at the monitors to know that all of their heart beats were elevated. Especially
Gaby’s. Just when he was about to run to fetch help, the tension gradually
began to ease from her body.

“What can I do?”

“Nothing.” Her lips squeezed into a thin
white line for a few seconds before she hissed loudly. She grabbed for his hand
and squeezed. “They’re coming. Oh my God they’re coming...” Gaby threw her head
back and moaned. Her fangs erupted into two deadly rows. Claws replaced her
neat manicured nails which she dug into him until the blood trickled from the
puncture wounds. He was glad for the pain. It grounded him. Made him feel
useful.

Devlin rushed in just as Gaby spread her
legs. The doctor’s white coat was unbuttoned and his hair was mussed. With a
sweep of the hand he turned the lighting up and moved to Gaby where he took up position
between her legs. This time Phoenix couldn’t stop himself. A low rumble
resonated from deep within his chest and his lip curled. He felt his canines
elongate.

The doctor ignored him, or he was too
busy to have heard. “Oh good lord dragon master,” his face paled. He turned
big, shocked eyes on Phoenix. “You stay on that side. Talk your mate through
this.”

“I’m fine.”

“Just stay there,” he gestured
frantically with his hand.

Gaby licked her lips and spread her legs
even wider. The hospital gown blocked his view completely. “They don’t want you
to see me split myself in right down the middle.”

“What do you mean split yourself?”

She looked sleepy. He’d even go so far
as to say that someone might’ve drugged her.

“Are you sure you’re okay?”

“I’m fine. Just uses”—she swallowed
hard, her eyes drooped shut for a second or two before opening up again—“uses
so much energy.”

“What does?” He tried to move down to
see what was happening. He needed to get some answers for himself, but her hold
on his hand tightened as he tried to move.

“I don’t know why I didn’t think of it.
I’m a skin, silly.” She smiled, her eye lashes meshed as she slow blinked. “I
can change my whole skin, so why not just a part of my body?”

He looked down at Devlin who was far
under her gown and then back at Gaby. “Are you saying you’re reforming down
there...?”

She nodded.

“I can see the babies.”