Sunshine's Kiss (24 page)

“Why is he so accepting of Lycan all of a sudden?” Jesse sounded so confused, and a bit angry with King Auryan. “I thought he hated us.”

“He doesn’t hate Lycan exactly,” Sam replied. “It’s more like he is distrustful of them. The Dark Court used Lycan as their daytime guardians and soldiers during the war. Because Lycan could shift into your beast form, the Light Court soldiers had no defense against them. They lost a lot of people to the Lycan.”

“He told you all of this?”

Sam shrugged. “You’ve been unconscious for two days, Jesse. We had a lot of time to talk.”

“I guess I must pretty much be his worst nightmare then. I’m both Lycan and Dark Court Fey.”

“You’re also my mate and the father of the child I carry, the hope for the future of Dark and Light courts. I’m betting that kind of gives you an in with both courts. Besides, my father kind of likes you. You don’t take any of his shit.”

Jesse chuckled. “And I won’t where you’re concerned.”

When Sam heard a knock at the door, he carefully tucked the blankets around Jesse’s naked body then padded over to open the door. He smiled when he saw Jesse’s brothers standing there with Rocky.

“Come on, guys, the patient is alive and well,” Sam said as he stepped back and allowed the men into the room. As soon as everyone was inside, Sam shut the door then walked back over and crawled back into Jesse’s arms.

“You’re looking good, bro,” Cort said. “Much better than the last time I saw you.”

“I’m feeling good, too.” Jesse grinned. “Sam ordered me to shift.”

“Oh?”

Sam just shrugged. What was there to say? He had ordered Jesse to shift. The whole Lycan thing was becoming easier and easier, especially considering everything he had learned over the last few weeks.

“What have you guys been up to?” Jesse asked as he looked around at most of the members of his pack. “Been keeping yourself busy in Fey land?”

“Well…” Cort grinned as he looked at the youngest member of the McCaffrey family. “Jake here is avoiding every cute guy that comes across his path, too scared of ending up like Sam.”

“Hey!” Sam exclaimed. “It’s not that bad.”

Jake held up his hands, shaking his head frantically. “There is no way in hell I am pushing something the size of a watermelon out my ass. I may like ‘em big, but even I have my limits.”

Sam shuddered as he thought about what he had learned concerning giving birth. There were some things even he didn’t want to think about, and that was at the top of his list. Even though his father had told him all about what to expect, even going as far as showing him graphic pictures, Sam still didn’t want to believe it.

Who gave birth that way? It was barbaric. Sam was thinking about asking for a cesarean section. He liked his ass just the way it was, nice and tight. He knew Jesse liked it that way, too, and he was deathly afraid after the baby, it would never be the same again.

This was the one time in his life that Sam wished he had been born a woman. Of course, if he had, he doubted he would be pregnant with Jesse’s child. The man very definitely preferred men over women.

“Is that how you give birth, sunshine?”

“Don’t remind me,” Sam groaned as he buried his face in Jesse’s chest. “I’m trying not to think about it.”

Jesse chuckled. “I’m sure your father has numerous doctors lined up to help you. You’ll be fine.”

Sam lifted his head to glare down at Jesse. “You damn well better hope so, or you’re never getting near my ass again.” Sam didn’t know what to think when Jesse’s eyes suddenly widened. His eyes narrowed as he cautiously asked, “What?”

“We’re going to have to start using birth control.”

Sam sighed in relief. “No, once I give birth, I can’t get pregnant for another two years. It’s my body’s way of making sure I have time to recover and give me time with the baby. However, the babies will be born—”

“Babies?” Jesse’s face drained of color. “What do you mean
babies
?”

“Did I forget to mention that?”

“Huh, yeah!”

“I can birth up to three pups.”

“Pups?” Jesse shouted. “You’re giving birth to pups?”

Sam chuckled at the astounded look on Jesse’s face. “The pups will be born blind and deaf, and they will weigh about one pound. When they are three weeks old, they can shift to human form.”

Jesse rubbed a hand down his face. “Fuck, this is a lot to take in.”

“Now you know how I felt when I learned about Lycan,” Sam said. “I was confused as hell, scared out of my mind, and intrigued all at the same time.”

“Yeah, but pups?” Jesse glanced at the others in the room before his eyes settled on Sam’s once again. “Tell me they are potty trained at least.”

“No such luck. They will be totally dependent on us for everything just like any newborn pup would. Once they are able to shift, they will be in essence infants. Once they shift to human form, they won’t be able to shift back until they are two years old.”

Jesse’s eyebrows drew together. “How do you know all of this stuff?”

“My father’s library. How else?” Sam pointed to the stack of books sitting on the table near the window seat. “I had to do something while you were sleeping.”

“Well, look, this is all fascinating and all,” Cort said as he walked over to stand next to the side of the bed, “but I’ve got to get going.”

“Where are you going?” Jesse asked.

“Since you’re stuck here with Sam, King Auryan asked me to take that mysterious black box back to the Dark Court and inform them who we are and that a union between the Dark Court and the Light Court has occurred. He asked me not to say anything about Sam’s pregnancy until we see how the Dark Court receives me.”

“Yeah, I would think not,” Jesse said. “Are you sure this is something you want to do?”

“Yeah, I’m interested in learning more about Mom and where she came from. I’m not too keen on all of this princely stuff, but I want to see where she was born and grew up, maybe talk to someone that knew her.”

“Hey,” Sam said, “what was in that black box anyway?”

Cort chuckled. “It seems when Mom ran away, she took her crown with her. She hid it in that box in the wall. I think she was saving it for one of us but…” Cort shrugged his shoulders. “That might have been what Father was looking for.”

“We’ve kind of come up with a theory on that,” Gabe said. “Since Father was mated to Mother, and she was the heir to the Dark Court, we believe that he wanted that crown so he could prove who she was. When she was alive, he had her, but once she passed away, he needed some other way to prove it. Her crown would have done it.”

“But why would he care?” Jesse asked.

“Money, power, prestige?” Cort shrugged again. “I doubt we’ll ever really know.”

“Being the mate of the heir to the throne was probably more enticing than running a ranch,” Gabe said. “Cort thinks that was one of the reasons that Father isolated us the way he did. He didn’t want anyone else to find Mom’s crown before he did.”

“But Mom was alive when we moved to the ranch,” Jesse said. “She’s buried out back.”

“Apparently she wouldn’t tell him where it was.”

“Do you think he ever really loved her?” Sam whispered, his heart going out to a woman that passed long before he ever really had the chance to know her.

“Her journal says he did,” Rocky said. “I’ve spent some more time reading through it. In the beginning, she was very happy. I don’t think your father lost it until she passed away. It damaged him somehow. He couldn’t live without her, and he just went crazy.”

“Maybe finding her crown and returning it was the only way he could stay close to her,” Sam surmised. “Maybe he needed to do that for her, and that’s why he became so obsessed.”

“Maybe,” Jake whispered, catching Sam’s attention. He had been the quietest out of everyone in the room. “And maybe the man was just a rat bastard. Mom was lucky she didn’t live to see it.”

Sam felt a lump form in his throat. None of the McCaffrey boys had been treated well by Andrew McCaffrey, but Jake had been treated the worst. His father seemed to have some sort of vendetta against him.

Whether it was because Rachel McCaffrey died giving birth to Jake or because Jake was an omega, they would never know. But it had obviously affected the man greatly. Sam just hoped Jake would learn to move beyond what his father had done to him and have a happy life.

“Well, I’m going to head out,” Cort said. “Apparently they don’t use cars here, so I have to ride a horse there, and it’s a two-day ride just to get to the border. I should be back in a week or so. If you don’t hear from me by then, send in the troops.”

Sam watched as Cort leaned down to give his brother a manly sort of half hug and a pat on the shoulder then turned to give the same to Nate, Jake, and Gabe. He saluted and walked out of the room.

“We need to get going, too,” Rocky said as he stepped toward the door. “King Auryan is letting us use one of his pastures for the cattle until we get the ranch back in operation, and these damn Fey don’t know anything about herding modern cattle. Me and the boys are working on teaching them a few things.”

Jake gestured over his shoulder with his thumb. “I’m heading out with Rocky. If you need me, I’ll be out riding the range.”

Sam waved to Jake and Rocky as they left, then turned his attention to Nate. He knew he’d be next to leave, although he doubted the tall man would go too far. He took his responsibility as gamma very seriously.

Nate grinned sheepishly. “I’ll be right outside the door if you need me.”

“We won’t,” Sam said, winking at Nate. He chuckled when Nate’s face flushed red. For a man built as tall and as strong as Nate, it amazed Sam that the man could blush. “But thanks anyway.”

“Yeah.” Jesse grinned. “We’ve got this part covered.”

Nate couldn’t leave the room fast enough. Sam thought he even detected a bit of fabric stuck in the door as it closed, but then it was gone. Once the room was clear, Sam turned toward Jesse, sliding his leg over Jesse’s thighs.

“So,” he said as he drew his hand down Jesse’s chest, “just what did you have in mind, handsome?”

Jesse grinned as he reached for Sam. “Getting me some sunshine.”

Stormy believes the only thing sexier than a man in cowboy boots is two or three men in cowboy boots. She also believes in love at first sight, soul mates, true love, and happy endings.

You can usually find her cuddled in bed with a book in her hand and a puppy in her lap, or on her laptop, creating the next sexy man for one of her stories. Stormy welcomes comments from readers. You can find her website at
www.stormyglenn.com
.

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