Chapter 18
Chapter
Eighteen
Kieran was starving.
His head hurt.
It was itchy, hot — which was weird because it was cold outside - and his belly was just grinding.
He wandered downstairs, barefoot and in his robe, and started digging through the fridge.
Obviously, everyone was getting ready for Yule. There was a turkey defrosting, a cheese ball setting, some icing, and cookie dough, plus tons of root veggies to tempt the little ones’ tummies.
Nothing really rich and decadent.
He pondered the icing, but no. He wanted… something really amazing.
“What’s going on, mate? Are you well?” Lachlan kissed his temple, arms wrapping around him.
“Oh, did I wake you up? I’m hungry.”
“Mmm. I could eat too.”
He chuckled, because Lachlan could always eat. “I want something—” he smacked his lips “—really decadent.”
“Sweet or savory?”
“Can’t I have both?” Kieran chuckled. “Sweet, I guess. I just want something yummy.”
“We can do both, certainly.” Lachlan went to the fridge to rummage. “We’ll let Alban sleep…”
“Can you cook, then?” he teased. Everyone talked about Lachlan’s fun meals.
“I can.” Lachlan laughed. “I can make you cinnamon rolls out of the Hawaiian rolls and butter and goo. But I can also make you a decadent creamy pasta first.”
“I love that idea. No tomatoes, right?” Kieran loved tomatoes, but right now they were giving him an acidy tummy any time he ate them.
“No tomatoes, right.” Lachlan started pulling things out of the refrigerator. “I’ll make it with some kind of cream and parmesan if you think you can handle the cheese.”
His belly rumbled, and he grinned. “I can absolutely handle that.”
“Perfect!” Lachlan laid out cream and parmesan on the kitchen counter with a flourish.
He climbed up to sit on a stool and watched Lachlan move around his kitchen as if he belonged there. He supposed he did, but they all knew this was Alban’s domain.
Still, when water was boiling and sauce was gently bubbling and butter and sugar had come together for icing, the kitchen smelled so good, and Lachlan looked so happy, that Kieran could hardly stand the joy.
His belly rumbled and bubbled, rejoicing with the idea that his lover, his mate, was caring for him and their baby. There was a little song he thought he was beginning to hear. So different than Micah’s had been.
There was no worry in this song, no tension. This was joy. Lower. fuller. Micah’s had been high like clouds.
He stroked his belly, humming softly, chuckling as the little song grew.
He could hear Micah in his head suddenly, too, singing along. Nowadays his boy was pretty loud, even asleep.
Lachlan sang with them, deep and happy, like a joyous frog. He was a terrible singer. It was kind of nice to know there were some things he wasn’t good at…
Of course, he loved the deep, merry sound, and he soaked it up. That’s your papa, Little One. He’s singing for you.
The song swelled, twining around Micah and Lachlan’s.
Finally, the pasta was in front of him, and he dug in, the creamy green brightness exactly what he needed. The herbs were a perfect counterpoint to the cheese and bacon bits and egg.
He ate heartily, the baby becoming satisfied and quiet. “Oh, that’s nice.”
“Yes? I thought you would like it. Let me know if I need to change anything for next time.” Lachlan sat to eat with him.
“No, it’s amazing. I was just so damn hungry. It’s unreasonable, you know?”
“You are using a great deal of energy. Creating a magical being. And you are also a bit at their mercy, I think.”
“I know.” He winked at Lachlan. “This is so much easier though, than doing it alone.”
“I’m glad.” They ate noodles, and then Lachlan rose to go finish creating his makeshift cinnamon rolls.
He went to do dishes while Lachlan cooked. It was only fair, and he would hate to leave a mess for Alban.
Lachlan popped the rolls in the countertop oven before coming to help him, drying the pasta pot.
It felt so good, working together, side-by-side. It was easy, normal. Real. They had lived from one emergency to another, but this was them. Being a family.
The cinnamon goodies smelled like heaven, and — even though he couldn’t possibly still be hungry — he was ready to scarf them down.
And when they came out of the oven, he did, barely leaving one for Lachlan.
Lachlan chuckled. “I need to remember those. Baby likes cinnamon.”
“She does. She’s got a real thing for it.”
“A daughter, hmm?”
“I think so. She thinks so.” Their little girl. He loved that.
“Well, then who are we to argue?” Lachlan got up to put any remaining dishes away. He’d put most of them in, all but the sweet roll ones. “Thank you for cleaning up, love.”
“Of course. You cooked, and you made exactly what I needed.” He went to kiss Lachlan, thank him.
“I love making you feel good…” Lachlan beamed. “Now, what else can we do to make that happen?”
“Take me to bed and prove that you want to make me feel beautiful.”
Lachlan came to him in a rush, sweeping him up in those strong arms to head for the stairs. “With great pleasure.”
Kieran beamed at him, holding on. He was full and happy, and now his body was pleased to remind his mate how much he needed to be loved and desired.
They made it to the bedroom without running into Alban or hearing Micah, and Lachlan laid him out on the bed, staring at him in a way that made him feel both of those things he’d mentioned. Loved. Wanted.
He opened his robe and wiggled out of his sweats, then he spread his legs, hopefully making a clear offer.
Lachlan rumbled, the sound so perfectly guardian dragon. Then he tossed off his sleep pants and T-shirt and joined Kieran on the bed.
“Mate.” He reached up, hands molding around the warm, nascent wings.
“Mmmm. I love how you act like they’re normal.” Lachlan didn’t sound upset, not at all, but Kieran frowned at him putting himself down.
“They’re perfect. They hold us close, they make me feel safe, and they are sexy as hell. I don’t need normal. I need you.”
“I need you too.” Lachlan wrapped those wings down around him, the scent of his mate surrounding him.
He moaned — so excited that his toes curled. He reached up, stroking the warm scales almost lazily, and they made a tinkling sound that surrounded him.
“So good.” Lachlan bent to kiss him, lips hot on his, tongue pushing in.
He arched up, meeting Lachlan’s need with his own. Light began to build inside him, bubbling and eager for his mate’s attention. He felt like his skin was too tight, his cock rising hard and aching.
Lachlan nibbled his bottom lip, tugging just enough to make him shudder. He gasped, one of his legs wrapping around Lachlan’s hip.
“That’s it, love. Show me how good you feel.”
“I need you so much.” His cock was hard as a rock, and his hole was wet, aching.
“I need you too, baby.” Lachlan rubbed against him, his cock huge and hard and hot like a brand against Kieran’s own.
He didn’t doubt it in the least, but he wanted to make Lachlan prove it. So he grabbed Lachlan right behind his wing joints. “Knot me.”
“You don’t want a little foreplay?” Lachlan reached down, tapping and slipping one finger after another into his body, teasing the hell out of him.
“You know I love a little foreplay, but I’m ready for you. Can you not feel how wet I am? These hormones, they’re driving me crazy, mate.”
“I like a little crazy, love.” Lachlan winked at him. “I think we both deserve that.”
“We do.” He clung to Lachlan, wanting to be so close that no air slipped between them.
Lachlan fingered him, and his energy bubbled and grew inside him, the light of his passion beginning to grow. He felt it filling the room, too, the joy impossible to deny.
Lachlan groaned, and then suddenly, Kieran found himself filled with that massive, amazing prick.
He grunted, his body accepting the invasion, then clamping down around it.
“Fuck!” The curse word tore out of Lachlan. “Perfect. You’re perfect, mate.”
“Please. More. I want your knot!” He wrapped himself around Lachlan, begging with everything in him.
“Easy, easy.” Lachlan took him, driving in to him in strong, steady strokes. The feel of that big body moving over him, inside him, made Kieran feel so loved. So safe. It made him glow.
More than that, it made him burn.
He clenched around Lachlan’s cock, gripping good and hard. He could feel that hard knot start to swell, filling him even deeper.
Lachlan groaned, rocking faster, sawing within him as the pressure grew. He wrapped tighter around Lachlan’s body as he started to beg.
“Please. Mate. Your knot. So full…”
“I love you.” Lachlan’s kiss sent him flying, and suddenly there was a hand, jacking at his prick.
“Mmmm. Love!” He arched, that big, callused hand so good. Lachlan’s knot lodged deep, making it hard to move now.
His entire body sang and their rooms were suffused with light.
He could hardly bear the feeling inside him, which was the sensation of a coiled spring ready to snap.
That warm hand circled his cock and tugged, and his balls drew up tight against his body. Panting, he clung to his mate, trying not to scream with the pleasure and wake Micah and Alban.
Lachlan laughed, the sound a low, throaty growl. “I love that I can make you want to scream, baby. Do you feel my knot? Feel how tight we are together. I love being inside you.”
“Need this. So bad.” He wasn’t sure if the words were a groan or a gasp, but it didn’t matter. They were what they were.
His orgasm was right there.
And Lachlan was pushing him, slamming into him, hand between them to pull and tug and give him everything in the world. His whole focus narrowed to where they joined together, and he squeezed down. Hard.
Lachlan shouted, his knot swelling so huge, and that was all it took.
Kieran came, shaking hard, his body arching and twisting, a kaleidoscope of light playing over the walls and the ceiling.
Lachlan wrapped him in those strong wings, cradled him and kept him close. “My beautiful mate.”
“Yours,” he agreed. How could he not? He stroked Lachlan’s cheeks, his fingers shaking.
“Mmmm.” Lachlan eased his weight to one side, but they stayed connected and wrapped together. “I’m glad you were hungry, love.”
“Oh, me too.” And the way his stomach just rumbled, he’d have to eat again as soon as they could work themselves apart.
But until then, he could rest and feel loved.