Page 37 of Smoke and Moon

She reclaimed the chair and crossed her arms and legs.“I got time.What threats are out there for my sister?”

“No.Not now.I need to get to the office.It is easier for me to tell you Chanin is not a threat in the way you may be thinking.Like I would never harm you, he will give his life to protect your sister.If we delay too long, he will come for her.”

“The woman over the council.She said we have time.Until Morlie is...older.”Kai swallowed, fighting her urge to be truthful with Aodh.He’d given them everything, but she had made him a party to her deception.What would he do if he knew the truth?Would Aodh force her to turn her sister over?Kai could never do that.

“Kai.”Aodh leaned down and placed his hands on the arm of the chair.He stared into her eyes briefly, not blinking, as if he wanted something from her.

She held her tongue, unsure what he wanted.He couldn’t possibly know the truth.

“Aodh,” she countered.

Aodh sighed.“Iskah stated that, but Chanin may petition the council for an earlier meeting due to circumstance.”

Her brow drew tight.“What circumstance?What reason could he possibly have?”Kai felt the tension in her arms and balled her fists.

Aodh held her gaze again.There was a pale, thin canary ring around his irises as he assessed her eyes and face.However, he quickly tamped down his curiosity.“Any reason.He could argue that since she is his mate, she should live among his people until he can claim her.”

She gasped, and her arms went slack.“No.Chanin can’t.How can we stop him—?”

“Mate, there is so much about my world you do not understand.”He lowered himself, placing them at eye level.Aodh covered her hands in her lap.“In my world, a male lives and dies by his mate and those directly under his protection.To Chanin, Morlie is his life and death.”

Kai stared into his eyes and saw the color that waved through his markings, so faint she couldn’t identify it fully.However, she felt the heat from his body caressing her skin.It brought her comfort and eased the tension in her gut.Yes, she and Aodh were having a child, but what was between them had not been defined.But she still understood what he was trying to communicate—Chanin felt the same intense draw for her sister.

However, Kai was always worried about losing her sister.

“Do you believe he will honor the decision of the council?”

“Yes, little flame.Chanin will hold to the Fae’s command.But—”

She raised a hand to stop whatever he was going to say to dissuade her.“Right now, we have time.We will not worry about this wolf until he makes a petition.”

Kai kissed Aodh and ignored the cautious look in his gaze.“Now move your massive body.I must see my sister.”

Aodh paused a moment, still holding her stare.After he gave a sharp nod, he took hold of her hand and pulled her to her feet as he claimed his full height.

She moved past him and headed down the short flight of stairs toward the front rooms, the wide leg of her pants flapping against her calves.

“I need you to make sure you eat today.”

Kai laughed and shook her head.She glanced over her shoulder at the big man following her as they approached the door.“I think I have eaten enough for a small army.You tried to get me to eat half the morning meal.”

He stopped and arched a brow high at her as he set his fists on his hips.“You need the sustenance for the offspring.”

She stopped.She turned fully toward Aodh so he could get the impact of her eye-roll.Kai smiled to take the sting out of it.“You know that whole eating for two is a myth.A baby takes its sustenance at a different time than the mom.Besides, I have more than enough to sustain it for weeks.”She patted her thighs and hips.

Aodh took one giant step, closed the distance between them, and drew her body against his.Sliding his hand from her waist to her plump ass, then bending his knees to continue down her thick thighs only to straighten and rest his hands at the top curve of her backside.

His touch made her body shiver.Heat exploded in her core and flared outward, causing her nipples to tighten and her walls to clench.Kai’s reaction to his strong hands worshiping all the lush hills and valleys of her body sent warmth through her blood that surrounded her heart to the point that her palms and the arches of her feet heated.Kai gripped his arms hard as she curled her toes into the solid floor to keep her mind.Her body was still sore, on a deep, aching level, from everything that had happened all night.

“I like all your curves and want to keep them this way.”

She sank her teeth into her cheek to keep from leaning into him.Aodh was too addicting.Kai knew if the man started something, no matter her tenderness, she’d give in because her body craved his and every astounding thing he could do to her.She exhaled, glad their tension from earlier had been placed aside.

“Besides myths, as you say, do not account for a Drahk offspring.It would be best if you ate three times as much,” Aodh continued, even though his markings flared cerulean, and his voice took on that lower resonance.

Kai frowned as she clutched his bare biceps, feeling slightly apprehensive.“Why?What’s the difference?”

She felt she should have asked more questions when she and Aodh first got together.However, being around this man made her mind go haywire, and all she could think about was feeling his body on top of hers, inside of hers, behind hers.She sighed.

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