“The mountain of a woman with enough muscles to be a wrestler?’
“Well, yes,” Carrick nodded, looking relieved that Nessy had given the description.
“Yep, Vanessa chuckled. “Until I knew her name, I called her Big Lady.”
“Indeed,” Carrick grinned. Then to Cyrus, he matter-of-factly stated, “Now, Lad, get your Mate to the Ryder Pride. She needs rest, and you need to grovel as you’ve never groveled before.”
“Oh, no, I was the one…”
Shaking his head with a solemn look that Cyrus could tell was put on, Carrick corrected, “No,nighean ghràdhach.Smiling and giving her a wink, he added with a mischievous gleam in his eye, “It is my young Brethren who needs to make amends.” Leaning in, he whispered, “Take the pampering. You deserve it. That’s an order.”
“Yes, sir,” Nessy giggled, and the sound made Cyrus’s heart skip a beat. Then she happily whispered directly into his mind,“Carrick, the real Carrick called me dear daughter.”
“Yes, Mo ghràdh,” Cyrus chuckled.“He did, and he truly meant it.”
Before he could say anything else, Carrick clapped his hands and once again said, “Okay, Cyrus, get Vanessa back to the Pride. We will follow when we can.”
“Yes,” Tamsyn and Peaches agreed in unison. Then the Bobcat Queen added, “The cottage you’ve been using is allcleaned up and ready for a couple.” Laughing, she added, “Vanessa, your man there doesn’t know what a laundry hamper is.”
As everyone laughed, Nessy lovingly placed her hand on his cheek and winked, and she made a show of nodding and teased, “Don’t I know it, Girl!”
Raising his hands in mock surrender, Cy laughed out loud. “I’ll do better. I’ll do better.”
“You had better,” Peaches teased. “Won’t be long before you’re changin’ diapers, my friend.”
Once again lifting Nessy into his arms, the Guardsman called over his shoulder, “See y’all later.”
Using his preternatural speed to get his Mate to the Black SUV, Cyrus unlocked the door with little more than a thought and gently placed Vanessa on the passenger seat. Looking deep into her eyes, he could resist the temptation of her gorgeous Mate.
Lying his lips to hers, he poured all the love, adoration, passion, and commitment he felt for the woman made for him by the Universe. That one kiss, the perfect embodiment of all he felt for her, combined with the promise of a forever filled with love and happiness, was the culmination of everything he’d wanted and for most of his life believed he’d never get. Vanessa completed him in ways he couldn’t imagine, as well as in ways he was looking forward to exploring.
Reluctantly ending their embrace, he took a step back and smiled proudly. Not only were Vanessa's lips pink and puffy from their kiss, but her eyes had the dreamy look of lust that set his heart and soul a blaze.
Reaching over the seat, retrieved his backpack. “We need to get you the hell outta that shirt. I can’t have my Mate wearing that bastard’s clothes.”
“I am right there with you,” Nessy readily agreed. “And you need a clean one, too.”
Handing her his light blue T-shirt and drawstring sweatpants, Cyrus laughed out loud when the red scales their unborn child had used to protect its mother receded, and in the blink of an eye, Vanessa was dressed in his clothing. “Did you do that?” He asked, snickering, as his shorts were instantly cleaned and repaired. “Or that?”
“Nope.” Eyes wide, Nessy's hands went to her stomach. “It was all the baby.”
Putting his hand over hers, Cyrus happily sighed, “Life just keeps getting better.”
“It sure does,” Nessy agreed.
“Okay,” Cy announced. “Let’s get you to our temporary home.”
Sending mental images of all they would share together into Vanessa’s mind on the short ride back to the Ryder Pride, he could not feel her excitement building but was floating on a cloud of wildflowers and sunshine– the scent of his Mate’s arousal. It took all his hard-fought control not to pull the SUV off the road and make love to her right then and there.
“But you must wait, Lad. Our Mate needs her rest,”Dom reminded
“Oh, I know, Old Man. I will wait on her hand and foot. She will want for nothing.”
“I have everything I need.”Nessy chimed in.“You and our child.”
Flying through the back entrance of the Ryder Pounce, he slowed to stop outside the log cabin that Tamsyn and Ruairí had insisted he take when he arrived. Out of the SUV and around to Vanessa’s door as fast as he could move, Cyrus opened her door, undid her seatbelt, and lifted her from the vehicle while she giggled, “Youcanput me down. I can still walk.”
“Not while I’m around.” Laughing out loud when she Magically opened the door, he chuckled, “That’smygirl.”
