Aphrodite's Secret (36 page)

“And can I have a puppy?”

Lane stifled a giggle, and Jason shot her a frown. “We’ll see,” he said. “After all, there’s no yard.”

“Oh.” Davy considered for a while. “Well, then, how about a baby brother?”

At that, Jason tugged Lane close. He kissed her gently on the lips. “Now
that
,” he said, “is something I’ll be happy to discuss with your mother.”

Davy seemed excited. “Can I, Mommy? Can I have one?”

Lane laughed. “What about a baby sister?”

Her son made a face. “Yuck. Girls.”

Lane just laughed and squeezed Jason’s hand. “I don’t know,” she said. “Spit-up, poopy diapers ...”

“I missed out on those the first time around,” Jason said. “I think you owe me.”

She laughed at his teasing, “
I
owe
you
? Hmmm.” She stopped walking long enough to give him an appraising stare. “Maybe,” she finally agreed. “But only because I love you.”

And she did. Loved him with all her heart and soul.

He kissed her, the kiss telling her what she already knew: that he loved her, too. And Davy. And all of Davy’s unborn siblings. Hopefully, there would be a brother
and
a sister. “I love you, too,” he said.

“I know.” She smiled and squeezed his hand. “So, tell me,” she said, then paused to nibble on her lower lip. “Are there any
more
surprises? Or do I know all your secrets now? You’re a Protector. Your father’s not a very nice guy. Does that about cover it?”

He laughed, then swung Davy up onto his shoulder. “That’s it,” he said. “Except...”

Her eyes widened. “Except?”

“Have I told you about the full moon ... ?”

“Where is he, Mommy?” Davy asked. “I don’t see Daddy anywhere.”

“Right there, sweetie.” Lane pointed to the far side of the holding pool. “See? He’s behind Shamu.”

As if he could hear her, Jason burst forth from the water, a shining, gleaming dolphin. He leaped over Shamu, his body glimmering in the fading moonlight.

It had taken Lane a few months to get used to her husband’s monthly after-hours excursion to Sea World, but now she cherished the wee morning hours alone with Davy as they waited for Jason to come back to them.

Lane rubbed her rounded belly, wondering if their little daughter was going to inherit her father’s aquatic powers. Lane almost hoped she would. Certainly they couldn’t be more of a handful than Davy reprogramming, rewiring, and re-everythinging each and every electronic device on their houseboat.

Still, she had to laugh. After Davy’s rescue, the Inner Circle had promoted Jason to Protector First Class. With that vote of confidence, suddenly boarding school was no longer a necessity. Instead, Jason was charged with training his son.

He did fine with the instruction on the basics like levitation, but Davy’s technological skills were a little out of Jason’s league. And it amused Lane to no end to watch her husband and son sit on the floor together, with Davy patiently explaining why the electrical current needed to flow in a certain direction. For his part, Jason was doing well to find the on/off switch on his coffeemaker.

He tried, though, to help his son. And Lane loved him all the more for it.

The first rays of sunlight streaked across the sky, and Lane held her breath, her eyes searching the calm surface of the water, looking for her human husband.

Shamu cruised by, one fin raised in greeting, and Davy waved back. Lane did, too, but her salutation was halfhearted, because she’d seen a more important sign: the telltale ripple in the water.

She watched as Jason emerged, stepping out of the water like one of the gods from whom he’d descended. His body glistened and gleamed, and when he saw her, he smiled, the gesture full of promise and desire.

Water cascaded from his chest. Lane sighed, enjoying the magnificent view as he moved forward, then grabbed a towel from the concrete and wrapped it around his waist.

“Daddy!” Davy raced over and threw his arms around Jason’s legs, managing to get fully soaked in the process.

“Hey, sport,” his father said. “How’s my guy?”

“I’m good, Daddy,” Davy announced. “I made an electronic life form that has retracting Ninja blades, but Mommy won’t let me play with it in the house.”

Jason laughed. “Don’t look at me, kid.” He pulled Lane close when she approached, and she snuggled up, not caring at all that she was going to end up just as wet as he.

“And how are my girls?” he asked, putting his hand on her belly.

“Missing you,” she said.

He kissed her nose. “Do you have it?”

Lane nodded, then reached into her pocket, pulling out his wedding ring. She held it out for him. “Still love me?” she asked, in what had become their monthly ritual.

He slipped his finger through the ring. “I do,” he said, his eyes showing he told the truth.

Lane’s heart beat faster, those words filling her soul with joy as they always did. “I know you do,” she said, pressing a light kiss to his cheek. “And I do, too.”