Worlds of Obsession (Celtic Otherworlds) (33 page)

Epilogue

              Bastien slammed his fist into the face of one of the vile creatures lurking in the alleyway, distracting it long enough to sink his knife deep into the chest of the other, twisting it cruelly as the thing dropped to its knees with a silent scream.  In one swift motion, he drew the sword from the sheath on his back and in two quick and lethal strokes, he sliced off the heads of his prey, watching as they steadily disintegrated, seeming to melt into the pavement.  Even the blood on his sword and on the knife he retrieved from the rapidly decaying creature’s chest quickly turned to no more than dust and fell like snowflakes to the ground.  He put his weapons away and stretched his muscles, glad his shift was over early tonight, and glad that he had taken six more Dark Sidhe vermin out of the path of unsuspecting humans.  God, he loved his job; life just couldn’t get any better than this.

Twenty minutes later, he was pulling his car into the garage of a house ten miles north of the city, well away from the bright lights and noise.  It was his very own sanctuary
, and it had everything he needed when he stayed in the human realm, even a garden and pool in the solarium off the back.

He slipped his key into the lock and let himself in, dropping his gear near the door and heading straight for the shower on the first floor to wash off any remains of the night’s work.  He hummed softly to himself as he scrubbed his fingers through his hair and ran the bar of soap over his body.  Then he rinsed off and grabbed a towel, drying off quickly before slipping into a clean pair of boxers and heading for the stairs. 

He bounded up them two at a time, eager now that he was all cleaned up.  He paused at the second door on the left, listening for a moment before pushing it open further and slipping into the room.  Only the sound of deep, even breathing met him. 
Sound asleep
.  He tiptoed across the room and paused in front of the crib that rested against the far wall.  A soft, tender smile spread across his face as he looked down into it, his hand reaching down to stroke each downy head.  Sensing he was there, both of his sons stirred and stretched a little before settling back down.

He longed to pick them up and snuggle them to his chest for a while, but Liv would not be happy if he woke them at this time of night.  Anyway, he’d see them for their three AM feeding soon enough. 
He still didn’t know how he’d gotten so lucky.  Twins among his race were exceedingly rare, and twin sons were pretty much unheard of.  Because of this, and of course how quickly they were conceived, Bastien was certain his children were destined for something special.  Liv just laughed and told him every proud father thought just the same thing, but Bastien wasn’t convinced.  Whatever the reason for his good fortune, he wasn’t going to question it.  No, he was going to revel in every single moment of it.

With one more affectionate glance at his sleeping babies, Bastien left the room and closed the door behind him, all but a crack
so he would be sure to hear when they woke up.  The door to the room across the hall was half-open, and moonlight spilled out into the darkened corridor from the window inside.  He went in, his gaze immediately seeking out the bed and the small figure laying there, naked on top of the covers, her eyes closed and her face peaceful. 
Liv
.

She was his heart, and his reason for everything.  She had given him unconditional love and two beautiful sons.  The family he had never hoped to have.  Without her, he could not live, it was just as simple as that.  His eyes never leaving her sleeping form, he slid off the boxers and crawled onto the bed
on his hands and knees until he was crouched over her, and she opened her eyes and gave him a sleepy smile.

“How was your night?” she asked, reaching up to touch his cheek.

“Good.  Six down.  What did you do while I was out?”  He didn’t like to leave her or the babies, but he also wanted to make the world a safer place for them.

“Your mom came to visit.  She wanted to spend time with the boys.
  She told me lots of stories about you when you were little.”

Bastien scowled down at her.  “All good?”

She giggled.  “No, all bad.”

He laughed.  His mother was over the moon with the new grandchildren, and made any excuse to see them. 
Their birth had rekindled his relationship with her in a way he never would have imagined possible.  His father… well, he was still working on that.  The anger was still there, and maybe it always would be, but he was pretty sure forgiveness would come in time.  His father was a fierce, hard male, but also loyal and protective, and he had been truly distraught when he found out who Liv really was, and what he had done.  But thoughts of his parents were for another time, because it had been far too long since he had last made love to the breathtakingly beautiful female beneath him, and his cock was so hard it hurt.

“I missed you”, he told her, leaning in to taste the soft skin of her throat.

“You were only gone for five hours”, she teased.

“But it felt like five hundred.”  He kissed her mouth, his hands entwining with hers as he slid them up over the soft sheet until they rested above her head.  “I need you.”  He rocked his hips against her with a soft groan.

“You always need me.”

“Damn right
.  I’m only really happy when I’m buried deep inside you, baby.  Open your legs for me now”, he grated out, squeezing her hands tighter in his.  He pushed his aching cock into her on a long sigh of pleasure, moving slowly at first, circling his hips against hers as if savoring every sensation.  It wasn’t long, though, before his control began to wear thin, and he was thrusting into her in a wild and primal rhythm, bringing them both closer and closer to the edge of bliss.  Only minutes later they both reached a soaring peak, and Bastien collapsed, panting and shaking, onto Liv’s chest, his face tucked against her neck.  It was his usual routine after a night of hunting to take the edge off once or twice before loving her more slowly and thoroughly, but that wasn’t going to be happening tonight…

The wail of first one baby and then the other broke the sated silence of the room, and Liv felt Bastien’s wide grin
and soft chuckle against her throat.  Then he was up and out of the bed, returning a moment later with a wriggling infant in each arm.  “My sons are hungry again.”

“Your sons are
always
hungry.”

Laughing, he slid into bed beside her, handing off the babies so that she could feed them while he stroked their soft hair.  Yes… it had all been worth it…

Sometimes, things were worth waiting for.