“That Order is one of the best you’ve ever seen in all your long years,” Bastien pointed out quietly.
“With some of the best soldiers you’ve ever met,” Tobias added on.
“And the most loyal,” Aiden chimed in.
Madigan smiled, watching the antics with affection. “Certainly the most loving.”
Mordecai merely grunted, the non-verbal agreement causing his Order to grin. It was true, he mused to himself. He had never met an Order more in tune with each other – nor an Order that fit so well. Other than his own of course, but that bond was forged over a thousand years. The one in front of him was yet to hit two years. Some things are just meant to be, he mused, silently. Refocusing on the conversation, he was horrified to tune back in just in time to hear Max’s comment.
“Well, Ryker kind of has to coil his like a snake. Remember the tanto sword comparison?”
“Dear Gods!” Mordecai gagged.
Ryker smirked, “Don’t be jealous, daddy-o.”
Mordecai pinned Ryker with a frosty glare. “Firstly, never call me daddy-o again. Secondly, I’m not jealous.” He then tried really hard to erase the memory of that one time he had seen Ryker naked after Max had disappeared. But for some reason, it just kept popping into his head. “Sweet Mother. I am out of here,” he grumbled.
“So soon?” Ryker teased, his dark eyes glinting with evil. “Aren’t you going to share with the class?”
Mordecai made sure his voice was pitched to lethal as he responded. “The day I discuss my dick with any of you is the day I sprout pink fairy wings and blow glitter out of my arse.” Besides, he thought to himself, I have no idea what side I tuck my dick on. Quickly followed by; How could I not know?!
“You tuck to the left.”
It wasn’t the smug female voice that startled him so much as the way her warm breath in his ear caused his whole body to tremble. He resolutely kept his stare straight ahead as Dana casually walked past him and enveloped Max in a warm hug. The warmth she left in her wake, combined with the feminine, floral scent had his body rioting and this time he didn’t bother announcing his departure. He simply walked out.
Chapter Two
“I see I’ve chased your father off again,” Dana said tiredly to Max.
Max huffed, “If I didn’t know any better, I’d say you two actually enjoyed annoying each other.”
“Lucky you know better,” Dana answered lightly.
“That’s just it – I do know better. You’re both miserable,” Max stated, before reaching for Dana and offering another hug.
Dana hugged Max back as hard as she dared considering the bump getting in the way. Smiling, Dana pulled back and patted said bump, “Hello, sweet baby.” Her granddaughter gave the faintest of kicks to her flattened palm, but Dana felt the hidden strength nonetheless. Her unborn granddaughter’s path was becoming clearer, and Dana was becoming increasingly nervous. Not about what fate had in store for her – but about what her parents would think about it. Looking up, she saw Ryker’s dark gaze lovingly latched onto Max’s profile before it rested on Max’s protruding stomach. That was when the love morphed into a combination of pride and an almost violent protectiveness. Dana knew it was Ryker whom she was going to have to battle when the truth came out. Setting aside the worrying thoughts for the moment, Dana gave Max a final pat before kissing Ryker on the cheek.
“Hi, uh, Dana,” Ryker said, looking flushed.
Dana laughed lightly. “You did it. You called me by my name. And the world didn’t end.” She teased because it had taken weeks and weeks of her asking him – and the rest of the household – to call her Dana and not some form of the Great Mother. She understood their reticence. It was not every day one came face to face with a God or Goddess. But she desperately wanted to be viewed as a member of the family instead of a deity.
“Ha, yeah,” Ryker agreed before his eyes pinned her. “It’s not going to end, is it?”
Max rolled her eyes and moved over to the large dining table, sitting down and gathering food onto her plate. “Of course, it’s not. I – will you let me do that?” she grumped in exasperation as Darius took her plate and filled it up for her, just as Lark passed her a glass of orange juice.