he looked down into her eyes. “You’re mine now, baby,” he growled softly. “Mine forever and I’m never letting you go.”
Then he thrust into her once more, filling her with himself and sealing their love as they continued to claim each other over and over again.
Lilli hung on tight and reveled in the new bond she felt—the deep, wonderful closeness that told her their two souls were entwined.
Thank you, Goddess, she prayed as her heart overflowed with joy. Oh, thank you so much! You’re so good to me!
She had a whole new life now—away from her controlling, hypercritical mother. A life with a mate who loved her and new friends and a baby on the way.
And all because Karn had insisted on…Protecting his Mistress.
Epilogue
“So how is the baby?” Karn was hanging anxiously over Liv’s shoulder, watching on the monitor as she waved the wand over Lilli’s lower belly again. “We didn’t er, hurt him, did we?” he asked in a low voice.
“No…” Liv was frowning. “You didn’t hurt him,” she said, reassuring them when Lilli and Karn exchanged anxious looks. “But, well…this is strange.”
“What’s strange?” Lilli asked quickly.
“Well, it’s just…I’m reading two heartbeats, here.” Liv shook her head. “I could swear there was only one little guy in there yesterday. But now there seem to be two.”
“Twins?” Lilli gasped and Karn growled, “A double blessing!”
“Let me just get Sylvan to double check this,” Liv said. “Oh, Sylvan?” She poked her head out of the exam room. “Would you mind coming in here for a moment?”
“Of course. Karn, it’s good to see you again.” Sylvan offered Karn a warrior’s clasp. “And this must be your lovely mate, Lilli.”
“Mate in every sense of the word,” Karn informed him proudly. “We’re bonded now, though I always thought it would be impossible.”
Sylvan’s eyebrows raised almost to his hairline.
“Truly, you are blessed by the Goddess!”
“Possibly doubly blessed,” Liv told him. “That’s what I want you to check—do you see two heartbeats in there, Sylvan?”
Sylvan took the wand and waved it over Lilli’s belly as he studied the monitor for himself. After a moment, he nodded.
“Yes, definitely. Though one baby seems less developed than the other. He appears to be about…oh, about a month younger than his brother.”
“But there was only one baby yesterday—I’m sure of it!” Liv protested. “How could this happen?”
“Well…” Sylvan put down the wand and rubbed his chin. “Didn’t you tell me that Lilli, here, had been injected with extreme fertility hormones?”
“Quick-grow hormones—yes.” Lilli nodded.
“There’re all the rage on Yonnie Six right now,” Karn said dryly.
“I see. So that’s probably how you got pregnant in the first place,” Sylvan told Lilli. “Because of the extreme hormones. But do you think they might still be in your system?”
Lilli thought of the persistent tingling and sexual need she’d begged Karn to help her with the night before and blushed.
“Maybe,” she admitted, feeling her cheeks get hot.
“Mmm, I see.” Sylvan nodded. “So these hormones make it much easier to get pregnant and they make the fetus grow extremely fast.”
“That’s right,” Karn said.
“And when exactly did you get bonded?” Sylvan raised an eyebrow questioningly.
“Last night,” Lilli said, her cheeks getting hotter.
“All night long,” Karn added, with his lopsided grin.
“Well, I think that solves the mystery of your first baby’s little brother,” Sylvan said dryly. “Apparently these hormones you were given are so potent that you continue to release eggs that can be fertilized even after you’re already pregnant.”
“Oh my!” Lilli put a hand to her mouth. “Does that mean we shouldn’t, uh…do what we did to get bonded anymore for a while?”
“Let me run some blood tests,” Sylvan told her. “It should be safe again as soon as the hormones are out of your system. But until then, unless you want triplets, I’d lay off the, er, bonding activities.”
“Understood,” Karn told him. “Two is enough for us.”
“It’s more than enough.” Lilli looked at Liv. “How in the world am I going to manage two at once?”
“You’ll have your hubby to help you,” Liv said firmly. “Kindred make excellent fathers. And don’t forget I’m going to introduce you to my friends. My own sister, Sophie—who’s married to Sylvan, by the way—had twins.”
“A boy and a girl.” Sylvan smiled proudly.
“And my best friend, Kat, had triplets,” Liv went on. “Of course, she’s got two husbands to help her raise them, but still—they’re a handful.”
“I bet!” Lilli murmured. She promised herself she was going to try and control the extreme sexual desire she felt—she had to unless she wanted