Fragility Unearthed Read online

  “Block said something like that. Four months. How can that be? I was at Troy’s, and then I woke up here.”

  I took his hand. “Come with me.”

  I needed to sit down. I needed Malcolm. Maybe I needed sleep. I had to save my father. I …

  He scooped me up like I weighed nothing. “You’re pale, Kendall. Are you sick?”

  “No. But some things have changed.”

  We made it back into the house without too much fuss. Victoria started cooking breakfast. She needed something to do with her hands. Everyone was silent, staring at Malcolm and Chase. I guessed Malcolm got enough of it first.

  “Okay. So, Ross is here. Great to see you. Logan and Peter are here. Equally awesome. Someone had better start filling me in on what the hell is going on.”

  Chase snorted. “Yeah. Quickly because the not-knowing is getting old really, really fast. My sister is alive.”

  I spoke slowly and deliberately. “I’m going to try to explain to you what happened over the last four months and leave out the emotion of it. You don’t need to hear how incredibly awful it was since it wasn’t your fault, and you don’t need the whole mess of it all. To make matters clear, you went to Troy’s four months ago. He cursed you to sleep. It was a magical sleep. You had no idea. We didn’t know what had happened to you. A few of us went to Troy’s. We didn’t find you. Right around that time, Levi was taken over by Top Hat.”

  “What?” Malcolm pointed at Levi in the corner of the room. “Why is he here?”

  “Kendall got me out. Well, Kendall and Ross.” He nodded at Ross. “Thanks again.”

  Ross grinned. “No problem.”

  “We had to move in here to get away from the shadows, to keep the non-talented people safe. We’ve been picking up some.” I grinned at Annika who grinned back, even as she leaned on Chase’s arm.

  Block added some information. “Kendall did a great job running your half of the business, Malcolm. The talents like her better.”

  Malcolm raised his eyebrows. “Not at all surprised.”

  “We found ghosts and demons. I might be getting arrested. That’s a long story for another time. My mother died.”

  He tugged me against him. God, he smelled so good. So awesomely good. I wanted to just go to sleep in his arms. I couldn’t. “Chase, I brought Mary back because she kept insisting I had to.”

  “I could see you Chase. I thought I could help, but by the time I woke up they’d figured it out. I hear you didn’t want me back. Shame on you, brother. Why should you get all the fun? And sleeping through it anyway.” She nudged him, and he groaned.

  “Tell him the big news.” Victoria smirked. “Don’t leave it out.”

  Malcolm breathed against my ear. “There’s bigger news?”

  “I’m pregnant. You’re going to be a father. In, I guess, about five months from now.”

  I braced myself for the horror I expected on his face. Instead, he ran his hands through his hair. “And there I was, through all of this, out cold and totally worthless. My girl and everyone I care about in the world went through hell.”

  I gripped his arm. “This isn’t your fault.”

  “No. It’s Troy’s. Where’s the little shit? I want to kill him.”

  “Kendall took care of him, too,” Mary supplied.

  He leaned over to kiss me on the lips. “Kendall needs a nap. Excuse us for a bit.”

  Sounded like a great idea.

  Chapter Twelve

  Malcolm laid me on the bed. I didn’t know what I expected, but his tugging up my shirt so he could lay a hand over my slightly swollen belly wasn’t anywhere on the list. His eyes were wide, thoughtful. Finally, he looked up from my abdomen and then to me.

  “The last thing I remember is Troy. But before that, I’d promised you I’d be home for dinner. I’ll never break a promise to you again. Ever. Not to you or the one there inside of you.”

  I sat up on my elbows. “The one there?”

  He kissed my belly. “I used to think we’d have kids. Then we came back and I gave up on that thought.”

  “Malcolm.” I took his cheeks in my hands. “You don’t like kids.”

  “They terrify the fuck out of me. How am I supposed to keep them safe? But …” He shook his head, his mouth finding mine. “I didn’t plan this, but if you’re going to have my baby, I’m just going to say thank you.”

  Tears streamed down my face. “I really thought you’d freak out and be angry. Even Block thought you’d not be happy about this.”

  “Nothing like being underestimated by your girl and your best friend in the world.” He laughed, but his eyes were warm. “I’m sorry you’ve been alone. I can’t believe I’ve been asleep this whole time …” His voice trailed off.

  I stroked the side of his face, down his neck, onto the slight exposure of his chest. I was so glad to be able to touch him. “Did you at least have good dreams?”

  “I don’t remember them at all. Sucks. Would be nice to have gotten something out of my long nap.”

  His words made me frown. “It could have been much longer. We might never have seen each other again.”

  His features hardened, and I saw the warrior inside of him rise to the surface. “Look at me. I have you to thank for rescuing me. You and the others. My worst fear is to be … ineffectual. Unable to do my job and keep my people safe. I was brought back to do that, and do it I will.”

  “I don’t think you can be blamed for being cursed.”

  He kissed me, hard. “Blame me. Give me something to fight back against. I like a battle.”

  “I don’t want to fight.” I kissed him. “I want to love.”

  Malcolm rubbed his thumb over my bottom lip. “I want that, too. I’m just not sure how to deal with having missed more of your life. Again. You and Levi?”

  “Would I be here in bed with you if there was something going on there? Or might I remind you that I’m carrying your baby … who the doctor says is coming along quite nicely. Growing perfectly and has all the right parts.”

  He placed his hand over my stomach again, rubbing gently. “You feel okay? Sick?”

  “Sometimes. But I haven’t had the time. Too much to do to stop.”

  Malcolm groaned. “No more.”

  His kissed me hard and then again and again. His embraces were frantic. Maybe he didn’t consciously know that he’d been away from me, but I suspected the rest of his body did. Malcolm pressed his hips to mine just as my hands held onto the side of his jeans. He was hard, so much so that it had to be painful inside of his jeans.

  I bit his bottom lip, and his whole body jerked into mine. He groaned into my mouth. His hands were clumsy, but he got my shirt off. He stared down at me. “Your breasts are huge.”

  I pinched his arm. “Pregnancy. Don’t get used to that.”

  “How did I not notice when I stopped you from committing assault on the shadow?”

  My cheeks had to be the color of a tomato. “Hopefully you were thinking about other things.”

  “Kendall, my love, these are porn star boobs.” He took my bra off, unhooking the clasp on the front. “I love them.”

  He bit down on my nipple, and I yelped. “No, not while I’m pregnant. They’re sensitive. Uber-sensitive.”

  Malcolm raised his eyes to mine, and I wanted to grin. They were puppy dog eyes. “Sorry.”

  “Don’t be.” I grinned. “Just gentle, for now.”

  His voice was low, sexy; it moved right through me. “I can do gentle, baby.”

  He kissed me. Everywhere. My body was aflame. Molten. Lava. Hot. The rest of my clothes came off, and so did his. When I’d pictured him in my mind, I hadn’t done him justice. He had more muscles than I remembered. I counted them with my fingertips. What six pack? It was possible to have eight.

  He was lean, not bulky. I pushed back on my elbows and kissed his chest. He smelled great, like sandalwood, like Malcolm. His cock pressed forward against me. I let my hand run over it and felt his abs jer
k when I did.

  I gave him one long stroke, remembering this. The way his body moved. I sucked in a breath, suddenly overwhelmed with emotion. I’d really, in my heart, believed we’d never do this again. I would never know the perfect certainty of being his. In this second chance of life, we’d had so little of this.

  Tears pooled in my eyes, and I pushed them away. “Gah, how unromantic.” I wiped at my face. “So, so sorry.”

  “No.” He kissed my cheeks. “Why the tears, my darling baby? Why the tears?”

  “I thought it was over. I thought you were gone from me forever. I didn’t think we’d be here.” I hiccupped, and he kissed me gently.

  Malcolm moved until he was directly over me, fitting himself against my core before ever so gently pushing himself inside of me. I gasped, not because of the jolt but because of the sheer tender care he took with me. His breath was warm against my cheek.

  “I am here, sweetheart. My darling. My Kendall. I know your pain. I had it for years, and I’m not comparing it. At least I knew you were alive, you were safe, you were well. I wasn’t sure we would be together ever again. You came back to me. I returned to you.”

  I touched his beloved face as he thrust slowly inside of me and slowly, ever so, pulled out. “Do you believe in the moon, Malcolm?”

  “I believe in you, Kendall.”

  We didn’t speak again, just felt the movement of each other’s bodies and the beating of our hearts at the same time. Eventually, the slowness faded. I wrapped my legs around his waist, drawing him deeper inside. He found the crook of my throat and kissed me there, nuzzling the area. I could feel how hard he was.

  He was close. His finger slipped inside of me, finding my clit and pressing on it. He always knew what I needed. I came hard. My body exploded around him, and he cried out softly as his own release overtook him.

  I’d never seen Malcolm so undone. He wasn’t tough, wasn’t in charge; he was just there with me, in the quiet of the room, with the sound of the clock ticking on the wall.

  I held him against me, petting the back of his head, running my fingers through his hair. He was there. He was mine.

  “Kendall.” He breathed against me, his hand finding my slightly rounded belly.

  I must have dozed off, just like that.

  When I awoke, I was alone. My heart raced. Had I dreamed the whole thing? A sob caught in my throat. Oh I had, hadn’t I? He wasn’t back. We hadn’t … and of course he’d never have taken the pregnancy so well and—

  “Kendall?” Malcolm flipped on the bedside lamp and sat down next to me. “You okay?”

  “Oh, oh. Malcolm. You’re here.” I threw my arms around him. “I thought I’d dreamed you.”

  He kissed my forehead. “I was just going to wake you. Let’s get up. Eat something. See everyone. And then go get married. After that we can discuss your father and what to do.”

  I followed him until he said the word married, and then my mind splintered into a thousand pieces. “Pardon?”

  “Marry me? Please. And before you get all Kendall and overthink this, please see it as I see it. After my mom got me here, after she died, I was raised in foster care. I want this baby to have a family. Our family. You and me. Legally. So no one can ever take him or her. No one can say that our baby doesn’t have somewhere to go …”

  I interrupted him. I could feel his tension and, underneath it, his fear. He wanted to get married for the baby. “I get it. You love the baby already. I completely understand …”

  “Kendall, please. I’ve loved you for two lifetimes. Be my wife in one of them.”

  I got onto my knees. “Yes. Malcolm. Yes. I’ll marry you.”

  He hugged me close. “Thank you, Kendall.”

  We thought we could slip out and get married. It turned out not to be that simple. My kids, for one, were awake. And I couldn’t marry Malcolm without talking to Levi first. He deserved at least a heads up.

  I knew that the second Victoria got wind of it, she was going to need to be involved. In the end, we couldn’t rush out the door and get married. It was going to take a few hours at least.

  I found Levi out back, throwing stones into the river.

  “Hey.” I caught his attention, and he turned around for a second before he went back to throwing stones. “You doing okay?”

  He raised his hands over his head. “Yes. You?”

  “I’m good.” I walked until I stood next to him. The day Levi had proposed to me had been the very best of my life until Grayson was born. I’d never imagined I’d be standing shoulder-to-shoulder with him about to tell him that I was going to marry someone else.

  He scratched his chin. “I did something, and I still can’t say it.”

  Oh yes, the thing Levi had been trying to say. “Levi, do you think you could write it?”

  “No. Tried that. Total blockage. It’s important though. You’ll find it out, and I’m going to wish I’d told you.”

  I touched his arm. I could hear the frustration in his voice. “It’ll work itself out then. I don’t want you to get worked up over it.”

  “There was a time when it was fine for me to get worked up. I had a job. A future. A wife. A house. Three kids. I wasn’t the guy who got possessed by a shadow and lost his ability to function at optimal levels.”

  I smiled. “Optimal levels?”

  “See? That probably wouldn’t have been the phrase I’d pick. And you don’t have to say it. Malcolm’s back. He’s marrying you, right?”

  “I …” I swallowed my stunned response. “How did you know?”

  “Because it’s exactly what I’d do.” He threw a stone into the water. “He’s loved you for forever. You’re pregnant with his kid. He’s back after an ordeal. He’d be nuts to not marry you as fast as he can. Much as I’m not his biggest fan, he’s not crazy or stupid. And he loves the fuck out of you. So, yeah, you’re getting married. I get it. I screwed up. Lost you.” He let out a breath. “Some of the time with Top Hat—that’s not his name by the way; he’s got some Viking sounding name—I heard his name a lot. I can’t say it. Anyway, some time with what’s-his-name taught me not to hold onto things when they’ve moved past me. You and I are done. I get that. We have three great kids, memories I’ll always treasure, and we came to an appropriate end.”

  There had been a time when, if he’d uttered those words to me, they would have caused me more pain than I could deal with. Not now. I really didn’t feel angry or hurt by Levi anymore. I admired him. I had some guilt and always would when it came to our relationship. I’d forever wish I could have gotten him out of Viking Top Hat earlier. I only wished him well.

  “That’s all true.” I picked up my own rock and threw it into the water.

  “If he hurts you, I don’t care how big he is, I’ll find a way to hurt him. Let him know that.” He winked at me. “And when I’m no longer flummoxing my words around, I’m going to try dating. You know, assuming I can ever leave this house and the world doesn’t end.”

  “Is it too much? All of us?” If Levi wasn’t happy, I wasn’t sure what we were going to do. I had half a mind to insist all our non-talented friends move in just to keep them safe.

  He shrugged. “Some days. My kids need to be here, so this is where I’ll be. And I’d rather not be made another playing piece in the war against the shadows.”

  I kissed his cheek. “Thanks for being you.”

  “Hope it’s a nice wedding. Much as I wish you two well, I’m not going.”

  That was okay. Our relationship worked the way it did. It was better than I expected or deserved.

  ***

  Despite the fact that we were getting married in front of a judge at City Hall, Victoria demanded I wear something white. I settled for a white suit with tan, patent leather pumps. I still wasn’t anywhere near Malcolm’s height in them. Victoria insisted they made my legs look a million miles long. His Honor put up with a large crowd in the room.

  I don’t even remember what he said. I only h
ad eyes for Malcolm. He’d worn his requisite black for the event but unbuttoned two buttons, which showed off his broad shoulders and neckline. He had on a nice pair of khaki pants and dark loafers. His hair was slicked back, and he hadn’t taken his eyes off of me from the moment we got to the courthouse. His hand in mine had been tight and strong as though he wondered if I was about to run for it.

  I wasn’t. I was in for a penny, in for a pound.

  I answered when prompted to do so, and then his lips were on mine. The world righted, and two lifetimes of loving him made him officially mine. It was stupid, really. I’d been married before. I knew the paper didn’t guarantee anything. I understood that involving the government in our lives didn’t mean we’d love each other forever. Yet it meant something to me.

  He was my family. Officially.

  I opened my eyes. The room remained the same. Everyone was there, laughing and clapping. But in the mirror above the judge’s desk, were Michael and Gabriel.

  They were not smiling. Whatever their concerns were, I didn’t care.

  I didn’t make Malcolm weaker. I made him stronger.

  And I wouldn’t live another day without him. If we were going down, we were going down together. His return had restored my faith. We could win. I knew it.

  I picked up Molly in my arms while Malcolm slapped five with Dexter and Grayson. Everyone kissed my cheeks. Chase held Annika’s hands, and they laughed together at something Henry said.

  Then it was over. I was a married woman. Again. In some ways, it felt like the first time and in others like a road I knew very well.

  Our wedding celebration was at a local Chinese restaurant that Henry knew. Austin had very few good Italian restaurants or delis. Chinese it had in abundance, and most of it was fantastic. We sat around a large, circular table, and everyone laughed. Grayson chatted up Malcolm almost the entire time. I’d given the kids no warning about my getting married, other than telling them and having Victoria haul them around to get them dressed. I’d really not been Mother of the Year lately in terms of their psychological well-being. Keeping them safe was paramount.

  Still, for now they seemed okay with it. They’d missed Malcolm and were fully aware I was having his baby. If issues came up, we’d address them. Even as I thought the thought, Dex got off his chair and climbed onto Malcolm’s lap. My husband—boy, did even thinking the word make me smile—didn’t flinch and held him close while he chatted some more with Grayson.