Page 63

bonus scene

LUNA

I s there a reason you’re endlessly pacing through the palace, my love, or is something wrong?” Zain asked, cocking his head to the side.

I frowned. Was I? I’d been trying to burn off some excess energy, but I hadn’t realized what I’d been doing. “Sorry. I guess I’m just distracted.”

He walked over, wrapping his arms around my waist and kissing my neck. “What’s on your mind?”

“What isn’t on my mind?” I asked, crossing my arms over my chest. I was wearing a flowy white nightgown, my hair unpinned after a long day of visiting one of the demon villages nearby and checking on our people. Plus, I’d had to wrangle three children—all while dealing with a particularly horrendous case of morning sickness. “You did this to me.”

I curved a hand over my tiny bump. I was already showing, despite barely being pregnant. Part of the perks of being insanely attuned to my powers now: soon after conception, I’d realized I’d gotten pregnant again.

Maybe the breeding kink the two of us had was a little out of control, but damn if my husband didn’t like trying to put a baby in me.

“If it helps, I have a surprise for you.”

I groaned. “Zain, I love you, but I’m not sure I can take any more of your surprises right now.”

“I think you’ll like this one.” He smirked. “But you might want to put an extra layer on.”

“Now?” I raised an eyebrow. “It’s late.” And I had no desire to put back on any sort of bra, even if my nipples poked through the thin fabric of my gown. Right now, all I wanted to do was sneak down to the kitchen and smuggle an extra helping of the fudge brownies I’d made earlier.

“Mmm.” He rocked me back and forth, covering my belly with his hands. “Your sister is here.”

“What?” I practically jumped out of his arms in excitement. “You should have led with that!”

He chuckled as I moved to grab a thick robe from my closet, pulling it on over my gown. “Damien and I thought it might be nice to have the family all together. Plus, we can celebrate our news.”

No matter how many times we traveled between the realms, it never felt like we saw our siblings enough. And with our little ones growing up, I liked to take advantage of all the time they spent on our side as much as I did when I went back to visit Pleasant Grove.

“Thank you.” I stepped up on my tiptoes, wrapping my arms around his neck and forcing his head down so I could press a kiss to his cheek. “This is the best surprise.”

“Thought you’d say that.” He grinned. “Let’s go greet them. They’re in the sitting room.”

“Are the kids already asleep?” I asked, turning to him. They’d be excited to see their cousins. The twins were six, and our little girl was four, and I couldn’t believe we were about to start all over with another baby. Thanks to the magic coursing through my veins—and the immortality that tying my life to Zain’s had granted me—I still felt in the peak of my life, and I was grateful my body bounced back as easy as it did after giving birth.

“Probably. But they can hang out all day tomorrow.”

“All day?” I raised an eyebrow.

He nodded. “Yes, because we’ve called in reinforcements so the four of us can go out and enjoy ourselves.”

“Reinforcements…?” I asked, cocking my head to the side.

“Your cousin, Cait,” he said, smirking. “Seems she and a demon general of mine felt up for the challenge.”

“Of wrangling half a dozen half-demon, half-witch children? They’re brave.” They were well behaved most of the time, but we had a brigade of little ones who had little control over the powers they’d inherited from both sets of their parents.

After all, Opal, Willow and Damien’s oldest daughter, was finally in control of her shifter abilities—she could turn into a cat, just like her father—and now her latent witch powers had set in. Not to mention the children of mine with wings.

“Well, I won’t complain, but I will question their sanity.”

“Kairos assures me they’ll have it well in hand.”

I rolled my eyes as I headed out of our rooms and towards the sitting room where I could find my sister and her mate.

Willow and Damien sat on one of the small loveseats, talking quietly amongst themselves. I loved seeing them like this—still in clothes from the human world, because it was so at odds with my own garments here. Though I loved to rock a cozy sweater and leggings, I was normally wearing long, flowy gowns adorned with gems and stones. They probably would have cost a fortune back in the human realm, but here, no one even batted an eye.

“Wil!” I grinned, beaming at my sister as I headed towards them.

She stood up, wrapping her arms around me in a tight hug. “Hi, Lune.” When we pulled apart, she looked down at my stomach, just visible between the gaps of my robe. “That’s new. Always gotta stay one ahead, huh?”

I glanced back at Zain, who did his best to look coy as he embraced his brother. “Blame him.”

Not that I could. I’d been so happy when I’d realized I was pregnant again. Though the newborn stage was never easy, I loved our little demons.

If you’re not careful, I’ll knock you up with another one right after this one’s born. His stare was all liquid gold as he looked at me.

Mmm, you’d like that, wouldn’t you?

He groaned down our mental bond. Nothing beats the sight of you carrying our children, Moonbeam. I don’t think I’ll ever tire of breeding my wife.

I turned back to my sister, trying not to make it obvious that we’d been dirty-talking in our minds. Still, my cheeks were warm. “We haven’t told anyone yet. I mean, I’m sure the palace staff know—” In all the years, I’d never quite gotten used to being waited on hand and foot. Even if I was the Demon Queen, I was still perfectly capable of cooking for myself. Still, Novalie was very attuned to my cycle. “But it’s early.” Humans didn’t like to tell people until after the first trimester was over, but I could never hide something like this from my sister.

She placed a hand over my belly. “What do you think you’re having this time?”

I lowered my voice to a whisper. The men might have had super-hearing and been able to overhear anyway, but I didn’t care. “It’s a girl. I can tell.” Even regular witches wouldn’t understand the knowing , but I knew my sister did. My powers had always made me feel different, but now, being in total control of them, made everything different.

Willow’s face lit up. “Well, he’s a good girl dad, isn’t he?”

“Oh,” I started, looking over at Zain and thinking about how gentle he was with our girls. “The best. I can’t believe he arranged all of this as a surprise.”

He was always doing little things like this, my demon. Even after becoming King and having to rule the entire demon realm, he found ways to make me feel loved every day. And he also made sure I never felt like I was just a figurehead without a role.

“Me too,” my sister said, shaking her head. “I only found out this morning when I found Damien running around the house, trying to pack things up without me knowing.”

“For three kids? Unlikely.” I rolled my eyes.

Willow had just had their third baby a few months ago—another little witchling—and she was the sweetest little girl. I was looking forward to baby snuggles tomorrow. Plus their son, Dorian, was three, and Opal was only a few months younger than the twins.

She nodded. “That’s what I said. Especially for Moira. Babies need a lot of stuff.”

Thank the goddess I still had all of the stuff from when Liana was a baby. There were perks of living with a demon who had a giant palace—as well as the ability to create something from nothing. His powers never ceased to amaze me, even after all this time.

I yawned, and then Zain was there, his hands on my back. “Ready for bed, Moonbeam?” He whispered against my ear, and I hated to cut short this time with my sister—but it had been a long day. And this baby was quickly zapping my energy.

Nodding, I turned back to my sister. “See you in the morning.”

She squeezed my hand before slipping an arm around Damien’s mid-section, leaning her head against his chest. “Sleep tight, you two.”

Zain scooped me up into his arms before I could say anything else, and I rested my head against his shoulder, the swaying motion of him carrying me rocking me to sleep. Our bedrooms weren’t that far away—especially given the size of the demon palace—but it was long enough that when he set me down on our bed, taking the robe off my shoulders, I blinked, trying to orient myself.

He sat on the edge of the bed next to me, running his fingers through my hair. His golden eyes were focused on me, so full of love and passion and desire, all swirled into one.

“Hi,” I whispered, reaching up my hand to cup his cheek.

“Did you like your surprise?” he asked, his voice soft.

Watching him as the Demon King, it was strange to think about how different he was with me. How soft and caring he could be. Because I’d seen the dark, broody mask he put on for the world, and I liked this Zain so much better.

Because I was the only one who saw this side of him. He was all mine.

“I loved it. Thank you. You know I love spending time with my sister.”

His lips curled up in a small smile as he let his hand rest on my belly. “I love how happy it makes you. I can only hope that our kids will be the same one day.”

“They will,” I answered without missing a beat. I’d already seen the way they interacted with each other. Sure, they had their moments of screaming, and crying, and hitting each other… but I’d also often go into a room and find Rae curled up on a couch or armchair with Rion and Lia, and it melted my heart each time.

Zain’s face grew serious, looking at where his hand was splayed out over his stomach. “Are you happy? Truly happy, with our life here?”

“Oh, Zain.” I sat up, crawling into his lap. He buried his head in my hair, like he was inhaling my scent. “Of course I am. I might never have expected being the queen of, well, anything, but I love this place.” Even the demons, though some of them still managed to frighten me occasionally. There were good demons and bad demons, just like regular people. Luckily, Zain kept the bad ones in check and we’d never had another incident like what happened to me all those years ago. “I love our family. I love you, my mate.”

He ran his nose over my neck before placing a kiss to the mating mark on my skin. “I just never want you to feel like you’re missing out on anything.”

“I don’t,” I promised. “There’s nothing I’m more grateful for than fate giving me you. My husband.” I kissed his lips softly. “My king.” A kiss to his neck. “My mate.” I unbuttoned his shirt so I could drag my lips down his collarbone.

Heat flared in his eyes, and in an instant, I was underneath him, laid back against the pillows.

“I love you,” he whispered against my lips. “There’s not a day that goes by that I don’t thank the universe for putting us together. You’re so much more than just my wife or my queen, Luna. You’re the other half of my soul. The light to my dark. The very reason my heart beats in my chest.” He trailed kisses down my body, before his lips reached my baby bump. He pushed up my thin nightgown, pressing a kiss to the slight swell. “I love this little one, too.”

My eyes watered. Once, he’d worried about how he’d be as a dad because of his own. But he was so caring with our babies—carrying them, giving them piggyback rides, teaching them how to fly (that one was a little outside my wheelhouse)—and something about the idea of him holding another newborn against his bare chest made me slick between my thighs.

I ran my hands up his back. “Show me all of you, handsome,” I purred against his ear. “I want you.”

He unfurled his wings before unbuttoning his shirt the rest of the way, positioning his hips into the cradle between mine. “I always want you,” he rasped. “It’s becoming a problem. Do you know how hard it is to sit through meetings when all I can think about is burying myself in this tight little cunt? When all I can think about is fucking my pregnant wife?”

I moaned as he rocked his body against mine, his cock grinding against my clit in the most delicious way. If he kept this up, I wouldn’t even need foreplay. “ Yes,” I agreed. Because, thanks to our mental bond, we always knew when the other was horny. And thanks to my hormones, that had been frequently lately. I was lucky that this pregnancy I hadn’t had horrible morning sickness, unlike with the twins.

“You like to torment me,” he said, nipping my ear.

I nodded. “Maybe.”

“Maybe I should give you a taste of your own medicine? Lick you until you’re writhing and begging for my cock, bring you to the edge over and over again but not let you come?”

“Please,” I begged, not sure what I was asking for. Only that I wanted all of it.

He ripped my lace panties off, roughly pushing two fingers inside of me, and I practically sighed in relief at the feeling of fullness as he started to work me towards an orgasm.

“More,” I said with a gasp, my clit begging for attention.

Zain clicked his tongue against the roof of his mouth. “My needy pregnant mate needs to come, huh?”

I whined, nodding furiously and then he finally pressed his thumb against my clit, giving me the pressure I needed. “ Yes,” I cried out as I shattered, stars dancing in front of my eyes as my skin glowed from the force of my climax.

“We’re not done yet,” he said, pulling his fingers out of me and unzipping his pants, wrapping the same hand over his length, coating himself in my release.

Wow. I didn’t have any words for how hot that was. How hot my demon husband was, with his bright golden eyes, those wicked fangs, and his beautiful black feathery wings. His perfectly chiseled jawline, and those cheekbones… Fuck, I loved every inch of him.

Including every inch of his magnificent cock that he positioned at my entrance, dragging it up and down over my clit in a way he knew would drive me wild. “Fuck me,” I commanded.

“What my wife wants, she gets,” he promised, pushing the tip in. It was always a stretch, taking him—he was so big, and I was much smaller than him—but he always felt so damn good. Because he was made for me. For this. “Don’t forget what I told you earlier,” he murmured as he drove in deep.

“About you getting me pregnant again?”

He hummed, the vibration going straight to my core. Zain buried himself to the hilt, and I was blissfully full. Completely happy. “Yes.” His hands cupped my stomach as he held himself still. “I love seeing you full of our child, all big and round for me.”

I closed my eyes, a happy smile spreading over my face thinking about another one. I’d always wanted a big family. Four kids was already a lot, but we weren’t exactly hurting for money—not as the King and Queen of this realm.

“Fill me up,” I said, dragging my teeth across his neck. On the mark he’d let me make on him, signifying he was mine as much as I was his.

It didn’t take long for either one of us to come, and Zain kissed me as he spilled inside of me, my orgasm setting off his, and I wrapped my arms around him, holding him tight against my body.

Holding on tight to the love of my life.

The life I was grateful for, every single day.

My demon prince who’d swooped in, giving me everything I could have ever dreamed of. My husband, the father of my children, my soulmate.

This might have been the demon realm, but it felt more like heaven to me.