CHAPTER FOUR

K ate ran her hand over her swollen belly and smiled. She was having the king’s baby at long last. It was a dream come true for both of them.

“Is it weird vampire pregnancies are nine months?” Brianna asked, staring at Kate’s belly like there was an alien inside her.

“I don’t see why. Many animals have a nine-month gestation period,” she replied, and then glanced across at Willow again. The female was still pacing the room.

“Ignore her. Brayden has left the castle, so, you know...”

“Don’t you dare say it.” Willow pointed at Brianna. “I am not a clingy girlfriend. Mate. Whatever. They’ve gone hunting for Stefano. You know how dangerous that guy is.”

Brianna leaned back in her chair, appearing quite relaxed despite her own mate being out with the prince. “Craig is with him.”

“I don’t see why he has to go. Isn’t that why they have an army?” Willow asked. “Can I not stop him? As the princess or something?”

Kate couldn’t stop her eyes from rolling. She remembered when she had first become queen and was learning the ropes. She’d been born a vampire, so was more familiar with the royal family and how it worked than the two former humans with her.

“No.” Kate laughed and earned a glare for her efforts. “Willow, sit down.” As queen, she had authority that the newly crowned princess did not. Willow was, thankfully, clear on hierarchy and lowered herself onto the sofa beside her best friend. “I understand your angst. These are troubling times, but remember, Brayden is a very powerful vampire. Everything the army is doing right now is vital, and if he believes he needs to be there, then you need to trust him.”

Willow nodded.

“I can’t stand this,” Willow admitted, pulling a cushion onto her lap and hugging it. “Don’t you hate it?” she asked, turning to her friend.

“Well...” Brianna began to answer.

“Don’t you worry?” Willow insisted.

Brianna crossed her legs under her before answering. “I do, but here’s the thing. I would lose my goddamn mind if I worried about everything Craig does. That’s the last thing I want him to be thinking about when he should be focusing on the job and getting home safely.”

Willow’s face dropped.

Kate’s brow furrowed. What had she missed?

“Sorry, Bri,” Willow said, placing a hand on her arm.

“It’s not...well, yeah, it is.” She shrugged. “Christian never came home, but I know Craig always will.”

Kate’s memory kicked in and she recalled Vincent telling her how Brianna’s human husband had been killed in Afghanistan by an IED just over a year ago. It had been one of the barriers keeping her from opening up to Craig, along with many others the two had faced.

She had great courage, trusting her male to come home after enduring the heartache she had. But then again, Craig was an incredibly powerful vampire. And boy, did he love Brianna. He proudly watched as she proved herself time and time again to be a real asset to the royal family.

Sure, neither of them were Morettis, but they felt like family.

As the former sole female of the inner circle, she welcomed both Willow and Brianna into her world. And soon she would have a baby. Their family was expanding.

Willow nudged Brianna. “When did you get so smart?”

“Probably when you were busy shagging your prince.”

Kate spurted her tea into her cup.

“Ah, hello, newly mated shag-a-holics,” Willow said pointedly.

Kate shook her head and wiped her mouth with a tissue. “Okay, enough already with all the boasting about sex.” She laughed at the look on their faces. “What?”

“Are you not doing it?” Willow asked.

“Can we even ask that about the king?” Brianna added, her eyes wide.

Willow held Kate’s stare.

Kate shrugged. “He’s scared to hurt the baby. I’ve tried to tell him it’s safe, but you know what he’s like.”

“You’ve waited a long time. I understand his worry. Perhaps in time he’ll relax,” Willow suggested.

Suddenly, completely out of character and probably because of weeks of sexual frustration, Kate lost it. “It’s been sixty-seven damn days! I need an orgasm,” she cried. When she was greeted with two startled faces, she sighed. “Ladies, please. I am a female first and queen second.”

Brianna and Willow nodded profusely.

More nodding.

Clearing of throats.

“Yes. Right. Umm,” Willow started. “Do you, er, you know...do it on your own?”

“Masturbate.” Kate helped her.

Willow nodded.

“Sure, but would either of you be satisfied with self-service while your gorgeous, burly mates strip off in front of you and wrap around you in bed? And you know how they do all that arm flexing stuff, plus the hand in the small of your back...oh God, I just need him to fuck me.”

The two faces nodded in sympathy and made some oh yeah, God, no, that would be horrible comments. Then came the pity glances.

Kate dropped her head in her hands.

“Okay, okay, this is not good. We cannot have an unsatisfied queen,” Brianna said, clapping her hands and taking charge as she seemed to do more and more. “We need a plan.”

“What kind of plan?” Kate asked, skeptical now.

“A good plan.” Brianna nodded. “Having been through this recently when Craig and I were bonding, I completely understand your frustration. But if there’s one thing I know, it’s that these males have little restraint.”

“Oh, trust me, the king seems to have plenty...”

“Well, we—or rather, you—need to weaken it.”

Kate raised an eyebrow.

“One sexy outfit at a time,” Brianna continued, nodding. She turned to Willow, and they both grinned.

Oh boy.

“I’m pregnant.”

“Pregnant. Not dead. And Bri is right. It’s time to bring sexy back,” Willow said, jumping to her feet. “Girls, we are going shopping.”

Kate narrowed her eyes at them, then sighed. She had six months ahead of her and there was no way she was going to survive it without making love to her king. She’d do what she had to do to manipulate the stubborn male.

Willow’s laptop was snapped open, and Brianna fired up her tablet. Kate knew these two firecrackers were impossible to stop when they were on a mission. And she wasn’t sorry for it.

“Add nipple rings to the list, Bri,” Willow indicated, snapping her fingers.

“On it!” the redhead replied, tapping on her screen.

Oh boy.