Full Moon Rising (Riley Jenson Guardian 1)

Surprise flitted through his golden eyes. He hadn't expected me to be so strong. "You weren't so concerned about the foreplay this morning, little wolf."

"That was this morning. This is now."

"There's no satisfying you females, is there? No matter what we do, we're wrong." Though it was said with a smile, the spark of anger lit his eyes. He didn't like being denied, even for something as simple as sex

"What is foreplay going to cost you? Ten? Fifteen minutes? Not much, in the scheme of things."

"Do I satisfy you, little wolf?"

"Mostly."

"Then what is the problem?"

I shook my head. I'd beaten my head against this particular wall before and knew from past experiences that nothing would ever change. Talon was what he was - I either put up with it or left

Still...

"The problem is you just presume. You never even bother to ask."

He studied me for a moment, expression one of thoughtful consideration. I had a bad feeling that our relationship was about to change in some unfathomable way

"Then I have a question for you, little wolf."

Though that bad feeling was growing, I grinned faintly. "The answer is no, you can't have sex with me just yet. I'm enjoying floating in the bubbles right now."

"That wasn't the question."

Like I didn't know that? "Then what is?"

"Will you have my child?"

Surprise hit like a club but I somehow managed to say, "What?"

"I want you to carry my child."

"But..." My voice faded. Was he absolutely crazy? Maybe the heat of the spa had fried a brain cell or two. Surely he had to realize I wasn't about to take the risk of having kids with a man I didn't love. "We're not soul mates."

"So? I don't want to swear eternity to the moon, little wolf. I just want a son."

"So wait for your soul mate."

"I don't want a soul mate. I want to take my pleasure when and where I choose. But I also want a son to carry my name and take over my empire when I die."

Empire? Lord, his businesses weren't that big... were they? I shook my head, unable to believe he was actually serious. "So why me?"

"Because you are unlike any female I have met, and a son of ours would be strong."

"This is madness, Talon. I don't want a child with you - or anyone else - at this moment. And just in case I've never mentioned it, there's a history of conception problems in my family. That's why the red packs are so few."

Which wasn't a lie. The red packs were small in number for precisely that reason. Which is why none of my earlier doctors had picked up the real reason behind my fertility problem. They'd all been working on the premise that I'd inherited the barrenness that ran riot in our pack, and hadn't tested any further

"We have read your medical files - "

"We?" I interrupted, annoyance in my tone. "What do you mean by 'we'? And how the hell did you get my medical files?"

"There is nothing that can't be bought if you have the money. And I am, of course, talking about the specialists I have consulted. It is their belief that all you need is a series of injections to help ovulation."

If he and his experts believed that, then they'd obviously gotten hold of my earlier medical records and not the more recent ones from my Directorate-approved, and therefore carefully screened, doctor. No one could get into those files without an alarm being raised back at the Directorate. It wasn't common procedure, and while the precaution had made me feel a little easier about using a Directorate doctor, I'd always wondered why Jack had implemented the procedure for me. Of course, his reason was now pretty clear. He'd known all along what I was and was keeping my secrets even as he kept an eye on what was going on within my system