Tropical Leopard's Longing (Shifting Sands Resort 8)

Laura gave an excited squeak. “I’m going to have a baby!” she said, her tears overflowing.

“It’s wonderful,” Darla said firmly. “You’re going to have a baby, and however it works out, it’s going to be amazing.”

Laura wrapped her arms around Darla again. “Thank you,” she said gratefully. Then she sat up. “Oh lord, I’m a mess. This hormone stuff better get itself in order, or this is going to be a really long nine months.”

Darla decided it was wiser not to share her mother’s horror stories of pregnancy.

“Now your nail,” Laura said professionally, straightening her skirt and wiping away the last of her tears. “Let’s get you fixed right up. That looks like pink angel polish, and the chip isn’t bad. We’ll just do a quick patch and seal it over.”

While Laura fussed cheerfully over the broken nail, Darla looked through the opposite wall, thoughts crowding her head. She had never wanted a child before, and marrying Liam had been a relief from the idea of carrying on the family line like her mother so desperately wanted her to. But somehow the thought of Breck’s child seemed like something utterly different. The bracelet on her wrist was glowing faintly, like it did every time that she thought about him, and she rubbed it automatically.

“What is that bracelet?” Laura asked curiously. “Does it always do that?”

“Oh, it’s… ah, a fertility charm,” Darla said, embarrassed. “It does this… randomly.” Thinking about not thinking about Breck had the opposite effect, and it glowed more brightly.

“Well that certainly bodes well for you,” Laura said with amusement. “You must be so excited about your wedding.”

The bracelet returned to dull metal as Darla made herself smile, and she talked politely about the wedding details, feigning the enthusiasm she knew she was supposed to be feeling.

And the whole time she could not stop thinking about the unsettling possibility that she could be pregnant.

When her nail was dry, as flawless and perfect as the others, Laura let her go, giving her a swift hug. “Thank you,” she said warmly. “I’m going to go tell Tex right now.” She was grinning like a loon. “He’s going to be so excited.”

Chapter 28

Their second night, Breck met her at the door before she had knocked, drawing her inside with a flurry of kisses and he had undressed her, and himself, before Darla had managed a full breath.

In complete contrast to the night before, they made fast, desperate love right from the start, coupling against the closed door, then bent over the back of a low chair, then on the bed, and when Breck thought he might burst an important blood vessel somewhere, they came together, crying out and trying unsuccessfully to smother their sounds in kisses.

“I’ll be back up to speed in short order,” he promised, holding her loosely in his arms and breathing in the sultry smell of her. “Don’t think the night is over yet.”

She drew her hand along his face, and the way she gazed into his eyes made his chest feel too small for the heart inside it. “You are so amazing,” she said softly.

Though Breck understood that she wasn’t talking about sex, he fled to humor to avoid thinking too hard about how much they’d never have. “I keep telling Scarlet she ought to list me in the sales brochure. The resort would make bank, with a resource like me to pitch.”

Darla giggled helplessly, and pinched him. “You’re unbelievable,” she scolded him. “I’m trying to have a serious moment here.”

“I’m serious,” Breck teased her. “Do you think ‘sexpert’ has a better ring, or should I go with something more humble, like ‘Costa Rica’s best lover?’”

Darla had to smother her laughter in a pillow.

“The copy writes itself,” Breck said, putting his arms behind his head in a pose of satisfaction. “Come to Shifting Sands… and come and come and come…”

Darla decided that her pillow was better served smothering him, and they wrestled and tickled and kissed until she was pinned helplessly below him and he could kiss and tickle her, and she could only squeak in protest and laugh until Breck had to crush her in his arms and try desperately not to admit that he could probably never be with anyone again after her.

“Tell me about these bracelets,” he said, when they were lying quietly together again, slowly caressing each other, trying to memorize all their favorite parts while they could.

It was glowing faintly now, not the blazing light that had accompanied their frantic lovemaking earlier.

“It’s… a fertility charm,” Darla said hesitantly. “The dragonrunes say ‘unbroken line.’”

Breck traced it with one finger. “It’s not going to have much luck with me,” he said. Something almost like regret settled in the pit of his stomach, though he

’d never wanted children before, and he didn’t feel like that had changed. But if Darla had wanted them…

Darla was giving him an intense look, one that Breck was having difficulty deciphering. “Are you… sure?” she asked. “Liam and I will never… but if I was… if I did, they’d all think… I’d have at least some part…”

Tears were welling up in her eyes, and Breck’s chest felt like it might crack. “I couldn’t if I wanted to,” he said gently. “I’ve… ah… had a vasectomy. There are no swimmers in there.” Discomfort made him ramble forward. “Not an easy thing for a shifter, and harder still to reverse, I might add. I never wanted to be the cause of someone else’s burden, and I’d… what kind of dad could I be, really? I’m a waiter at an adults-only resort, and the bonuses around here haven’t been great, and I never wanted to settle down… before.”