a_l_mcintosh

From the world of the Fever series by Karen Marie Moning.

Keep reading for a sneak peak.

Masdann, Unseelie Prince of Dreams, is visited by MacKayla Lane O'Connor, Queen of the Fae. During her visits to his court, she occasionally gets lost in dreams and possibilities. Eventually, Masdann begins crafting them for her as a tribute--particularly a long and lengthy one where she and her consort Jericho Barrons have a child.

If you've read any of these books, you know that Mac and Barrons having a child can't even begin to be described as 'interesting'.

It's Mac and Barrons so there is definitely some mature content.

--SNEAK PEAK--

It had been almost ten years since Barrons’s son had been here. There was still a stain on the ground from where he had ripped out my throat and I had bled out multiple times as my body had worked to restore itself. 

“I’m sorry,” I said softly as I felt the earth offer and begin to replenish me. He shifted closer and took my hand. “I don’t like this room, either.”

“Just hurry up and replenish, Mac,” he told me. “That stain on the floor forces me to remember watching you repeatedly die. It’s filling me with the need to fuck you.”

I smiled and laid my head on his shoulder as I said, “Everything fills you with the need to fuck me.”

He snorted a laugh and slanted me a look, saying, “Yes, because nothing makes you want to take me anywhere, anytime. Remembering holding you as you repeatedly bled out shortly after you admitted you should have voluntarily fucked me *really* fills me with the need to fuck you.” I was chuckling by the time he got to the end of his sentence and I opened my eyes to see him smiling down at me. 

I smiled back up at him before I said, “It’s been—what? almost ten years since I stumbled into the bookstore?”

“Something like that.”

“It’s been almost ten years since I met you,” I said as I squeezed his hand. My voice was just above a whisper. “Ten years and I am still ripped-down-raw in love with you, Jericho Barrons.”

Barrons was exultant, and I couldn’t breathe when I saw something I’d only seen once before in his eyes: joy. The only other time I’d seen it was when I’d lied to him because I wanted him to have some peace of mind. He’d known I was lying but hadn’t cared; I’d lied because I loved him. 

“These past ten years with you have been the best of my life,” he told me and I preened as I grinned; he’d lived a very long life.

“I want it to always be like this,” I told him. “I at least want to always feel this way when I look at you.”

“What do you feel, Rainbow Girl?” 

“Complete,” I said after a moment of thought so I could find the right word. 

He was still exultant when he leaned down and kissed me, tender at first before growing hot and hungry.

“I seriously need to fuck you now, Mac,” he growled.

“Soon,” I assured him.

I preened a little when I thought about what he was looking at: a Barbie-lookalike he knew had knives hidden all over her with the Spear of Destiny and a gun holstered to her legs, rounds of ammunition in her pockets and belt.

A woman ready for anything and anyone that came at her. A woman he’d trained to be ready for anything. A woman who could drive him bugfuck crazy and was deeply and firmly embedded under his skin.

The woman who had been prepared to remake the world for him. The woman who existed outside of all rules for him. The mother of his child.

His beast saw its mate, a monster who could turn off every emotion so she could do what needed to be done.

Barrons saw his sun, moon, and stars. 

His Rainbow Girl. 

*His* woman. 

———————————

If you liked that, you should start reading. Major spoilers if you’ve never read the books. Most can be found on Amazon for less than $10. I recommend them to everyone I meet. This is still a good read if you haven’t read them. I give plenty of explanation throughout. 

Enjoy!

The Court of Dreams

(Anything in asterisks is meant to be italicized.)


We decided not to tell anyone until after twelve weeks. That's when most of the things that can go wrong do. We discreetly hunted and found a doctor in the U.K. who could serve as my OB-GYN. It consisted in revealing to her that I was the Queen of the Fae and sifting her to a doctor's office in Dublin that had the necessary equipment. She confirmed that I was pregnant and we were able to actually see something. It was too early to determine the sex of the baby, but we decided we didn't want to know.


And by decided, I mean Barrons insisted.


It wasn't until we could hear the heartbeat that I decided it was time we tell someone. And because I couldn't keep wearing baggy clothes to hide the fact that I was showing. My Fae subjects were unimpressed with my attire. Not to mention morning sickness had set in. I was able to hide it by spending every night down in the lair, but I felt bad for leaving Korrie all alone for so long. Barrons sat with me every morning, holding my hair back if I wasn't able to get it into a braid in time.


"I need Christian," I told him one morning.


"I don't care how miserable you are, you're not dying," he growled.


"I'll chain you to my bed if I have to, Ms. Lane."


"And I'd end up enjoying it because you have an incredibly difficult time saying no to me, *especially* when I'm chained to your bed. That reminds me, eventually we're going to have to start being careful when we have sex. But that's not why I need Christian."


"Then why do you need Christian?" he eventually gritted. It still irked him that we had reached a point in our relationship where he had to ask me questions, which was something I thoroughly enjoyed.


"The Keltar know more about Seelie history than anyone. I need to know whatever they know about Fae pregnancy." I sighed. "But so does Lyryka. Especially because he'll have access to the human records and she knows the Fae's version. He's not going to like that and he *will* like that at the same time."


"I've been thinking about your clothing problem," Barrons said a few minutes later when I was in between times of having my head in the toilet. "Dani and Ryodan are going to be back soon and if we don't go see them, they'll come find us. There's only one thing that will fool my men, including Ryodan. At least until we decide to tell them."


"The Amulet," I said. Even though it was one of the four Unseelie Hallows and I was no longer possessed by the former Unseelie King's evil book the *Sinsar Dubh*, I can use it again now that I'm queen. Members of the Light and Shadow Courts couldn't use the opposite court's hallows, except for the king and queen. "Why didn't I think of that?"


"Well, you're a little busy," he said with a smirk. I slanted him a look I had learned from him. "It's going to be too dangerous to have the woman we found deliver the baby."


"That's why I also need Kat," I said before leaning back over the bowl. "I'm going to try and convince her to learn how to be a midwife."


"Do you really think that's wise?" he asked softly.


"Got any better ideas? Ugh, I think I've thrown up more since coming to Dublin than I have in my entire life."


The corners of his lips twitched. "Why not Dani?"


"There's no guarantee she'll be here and no guarantee we'd be able to reach her if she isn't. We can trust Kat. We know she knows the Nine are the beasts who fought at the abbey. If the Nine don't like it, Ryodan will vouch for her. Kasteo, too, in his own way. Remember when he practically dragged her and Sean off world when they refused to leave because of the black holes?"


"I'll text them." He paused only to hold my hair back. "Do I need to be here when Christian's here?"


"He likes you. You like him. Get over it."


Dream Five, Chapter Fifteen