Broken Communication (8 page)

“Good,” she said with a grin.

He stared up at her, the wheels in his head spinning. He’d get with their friends in the morning and he’d do something special for her. Something to prove just what she meant to him.
 

You could tell her.

He froze and she hit just the right spot on him when she moved, his cock threatening to burst once more. With a shaky voice, he said words he’d never uttered before in his long life. “I love you too.”
 

“Well, of course you do,” she returned, her lips finding his just as he lost control and came deep in her again.

Epilogue

“I look like an idiot,” said Casey, tugging on his tux jacket. He’d not seen the man reflected back at him from the mirror in nearly a century. His hair was cut, and while still longer than most men wore, it was much shorter than it had been. His beard was gone, and even though he had just shaved, he already had a five o’clock shadow. The price he paid for being more than human.

“You look great,” said Laney as she held out cufflinks for him.

“This is a stupid idea.” He made a move to change from the tux, but Laney blocked his path to his closet. When he’d dreamed this up three nights ago, in the tub, it had seemed brilliant. Now it seemed silly. “She’ll hate this.”

He’d overcome being a lab rat for the government. He’d come out the other side of the ordeal alive and against the odds. He’d managed to evade the very government that had turned him into what he was, all to find himself wanting to bail and hide when it came to putting on a show for his mate. He wanted to do something special for her. To give her a mating ceremony she deserved. Not the hard fuck and claim with no foreplay or courting he’d given her. When he’d dreamed this up, it had sounded like the perfect plan. That was before he found himself out of his element—no longer comfortable dressed in a tuxedo.

Your mate is fancy
, he reminded himself.
She’s used to a certain way of life. Give it to her.
 

“Harmony is going to love this,” returned Laney calmly as her mate, James, entered the room.

“You all set?” James asked, already in his tux. “You might want to speed it up. Bill already grabbed a handful of the cake and is eating it. Also, he’s arguing with Gus, which in itself is amusing to watch since it’s pretty one-sided to the rest of us.”
 

Laney smiled. “Casey, this was your idea, and she will love it. She loves you.”
 

“I can’t really figure out why,” he said absently.
 

James laughed. “I ask myself the same thing with regards to Laney daily. No clue what the girl sees in me.”
 

“Yeah, me either,” said Casey evenly.

Laney slapped his arm playfully. “Stop. Now, let’s get you downstairs. Your woman should be here any minute.”
 

There was a light rapping at the door before Corbin, a PSI-Op and head of the team that was currently present in Casey’s home, entered. “Boomer and Weston are doing their best to keep Duke from eating Bill after what he did to Lola. I make no promises that, if you delay further, your friend will not be the main course,” said Corbin, his British accent shining through.

Laney snorted. “Really, you’d think the man didn’t have an endless line of sports cars to pick from.”
 

James grinned. “My guess is Duke is more upset by the fact those two got the jump on him than that they wrecked Lola. Probably for the best. If they didn’t, Mercy would have. His mate is brilliant, but she is a total menace with a stick shift.”

Casey took a deep, shaky breath. “I can’t do this.”
 

“Och, do we have a groom or do we nae?” asked a large Scotsman in a kilt and T-shirt made to look like a tuxedo who entered the room. He glanced at Casey and did a double take. “You clean up guid.”
 

“Striker,” said James. “Did you happen to see if Duke was contained?”
 

“Aye. I just tied him to a chair. He’s pissed, but he’s nae eatin’ the lil guy he keeps calling a crazy monkey.”

Casey shook his head. His make-up wedding day to Harmony was turning into a circus. “I guess I’m ready.”
 

Striker grinned. “You already claimed her. The hard part is over. This is just lettin’ her know she’s special to you.”
 

“I know. I just want it to be perfect. She’s perfect.”
 

Striker flashed a wide smile. “She’s a hottie.”
 

Casey narrowed his gaze on the man.

Putting his hands up, Striker shook his head. “Do nae be thinkin’ of killin’ me. I’m only tellin’ you the truth. Also, yer fly is undone.”
 

“Oh yeah, she’s going to love this,” Casey said, zipping his pants and heading in the direction of the door.
 

“We need to hurry this up,” said Striker.
 

Laney laughed. “Tell me you’re not in a hurry to get back to the online forums again. You do realize we’re all doing our best to downplay the information about the operatives going live?”

Striker shrugged. “Och, ladies love the idea of immortals. And if you hung in the forums you’d see there are a bunch of ladies who want nothin’ more than for a shifter male to
rock
their worlds. I posted a picture of me in my kilt. Had over a thousand comments.” He looked to Corbin. “You cannae see my face so do nae start on me. And no one let me plan a bachelor party for Casey so its nae like I got to have fun there. Had to do somethin’ to occupy myself.”

“You didn’t get to plan one because he’s already mated,” added James. “Your party would have left him unmated and possibly in a third world prison.”

Striker smiled. “Third world prisons are nae that bad. Well, except that one—never mind. But hurry up. The fucking vampires are tryin’ to move in on my forums. I cannae lose to
Sparkles
.
”

“He’s hopeless,” said Laney with a shake of her head.

Casey sensed Harmony nearing the house. “She’s coming.”
 

“You can sense her?” asked Corbin, seeming more than a little intrigued.
 

Nodding, Casey smiled softly. “I feel her with every fiber of my being. Always have. Gods willing, I always will.”
 

He headed out and down the hallway, stopping at the top of the staircase. He’d wanted to be at the door to greet Harmony upon her arrival. Mercy, Duke’s mate, had taken Harmony out for a manicure to fix her broken nail. It had been the perfect cover to get Harmony out of the house so that Casey and the others could throw together something that resembled a wedding.

Harmony opened the door before Casey was able to get all the way down the stairs. He froze, unsure how she’d take what he’d done. She was laughing at something Mercy was saying and at first didn’t seem to notice all the decorations. She turned, her gaze moving over the grand entrance. She stopped laughing and stood still, blocking Mercy from being able to enter.
 

“Holy crapola,” said Harmony softly, tearing up. “It rained flowers in here.”
 

Her attention came to him and she glanced past him at first and then did a double take, her eyes wide. “Ohmygods, there is a man under all that hair?”
 

The connection he felt to her intensified with each step he took in her direction. She looked around more as Mercy pretty much pushed her into the house and then shut the door behind her.

Harmony touched her upper chest. “What is all of this?”

Mercy glanced at Casey and winked before she paused, staring off and into the formal dining room area. “Uh, why is my husband tied to a chair and gagged?”
 

They all pointed to Bill as he came out from the dining area, cake smeared on his face. He smiled and cake fell out of his mouth. “He was being a bully again.”
 

Mercy looked as though she was trying not to laugh.
 

Casey neared Harmony and put his hand out. “Do you like it?”
 

She glanced around and then at him. “I don’t understand. What’s going on?”

“We’re getting married,” he said softly, realizing the rest of the crew was now down the stairs, watching them. He swallowed hard. “I just thought you’d like something special. More than what I gave you when I claimed you, Princess. It was a dumb idea. I’ll change. Everyone will leave.”
 

Harmony grabbed him and tugged, her hands moving up to his cheeks. She stared up at him and he realized she was crying. “You did all this for me?”
 

He nodded.

She touched his cheeks and laughed through her tears. “I can’t believe I’m going to say this, but I miss the beard.” She went to her tiptoes and kissed him, her tongue darting into his mouth, making his body heat with need.
 

Growling, he lifted her and turned to head to the staircase with his woman in his arms. Someone tapped his shoulder and he broke the kiss to find Weston standing there, grinning.

“Sex her up later. Marry her again now,” said Weston. “I wore a tuxedo. This is happening. Period.”
 

Harmony laughed. “Oh yes. It is
totally
happening.”

THE END
 

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