Mated By The Demon Collections: Paranormal Romance Read online

  Perhaps they were closer than she had ever believed. It had been hard for her to hear Bradon say how good of a person Conor was, and never have met him. Not that she didn’t trust her husband’s point of view; however, she just didn’t get this friendship of theirs.

  Now she understood why Bradon had felt the way he had about Conor. But at the thought of Bradon the waves of despair tempted to sweep her back under once again.

  “No you must stay focused!” She encouraged herself.

  “Yes you must take care of that child in your belly.” Heather heard the witch as she walked around the corner.

  Heather shook her head; she knew the old woman was right.

  “Now let me examine you really quickly.” The witch said.

  She looked at Heather and examined her a bit. Heather had no clue what she was doing, but figured it had to be to check on the baby. Her nerves started to vibrate as she hoped that she hadn’t lost the child. Heather knew she wouldn’t be able to make it through the loss. Not after just having lost Bradon.

  “No stop those thoughts.” The witch ordered.

  Heather looked up at her quickly and saw sympathy and something more in the eyes of the witch. She shook her head again and said. “I’m really trying, honestly I am.” The tears slipped from her eyes.

  “I know you are my dear. Here I’ve brought something a little weaker than the other medicine. It won’t make you sleep all the time, and won’t hurt the little one kicking around in your belly still!”

  She smiled knowing that witch had found the baby to be just fine. Now she could relax a bit more and only think of the good things in her life. As far as she could think right now there was only one good thing in her life, this child.

  The next 6 months until he or she was born would go by quickly, but all too slowly at the same time for Heather. She had no doubt that the thought of not having Bradon anymore would haunt her for years. All she wanted to do was try and not be sad all the time when the baby was born. How welcome would a child feel if their mother was crying all the time? She thought and realized that it would be one of the worse things for a young child. She needed to get better so that she could show the child she loved it, and she had to make up for the love it would be missing from Bradon. It would be a tough job, and one that she knew she had to work hard to accomplish.

  Chapter 9

  Conor had ran to get the witch as soon as the servant had told him Heather had come awake and was talking.

  “She seems better; she told me she was anyway. Can you please hurry though?” Sylvia had stated to Conor.

  Now he was waiting outside the room until the witch was done with Heather. As she walked by he asked her. “Is she okay? Is the baby okay?” Conor asked the witch quietly.

  “Yes she’s okay, this is her new medicine. The baby will be just fine, as long as she stays calm still. This is a lot on her right now. So just watch her. If she shows signs of getting worse, give her some of the other stuff from before. But just once, and then come and get me right away. Do you understand this?” The witch asked him.

  Conor shook his head. “I understand, I’ll watch her and if anything happens I’ll be sure to do just what you said.”

  The witch left and Conor felt nervous as he went into the room. He really didn’t know what to say to this woman. He didn’t know her at all, now if it was Bradon, he’d talk for hours. But it wasn’t his friend was gone forever now.

  “Hi, I hear the baby is doing just fine.” He stated as he came in and sat down by the bed.

  He felt her eyes studying him as he sat down. She had to have a lot of questions for him, and none of them he really wanted to answer.

  “Yes the baby is doing good, as long as I don’t get too upset.” Heather stated. Repeating what the witch had already told him in the hall.

  Conor nodded his head. “She told me to make sure you stayed calm.”

  “How come you never came home with Bradon? He said he asked you several times.” Heather asked.

  Damn, Conor thought. She was straightforward; he saw a spark of that spitfire that Bradon had described to him many times in the past.

  “Well that’s kind of complicated.” He stated.

  “I have time to hear it.” She looked at him, her eyes serious.

  He had honestly hoped she would let him past with his answer. He tried to think of an answer that would sound good to her. He would sound sappy if he said his real reasons for not visiting their home before.

  “I didn’t want to interfere with your reunions and because he always talked about you and had such love in his eyes. I was kind of jealous, because I knew I had never had any woman feel that much for me. But just by how he talked about you I could tell your love was special. I’ve never been loved, seeing it would make me want it. When I look for love I get into trouble, and well I want to avoid trouble as much as I can.” He finally said.

  He wasn’t sure why he had been so honest with her. It was those blue eyes, he thought. They swallowed me up and made me tell her everything. They hypnotized me, she is a witch. He thought quickly.

  Conor broke eye contact with her and felt a bit better. He could concentrate a bit better now. When he was staring into her eyes though so many other thoughts came to his mind, and he didn’t want them there.

  As he tried to clear his mind more, he hoped she wouldn’t ask him another question. Well if she did he didn’t have to look up into her eyes. That was the answer; he would simply have to look around the room and not into her eyes.

  He finally looked up because she hadn’t said anything in such a long time he wondered if she had fallen back asleep. One look told him she was still awake but she was studying him. He felt like she was trying to pry into his mind, to see his secrets.

  “Oh I did love him; do love him still with all my heart.” She said finally.

  Conor realized she hadn’t been studying him, but had been in a fantasy world of her own. He looked at her and she still had that faraway look in her eyes. He had seen the same look on Bradon’s face at times in the past. It had always been when he had been talking about Heather.

  He wondered what it was like to love someone that much that you can literally slip into another world while you think about them. Then he realized he had been doing that with Heather. But he didn’t know if it was right to do. Sure Bradon had made him promise he would take care of her as his own. But Conor still believe that was simply because of the amount of blood Bradon had lost by that time.

  “He had to delirious; there is no way he was really meaning it?” He asked himself and hoped he could find some way to convince himself of it. No matter how much he tried though he couldn’t shake the way she made him feel.

  Would it be so wrong to marry her for his own? He wondered. Then he looked at her again and noticed that she was still staring off into space. She was beautiful; there was no doubt about that in his mind. This spunky side of her nature was also intriguing to him.

  But how in the world would he tell her of the promise? He couldn’t just blurt out that Bradon had made him promise to marry her. No it wouldn’t seem right or maybe it would? She did know Bradon better than him after all. Maybe she would know it was from him and not some attempt by me.

  “How did you find him?” She asked, almost scary him. He had thought she was still in her thoughts.

  “I was checking the battlefield and found him on the ground.” Conor answered.

  “Was he still alive?” Heather asked him, looking squarely at him now.

  Conor nodded his head and said. “Yes he was still alive, but he was too bad to move.”

  Heather’s face crumpled up thinking of her husband on the ground dying. “At least he had you with him at the last moments.” She stated and put her hand on his arm.

  He looked up and the tears rolled down his face. “I wish I would have found him sooner.”

  “I know, I do too, and then maybe he’d be here with us.” Heather said. “What did he say at the end, you know
before he passed?” Heather choked out.

  How much of this conversation did he want to share with her? He wasn’t really sure. There was still that part that was struggling between honor and just running away.

  “He said that he loved you very much and to make sure I got him back to you. That I should make sure you don’t lose the baby. To make sure that you are safe and that I take you as my own.” Conor said the last part came out as a whisper.

  Chapter 10

  Heather sat there and wondered if she heard him correctly or not. She ran his words through her mind again, this time using Bradon’s voice and hearing it. Still she didn’t get it.

  Looking at him she asked him. “Do you say take me as your own?” She wasn’t sure if her blood was starting to boil or not. She felt as if Bradon was trying to control her from the grave.

  “Yes, but it was only because he cared so much about you.” Conor explained.

  Suddenly it hit her, he was right. It hadn’t been control that had been on Bradon’s mind those last moments of his life. But it had been that he always wanted her to be safe. He wouldn’t pass that torch on to just anyone, she knew that. The person would have to mean a lot to Bradon. Because Heather knew that she had been Bradon’s everything!

  “Well I’m telling you this right now. I will not be with anyone in my life but Bradon. So if you want to marry me, you can. But you will not sleep in my bed with me, or touch me, or even kiss me. Bradon will be the only person who ever touches my body. I don’t care how old I live to be.” Heather stated. Her eyes were alight with fire at the fury she had felt at the thoughts of what the comment meant.

  He couldn’t have meant it that way, could he? Heather wondered to herself. Bradon wouldn’t ever want her to be with another man she knew that. But that had been when he was alive, she thought.

  She wanted to cry and the tears couldn’t be held back. “Why Bradon, why did you have to die?” She cried out.

  Conor watched her with pain in his eyes. He could feel the pain emanating off of her body. It made his own heart ache. He wanted to hold her, but she had told him he could never do that. But he knew that was exactly what he wanted to do.

  So instead he watched her and the tears rolled down his face. He had never been one for crying. Heck when he thought about it, he could only remember two other times he had cried. The first had been his mother’s death when he had been 10; the other was Bradon’s death, and now.

  Heather needed to have Bradon, she wanted to feel his arms wrapped around her. To pull her tight and tell her it was alright.

  “Oh my god, I knew I shouldn’t talk to you about him. I’m so sorry, here please take this drink. I have to go get the witch.” Heather saw there were tears rolling down his cheeks.

  She straightened up a bit and said. “No I’ll be okay, please just stay. I’m sorry. I know you miss him too. I just never understood what he saw in you before. I mean he would tell me about all these times he had asked you to come. But all the time he would say that you would turn him down. He had been hurt by that so you know. He often questioned just how much he meant to you as a friend. But I would take his mind off of it. He loved you Conor, I hope you know that. So you have had someone love you as much as I love Bradon. It was my husband, Bradon. He would have given his life for yours.” She cried. The she almost asked. Did he die for you? Was he saving you on the battlefield? But she didn’t say it.

  Instead she sucked up the tears once again and tried to focus and help this man out. Bradon had wanted her to help him through this as well. So in a sense she now had her family, not the way she had wanted it. But nonetheless it was a sort of family.

  Would it be so bad for me to let him hug me? Maybe it will help him feel better? She wondered.

  But she felt as if she might be betraying her husband by being in another man’s arms. Then the voice said to her, he had asked this man to marry you. To make sure you were taken care of. He trusted this man and you should too.

  “Maybe I was a little harsh with my words. I’m sorry it is hard for me to imagine never seeing Bradon again. I keep hoping that I will wake up and it will all just be a bad dream. But the longer the dream lasts, the harder it is to come into reality. To really see what is going on out here in the real world. It’s hard to give up this feeling of happiness that I can almost convince myself of too. But could you please hug me?” She finally cried out.

  He moved and held her tightly in his arms. It felt nice and he could hear the sobs coming out of her. Feel her body shaking as she tried to get rid of the pain. Conor watched and got worried again, should I give her the other medicine? He asked himself again and again within this few minutes.

  Heather sunk into his chest and wished it was Bradon, hoped that she could imagine it even. Maybe that would make this life easier, she thought. But there was still that part of her that was clinging to the hope that she was dreaming.

  “I’m not dreaming am I? This is real; he’s dead, isn’t he?” She cried.

  “Yes I’m sorry he’s dead.” Conor said, and he wished it had been him dead on that battlefield instead of Bradon. “Do you need the other medicine?” He asked.

  She shook her head no, “I’ll be okay, just give me a few minutes.” She said, her voice sounded shaky.

  Conor simply held her as he listened to her cry. He wished he could do so much more than just this. But he hoped it would help calm her down soon. He was getting really worried that he might be waiting too long to get the witch.

  “I think I should give you the medicine.” He said.

  “I’m okay, really I am. I’m here in the reality now. It hurts but I should be able to handle it.” She took a deep breath. Looking down and praying that she could just focus a while on this world. “I have to be for the baby.” She stated.

  “Yes you do.” Conor said, almost adding that she didn’t want to lose the baby.

  “I know. It’s all I have left of him. He wanted to take care of me and that’s why he asked you to do that. I know I should be flattered, but I can’t sleep with you. Not right now at least. I know he’s dead and not coming back. It wouldn’t be far to you to keep you from seeking out something else. But yes I agree to my husband’s wishes at his death.

  Conor pulled back and looked down at her.

  “I’ll marry you. But please just don’t expect sex from me right away. I can’t do it; I still want to remember Bradon’s touch on my skin. At least for a little longer, while I try and adjust to this new reality. I’ll get around to it, being her in reality. I just don’t know how long.” She said.

  He didn’t know what to say, but his body still reacted for him. He wanted to kiss her, but thankfully his mind woke up before he had made that stupid move. Though she had agreed to a hug right now, she had just told him no sex. Conor knew if he kissed her it would lead to the bedroom. He couldn’t imagine what it would be like to see her eyes staring up at him as he made love to her.

  Conor shook his head, he couldn’t let these thoughts take over, and not when she was this close to him. He let go of her and moved to the chair. “I’m sorry I didn’t mean to hug you too long.”

  Heather had felt his erection before he pulled away. She hadn’t meant to feel the flash of lust that she had, but it had swept over her body. It had been too quick for her to stop, but now it kept flashing back in her mind. She felt like she would be betraying Bradon if she would allow Conor to touch her before they were actually married.

  So she rolled over on the bed and acted like she wanted to go to sleep for a while. “I’m sorry I need a little sleep now. You can stay if you have to watch me. Or you can send in Sylvia too, just in case I have to get up and hurry to the privy.” She said and rolled over again, her back facing Conor.

  Eventually he had taken the hint and went to get Sylvia. Heather wasn’t sure if she would be able to keep her hands off of him much longer had he stayed in the room with her. Now that he was gone she could enjoy the fantasy of it a bit.

  Closin
g her eyes she looked up and saw Bradon as he kissed her. It had been the last time they had made love.

  “Sylvia I’m fine, you can go back to work.” Heather had said to the servant. She had gladly gone off and found something to do.

  Heather went back to the last time Bradon had touched her. Closing her eyes she moved her hand lower and thought about Bradon. She pictured his mouth pleasuring her. His tongue slipping up and down her slit. How he had loved to suck and nibble on her clit.

  She let the fantasy take her away and soon she was enjoying her first orgasm as a widow. She was sure it would help her face Conor a bit easier the next time as well. Though the spot on her leg where she had felt his erection press was still hot.

  Without meaning to she wondered what Conor would be like in bed. But she wouldn’t let them take her away yet. It wasn’t right, not yet anyway.

  Heather wised yet again that Bradon would walk in the door alive and well. Life would be so much simpler if that could just be the case. But it wasn’t true and life was harsh. She had a good life so far, she really couldn’t complain.

  Her and Bradon had loved other a long time. She smiled as she thought of him again.

  Chapter 11

  Conor went back to his room as soon as he had sent Sylvia to watch Heather. He hoped she hadn’t felt his erection on her leg. But he had a feeling she had. That excuse of wanting to go back to sleep, and sending Sylvia was a good thing.

  Now he could sort out the thoughts that had been flashing through his mind since he first had her in his arms. No if he had to admit when it happened, it might have been the first time he saw her blue eyes.

  They were bewitching to him. As he closed his eyes it was so blue eyes he pictured as he let his thoughts run wild.

  “Still not love though, it is simply lust.” He said lightly.

  There had been a few times since he’d met her though he had to wonder if he did love her. Well thankfully she had said that eventually he may be able to touch her. He would only have to wait until she was ready to see if it was as good as he figured it had to be.