Dark Celebration (Dark #17)

Darius Daratrazanoff glared at his lifemate as she very accurately threw several rounds of snowballs, peppering him in the face and chest. "Tempest, I am giving you a direct order. Come back here now!"

Tempest packed the next snowball tight and launched it at his face. "You and your silly direct orders." She tossed her snowflake-covered red hair and gave a sniff of disdain. "Honestly, Darius, I'm not one of your brothers or sisters who do whatever you tell them. You made fun of me, you snake. Just because I blew up the oven doesn't mean I can't cook." She threw another tightly packed missile, running backward as she did so. "Take it back."

"You cannot cook, and who cares? Certainly not me. The oven, however, blew a rather large hole in the house and I need to repair it, so come back here where I can keep an eye on you."

"Take it back."

"For heaven sake, baby, you set the house on fire. The entire kitchen is black. What did you think you were doing?"

"The oven wasn't working right so I fixed it."

Darius dodged another snowball. "Tempest. It is not fixed. There is a hole the size of our tour bus in the wall and the kitchen is black with soot. Whatever that purple gooey concoction you were making is, it's now all over the ceiling and walls."

"Okay." She held up her hand, indignation on her face. "That was so not my fault. The stove shorted out and blew a hole through the pot and sent berries all over the ceiling and down the walls. I had nothing to do with that. And if you ask me, that probably did something to make the heating coil melt in the oven as well. So take it back!" She scooped up snow on the run and packed it into weapons.

"Even if the stove did short out, it does not take away the fact that you cannot cook. You have never been able to cook. Not even when you were on your own. And if you keep going and I lose sight of you, you will be instantly lost. You know you have absolutely no sense of direction."

Her red-gold eyebrows drew together in a furious frown. "First, you accuse me of blowing up the house and setting the kitchen on fire. Then, you tell me I can't cook, and now you say I have no sense of direction! I have a perfectly keen sense of direction."

Darius looked up at the sky to see if lightning was about to strike his lifemate. When none was forthcoming, he chuffed out his breath and changed the subject, afraid if they continued and she told any more whoppers like the last one, they would be in for the strike of a lifetime. "What was the purple sauce all over the wall?"

"Berry pies. I made like ten of them and they blew up." She eyed him with suspicion. "Did you mess with that old stove after I told you something wasn't right with it?"

"I did not go near that kitchen. It was a ridiculous idea. I told you if you wanted the silly things made, I would look at the recipe and reproduce it for you."

"The idea was to cook, smart one, you know, like a human."

"It was a stupid idea, Tempest," he said with patient persistence. "Now come here to me this minute." He was beginning to feel a little desperate. His lifemate seemed to be the only one capable of making him feel that way. There were times, like now, when he would much rather face a vampire than Tempest. She was halfway between tears and laughter and that was never a good thing.

She had been an independent human nearly her entire life before he converted her, and he had been the sole commander for most of his. He had been responsible for the safety of his family for so long, the protective urges couldn't be suppressed. In truth, he wouldn't have wanted them to be. He had a good alarm system and it was shrieking at him. He tried to gentle his voice. "Baby, do we really care so much about this dinner? We are not even going to be eating it."

"Every woman is bringing a dish." She gestured through the snow toward the house. "And do you think Barack and Julian are going to stay silent about that big mess? I will never hear the end of it."

Darius swore under his breath. He was going to have to do something different, unexpected, completely take her by surprise if he was going to get her out of her mood. He took off running toward her, scooping up snow as he ran, shaping the flakes into loose round missiles. Tempest's eyes widened in shock and as he fired off his ammunition at her, she shapeshifted on the run, her small, compact figure taking on the shape of a snow leopard. Soft gray fur adorned with black-brown spots covered the compact, muscular body and yard-long tail.

"Tempest! What are you doing?" He called gruffly, his black gaze shifting to search the area around them. As often as he scanned, he couldn't find danger, yet he couldn't quite shake the edginess, the need to hold his lifemate close to him. His silly attempt at being playful had backfired on him. Her mood had been mercurial lately, swinging from one end

of the spectrum to the other.

The leopard looked back at him and took off, large furry paws making it easy to run through the snow, and worse, with the form she'd chosen, powerful hind legs helping her spring a distance of thirty feet or more with ease. He leapt into the air, shifting as he did so, the male snow leopard landing on the steeper side of the slope away from the trees to follow closely in the tracks of the female. He was a good thirty percent larger, and used his size to shoulder her back in the direction he wanted her to go.

The female snarled, showing her teeth. Inside the cat's body, Darius frowned. He could have sworn that, in spite of the leopard showing temper, deep inside she was weeping.

Tempest. Tell me. Surely these pies are not so important. Tell me what has you so upset. He rubbed his fur along hers as he shifted back to his human form, sitting in the snow, holding the female leopard in his lap. Her teeth were mere inches from his throat as he looked into her eyes, seeing beyond the cat to his mate. You are my life, Tempest. You know I cannot bear to see you upset. This cannot be beyond my ability to fix.

The cat shifted in his arms, warm fur giving way so that soft skin slid over his and a wealth of silky hair fell across his face. Tempest circled his neck with her slender arms. "I don't know, Darius. I don't know what's wrong, but I want to cry all the time."

He felt a small shiver run down her spine and gathered her closer, automatically regulating their body temperatures so they wouldn't feel the cold. His fingers fisted in her thick red hair. "How long has this been going on and why did I not know?"

"Because it's so stupid, Darius. There's nothing wrong." She rubbed her face along his chest much like a feline, as if remnants of the animal still clung to the woman. "I'm not used to being around people, so maybe I'm just nervous."

He touched her face and found tears. His heart clenched in his chest. Darius took a deep breath and let it out. "I am going to check you over, Tempest. We do not know what conversion might have done to your body. Perhaps you are ill."

She turned her face into his neck. "Maybe I am. I don't feel very well."

He frowned as he brushed the hair from her face. "You did not want to take any sustenance this evening. I thought it was because of this dinner. After all this time, does it still bother you?"

"Not when it is from you," she admitted. "I just feel tired, that's all. Tired and out of sorts, I guess."

"You should not have tried to hide this from me," he said.

"I didn't want you to worry about me, like you're doing now. This entire time you've been looking around us, searching the ground, the sky, the trees, as if you're expecting trouble.

You have enough to do just looking after the security."

"Anything concerning you is always and forever my first priority, Tempest." He brushed bright red strands of hair from her face. "I know the adjustment to our way of life has been hard on you."

She shook her head. "It was my choice, Darius. I wanted to be with you. I chose you and your way of life myself. You would have chosen differently for me-for us. I've grown to love the others, Desari and Julian, Dayan and Corrine and Barack and Syndil, and I'm getting used to being around them, but this..." She waved her hand to encompass the snow-covered mountains and forest where all the homes were hidden from prying eyes. "This is overwhelming to me."

He feathered the pad of his thumb back and forth tracing over her cheekbone. "We do not have to participate, baby. We can walk away from this-go far away and just be together. I thought you wanted to come."

"I do." Her lower lip trembled and tears filled her eyes. "I thought I did."

He bent his head to capture her mouth with his. "Do not cry, Tempest. I would much rather feel the heat of your temper. Your tears are heartbreaking."

She attempted a soft laugh in the midst of their kiss. "Tears are normal."

"Not for you. You are far more likely to throw a very hard snowball at me and call me names than cry."

He kissed her again, and Tempest could taste his desperate need to comfort her. It shamed her that she couldn't stop wanting to weep-and it was so unlike her. She wanted to crawl into a hole and pull the soil over her head. She wanted to cling to Darius, another trait so unlike her. He simply held her, rocking gently back and forth as if she were a child, and when she looked up at his face, his black gaze moved restlessly-ceaseless in his vigil to search out danger around them.

"Its so beautiful here, Darius, it doesn't seem as if we could possibly be in danger. I wish you could find a way to relax and just enjoy life-even if it's only for a day or two while we're here."

He touched one stray tear with his fingertip and brought it to his mouth. Tempest found the gesture curiously sexy. Her stomach did a funny little flip-a sensation she was becoming used to. She secretly found Darius the sexiest, most attractive man in the world, but she wasn't about to let him know that-not with his bossy ways.

"I am relaxed. Being vigilant does not mean I cannot relax. I want to examine you, Tempest. Not because I think anything is wrong, but just so neither of us is worried."

A slow smile drove away the tears. "You mean you're worried. Go ahead then. I don't

like it when you get upset on my account." He was the most protective being she'd ever run across in her life. Darius could hardly bear for her to be out of his sight. If she did have some kind of strange illness, she'd never have a moment without Darius at her side. Even when the band performed onstage and he was working security, he kept Tempest beside him. If he needed to ease his mind by examining her, she was all for it.

Darius wasted no time, his body simply dropping away from his spirit so that he moved in complete freedom, a white hot light of pure energy entering her easily. Darius took his time, looking at her blood, her heart and lungs, moving lower... For the first time in his life he lost his focus and found himself back in his own body, sweat breaking out, his heart pounding. He stared down at her, panic in his eyes.

"What is it? What's wrong?"

His heart thundered in his ears. She looked so anxious, her eyes enormous, but holding such trust it steadied him as nothing else could. "Nothing is wrong. In fact everything is right." He stole another deep, calming breath, gripping her wrists, pinning her tightly against his chest. "What do you know about babies?"

"Babies?" Tempest drew back, shaking her head in adamant denial. "Absolutely nothing and it's going to stay that way. I've never even held a baby. I didn't exactly have parents, Darius, to show me what to do, so if you have a sudden yearning for children, you're going to have to think about finding another lifemate. Of course, then I'd begin immediately taking body parts off of you, but what the heck? You wouldn't need everything for another woman, now would you?"

"Our women always know when they can get pregnant."

Her eyebrow shot up. "How?"

He shrugged, looking confused. "I do not know. I suppose they check. I should have been aware of your breeding cycle."

"Breeding cycle?" There was horror in her tone. "I don't have a breeding cycle. That's just disgusting. Do Carpathians have birth control? I thought you could control that. You control everything else."

"If we are paying attention."

"Well, start paying attention. If you can control the weather and call down lightning, you can certainly keep us from having babies. I'm a mechanic. I fix things. Every time Corrine comes in with her baby, I go out the back door, or hadn't you noticed."

Darius managed another long breath of ice cold air. He tightened his hold on Tempest. "I have been alive for centuries, and in all that time, I never thought once of birth or babies. Once I found you, all I could think of was what a miracle you are to me, not checking for cycles."

Tempest shrugged. "I didn't think about it either. So now we'll just be careful."

"It is a little too late to be careful."

There was a small silence. Tempest pulled back slightly to stare into his dark eyes. "What are you saying?"

"You are pregnant with our child," Darius announced.

She shoved him hard, throwing herself out of his lap to scramble away, struggling to her feet, hands on hips, glaring at him. "Okay. That's just not funny. I don't do babies, Darius. And I'm not in the mood to have you joke with me about it." She pointed a shaky finger at him. "You never once said you wanted children."

"Tempest, I would not even consider joking about such an important thing. You are carrying our child. I saw it in your body, nestled safe and sound, growing every day. I should have been instantly aware, but I have been more concerned with our safety and did not consider that such an event could happen."

She backed up, looking frightened. "I can't have a baby, Darius. Really. I can't be a parent. I'm a mess." She shook her head. "You're mistaken. You have to be mistaken, that's all."

Darius sat in the snow regarding her with a raised eyebrow. "I very seldom make mistakes, Tempest, and certainly not of this magnitude. It is shocking to me that I never noticed the heartbeat. It is very strong. I obviously need to be far more vigilant where you are concerned."

"Is that all you have to say? Darius! Carpathian women are not supposed to be able to get pregnant very easily. I'd better be Carpathian after going through the conversion."

"Baby." His voice was low, a velvet soothing caress. "Of course you are pregnant. It explains everything."

"Everything?"

"Your mood swings, the tears, the temper. I have heard it is easy to have accidents such as the ones in the kitchen."

"Oh you have, have you?" Her teeth snapped together. "There's about to be another accident right here, Darius. I don't have mood swings. As for a temper, you're impossibly bossy and would make the easiest going person lose their mind."

"Check for yourself."

His calm, steady tone set her teeth on edge. Just once she'd like him to be wrong-and this was the perfect moment for it. She needed him to be wrong. Surely she'd know if she

was going to have a baby? And he would have known. He knew everything. Tempest took a deep breath and let go of the physical world around her.

There it was. A tiny heart beating, little more than that, but definitely a new life. Tempest observed in total amazement and awe. This tiny creature lived inside her. A part of her-a part of Darius. "How come I didn't know?"

She was barely aware of Darius standing beside her, wrapping his arms around her and holding her close. "I should have known," he said gently. "It was my responsibility to watch over your health at all times. I was so busy worried about enemies, it did not occur to me to think about pregnancy, but I should have."

She leaned into him, murmuring aloud, more to herself than to him. "What in the world are we going to do? I have no idea how to take care of a baby." She looked up at him, afraid to be happy, afraid of the love and joy already growing. "You know me, Darius. Other than you, I've never really gotten attached to anyone."

"That is not entirely true. You are very attached to the others in the band. I can feel your affection for them."

"It isn't the same thing as having a child. I could drop it. And I have no idea how to be a Carpathian, let alone a Carpathian parent. This is so scary. What are we going to do?" She clutched his hand, feeling desperate.

"I guess we're having a baby." He feathered kisses down her face to the corner of her mouth. "We can do anything together, Tempest. By the time the baby gets here, we can figure it out."

"Aren't you terrified? Just a little, Darius?"

"I kept Desari and Syndil alive. We will do just fine." Few things terrified him. The possibility of losing Tempest was the only thing he could think of offhand. He had never asked for a single thing in his long, difficult life, until she had come along. She was a miracle to him with her brightness. She was so alive-her moods mercurial, her laughter often and contagious. There was no existence for him without her and he wouldn't lose her, not to an enemy, not to accidents and certainly not in childbirth.

She was trembling. "I thought the conversion took care of all that. I mean, I didn't have a cycle anymore so I just stopped thinking about it. And it didn't seem like anyone ever got pregnant. Corrine was pregnant before she became Dayan's lifemate. And isn't there some kind of time-out for newbies?"

"It does not seem so."

"You're not even upset," she accused. "You're the man. The man always gets upset when the woman gets pregnant. It's practically tradition."

His face always seemed carved in stone, a ruggedly sensual face with no expression and eyes that were flat and cold and held the promise of death-until he looked at her. Tempest loved the slow smile that occasionally curved his mouth and lit his black eyes. She especially loved the way he looked right now-with love heating the ice and flooding her with warmth.

Her lungs found the rhythm of his. Her heart beat in perfect time to his. "You're really not afraid, Darius?"

He shook his head. "This will be a good thing. Our child will grow up with Dayan's child. They will not ever be lonely. It is important, especially if they are male, that they have someone they can count on-have a strong bond with. As the years pass, sometimes it is only remembered friendship that holds us to our honor when we are without a lifemate."

"Don't tell anyone I'm so afraid. There have to be books on parenting. I'll just sit around and read."

He brought her hands to his mouth and pressed kisses along her knuckles. "You're shivering. We should get back to the house."

"You mean before someone notices the great big hole in the wall?" She managed a small smile. She stepped away from him and took off with confidence, walking back in the direction of the house, shoulders straight, head up, determined to make up for all her shortcomings. If Darius could handle having a baby, then so could she. Of course, she wasn't touching it until it was at least three years old. She chewed nervously on her lower lip and glanced back at Darius. He just stood there shaking his head. "What? Are you reading my thoughts again? I told you never to do that. It's bad enough that I have to try to follow what I'm thinking. And it's only fair for you to handle the baby until he's three, and then I'll take over."

"Really?" He caught the back of her jacket and tugged her around. "The house is in the opposite direction. That way leads into deep forest."

"I knew that. I was just making sure you were on top of things." She grinned at him. "The snow's a little disorienting."

He took her hand and led her in the right direction. "I noticed you said 'he.' You think we're having a boy?"

"If we're going to do this, Darius, it has to be a boy. I definitely wouldn't know what to do with a girl. And the poor thing would be a prisoner. You'd never let her out of your sight and you'd scare any young man who came near her."

He growled low in his throat, and Tempest burst out laughing. "See? Just the thought gets you riled up."

"I never get riled up. It is a complete waste of energy."

Tempest stepped in front of him, stopping so abruptly his body bumped up against hers. One slender arm circled his neck and she leaned close, pressing her soft breasts into his chest, and lifted her mouth to his. Her long hair spilled over his arm as he instantly responded, fingers curling around the nape of her neck to hold her to him, deepening the kiss until she thought she might melt the snow all around them. She broke it off, her eyes sparkling at him. "You get riled."

His heart slammed hard in his chest, a sensation only Tempest seemed to create. "Around you maybe."

She waited this time, taking his hand again so they could stroll back through the gently falling snow to the house.

"Someone is close by," Darius announced as they emerged from the trees into the clearing where the house stood. He inhaled sharply. "It is the prince. Stay behind me, Tempest."

Tempest dropped back a foot, rolling her eyes at what she considered unnecessary protection. She slipped her hand into Darius's back pocket. I thought the prince was the leader of the Carpathians. Are we supposed to fear him?

Darius's warning growl met with soft laughter. He glanced back at her. I do not know him as the others do and I prefer to ensure your safety. He turned back to greet the prince, who seemed to be inspecting the damaged wall. "Mikhail, I was just about to fix the house."

The prince arched a black brow. "Should I inquire as to what happened?"

"Better not," Darius advised. "Some things are best left mysteries. Give me a minute to repair the damage and we can go inside, out of the weather, to visit."

"The hole appears larger than I remember." Tempest peered around Darius to scowl at the blackened ruin of a kitchen. "I think someone's been here adding to the wreckage. It didn't look like this when we left it." She flashed a tentative smile at the prince. "The house is really nice. Thank you for lending it to us."

Mikhail turned away to keep the couple from seeing the laughter in his eyes. Raven's idea of having the Carpathians cook dinner for the guests at the inn was turning out to be more fun than he had anticipated. "Raven and I are more than happy to lend you one of our houses. We hope you are able to stay for a long visit and maybe look upon this place as your home when you are not traveling."

"Thank you," Darius said politely, without committing to anything.

Hands on hips, Mikhail stared at the gaping hole in the wall of one of his most beloved dwellings. "I have always wanted a small alcove there. I thought the room was too square and needed an intimate conversation area."

Darius nodded. "I believe you are right, and it's very easily done. Is this what you had in mind?" He waved his hands and the sides of the house moved into a series of curves.

Mikhail studied the structure and nodded. "Something like that. More on this line." He added to the curves, making them serpentine, so that the house appeared to be a giant snake. "What do you think?"

Tempest shook her head as the two men remodeled the kitchen. It looked like a competition to her rather than a repair job. She sighed and rubbed her hand over her stomach. The idea of having a child had never occurred to her. After she had gone through the conversion and her normal bodily functions ceased, she simply didn't give a thought to birth control. It was a stupid mistake, and one she couldn't take back.

Darius seemed fine with the idea, maybe even pleased, but nothing ever rocked him. He was a dangerous, lethal man, completely confident in his abilities, and the confidence was born of experience. She had been on the run most of her life. She had no family and didn't know the first thing about children.

We will do fine. Darius brushed the words through her mind like caressing fingers, his voice so soft and warm she could feel him inside her.

Not if you keep changing the house. It's making me feel dizzy, not to mention it's ugly. Stop competing and let's go inside. Sheesh! You're like a couple of schoolboys.

Darius cleared his throat. "Tempest would like to go in. That particular shape is obnoxious, but we can live with it for the brief amount of time we will be here if it is what you desire."

Mikhail burst out laughing. "It is obnoxious. Raven would think I had lost my mind. I could not resist."

Darius took Tempest's hand, his thumb brushing a subtle caress over her inner wrist as they entered the house. "I hope you are not here to check on how the cooking is progressing. We are not quite ready for tonight's celebration."

"I have no interest in cooking, although I do not think the others are faring much better than you two. I just dropped by to get your opinion on a couple of things."

Darius waved Mikhail toward the most comfortable chair. "What can I do for you?"

"Well, before we get too deep in serious things, I thought you might like to know, Raven has decreed someone must play Santa Claus."

Darius stiffened, but his face remained without expression. "The jolly man in the red suit."

"Exactly. I can see that your reaction is much the same as mine. Fortunately, I have a

son-in-law and I feel it is his duty to take on this..." He paused searching for the right word.

Something very close to amusement flickered in the depths of Darius's eyes. "Honored task," he supplied.

Mikhail nodded. "I could not have found a better description."

"I will be more than happy to accompany you when you tell my older brother you are bestowing such a privilege on him."

"Strangely enough, quite a few others wish to be there as well."

Tempest looked from one solemn face to the other. "Are you both crazy? That man could scare the devil."

"That is what you say about me."

"Well, you could too," Tempest pointed out. "But he isn't telling you to play Santa to a bunch of children."

"And I sincerely thank you for that," Darius said. The amusement faded from his eyes as he continued to study Mikhail's face. "You are worried, and not about my brother playing the part of St. Nick. What is it?"

"I am uneasy over the gathering of our women in one place. While I think it is a good thing for all of us to get together, it has occurred to me that our enemies will figure out that it would not take much to wipe out our species."

Darius nodded. "There are so few women and children. Get rid of them and the males have no hope. Very soon chaos would reign and many would choose life as the undead over death."

Mikhail nodded. "I fear it is so. We had an incident a few minutes ago in the woods. A subtle influence none of us felt immediately. Skyler tried to follow the path back to the sender, but they realized she was on to them and shut down. But they now have a direct path to her."

"The other women?" Darius was already checking with and warning Desari and Julian, Dayan and Corrine and lastly, Barack and Syndil. Each responded with a quick touch to assure him there was no threat to them at the moment and they understood to be careful and alert.

"There have been no other incidents and I have sent men ahead to the inn to ferret out any enemies, but we must be vigilant at all times and keep our women and children close and protected."

Like you all don't already do that? Great, he's just giving you more ammunition to be

Darius ignored her. "The child-Skyler. Is she safe? Gabriel and Lucian are my brothers by blood. Skyler is blood kin."

"We will all see to her safety. You probably don't remember Dimitri-he was much older than you-but he's returned from Russia and is Skyler's lifemate. It is a complication we did not expect."

"Gabriel is protective of her."

"Yes, he is-as he should be. She is invaluable to us." Mikhail leaned toward him. "I know you have been talking with Gregori, Francesca and Shea about how you kept the other children alive after the massacre. They were only babies. You were merely six years old."

"Unfortunately, I do not remember very much. It was centuries ago. We were on another continent, in an unfamiliar world. I did not remember much of my homeland other than the war and the massacre. I inadvertently instilled a fear in the others of these mountains and we avoided the area completely."

Mikhail nodded. "It is understandable, but perhaps you do not realize the miracle you achieved. The greatest minds, our most talented healers, are not able to do what you have done. In order for our species to survive, we must find the answers to why our women miscarry. Why so many of our infants die in their first year. And why we have such a high percentage of male over female births."

Tempest gasped and went completely pale. "Darius?" She framed his face with her hands, forcing him to meet her terrified gaze. "Is this true? Did you know this?"

"Yes." Lifemates did not lie to one another.

"Miscarriages? The child dies in the first year?" She refused to look away from him¨C refused to allow him to look away from her. "You knew this all along?"

"Our race is dying," Darius said. "We have too few women and even fewer children."

"But you said..." She trailed off, dropping her hands as if touching his skin scorched her. "You should have told me this immediately."

"What good would it have done? The decision is made for us. Our child grows within your body. We have already created a life. There is no alternative for me but to ensure the child survives. I refuse to consider any other possibility." His voice was mild, his face carved of stone. His black-black eyes never left hers.

"You should have told me," she repeated.

"Several of our women have been successful in carrying babies," Mikhail said, standing. "There is always hope. Especially now. I will need to discuss this further with you, Darius," he added.

Darius continued to hold Tempest's gaze. "Yes, of course. I am at your disposal." He waited until the prince left before he tunneled his hand in the mass of bright red hair. "We will not lose our child."

"Because you decree it?"

"If that is what it takes. My will is unyielding. I did not lose Desari, or Syndil or Barack or Dayan. They live because I decreed it-because I fought for their lives and used every ounce of will and skill I possessed to ensure their survival. Do not think I would do less for my own child-for our child."

"That's why they all have such confidence in you-why they expect so much of you. Without you they would have all died."

It was the simple truth. He had been six, but already, the Daratrazanoff blood was strong in him and his will grew and grew until he refused to allow defeat into his mind no matter the odds.

"I didn't think I wanted to have a baby, Darius. Now, when I think I may lose it, I know I want it desperately. Shea must be so frightened. She's close to labor. If I were her, I would not want to allow the baby to leave the safety of my body."

"She has Jacques to keep them both safe, Tempest. You have me."

Tempest slid onto his lap, laying her head against his chest. "Then I'm not going to worry."

He kissed her gently, lovingly. "I will believe that when I see it."

"For that, you can bake the pies."

"Pies?"

"The gooey purple stuff. You said you would do anything for me and I need those pies baked."

"You think I cannot do it."

"I think it will be very funny to watch you try." She leaned in for another kiss, laughter beginning to bubble up.