My Defender(43)

"I'm glad you're both here," Marjoram began.

Ellie froze. "The children?"

Marjoram shook her head. "They're just fine. No, I wanted to discuss something else with you." She eyed her granddaughter. "Ellie, have you given much thought to moving here?"

Ellie nibbled on her cookie. "Of course. Grant's here, so I'd have to move." She frowned, thinking of her lab. "Maybe I haven't thought it all the way through."

"I didn't think so. I took the liberty of speaking to Magnus, such a lovely boy." Ellie and Grant exchanged looks, and Marjoram continued. "When he heard about your research, he offered to put in a lab next to Broderick's for you."

Ellie dropped her cookie onto the table. "What?"

Marjoram gave her a sly smile. "He's also willing to pay for all of your lab equipment to be brought here, pay for any additional supplies you may need, and fund your research completely."

"Ohmygosh!" Ellie exclaimed. "When did you do all this?"

"Oh, I've been doing some exploring on my own. Any one of those nice warriors will take me wherever I want to go. I've been sneaking down to have tea with Magnus and Sebastian."

"Magnus, huh?" Grant asked smiling.

Marjoram shrugged. "He's not as bad as I thought he'd be for a vampire."

Ellie brushed the crumbs her fallen cookie had created around the table. "Does that mean you'll stay too? After the children are well."

"Of course, I'm staying. Even without taking the sick children into consideration, this place is a powder keg waiting to blow. I'm not leaving the two of you and Avery here on your own."

"You're more than welcome to move into our home," Grant offered.

Marjoram shook her head. "Not if I want great-grandchildren any time soon. I need to stay out from underfoot."

"Gram!" Ellie exclaimed, blushing.

"Hush now. I'm not so old that I don't remember what being mated is like. If you only knew how many times you almost caught your grandfather and I in the kitchen." Her grandmother wagged her brows.

"Ugh! I don't need those images!" Ellie covered her eyes, and Marjoram laughed.

"Spontaneity keeps your sex life intriguing." She winked at Grant who grinned back at her.

"I'm scarred for life," Ellie complained, reaching for another cookie.

Marjoram patted her arm. "You'll live. No, I've already gotten permission to stay here. Later, if the wolves decide to return to Texas, those two adorable redheaded twins have offered to carve me out a home on the Unit Level. But for right now, I'm comfortable being around other shifters."

Grant finished his milk and stood. When he reached for his plate, Marjoram waved him off. "I'll get this," she offered.

Grant offered Ellie his hand when she stood. "Come on, we need to start practicing."

Ellie frowned. "Practicing what?"

"Baby making."

"Grant!"

"I wouldn't mind a great-grandson or two," Marjoram chuckled.

"You're both incorrigible!"

"Yes dear, we know. Goodnight!" her grandmother said, shooing her out of the kitchen.

Grant chased Ellie up the stairs to their room. As the door shut, he was already stripping. She hesitated; it felt like her newfound confidence had evaporated like a shallow puddle on a summer day.

When she looked up, he was waiting for her, completely naked, arms crossed. "Well?"

Please don't let me make a fool of myself, she pleaded.

Slowly, she untied the knot on the black wrap dress. It opened like a robe, and she let it fall to the floor. Luckily, she had packed the black corset style bustier and garters that went with this dress. It was the only way she had a small enough waist to make the dress work.

Grant stared, his mouth open. When he started to take a step forward, his feet got caught up in his pants, and he went down hard.

"Grant!" She knelt beside him. "Are you okay?"

He picked himself up so that he was on all fours. He looked at her kneeling beside him, and his eyes flashed yellow. "Mine," he growled.

She held up a hand. "Maybe we could turn off the lights?"

Though his eyes remained golden, the lust dimmed a bit. "Why?"

"This outfit is hiding a lot." She pointed to the corset.

He leered at her. "I know." He licked his lips.

"I meant fat rolls; please turn off the light."

"You didn't have any problem the first time we were together."

"You had just offered to go down on me. I wasn't going to distract you."

"And you were fine when we claimed each other."

"We were in your forest, and it was dark."

He tilted his head. "You do know I can see in the dark, right?"