Bedlam Read online

  SILVER:

  Bedlam

  Written By

  Keira Michelle Telford

  Copyright © Keira Michelle Telford 2014

  Venatic Press

  All Rights Reserved

  Cover image copyright

  Unholy Vault Designs/Shutterstock.com

  This is a work of fiction. Names, characters, businesses, places, events, and incidents are either the products of the author’s imagination, or used in a fictitious manner. Any resemblance to actual persons, living or dead, or actual events is purely coincidental.

  www.venaticpress.com

  Other Books in the Series…

  The Amaranthe Chronicles

  SILVER: Acheron (A River of Pain)

  SILVER: The Lost & Damned

  SILVER: Entropy

  SILVER: A New Age Dawns

  SILVER: Quietus

  SILVER: Inamorato

  SILVER: Invidia

  The Outlier Trilogy

  SILVER: Lex Talionis

  PROLOGUE

  The Sentinel District

  Amaranthe, 2349 CE

  Shifting uneasily in bed, Ella ‘Silver’ Cross rolls over and checks the time on her alarm clock. It’s barely dawn. She’s been lying awake for precisely one hour and thirty-eight minutes, and now she has to pee.

  Groaning, she flings back the covers and wiggles her heavily pregnant self to the edge of the bed. She can’t remember the last time she slept well. Prevented from sleeping in all the positions she normally finds so comfortable, she inevitably tosses and turns, using a combination of pillows and blankets to prop between her legs, under her back, or sometimes over her face to smother her screams of frustration.

  Tiptoeing out of the bedroom that used to be her father’s, she pads barefoot to the bathroom and relieves her bladder, then splashes cool water on her face, sighing at her reflection in the mirror.

  Her maternity nightdress is much too frilly, and she cringes at the woman staring back at her. With her long blonde hair down, the nipples of her pregnancy swollen breasts sticking straight out, and her round belly, she looks decidedly feminine—a far cry from the woman she remembers in a Hunter Division uniform with a gun in each hand.

  Ugh.

  She rolls her steely gray eyes, turning away from the stranger she’s become.

  Trying to take her mind off the unwelcome prospect of giving birth, and all the anxiety that brings with it, she putters around the house, busying herself with the mundane—starting with the laundry.

  She sets the first load to spin, finding one of her husband’s Hunter Division uniforms lying in a puddle of coagulated blood in the middle of the tiled laundry room floor, his name embroidered above the chest pocket of the Kevlar vest.

  Alexander King.

  Hunter General.

  A sudden flood of jealousy accompanies a ripple of pride and a mini stomach somersault. Sure, it’s nice to be bedding the Hunter General. But sadly, it’s not quite as nice as being the Hunter General, which she was until impending motherhood forced her to resign.

  She looks down at her baby bump. “I’m going back to work as soon as you’re out of me,” she warns, wagging a finger.

  Baby responds with a kick to her bladder.

  “Gimme a fucking break,” Silver groans, heading for the kitchen.

  She’s lived in this house virtually her entire life, but little’s changed since her father’s death. Much of the furniture is his, and there’s still a pair of his shoes in the hallway closet—she’d resisted all of Alex’s attempts to dispose of them.

  Preparing for breakfast, she grabs some bowls and spoons, but fumbles a box of cereal as she plucks it from the top shelf, her baby choosing that moment to begin a full-on acrobatic routine.

  The cereal box tumbles through the air, spilling colored whole wheat flakes all over the floor, and she presses a hand to her belly, chastising the infant within, gasping when she feels a pair of warm hands slip around her waist.

  “What’re you doing up so early?” Alex kisses her neck.

  “Ask your baby.” Silver welcomes his touch, leaning into his embrace. “She was the one who woke me.”

  “It won’t be long now.” He kisses her again, feeling his unborn child move inside her. “A few more weeks.”

  “Better make the most of this pregnant belly while I still have it, then,” Silver teases him.

  “Oh, yeah?” He nibbles on her ear. “Why? You don’t wanna have another one?”

  “Are you serious?” She spins to face him, finding him already dressed in full regulation Hunter Division uniform.

  Alex slides his hands down to her ass, pulling her as close as he can, her belly pressed tightly against him. “Pregnancy is so sexy.” He moves in for a kiss.

  “Really?” Silver breaks her lips away. “Having to kiss me from forty feet away is sexy?” She pulls a face.

  He instigates another kiss, nudging her up to the counter, one of his hands searching for a route between her legs.

  “Do we have time for this?” She holds him off. “Won’t you be late for work?”

  He shrugs. “I’ll just say we had a false alarm.” He makes another bid for entry to her sex. “You had labor pains, thought the baby was coming, and I—being the attentive husband that I am—had to be here with you.”

  “You wanna use up that excuse already?”

  “You’re eight months pregnant. That excuse is golden from now until the baby’s born. Besides”—he takes her hand and places it on his crotch—“I can’t very well go into work like this.”

  Silver palms his groin, an erection straining in his pants. “This thing gets me into so much trouble.” She squeezes him.

  “Turn around.” He withdraws his hands from her and unbuckles his belt.

  “We can’t do this here.” She slaps his arm.

  “Why not?” He unzips himself, pulling his engorged cock free. “Turn around and grip the counter.”

  Silver tries to appear disapproving, but the look doesn’t stick. Three days unshaven, he’s ruggedly handsome, with a thick mop of salt-and-peppery, windswept hair and delightfully symmetrical cheekbones. She can’t help it. She wants to fuck him.

  With that in mind, she does as he asks and bends over the counter. “Be quick.”

  Stroking his cock with one hand, he cups her sex with the other, feeling her to make sure she’s ready to take him before he pushes himself inside her—but she’s not in the mood for gentility.

  “Hurry up and get your cock in me,” she demands, thrusting her ass at him.

  “Yes, ma’am.” Alex tugs the gusset of her panties aside, lines himself up, and rams himself in, all the way up to the hilt in one smooth stroke, almost reaching the pinnacle of excitement as soon as he hits bottom.

  “Jesus …” He holds himself still, waiting for the threat to pass.

  But Silver’s having none of it.

  “Fuck me!” she growls, squeezing her cunt around him. “Now!”

  “Fine.” He seizes her hips. “Have it your way.”

  He starts plunging hard and fast inside her, impaling her on his thick shaft, exercising every bit of self-control he can muster in the hope of holding off his climax just long enough to get her on the cusp of her own, knowing that his ejaculation will be the catalyst for her peak.

  The pressure starts to build, but she won’t let him slow down, and a faint moan from her lips drives him even closer.

  “Oh, god …” He pulls her nightdress up over her belly, holding her firm, pregnant stomach while he fucks her. “You’re gonna kill me.”

  Feeling his balls tighten, he lets out a guttural roar, letting her know his spillage is imminent and unstoppable. Then he feels it: the walls of her deep sex clenching around him, milking him
for all he’s worth.

  He unloads.

  And just in time.

  No sooner has he zipped himself up and two young children come running into the kitchen, both yelling “Mommy!” and “Daddy!” and demanding their attention.

  “Aaaaand they’re awake.” Silver straightens up and catches her breath, making sure her nightdress and panties are back in place.

  First into the room is a pajama-clad five-year-old boy with a thick mop of sandy-colored hair and deep brown eyes—just like his father’s.

  Alex sweeps him into his arms. “How’s my little guy doing today?”

  “I had a dream about spiders and eggshells.”

  “Interesting combo.” Alex ruffles his hair, planting a kiss on the top of his head before seating him at the kitchen table.

  Next into the room is a three-year-old girl in a bright pink princess dress, all sequins and lace. The diminutive brunette runs to Silver, holding her arms up, her blue eyes gleaming.

  “Uppies!”

  “I can’t pick you up right now, Jessi. I’m already carrying your little sister.”

  The girl pouts, but doesn’t otherwise protest. “This a pink day!” she exclaims, spinning in clumsy circles, making her dress flare.

  Silver quirks an eyebrow at her. “How did I birth you?”

  While she gets the girl settled at the table for breakfast and Alex cleans cereal off the floor, the boy slides out of his chair, returning a few moments later with a guinea pig in his hands.

  “Can I take Bailey to school?”

  “No, Tyke, you may not take your pet guinea pig to school.” Silver swats Alex away as he tries to get a sneaky grope of her ass.

  Undeterred, Tyke plops the fuzzy orange guinea pig down on the kitchen table.

  “Come on, Tyke.” Silver sighs. “Not at the table.” She scoops Bailey the pig up and turns to Alex, flashing him a look of exasperation. “And you want a fourth one of these?” she whispers under her breath.

  He follows her into the living room, leaning on the doorjamb, openly admiring the swell of her belly. “Hey, it’s not my fault that birth control’s prohibited for married couples and you can’t keep your hands off me.”

  “I said I was gonna go back to the Hunter Division after the second one, remember?” She sets Bailey down in a large open-top cage laid with snuggly fleece blankets. “Then you did this.” She points to her stomach.

  “It wasn’t all me,” Alex defers some of the blame. “You were there, I think.”

  “Was I?” Silver grins.

  “Yeah, I’m pretty sure.” He creeps up behind her. “It was our anniversary, we were in the backseat of my car, and I seem to recall you were begging for me to come inside you.” He starts lightly humping her rump. “I think it sounded a bit like ‘Come in me, Alex! Yes, yes, yes!’. Does that sound familiar?”

  “Maybe a little.” Silver smirks.

  “Then we got home and went three more rounds in the bedroom.” He separates from her, feeling himself stiffening again. “At least one of those was a very tender lovemaking session that came to a prompt and sticky end when you cooed ‘I wanna have another baby’.”

  Silver’s jaw drops. “I did not!”

  “You totally did.” Alex shirks all responsibility for it. “You said the words and my cock responded.”

  She covers his mouth, lest the children should hear. “You’re much too potent, and I should know better by now. That’s how we ended up with the second one, too.”

  “Oh, now that one you definitely asked for.”

  Silver blushes uncontrollably. “I was hormonal. You took advantage!”

  “How could I not?” Alex upturns both palms. “You were waiting for me in the Hunter Division loading bay when I got off work. We didn’t even make it home. You threw yourself at me, told me you were ovulating, and we had sex in one of the trucks. What man in his right mind would refuse that?”

  “Hmm.” Silver doesn’t argue; Alex’s version of events does have an air of plausibility about it.

  “And for the record”—Alex holds up a mitigating finger—“I was ready to pull out, but you wouldn’t let me. You wanted me to empty my love seed into you, so I did.”

  “Your love seed?” Silver grimaces. “That doesn’t make it sound creepy or gross at all. Where the hell did you come up with that?”

  Alex shrugs. “Tyke asked me where babies come from and I panicked.”

  “So you told him you emptied your love seed into me?” Silver shakes her head. “Our kids are gonna grow up so warped. What do we call my cunt now? A love funnel?”

  Alex sidles up to her, grinning. “Want some more of my love seed in your love funnel right now? I’m primed and ready to go.”

  Silver shoves him away from her. “Your love seed is still dripping out of me, thanks very much. Anyway, the kids are up and you have to go to work.”

  “I could spare another fifteen minutes.” He tries to tempt her by showing off the fresh bulge in his pants.

  “Fuck off,” she mouths silently, keeping him at arm’s length.

  “Oh, come on,” he teases her. “You know you want it.”

  “I want it too much, that’s the trouble.” She locks eyes with him, wanting him to know that she’s serious. “You should get a vasectomy.”

  Alex peers down at his crotch, his erection wilting. “Look what you did! You scared him away.”

  “Is that all it takes? Good. Now I know your cock Kryptonite.” She winks.

  “Don’t get too confident.” He moves crazy, unbrushed hair away from her face and caresses her cheek. “I know your weakness, too.” He steps up close, his breath hot against her neck. “You love bearing me children.”

  She nuzzles his palm. “I do, you bastard.”

  “Remember that this time next year when you see that second pink line appear on the stick.”

  She kisses his palm. “What the fuck did you do to me? I used to be this hardcore Hunter with single-minded ambition, and then one day you convinced me to let you impregnate me and now here we both are. As soon as we get one off milk and diapers, you manage to knock me up again.”

  “Is that really how you remember it? That I ‘convinced’ you to let me get you pregnant?” Alex huffs at her. “The way I remember it, we went to a baby shower for some friend of yours, then you got all broody. We got drunk, removed your birth control implant, and started fucking like a pair of rabbits.”

  “Language!” Silver slaps his chest, reminding him that the children are in earshot.

  Alex continues without pause. “We pooled our vacation time, took four months off work, and I sealed the deal in your first cycle.” He swoops in behind her. “By the time vacation was over, you were just starting to show.” He strokes her belly. “You made me a very happy man that summer.”

  The baby kicks.

  “Ooh!” Silver presses Alex’s hand lower on her stomach. “Did you feel that?”

  Alex grins from ear to ear. “I love being a father, Silver. I love that you wanted to do this with me.” He rubs his hand back and forth over her lower belly. “I loved the woman you were before, and I love the woman you are now.” He plants a kiss on her. “I’ve always loved everything about you.”

  Silver stays his hand. “Stop that before you get yourself all worked up again.”

  Before he can argue with her, she calls the children in.

  “Jessi! Tyke! Come in here and say goodbye to your daddy.”

  The goodbyes are short and sweet with hugs all around, Alex lifting both children into his arms to kiss their foreheads, telling them to be good for their mommy.

  Then, it’s Silver’s turn.

  “See you later, Lyriel.” He kisses her belly. “And you, Mommy.” He kisses her lips sweetly. “I love you.”

  “I love you, too. And hey”—she grabs his Kevlar vest and holds him back as he heads out the door—“be safe today, General.” She yanks him into another kiss. “I need you.”

  Alex wakes up in
unfamiliar surroundings, in an unfamiliar bed, momentarily disoriented. It’s late, moonlight spilling in through a skylight window, and his dreams have left him with a throbbing erection.

  He reaches beneath the covers and takes his cock in his hand, finding the swollen, bulbous head covered with crusted sex fluids.

  That brings some recollection back.

  In the silence of the room, he can hear soft breathing beside him, the warmth of a naked body radiating against him. Propping himself up on his elbows, he looks around, his violet eyes giving him perfect night vision.

  There’s a writing desk in the corner, a selection of glitter nail polishes atop it. The carpet is pink. The sloped ceiling is painted midnight blue and dotted with glow-in-the-dark stars. A lacy purple thong is dangling off the bedpost. Silver would loathe everything about this place, as well as the person who resides in it.

  He glances down at the sleeping body beside him, the woman’s face half-covered by her short purple hair, her petite breasts exposed.

  It’s twenty-year-old Linx.

  Wincing, Alex clutches his pounding forehead and ruffles his hair, trying to get clear in his jumbled head the events that led him here. He was drunk, he knows that. Were he sober, he couldn’t possibly have been this stupid.

  As the lingering sensations from the dream dissipate, his erection withers and he shuffles out of bed, trying not to wake her.

  He fails.

  “Where are you going?” Linx asks groggily, yawning and rubbing her eyes.

  “Back to my room.” He pulls on his old Hunter Division pants.

  “Stay.” Linx rolls onto her back, tugging the covers down to bare her naked body, hoping to tempt him. “We can go again.”

  He digs through a hastily discarded pile of clothes in search of his shirt, troubled by the fact that there’s no evidence they used a condom. “I can’t.”

  When he finds what he’s looking for, he heads for the door.