Diana Racine 02 - Goddess of the Moon

children in her arms while Seth watched. In less than six months they had grown and changed .
    “They’re more beautiful than I remembered.” Phillip, named for his grandfather, held back, reserved. W hy wouldn’t he? He hardly knew her. A few times a year for a couple of days was a second in time to a ten-year old. He was a clone of his father ― tall for his age, with eyes as black as onyx, olive skin and black hair. She spoke to him, but he answered in one-syllable words. When she pulled him close, he resisted.
    “Have you forgotten me already?” she asked.
    He looked toward his father, as if asking permission to speak. “No,” he said softly.
    “You’re not afraid of me, are you?”
    Again, a furtive glance at Seth. “No.”
    That’s all she could get from him. He backed away, but he didn’t go to Seth either. He stood as if disconnected from all the others. It wasn’t shyness but something else. Something she couldn’t put her finger on. Her heart broke.
    Iris responded more effusively . At six, she was a heartbreaker , with slightly lighter coloring, blonde hair, and eyes that matched her name ― a combination to make hearts flutter. She was all girl , and Maia could see the indoctrination in full nurture. She played her father like a woman, batting her long lashes and cajoling to get what she wanted. Oh, yes, Iris wa s the perfect little temptress.
    Three -year old Leo—a mixture of both parents , had the blackest hair and bluest eyes and Maia’s pale skin . She named him Leo because he fought with the strength of a lion to be born, in spi te of her fighting against his co nception. Unlike the others, he clung to her fiercely, and she held him, caressing his soft velvet skin, breathing in his l ittle boy scent.
    Maia’s eyes filled with tears from the emotional response, which convinced her even more that the stolen babies must be returned to their birth parents.
    A beautiful young girl around the age of twelve came into the room and beckoned the children to follow for their lunch. Maia knew she was the granddaughter of Martin Easley. The rule was never before sixteen, so this adolescent , already showing the buds of puberty, would enjoy a few years of innocence before she was with a child of her own. Still too young, unless, in desperation, the rules had changed. Maia had been nineteen, Dione eighteen before they gave birth the first time . Brigid and Nona were younger. She clung to Leo as long as she could before he was tugged away. Tears now fell without shame as she crouched empty - armed.
    She needed her children to be part of her life.
    Seth came up behind her, lifted her, and pulled her close, cupping her breasts. He spoke, breath hot in her ear. “Seeing you with the children convinced me you be long here , with them and with me. Can’t you see how right it is?”
    She literally fell back into his arms, weak with despair. Everything here was so far from right. Wh y had she never seen it before?
    Seth turned her around into his arms. She felt safe with his strength wrapped around her. How could she find comfort with him ? But she did. She always had. He pressed against her, and the ache of need overwhelm ed her. She tightened her hold.
    “I want you so much, Maia. Just breathing you in fills my senses.” His lips covered hers.
    She parted them to let his tongue touch hers at the same time he unbuttoned her blouse and reached around back to unsnap her bra. As much as she wanted to fight against him, she couldn’t ignore the sparks his caress ignited. Gently, his fingers grazed her body . Desire filled her. This was what she was groomed for, willingly or not, wasn’t it? she asked herself as he led her to her room, to her bed. She was a fertility goddess in his hold , without choice, without will.
    “You ’ re still the most beautiful.” He undressed her as if she were made of fine porcelain, removing each article of clothing with tenderness, stroking her skin. Free from her restrictions, her training took over, and she caressed herself because she knew it made him want her more. He shed his clothes in the golden light, his dark skin glistening, a man whose confidence rippled in his lean, muscular body . H is erection pressed hard against her thigh as he lay down beside her.
    From the beginning, Seth’s control amazed her. S he’d never been with another and could make no comparisons, but her sister spoke of other men’s eagerness. Seth always took his time, pleasuring her