His face lights up and he gives me sexy smile. “I feel it was well,” he says, twining his fingers around mine. “You and I were made for each other, Aefre. Anyone else is not enough, but I will allow you your dalliances because I am not here to give you what you need.”
“Have I given you a reason to conduct your business with speed?” I ask, resisting the urge to punch him. I’ll give him “dalliances.”
“Very much so,” he replies and leans forward to press his lips to mine. “There is so much I have to tell you.”
My heart starts to pound, and I try to make it slow down. He will hear it and wonder why I am suddenly so nervous.
“I look forward to it,” I say.
His face clouds over slightly and he says, “I, there are things that I have done…”
I take his face in my hands and kiss him. He isn’t going to tell me now, and I don’t want to give him a reason to not tell me ever. “I love you,” I say. “I trust you. I hope that you feel the same and that you know you can tell me anything.”
His relief is evident, and he nods. “I do,” he says. “I have to go now. I will try to remember to be back for you before you require your needs to be met again.”
“Soon,” I say to him mock sternly and he laughs.
“Yes, very soon, my love.” Then he Astrals off, leaving me reeling in the bathtub.
Next time he will tell me about our daughter I just know it. I am excited and nervous and angry and happy, and it affects the mood of the little baby growing inside me. She sends a little flash of magick through me and it calms me. I must remain relaxed for her sake as well as my own. I can’t blow this in any way, shape, or form when he finally tells me. I sink under the water, letting the lavender seep into my skin and hair and I hover under the surface until CK drags me out from under the water with a panicked look.
I splutter as he hauls me out of the bath, and I shake him off. “I am fine, you idiot,” I say to him.
“You looked…” he says.
“At peace?” I ask archly.
“Dead,” he says flatly.
“Oh,” I say, a little insulted that my “at peace” look is that unflattering. “Let go of me so I can finish bathing. I have something to tell you.”
He reluctantly releases his hold on me, and I climb back into the tub. He perches on the side, hovering attentively.
“First things, are we okay? I didn’t break our deal. You said only until I got pregnant and I have abided by that.” At great personal difficulty to myself and my Demon husband, I might add–although Xane is not aware of the real reason for my hiatus.
“Yes, we are fine, Aefre,” he says. “I know you kept your word.”
I relax then, because I really do not need an argument over this when I have something so much more important to tell him. “What did you say to Sebastian?” I ask casually.
“We had business to conduct. Nothing more,” he says with a slightly shifty look and I guess they went at it again.
“Fine.” I drop that subject to pick up the Remiel one. “While you and Seb were doing whatever it is you do in these moments, I got a visit.”
“From who?” he asks.
“Him,” I say with meaning.
“Oh,” he says. “And?”
What, that’s it?
“I am close. He will tell me next time I see him,” I reveal.
“How do you know?” he asks.
“Because he told me that he has things to tell me,” I say.
“Wait,” he says, standing up suddenly. “You came back here naked and I found you in the tub!” he roars at me.