“Absolutely,” Maurelle says with a harsh look at me, so I shift my gaze to Drake, who is also looking at her with a worried frown. Something is clearly not right here.
Maurelle takes Delinda off to show her the view from the window and I whisper to Drake, “Is everything okay?”
“No,” he says honestly and rubs his hand over his face. “This pregnancy is taking its toll on her.”
“Is there anything I can do?” I ask.
“I don’t know, is there?” he asks me seriously.
“Maybe,” I say and shrug. “What’s the problem?”
“It’s her age,” he says unexpectedly.
Maurelle glares at him from over by the window.
“I’m sorry, my love, but it’s true,” he says. “She is past the normal age for childbearing. It is zapping her strength and her power,” he adds to me.
“Drake,” Maurelle snaps at him, clearly not happy to have her business revealed to the likes of me.
“How much longer?” I ask again.
“A couple of months,” she says and hands Delinda back to Drake. “I will be fine. I will have to be. I cannot in good conscience leave you alone with a new baby to raise.” She gives her husband a sassy, yet tired, smile, and he chuckles at her.
“Okay,” I say, feeling slightly awkward now. “We’ll leave you to get so
me rest.” I take Delinda off Drake and her head droops. She is exhausted and it’s no wonder. It has been a really, really long day. Tomorrow is going to be even worse as that is when I absolutely have to tell her that Remiel is not her father.
I trudge back to Delinda’s bedroom, after wishing my father and Maurelle good night, and lay her down on the bed that has been arranged for her. She looks so tiny in the massive, wooden bed and I am about to curl up around her when CK pops his head in.
“I need you, my sweet,” he says to me.
“Can it wait?” I ask. I am as tired as Delinda is.
“No,” he says firmly and holds his hand out to me.
“What is it?” I ask wearily as he leads me back into my–our–bedroom.
I see dozens of candles lit, grouped in threes, and black roses everywhere.
“I need you,” he says again and now I get his meaning. I am beyond tired and my insides are still torn up over the revelation and the request to let Sebastian take up the mantel as “daddy,” not to mention Devon’s proposal and subsequent hesitation and Maurelle’s illness, but I will do this for him as I can only imagine how he must be feeling after weeks away from me and all that has gone on today. I smile at him and he smiles back knowingly.
“I will do all the work,” he says with a chuckle.
“I am grateful,” I remark. “I know you prefer active partners.”
“I insist on it,” he says, “but for you I will make an exception.”
He kisses me and starts to undo the laces of my gown. It drops to the floor as he tugs on it and then he picks me up and lays me gently on the bed. He removes his own clothes while I watch him, my desire for him burning brightly now that I see him wanting me.
He crawls onto the bed and covers my body with his, dropping his mouth to mine in a sweet, beautiful kiss.
“Gods, I have missed you,” he murmurs before he traces his soft lips down to my neck. My libido fires up now that he grazes his fangs against me, and I whisper to him.
“Drink, my love.”
He doesn’t hesitate to sink his fangs into me, and his low purr makes me wiggle against his cock. He is pressed against my entrance and I want him inside me. I snake my hand down and clasp him tightly. He gasps, releasing his bite, and lets me guide him into me.
“Oh, Aefre,” he says with a sigh and ever so slowly pushes himself deeper. “I want to savor this moment.”