Setting the glass on the counter, I look at Lucas, needing to see his calm and handsome face.
“Let’s go to bed,” he tells me.
“I will stay to keep watch,” Julian says. “Your father wants me to keep watch for as long as I can.”
“It won’t alert any of your lovely relatives to her whereabouts, will it?” Lucas asks.
“It shouldn’t. Unlike archangels, it’s not out of the question for an angel to be on earth. Especially given everything going on. I will leave before anyone tracks me.”
“Good.” I let out a sigh. “How the hell am I supposed to sleep knowing the Horsemen are planning something worse than what they’ve already done?”
“They won’t strike tonight. If the Horsemen are indeed working together, they will take time to make sure everything is orchestrated to their advantage.”
“Immortal beings are patient,” Lucas reminds me. “When you have forever to execute your plan, you wait until the timing is right.”
He’s right, and we’ve seen it unfold in front of us before. Or, rather, we saw it not unfold before us, since the vampire trying to blackmail Lucas has the patience of a saint…and the bloodlust of a devil.
“Okay. Binx and Freya will stay with you. Scarlet wants to as well,” I add, sensing her hope to be able to tear something apart. “Pandora, you’re coming upstairs with me.” My calico familiar meows softly, letting me know she’s going to keep watch while I sleep. “Thanks, Jules. You remember how to work the TV, right?”
“Right. Do not worry tonight, Callie. You will wake to see the light of another day.”
I smile, thinking of a nice way to tell him that his doom-and-gloom way of talking makes me even more anxious. I take another small sip of water and go upstairs with Lucas. We get ready for bed together, and Lucas turns on the heated blanket. Pandora curls up on the bench at the foot of the bed, getting comfy but not going to sleep. She’ll keep watch, offering another level of peace of mind so Lucas and I can both sleep.
“You need blood,” I tell Lucas as we settle into bed. “You haven’t had any today.”
“I did during sex.”
“That doesn’t count. It’d be like me saying I licked my sandwich and considered that my dinner.”
Lucas grumbles. “I’ll eat tomorrow.”
“Eat now. And don’t even think about making an I ate your pussy comment, because I know you did and you did a fantastic job. You need your strength, Lucas. I need it.” I extend my arm, offering my wrist to him, though I already know he’s going to turn me down.
“You need your blood more than I do.” He kisses my arm and lowers it under the covers. “I’ll have Eliza bring blood over tomorrow.” I can hear the disgust in his voice as he speaks. Lucas, by principle that vampires are indeed better than humans, had refused to drink anything that wasn’t fresh out of a human until I got pregnant. And now the fact that my husband drinks from a stolen blood bag is making me all emotional. I hadn’t really thought about it like this before. He set his pride aside with no hesitation for his family.
“Then sleep. When you don’t get enough blood, you have to sleep.”
“I will sleep,” he assures me. “A few hours is more than enough for me.” He pulls my tank top up so he can rub my back. “You, on the other hand, shouldn’t wake until morning.”
“Tell that to my bladder,” I grumble, and Lucas laughs softly. “I love you. I’ve said it a lot lately but also not enough. The world’s possible end makes me want to tell you how much I love you.”
“Don’t think about the world ending.” He moves a little closer, adjusting the pillow that I have wedged under my back to keep me on my side. It’ll be so fucking nice when I can sleep on my back or my stomach again. “I love you, Callie, more than you’ll ever know, and enough to tell you to stop talking, close your eyes, and go to sleep.”
He kisses my neck, and I smile, doing just that. With him rubbing my back and the utter exhaustion from the last few days, I end up falling asleep much faster than I thought. I wake a few hours later needing to pee. Annoyed, tired, and not wanting to get out of bed, I reach over for Lucas. He’s not in his spot, and it takes me a few seconds to realize he’s still in bed with me but has just moved down. I can hear him talking softly. Is he on the phone? I blink a few times, adjusting my eyes to the dim glow of the hallway light coming through the bedroom doors.
Lucas’s head is resting on the pillow right by my stomach, and he has one hand on it. He says something again, too soft for me to make out, and I realize he’s talking to the baby. I lie perfectly still, heart melting as I listen to Lucas talk to his daughter. My eyes fill with tears that roll down my cheeks when I blink.