The paper crinkled beneath Siona as she shifted on the exam table. Forcing herself to stop fidgeting in the empty doctor’s office, she took a deep breath and placed a hesitant hand on the small bump that was her lower abdomen. Siona thought wryly that she should be used to medical exams by now, Michael liked to perform one on her every other day or so. The problem was Siona had grown used to her lover going over her body, reading the stats, taking the tests. Siona trusted him. Now, sitting in the posh Upper East Side OB/GYN’s office, Siona had never felt more alone.
Michael had decided that Siona needed to see a specialist. His anxiety regarding her pregnancy had reached its breaking point in her third month, when Michael had become an absolute bear to live with. Realizing that Michael needed help, Valad had casually suggested that Siona could see a human doctor to verify Michael’s reports. At first, Michael had balked at the idea of including an outsider, but slowly he started to realize they needed someone with more perspective. So there Siona sat, dressed in jeans with a hair tie around the button to extend the waistband, sweating on the quickly crinkling paper.
When the light knock on the door sounded, Siona jumped in response.
“Sorry, I didn’t mean to scare you.”
Turning, Siona could see that the doctor was a light-skinned, African American woman with a soft, soothing voice and a friendly smile. The woman came in the room dressed in a long white lab coat with a pencil skirt and pumps. She was followed by a nurse wheeling a sonogram machine. The machine made her stomach drop. What if they found something?
Siona gave a tentative smile, “No, I’m sorry. I’ve been sitting in the room for too long alone. The anticipation gets to you.”
“We’re always a little busy, but that’s because we take such good care of our patients. I’m Dr. Andrews,” the doctor said, shifting an iPad and extending her hand “It’s nice to meet you.”
“Yes, nice to meet you too.” Siona gave the woman a firm handshake and then let her hand drop back to her stomach. Michael had said everything looked fine, but what if it wasn’t, well, normal? Siona’s gut clenched in response to the thought.
The doctor took in her pained expression and quickly swiped through the electronic chart. “It says here you’re around seventeen weeks. Your nausea should have dissipated by this point. Are you still feeling ill?”
Siona rolled her eyes. “No, just nervous.”
Dr. Andrews looked back down to her iPad. “Looking through the files we have, it appears as though everything is right on track. Did you have a reason for switching doctors at this point in your pregnancy? Any concerns?”
Biting her lip, Siona considered, but telling the doctor that the father was a vampire seemed a little too outside the box. Instead she lied, “nope, I’ve just never liked going to the doctor myself.”
Dr. Andrews smiled. “We get that a lot.” Setting the tablet down she motioned for Siona to lie back. “Let’s just get you measured and then we can peek in on a sonogram, just make sure that everything is progressing.”
Pulling out a yellow tape measure, the doctor measured the circumference of Siona’s small bump and nodded. “That’s right on track. Now let’s check the heartbeat.”
This was Siona’s favorite part. Hearing the quick gallop of the baby’s heart gave her the momentary relief that the baby was alive and well within her. When the beats rang out loud and clear in the small office, both Dr. Andrews and Siona shared a smile.
“Nice and strong. Easy to find too, that’s always a good sign. Now for the fun part.” Dr. Andrews moved to the countertop in the corner of the room and removed a bottle of blue gel from a stand.
“What’s that?” Siona questioned as the Doctor approached her with the unknown substance.
“It’s gel to help the sonogram wand. We keep it warm here. Only the best for our mothers-to-be. You won’t even have a moment’s discomfort with cold.”
Dr. Andrews squirted the gel on Siona’s lower abdomen, neatly tucking the edges of her jeans down to avoid getting blue on them. Siona was a bit embarrassed, “I know I need to invest in new pants.”
“I can promise that you will be far more comfortable. There is a ‘Pea in the Pod’ down the street. If you haven’t already checked it out. It might be time for a shopping spree.” Dr. Andrews threw out the suggestion with a smile as she tapped a few buttons on the sonogram machine. Next, she quietly asked the nurse to turn down the lights, and Siona held her breath. All of a sudden, a grainy image popped onto the screen. Dr. Andrews moved the wand across Siona’s abdomen pressing in here and there to get a better view. A few taps later and suddenly Siona could make sense of it all.
Dr. Andrews sat back. “There’s your baby.”
There was the perfect profile of her child. Siona could see the little nose and the lips moving along with hands and feet that were kicking and swimming around. Siona didn’t even realize she was crying until the nurse silently handed her a tissue.
“Oh my god, it really is a little person in there.”
Dr. Andrews laughed. “It really is. I’ll print you a few pictures of the baby before I move on to do some measurements, but it’s safe to say that it really is a baby in here. It’s actually quite normal to be surprised by that fact.”
Siona laughed, thinking that the woman didn’t have a clue, but her eyes stayed glued to the screen. While the full view of her child had been her favorite, Siona tried to follow along as Dr. Andrews took her on a tour of the rest of her baby’s anatomy. Siona admitted that some of the views were indecipherable, but others showed close-up impressions of tiny little fingers and toes or the rounded belly of her baby.
When it was all over, Dr. Andrews announced that everything looked great. Siona felt lighter than she had in months. She was sent off with a prescription for prenatal vitamins and an order to keep doing what she was doing. As far as Dr. Andrews was concerned, Siona had a happy, healthy, and normal pregnancy.
Siona was elated, walking out of the office, she realized she had some hours to kill until the boys woke up and she just wasn’t ready to go home and sit alone. It was only six and Valad and Michael would be asleep till at least eight. Maybe she should treat herself before going home. No pregnant woman should have to walk around with a hair tie holding up her pants.
As they exited the building, Siona asked the driver, Rafael, if they could make a pit stop down the block at the maternity store. Thus far, the large black man had remained silent in the face of Siona’s questions and seemed to follow only internal orders from Valad or Michael. In truth, he looked more like a bodyguard than a driver. In her head, Siona nicknamed him Rambo. After her request, Rambo made a quiet call. To whom, Siona didn’t know, as she had it on good authority—Mrs. Kettle’s—that both men were still asleep. However, Rafael quickly assured her that the trip was approved and demanded that Siona get in the car for the block and a half ride to the store.
Siona rolled her eyes as she slid into the town car, but nothing could dampen the joy at knowing that her child was healthy. Now she wanted to celebrate by breaking Valad and Michael’s bank card at the store. No more tight clothing for her—Siona was ready to embrace this pregnancy and her child right along with it.
***
Michael was pacing the floor of the library. He never should have let Siona go into the city with only Rafael as a guard. The human was their best line of defense, a shadow that held the fort during the light of day, but even he might not be enough to care for Siona in the face of an accident or dragons.
Michael was brought up short at the thought. Dragons. He hadn’t considered the fact that the blaze may have found out about Siona, or that they might know about the appointment, or that they might attack at any point in time. Michael’s mind whirled, especially a point where only a lightly magically enhanced human guarded Siona and their child…
Dragging a hand across his face, Michael let out a low sound of anguish. This was all a very bad idea. How had Siona and Valad talked him into this?
Michael turned and gave Valad the evil eye. Draped across the end of a, god help him, sectional couch, Valad looked cool and relaxed. Clad in a t-shirt and jeans, the vampire was flipping through the Times, looking every bit the bored aristocrat he had not been born.
“You don’t know that. I was just thinking that we gave the dragons the perfect opening to take everything from us. Everything. We need to be more careful in the future.” Michael huffed out a breath and settled his fists on jean-clad hips.
Not even looking up from his newspaper, Valad responded to the worry. “Michael, all they care about is the gateway. A gateway they can’t open without our consent. Why would they even think that we have another person on our radar?”
“Well, if they have any sort of intel, they must know that we have a human in our care,” Michael tried to point out logically.
Valad set down the paper and waved his hand. “All vampires have some humans in their care; it’s a necessity of living in the human realm. Siona is guarded well because not only has she only rarely been in public, she’s new to our family. Strategically she doesn’t make for a good target.”
Turning to face the soccer game playing silently on the big flat screen TV, Michael considered strategy. “What about the village? That’s a lot of humans who know we take a girl—that know we recently took a girl.”
Valad paused, considering, “I believe that they all assume we eat the girl.”
“We let Siona contact her friend. That was a mistake on our part,” Michael ground out as he watched the tiny white ball slip past the human and stretch the black net back. Goal, he thought as the crowd silently roared.
“Kayla is Siona’s best friend. Not a threat,” Valad called out strongly from behind Michael.
Michael nodded his ascent. Valad was correct. Kayla wasn’t an enemy, but she was their weakest link. Turning, Michael checked the time again on the mantel clock. It was almost eight. Siona was bound to be starving. How long did it take to get down the damn driveway? Pacing the newly renovated library was now an errand in obstacle maneuvering. Little side tables and large overstuffed furniture had pushed precious works of art into niches and cabinets. Michael knew it was still an eclectic space, filled with Valad’s collection of art from the past centuries. But it was no longer the cool, adult gallery space it had once been. Now it oozed an aura of comfort and family, strewn with small toe-catchers like the tall iron birdhouse currently holding a plant. The thing tipped precariously as Michael’s elbow caught one of its ornate branches. Why they needed such things was beyond Michael, but it seemed to make Siona happy.
Michael straightened the iron birdhouse as the door to the library opened. Rafael walked into the room first, hands laden with two bright green bags with a big white leafy peapod on the side. The large, quiet man set the bags down on the floor, revealing Siona dressed in a fitted t-shirt and patterned maxi skirt. Michael quickly took in her form and thought that something looked different.
“You finally have some clothing that fits!” Valad exclaimed, getting up from the couch and standing next to Michael. Placing a hand on Michael’s shoulder, Valad continued, “Doesn’t she look lovely?”
Siona’s cheeks flushed with the compliment and turned in a slow circle. Michael could see now that tight t-shirt was what he had noticed. Her small bump was showcased by the cut and that the low V of the shirt showed off Siona’s growing bust line. His mouth went dry at the sight of the cleavage, but he focused on getting the news first before embracing her voluptuous figure.
“What did the doctor say?” Michael finally forced out. He could feel Valad’s cold stare berating him for his abrupt statement, but Siona simply glowed with pleasure at the question.
Searching in her purse, she gently pulled out a long strip of paper, scanning it before turning it to the boys. Michael took the black and white photos in his hands. The paper wasn’t thick, he could feel that the tension in his fingers was starting to bend the image. Michael moved to the very edge of the paper and inspected the grainy picture.
It looked perfect. Even after Valad plucked the paper from his hands, Michael continued to look over every line and bump.
“The baby is completely normal then?” Michael looked at Siona hopefully.
Siona gushed, “Dr. Andrews said that I was utterly boring. Absolutely nothing special about the pregnancy. It’s all completely normal.”
Michael moved forward and took Siona’s hands and looking deep into her eyes, he could see the happiness sparkling out. She looked beautiful.
“You like the doctor then?” Michael asked quietly. He needed this final bit of confirmation before he could fully relax for a bit.
Even an eye-roll couldn’t dampen the teasing in her eyes. “Yes, you can be done with me now. Dr. Andrews is lovely. I felt very comfortable with her.”
Michael dropped her hands, his eyebrows furrowing, “No, I…”
But he didn’t get to finish, Valad couldn’t take it anymore. Michael was pushed aside and Valad swept in to scoop Siona off her feet. Laughter rang out as she spun in Valad’s strong arms. “I couldn’t be happier, my love. I can’t believe we’re having a baby.”
Siona’s laughter grew husky as Valad set her back on her feet. Michael watched as Valad’s hand threaded up into Siona’s long dark hair.
“I love you my darling,” Valad whispered as his forehead touched Siona’s. The moment was intimate; incredibly private in a way that nothing had been between them before. It was as if in the seconds when Michael had been trying to verify her health, he had lost something in the relationship with Valad and Siona. Michael stood there, wondering if what he had lost was his place in it.
CHAPTER TWELVE
Siona turned side to side in the mirror. The cool breeze had not deceived her, the ruched t-shirt she had just purchased at The Pea in the Pod a few weeks before didn’t quite reach the top of her gold silk maternity skirt.
“Do you think I’m even bigger than yesterday? Is that possible?”
Siona watched as Valad moved behind her, his long length molding to her backside. She tilted her head to the side, loving the look and the feel of his big, pale hands as they smoothed from her lower back around the curve of her waist and over the swell of her stomach.
“We would have to ask Michael if that’s possible when he gets back,” Valad murmured as he dipped his lips to the curve of Siona’s neck. “But I think you might need a few more pieces in your wardrobe, anyway. Do you want to take Rafael into the city again? Grab a few more things?”
Siona didn’t answer right away, enjoying the feel of Valad’s cool breath against her skin. In the mirror, Siona could see Valad assess the situation. Taking in her half lidded eyes and gently parted lips, he gave a smile of pure masculinity and lifted the hem of the t-shirt.
“I think since this doesn’t really fit anymore, we should get rid of it. Don’t you think?” His voice sounded like innocence, but his hands were moving like sin. Divesting Siona of her shirt, Valad’s hands moved up to the lush curves of her breasts. Siona closed her eyes in the anticipation of pleasure. Since becoming pregnant, her nipples were so sensitive. Touching them alone could almost make her orgasm.
Siona felt every move Valad made over the smooth satin of her bra. When he traced the skin at the edge of the bra’s cup, Siona sucked in a deep breath. The scent of sandalwood and man that followed only intensified her need.
“If you keep this up I’m never going to get to the store,” Siona managed to whisper before her desire became too great.
Valad’s hands gave her breasts one final tweak and dropped back down over her curves, before finally leaving her body all together. Handing her t-shirt back, he gave Siona a good pout. Siona rolled her eye
s at Valad’s image in the mirror, “You know you can have more of this later. It’s not my fault you woke up early. I want to run my errand while I still have time.”
“I understand my love, but I have needs too... or have you forgotten?” Valad’s sharp incisor scraped across Siona’s vein. Valad had her in a full court press to allow the boys to take her vein. They promised she would enjoy it as much as they would, but Siona was still unsure about the act. Sex was already so good between the three of them…
Stepping away for her purse, Siona said, “You will just have to wait, Valad. The early bird does not get the worm today.”
Valad’s shoulders slumped. He was giving up pursuit for now, and Siona felt the tension leave her body because of it. Giving Valad one final kiss, she stepped out into the hallway to join Raphael at the door.
“Will you be back in time for dinner?” Valad called out from behind her.
Siona checked her watch. “Yeah, a late one I think. Will Michael be home in time?”
“He thought so before he went to bed for the day,” Valad smiled.
“The man works like clockwork,” Siona said with a smile. “I’m sure you’ll see him shortly.”
With that, Siona and Raphael walked through the first set of double doors and moved out into the fading sunlight of the fall day.
***
Siona was considering a pale blue sweater dress when a voice demanded her attention.
“Girl, you have some explaining to do.”
Siona’s stomach dropped. She knew that voice—it belonged to one of her most favorite people in the world... and one that recently Siona was trying very hard to avoid. Turning she saw the sight of her beautiful and currently pink-haired best friend teetering toward her on some sky-high leather boots.
“Kayla! What in the world are you doing in a maternity store?” Siona wondered how New York City had suddenly become so small. Surely, her fashion-obsessed friend belonged in other boutiques—ones that included crop tops and sweaters similar to the look Kayla was currently rocking.
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