With that he heaved himself out of bed. Oz slept naked. Well, most of them slept naked, except Valery and Eli.
Oz stood, stretching his arms above his head, and his back muscles tensed in all the best ways. My pulse rate sped up, as my eyes slipped down to that glorious ass. I wanted. He turned and smiled over his shoulder, the cocky show off, and I made grabby hands and pouted.
“Not today, sexy mama. Now watch this butt wiggle as I walk away.” He strode out of the bedroom door with an exaggerated sway of his hips. I got up and walked to the shower. At least I could still do this on my own.
I was so sure of myself. And then I dropped the soap. I kicked it around with my toe, trying to get it into a reachable position. No such thing existed for me now. The soap was gone.
Half an hour later, I walked into the kitchen, cleanish. Eli was in the kitchen and Valery was reading the paper.
“Did Valery do a body swap? How did you get him out of the kitchen? Did Lux get out his sword again?” I leaned over the newspaper, and kissed Val good morning.
Lux huffed around his cup of coffee.
“You’ll know when I get my sword out, Arcadia.” Then he winked. It was official, they’d gone crazy.
I kissed Lux and he pulled me onto his lap and kissed me back, with the added bonus of tongue. “Good morning. You look beautiful today.”
It was a lie. I had no hair. My stomach protruded from my too thin body like I’d swallowed a torpedo. But there was no artifice on Lux’s face. He meant his words.
“Thank you. I feel good today. Ready to see the babies.” I stood, with a little help from Lux, and went over to the kitchen.
Eli was cooking bacon, sausages and eggs. The smell didn’t make my stomach turn, and I gave the universe a silent high five. “This looks great,” I said, standing on my toes for a kiss. “Can I kiss the cook?”
“Of course.” He kissed me with delicious softness, then handed me a mug of peppermint tea.
And in that moment, I felt like I had a touch of Lucifer's precognition. This could possibly be our future. Sure, having seven partners sounded exhausting at best, and untenable at worse. But I could be happy like this.
Sam walked in, and I nearly dropped my tea. He’d shaved his head, down to a fine pale fuzz. All gone.
“Your hair!”
He ran a big hand across his scalp. “I wanted to donate it to you, but the hairdresser said it wasn’t long enough. So I just shaved it off in solidarity.” He came over and kissed me, and I ran my fingers over his scalp.
Tolliver wasn’t far behind, usually where there was one, there was the other, and he shut the door behind him.
“I told him he could have just kept growing it, until it was long enough.” He slapped the back of Sam’s head and then kissed my cheek.
“And like I told you, she isn’t going to be still sick by the time my hair gets to twelve inches long. We’ll be sipping mojitos on a beach by then with the kids,” he said stubbornly.
No one spoke. Nothing needed to be said.
“Well. That’d be the only thing that got twelve inches long for Sammy,” Oz said into the silence. I laughed.
“That’s two dick innuendos and it’s not even-” I looked at the clock on the wall. “Holy hell, it's 9’ o'clock. I slept in! We have to go. We’ll never get through peak hour traffic at this rate.” I raced/waddled into the bedroom and threw on yoga pants and one of Oz’s shirts with Chewbacca on the front. It said ‘love bites only’.
Ri stumbled into the room just as I hustled back into the kitchen/dining area. Eli handed me a lunch bag and a travel mug of coffee. I thrust the cup at Ri and shoved him back towards the door.
“No time to stop, we’re running late.”
“Good morning to you too, Beautiful Girl.” I grabbed his hand and pulled him along. I didn’t blame him for sleeping in, he’d worked until late. But today was the day I was going to see my babies in 4D and I was excited.
He opened the lift door and I walked past him. He smacked my butt on the way past, making a little hum of appreciation even though it was now twice as big as it was. He pulled the cage door closed and hit ground. Then he wrapped me in his arms and kissed me like he hadn’t been laid it seven months. Which he basically hadn’t, the poor bastard. His expert lips made me breathless, or maybe it was that he didn't come up for air until we reached the ground floor.
“Who needs coffee when I can wake up like that every day?” He gave my nose a small peck and then we were in the garage. The guy could kiss. Every single time it was like being consumed by red hot heat. I kept waiting for the day he fell flat, but it never came.
He led me toward the Escalade. “Not the Jag?” Yep this was my life now. Having to choose between my luxury coupe and my luxury SUV.
“Nah. Not enough safety features. I was watching a news report about it the other day. Escalade only from now on.”
I raised an eyebrow. “Tell that to Tolliver,” I said as I belted myself into the front seat. At least he didn’t make me sit in the back because it was safer.
The thing about the Escalade, or maybe it was just my circumstances, was that I fell asleep like a narcoleptic every time it began to move. Lights out. When I woke up, the girl in the ticket booth in the hospital car park was trying to chat up Ri.
Seriously. It made me irrationally angry. I wanted to climb out of the car and punch her in the face. He was in the car with a heavily pregnant woman. Where did she get off trying to hit on my guy? Though Ri, bless his heart, was nothing more than polite, waiting for her to give him a ticket and leave.
“You know, if there's a long wait in the waiting room, you're welcome to come down and chat with me,” the ticket booth bimbo said. Seriously, who the hell did she think she was, with her high vis vest tied up like she was Daisy-freakin’-Duke? I snapped my eyes open, and fumbled around for my seatbelt. I was going to smack some manners into this fake-boobed wannabe meter maid. If I could just find the seat belt release. As I fumbled around, I could hear Ace’s hysterical laughter in my head. It was so nice that she was there that I momentarily stilled.
Oh, that’s the funniest thing ever. I can just imagine you stomping up there like a baby hippo and doing what? She wouldn’t even have to run away. She could power walk away and you wouldn’t be able to catch her. More hysterical laughter. I wanted to be mad but I was just happy she was happy.
I do not look like a baby hippo, I pouted back. Ace had distracted me for long enough that Ri had managed to extract the parking ticket from Bimbo-Deluxe and pulled into the multilevel carpark.
“Whoa Cady, that look isn’t directed at me right? ‘Cause I’m innocent. I wasn’t using any of my lust juju or anything.”
We pulled into the empty parking space, and Ri leaned over to unbelt me. “No. I’m not even mad. It's just-”
“The hormones. I know sweetheart.” I leaned over and kissed him again. I could never get enough of him. We held hands all the way to my high risk obstetricians waiting room, and by a minor miracle, they were running on time and we went straight through.
The nurse had me undress, and I hopped up on the bench. Well, maybe hopped is a bit of an exaggeration. I used the step and Ri’s arm and wiggled my way up. Gravity was now my foe.
The doctor bustled in, a middle aged man with attractive greying hair and artificially white teeth, but extremely kind eyes. Ri gave him the stink eye. My Seven hadn’t been impressed that the man rummaging around in my lady parts was attractive. If he hadn’t been the best in the state, they probably would have protested more. To Doctor Hamilton’s credit, he didn’t even seem shocked that there was a different man with me at my ultrasound. The guys had a steady rotation taking me to my appointments, so it was unusual to see the same face twice, except maybe Oz or Eli.
“How are we doing today, Arcadia? I see in your notes that you’ve started chemo.”
“Well, being bald wasn't a fashion choice, Doc.” I pointed to my nearly smooth head. “But yeah, I'm heading into
my third week.”
He checked my vitals, and then listened to my belly. “Sounds good. Let's have a look at the little ones, shall we?”
He got the ultrasound wand and squirted jelly on my stomach.
I held my breath. The first beats of two little heartbeats was always a relief. They’d unsynced, so identifying the two was easy now little Hope was bigger.
“You're in luck, both babies are facing outwards, ready for their close-up.” And then I saw the most beautiful thing I’d ever seen. A perfect nose, closed little eyes, curling tiny fingers. Ten of them.
“Baby one. She’s got good growth. A miracle really, considering your overall health.” A miracle named Ace.
Are you seeing this, Ace? This is all your hard work. I can’t thank you enough.
Silence for a moment. I see her. She is beautiful. The level of awe in her voice made my heart swell.
“Okay, and here is Baby Two. She's a little smaller than her sister but she's still a good size. Everything looks good, developmentally, for both babies, but how about we just have a tour around the womb to get a good look.”
Hope. My beautiful little Hope. I smiled at Ri. His eyes were brimming with tears, and he wiped them on the back of his arm.
“They are perfect, Cady. Just like their mama.” We sat there for thirty minutes, counting toes, and watching tiny limbs kick, and when Hope yawned, I thought my heart would burst.
Thirty minutes went way too fast, and soon the doctor was handing me a disk.
“Okay, the babies look good. You’re heart rate is a little fast, though. Do you have an appointment with the cardiologist soon?”
“Next week.”
Doctor Hamilton scribbled notes on his file. “That should be fine. As the babies get bigger, the strain on your body will increase. Now is the time to be vigilant. Bed rest will be important from thirty weeks, so be prepared for total bed rest until the babies are born. Can you do that?”
I screwed up my face and nodded. Six weeks in bed was a small price to pay.
“Other than that, your pregnancy is going perfectly, even for a healthy mother. For you, it's practically divine intervention.”
I laughed. “Doc, you have no idea. Thanks so much for the scan.”
“My pleasure, Arcadia.” With that, he left me to change. Ri was practically dancing with excitement as he helped me get my feet into my yoga pants. Sexy. I hadn’t seen my toes in a month, and my belly poked out like I’d eaten Shamu.
“Did you see the baby suck her thumb. We need to name her. Hope has a name, and our big girl needs a name too.”
I agreed. Maybe tonight we could decide. Between the eight of us, nine including Clary, we could pick a name.
“Ladies and gentlemen, and Oz. Welcome to the Naming Knockout Tournament. The rules are simple. Everyone gets one suggestion including Ace and Clary, so make it count. We will have sudden death rounds with votes, and in the case of a draw, Cady’s vote prevails, because she’s the one doing all the hard work. Are we ready to rumble?”
Ri was way too into this. The guys were all sitting around with beers, and Clary had a glass of red wine. We’d watched the ultrasound DVD in preparation, twice.
No one had a hat on hand, so the suggestions went into one of Oz’s replica Hulk gloves. I liked Sasha, so I wrote it down on the small slip of paper Ri had handed around.
How are you feeling, Ace? Are you going to play?
There was a snort, and then Ace was filling my chest. It was comforting to have her back.
Of course. If I don’t get compete, she’ll end up with a name like Sasha.
Hey!
“Is everyone nearly done? Beautiful Girl, do you want a sparkling water or crackers or something while we’re waiting?” Ri asked, heading toward the kitchen. Sweetheart.
“Sure. I’ll have a scotch on the rocks please. Hold the rocks.”
“Soda and ice it is.”
Estrella, Ace said.
I wrote it down and put the squares of paper in the Hulk hands.
That's really pretty. What does it mean?
Ace was beginning to fade away, her voice barely audible over the sounds of the room. Estrella means Star. I thought Ace Junior might be a hard sell.
I smiled. I mightn’t have been too hard to convince. I felt a lot of gratitude.
“Alright, alright, alright! Everyone’s is in. Let’s go.” Ri handed me a drink and I snuggled between Sam and Eli. He picked up the hulk hand and pointed toward me. I plucked out two folded pieces of paper.
“First contestants are…” I wrinkled my nose. “Zelda.”
Lux smacked Oz in the back of the head. “Seriously?”
Oz scowled. It was adorable. “What? It's a good name!”
I pulled another out of the glove. “Shae”
I winked at Clary. Such a traditional Irish name could have only come from one person.
“All in favor of Zelda?” Oz raised his hand. He was the only one. He threw me a mock hurt look. I mouthed I love you, and he blew me a kiss.
Ri wrote down the winner on the tournament sheet.
“Well that was easy. The next contestants are…”
“Isadora and Wilhelmina. It says in brackets that they will accept Billie.”
Eli leaned over and kissed my cheek. “It was my mother’s name.”
This time the votes were split. I liked both, but in the end I’d voted for Billie. “Billie it is.” He held out the hulk hand to Clary.
She pulled out Estrella and Sasha. Ah damn. I voted for Estrella, even though Sasha was my nomination.
Estrella won easily, and I was glad we were doing this anonymously.
It was back to my turn. “Lulu and Odette.”
“I vote for Lulu. That one’s mine. It means pearl in my native language. I’m going to go out in a limb and say the French one belongs to Valery,” Ri suggested.
“These are meant to be anonymous, Orion,” Valery scowled, but nodded.
This one was tough. I liked both but… “Odette.”
Ri pouted when Odette won.
Ri pulled the last two out. “Okay, we have Lara and Bryn.”
Sam kissed my temple. “It’s short for Brynhilde. A fighter who wears chainmail. A name worthy of our tiny warrior.”
Ri whacked him with the hulk hand. “No trying to sway the swing vote.” Even though he’d literally just done the same thing.
“I like Bryn. As long as she’s never Brynhilde,” I shuddered.
Honestly, they shouldn’t let you lot name a puppy let alone a child. Wilhelmina and Brynhilde. Seriously. You may as well buy them a crazy cat lady starter pack for their first birthdays.
The vote went the other way, Lara coming out on top, and Tolliver gloated a little that his suggestion trumped Sam’s.
“So our options are Shae, Billie, Estrella, Odette…”
“I like Estrella,” a voice said from the kitchen.
Luc, Ace whispered.
Luc swaggered out of the kitchen, a leather jacket open on a bare torso and his abs rippling in a way that can only be supernatural. He was devilishly sexy.
Does that count as calling you the Devil, because if it is, I totally meant it as a compliment
I'M OKAY WITH THE ADJECTIVE. MY LOVE, YOU ARE HARDLY EVEN A FLICKER. PLEASE GIVE UP THIS NOW. YOU HAVE ENSURED THE BABIES WILL SURVIVE. THEY COULD BE BORN TOMORROW AND THEY WOULD LIKELY SURVIVE WITH THE CURRENT MEDICAL ADVANCEMENTS THE HUMANS HAVE.
I’m almost ready, Lucifer. One more week and Hope will be safe.
Luc sighed, as he walked toward me. There was such love, such heartache, that I almost cried for Lucifer.
He placed a hand on my stomach, looking past me to Ace. “Okay, Acerezeal. Okay. But remember, I need you too.” It was a plea.
I need you, too. And I need to do this. We will be together again.
“I like the name Estrella. You should name her that,” Luc said again, this time to the room. A glass of scotch appeared in his hand.
&nb
sp; “Well, it's better than Lucia. No beer today?”
I edged toward Sam, creating a space for him to sit. Luc sat down and Lux eyed the space between us, which was barely inches. A nerve in his cheek twitched, and his hand flexed, like he was imagining slicing Luc in half.
“Today is definitely a scotch day. Relax, Lux. I have made my peace with this situation. The irony of it all isn’t lost on me. I grant the Redeemer freedom from the master plan, free will in its purest form, and now she’s the greatest threat to the love of my life. The Father would be having a good laugh up there.”
I reached over and squeezed Luc’s knee. “It’ll be okay.” I turned to the room. “All in favor of Estrella? It was Ace’s choice.”
Everyone raised their hand. “Okay then. Estrella it is. Estrella Odette Lara, and Hope Billie Shae.” I rubbed my belly and smiled. “They’re good names. We should toast.” I lifted my glass of seltzer. Luc magicked a glass of champagne into each of the guys hands.
“To Redemption.” Luc tapped his beer to my glass. “To life.”
We sipped our drinks in silence, but silence and Oz usually don’t mix. “Can I ask you a question? Are all angels as douchey as Azriel, or did a bug just crawl up his ass? Do angels even have assholes? Where do they pee? Are there like heavenly public toilets? Or are you just smooth down there until you fall, like…”
“Oz, for the sweet love of all that’s holy, just stop.” Valery smacked his forehead.
Luc smirked as he sipped his beer. “Which question would you like me to answer?”
Oz opened his mouth, but I interrupted. “Just the first, please. I’m not sure I’m ready for the answers to the rest.”
Luc tapped his beer against his chin. “Azriel is a spectacular example of douche baggery, however, not all angels are like that.”
“I can vouch for that. Michael seemed quite nice.”
Luc’s face whipped toward me. “Michael? The Archangel Michael? When did you see him?”
I shrugged and sipped my seltzer. “A couple of weeks or so ago. It was no big deal.”
Now everyone was scowling at me. “What? It was like three minutes. It was hardly worth mentioning. He was just curious.”
The Redeemable Part Three Page 7