Page 133 of Labor of Love

“I know daddy’s being grumpy, I’m sorry. But you really need to stop with the fist fight you’re having with each other.” It seemed Calvert and Dacian in the womb had done the same thing as his girls did frequently—fight each other.

“Sweetling, are you talking to yourself again?” Thorn asked with way too much amusement as he strolled into the bathroom, dressed immaculately in his usual slacks and smart button-down, making Ledger’s grumpiness increase at how he had to wear a tent rather than the nice, fitted clothes he loved. And okay, he had a habit of talking to himself, wasn’t it the only way to get a sensible answer?

Head tilting, his eyes narrowed on the vampire that was all to blame for his current situation.

You did this.

No, I damn well didn’t,he argued with his animal,it was all you.

Of course it was.

Ledger sniffed indignantly, continuing to pee, which didn’t seem to bother Thorn. The vampire had no boundaries whatsoever and mostly Ledger had no issue with it. Except now, everything bothered him. His ungainly body looked awful tohim, and he had breasts. Come on, why did he need to have that injustice too?

He needed an outlet for his worries, and the vampire in front of him was the perfect sized target.

“No, I’m talking to the girls because I’m having to apologize for my grumpy behavior because their father turned me into a whale! An ugly, unattractive whale, with breasts, who can't see his own feet anymore.” He sniffed, blinking back the tears that were never far away now his hormones were on speed dial. “And you do know I’m peeing here.”

A wicked light came and went as Thorn’s eyes roamed over his hugely swollen belly and breasts full of milk. The state of his body hadn’t put off the vampire. If anything, it increased his need. And yes, it was sexy to feel so wanted, but there was one exception.

Their babies were vampires and could communicate with Thorn, which was very off-putting. Both of them had gotten a shock when they had alerted Thorn to their presence inside Ledger’s womb. It didn’t matter how careful they’d been during his heat’s—that he could remember—he’d ended up pregnant within months of their mating. Thorn had gotten down on one knee in a very romantic gesture and proposed. They had been married weeks later in the winery grounds. A perfect setting, with the valley of vines full of fruit stretching as far as the eye could see.

It was all very romantic and Ledger was a sucker for romance, something his husband knew. He sighed, eyeing the vampire with his enticing blue gaze that danced with love. Thorn came and crouched down in front of him, uncaring he was kneeling on the cold marble floor.

“Sweetling, you are the most perfect creature alive”—his hands stroked over his protruding belly, instantly calming the fight the girls were having in there—“and filled with my babies,you look glorious.” He brushed a kiss over Ledger’s pouty lips, continuing to stroke the huge mound. “Now girls, come on, give daddy a break. You had him up most of the night.”

They had. No position was comfortable for very long anymore. “They can’t give daddy a break ‘cause there’s no damn room for them to move without jabbing at daddy’s bits,” he gripped, back to feeling emotional.

The blue of Thorn’s eyes deepened. “It won’t be for much longer, Sweetling.”

“You said that a month ago!” Ledger grappled under his belly to shake his dick, then reached out for the countertop next to the toilet to heft himself up. In a flash, Thorn was up off his knees, helping him.

His mood shifted again at the ease with which Thorn could move. He slapped at his hand. “I can do it.”

Thorn stepped back, giving him room, which only pissed off Ledger more when he really wanted Thorn to help him. He sniffed back a sob at how irrational he’d become.

Thorn’s hands fluttered at his sides, lines appearing over his usually smooth forehead. “Please let me help?” he begged in a voice that made Ledger feel like crap when it made him realize he’d unintentionally hurt Thorn’s feelings.

His vampire was much more sensitive that folks gave him credit for.

3

THORN

“I’m perfectly capable of shaking my cock and standing up!”

Ledger’s scowl got Thorn staying exactly where he was. He watched helplessly as Ledger struggled to get up. Over the last month, it was like Thorn had gotten stuck on a broken roller coaster, sitting on shifting sands with his husband's emotions all over the place. One minute Thorn felt he was on solid ground, only for the next to tumble in the wrong direction, barely hanging on to his seat.

Big, honey eyes glazed with tears gave Thorn a solid thump to his heart. A proper knock that made it difficult for the rational side of him to figure out what he should do to help. Maybe he should have stayed in the office and out of Ledger’s way until he’d calmed down? But then, he was never calm of late, which Thorn would never point out. He liked his balls exactly where they were.

He’d spent his entire life with the ability to rationalize every decision he made—until Ledger. The challenge the small blond omega had given him all those months ago resulted in no talking—explaining what he was. That had come after he’d claimed him in the most unromantic way ever.

A year on, everything had changed, except for the hold Ledger had on his soul. If anything, it became enriched with the pregnancy. The hard-headed business executive that many thought cold and incapable of yielding to any pressure was a melting pot of goo at one teary eyed look from his husband. His brothers didn’t know the half of it and Dacian would have a field day if he ever found out how he fussed over Ledger. When he allowed it. Today was clearly not one of those days.

Ledger waddled naked to the shower stall they’d had fitted when he could no longer get in and out of the gorgeous porcelain bath sitting in front of a large window overlooking the winery. It had cost a fortune to get the plumber to drop all his other work to do it as a rush job when Ledger had sat on the toilet, crying at the injustice of not being able to lift his leg up to get in the bath he loved to wallow in at the end of a busy day. Had Thorn offered to help? Yes. Had he got knocked on his ass by the tiny omega for such a suggestion? Yes.

He’d been in the doghouse for two days over that.

Thorn clasped his hands behind his back to resist reaching out to help Ledger when his belly impeded him stepping directly into the shower to turn on the tap, resulting in him cursing, sniffing, and waddling sideways into the shower cubicle.

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