Page 134 of Labor of Love

“Stop looking at me,” Ledger grumbled before switching on the tap.

The loud scream at the cold water hitting his belly, which stuck out too far to avoid it, made Thorn’s ears ring. In his haste to get back out, Ledger became wedged in the opening. Tears pouring down his cheeks, a gaze of death fired at Thorn and he had to resist cowering.

He grabbed a towel from the heated towel rail and wrapped it around Ledger. Loud sniffing competed with the water hitting tiles as Thorn carefully maneuvered him out of the cold spray, before turning off the tap. Giving in to the need to take care ofLedger, Thorn lifted him effortlessly to carry him back into the bedroom.

Thorn sat on the edge of the bed with Ledger easily in his lap, despite how big his belly got with their girls. He was still tiny compared to Thorn.

Ledger buried his face in Thorn’s chest and cried in earnest, his tears soaking Thorn’s shirt within seconds.

“I’m sorry,” Thorn murmured repeatedly. His conflict was very real when he hated seeing Ledger like this but also loved him pregnant with their children.

“No, you’re not,” Ledger hiccupped, sorrowful eyes pinning him when he looked at him through red-rimmed eyes. “You love our girls as much as you love me. How could anyone love me when I’m so horrible?”

It came out as more of an accusation somehow, and Thorn locked down his thoughts, seeing he should have done that earlier. The mating bond meant it was as easy to share his thoughts and feelings with Ledger as he could with his brothers.

“I love you.” He opened himself, allowing Ledger to feel his love, something he’d learned to do with how many conquests he had in these parts. The fact all of them were totally different to Ledger had caused some insecurity his bite hadn’t quite gotten rid of.

“You are the most beautiful creature to me. A living dream created to fit only me,” he murmured possessively, getting a full body shudder and a dose of pheromones his husband wouldn’t let him act on for fear of traumatizing their girls. He’d explained in graphic detail how he did not want Thorn to poke one of them in the eye with his dick. Thorn hadn’t been able to get the visual out of his head, and it had helped him to keep the desire to ravish his mate in check—mostly.

Ledger whimpered and clung a little tighter, a hand creeping up into Thorn’s hair in a move that always played to his possessive side.

“A creature from the black lagoon, more like,” Ledger replied, sounding less upset and more like his sassy self.

“Then it’s a lagoon I want to live in,” Thorn answered truthfully, kissing Ledger lovingly. He brushed their mouths together repeatedly, murmuring softly about how beautiful he was until the tears dried up, and a sense of calm was emanating from him and the girls. “Do you want some breakfast? I’ve got a selection of fresh fruits you like.”

“Can I have chocolate mousse over my fruit?” Ledger fluttered his damp eyelashes, a pleading look appeared that was impossible to resist.

“Of course, Sweetling.”

Thorn rose effortlessly, not once thinking about putting Ledger down, and carried him through the side of the house that was his.

The large house he shared with his brothers was separated into three sections when they had all decided to live together. He supposed they were like modern day apartments. They had never considered building other homes for themselves in the vineyard, and Ledger joining the family hadn’t altered that.

Thorn had asked Ledger, but with how the house was divided, Ledger was happy enough when they could live separately and maintain their privacy. It worked for now. Whether it would when his daughters arrived, he wasn’t sure. Babies were noisy. Would the sound proofing materials they’d used to prevent having to listen to Calvert’s sexual antics be enough?

With no clue, Thorn returned his attention to Ledger. “Couch or the stool in the kitchen?” Something else he’d learned over the last month; always ask, never assume.

“The couch. My lower back is really achy today.”

The casual comment set off Thorn’s inner tuned senses as he carefully placed Ledger down on the heap of pillows he had invested in from the many searches to find anything to help make Ledger happy. Had he gone overboard looking at the mountain of gaily colored pillows in all different sizes and shapes… possibly?

Stepping back, his hands trembling somewhat, he eyed Ledger’s belly, barely concealed in the huge bath towel. Was this it? Was he about to… burst?

“Why are you looking at me like that?” Back was the teary voice.

“Like what?” he asked, working to keep his alarm out of his voice, unsure what he might have projected.

“As if I’m about to explode.”

He was going to kill Dacian.

He crouched in front of Ledger, rubbing once more at his drum tight, protruding belly, unleashing his thrall to assess what was happening inside Ledger. “The ache could be your body preparing for…” he swallowed hard, “giving birth,” he finished in a scratchy voice. No matter what he knew was going to happen, the reality of it totally had him freaking out.

“Am I?” Ledger screeched, hurting Thorn’s ears.

He resisted rubbing at them as he nodded slowly. He needed to get his brothers, they would all be required to help keep Ledger relaxed as his body adapted to give birth to a vampire. Thorn’s thrall wouldn’t work on his mate, so his brothers’ help was definitely necessary.

Birthing a vampire was nothing like birthing a shifter or human baby. Vampire skin was tough and their bones were not as pliable, meaning their skulls didn’t compress. Also, vampire babies used their fangs to assist in getting free. Painful and not a pleasant experience from what he’d learned when he’d spoken tothose in the vampire community who had shifter-human mates. Would it be the same for Ledger, as a guy? It was a question with no answer that scared Thorn. He hadn’t shared his fear with Ledger, no sane vampire would. The girls needed Ledger’s blood, and biting their way out was the way to complete the blood bond with him. Barbaric, but no way around it, not that Thorn was able to find.

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