Page 33 of Witch's Exile
14
RAUM
Icould've stared at the beautiful naked woman lying next to me for hours. Flushed with heat and marked up from my handiwork, everything felt right in the world now that I had Deja back. Not to minimize that we were on the run from people trying to kill us but from an immortal's perspective, that was nothing new.
"I need to tell you something." Deja rolled over to her side, her breath still coming in soft, sexy pants. "But if you already know, promise you'll just tell me and don't act like you're surprised."
My heart squeezed in my chest. "You know I can't tell you a lie, baby." I cupped her chin until her swollen, tender mouth brushed against mine. "What is it?"
Those sexy lips pulled back into a smile but said nothing. She brought one of my hands to her lower belly just above her crotch, leaving me momentarily confused.
"Can you feel her?" she whispered.
I saw the joy in her eyes and my stomach jumped into my chest. Sure enough, my aura reached through the physical plane of her body and found it. A placenta and a tiny form of life attached to it. Part of her, part of us, and yet independently alive.
"Deja." I could only choke out her name before pinning her down and smothering her in kisses. She giggled and tried to thrash but I kept her still as my kisses moved lower. We were spent from four rounds of sex but I knew no other way to express my love for this woman and this baby inside her.
"How long have you known?" I paused at her belly, kissing her there more tenderly.
"Since the night you and I fought." She raked a hand through my hair. "You really didn't know?"
"I had no idea." I turned my head, resting my ear on her belly as I released a contented sigh. "The guys didn't say a peep."
"You know what I mean." She gave my hair a playful tug.
"No, I haven't seen anything about this pregnancy."
She lifted an eyebrow. "But others?"
My chest tightened as I sat up and chose my next words carefully.
"Baby, I don't need to see the future to know that our children will become incredible people. Every one of them has been revolutionary in their own way. The next generations of witches has been waiting for someone with your blood."
"I know," she sighed with an adorable pout. "I don't want to fight about this again but that's not what I'm asking."
"You've never had a failed pregnancy for as long as I've known you. There's no reason for you to worry about it happening now."
"Okay. Then tell me this." She licked her lips nervously as she clasped my hands. "Will they be okay? I don't even care about how powerful or revolutionary they are but will they feel loved? Happy? Will we be able to protect them when we need to?"
I laughed as I brought her knuckles to my lips. "You're asking the same things your mother asked me."
"Yeah, well. I get wanting to be a good mom from her, I guess."
"There's no need for wanting to when you already are."
I pulled her to me until she was cradled against my chest.
"Again, I don't need to see the future to know you're an amazing mother. You're essentially the first woman who ever gave birth. I mean, you've nailed this thousands of times before."
"I guess," she sighed. "Even with all those memories, it still feels like the first time."
"Every one of our kids adored and cherished you. Trust me, babe. You've got this mothering thing down."
"Not Ragnar," she said softly. "I was ripped away from him before I could ever really be his mother."
"Oh, he knew you." I tilted her chin up to look at me with golden eyes. "We raised him telling him all kinds of stories about his mother, Alfhilde. How you choked out a wolf while six months pregnant because it bit a small child. We told him all about how you retaliated on Christians who tortured and starved some of our people. And every other amazing thing you did." I lowered a soft kiss to her lips. "Even after your soul was split apart, he felt you nearby. Believe me when I say all of our kids had an amazing mother and they fucking knew it."
"Jeez, Raum." Deja laughed as she wiped the tears rising to her eyes. "How do you always know how to say the right things?"
