Page 71 of Under the Dragon's Spell
"Ty…" It was all I needed to say to receive mercy.
He gripped me a little harder, kissed skin and moved his hand in long firm strokes that finally pushed me over the edge.
And when I came, so did he. For a split second while my thoughts were swimming in bliss, I wondered if anything else was even possible anymore. I decided that research had to be done. Extensive research. For science. Then I fell asleep, an exhausted smile on my lips.
It would have been a lie to say I wasn't nervous the day of the C-section. I'd anticipated it for weeks and I was anxious to get these babies out of me so I could meet them properly, but the thought of being cut open? Yeah, kind of scary.
To his credit, Tyrel had stopped fretting and pretended not to be worried. I knew his calm facade was an act, but at least he tried. I don't know what I would have done if he'd added on to my fears.
I rubbed my belly, waiting for the nurse to come and get me ready. "In about an hour, you'll be a daddy," I told Tyrel, who was leaning against the window in my small hospital room. "Are you ready for that?"
He smiled softly. "Are you?"
"Totally," I lied. In reality, I felt like I had no idea what I was doing, no matter how often I'd dreamed of one day being a parent. "It's a lot of responsibility, though." How was I going to handle two at once as a newbie dad?
"You'll be a wonderful dad," Tyrel said, making me wonder if I'd projected that last thought without meaning to.
"Do you really believe that?"
"Of course I do. Would I have picked you otherwise?"
"Oh, I don't know. Your interest seemed to come from a more sexual source back then."
He laughed. "I'll admit that I wanted you the day I met you in that café, but you've impressed me in other ways since."
"Have I?" I hadn't done much really. After all, I'd been confined to this bed for much too long.
"These kids haven't even been born yet and you've already fought for them. I couldn't have picked anyone better."
His words eased a bit of my worry. I hadn't seen it like that. "I'm glad to hear you don't regret your choice."
"No regrets."
"Not even the bonding?"
He snorted, not even deigning my silly question with a response.
Just as well, because that moment, the nurse came in. "Ready for your big day?" she asked with a wide smile.
I simply nodded. Tyrel was right. I'd gotten this far, I'd handle the rest of it, too.
The nurse took great care to talk to me to keep me distracted while she wheeled me into the operating theater, which I was grateful for. "Your partner will be with you again in a moment," she told me. "He just needs to change into sterile clothes."
I knew this of course. We'd gone over the procedure a hundred times, but I didn't mind that she was telling me again as she put an IV in my arm. Lucky for me, it went in easily.
"Are you looking forward to your babies?" she asked.
"I am."
She smiled at me and I looked at my belly.
Not long now.
I grinned.
By the time they set me up on the operating table that was all I was thinking about, which helped me blend out the doctors and what they were doing as I received my epidural. Iwasn't scared of needles, but I didn't like being poked and prodded, so I grasped for something else to focus on.
"We're taking these babies only a little bit early," Dr. Meloy told me. "They should be fine but we'll check them before handing them to you. Please don't be concerned."
