Page 59 of Marcello
Abel opened his eyes, and I could tell he was incredibly tired. As he should be. It was almost four in the morning. “Your world already has,” he said. “I’m here, and we’re mated. There is no changing that, nor is there any way to leave here. You said it before. It will follow us. Then what?”
I took a moment, and in the middle of the night right after welcoming twins was probably not the best time to have such a serious conversation. But Abel had brought up a very valid question. One that I had already been trying to figure out how to make happen.
Luci had fallen back into a deep sleep, and I carefully scooted off the bed and took her back over to the crib. I checked her diaper, and it was still dry, so I placed her on the blanket and swaddled her up. She never stirred, and I wondered how Abel and I had ended up with such an easygoing baby. We were anything but.
Once Luci was back in the crib, I carefully took Frankie from my beloved and offered a tired smile to him when it startled him a bit when the baby was suddenly floating away from his chest.
“I’ll change him again and get him put back to bed,” I whispered.
Abel nodded, and I heard him leave the bed as I took our son to the changing table. He had, of course, wet his diaper,but now that his stomach was full and rounded, he was more than happy to sleep through another diaper change. I had him clean, redressed, and swaddled in his own blanket before Abel returned from the bathroom.
We passed just outside of the bathroom door, and when I had relieved my own bladder and returned to the bedroom, Abel was already back in bed and dozing off. I slid in behind him, pulling him back against my chest, and sighed.
“I would love to live in our own place, Marcello. But how?”
I kissed his hair. “I would love nothing more than to give that life to you. I’ll figure it out,” I told him. “We’re going to find a way to have our own everything.” I would. I might have to hire additional bodyguards or something of that sort, or we might have to live in the middle of absolutely nowhere in America, but I was going to give my beloved a life of peace.
“What we have here isn’t exactly a hardship,” Abel said before yawning.
“No, but it certainly isn’t private. We don’t have a whole lot of space for a couple. We can’t snuggle on the sofa while watching television, nor can we make out while cooking a meal together.” I wanted all of those things and more. I wanted to be buried in my beloved while we were on the back patio. And I definitely wanted to not have to worry about getting caught when the mood struck, just as it had with Nicolo tonight. “I’ll make it happen,” I told him. “I want that for us. For our family we are building.”
I smiled to myself when I realized Abel had fallen back asleep. I didn’t blame him. He was tired. I was as well, but my brain wouldn’t shut off. I was trying to figure out how to give my beloved everything he wanted while still keeping him safe. Despite how much I thought about it, I couldn’t figure out how.
I was almost asleep myself when a thought occurred to me. Nikolai. If he were willing to take in another vampire, another coven member, perhaps I could move Abel and the children tohis coven. We wouldn’t be alone; we would have the protection of his coven to help me keep my beloved and children safe. But would that put his coven in danger? Would I make them targets? It was no secret that I was not well-liked among our circle. I’d made a lot of enemies over the years.
I shook my head at the thought. No, I couldn’t do that to him and his coven. The majority of them, if not all of them, were mated now and had families. Growing ones at that. I needed to figure something else out because despite being mated and having children now, I couldn’t ask him to put his entire coven at risk for us.
I let that thought go and tried to fall asleep. I came close a few times, and maybe I actually dozed here and there, but I was very much awake as the sky started to lighten. I heard others up and moving about in the hallway, but they weren’t being loud; you could just hear them when the rest of the house was so eerily quiet.
I pulled my arm out from under Abel, who was quietly snoring, and after I rolled out of bed again, I went to the bathroom and took care of morning business. I brushed my teeth, and I really needed to shave and shower, but those would have to wait because we had twins who were no doubt going to need to be changed and fed bottles soon. I pulled on my T-shirt again, and after I checked on Abel and the twins, I left our room and went to the kitchen once more.
I was surprised to find Nicolo and Vincent there, both of them with a cup of coffee in their hands. “Buongiorno,” I said to both of them.
“Buongiorno,”Vincent said. “Sono sorpreso che tu sia sveglio.”
I blinked at Vincent. “Only somewhat. I need to discuss getting, at a minimum, a small refrigerator for in our suite. It is inconvenient to have to come downstairs multiple times in themiddle of the night for bottles,” I told him. I glanced at Nicolo. “You never know who you will run into, and the last thing I want Abel to encounter is something that he shouldn’t.” I placed the bottles in the warmer, thankful it was a double.
“I can make that happen,” Vincent told me. “Is there anything else?”
I rubbed my eyes and forehead and shook my head. “There are many things, but until I can figure something out, there is no use in bringing them up.”
“That sounds serious.”
The bottle warmer clicked, signaling that it was finished and the bottles were warm. I picked them up and sighed as I looked at my friend. “Once I figure out where to go, I will be taking Abel and the children away from here. We are a family now. Yes, it was a nice gesture to give us a second room for them, but we still have two bedrooms. We have no privacy. If we wish for a private meal, we eat at a small table in our bedroom. We watch television with many others.” I shook my head. “The coven house is a good place, Vincent. But it’s not a place for families. We are a house. With bedrooms. Not apartments. Not actual suites.”
“Can I talk you out of your decision?”
I shook my head and started to walk away. “If things were different, most likely. But I want to provide my beloved and children a home. I’m not against living near everyone else, but even Nikolai has apartments for his coven members.” I nodded at Nicolo before I walked away.
This was something I had been pondering since I’d claimed Abel. Now that the twins were here, things seemed a bit more pressing.
I smiled when I reentered the room and found Abel up and holding Frankie. “Again?” I asked. “He was sound asleep when I left.”
“He knew you were getting a bottle.” Abel held out his hand, and I gave him the bottle, which immediately quieted our son’s complaints. He was a hungry little vampire, and I wondered just what that would mean for us when he started eating solid foods. Time would tell, but for now, I was enjoying the newborn stage with my beloved.
I leaned down and kissed Abel, who looked at me with a scowl. “You brushed your teeth?”
I nodded. “Before I went downstairs, yes. Once Frankie is finished, you should go take a long shower,” I said as I picked up Luci. “Then when you are finished, I’ll hop through quickly, and then we should find something to eat.”
