by C. A. Worley
One truth ate away at his joy. The Prajna had never had difficulty with conception. Carrying young to term and delivering healthy babes was the plague the curse had produced. If something happened to his child, or to his mate, he would not survive it.
“It is not the pregnancy itself that worries me, Eden. Holding onto it—to him—is …” Viktor inhaled.
No, he’d not voice it and give it power. He straightened his spine and cuffed her neck, holding her attention.
“We will take every precaution. You will see the healer first thing in the morning. I will bring in midwives and you may choose two to keep here at the castle. You will rest. You will not exert yourself. You will definitely no longer ingest liquor. It can affect your reflexes and I won’t have you vulnerable. You’ll not eat or drink anything else the healer tells you to stay away from. You probably shouldn’t port with anyone. I’ll have to ask about that. We’ll come up with a list and you will follow it. Understood?”
Eden’s chest shook.
“I’m serious, Eden.”
Her lips stretched, showing her teeth. “I can tell.”
“Eden,” he growled.
“Viktor, I am pregnant, not made of glass. I’ll not be treated as though I’ll break at any moment. Women have been doing this for thousands and thousands of years.”
“I only care about one woman and one babe. I’ll do what I have to in order to ensure they’re both healthy and happy.”
“And I love you for it,” she sighed, brushing her mouth across his and planting featherlight kisses upon his sinful lips.
“Tell me you’re okay with this. Tell me you’ll try to be happy about it,” she whispered against his skin.
Viktor’s face softened. “Ah, moj vestica, nothing could make me happier. Do not mistake my concern to mean I do not want this. I want it very much.”
Eden’s arms and legs tightened around his frame. Her tongue invaded his mouth, searching, demanding. She groaned, rubbing her slick body against his.
Viktor held her head still and took over the kiss. He slowed it, needing more from his sieva than her lust. He pulled on their connection, his soul coaxing hers. Probing. Cocooning itself in the splendor of her untainted spirit.
He explored further, opening himself up to what Eden held so preciously inside her body. There, deep within the link he felt the tiniest of threads reaching for him.
Eden and the babe were already connected in a way only mothers could be with their children. Fathers had to forge bonds. Nikolai had never bothered, and both Viktor and Luka had suffered for it. Viktor would never be like his father. His child would never wonder if he was loved.
Viktor’s soul linked to the babe’s and he gasped. The absolute sensation of rightness, of unconditional love and acceptance locked into place. The three of them were now bonded, as a family should be.
He wanted to live inside those bonds. Nothing so pure had ever touched his life. Surrounded by Eden’s essence, touched by his babe’s fledgling lifeforce, his soul felt worthy in a way it never had before.
Eden was growing impatient. She wanted Viktor to make love to her, to alleviate her mounting need. She reached down and palmed his shaft, stroking it slowly.
Viktor’s hand landed on hers, tenderly pulling it away.
“Why are you stopping me?” she complained.
“Eden, we cannot.”
“What are you talking about?”
“We shouldn’t do anything that could jeopardize this pregnancy.”
Eden cocked her head. “You’re serious.”
“Yes.”
“Intercourse will not harm our child.”
“Not one live birth in decades, Eden. Not one. I’ll not endanger him. Or her. I’m not sure I should feed from you, either. It’s been so long since I’ve been around an impregnated female, I just don’t know what is safe. If I harmed you or our young, it would destroy me.”
The crack in his voice killed her lust. Viktor was beside himself, to the point he was refusing to bed her or take from her vein.
“Okay,” she assured him, stroking his face with both palms. “It’s okay.”
She reached for the soap. “Let’s wash today away. Tomorrow will be better. Yes?” she asked hopefully.
“Yes,” he agreed. “Then we will sleep and you’ll stay in bed until the healer has seen to you.”
“Of course.”
Eden lathered the soap, massaged his rigid muscles, and washed away the blood.
Chapter 32
One month later …
“How are you feeling, love?” Viktor asked, his warm breath puffing on the back of Eden’s neck as his large hand snaked around to hold her stomach possessively.
“I feel wonderful,” she answered lazily.
“You should. You’ve been napping for over four hours.”
His large hand lightly swatted her behind and she laughed, not in the least insulted. She’d been napping daily. The midwife told her she would feel tired for much of the first half of the pregnancy.
When Eden had asked how long, in weeks, that would be, the midwife could only guess. A vampire’s pregnancy was much shorter than an elemental’s—only six months compared to ten.
She already had a small baby bump. Whenever Viktor was near, he was touching it or speaking to it, as though the babe within could understand him.
It had earned him a number of double takes from his people. Especially when he did it at court. No longer content to allow Eden to sit on the bench beside him, he’d started sitting her in his lap so he could keep one hand on her abdomen.
Viktor had offered her the throne. Not to sit on, but to rule upon, as his Queen. When Eden hesitated, he told her to think on it. He hadn’t brought it up since.
Matehood in Prajna did not require matrimony to be official. They valued the soul-bond beyond any ceremony. But to be Queen, that would require they marry.
Eden had forgiven him for his transgression. She had no doubts over her decision to stay with him. Her hesitation lied with the people of Prajna. She wasn’t sure how they would react to her.
Bianca would have been accepted because she was vampire. Viktor assured her no one would question it. Eden wasn’t quite as certain.
For now, she was content to be with Viktor as his sieva and focus on the birth of their son. Or daughter. She secretly believed Viktor wanted a girl based on the little jolts coming through the bond when he used feminine pronouns when speaking about the babe.
“It’s late, completely dark outside, moj vestica. Get up and get dressed. I want to take you someplace.”
Eden stretched and rolled, waking up her lethargic muscles. “Very well.”
Yawning, Eden got up and slipped on one of the high-waisted dresses Viktor had asked to be made for her. Her other clothing was too tight around the middle, especially the trousers.
Though, Viktor didn’t like her wearing her riding pants anyway. He said they revealed too much of what belonged to him. She wore them for as long as she could just to tease him.
The day she couldn’t button them, Viktor shredded them with his claws. She’d only laughed, knowing she could have more made after she gave birth.
“Where are my boots?” she asked.
“You won’t need them.”
Eden glanced at Viktor’s bare feet. He’d rolled up the legs of his pants. They must be going to the beach.
Taking his extended hand, they ported away. Viktor had been most relieved when both the midwife and healer laughed at his question about whether or not porting would harm the babe. He’d been too relieved to even reprimand them for daring to laugh at their King.
They landed on soft sand. Viktor held onto Eden, waiting for her to be oriented. When she was steady enough to look around, she smiled.
Viktor had brought them to the lagoons. The sun was gone from the sky and night had risen. The emerald algae’s glow danced along the ripples in the water.
“Walk with me,” he said, sliding his palm down
her arm to clasp her hand.
They strolled in silence, wading in the shallow pools along the shores. The wind was nothing but a warm breeze this night, driving out any chill Eden might have felt.
“I have been thinking, mala vestica.”
“Should I be afraid?”
“Definitely,” he chuckled, warming her insides.
“I find,” his voice deepened. “I find myself experiencing jealousy for the first time in my long life.”
“Whatever for?”
“Yuri and Mariana. When we are with them, I find myself envious.”
“Oh?” she asked, her voice clipped.
Eden’s hand flexed in his. Viktor did not allow her to slip away.
“Yes. He constantly refers to her as, Wife. She is his sieva, yet he brands her as his in another way. A sieva is fate. A wife, however, is a choice.”
Viktor stopped and pulled Eden towards him, careful of her small belly. His hands fell to her hips.
“You were a surprise, Eden. A gift from Fate. I was beyond blessed to have found you. I never knew happiness until you were in my arms.”
Eden lifted her palms to his chest, touched by the sincerity of his proclamation.
“You are also my choice. I choose you. I believe I am just as much your mate as you are mine. I know elementals do not think they have fated mates, and according to general history they do not. What I am saying, what I am trying to ask, is I want you to choose me. Choose me in the way of your people. Marry me, Eden. You do not have to be coronated as Queen. I care nothing of titles. I only desire the right to call you Wife.”
Viktor dropped to his knees. He kissed her stomach and lifted his eyes to hers.
“Let our child be born to parents who are bound in every way possible, in the ways of both their people. Choose me, Eden.”
Drops of her tears fell onto his hands. He rose and rubbed them away from her cheeks with his thumbs.
“I choose you,” she hiccupped, rising to her tiptoes to kiss him soundly.
All too soon, Viktor broke the kiss and slipped something on her finger. She held it up. Dark red facets of a large ruby twinkled in the dim lighting. It was set in a thick gold band. It reminded her of Viktor’s throne.
“It was my mother’s,” he told her. “You honor me by wearing it.”
“I love it. I love you, Viktor. I would choose you a million times over.”
“Thank the Goddess,” he said unto the sky, pulling Eden into his arms once more. “I was afraid I was going to have to resort to drastic measures.”
“Torture?” she giggled.
“Worse.”
“What could be worse than torturing your cherished mate?”
Viktor turned her around and pointed towards the beach. On the wet sand left behind by the low tide was a configuration of phosphorous algae. It looked like it was supposed to be the shape of a heart, but the sides were terribly uneven and the waves had shifted part of the top.
She laughed through her tears. The Heartless King was actually terribly romantic.
“She laughs. All that work and she laughs,” he pouted.
Eden leaned back into her beloved and his arms enveloped her from behind.
“Are you happy, love?”
“I am so much more than happy, Viktor.”
“Good. I have one more thing to show you.”
Viktor ported them back to their chambers. Wordlessly, he went to the door of his feeding room and disengaged the lock.
Eden quirked an eyebrow with interest. Their recent lovemaking had been slow and sweet. He’d reluctantly given in after the midwife’s reassurances intercourse was actually good for an expectant mother.
“I’m not sure I like what’s going on inside your head, Sieva.”
“Oh, I think you’d like it very much.”
“Hold that thought.”
Viktor opened the door and stepped aside.
“After you,” he insisted, sweeping an arm towards the room.
Eden walked through the doorway and froze.
Gone. It was all gone. No restraints. No black towels. No strange furniture designed for carnal activities. There was no trace left of what this room had been.
In its place was a room fit for a king. Or, in this case, a little prince or princess. Viktor had built a nursery.
A large, plush, gold and tan rug covered the floor. The walls had been covered in tapestries of similar coloring depicting animals from the forests.
A sizeable crib was in the corner, the white bedding already in place. Not one, but two rocking chairs sat side by side next to the crib. On the other side was a changing table.
A small wardrobe stood against the wall nearest the outer door. Eden knew if she opened it, she would see it was filled with clothing and supplies.
The other side of the room was filled with wooden toys and expensive dolls. A giant rocking horse, hand-carved, sat in the corner. Viktor’s family crest was stamped onto its side.
“When did you do this?” she asked.
“Do you like it?” he replied, his voice a tad unsteady.
“I love it!” she jumped into his arms and he readily caught her.
“I’ve told you before, you really shouldn’t jump like that,” he chastised.
Eden rolled her eyes and his irises flashed brightly.
“You thought of everything,” she complemented, distracting his thoughts.
“I wasn’t sure what a babe needed. I had to ask. Mariana helped.”
“It’s wonderful. Truly. And there’s so much.”
“Too much?”
“No, no, of course not. You really did think of everything.”
“Well, we don’t know the gender, so I had to think of everything a son or daughter might need or want.”
“Should I worry you’re going to spoil our child?”
“Probably.”
Eden laughed and started urgently kissing him all over his face.
“Take me to bed,” her breathy voice instructed in between kisses.
“Eden.”
“Now,” she demanded.
His eyes flashed again. Eden blinked and she was on her back on their bed. Viktor grabbed the front of her dress and ripped it open. He threw the material onto the floor.
“First you defy me,” his deep voice hummed across her heated skin.
His head dipped and pulled her taut nipple into his mouth. They’d become overly sensitive and he loved making her writhe when he bit them.
“Then you attempt to tell me, the King of Prajna, what to do.”
“Hurry, Viktor,” she whined.
Viktor rolled her to her side and playfully spanked her bottom. “You’re not in charge here, love.”
Eden rolled her lips over her teeth to keep from arguing. As a reward, Viktor divested himself of his clothing expeditiously then crawled back onto the bed, lying down behind her.
His warm fingers glided across her ribs, trailing ever so slowly down her abdomen. Eden shuddered when Viktor reached his destination and began rubbing his palm over her sex.
He dipped his finger into the folds of her cleft, loving how aroused his little mate was for him. He withdrew his hand and hooked Eden’s leg under the knee, spreading her wide. His blunt tip nudged at her opening.
“Put me inside you, love.”
Eden panted, reaching down between her legs to grab his hardened flesh. She wiggled until she had him where she needed him.
Slowly, Viktor rolled his hips forward. Eden pushed back, trying to get more of him. She knew he wouldn’t allow her to control the pace, but she was desperate to be filled.
“Does my mate like this?”
“Yes,” she exhaled.
Viktor continued his slow movements, gliding in and out of her tight sheath. He kissed under her ear and she shivered, her core flexing.
He always felt he was out of control when he was inside his sieva. Fast or slow, Eden brought out his beast. He needed to own her, to possess her, to bring her t
o the height of pleasure. It was only fair since she had him constantly enraptured and practically wrapped around her little finger.
He licked down her neck and sucked on the sensitive skin close to her shoulder. Eden whimpered and rocked her hips frantically.
Viktor could not deny his pregnant sieva. He would wait until after the babe came to torture her body. He’d been considering restraints on their bed. The thought had him engorged inside her channel.
His incisors lengthened and he struck. Eden cried out as his bite launched her into immediate climax. Just as always, her clenching walls were too much for him and he spilled inside her.
Viktor withdrew and flipped Eden to her hands and knees before plunging back inside. He’d meant to go slow, to be gentle. Her shouts and cries for more destroyed his resolve.
For the first time since he’d found out she was pregnant, Viktor allowed himself to take her for hours on end. Only when Eden showed signs of overtiredness did he relent.
Finally confident they were both fully sated, Viktor pulled his mate into his body and held her, listening as her breathing slowed. Eventually, sleep took him, as well. Visions of mismatched eyes and a slobbery, toothless grin claimed his slumber.
When he awoke at dawn, he allowed himself to embrace the hope he had long denied. The Heartless King grinned, for he had met his daughter in his dreams.
Epilogue
“She’s beautiful!” the midwife proclaimed, placing the newborn upon her mother’s chest.
Viktor kissed his wife, then bent to nuzzle his daughter’s cheek. Silky wisps of dark as night hair tickled his skin.
“She is perfect,” he whispered with relief that both his mate and his youngling were alive and well.
Months of worry and endless visits with the midwife had started to get to them both. At some point, their child’s heartbeat had become too fast, to the point it sounded like an echo inside her womb.
Now that the babe was here, the worry disappeared. Eden smiled and then suddenly lurched, bellowing in pain. Her fingernails dug into Viktor’s hand.
“Take the child, Sire,” the midwife commanded.
“What?”
“Pick up your daughter. Eden needs to push again.”
