The Wit and Wisdom of James Bond
Author: Simon Ward; James Nolan
Date: 2022-05-17 00:00:00+00:00
Keywords: Romance
Description: *The most memorable dialogue and witty one-liners from all 25 official James Bond films, quoting 007, M, Q, Moneypenny, Bond villains and more!* “Bond. James Bond.” The iconic line from James Bond’s first big-screen scene has been endlessly quoted and imitated since, and the memorable dialogue and witty one-liners stand alongside the glamorous locations, breath-taking stunts and creative gadgets as one of the many reasons the films are so beloved the world over. The Wit & Wisdom of James Bond includes the very best quotes, quips and pearls of wisdom from all 25 films. From “Shocking. Positivel
Publisher: Titan

Lords of the Expanse

Bonds of Blood

It was an arrangement, a contract, a deal between factions. Andries Mauricio is a soldier, does his duty, serves his people, and prays to die with dignity when his day comes. But then she steps into his life, rearranges all his preconceived notions, and puts his carefully controlled world into a tailspin. If only he knew for sure she was there for him and not to gain information for her backstabbing father.

Every moment of her life is filled with terror and worry, every moment carefully thought out so as not to bring pain. Xandra Ripley knows how her days will end. Then it all changes with the first kind thing ever done for her.

With war imminent, there they are, in the middle. Xandra wants safety. Andries wants his enemies dead. Can two more different people ever see what they both have before it's too late? Time is running out, and everything, including their hearts, is on the line in the most important battle of their lives.

Genre: Futuristic, Science Fiction, Vampires/Werewolves

Length: 95,506 words

BONDS OF BLOOD

Lords of the Expanse

Honor James

EROTIC ROMANCE

Siren Publishing, Inc.

www.SirenPublishing.com

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A SIREN PUBLISHING BOOK

IMPRINT: Erotic Romance

BONDS OF BLOOD

Copyright © 2013 by Honor James

E-book ISBN: 978-1-62242-320-0

First E-book Publication: February 2013

Cover design by Harris Channing

All cover art and logo copyright © 2013 by Siren Publishing, Inc.

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DEDICATION

I dedicate this novel once more to you, my Dear Ones, the Readers. Without you, dear ones, I couldn’t continue to do what I do. Thank you for your continued support as well as your wonderful feedback.

BONDS OF BLOOD

Lords of the Expanse

HONOR JAMES

Copyright © 2013

Prologue

Vampire Genesis–In a time long since forgotten

Of all things in life there are only certain constants. Life, death, war, and greed, these are all things that remain the same no matter which life you come from, no matter which race you are. Human, Vampire, non-Vampire, it’s all the same, these constants. Sometimes, however, there are some others thrown in, rare and beautiful as they are—kindness, hope, love.

The Vampire Nation was formed in darkness. It crawled from that darkness in its beast form and was eventually tamed by wisdom.

In the beginning the battle between Vampires and non-Vampires of the world Castitas was legendary. Brutal and savage, the Vampires began to cut through the more human side of their world like a hot knife through butter. It mattered not to them the destruction they wrought. Their hungers, their base desires were all that mattered.

And then it changed. One day all of this changed when from the non-Vampires came a woman. She was not a woman of large or massive stature, but the power she wielded, the strength she showed brought all battles to a halt. She was a seer, a prophet, and the words she spoke would change everything.

Soft and gentle the words were spoken. The ruler of the Vampire nation laid down his weapon at her feet and listened.

From the non-Vampire of our world will come the first daughters. The daughters of Eve. They will be the beginning of your future Vampire lord. They will lay the foundation of what will come, what will be one of the greatest and most powerful nations in the universe ever.

In the beginning they will bind their souls to the lords of the Vampire nation, teaching them, showing them love and trust. But in time, those first seeds sown will spread on the winds to other worlds to find those lines worthy and strong enough to be a Vampire lord’s true mate.

Together the first daughters here in the non-Vampire realm and your chosen of the Vampire nation will learn just what it means to be bound as one. They will be the future for all, Vampire and non-Vampire, my lord. Soon each of the High Lords who serve under you will begin their house. Honor, truth, justice and equality will be at the very heart of this. To these first High Lords a bride shall soon come and from there, my lord, we shall make history.

Chapter One

Staring out the window that had been specially treated to keep out the damaging rays of their sun, Andries’s mind was on things other than the discussion in the room behind him. He knew that he should be paying attention, but he had no patience for politics and the mechanics of the so-called “peace” talks. He knew war, how to kill in absolute silence, how to take a life with ease, thousands of variations and all of them without a weapon. Put a weapon in his hands and, just as it was with his men and the others of their military, he was nigh unstoppable.

“Colonel Mauricio,” one of the voices behind him called, attempting to regain his attention to the discussion currently on the floor.

Turning his six-foot-six frame, Andries lifted a brow which matched the blacker-than-night hair cut in the brutally short military style as he focused his citron gaze on the speaker. As it always did, his unusual eye color made the man decidedly uncomfortable, so much so that he looked down to the papers before him to avoid it. “Yes?” Andries asked, his voice a low rumble of sound, one he’d once heard made a man wish for death rather than hear anything more from his mouth.

Clearing his throat, the chancellor, a member of their ruling Alliance, glanced to the others as though hoping they would speak up so as to remove Andries’s attention from him. They all appeared to be ignoring him, quite pointedly. “What are your thoughts on what the Syndicate has proposed?” the chancellor asked after a moment of discomfort.

Ah yes, the Syndicate of Systems. A rather innocuous term for the human vultures and butchers that led the people under them with bloody and iron fists. Any who opposed the Syndicate became barely even a footnote in history as they were crushed under the Syndicate’s bootheels. And they dared to refer to his people as animals. At least his people had come to a peace amongst themselves and the worlds under their umbrella of protection, and it hadn’t been done in oceans of blood either.

Running his tongue lightly over his teeth, Andries considered the “offer” the Syndicate had proposed not a fortnight before. A high-born daughter of one of their leaders in marriage to a lord of his world. It was the Syndicate’s hope that this marriage would allow them entry to what the Castitans controlled, their space, the planets, and, most importantly in the Syndicate’s minds, the natural resources undisturbed upon said planets.

“You would need to find yourself a lord willing to take on a human female, chancellor,” he said in a low tone, ever careful of every word he spoke. “Not just any man is going to accept this, and I doubt greatly that any on our world will see it as the honor these humans continually claim it to be.”

The chancellors all nodded, but he knew that they’d already considered that fact, and he had a sneaking suspicion they’d already decided just who would be the one to receive the “honor.” What made his skin crawl and his blood chill was the dawning realization that he was a sitting duck for their grand plan. Andries was not just a soldier of their people, but, because of a circumstance of birth, he was also a very high-ranking lord.

All of a sudden so much came to him in crystal clarity. Stepping forward, he cut the distance that he’d been careful to maintain up to that moment for their “comfort” and watched with some internal satisfaction as they all forced themselves to remain in place, though many flinched and he was sure at least two jumped practically from their skin. “If you are thinking of having me step into this ‘honor’”—his lips curled up in a sneer that bared one of his long incisors—“you had better think again.”

Clearing his throat, the chancellor seemed to be searching for his voice as he eyed him. “But, my lord,” he said, his voice higher than normal, “we’ve already spoken with your father and he’s agreed this is exactly what should happen.” Those words were thrown out as if they might save him from Andries’s wrath.

It did have the effect of stopping Andries where he stood. “He what?” he asked in stunned horror. The man that had given him life had never been his father in any sense of the word, and yet, they thought his “permission” would put him in his place.

“Your father told us to let you know that it was his wish you accept this newest station or…” Another of the chancellors trailed off when cold yellow eyes turned his way.

“Or?” Andries growled the word out in question.

“Or he would remove his claim to you being his son,” the chancellor finished in a barely there whisper.

Stunned, Andries stared at him for a long time as those words ricocheted in his head. If his—he sneered internally—father removed his claim of the blood tie between them, Andries would lose his position in the military and be shunned from all of society. He saw the sympathetic looks the chancellors directed his way, but he ignored them. Swallowing hard, his pride pricked by the hateful position his father had placed him in, he nodded. “Fine,” he said in a biting tone. “If that is what needs to happen, then so be it, but if she is not in agreement of this fully, without threat from the Syndicate, it’s off.”

The relief that filled the room was palpable to his finely tuned senses. “We will let the Syndicate know of this latest term, my lord,” the first chancellor who’d spoken said quietly.

Turning, Andries left the room, his long strides carrying him out of there before he gave into his more primitive nature and he did as his normally deeply buried beast demanded and bathed in their blood.

“May the gods help us all,” one of the men whispered softly as he looked at his fellow chancellors, and, for once, there was no argument to that from any of them.

Chapter Two

“They have agreed, my lord,” The bulky man said from his knees before his lord and master. “The Vampire Lord has agreed as you said he would.”

Dressed in garnet and silver, the lord nodded his head. “I knew that the old Vampire would see it my way.” There was a deadly gleam in the eye of the lord in question. “You simply need to know what to use as leverage and everything will come to you.”

“And your daughter, my lord, what is the leverage you use to steer her into this alliance?” The question shot out of the man’s mouth before he could pull it away.

The laughter that echoed off of the tapestry-lined room wasn’t of mirth or joy, it was of cunning. “That one is easy, Marcel. She will do as I tell her, or the thing she holds most dear is gone.”

“The stipulation is that he will not accept a bride who has been forced into the union,” Marcel said as he flinched, knowing the strike would come and felt amazed when it didn’t.

“He will simply not be told she is being forced. Xandra has learned not to cross me. That lesson was taught to her long ago. No, Xandra knows her place.” The lesson had been one that Lord Ripley had enjoyed. “And her lesson earned me my place in the Syndicate, because of the brutal murder of my beloved wife.” He snorted. “I am now the most revered and feared man in the cosmos.”

Marcel paled. He simply nodded his head and bowed in supplication. “Yes, my lord, that you are.”

“Go, bring my daughter to me. It’s time that the little bitch learns that she has to pay for the freedom that she has had all these years. Now it is time for her to do as I have raised her to do, or else.”

Marcel didn’t stand. He scooted out of his master’s sight before standing and racing through the halls to find Lady Xandra.

* * * *

Long lavender hair was caught in the breeze and impatiently tucked back behind small ears as the woman bent over the leg of the small boy screaming on the grounds. “Shh, I have you, Anaka, but you need to trust me.” The woman was young, but the sadness in her eyes told that she had seen far more than she ever should in life.

“We are almost finished here, Anaka, and then you can run off to your parents, darling. Be still.” Her voice was like that of the gentle breeze, soft but with the ability to turn strong, forceful at any moment.

“It hurts, Xandra!” he cried out again, hands gripping her arms, bruising the honey-colored skin of her body.

“I know, Anaka, and I wish I could give you a shot for the pain, but not yet.” She smoothed her long fingers over his hair. “Think about your puppy. You saved her from death, Anaka. That was very brave of you.” She looked to her personal assistant, who was even now treating the leg of the child, and nodded. “See, almost done.” One thing about the assistant, he was a more than adept healer. Too bad she couldn’t stand to be alone with him.

“It is done, my lady,” the man said finally in more of a sneer than not. What was clear on his face was that he didn’t understand why the woman insisted he treat a peasant. Xandra knew, though, that it was more information he could give Lord Ripley, and the lord was always very appreciative of information.

“Thank you, Diego. You can go now.” Xandra held her hand out to the small boy. “Come along, Anaka. We will get you home.” Xandra was unlike any of their people. She was that one rare being who was prophesied to be born, and her father made certain that all in the Syndicate recalled that she was the incarnation of their once Goddess Gaia, even if she knew she wasn’t.

Xandra’s long lavender hair, light-green skin, and eyes the color of the moon showed her as being more than just a human. They showed her as being something else entirely. She was her mother’s daughter, her mother who was a far-distant relative to the very Vampires that her father sought an alliance with.

Diego shook his head. “You know the rules, my lady.” The words were said with complete disdain for her. He didn’t like her at all. Her and her goody-two-shoes attitude, believing that there was more to life than constant war. No, someone needed to break the bitch, and he was glad that it was going to be someone as brutal as a Vampire lord. Too bad he wouldn’t be there to watch…or could he?

Marcel came tearing down the fields and was huffing and puffing when he reached Xandra and Diego. “My lady.”

“Take your time, Marcel. Go home, Ana. Go home and I will see you another time, all right?” She touched the child’s cheek and sent him on his way before looking at her father’s right-hand man. “Did you need me, Marcel?”

“Yes, your father has news,” he said with a gleam in his eyes that made Xan’s blood run cold.

“I will come straight away. I need to change and become presentable for him.” She had learned not to go without ensuring she was cleaned and properly dressed first. It only took once of having to walk through the palace naked to ensure she never made the mistake of not following his edicts to the letter again.

“I will tell him.” He looked at Diego, his gaze going hot. “I have room if you want to ride with me, Diego?”

Looking to his lover, Diego nodded and got onto the breeze mate, the small and compact vehicle open to the elements from the top, without so much as a word to Xan. Both men knew they were far superior to her because they were both fully human with no small trace of Vampire blood in them.

Xan watched the men leave and felt ill. Moon and stars help her, she didn’t know if she could survive another meeting with her father, not after the last one. Her mind turned back to that day, the day she had confronted him about Diego.

* * * *

The day that Xandra had learned the kind of man her father was, it had been a brutal and hard day. It had been a heated battle of words. Xandra had found that her father installed Diego as her personal assistant because he wanted to keep tabs on her. When she had demanded that Diego leave her, Lord Ripley sneered, “You are a woman. You have no right to demand anything of me.”

“I will go to Mother.” Her words had been the death sentence for her mother. She knew that now. “She is the only reason you are a lord in the Syndicate. Because of her and my grandfather.”

Her father’s eyes blazed. She had always known that her mother was afraid of her father, but until that moment didn’t know why. With a snap of his fingers he demanded that her mother be brought forward. His gaze never wavering from Xandra’s, he said, “This mother? You will go to this bitch?” His large hand closed over her mother’s delicate throat. Her pale citron hair was dull and lifeless in the lights of the hall. “She is nothing,” he said simply and then, eyes never wavering from Xandra, snapped the neck of his wife and threw her on the ground.

“You will see. I am far more than you will ever be. I am stronger, smarter, and I will always, always be the one to deliver death. Your mother served me in giving me my heir. However, heed me well, girl.” He pulled Xandra up by her hair. “Heirs can be sired again.” And then, in a very inhuman move, he bent in and bit her ear, biting off her left earlobe and laughing in her ear as she screamed. “Just a reminder, daughter, of just what I can do.” Throwing her across the floor, he turned, leaving her mother dead on the dais and a fear in his daughter that he had always wanted to be there, a reminder to her of just who ruled the Syndicate.

* * * *

Once she had changed clothes and pulled her hair back in a braid, she entered her father’s inner sanctum. “You requested my presence, Father?” She wished she could get away from him. She was desperate to flee from him, but there was no hope. There was never hope for her because there was nowhere for her. No matter where she went, she would always be found, and the thoughts of what would happen when brought back were enough to make her remain.

“Good, this time you remembered to pull your hair back.” His hands clasped behind his back and a feral smile formed on his face. He liked to see the damage he did to her. He appreciated seeing the lost lobe on her delicate ear. “You should thank me, daughter. I have finally found someone who is willing to take you to wife.” He rocked back and forth on his heels as he smiled. “He is a good friend of mine.” He didn’t even know the lord in question, but that was beside the point. “So keep that in mind when you decide to run your smart mouth.”

“Thank you, Father,” she whispered in horror. Moon and stars, he was going to wed her to a monster. “If you feel I am worthy for your friend, I am happy to be of service, Father.”

“Good, good.” He walked around. “You will be ready for travel in three days. You, my dear, are going to wed a Vampire Lord.” Without waiting to hear a reply, he simply moved from the room and stalked out, making sure she knew she was worth less than the fly on the wall.

As soon as she was certain she was alone, she raced to the bathroom and lost all the contents of her stomach. Tears falling from her eyes, she shook her head. “Oh god, he’s giving me to someone that he knows. At least with the devil I live with now I know what to expect.” How long into her marriage would it be before the Vampire snapped her neck as her father had done her mother?

Rising on shaky legs, she nodded, set her dress to rights, and moved toward her bedroom to pack for her death.

Chapter Three

Their arrival at the spaceport had been a celebration. Music played and vendors peddled their wares. Xandra had been granted permission to move through the crowds with Diego, and as she looked at the things for sale in venders’ stalls, she was blissfully unaware of the people watching her, of the men, women, and children all giving her looks as if she were the very devil herself.

Lightly, she touched a moonstone tear drop and smiled. “You have beautiful merchandise. Thank you for allowing me to see it.” She nodded to the man and moved on to another stall and then another. She knew she would need to leave the small area soon to prepare for the first meeting with her betrothed, but in all truth she didn’t want to meet him. She wanted to put it off for all time, if only she could.

Stepping up to the vendor as the woman left the table, Lorn looked to what she’d touched and, moments later, had it in his pocket before he rejoined his commanding officer as they trailed behind her. Passing the package over, he lifted a brow. “An unusual woman.”

Glancing to his second, Andries grunted slightly. “Indeed,” he murmured. The crowds were splitting for them as they approached and then closing behind them. Thankfully they were far enough back from her that she had no idea she was being followed. Although he didn’t really worry about her seeing them, the man that was with her concerned him. He was much too observant for the mere assistant that Andries had been assured he was.

For another half hour they followed her through the market before his assistant joined them. “They are ready, my lord,” the smaller man said in a respectful tone.

Why he had to have an assistant he’d never know, but at times like this Andries appreciated the man. It saved him from any unnecessary contact with the Alliance. “Approach the lady in five minutes and let her know that her presence is now required and ensure she arrives there in one piece,” he ordered. Stopping, he let her and her “assistant” move out of sight before returning to the Grand Chambers, the place all first contacts were made no matter with whom.

* * * *

She paused and looked around. The feeling of being watched had been driving her to distraction, and she hadn’t wanted to look but couldn’t stop herself from doing just that. Seeing no one out of place or threatening looking, she shook it off.

“Come on, my lady.” The words were respectful, but Diego’s tone was anything but. “We need to get away from these godforsaken heathens, and you have to change. You know that you need to look your best.” He looked her up and down. “Well, as good as you can look.”

“Thank you, Diego. You are likely right.” She was about to turn to move back to her appointed rooms at the hotel when a small man approached them.

“My lady, you are to come to the Grand Chambers. If you will follow me please?”

“Who are you?” Diego asked with a sneer.

“I am Lord Mauricio’s personal assistant,” the little man said and pulled himself up to his full height.

Placing herself between the men because she knew the look that Diego was wearing, she said, “We will follow you, kind sir, please?”

She followed the little man, more than well aware of the wrath that was going to be brought down on her by Diego and not able to find it in her to really care.

Once they arrived at the Council’s Grand Chambers within the large and forbidding looking government building of Castitas, Xandra clenched her hands at her sides hidden in the folds of her gown and waited to meet the man her father was so fond of.

Rushing forward, the chancellor bowed before her. “Greetings, my lady, I am Chancellor Fernando. If you would.” He waved a hand toward the doorway, the large double doors standing open with guards to each side.

As she moved forward, the chancellor looked to the man at her side. “I’m terribly sorry, sir, but you will have to wait here,” he said as they reached the doors, the guards already having moved to bar his entrance. Smiling the political look that all chancellors used, Fernando continued forward with a nod to the lady.

Before the bank of windows at the far end of the room, Andries stood staring out them with a frown on his face. He’d received word back from the border about the continual arrival of more ships from the Syndicate. They were daring, to say the least, foolish for sure, dead a definite possibility.

“My lord.” The chancellor cleared his throat as the doors were closed, shutting in the lady, the dark lord before him, and all the chancellors of the Alliance in the room.

Turning, Andries looked to the little man and heaved a quiet sigh before moving toward the two at the center of the room. “Fernando,” he said in a less-than-pleased tone conveying his lack of pleasure at this farce that the chancellors and his father had pushed him into.

“My lord Mauricio, may I present the lady Xandra Ripley,” Fernando said formally, avoiding the yellow gaze of the devil himself as he made the introductions. “My lady, may I present to you the Lord Colonel Andries Mauricio,” he finished and then stepped back before practically running to join his fellow chancellors. He’d survived, by the gods he’d survived, but never again would he ever draw attention to himself from the lord and, may the gods be merciful, the Colonel would forget Fernando’s name.

Bowing formally, Andries straightened to his full height before her. “My lady,” he greeted quietly and simply, fully aware of how others disliked hearing his voice. Since she had never before met him, he felt he should at least be considerate to her ears and keep his responses short.

She bowed to him, her hair down so that he wouldn’t see her earlobe and know he was getting a defective bride. “My lord,” she murmured and rose to her full height, nearly eight inches shorter than him. “It is a pleasure and an honor to meet you, my lord.” Her voice was soft, quickly putting everyone at ease, a skill she’d learned long ago and worked on everyone but her father. “It is an honor and a privilege to be promised to someone whom my father holds in such high regards.”

Lifting a brow at her words, Andries looked toward the chancellors for an explanation and got blank stares that told him they had no idea. “I have never met your father, my lady, so I am not sure how the man could hold me in any sort of regard, let alone high,” he told her.

Fernando was pushed forth once more and he winced, having to put himself in the Colonel’s sights yet again. “Pardon, my lord, if I may?” he said in a respectful tone. At his nod Fernando looked to the lady. “I am not sure what you have been told of this union, but my lord Mauricio has placed a stipulation upon it. We require to know if you come into this union of your own free will without any coercion of any kind. If there is any coercion, we will have to nullify the possibility of the union, but if there is none, we can proceed at your ladyship’s leisure.”

She looked from the Chancellor to the lord and back again. Her mind simply wasn’t working right. He had said he didn’t know her father. However, her father had said he knew the lord. She didn’t doubt for a moment her father could and would lie, but the why was the question.

Did she have coercion to join with the lord before her? Yes. Could she voice it? No. To voice such would enrage her father and, potentially, have him go off on another of his murderous rampages, the innocents of her world his targets. “And what of you, my lord?” she whispered softly, looking to the large man standing before the banks of windows. “Would you wish to marry a woman you don’t even know? A woman who isn’t one of your people?” She shouldn’t ask these things. It wasn’t her place, and she knew as soon as her father found out…well that was for later. “I stand here now alone, my lord. There are no guns to my head.” Just her heart and her people’s heads. “So I believe the question is back to you. Do you have someone coercing you into this marriage?”

Oh, now there was a bunch of loaded questions. Eyeing her, Andries knew he’d have to watch his tongue around her. Anything he said could and likely would come back upon him. Noting how the chancellors all suddenly had other things to look at, he let them suffer for a moment longer before he shook his head. “There is no one that could or would dare”—slight lie—“coerce me into anything, my lady. As to marrying you or one of my people as you called it, there really is no one that has ever caught my eye or my interest. While I know naught of you, I see no reason not to proceed if you are still of the mind to do so.” And that was probably the most he’d ever said in the whole of his life at one time.

The sound of his voice wrapped around her, made her feel strange, and she heard herself asking, “Can you tell me of yourself, my lord? Tell me of the place we will call home?” She suddenly found it imperative to know if that would always be the way his voice affected her. “Will we live together, or separate? Will you send me home?” Her voice quivered in fear at the thoughts of being wed and then sent back home. The only reason she hadn’t been sexually used for her father’s joys was because she was a virgin, and he had known that was a commodity that was easily bartered with. However, if she made it home after being wed and no longer had that small defense, she would be one of the whores used for whatever her father wished.

Tipping his head at her question, no, not so much the question, it was the tone that caught him, Andries looked pointedly to Fernando, who quickly took off for the sidelines once more. Shifting, he indicated the windows and began walking toward them, glad that she followed without him having to say anything. Once there was enough space that the chancellors couldn’t hear them easily he turned to face her once more.

“I normally am aboard a vessel which I command,” he told her softly. “I have a home in the country in which I reside when I am not required within the city. As to living together or not, that would be your choice, my lady, though on my world husband and wife do not live separately unless they are separating.” Or if he was keeping a mistress. “Sending you home is not an option, and, this is something you should consider now as well, my lady. You will likely never return unless I am able to schedule it into a route of my ship.”

She shouldn’t have felt relief, she really shouldn’t, but she did. “I will admit that I haven’t traveled in space much at all.” She took a step closer to him, looking out the windows and seeing nothing but his reflection. They were a striking pair, he with his short blacker-than-endless-space hair and she with the unusual natural lavender color. The citron of his eyes made her want to have them watching her always, but she held her tongue. He was after all a man and as such…well she didn’t have too much trust in men. “I would rather not live away from a husband I had. When I wed, I would like it to be forever. I want to have one man only as the man who wakes at my side each day.” She shrugged and closed her eyes. “And of you, my lord? I have to admit to much ignorance where your people are concerned. Do you marry once, or as many wives as you can handle?”

“We marry once, though separations do occur,” he said to her, looking down at her face and wondering why she seemed so nervous. “There are cultures on our world where a second or third wife is not forbidden, all at the same time, but not here.” Turning slightly, he tipped his head to better see her face. “Why do you ask?”

“Because I don’t think I could be a second or third wife to any man.” She nodded and turned to face him. “If you had your choice, and please don’t give me the side speak and twisted words of a diplomat, if you had your choice, would you marry me?”

“I don’t know you well enough, my lady, to make an accurate determination, but based on what I’ve seen thus far I see no reason not to,” he told her honestly. “You appear healthy and with a strong will of your own. You don’t appear to be fragile in a way that would cause you any problems with living on our world or among the peoples here.” Raking a look down her form, he ticked off other criteria in his head as to her shape, her form, her stance, and the breadth of her hips. “I see no reason to cancel the wedding unless you have something you wish to bring to our attention, my lady.”

She shook her head. The relief was almost instantaneous as she looked at him. “No, there is nothing.” She bowed her head to him and turned back to the window. “When would you like to proceed? Will it be soon or would you rather send me back home and have it be at a later date more fitting your schedule?” She prayed to the moon and stars he wouldn’t send her home.

Signaling behind her back to the chancellors, he kept his eyes on her. “We are ready now, my lady. If you wish to change, feel free to go with my assistant to your chambers. We will reconvene at your convenience,” he added so that she wouldn’t feel rushed at all. “Or, if you wish, we can delay until another day if you wish for any of your people to be present.”

She shook her head. “No, I don’t want to leave this room until I am safely married to you.” The whisper of fear was there because she knew if she walked out of that room, Diego would feel it his place to ensure that she was properly reprimanded for allowing them to keep him out of the chambers.

Stunned to hear her words, especially the tremor of fear, Andries nodded slowly. “If that is your wish, my lady, we can accommodate you.” Nodding to the chancellors, he offered her his hand. “We’ll need to go into the next chamber to meet with the minister. Do you wish for your assistant to be here as witness?” he asked, concerned that her father would not take their word on the marriage without a witness of his own.

“Only if you promise not to leave me alone with him,” was uttered before she could censor the words. “I’m sorry, that was unkind of me.” Truthful, but unkind. “However, you are right. He should be available so that he can see that we did indeed wed.” Even that wouldn’t stop her father if he chose to decide the validity of the wedding was off.

She stilled as she realized what she was doing, and as much as she didn’t want to, she said, “I shouldn’t marry you.” She was wedding him to get away from pain and fear. She was running and putting him into harm’s way. “I apologize, my lord. Perhaps I am being too hasty. Yes, maybe we should date so that we can learn if we even are anywhere close to being suited?”

Frowning at her abrupt turnaround and still trying to puzzle out her original position, he drew her to a stop, his hand light on her elbow, of that he made sure. “My lady, I know not what you refer to when you say we should ‘date,’” he told her quietly, aware of the others being close. “If you are not ready to wed, then perhaps you should let your father know this and have him retract his offer of your hand. It would seem that you are feeling a bit of pressure and mayhap are not quite as pleased by the choice given as you originally indicated.” In other words, she was having second thoughts about marrying him in particular and was now panicking with it so close to being completed.

As much as she knew she was going to regret her next words, she reached out and touched his cheek. “I think you’re right. I’m sorry, my lord, but this might be the safe thing for you.” Pulling her hand back, she stepped away from him and nodded. “It was a pleasure to meet you, my lord. Thank you for your kindness, but I believe it’s time for me to leave.” Lifting her hand in farewell, she turned to leave, knowing that the fight that was to come down shouldn’t have him in the middle. He didn’t deserve to be served up as a shield between her and her father.

Fernando stared in shock as he watched the lady heading for the door and the Colonel just standing there letting her move freely away. Dashing to her, he gave a quick bow. “A word, my lady?” he asked, indicating a corner where, hopefully, the Colonel would not hear their words.

Staring at her for a moment, Fernando twisted his hands together. “My lady, am I mistaken or are you leaving?” he asked, praying to the gods he was wrong.

“You are not mistaken, Chancellor. “If you will excuse me, please?” She wasn’t sure what had the little man so upset. He shouldn’t be, not when no one other than her father really wanted the marriage.

“My lady,” Fernando said and then stopped, passing a nervous glance to the man on the far side of the room staring out the windows. He appeared stoic in his stance, but Fernando knew that he was waiting to hear the doors shutting behind her and on his life. Because of the clause Andries’s father had placed on this wedding, if it did not come to pass, the Colonel would be no one as soon as she left. The fact the man had said nothing stunned Fernando, but the chancellor knew that Andries would never force anyone into a position if it could be avoided or if it wasn’t life or death.

“I should not tell you this but—” He winced, wondering if he’d die quickly or painfully and slowly when the Colonel found out. Lowering his voice even more, he moved a hair closer so she’d be able to hear. “If you return to your father, the agreement will be null and void. I don’t wish to apply further pressure upon you, but I feel you deserve to know everything before you make the final choice.” Swallowing hard, he decided it would be best to just say it quickly without any delay or he’d never get it out.

“If the wedding does not proceed, my lord will lose his position completely,” Fernando whispered to her. “I know that makes no sense to you,” he said gently. “Because of the circumstances of his birth, we the chancellors were less than kind in our ways of getting his agreement to be the husband for whatever woman was chosen by the Syndicate. What is even worse is that, because of who we spoke to in regards to encouraging him to step forth, there were conditions placed on him.” It was low and underhanded and the more he spoke, the worse Fernando felt.

“We know that you will see it as coercion, but on our world it is not. It is simply the way things are done,” he told her softly. “But if you nullify the agreement, my lord will lose his rank as an officer and his station. He will become even less than what your people refer to as a beggar. He will lose his name, his royal title, and his military commission. I don’t want you to alter your mind if you truly believe that you cannot be content with him, but I couldn’t let you leave without at least telling you what he will never admit to.” Bowing slightly, he stepped back and, though he wanted to say more, knew he’d said enough to die in the most painful of ways.

She looked at the man standing at the bank of windows and frowned. “Is this truth?” When the little man nodded, she swallowed and said, “I want to speak with him, completely alone. Alone with no one else in the room, no listening devices, just he and I.”

“You will have time.” The Chancellor said finally after what looked like an internal debate shining in his eyes. He moved from her side and made a subtle gesture that had the others out the door until it was just Andries and Xandra.

Chapter Four

Moving to his side, Xandra spoke softly. “I have asked them to leave us completely alone, Andries. I wish to speak with you openly and candidly. Will you please have a seat with me so I can, so we can talk?”

Turning, he nodded. He was stunned that she was still there but made sure his face and eyes didn’t give away his surprise. Moving to the long table, he pulled out two chairs and held one for her until she sat. Once she was in her seat he took the other, resting his hands on the arms of the chair. “What is it you wish to talk about my lady?” He asked, his tone clearly indicating that he’d believed they had said all that needed to be said between them.

Taking the seat that he had offered her, Xandra wrung her hands for several moments, seemingly lost in thought, before speaking. “You are a good man, Andries,” she said simply before, “I can’t lie to you and tell you that I was overjoyed at the prospect of wedding you. Not because of your race but because my father assured me the two of you were the best of friends.” She slowly touched the backs of her hands and the underside of each palm. “He is a horribly cruel man.” Her eyes turned up to look at him. “When I realized you weren’t like him, I began to think that possibly I could hide from him, hide behind you.” She reached out and touched the hand that was fisted on the table. “But I can’t do that to you. You don’t deserve to be brought into something where my father would do anything to give me pain, but you also don’t deserve to lose all that you have because of me changing my mind.”

She didn’t know how to explain to him why she wanted to speak with him alone. “No one would believe me if I were to tell them of the atrocities my father has visited upon myself and my peoples, so I have kept silent. I wanted to speak with you alone because I want to give you the chance to decide. You and only you. Do you want to wed me, keep me with you even though there is the more than real possibility that my father will still try to attack you if only out of spite and his own malicious reasons? Do you want to wed me and send me back home”—she swallowed hard at the thought of what would happen with that—“or do you wish to walk away? Your choice, Andries. If you simply wish to wed me so that you don’t lose all you have, I will accept that as your choice.”

Having overheard enough of Fernando’s confession, Andries hadn’t even flinched, his eyes darting for a moment to the door that Fernando had disappeared through and then back to the woman settled before him. When he spoke he spoke softly to her. “My lady, had I wished to only marry you because I was concerned about losing my status, I would not have allowed you to walk away.” While it would gall him to become less than what he’d fought to be through hard work, he couldn’t trap someone that didn’t want to be there. “It has always been and will remain your choice, my lady. You must decide what is best for you. Forget what Fernando told you. It has no bearing on anything decided here. You must choose for yourself. That is all that I have to say on the subject, my lady.” If she chose to leave, he would be stripped immediately of his rank and position and he would take it with the same bearing he had the beatings as a child, with silence and dignity as he’d been taught.

“I want this wedding, Andries. I want it because I would like to be able to have a good life with you.” She sighed and then closed her eyes. “I don’t want to cause you pain though, and believe me when I tell you that my father knows how to inflict pain.” When she opened her eyes, she pulled back. “We will wed. I would like to remain with you. However, if you don’t want that, I understand.”

Staring into her eyes for a long moment, Andries stood and held out his hand to her, waiting silently until she tentatively slid hers across his skin. Closing his fingers around hers, he tugged her to her feet and then tucked her hand through his arm before leading her to the doors. Opening them, he looked to the chancellors, who were standing in a huddle looking ready to all be ill. “We are ready to see the minister,” he told them and tried not to be amused by their looks of relief or the fact that a couple had to be held up by others. He did notice the scathing look that the lady’s assistant passed his direction but ignored him. He was unimportant. Leading the way, Andries walked her to the next chamber and held the door for her as he eyed the chancellors, letting them know silently that he’d be chatting with them later.

Diego moved up and close. “I am to witness this wedding for my lord and master.” The smug look he cast was one of unholy glee. “If I am not to witness the marriage, my lord will not acknowledge it and therefore will render it as null and void.”

Xandra breathed in deeply, her whole body gaining in height as she straightened to her full five foot nine inches. “Diego, my father can be sent a recording of the wedding as well as affidavits from the chancellors, unless he doesn’t view them as being as trustworthy as a personal assistant?” Her tone clearly said what she didn’t, that she was challenging how her father viewed the Syndicate as a whole.

Diego understood and the look in his eyes told her she would pay for her words. “Very well, my lady, if you have need of me, I will wait in the hall for you and then escort you to your room.” Where he had every intention of showing her just why her father put him in charge of her.

“There won’t be a need for that,” Andries said softly, his tone having taken on a dangerous edge. He’d been listening and picked up on the undercurrents. “You may observe the wedding and, upon the completion, you will take the recording and affidavits from the chancellors to her father. Your services at that point will no longer be required, your duty having been completed.” He didn’t add that if the man tried to return, he wouldn’t live for very long, but his pointed stare did. “The lady will have an assistant here that knows of our customs and will help guide her to learning and understanding them.” His words made it sound logical and would make anything the man said in reply foolish and petty.

Diego had to report back to his lord and master, to her father. “She will need someone from her own home world so she isn’t left feeling alone in her new place.”

“Thank you for the offer, Diego. However, I can’t ask you to give up everything just so that I won’t be alone.” She moved a step closer to Andries. “I’m sure my new husband will ensure that I am not left feeling like an outsider in our new home, won’t you?”

“Of course I will,” Andries said softly, looking down at her, stunned at the fact she’d moved closer to him instead of further away. “Your safety will be assured by marriage, my lady.” His eyes turned back to Diego, who was bristling over the offense. “Your former”—he took great pleasure in saying that word—“assistant won’t have that same security even if I were to extend the courtesy of family to him.” Andries’s tone said that he would only do such a thing when their world stopped spinning and their sun no longer burned.

“Where do I watch the farce from?” Diego said before he realized it and added, “Where do I view the nuptials from?”

“Fernando will situate you,” Andries said with a bite to his voice, his temper starting to come to the surface, a rarity.

“We will pass along the recording and the affidavits to you afterward. I believe that we will simply be the chancellors, Andries, and myself.” She looked up at her soon-to-be husband and hoped that he would back her up. He had no reason to, of course, but she had hope at least.

“He will watch. We don’t need any questions arising that this was not done properly,” Andries said a moment before Fernando stepped forward and waved the assistant to a seat along the wall of the small chamber. The other chancellors took their seats as he guided her forward to the minister that stood by a bank of windows.

“Minister,” Andries said with a short bow of greeting for the man who turned. “The Lady Xandra Ripley,” he introduced her to the man who stepped forward with a bow.

“My lady, a pleasure,” the man’s musical voice said softly. “My lord, if you would both step to the table and sign the papers.” He indicated the table.

Leading her to the marriage papers, Andries stared down at them for a moment. “These”—he pointed to three—“state that you are coming into this marriage of your own free will and that you acknowledge that you are now part of our society. These”—he indicated the next three—“are the marital contracts that, upon the completion of the wedding, you will sign stating that we are legally wed. These”—he indicated the last—“are my will that will, should I perish, place everything I have under your control.”

“Let’s hope that nothing ever happens to you then, Andries,” she whispered as she began to sign her name, trusting him completely, trusting that he was telling her truth about the forms she was now signing. After she was finished affixing her signature to each of the forms, she looked at him and swallowed. “Are you very certain that you want to do this, Andries?”

Taking the stylo from her fingers, Andries quickly put his signature to each of the papers before setting it aside and, once more, taking her hand. In his mind, he was already wed to her, but she didn’t know that. In his world, as soon as a father gave his daughter permission to wed a male, it was done. The ceremony they were doing was for her human sensibilities and for her father so that he would see it as legal. If he didn’t…well, that would be the last time the man ever said anything.

Stopping before the minister, he turned to face her, lifting her other hand. Putting his left in her left, he laid her right over them and then put his on top. Looking into her eyes, he lifted a brow. “Last chance,” he warned in a low tone for her ears only even as the minister moved to stand before them.

“I’m more than happy with the choice made for me, Andries. I think that my father has done something for me that is actually really good.” She leaned in close and grinned. “We won’t tell him though, will we?” If only he knew just how true that statement was.

Turning to the minister, she bowed her head respectfully, even as she kept a hold of Andries’s hands. “Thank you for taking the time from your schedule to see to the joyous occasion that is my wedding to my Lord Colonel Mauricio on this day.” She turned once more and looked up at Andries. “I hope that I will make you happy, Andries. You are saving me from a fate you couldn’t begin to imagine.” She hadn’t meant to say the words aloud, but she had. “I hope that I’m worth the trouble, that the alliance with the Syndicate is what your people really need.”

He lifted a brow at her words and remained silent. Some things were better not discussed in public. Later they would discuss everything and get a few things cleared up as well.

“We are gathered this day to join together two worlds, two societies, and two people,” the minister said, his hand on the holy book of their people. Under his hand, Andries could just see the sheet of paper that held the notes on the ceremony he was doing for Xandra and her people. “While our cultures are different in a great many ways, there are so many things that are the same, the joyous union of two people the greatest of them all.”

Looking to Xandra, the Minister peeked at his sheet. “Do you, Lady Xandra Ripley, stand here before those that are gathered of your own free will with only purity of heart in undertaking this joining to the Lord Colonel Andries Mauricio? Do you swear with all that you are that you will step forward into this new life with an open mind and generosity of soul? Will you take the lord colonel as your own for all that he his, good and bad, for all time from this moment forward?”

Xandra looked at the minister and then her soon-to-be husband. “I, Xandra Ripley, come to my husband Colonel Andries Mauricio of pure body, mind, soul, and spirit. All that I am, all that I ever will be is willingly placed in the more-than-capable hands of the one-day father of my children. For him I will give up all that I was because he is the only one who can make me as I will be. I accept Andries into my heart, soul, and mind.” She was giving herself over to him completely. It wasn’t necessary. However, she knew that it was the right thing. With him her real future began.

Andries stared down at her as the minister shifted toward him and repeated the questions, this time directed to him. Nodding slowly, he watched her. “I, Andries Mauricio, come to my wife, the Lady Xandra Ripley, of pure body, mind, soul, and spirit. All that I am, all that I ever will be is willingly placed in the gentle cradle of the arms of the one-day mother of my children.” He was quoting as closely as possible to what she’d said. They hadn’t exactly told him what he’d need to say beforehand, so he was, as the humans would say, winging it. “For her I extend my protection, my will, and my caring to her, for she will be the only one to see me as I am. I accept Xandra into my heart, soul, and mind.” If he had a heart and soul, that would be true.

“Then, before those graciously viewing this union and under the eyes of the gods, I am pleased to speak these words. May you long live in the gods’ view as husband and wife for the rest of time in this or the next of worlds,” the minister said. “My lord,” he added before he stepped back. This part of any ceremony made the minister queasy, but he’d always had a weak stomach, an oddity in a world of Vampires.

Shifting his hold, Andries took her right hand between both of his, one hand gently holding her wrist, the other at her fingers arching the hand so her palm was facing him. Bending slightly, he let his incisors slide down and, with a quick move, scored a light line over the flesh at her thumb. Letting them retract, he waited and then, with his eyes locked with hers, lightly licked at the tiny line of blood, his saliva clotting the wound almost immediately.

Xan looked at Andries and watched with fascination as he began to lick at the blood coming from the small wound he inflicted upon her. It wouldn’t have been so bad, but the sheer eroticism of what was happening had her whole body quaking desperately. Locking her knees, she looked at him and felt herself licking her lips. “On my world, we seal our marriage with a kiss.” She couldn’t fathom why she was saying that, but she was and found she wanted that kiss, wanted to feel his lips to hers.

Lifting his head, he let the one hand drop to her hip as his hand holding her fingers pulled her closer. “Then we shall ensure this is done according to your customs,” he told her. Her blood had been sweet with a touch of fire to it, very different from anything he’d ever tasted before, and it had started a craving in his gut. Lowering his head toward hers, he watched as her eyes dilated and knew he was the cause, the scent of his species wrapping around her to make her a more willing donor. Stifling it as much as he could, he brushed his lips to hers, his incisors threatening to erupt at the light touch. Self-control shaky, he encouraged her lips to part slightly and kissed her fully, taking his time and, for the first time in too many years, enjoying the touch and taste of a woman.

Her free hand moved up and around his neck, fingers spreading in the short midnight hair as she opened willingly, freely to him. She had been kissed before, but nothing, nothing ever like this. The feeling was like liquid fire in her bloodstream, the touch of his tongue to hers causing her breath to leave her lungs and her body to press closer to him with a soft moan escaping her voice box, only slightly muted by their mouths fused together. The kiss was anything but innocent and gave the final seal to the marriage according to her peoples’ customs. When she pulled back, she licked her lips and looked up at him, her thumb lightly stroking the base of his head where she held on for dear life. “Can we do that again, only for us and not for the sealing of the ceremony?” Her words were whisper quiet, not picked up by the recording sphere, just his sensitive ears.

He felt the urge, an odd urge, to smile at her words. He resisted. Nodding slowly, he stared into her eyes. “Later though. Without the audience is preferable,” he murmured as quietly as he could. Straightening, he led her to the table once more for the final signatures to the wedding documents. Letting her sign first, he scrawled his signature to the papers and then watched as the minister put his seal on each of the nine papers, rolled them into sets, and took one himself, handed another to Andries, and took the other to the chancellors as the recording sphere was shut down and a duplicate made. The little disc was handed to Xandra’s assistant as well as a copy of the papers and the affidavit the chancellors had written up and signed.

Diego shot the little whore a look that told her all too clearly he would ensure she paid for all of this. The beating he would receive he would revisit on her tenfold. “Thank you.” With that he turned and stalked away, the diva in him making him flip his long brown hair as if to tell them all to kiss off.

“Now what, Andries? Now we are wed and I am honestly”—she looked up and heaved in a deep breath—“I am at a loss for what to do. I don’t know the place where we are. You are the only one I know.” And that wasn’t a bad thing. “So now what?” She had clenched her hands at her sides after signing the final wedding document, clenched them because, strangely, they wanted to touch him.

“Now we will go to the meal that was prepared for the celebration, and after, we will go to the housing where you will see our city living space. I would take us to the country house this night, but I have a meeting here in the morning on a mission that is coming up. But in the afternoon we will go there and you can see if it is acceptable,” he informed her. Moving the papers to his other hand, he laid the free one on her back and guided her out of the room toward the small dining room that had been prepared in anticipation of the wedding.

She paused and smiled at the people milling around getting their meal ready and then looked up at him as something clicked in her mind. “You’re not leaving me behind, are you?” He had said he had a mission coming up, and if that was the case, was she to be left behind? “If you don’t have time to show me around, you certainly don’t have to, Andries. I can find my own way if I need to.” He likely had a million things to do in preparation for the coming mission.

“We’ll talk later,” he said in a low tone, one that suggested she drop it for the time being and promised he would speak of it later. Guiding her to the table, he held out her chair and moved it in as she sat. Sitting to her right, he looked at the chancellors as they all sat, most seeming not quite so nervous as before. The fact that he could smell the spirits on most of the breaths alerted him to the fact that they’d started drinking, early from what he could determine.

Chapter Five

When the server approached with two pitchers, Andries looked to her as the liquids were poured first for her and then himself before the server then continued around the table. “This is just water. You may need it for some of the foods they’ve prepared as they do have a bit of bite to them,” he said, pointing to the one on her right. Indicating the one on the left, which was just as clear as the water but with a faint tint of pink, he added, “That is a local spirit. It is quite potent and is best to have during the first course and the meat course.” He leaned back as the cheese and fruit platter was set between them.

“Thank you.” She looked at the fare around them and knowledge of her upbringing told her that she had to wait for him to begin to eat first, had to allow him all of the choicest pieces. However, he didn’t seem to want to begin without her. “I don’t know your customs,” she whispered as she leaned close to him. She felt completely stupid in that admission. However, she couldn’t not tell him her thoughts. “Do I wait for you to begin, for the others to begin, what?”

Andries touched her hand lightly and shook his head. “We wait for all others to be served first,” he said softly as he watched the servers move around.

Once all the platters were down, the eldest chancellor stood, lifting his glass of spirits, and gave the wedded couple a small bow. “We are honored and humbled to have been a part of your day. Bless you both with long lives and may the gods ensure many and healthy children.” The others lifted their glasses and gave their agreements before everyone drank.

Andries lifted his glass and looked to her, amused when she quickly picked up hers. Tapping his to her glass, he took a small sip. “Small drinks only,” he warned as he leaned forward slightly to set his glass down.

Sitting back, he picked up a piece of cheese and, when she leaned back, held it up for her to take, watching as he saw some confusion flicker in her eyes. “The choicest pieces of every meal go to the female of a couple. The male always feeds her before he eats anything,” he supplied in a low murmur as she continued to hesitate.

“It is opposite in my father’s home,” she whispered and accepted the cheese from him. “Thank you, Andries.” For understanding that she didn’t know what to expect, how to act. “Is there somewhere that I can learn customs and mannerisms from?” She hated that she was so backward. “I don’t want to embarrass you and really want to be able to make you proud and not make you second-guess taking me to wife.”

Picking up another piece of cheese, this time a different type, he held it for her to take. “Your assistant will help instruct you in everything you’ll need to know. If you wish to learn more after her lessons then we will see about finding another source,” he told her quietly.

“If you feel that she will be sufficient, then I will accept that.” She smiled at him and took the next piece of cheese and licked her lips. “I think I like this one best,” she whispered to him and moved her hand to touch his, lay over his. “I’m sorry I didn’t have the proper training before coming to you. I’m afraid you are going to have to ensure I am taught everything.” Normally her people were at least given instruction on how to make love, how to join bodies even when not ridding the woman of her virginity. She, however, hadn’t had that. “I believe you were given the short end of the bargain, Andries.”

“If you believe that, then why agree to placing yourself in a position of such disadvantage?” he asked her as he picked up a third type of cheese and offered it to her. It was milder than the one she’d had before but was rich and smooth. “Seems not the best choice for yourself to purposefully make yourself uncomfortable,” he pointed out as he watched her chew, trying to gauge her reaction to the foods.

“I actually”—she accepted the cheese and frowned—“I don’t care for that one,” she murmured. “I am actually very comfortable at your side, Andries. I just wish that I knew more, was a better woman for you to take as your wife.” She shrugged and took a small sip of the pink-tinged liquid. “As for why I would place myself in your care”—she shrugged—“You are a good man.” She smiled. “I know you don’t believe that, but I know you are a good man.” Because she had known true evil all her life, and he wasn’t it. “You won’t kill me before our children, make me suffer for each failure you have made in life, and you won’t force other things on me.” She revealed far more than the words with that statement.

Andries pushed the soft cheese to the side of the platter and picked up a piece of fruit and offered it. “This is a little tart at the beginning but it sweetens as you chew,” he told her as she took it. He wanted to ask her about her words but knew that there were too many ears around paying too much attention to them for freedom of discussion. He made a note to ask her once they were alone in their suites. “Tomorrow during my meeting, your assistant, who you’ll meet after the meal, will help you to choose a new wardrobe as she instructs you on our customs, if that is acceptable to you.”

“That would be nice.” She took the fruit offered and her face puckered with the first bites. However, as she chewed it became less and less tart and sweeter. “Oh, I like this. I like this one a lot,” she said, smiling happily. “I’m sure my father had funds transferred to your accounts. My dowry is”—what would be the polite term?—“vast.”

“It will be set aside for your personal use,” Andries said quietly, unconcerned about talk of money. “For your wardrobe and anything you wish for either of our living spaces, you have full access to the accounts,” he told her as he offered her a new piece of fruit. “This has almost no flavor, but is juicy. It’s the texture that you will either like or not,” he warned as he placed the bite on her tongue.

She took the bite from his fingers and curled her tongue around his finger, licking the juice from his digit greedily. “Thank you.” She frowned and shook her head. “I don’t like the texture. It’s stringy even though it is juicy.” She licked her lips and grinned. She waited several moments before saying, “Will you come with me tomorrow, shopping for a new wardrobe? Will you help me pick out things that you might like?” She wanted to please him, hoped she would please him.

“If the meeting is concluded in time, I will return to our suite to help you choose. You’ll be able to choose all your materials, colors, and styles from there as I hadn’t the time to arrange a showing in a shop. That we will do later,” he told her as he fed her more of the cheese she’d liked. “The dressmaker will assist you in the appropriate styles for our nation, and your assistant, Aleina, will guide you in the color palettes that best suit you.”

“Thank you.” She didn’t think she would ever be able to thank him enough. He gave her so very much. He gave her the chance at a real life, was looking out for her well-being by giving her an assistant, arranged for new clothes. “I would like to have you there. However, if you can’t, I completely understand.” Looking at the new plates of food coming their way, she pulled back. “Why aren’t you eating with me?” She hadn’t noticed if he had been eating or not.

“I will this second course,” he told her softly. “Only the cheese and fruit platter as well as the dessert platter do you get hand fed.” His voice held a hint of warmth to it that was extremely rare, but he knew that she wouldn’t realize that yet. “The second, third, and any other courses we dine normally,” he said as the server appeared to show him the plates. Nodding at the selection of greens and bread crisps, he leaned out of the way so that it could be put before her. “The dressing is light, a bit of something you would term vinegar with a sweet touch of a blended fruit juice. The crisps are good with the dregs left at the bottom as well as for helping to corral any of the little pieces,” he told her as he moved his napkin to his lap and lifted his utensil.

She lifted hers as well and leaned close, flashing a rare smile as she whispered, “I believe that I preferred the first course as well as dessert then because I do get hand fed.” She felt strange saying that, but it was the truth. There was something about him feeding her, and even though they just met, it was erogenous, made her feel…needy.

Lifting a brow at her words, he looked to the chancellors and said to hell with the way things were done. Shifting, he stabbed his utensil into her greens and lifted the bite for her to take it. “Traditions can be changed,” he said at her look. “Besides, it is our wedding meal. We are allowed some lenience to our actions on such a night.”

She looked at him and leaned in, taking the bite from his fork. She didn’t miss the way the Chancellors all leaned in to each other, how one crossed himself in an ancient symbol of protection of Earth Gods. “Why are they acting like that?” As if Andries was some kind of monster, because he wasn’t, at all.

“Because they don’t like me and worry at the same time that they will gain my attention,” he said to her honestly as he stabbed some greens from his plate to eat. Swallowing, he fed her another bite. “While I am a necessary evil with my position, they also know if our world was to ever war again just which of us would survive. You may notice it when you go to market or walk through the streets. You will get respect because of your position and who I am, but behind your back many will do the same in the hopes that they, too, never gain my notice.”

She placed a small hand on his arm and paused his food as he was about to make a second bite. “I don’t see you like that.” She didn’t think she did from the first second she met him. “I see the truth of people.” She whispered a confession no one knew. “I see the chancellor who stilled me from leaving as a truly good man. He is terrified of his own shadow, but is good. The one who crossed himself”—she leaned in closer, whispering so that it was just their own personal conversation—“he really likes young boys.” Her thumb stroked his arm and pulled back. “And in you I see a good man. Honest, brutal yes, when you have to be, kind, giving, and caring for those that can’t care for themselves.” He was the exact opposite of her father. Shaking her head, she pulled back. “I’m sorry, that was uncalled for.”

Her words hit him like a violent storm, so much kicking through him all at once and bringing up a lot he’d rather have left in the past, where it belonged. “Don’t apologize to me, my lady. There is no need. Should there ever be need for an apology, I’m sure you will know it.” Setting his utensil down, he looked into her eyes, glad she didn’t flinch from his gaze even as it amazed him as well. “These are only half the chancellors. The others are in a nation to our north working on an accord for shipments to pass freely between our borders. These members are not Vampire as I am which is why they are a little nervous. Normally when I need to deal with the Alliance, they ensure the others are available.”

“Then more the fool are they.” She, however, moved back, allowing him the retreat he needed. “Thank you for taking time to instruct me. I appreciate your efforts in making me feel comfortable, Andries.” She smiled softly just for him. “Can I feed you?” she asked curiously. He had been so wonderful to her, feeding her and allowing her questions. Now she would like to give back to him, if she could.

His shock was so complete that he knew it showed on his face. He’d had no warning, and therefore he’d been unable to hide the reaction to her words. “If you wish,” he said to her as he scrambled to adjust his thinking toward the little human female. He’d never had anyone offer to do anything for him, let alone feed him. The fact he had the distinctive incisors of his species tended to turn people off from even inviting him to meals unless there was something to be gained.

She didn’t see the incisors of his species. She didn’t see the blood-lust that marked his kind. She saw him. She saw the kind and gentle man that he was. She saw a man who was worth so much more than what people tried to give him. “I do wish.” Picking up her utensils, she cut him off a piece of the meat and brought it close to him. “Open up?” she asked softly.

Chapter Six

Opening his mouth for her, he watched as she brought the meat to him and, at the last instant, caught her wrist. Pulling the meat back, he took the utensil with a frown as he lifted it closer to his nose. A low growl formed in his chest as he tossed the meat to the plate, her hand resting on his chest where he’d pulled it out of some protective need. Pushing his seat back, he stood with a look to the chancellors. “If you will excuse us, gentlemen.” The last word had a definite bite to it as he helped her from her chair with a shake of his head at her look.

Guiding her from the room, he found an empty room where he paced away from her in anger before coming back, his temper having exploded as his mind had processed what had nearly happened in there. Moving to her, he caught her chin in a light hand. “Did you eat any of the meat?” he asked as horror set back in again.

The fear was in her eyes as she shook her head. “No, I’ve only eaten what you yourself have fed me.” She moved her hand to cover his and asked, “You’re hurting. Let go.” She was sure he didn’t know his own strength and in his anger he was squeezing her chin tightly, bruising the delicate skin there. “Andries, what happened?”

Staring down into her eyes, Andries felt a huge, swift flood of relief that later he’d question and wonder about but for the moment he put down to not wanting an innocent to suffer. Releasing her chin, he fought not to give into another urge, to pull her into his arms and cradle her close, but such softness had been mostly beaten out of him, at least for acting it out. “The meat was poisoned. It would have done me no harm, but had you eaten any…” Some things really didn’t need to be said.

She understood. Moon and stars, she understood. “I don’t understand why.” She watched him as he once more began to pace in the small confines of the empty room. “Why would someone want to try to kill me now?” Because that was what it was, a clear and present attempt on her life. “We are already married. What good would it do to anyone? My father wanted the alliance with the Vampire Nation and your father wanted the alliance with the Syndicate, so why now?”

“Neither wanted the alliance,” Andries said, turning to look at her. “The Alliance members wanted an in to the Syndicate so that they had a way to keep them from their continued foolish forays into our territory. The Syndicate wanted a spy on the inside that would give them information and a way to take us down so that they could take our worlds and the space they inhabit as their own. Besides that, the claim that they took down the Castitans would look extremely good on their resumes when dealing with other species of the universe. We’re greatly feared after all.” If she didn’t know that, then he wasn’t really going to explain the whys of it. “That is why we pointedly hustled your assistant that your father sent along back to the man.”

She sat down hard, eyes wide as she looked at him. “I knew that Diego had always been attached to me to watch over me, to beat me into submission when the need arose, and to keep me from finding things and places I shouldn’t, but a spy?” It made sense though. Diego was not an assistant. He was hard and brutal, just like her father. “Why was I chosen then? Because believe me when I tell you that my father could care less if I lived or I died.” However, if she died in the hands of her husband, that would give him the opportunity to cry foul and play a grieving father. “It’s because of my mother’s position in the Syndicate, isn’t it? It’s not me, or my father. I wasn’t chosen or pushed forward by him, but by my mother’s mother.” The so-called Matriarch of the Syndicate.

Stopping his pacing at her words of beatings, Andries refocused on the last of her statement. “Likely, my lady,” he said quietly as he moved to look down at her. She looked so forlorn. Crouching down, he caught her eye. “Nothing is going to happen to you, Xandra, my word of honor,” he said, wondering just what he might be taking on. “No one will get near you to do any harm, and we’ll figure out just what your father is playing at with this move.” To take out a child just to exact revenge seemed harsh even to him. He’d never use anyone he considered under his protection for such despicable deeds, especially a child.

She nodded and after closing her eyes found her center. When she reopened her eyes, she looked at him and nodded. “Thank you, Andries.” She stood once more so he didn’t have to kneel at her feet. “I believe that we need to make a plan, Andries, a way to find out just who is doing what.” There was a pause before she asked, “When you leave for your mission, am I to go with you or do I remain at your home?”

That had been on his mind as well. “I believe it would be best if you came with me,” he told her as he straightened up, although he had a feeling that might bite them both before it was over. “To worry over your safety while I’m unavailable would be highly disruptive to the mission. It’s also not overly dangerous.” But going into space always did hold a certain amount of danger. “We should go and meet your new assistant so that you will know her when she comes in the morning. Then we will go to our suite,” he said and wondered if he could keep his hands to himself from that point on. He hadn’t wanted a wife, but now that he had Xandra it was messing with his vows to himself. Holding out his arm, he waited for her. “Shall we, my lady?”

Bowing her head, she slipped her hand over his arm and moved to his side. He was tall, but she was not a small woman either. Her head reached just high enough that, were she to lay her head on his chest, it would be right over his heart. “I would like to meet the poor woman that you have saddled with preparing me for your culture, for our new home.” She felt as unschooled as a newborn babe in her new world.

“She was once a teacher before she wed and chose to raise her own children,” Andries told her as he walked with her through the halls, ignoring the imploring looks on the chancellors’ faces, his own closed and cold. He would discover who had attempted his bride’s death and, when he found them, there would be no mercy. “Since they are now at an age that they no longer require her attention, she came back to a new career. Previously she was an assistant to an ambassador of one of the worlds under our protection while he resided here on our planet. She is well versed in all aspects of our culture and very mild compared to many of my people. She will be a good fit, I believe,” he told her as he guided her toward one of the cars that rode upon hidden rails for fast transit throughout the cities.

“I appreciate you taking the time to ensure that I am comfortable and happy, Andries. Not many men would do that, especially not ones being forced into marriage.” As they walked, she watched the people, and when they paused before the rail cars, she looked up at him and smiled. “I wish that you could see my homeland sometime, Andries. I would love to take you riding through the countryside on horseback.”

Andries waited for a car to arrive and stepped in with her, a look ensuring they were alone. Programming it to where they needed to go, he encouraged her to sit in one of the contoured seats. “I am not a man to be forced into anything, my lady.” But cornered was another matter. “If we are able, we will see about arranging a trip back to your world, if that is your desire,” he assured her. Though the cost would be vast, he believed this might be something she would appreciate because of the rarity of the event. Or, if he arranged a mission just right, they could take his vessel to her world, perhaps a diplomatic envoy mission of some sort, something he’d need to investigate and look into.

She shook her head and smiled. “I wish that you could see my home world, my birth-world, and that I could take you riding. However”—and this was going to make her sound very cowardly—“I never want to see that place again. I never want to chance running into my father or his men. I would prefer to simply find new adventures with my husband in his home world, my new home world.” She shifted slightly in the seat as it conformed to her body and then sighed as she waited for the pronouncement of her cowardice.

Glancing to her, Andries nodded. “If that is what you wish, then I shall think no more of it,” he told her and wondered if she’d feel that way were her father not around. Looking up as the computronics signaled that they were approaching their destination, he stood. When their transportation slowed, he offered her a hand up and then guided her toward the massive five-tower building with walkways every ten floors between the towers. “Each tower is over a mile and a half in radius,” he told her as they moved toward the entranceway. “Our suites are in tower two on the ninetieth floor and ninety-first. It spans two floors. The greeting, meeting, and formal rooms are on the lower level and the family rooms on the top floor.”

“Is this where you always stay when you are here instead of your home world? When not on your ship, that is?” Looking at the gleaming silver and glass buildings, she felt something akin to awe. “This is beautiful.” She wanted to reach out and touch it. “I know you likely think I am a country bumpkin, and I wouldn’t be able to argue that.” She had been schooled in much before her father killed her mother. After, however, she had been all but locked behind closed doors. “When Father would go to the Trades Meetings, he wouldn’t take me. I wasn’t allowed to leave our home world, ever.” This was her first time off of Terrain soil.

“This is my home world, Xandra, but this is where I stay when I need to be available or before I leave on missions, as we launch before dawn here,” he told her, guiding her into the building and the richly lush foyer. Moving to the lift, he encouraged her in and pulled out a key-card. “There is a duplicate in our rooms for you. Whenever you are here you will need it since everything above the fortieth floors is for high-ranking officers and therefore secure,” he said, swiping the card and pressing in the floor number. Silently and swiftly, the car began to rise, no discernible pressure from the speed being applied to their bodies thanks to the dampeners that were the same as on their spacecrafts.

“Oh.” She had forgotten this was his world. She was thinking about his country home more than the city dwelling he had before her. Likely because she was more of a country girl than a city girl.

Chapter Seven

When the gilded doors opened, he guided her through the hall to a door with his rank and last name on a plaque to the left of the dual doors. Her name and title had been added to the new plaque and, while he was amazed at how quickly it had been done, he was also impressed. Unlocking the door with the same key-card, he let her enter so he could turn on the low level light of the space. It was very cold looking and spartan in appearance on the lower levels, appropriate to the position he held and atmosphere he preferred for guests. He rarely, if at all possible, ever used the spaces. “I don’t particularly like these spaces, but they do put certain individuals in their place when I must meet with them here,” he told her. “Upstairs I am sure you will like more,” he said before he paused at a polite knock at the door. Turning, he opened them and bowed to the older female standing there with a guard. “Thank you,” he directed to the escort.

Xandra wrapped her arms around herself and frowned at the chill in the air and the sparseness of the space. She didn’t like this space at all. She wondered briefly if he would allow her to redo it, redecorate it.

“Xandra, this is Aleina Chathers. Madam Aleina, this is the Lady Xandra,” he said in introduction after the woman had said her greetings to him. “Please, come in, Aleina,” he said with a wave of his arm even as he moved toward Xandra to encourage her further into the sitting room.

Xandra moved more into the sitting room and smiled at the woman. “Hello.” She offered her hand to the woman and then frowned. “I’m sorry.” She looked to Andries and asked, “Can we move upstairs. I really, really don’t like these rooms, Andries. They are freezing cold, far too formal, and I am simply uncomfortable.” She looked to Aleina and smiled. “If you don’t mind, that is?”

“Of course we can,” Andries said, taking her arm and leading the way to the stairs knowing that Aleina would follow. As they reached the second level, he looked to her and the warmer tones that were on the second level. “More to your liking, my lady?” he asked softly for her ears alone as he walked her toward an armless plush chair.

The very air around them seemed to be warmer and the decoration was more of a home than a stark military bunker. “Thank you, my lord, yes, it is much better.” She took the seat that he led her to and reached out, clasping her hand in his, not thinking about the action, simply needing to touch him and remind herself that he was there and she wasn’t dreaming.

“Thank you, Aleina,” she began as the woman took a seat opposite her. “Thank you for accepting the position to teach me the ways of my new home. I will confess that while my younger years were filled with protocol training and manners training, the latter years were not.” She wouldn’t say why. That was no one’s business. “And I would like to know as much as possible so I don’t embarrass my husband. I want to be a good wife to him.”

“It is my honor, my lady,” Aleina said in a gentle tone, folding her hands demurely in her lap. “The Colonel has mentioned that you would require clothing more suitable to your station and your new living circumstances. The clothier he has arranged to come in is one of the best, and I am sure that you will be very impressed with his selections. As the clothier will not be arriving until later in the morning, I thought that, once you have had your morning meal, we could perhaps start on some of the laws of your new home world and from there anything else you wish to know until the clothier arrives.”

“Thank you, Aleina that would be wonderful. I would like to know first and foremost what will be expected of me in this position.” Xandra looked to Andries briefly in question, “What meal?” she asked in a low tone.

Leaning his hands on the back of the chair, Andries leaned over so his lips were near her ear. “She is referring to what you call breakfast, Xandra,” he murmured softly. “She will be coming by once you have had your morning repast so that you are not disturbed until then.” Turning his head slightly would put his lips to her ear or, if he lifted his head…Doing just that, he breathed in the scent of her ear and held back a low growl of pleasure at the light and fragrant scent.

“Oh. That would be wonderful, Aleina, thank you.” The pink of her cheeks had nothing to do with anything other than having her new husband so close to her.

“I will ensure that you are adequately prepared, my lady,” Aleina said, smoothing out her skirt before she stood. “I will bid you a good evening,” she told them both with a small curtsy before she turned to head down the stairs and was soon out the door with her escort.

She watched the retreating woman and then suddenly felt very nervous. “I’m sorry for not wanting to remain on the lower level. I’m not comfortable there at all, Andries.” Mostly because it reminded her of her father’s rooms. “Do you have to go back to the chancellors, Andries?” Or will you stay with me, get to know me, and allow me to get to know you?

Moving around the chair, Andries waited until the door shut behind Aleina before he sat on the end of the table closest to Xandra. “No, I won’t be seeing them again soon,” he told her honestly, unless of course one of them was behind the attempt on her life. “Why do you not like the lower level?” he asked her, watching as her gaze dulled slightly, making him all the more certain he wanted an answer and had a feeling…“Why were you so afraid to return to your father, Xandra?” At her look, he lifted a brow slightly “When we first met, you were prepared to go back to him and his household, but you looked ill at the mere thought.”

“Because I was. I would have gone back because you don’t deserve what has been forced on you.” She breathed in and out as she said, “I don’t like the rooms downstairs because they remind me of my father’s rooms. He is a brutal man, Andries. Never underestimate him.” She licked her lips and clenched her hands tightly. “He killed my mother in those rooms. To prove a point to me, he killed her.” She shrugged as if her words were nonchalant when they were anything but. “You ask me why I am afraid of him.” She looked at him, dead in the eye. “Because he would kill me in the blink of an eye and never be punished for it. I’ve had that point beaten into me time and time again. When you send me home, I will become the whore of the hall.” Because that was exactly what her father told her. “Whore to my own father.” She swallowed hard and fought back the pain and rage. “So please be kind. Kill me instead of sending me back.”

“I’m not sending you back, Xandra,” he said softly, watching her, something inside clenching tight at her words and the pain he heard in them. “You are my wife and, though many might have other views, for me it is for life. I won’t let you go even should you later beg it of me. You had your chance and stayed despite my offer. If your father ever wishes to get near you, he will have to get through me. You are never to be alone with that man. If I’m not available, you do not go near him. He no longer has any say on your behavior or conduct. Do you understand me?” he asked, his tone measured to ensure she heard the sincerity but at the same time that he didn’t frighten her.

“Yes.” She reached out and touched the hands that were clenching in his lap and said, “He will make you think that he is the kindest and simplest man alive. He has a charisma and charm that is undeniable.” Her thumb stroked over his skin as she continued. “I don’t want to be around him. I never want to see him again, Andries, and I know that makes me a coward, but I can’t. I simply can’t ever be around him again.”

“To avoid something that may cause harm is not cowardice, Xandra. It is good sense,” he pointed out and, giving into temptation, again, he took her hand in his, ever careful of her fragility in comparison to him. “I know the evil that can be found in any man, Xandra”—better than many would presume—“so you needn’t explain his manner of lying to the world to me.” Watching her for a moment, he sat back a little and forced himself to relax. “You have questions. Ask them if you wish, and I will answer those I can.”

Chapter Eight

“Does my touching bother you, Andries?” she asked as she tucked her hands back to her sides. “I know that I am not one of your people, one of the women of your race, but I would like to learn. However, I feel as if I am doing something I shouldn’t each time I reach to touch you. Do you wish me to stop?” It would be something she would have to work at with him because she found herself needing to touch him, often.

“It…disturbs me, Xandra,” he said, deciding that there could only be honesty between them. “I have not known touch that is kind but for a few days when I was first born. Since then, I have been training for my position as a warrior of my people. It is not bad for you to touch me.” He scrambled for words to explain it. “Women of our world do not touch unless it is family or their husband. They are taught that they are not to do so in a public setting unless they are told they may by the eldest male in their lives. You may touch me whenever you like unless we are in front of the men of my command, and then I ask that you show some restraint unless it is a situation that allows it or if I ask it of you.”

“Which is why the men at the dinner looked as if I had all but shot you.” She closed her eyes as the reality of the situation occurred to her. She had lived all her life afraid of touch, afraid to have anyone touch her, and then with him she felt the immediate need to touch, to feel his hand on her, and he didn’t want that. Their society frowned on it. “I will ensure that I make the effort to do as you have asked,” she said finally as she looked at him. “What will my role be? Will I simply be your wife, or will I have duties as well?”

“As my wife”—that sounded odd coming from his mouth—“you will have duties. But for the time being you will be eased into them instead of having them thrust upon you. You will be in charge of the household and, with the country home, the tenants and their daily problems and any issues that might arise. As well, you will be responsible for any gatherings we might host, which with my rank will be a few,” he said softly. “In time, if you choose, you may also take over the task of seeing to our monies and all that they go toward, the various charities, the running of our country home, and this place as well. Those are but a few of the immediate tasks for you to consider,” he said, watching her.

“All right.” There was a lot for her to learn, but she was willing and it seemed she would have the time. “Do you have questions for me, Andries?” She had no idea what to expect on this, their wedding night. It seemed as if her touch bothered him, so she wasn’t sure what would happen between them, intimately.

“Not at this time,” he said as he frowned slightly. “You look as though you have a question but you’re hesitant to ask it,” he commented. “You can ask anything of me, Xandra, but I do not have the ability to read your mind.” He added the last in the hope of putting her at ease. “So if you have a question, you need to voice it,” he said, leaning forward with his elbows to his knees.

“What happens next?” she asked quietly. “You don’t like my touch, yet we are married. What happens now, Andries? Am I to become a wife in name alone?” It wouldn’t be unheard of, and she didn’t know why she was pushing it, but she felt cold and alone, hurt, and didn’t know why. “I’m sorry.” She had overstepped herself and she knew it from the look on his face. “Will you show me where I am to sleep please?”

“It’s not that I don’t like your touch, Xandra.” He had to correct that misconception now or she’d forever believe that. “I was not touched often, and when I was, it was violent and painful. To have a gentle hand touching me is strange. It is going to take a time for me to become accustomed to it,” he said, reaching out to touch her hand gently. “As to your question about being wife in name only, that would be your decision, Xandra. I will not push you into anything that you are not ready for,” he told her. Taking her hand in his, he tugged gently. “I will show you to the bedroom.” Standing, he led her down the hall to the master suite. Pushing open the frosted glass doors, he waved her into the large, very masculine room. “I know these spaces are not exactly friendly, so if you wish to alter anything, feel free,” he murmured from where he stood at her back.

She could practically feel him in the room, feel his very essence, and smiled. “I like it. I would like to possibly add a vanity for myself, but I very much like it.” She moved to the massive bed and touched the sheets. “This is very soft. What kind of material is it?” They had something where she was from called silk, but this was even softer. “Will these be our rooms”—she turned to look—“or mine alone?” The question was there, he just had to pick up on it.

“My people call it fretha. It comes from a plant that is processed, and the fibers are then turned into threads that then become—” He waved his hand to the bedding. “The choice is yours, Xandra, as in everything,” he told her softly. “You have rights in this marriage and as such any choices of this nature are in your hands.”

“I like it a great deal.” Xandra looked at him and shrugged. “I would like to be your wife, Andries. I would prefer not to sleep alone, to be able to feel like I matter at least to someone.” It could be, however, he needed time to adjust to her, as she would him. “There are many things about your people that I would prefer to learn from you, not a teacher, an assistant.” As nice as the assistant was.

“You only have to ask, my lady. I am ever your humble servant,” he said as he moved closer to her until he was close enough that he could feel the heat of her flesh through his clothing. Gently he cupped her cheeks and, lowering his head, lightly kissed her, need driving him hard enough that he had to take care or hurt her. She was so fragile in comparison to the non-Vampires of his world who, through several millennia of evolution, had strengthened enough that they were not easily harmed by his kind.

The touch of his lips to hers had her swaying closer to him. Hands on his chest, she kissed him back even as her fingers clenched in his shirt. The kiss seemed to burn into her very soul. It was so much different from the one given to her when they married. This one was of not only gentle care, barely leashed passion, but of hunger as well.

Licking her lips when he pulled back, she smiled and reached out, touching his cheek even as he cupped hers. “Tell me what it felt like, tasted like, when you licked my blood to seal our marriage.” She wanted to know everything about his people, her people.

“Sweet with a touch of spice,” he said, trying not to lean into her touch too much. While much of the sensual, provocative, and generally needy nature of his people had been trained and beaten from him, a soft touch was something he really had never overcome, so he’d avoided it at all costs. “I was actually concerned that it would scare or shock you when I did it. The non-Vampires of our world do not all accept it as standard practice for a joining or, as you call it, a marriage. It will allow me to find you anywhere at any time,” he said softly.

“You will think me…strange…when I admit this to you.” She stepped closer to him, the heat of his body against hers and making her feel warm all over. “I rather liked it. To know that I could have something that you would need, to have something you could use to live on.” She pulled back. “I know that sounds strange, but just the idea that you could need me for something so basic, it makes me feel even closer to you.” A sudden thought occurred as she asked, “How do you get the blood you need? I saw you eating food, but what I do know of your people is that you do need blood to survive, right?”

Nodding, he ran a hand to curl around the back of her neck. “We have blood depositories that bag the blood of the non-Vampires for those of us that require it. We used to drink directly from them and, in some cases, still do, but for the most part we get the blood delivered and just have to open the bag.” Rubbing his thumb slowly over her pulse, he found it amazing, yet again, that she seemed to covet his attention and closeness. It was a novel experience and one he worried might become necessary to him.

“Does it hurt?” she asked with wide pale eyes. “When you bite someone, does it hurt you, does it hurt them?” Her fingers reached up and she brushed them to his lips where the incisors made slight bumps. “It didn’t hurt when you made that small mark on my thumb. It felt really very nice.”

“It doesn’t hurt me. I only notice my teeth when they slide out by a bit of pressure on the ones to either side,” he told her. “The one I’m biting doesn’t tend to notice as our bodies put out a mild scent that hits the receptors inside your brain to induce great pleasure. It’s mildly euphoric or so I understand,” he said, his eyes noting something he hadn’t seen before. “The bite I’m told, feels like a mild pinch, but with the scent easing the pain, it can be orgasmic in nature,” he murmured, brushing her hair back. Seeing her ear, he froze. “Who harmed you in this manner, Xandra?” he asked in a low, dangerous tone. He was offended on her behalf at the injury and, oddly enough, was ready to kill whoever had done it with his bare hands.

She had forgotten the injury and paled slightly. Covering the offending ear, she said, “I will keep it covered. I have learned very well to ensure it is always covered.” Except when around her father. He rather liked looking at it and seeing the damage he wrought. “It is the same who has broken ribs, fingers, given me the scars on my back.” She shrugged. “You didn’t think I was lying when I told you of his acts, did you?” And she saw that he had assumed that she was pushing it just a little too far, possibly a daughter afraid to return to the rule of her father when freedom was seen in a husband.

Moving to her, he pushed her hair back from her face and gently stroked his finger over the injury. “You didn’t tell me any of that or that he was the one that inflicted those wounds on you personally,” he said. He knew his voice sounded angry, rather fitting considering how angry he really was, and knew that if he ever came face-to-face with the man, he’d be hard pressed not to snap his neck. “What else has he done, Xandra?” he asked, almost afraid of the answer but knowing he needed her to tell him.

“Other than the beatings, the broken ribs, arm, fingers, and whippings”—she shrugged and sighed—“I believe the killing of my mother was the worst.” She looked into his eyes. “That was the same day I was given this”—she touched his hand over her ear and smiled wanly—“as a reminder of just who was the ruler of all that he surveyed.”

“I’m sorry, Xandra,” he murmured. “I should not have pushed.” He withdrew his hand, letting it slide down to her neck once more. Unsure now, he nodded to a set of doors behind her. “If you’d like to have a real water bath, feel free. I know not if you have anything for bedwear.” He didn’t know if she’d come with luggage. He really should have checked into that. “But there is a robe on the back of the door.” He still didn’t know if she wanted him to remain or if she wanted to sleep this night alone, which was adding to his discomfort and awkwardness, though he was hopeful she couldn’t see that.

“Don’t apologize for something that is not of your doing, Andries.” She looked toward the doors where the bath was and then back at him. “I have luggage. I have no idea where it is. If you send word to Diego, he can tell you.” He would likely tell them to take a flying leap. “Will you be here? After my bath that is, will you”—she felt uncertain now asking him—“will you stay?” She was flawed. He was perfect. Why would he want to stay?

Nodding, he pulled her close for a small kiss. “I will find your luggage while you bathe and I will be here when you come out. If I’m not, I will be in the sitting room on this level,” he said, pulling back and stepping away from her. “If you cannot find anything you require, there are some shelves behind the door that may yield that which you seek. If it is not there, let me know, all right?” he asked her quietly.

“I will.” She watched him retreating and moved toward the bathing room, turning at the last moment to enter. Once behind the frosted glass doors, she began to undress, laying the clothes out carefully before folding them and starting her bath. Completely nude, she began the bath and walked around the room, touching this and that as she waited for the water to fill the tub. The heat of the water caused a thick steam to fill the room, and as soon as it was almost full, she stepped into the water with a sigh of delight.

She leaned back in the water and closed her eyes even as she draped a cloth over them, and with a sigh relaxed so fully she fell asleep.

Chapter Nine

Opening the door, Andries took the luggage from the guards that had collected it from the suite Xandra had never even seen. Closing the door, he headed upstairs and paused in the bedroom. Setting down the bags, he looked to the bathroom and then at the time displayed on the wall by the bed. Xandra had been in the bath for almost a half hour. Frowning, he moved to the door and knocked “Xandra?” he called, easing the sliding door open and taking a look via the mirror to the tub. She had a cloth over her eyes and, from the even manner of her breathing, was sound asleep. “Xandra,” he called louder, hoping to wake her without having to embarrass her by going all the way in.

It had been far too many years since she felt relaxed enough, safe enough, to fall into the deep sleep she was in currently, and unfortunately for Andries her body was refusing to allow her to wake at his gentle tone. Her finger twitched slightly in the still water around her, but other than that one small movement and the rise and fall of her chest, she simply slept on.

Lips tightening at that small movement, Andries realized there was no other choice and, with eyes averted as best he could manage, he went to the tub. Sitting on the floor so he’d only see her shoulders, neck, and head, he gently touched her hand. “Xandra, the water is getting cold. It’s time to get out,” he said in a low tone, hoping he didn’t scare her.

She jerked in the water and sat up so quickly her cloth fell from her eyes. The fear that was suddenly there was heart stopping. It was hard for her to breathe, and finally she saw Andries. “What?” She was confused for all of three seconds until she realized she was stark naked in the water and he was sitting on the floor at her side. “Moon and stars, Andries,” she whispered, “I didn’t get you wet, did I?” He was simply looking at her. She realized then that she was far too different from him. Her skin was a pale green, actually the lightest blush of green, but compared to his skin color, it was very different and odd. “Do you need me?” The question came out breathy, sexually charged, even if she didn’t realize it.

Loaded question, he thought as he stared at her. “I was concerned since you were asleep and the water was cooling. I thought you might prefer getting out now instead of when it was truly chilled,” he told her, his voice lower than normal for no reason he could determine. “Your luggage was in the other suite. I had it brought up and your bags are sitting in the bedroom.”

“Thank you, Andries.” She slid back into the water, her gaze on him. “It’s been so long since I have felt safe that I forgot how good it feels to simply give up and allow my body to fully rest.” Her hand moved to cover his and smiled. “Thank you for seeing to my luggage being brought up. I will get out now and get ready for bed.” She hesitated. “Will you be sleeping with me, Andries?”

“If that is your wish, I will,” he told her as he stood, averting his eyes and giving her his hands to help her up. He didn’t want to embarrass her right off and he was sure he’d pushed her to her limits already. Backing up so she could step out, he pulled a towel from the warmer and passed it to her. “I’ll wait for you in the other room so you can have a moment, Xandra.” He was running. He freely admitted it, but the warm scent of her flesh was a temptation to him. He needed to feed before they did anything, and while she was drying and dressing, he’d have a bag of blood so he wouldn’t be tempted and thereby hurt her.

“Thank you.” She watched him leave and dried herself as she thought of him. He was everything she had ever dreamed of having in a husband. Why had her father chosen him for her? Her father was a cruel man. He would rather give pain than anything that could be seen as a pleasure, and Andries gave her pleasure. The way he moved, spoke, touched her, it made her happy.

She slowly dried her hair with the heavy warm towel. The long lavender strands were then finger combed out to hopefully dry before they went to sleep. Once her hair was somewhat dried, she dried her body and pulled on his robe to step out into their bedroom. Seeing it empty, she opened the first case and frowned. There was nothing in there but weapons. She moved to the second case and opened it as well, again, weapons. Laser rifles, knives, flame wands, she didn’t understand.

Walking quickly to the door, she twisted the knob. “Andries,” she called through the hall and then began her search for him, knowing that by bringing weapons into their home, she was all but telling him she didn’t believe in his ability to protect her. Even though the weapons weren’t hers, it would still be seen as a direct hit to his masculinity, and his warrior side.

Sticking his head out of the small kitchen unit, he kept the glass of blood hidden. “You called?” he asked and then, seeing her face, set the glass down and moved to her. “Are you all right?” he asked as she got closer to him.

“I think that you brought the wrong bags, Andries.” She had a frown on her face as she held the robe closed. “The bags are filled with weapons, Andries, and I’ve never fired a weapon, let alone owned one, so the bags have to belong to someone else.”

“What?” he asked with a frown as he looked past her to the doors and then down to her. “I was told those were the only bags in your suite, and since there were no other occupied ones on that level, it was the only place for the guard to go to retrieve anything, Xandra.” The weapons would be a serious problem though. “If they are not yours, Xandra”—he looked her square in the eye—“whose are they?”

She frowned because of how he was looking at her, how he was giving her a look of pure and complete suspicion. “I have no idea, Andries, but they do not belong to me.” And yet, he didn’t believe her. She saw it in his eyes. “Would you please get rid of them? Or would you rather I did?” She had no idea what she would do with two bags full of weapons, but she would figure it out if she had to. “The suitcases, the bags are mine. The contents are not.”

“I’m not blaming you, Xandra,” he growled at her before he could stop himself. “But you have to admit that, if not for your annoying and decidedly oafish assistant, I’d have good reason to look to you.” Shaking his head hard, he turned from her. “You need to learn that I’m not going to blame you for everything if you intend on this to last for any length of time,” he warned as he stalked back into the kitchen area, grabbed his glass, and then stalked out toward the main sitting area where he’d left his communicator.

Picking it up, he dialed in the guards and asked one of them to return to his suite to retrieve the bags and to move them to his personal locker on his ship. Tossing the device to a long low-back couch, he moved to the windows and stood there looking out at the clouds as he tried to not be angry at her. Her life had made her wary of any male around her. It wasn’t her fault and yet…she looked at him with that hint of fear and he wanted her father’s blood on his hands all the more or to throttle her, which was new.

* * * *

She was pacing as she moved back to the bedroom, still wearing his robe and feeling angry. Angry at everything, the life she had up to that point, the fear she had at him for yelling at her, and angry at life in general. She was tired of feeling as if she had no place in society, because she did. She had her grandmother’s strength of will on her father’s side, likely why he hated her so—being a constant reminder of the woman he hated. She would be damned if she took this lying down.

Emptying his glass as he heard her coming, Andries swore to himself he’d keep his head. He knew he’d been an ass, losing his temper with her as he had. Setting the glass down, he waited for what he was sure was a dressing down that he more than deserved or tears, which would be so much worse.

She stormed out of their bedroom and moved back to where he was standing. “You are never, ever to walk out on me.” Her tone was less than friendly and more than slightly raised. “We have barely been married half a day and yet you walk out on me. Granted, it’s to another part of our home, but you left me.” She was pacing now. In her fury, the robe and her hair flying behind her with each stride she made across the floor, she said, “I know nothing about this life except that I need you in it. I need more from you than you are willing to give. I need warmth, Andries, and you are darn well going to learn to give that to me because that is what a husband does, makes sure his wife is happy.” When she stopped before him, her face was flushed in her anger, the robe was slightly askew, and her eyes snapped in fury.

All he could do was look at her. She was magnificent in her anger, and for some absurd reason, he was amused by her anger. “And if I don’t?” he asked in a calm tone. The blink of her eyes seemed slow, as though she was trying to process his words. “What if I’m just not capable of what you consider normal, Xandra? I’m not human. I have never pretended to be, nor will I ever be like any man you may have known or likely will know.” Stepping into her, he crowded her, making her back up or stand fast depending on what her mood was. “Are you truly prepared for that eventuality?”

“I pray that you are not anything like any other man I have ever known, Andries,” she said and didn’t step back, but closer. “I like you just as you are, but I would really, really like for you to touch me as if I mattered, to touch me on your own because you want to and not because I am the one forcing it. I never want you to be like a human man, Andries, because from what I have seen of them they are brutal, sadistic, and would kill their own mother if it would gain them a dime. Stay who you are, but care for me, at least a little.”

“If I did not, do you think I would be the least bit disturbed by what your father has inflicted on you?” he asked in a very quiet tone. He wanted to pull her close but he resisted, instead lifting a hand to the back of her neck, as before, his thumb stroking over her pulse. “I don’t wish to hurt you, Xandra. You are very fragile compared to those of my world. One wrong move and I could kill you. Do you understand that?” he asked. “I am not human. I do not have human needs or desires. Vampires are darker beings. Our needs and desires turn many off.” It was the closest he could come to telling her things his people never spoke of.

“Yet humans and Vampires find love with each other.” She braced her hand on his chest and looked up at him. “As you can see by the color of my skin and hair, I am not fully human.” She was something more. She was something their mystics had foretold and a product of something more. “You really don’t know why I was chosen, do you?” At the look on his face, she smiled. “Because of a many times over great-grandmother on my mother’s side. She was a Vampire, daughter of one of the great lords from your past.” She whispered softly, “She fell in love with a human pilot when the Vampire species and humankind first met so long ago. I was chosen because of the ability to be able to mate with your species.” She shrugged. “I look fragile. However, I can assure you I’m not. Believe me, it has been tested just how much I can take.” And it was a lot.

Well that is new, he thought as he stared at her, his thumb moving in a slow rhythm up and down her soft flesh. He would have said something, probably, but there was a knock on the doors. Glancing away it took him a moment to figure out why someone was there. She was extremely distracting. “Wait here,” he said softly before he went to the bedroom and collected the bags. Carrying them down, he handed them to the guard with orders to hand them to the lieutenant on duty who would take them to Andries’s personal quarters.

Shutting the door, he leaned back against it for a moment before he pushed away, turning off the lights, and headed back upstairs. Holding out his hand to her, he waited. “Come, I’m tired. I have to be up in only a few hours, and I know we have not resolved this, but it will need to either wait until tomorrow or you’ll need to discuss this while we settle for the night.”

“No, I’m done.” She slipped her hand into his and moved up to his side. “Now is time for sleep. I will wear my same gown tomorrow to meet with the clothier and ask them how quickly they can have some simple clothes done.” Tugging the robe tighter around her body, she couldn’t believe she had gotten so angry with him, had gone off so spectacularly.

She moved to the bed and turned down one side, slipping into the coverings even as he moved to the bathroom to finish his nightly toilette. She tugged off the robe and allowed it to fall on the floor before turning to her side, closing her eyes, and waiting for her new husband to come to their bed.

Washing up, he stared into the mirrored surface over the sink and shook his head. He had no idea what to do with her, his wife. Gods, even thinking the word made him pause. Drying his face with a light cloth, he hung it up and then turned off the lights before moving to the bed. Looking to the bed, he knew that she wasn’t wearing anything underneath the blankets and, if he were a better man, he’d go to the spare bedroom and allow her to use this one in peace. He wasn’t though.

Dousing the lights, he drew the shades and heavy curtains over the windows, plunging the room into complete darkness. His night vision kicked in and he stared at her, the faint glow of her form from his heat vision showing him that her core temperature was cooler than the average human, lending credibility to her claims. Undressing in silence, he piled his clothing in the basket for the laundry service to take care of and then, on bare feet, padded to the bed and slid under the soft sheets.

She moved closer to him and reached out blindly with her hand. “I like to touch you, to feel you close.” She had told him that, but she was reiterating the words. “I don’t want to be alone, Andries. Can we work this out? Can we start the day fresh and new?” she whispered in the darkness of the bedroom.

Catching her hand, he laid it over where his heart, such as it was, beat slowly, much slower than hers. “We can do anything that we set our minds to, Xandra,” he said as he stared at the ceiling above before looking toward her. Turning, he faced her, keeping her hand pressed over his chest. “You are not alone, Xandra, no more than you wish, my lady.”

“Thank you, Andries.” She moved an inch closer to him. Eyes closed, she moved even closer. “I would like to have another chance at having happiness with you, Andries.”

Gently, he moved his arm under her head and drew her in closer, ensuring that the blankets were still between them. “If it is to be found, Xandra, you will have it. Of that I have no doubt, my lady,” he murmured. Shifting a hair more, he pressed his nose ever so lightly to the crown of her hair and breathed in the light and tempting scent that was uniquely hers. “You should gain your rest, Xandra. Tomorrow will be a long day.”

Her head on his chest and shoulder, she nodded. “You, too, Andries.” Eyes closed, she heard the beating of his heart, albeit much slower than hers. “Am I hurting you by lying like this?” She moved her leg slightly so that it was over his thigh, the blanket still between them.

“No, Xandra, you’re not,” he said softly, moving his other hand to lay on her lower back. Gently he stroked her back, slowly feeling her relax slightly. He knew this was likely not the night she’d envisioned for her wedding, but he was not in control of himself enough to give her more. “Sleep, Xandra,” he murmured against her hair softly as he let out a slow breath and relaxed himself to that near-rest state of his kind. It was much like sleep, but his species tended to appear nearly dead unless you knew the signs to look for. It was close to a coma, he’d heard it once described.

Her body melted into him as she sighed in utter contentment and soon slipped off into sleep.

Chapter Ten

He woke before her, just after the sun rose over the horizon, his body telling him that it was not time to get up. But he didn’t move, not for that reason, but because in the night they had shifted and she now lay over him as he lay flat on his back. A light weight pressing him down, he felt as though it was much more holding him still. Breathing deeply, he felt the familiar ache in his incisors. They wanted to lengthen and bury in her soft flesh, her pulse strong and beating smoothly, enticingly under her too-thin flesh.

Shifting slightly on him, she rubbed her cheek on his chest and sighed. “It’s too early to wake, Andries.” She was still more than half asleep as she whispered her words. “Please tell whoever is calling you that it’s the morning after your wedding night and to please leave us alone?” Even if they hadn’t done anything, it was still an acceptable excuse.

He felt his lips curve up in the smallest of smiles, perfectly safe in the dark of their bedroom. “I know it is early, Xandra. Unfortunately I always wake at this time,” he said in a low tone, not wanting to wake her more than he obviously had. “Return to sleep. You do not need to rise for another hour or more,” he told her, lifting a hand to stroke back her hair. The curve of her throat was a temptation, the skin fairly glowing to his eyes in the darkness.

“Okay. If you need me, Andries, wake me up?” She rubbed her cheek to his chest and settled once more.

Her people didn’t sleep a lot, maybe five, six hours a night, but after the eighth hour, she was still finding herself sluggish and not wanting to move. She lay there in the curve of his arms, held close and almost in a protective embrace. “Xandra, I need to get up and ready for my meeting,” he said softly before he rolled her to her back. The press of his weight into her soft flesh gave him a moment where he wondered if he could pull away from her. He knew he had to. He needed to be there for the briefing and to find out what the mission was so he’d know if he could take Xandra with him or not.

When her eyes opened he looked down into the moon-colored orbs and watched them searching his features. He leaned into her touch when she lifted her hand and touched his cheek gently, tracing a scar that marred his flesh, and smiled when he kissed the center of her palm as she spoke to him. “Will you come back before you leave for your mission?”

“I will return in a few hours,” he told her gently and, in the dark of the room, he leaned into her touch once more. “I cannot promise I will return before the clothier comes, but I will be here for the noon meal. We will talk then more,” he promised softly before he gave into another urge and turned his head to kiss her palm. “If you have need of reaching me, ask Aleina to inform one of the guards at the door. They will know where I am and how to get a message to me even behind closed doors,” Andries said and then forced himself to sit on the edge of the bed to rub a hand over his face.

Sitting up in the bed and pulling the sheet close to her, she leaned into him, wrapping her arm around his back and hugging him gently. “If you need me, Andries, you will come to me?” Her cheek pressed against his lightly and rubbed gently. “Is there anything in particular you want me to ask the clothier for when they come?” She wondered if he had a color choice preference, if he had a style preference. She was sure Aleina would ensure she had the most suitable of clothing, but she wanted to ensure that her new husband was happy with what they got as well.

Looking over his shoulder at her, Andries leaned back slightly so he could better see her, or that was the lie he told himself. “My house colors”—the ones he’d earned through blood and death and not inherited as he should from his “father”—“are silver and dark blue,” he said softly. Letting his eyes move over her face, he reached out to lightly stroke a finger down her cheek. “I think you would look lovely in them,” he commented before he thought through the words too carefully.

“Then silver and dark blue it is,” she said with a smile and leaned into his light and gentle touch. “Do you have time for breakfast with me?” She knew he had a meeting to get to. However, she wanted to have every moment that she possibly could with him.

“If we make it a quick one,” he said softly. “I only have forty minutes before I need to be there. If you feel up to the challenge of figuring out the kitchen unit, I can shower and dress,” he murmured as he turned to face her. Cupping her cheek, he lightly kissed her. “Stay out of the bottom left drawer of the chiller if you’re at all squeamish,” he warned and then pulled away.

“Right, I will stay out of there.” She grinned and nodded. “Go, shower and I will figure out how to make us a meal.” She moved from the bed and grabbed his robe. Pulling it on, she looked over her shoulder at him. “Do you want anything in particular or anything that I can bring up quickly?”

“As long as it’s quick it doesn’t really matter,” he assured her before he padded to the bathing room and hit the lights so she didn’t trip on her way from the room. Closing the doors, he moved to the showering stall. He pressed the buttons and stood under the invisible rays of the multiheads of the sonic shower and breathed a sigh as his body loosened under the invisible but powerful rays. Two minutes later, the stall shut off and, stepping out, he moved to his closet to dress.

Pulling out his uniform, he pulled on the black pants, the thin top, and then the jacket that he cross-buttoned. Moments later, he ensured that his uniform was as it should be. His boots held the correct shine, and his rank was clearly visible at the short lapels of the collar. Eyeing himself critically, he turned moments later and headed to find Xandra.

Walking into the kitchen unit of their suite, he paused by the doorway and watched her moving about. “Are you finding everything you require?” he asked her, frowning when she jumped slightly. “I apologize. I did not mean to startle you,” he said formally. He knew better than to try and be softer than what he was. He didn’t do gentle. He didn’t do kind. He was a warrior first and foremost, and he had better remember that or he could hurt those that stood closest.

“Please, don’t apologize, Andries.” She smiled at him and looked him over from head to toe. “You are very handsome, Andries. I don’t think that I have ever told you that before.” She pointed to the meats and bread that lay on a plate for him. “I finished yours first because I heard the sonic showers stop. Mine is just coming up now.” Turning to the refrigeration unit, she asked, “Would you like a drink to go with your meal? I’m not sure what you would drink in the mornings, so I didn’t pour anything yet.” She didn’t know why she was so nervous except for the fact that he was so incredibly handsome, so strong and fierce and he made her body sing and come to life, with just a glance.

“Some of the clear liquid in the yellow jug. It’s a fruit juice,” he told her softly as he went to pick up his plate. “Thank you,” he said, lifting the plate to indicate what he was talking about. Moving to the counter, he sat on one of the stools there. He knew he should wait for her to join him but his time was running short so, with a sigh, he started his meal.

She poured him his juice and grabbed her plate to move to sit at his side. “You’re welcome. I had thought this was what a wife did. She cooks for her husband and ensures he is happy.” Setting the juice down, she touched his jaw. “You have a small piece of lint.” From where, she didn’t know, but she pulled it away and showed it to him. “Now, finish your meal and I will clean up.”

“Some do, some don’t,” he said as he watched her toss the piece of lint away. “Many of your station decide it is beneath them and hire others to do the work instead. Others do it for the novelty, until it wears off,” he told her as he began to eat. Checking his chronometer, he drank the rest of his juice. “I need to leave. Will you be all right?” he asked quietly.

“I have grown up cooking and cleaning, Andries. What is my station is whatever I can do to make myself happy. Cooking and cleaning helps me to relax.” She hid with cooking and cleaning, plain and simple.

“Just remember, when Aleina arrives, she’ll have an escort that will knock at the door. Do not open it unless you see this symbol”—he pointed to the mark of his people on his shoulder—“upon his uniform. Anyone without it isn’t allowed in this tower,” he said, reaching over to pull a piece of her hair from where it was caught on her cheek. “If you need me, use the communications console and punch in four six six nine one. It will ring directly to me, but only if you are in danger, Xandra, all right?” he asked, watching her closely.

“I understand, Andries. I will be fine.” She smiled at him and leaned back. “Be safe, husband. If you have need of me, you know better than anyone how to reach me.” She wanted a kiss from him, the kisses he had been willing to give her in the darkness of their bedroom, but wasn’t sure if he would impart them in the bright light of day.

Standing, he looked down at her, stroking his finger over her cheek. Before he could think better of it, he lowered his head and kissed her softly. But her taste hit him and he took it deeper, kissing her with a pent-up need that was a burning fire in his gut. Before he knew it, his incisors slid out and he tasted blood, hers. Lifting his head sharply, he winced. “I’m sorry, Xandra.” He frowned at the small drop of blood that swelled on her inner lip.

She licked her lip and shook her head. “Don’t apologize, Andries.” She bit her lip for him and touched her finger to it, bringing it back to his lips. “I am your wife. You don’t apologize to me for this. I want to be able to give this to you if it’s what you want.” She knew what she was saying. “Don’t hold back because you think you will scare me or hurt me, Andries. You are a warrior. I know that, but I also know that you won’t hurt me. You would never truly hurt me, and I feel that.”

The temptation was too much. Capturing her finger with the smear of blood, he licked it off before letting her pull it away. “I won’t hurt you, Xandra,” he said softly as he leaned close and kissed her lightly, his tongue sweeping over her wound to close it. “I have to go,” he murmured as he pulled back. “Be well, wife,” he said with, for the briefest of time, a look of longing. “I shall return as soon as I am able.”

“I know you won’t hurt me, Andries. Go, go before I can’t let you go,” she said with a smile and stepped back from him. “Thank you for having breakfast with me. I know that it took up much of your time, so thank you.” She made a shooing motion with her hands. “Go, Andries, I will be fine, I promise you.”

Hesitating a moment longer, he nodded and left her where she stood. Moving quickly, he headed out the door and to the lift.

Chapter Eleven

Nodding to the escort who knocked on the door, Aleina stood to the side and waited with her hand demurely folded before her. This would be the last position she accepted. If not for the lord colonel personally requesting her taking this challenge, she would already be living the last years of her life in peace on the land she and her husband had carved out. At least it would provide a distraction while her husband finished his duties. Only a year to go and he would be retired.

Xandra looked out the viewing panel and saw the insignia and smiled. Opening the door to Aleina, she spread her arms in welcome. “Please, come in, Aleina. Thank you again for agreeing to help me.” The woman was older than her and made her feel more at ease. “I will unfortunately be asking you many questions because, frankly”—she looked to the guard behind Aleina—“my knowledge is lacking when dealing with my new husband’s people.”

Bowing her head to the escort, Aleina moved into the suite and paused to wait on the lady to shut the door. Once it was closed, Aleina turned to her. “My lady, your husband hired me to assist you in adjusting to your new station and your new life on this new world. I may, at times I’m sure, seem strict, but I hope you will understand that when I give you information that it is in your best interest only and that I do so in the hope that you will, by taking the advice, have a much happier life with us. That said, when one greets another person of our world at the door, whether you are servant or the lady and mistress of the home, you should bow, greet them by name if you know it, and invite them in. Anything more exuberant should wait until the door is closed and only if the other person you are meeting with is of the same mind-set, for example a handshake or hug for family.”

Xandra nodded. “Thank you for correcting me.” Xan moved from the door and turned. “We will adjourn to the den on this level, if that is acceptable?” She had a feeling she was going to need the harsh lines and structures of the lower levels in order to remember that she was on another world and that she was no longer under her father’s control, but his coldness would be there with each turn she made.

“That will work well, I believe,” Aleina said and, as the lady turned, she let out a soft sigh. She’d offended the lady while that had not been her intent at all. Following her, Aleina stepped into the room and looked about without appearing to and moved to the long, low sectional. Waiting as the lady paused, Aleina smiled faintly. “I am sorry. I did not mean to make you uncomfortable, my lady. Your husband may have mentioned that I was a school teacher before I had my own children and, because of that, I tend to correct anything immediately or as soon as I can. I find it keeps everyone from confusion and so that it is fresh in your mind. As I mentioned, I tend to come across as strict and, or so I’ve heard whispered, rather bossy.” Pausing, Aleina watched her for a moment. “Inviting a guest to sit is common practice on any world under our protection, my lady, but, I think today, I should be the one encouraging you to sit so we may talk about our laws and anything you wish to know.”

“No, you did not offend,” Xandra said and took a seat only when Aleina herself did. “I’m just realizing how greatly lacking I am in all things that any wife should know for a husband.” She folded her hands demurely in her lap. “My education is severely lacking and the surroundings I have chosen will help to keep me on task.” And on her toes, but that was beside the point. “I want to make my husband a good wife. I fear that I continue to offend him, however.” Because of her desire to touch him, her need for a warmth that had been missing far too long in her life. “Where do we begin, Aleina?”

Nodding as she realized the lady truly was willing to learn, Aleina relaxed slightly. “I think we should begin with anything your husband may have already spoken with you about as to our customs. I will likely be able to better explain than he since he thinks as a man and I see things from a woman’s point of view, which on our world is very different.” She smiled slightly.

“From there, if you have any impressions or questions of what you’ve seen and heard to this point, I will answer as best I can, and then I think I will tell you the laws of our world. By that time, you will likely have a great many questions that I will answer as we await the clothier and perhaps have a cup of tea as we discuss them. That is, of course, if you agree?” she asked, knowing that the lady could not be treated as one of her charges, young and stubborn. She had a good head on her shoulders, was willing to take everything in, and that had to be taken into account.

“That sounds very agreeable.” Xandra paused and asked the burning question. “Why does my husband avoid touch? I don’t wish to offend him but it seems as if I do by reaching to touch him, and he has told me, I am not to touch him ever if we are in public unless it is dire. Is this a custom for the planet, something that I will need to understand?” Humans, well the ones in the villages around her home, were very loving, openly touching and caressing their loved ones.

“On our world, about three thousand years ago there was an outbreak of a disease that has a very long and convoluted name but would equate to what I read of in your history as Black Plague. It killed thousands of our people and the Vampires, which, for a race that is nearly immortal, astounded many.” Aleina paused and, shifting, slightly leaned forward. “For many centuries there were isolated cases of the disease popping up, so it was law, for a very long time, that if at all possible, you avoided any undue contact. Only in the last millennia has our medicine become advanced enough that the disease was finally put to a halt. But because it was law for so long, our men and women just do not touch.”

Looking to Xandra, Aleina smiled a little. “Your husband is, and please know I mean no offense, he is fairly old. He was born during the development of the cure, but the law was still strictly being enforced for most of his younger and early adult life. During his training, it was part of what they taught to all men of military nature. To him it is natural to avoid touch where for you it is perfectly natural. Now, I know”—she held up a hand to calm whatever questions were coming—“it has been a great many years since then, but now it’s more tradition than anything else. Husbands and wives and families will touch casually, but with strangers it’s more reserved, thus why I mentioned waiting until your guests are inside your home to greet them warmly. It’s just how our world is, my lady. Give him time. He will likely unbend to a degree, but I very much doubt he will ever be completely comfortable with public touching. It goes against everything he’s been taught.”

Xandra nodded. “Lord and Lady,” she whispered in a half prayer of forgiveness to her husband. “I will try to remember that. It shouldn’t be hard for me, and I know that because I haven’t known touch in my life, but I have craved it.” She knew that didn’t make much sense, but it was what it was.

Pursing her lips for a moment, Aleina knew she should leave it be, but the lady was alone here. “I beg your pardon, my lady. If this is too bold of me, please let me know and I shall never mention it again, but…” Pausing for a moment she reorganized her thoughts. “May I ask why you crave it, my lady? Touch that is,” Aleina asked softly.

“I never thought that I would,” Xandra whispered honestly. “I have never been touched before, except by my mother, but she died when I was young.” She wrung her hands in her lap . “But with him, I don’t know. From the moment that I realized that he was to be mine, I needed his touch, I wanted his touch. It’s simply”—she smiled—“it makes me feel better, to have his touch, to feel him touching me.”

“Understandable, of course,” Aleina said with a nod of understanding. “I would suggest that you stand close to him, but not touching in public. Brush against him casually when you can and apologize with a simple lowering of your lashes. Be coy but do not toy with him. There is a fine line that you may walk, my lady, but do not ever, ever cross it in front of his men. He is a leader, their commanding officer, and in that his power must appear absolute. That is the only time that you must not, no matter what, distract him or try for more. In private, behind closed doors, push him without appearing to do so. Touch him gently, those mindless touches women give men when they laugh, when they are talking and not paying attention. Kiss him as though distracted, when walking past him to another room,” Aleina said with a smile. “Most importantly, watch his eyes. Vampires are very sensitive to touch and scent. Their eyes will dilate and the more…” She paused with a blush and ducked her head. “The more”—clearing her throat she shifted slightly—“aroused they are, the more their pupils will change shape. The thinner and longer they appear, the more aroused they are,” she finished, lightly fanning her face.

Xan looked at the woman and breathed in deeply. Last night Andries eyes had all but turned into thin lines of color when he had come to their bed. “Thank you for that advice, Aleina. I will keep that in mind and ensure that I don’t touch him in front of his men.” That was why he had acted as he had when they had their dinner, because she had touched him. “I would like my clothing to complement Andries.” She needed to change the subject. “I would like silver and dark blue, my husband’s house colors. Do you think that is possible?” She paused and then asked, “And do you think they will be able to have me a partial wardrobe ready today?”

“The clothier will be able to accommodate your choices,” Aleina said, willing to go with the subject change. “He will already be aware of the lord colonel’s colors and will bring you several materials in those colors as well as complementary color choices. Likely he will bring several pieces from his establishment that can be easily adjusted here by his assistants or items that do not require alterations such as with ties and stays built in,” she told the lady.

“That would be lovely.” Of course they would, with her new husband being who he was. Of course they would bend over backward in order to ensure that he was happy.

“I should also mention that, with your new position of status, the clothing options, design wise that is,” Aleina corrected herself, “will be very extensive and, some would claim, risqué. Only choose what styles you will be comfortable with unless it comes to formal gowns. Then we will need to discuss the options and choose ones that relay your position. But for everyday wear you need not be so conscious of style unless you are going out in public. The clothier will offer you house wear, morning and afternoon gowns for wearing in public, evening wear for casual dinners, and evening gowns as well as function or, as I believe it was termed on your world, ball gowns.”

There was no way she could wear clothes that were revealing and risqué. She wouldn’t want to make her husband upset or question her weak claims of innocence. She had said the words. However, hadn’t she been the one constantly touching him, kissing him, hugging him?

Seeing the look on the lady’s face, Aleina smiled. “I know it seems rather extensive, but you are a lady with a powerful lord as her husband as well as a much respected and, forgive me for saying, feared member of our military. You will be expected to portray a certain style and decorum in public, even if it is only shopping in the markets. All members, high and low, will be watching you for the first weeks to see if there is a crack to your armor that they may exploit in order to get closer to your husband and beg favors of him for the return of remaining silent on any perceived faults of yours. It is going to be hard, my lady. I will not lie to you, but in time they will learn you are a good and kind woman who has made her husband a good match. But until then, every word, every move you make, and every action you take will be judged and often harshly.”

“And that simply won’t do.” She wouldn’t be a pawn to be used to gain her husband’s favor. Either people deserved him and his help or they didn’t. To her it was really and truly that simple. “All right, I will lean to your advice on the gowns. However”—she paused and looked at Aleina—“I don’t want anything that is far too risqué. I would prefer to retain some sliver of modicum and some sense of myself and keep the gowns high enough that I am not threatening to spill out of them, if you understand what I mean.”

“I do indeed understand, my lady, but, how shall I put this, the higher the station at which you perch, the lower the bodice becomes,” Aleina said with perfect intonation and without a hint of humor. “You, my lady, are very high on station, so…” Shifting slightly, Aleina had to now fight not to laugh. It would not be proper. “I would recommend learning how to pick up items without ever tipping forward.”

“I think that I will set a new standard in fashion then,” she grumbled softly but nodded with a sigh. The tone signaled another visitor to the door and she stood. “That must be the clothier. If you will excuse me, I will see him in.” She had to try to remember how to greet the man without offending anyone else.

Nodding, Aleina stood. “Of course, my lady. I would suggest having him set up in here. There should be more than enough space there for what I’m sure he will be doing.”

Looking to the guard outside, she nodded and opened the door to the man holding the bolts of cloth and the minions behind him. Bowing respectfully, she greeted him without name, as she didn’t know it. “Please enter, sir. We are set up in the lower den, if that will be acceptable?”

Chapter Twelve

Striding in like a force of nature, the man looked at her with pursed lips before sweeping past. Stopping in the middle of the formal sitting room, he turned back to her. “We will set up here,” he said in an authoritative tone and then clapped his hands. At the signal, his four assistants started wheeling in racks of materials, racks of pre-made, almost completed clothing, his machine, the perch the lady would stand on for fitting, a large tilted mirror, and of course, the clothier’s chair.

The man was a force of nature to be sure. He stormed in and simply took over control. “And what is your name?” she asked because he hadn’t given her the courtesy of his name, and that annoyed her. “Aleina, this is…” She turned to the clothier and waited.

“I am Jaron,” he said as he instructed his assistants to placement and to open all the blinds for as much light as possible. “Now.” He nodded as everything was placed as he wanted and turned to her. “If you will, my lady”—he indicated a spot in front of him—“stand here and please, chin up, shoulders back, and stand as tall as you can,” he ordered. Holding out a hand, he snapped his fingers and his measuring tool was placed into it.

Getting onto the small raised perch, she stood with back arrow straight, chin held high, and shoulders back.

It was a long and tedious several hours, but when it was complete, she had several outfits for day wear, one gown for accepting visitors, and was assured the remainder of her clothes would be ready in three days. The most embarrassing parts of her wardrobe had been when they measured her for her under coverings and for bedwear. She wanted to tell them she didn’t sleep with anything on, but then the chuckles with the clothier and the viewing of the sheer silver silk had her changing her mind. Something about the Colonel unwrapping his bride was what sent her over the edge.

She watched as they all left and sat down with a sigh. Alone once more with Aleina’s assurances that she would return the next day, she waited for her husband to return home.

He’d missed the clothier, or so the guards reported. He wasn’t so upset about that, but he’d missed out on helping Xandra choose her clothing and the pleasure he might have had watching her go through the process. Opening the door, he stepped in and looked around, frowning at the boxes and piles of items still sitting in the formal sitting area. “Xandra?” he called through the suites, pausing to see if he could find her. Heading up the stairs, he walked to the family sitting room and to where her heartbeat led. “Xandra?” he said her name again to alert her that she wasn’t alone.

She turned and looked up at him with a smile. “You have just missed the clothier, Andries.” Standing, she approached him and leaned close. “How was your day?” She wanted to reach out to him, but Aleina’s words hung in her mind, so she kept herself back from him, waiting for him to tell her how his day was.

“Long,” he said softly, looking down at her and leaning in to kiss her lightly. “I’m sorry I missed helping you with the clothier, Xandra. I did try to get back, but we had to work out a few things.” He lifted a hand to touch her cheek. “Are you still interested in coming with me during the mission?” he asked her.

She leaned into his touch, her eyes closing and hiding the pleasure he gave her from that simple touch. “I’m sorry your day was so hard and long.” When she opened her eyes, the pleasure was still there, but she couldn’t hide how she felt, not when he was touching her as he was. “I would like to do that, Andries. If you’re certain I won’t be too much in the way, I would very much like to come with you, please?”

“You won’t be in the way, but you may want to ask Aleina for some reading materials to take along. It will be a long and, for the most part, boring trip. I don’t want you to be bored while we’re traveling,” he told her. Shifting his hand, he cupped her cheek. “How was your day? Did you find anything that you liked from the clothier?”

“I did. I found a lot of things that the clothier made just for me.” She smiled and nodded. “I hope that I got things that you will like as well, Andries.” Stepping closer to him, she laid her hand on his chest. “I very much like it when you touch me, Andries,” she whispered softly.

Stilling, he stared at her and fought to keep the question contained, but it just kept trying to come out until it popped out. “You like my touch?” he asked and winced inside of his head. Clamping his teeth together, he shook his head. “Ignore me, I’m tired,” he said but he didn’t move back and his thumb, of its own accord, began to move over her skin slowly.

“Yes, I like your touch, Andries.” She smiled up at him. “I love your touch. I seem to crave it.” She looked up and into his eyes. “I want to keep this moment forever, Andries,” she whispered and laid her hand over his hand, holding him close to her cheek while the other lay over his heart, gently caressing his chest as she did so. “Have you had lunch?” It was a soft question. She hadn’t wanted to break the moment, but she wanted to know if he needed food.

“I ate at the meeting,” he murmured, watching her carefully as he felt his body reacting to her. “You should eat if you haven’t. I don’t want you missing out on a meal. I’m going to go and lie down for a while. I need to go by the shipyard and ensure my crew knows when we are departing. If you’d like, we can go together so I can show you around a bit and then, if you are of the mind to, we could have dinner out.” He had no idea why he was offering any of it except that it seemed to be a compulsion with him to try and please her.

“Aleina shoved food at me while they were marking and picking out the gowns. She said I needed it while I argued with the clothier.” Xandra grinned. “He didn’t appreciate me wanting my neck line above my”—she flushed—“well, you know. I would like to go with you, Andries. I would like to see the shipyard and what you do, please?”

“Do you have something to wear out if I choose an establishment of a higher end?” he asked cautiously since he had no idea if the question would offend. He also hadn’t a clue what she actually had for clothing after her morning session. Pulling her in closer to him, he lowered his head, his nose brushing over her temple gently as he breathed her in.

Turning her face up to him, she smiled. “If you would like, you can see what I have and choose something. I have several very nice dresses that I was assured would be the height of fashion and would be good no matter where we went.” Her body was pressed against his now as she took another step closer to him. She felt every inch of him pressed to every inch of her.

“Later,” he breathed, feeling his teeth elongate. Gods, he should have more control than this, and yet he was behaving as a youth would. Sliding his hand around her neck, he buried his fingers into her hair, tilting her head so he could press his face to her neck. Inhaling her scent, he licked at her pulse, his body jumping from low heat to full flames instantly. Closing his eyes, he shuddered. “Push me away, Xandra,” he said, demanding her to tell him his behavior was unacceptable.

Her fingers tightened in his shirt as she leaned her head to the side in offer to him. “No, I need you too much to push you away, Andries. Please.” She wanted this. She needed this. His very touch was sending fire along her veins, forcing her heart to thump hard as it worked to move that blood through her body, the blood that called to her husband.

Growling softly, he gently rubbed the flat of his incisors over her flesh. “It won’t just be a taste this time, Xandra,” he whispered against her pulse. The blood flowing through her veins was like a song, and it was singing to him loud and clear. “And it won’t be just your blood, either.” He growled, his voice was turning too animalistic, the beast taking over more control. “I want all of you. I swore I’d give you time, but I find I cannot. I ask you again, push me away from you, Xandra,” he begged softly, knowing if she didn’t, he wouldn’t be letting her go any time soon.

“I give you all of me, Andries.” She rubbed her cheek against his and then moved her head to the side once more. “I accept you as you are and need you. Please, I don’t want to be without you, Andries. Show me.” It was a soft release asking him for all he had to give, giving him leave to take from her the blood in her veins and the innocence of her body.

Putting his arms around her, one under her bottom, Andries lifted her into his arms and carried her to the bedroom. Closing the door with a push of his foot, he set her down moments later by the bed. Releasing her, he slid his hand around her waist and over her stomach. Meeting her gaze, he let her see him as his desires rode him hard, his pupils long, thin slits of black, his eyes darkening as he became more and more needy. Gently he turned her and began to undo her dress, tugging it from her body, his hands moving slowly over her warm flesh.

There it was. His pupils became mere slits just as Aleina had said they would. She moved her hair over to the side and she turned to look at him over her shoulder. “Please touch me,” she whispered. He was touching her already, but the feeling of it was blissful to her. “Please never stop, Andries.”

“I won’t,” he promised her quietly, leaning in to nip at her shoulder gently, ensuring he didn’t touch her skin with his incisors. Lifting her from the mound of her dress, he settled her on the bed before he stepped back and pulled at his uniform with motions that were anything but smooth. Stripping quickly, he stood for a moment and let his gaze move over her before he stalked toward her. Crawling onto the bed with her, he kissed her thigh, her hip, her ribcage, and then nuzzled the underside of her breast. He was more the beast inside than man, and the beast liked to play with its partners, which was why Andries had always been careful before her. But with her he could be who he really was, and if she couldn’t accept it, then he knew he was never meant to have anyone.

Her fingers buried into the short dark hair and held tight to the strands. “Andries.” She gasped out as her head fell back, her leg moving to rub up his thigh and the curve of his waist. “That feels so good.” Licking at her breast, he carefully sucked at her nipple, pulling it into his mouth between the long teeth. Sliding a hand up her leg, he gently touched her pussy, lifting his head to whisper soothing words as she jolted. When she calmed, he rubbed at her slowly, letting her acclimate to his possessive touch, and once again, returned to her breast, needing to taste her again.

She moved slightly, rubbing herself more on him and needing more as well. “Please.” The feeling of his fangs on each side of her nipple was making her pant. “Oh please.” Her pupils were dilated with hungry need as she looked down at him, watched him. She loved to watch him, loved the way that his eyes glowed with feral heat and needed, wanted more.

Sliding a long finger into her pussy, he gently stroked her as he moved to her other breast, giving it the same treatment as the first. Lightly he scraped his long teeth over her skin, ever aware of just how little pressure it would take to bring blood welling to the surface. Looking to her, he watched her watching him and pressed a second finger into her cunt. He knew she was innocent, had felt that barrier just moments ago that told the truth of all things, and because he wasn’t a complete monster, he wanted her to be ready. Pressing a kiss to her heart, he moved down her body, his tongue lapping and licking at all the flesh he could find.

She was shaking as he made his way down her body, her voice a sigh of pleasure. “Andries.” He spread her legs wider, giving him more room to work between them, his fingers stroking slowly in and out of her slick pussy.

Kissing the soft flesh just on the inner side of her thigh, so close to the heat of her pussy, he could feel it on his cheek. Her scent was ripe in the air, filling it and his lungs with her need. Licking her flesh slowly, he nuzzled her curls with his lips, and then spreading her wide, his fingers damp, he laid his mouth to her clitoris before licking along her labia.

She shuddered violently as he licked the broad side of his tongue up and then back down her hot pussy. “Andries.” Surely what they were doing wasn’t allowed, right? Whatever, because if it was, she couldn’t see how people would ever leave their beds. “Again, please.” She begged for more of his masterful attention.

Closing his eyes slowly, he breathed a small sigh of relief that she wasn’t protesting what he was doing. Vampires were sensual and highly sensory beings. To him this was pure bliss. Doing as she asked, he looked up her body to watch her face as he licked at her again, sliding the fronts of his incisors up her swollen pussy, dipping his tongue deep into her and wiggled it around slowly.

She felt the long incisors as they gently moved over the swollen and sensitive pussy. It didn’t hurt. However, it did excite her in ways she never dreamed possible. “Again, please.” She was panting and reached a hand out to touch him. She caressed his cheek gently and watched as his eyes seemed to close slowly and then open again with fire in them.

He couldn’t seem to resist her soft commands, and again, he did as she asked, applying just a hint more pressure before he moved up to suckle at her clitoris. Pushing two fingers deep into her pussy again, he stroked her faster, spreading them to help stretch her until he could push in a third. When she tensed, he patiently waited, flicking his tongue over her clit and teasing her gently with his teeth.

She felt her body clenching and then stretching to accommodate him. “Please.” She begged slightly as she moved her head to look up in his eyes. “Andries, I need.” She had no idea what she needed, but she needed. She knew that.

“Soon,” he promised quietly as he moved his hand again, pressing deep into her body, stretching her even more to fully accommodate him. “I don’t want to hurt you any more than is normal for your first time, Xandra.” Kissing her inner thigh, he licked along the artery he could feel just under her thin skin, breathing her in. Shifting, he continued to stretch her as he shifted up her body, pausing to kiss each of her breasts gently before laying over her. “How are you feeling?” he asked her, his eyes locked with hers.

“Marvelous.” She breathed out on a sigh and bit her lip. “Incredible and needy. Like I’m burning up and wanting more. I don’t understand it, but I need, and each time I feel your teeth pressing against me”—she gave a shiver—“it makes me all the more needy.”

Her vocabulary was disintegrating slowly, a sure sign that she was close to the edge. Pressing a kiss to her jaw, he slid his tongue over her skin, tasting the faint sheen of sweat her flesh held. “Do you want more?” he asked her, his lips to her ear. He was close to not caring if she said yes or no, but he wasn’t there yet.

Sliding his lips over her skin, he shifted and, moving his hand, he gently pressed his cock into her sopping-wet pussy. Pressing slowly into her tight cunt, he paused as he contacted with the small, thin, weak little barrier inside of her. “Hold on to me, Xandra,” he whispered and, when she clutched at him, he thrust his cock into her as he sank his teeth into her throat.

The moment was there, and when he pressed not only his cock into her slick pussy, but his fangs into her throat, she cried out but moved her legs to wrap tightly around his hips to hold him close, and her fingers bit into his shoulders as she cried out his name in a combination of pain and pleasure.

Her hold on him had his control slipping even more until all he could do was feel. Thrusting into her over and over again, each push harder, he drank from her throat. On that matter, he kept his wits about him, knowing that if he took too much he’d kill her. Suckling softly at her throat, he pushed her body to its limits with his baser animalistic needs.

She moved closer to him. “Andries.” She begged, pleaded with him as her legs tightened around him and tugged him deeper. Her arms wrapped tightly around his head and held him to where he was feeding from her.

Too much, he was taking too much, and that faint, nearly unnoticeable stutter warned him off. Forcing his teeth to retract, he laid his tongue to the twin marks on her throat to help the wounds clot. When he was sure she would perish from bleeding out, he lifted his head to see the marks were sealing. Pressing kisses over her face, he made his way to her lips and then, skipping across to the other side, kissed his way around. “Xandra,” he breathed her name as he kissed her hard.

She was lost to him, his kisses. The reverent way he held and took her was almost loving, and when he breathed her name before kissing her once more, she shuddered her surrender and felt her whole body stiffen as she succumbed to the orgasm that had been building with a force of nature. His lips melded to hers kept her from screaming. Instead she clung to him, and the moaning sound was heard as their bodies slapped together over and over again.

Growling low in his chest, the sound built and moved up his body to pour from him to her. A few more thrusts and he spilled his seed as he followed her into the abyss, his body taut as a wire, and then he sagged over her. Resting his cheek to hers, he closed his eyes as pure feeling, nothing but absolute ecstasy rolled over him again and again. Breathing in her scent and his combined in the air, he knew that she now was truly his in every way, perhaps. For a few minutes he lay over her and then, while he still could, he rolled to his back, keeping her pressed tightly to him as he did so.

Gasping for air, her head on his chest, she ran her hands possessively down his arms and captured his hands with hers. Twining her fingers with his, she lay there until she was finally able to speak. “Thank you, Andries. That was beyond words.” The feeling of him still locked deep inside of her, the knowledge of what they had done, the heat of his body, and his heart thudding against her ear had her eyes drooping sleepily. “Do you need me to move?” She was thinking that if she fell asleep, she didn’t want him to suffer because she was lying on top of him.

“Stay,” he told her in a rough tone. “You weigh nothing and I…like the feel of you lying where you are. Stay,” he said again, moving a hand to touch her back, stroking his fingers slowly over her damp skin. Shifting slightly, he tugged at the blankets that were all askew. Finally he got one untangled for the most part and pulled it up and over them. “Sleep, Xandra. You should rest now.” His tone was just short of an order, the hint of tenderness the only thing that kept it from being too brusque.

Pressing a kiss to his chest, she lay her head back down once more. “All right. Good night, husband,” she whispered softly and let her body relax fully on him. “I very much enjoyed what we did. I would like to do that again, when I’m more awake, please?” She yawned softly and sighed. She didn’t know what one was to say after they had experienced what the two of them shared, so she left it where it was.

Smiling faintly, Andries watched her as she drifted into sleep, and not too long after, he joined her with a feeling of inner peace. Later he’d wonder on that, but at that moment he did not care.

Chapter Thirteen

Waking to the feel of lushly warm and sensual female skin, it took Andries a moment to remember where he was and why there was a female in bed with him. Turning his head, he checked the time and realized they needed to get up and moving if he was going to get to the ship before the shift change. “Xandra,” he called to her, pushing her hair from her face and frowning again at seeing the mutilated ear. Her father would pay for that in blood even if he had to wait a lifetime. “Come on, wife. We need to get up and moving, or I won’t be taking you with me for the month I’ll be on the ship.”

Her eyes slowly came open and the frown was evident. “We just went to sleep, Andries,” she grumbled even as she began to move. “And I’m moving, so don’t even take my complaints as me wanting to remain behind, Andries. I wan…” She trailed off. “Wait, did you say month? Well, there is most certainly no way that you are getting away from me for a month, Andries.” Looking up and into his face, her features softened as she reached out to touch his cheek, lightly stroking her fingers over it. “Good morning, husband. Did you sleep well?” The pleasantries came suddenly. The softness of her body was instinctual, but the feelings she had were all hers for him.

“It is evening, wife. That is why you feel as though you just went to sleep. We did,” he told her quietly, watching her under hooded eyes. “We need to go to the shipyard and ensure that my rooms are readied for you as well as all the supplies are taken aboard, and then we are going out for a meal.” Sliding his fingers up her arm to where her hand lay on his cheek, he pulled her hand to his lips and kissed her palm. “I slept quite well, thank you for asking,” he said. “We should get moving though, Xandra. I slept longer than I had originally planned, so we need to dress and get going quickly or the shift will change and I will miss who I need to speak with.” Though at the moment he had no urge at all to move, he realized, lightly rubbing her fingers over his lips.

“I just need a few moments to shower and change. Will that be all right?” Because she didn’t know if leaving while still feeling his hands on her body would be such a good thing for her peace of mind. She wanted him. She needed him, and she never wanted to let him go. The pull to him was so strong she was certain she was going to never be able to allow him to leave her side. “Do you want to shower with me?” She offered quietly, “It will help expedite our getting cleaned up, if you wish?”

“I don’t believe that would be wise, Xandra,” he told her, knowing that it would be very unwise. “We might become distracted,” he explained when her face fell. “We have things to do and I do not intend to ever rush our times together.” Stroking her fingers lightly with one of his, he gave her a hint of a smile. “Go and bathe. I will use the bathroom below stairs and await you there unless you require assistance dressing.”

She looked to be thinking about it a moment and then nodded. “I will. I hate to say it, but the gown that was left that would be appropriate has buttons up the back rather than zip closures, so I would greatly appreciate any help that you are willing to provide me, Andries.”

“I’ll come back up then,” he said softly, kissing her fingers lightly. “Go and clean up. I will be back before you know it,” he told her. “But you do need to move, Xandra.” He didn’t want to hurt her by rolling her over. Besides, he wanted to feel the slide of her skin from his as she moved. It would be torturous, but he still didn’t want to move until she did.

Nodding, she looked down at him and grinned. “Can I kiss you before I leave you?” She shouldn’t have to ask her husband if she could, but she felt as if she had to in that moment, as they were switching from lovers to the people the public saw.

Frowning slightly, he pulled her to him and didn’t answer, just kissed her softly. Rolling over, he continued to kiss her as he settled on top, his hand sliding down her side. Lifting his head, he looked into her eyes. “You never have to ask to kiss me when we are alone,” he murmured softly. “You never have to ask to touch me when we are alone. And you can ask me anything you wish at any time unless I’m on the command deck of my ship and then, if you need something that your escorts or one of the crew can’t help with, ask to speak with me alone. All right?” he asked her softly, his hand slowly stroking her side.

She nodded and smiled. “All right, I will try to keep that in mind.” She would do more than try. She simply had to do as he asked. She wasn’t going to risk having him upset in any way, how, shape, or form. She felt things for him so quickly, and she wanted to continue where they were headed, because she wanted to have more than just that. She wanted to see just how far they could go. “Help me up so that I can go and shower?” Her hand was over his heart and the other was loosely around his back.

Kissing her chin lightly, he shifted off of her and pulled her up slowly to her feet. “Go and do what you need to. I’ll be back in a few moments.” Stepping back, he padded from the room and down the stairs to the secondary bathing room. Stepping into the shower stall, he activated it and stood while the rays did their job. At the small triple beep he stepped back out and headed back up the stairs three minutes after he’d come down.

She moved to the shower slowly and with a frown. There was a pinching pain between her legs, but that’s not what had her nearly flying out the window. It was when she came back from her shower and she looked down at the bed that she gasped and covered her mouth with her shaky hand.

She looked up when he came back and with wide-eyed horror asked, “Did I hurt you, Andries?” She had thought the blood was from him, never recognizing the shower cleaned the blood from her. “Are you hurt?” she repeated.

Moving to her side quickly, Andries took her shaking hands in his and pulled her close as he looked to the sheets. “No, Xandra, it was your first time.” And he should have taken more care of her. “How are you feeling?” he asked, knowing the sonic shower would have cleaned her up and eased most of the aches.

“I feel really wonderful, Andries. However, are you sure?” she asked as she looked up at him. “I knew there was a small pain. However, I never thought—” She stopped talking because she knew what a fool she sounded like. “I should have known. If I had the upbringing I should have, I should have known to expect that, shouldn’t I have?”

“Not necessarily, Xandra. Every woman is different. But you likely would have been told it was a possibility,” he told her as he stepped back slightly. “But you are fine, yes?” he asked, receiving a small nod. “Then we should get dressed and on our way. This”—Andries motioned a hand to the bedding—“is natural, my wife. Do not worry so.”

“All right.” She bit her lip but nodded. “All right, I’m ready to get dressed now, but we should likely pull the bedding off and replace it with fresh so that when we come back, we won’t have to sleep in that.” Her face was bright red, but it wasn’t to be helped.

“Go and dress. I’ll do this, Xandra,” he told her quietly, watching the red of her cheeks, and was strangely fascinated by it. Moving to the bed, he quickly stripped the covers and took them to the laundry chute. Dumping them down it, he turned and saw her still standing there. “Go, Xandra. We’re short on time, wife,” he said again, trying to get her moving. Going to the closet, he quickly got into uniform before he collected clean sheets from the cupboard in there and went to make the bed.

She jumped and moved to the closet on the opposite side of the wall and pulled out the dress the clothier had created for her in what seemed like hours at the time, but turned out to be simple minutes. Tugging on the garment, she adjusted the insides of the silky dark-blue fabric and slipped her arms through the arm holes before turning to him. “All right, now I need your help.” The gown seemed to have been created for her, the color at least. It made her very skin glow and her hair look all the more exotic. Turning her back to him, she pointed to the long row of buttons that marched up the back from the crack of her bottom to the nape of her neck.

Dropping the heavy cover to the bed, the sheets already on, Andries turned to look at her. Moving up behind her, he ran a hand slowly down her spine. Fighting the need to do more by reminding himself that they had things to accomplish, he began to do up the many, many little buttons. “Who in the universe actually believes this many buttons are necessary?” he asked in a low tone as he was bent over to make sure he was getting the buttons into their correct corresponding holes.

“I know!” Xandra said as she looked over her shoulder at him and grinned. “It is perfect though. The colors are perfect for your house, or so I have been told. “If you will, however, make sure that they are all done up, it will be wonderful, please.”

I am working on that nearly insurmountable task, Xandra,” Andries muttered darkly. “And the colors are perfect for our house, my lady, not merely my house any longer,” he pointed out as he straightened to do the last few buttons. “Done,” he told her, stepping back to check and ensure he had not missed any. “We need to go, Xandra,” he told her again, checking the time. It would be close and he’d have to delay the shift he needed for a few moments, but it could not be helped. “Do you require a wrap, or will you be warm enough without?” he asked her as he finished dressing by pulling on his uniform jacket and doing it up carefully.

“There is a wrap in the lower level closet for me.” She turned and grinned. “Our house, that sounds interesting.” She looked at him and nodded. “I am as ready as I will be able to be.” She was nervous, very, very nervous, and felt as if she were walking into something that would potentially cause her headache, but it was past time for her to meet her husband’s men. “I will try to keep in mind that I am not to touch you as we are out, Andries, but don’t be surprised if I do, but I will try not to, all right?”

Taking her hand in his, he kissed her fingers lightly. “Come, wife, and stop worrying about such things for now,” he said quietly. Guiding her down the stairs, he paused by the closet and pulled out her wrap, holding it for her and draping it around her shoulders. Taking her hand in his, he held it as he opened the door and stepped out, searching the hall before allowing her out and closing the door behind them.

She held onto him and sighed. “All right, husband, let’s you and I go to see your men so they know not to shoot me when they see me, all right?”

Chapter Fourteen

A half hour later they were in the shipyard, her hand in his as he guided her up the ramp to the lowest level of the vessel. Moving through, he nodded to the crew, who all stopped and gave a small bow of their head to their superior officer. “Sergeant,” he said, looking to one, “inform the command deck I am here and let the Major know I need to see him and the other officers in the war room before they depart the ship for the night.” As the young man took off to a console, Andries guided her through the ship quickly to a lift that would take them to the command deck. “I’ll give you a tour before we leave,” he murmured softly to her as they stepped into the lift.

She frowned as she looked up at him. “I don’t want to complain, Andries, because I very much like it, but you do realize that you are still holding my hand, don’t you?” She did, however, step closer to him and felt more of his heat surrounding her in a warm comfort that she didn’t think she could ever step away from. “And several of your men saw you holding my hand. Are you going to be all right with that?”

Glancing down at her, he nodded. “I do realize,” he told her and then looked up at the display to see where they were. “If I was not all right, as you phrased it, I would not being doing so, Xandra,” he pointed out quietly. “In the war room I will need you to sit quietly for a time, Xandra. I need to speak with my second about preparations for departure as well as brief him on the mission. I know it will likely be boring, but it is necessary, so I hope you will understand.”

“As long as you are certain that I won’t get in the way.” She knew that she wouldn’t get in the way at all simply because she had no insight into what happened in a war room. “I will be perfectly content to remain at the side simply watching and listening.” Especially if it was him she was going to get to watch and listen to. She tugged absently at her hair, ensuring the deformed ear was covered once more before the shiny doors swished open and he led her from the small lift into a sparse hall with guards lining the doors.

Moving down the corridor, he guided her to the war room, and placing his hand on the scanner, he stepped inside with her. “Gentlemen,” he said to get everyone’s attention. “Before we begin, may I introduce my wife, the Lady Xandra. Xandra, my second, Major Slater,” he said quietly. “If you need anything and I’m unavailable, you can count on him.”

“A pleasure, my lady.” The major bowed his head in respect, having noted the colonel was holding the lady’s hand, an interesting detail.

“Ensure the crew knows that the lady will be joining us for this mission and to ensure that everything is as it should be.” In other words, they had better behave or Andries would have their hearts on a platter.

“Of course, Colonel.” The major nodded and then looked to a young lieutenant, who bowed his head slightly and left the room.

“Come,” Andries said to Xandra before leading her to the head of the table and his seat. Pulling it out, he seated her, giving her hand a slight squeeze before he moved to look at the star charts spread out. Undoing his jacket, he pulled out the packet with their orders and passed it to the major before doing his jacket up again.

Turning in the plush seat that seemed to mold to her body as she leaned back, she watched him carefully and the men at his side. She took in everything. While she hadn’t been taught so much, Xandra was far from stupid. Every detail of the map, of the orders she had seen only briefly would be committed to memory. It wasn’t planned but simply the way that she was. On certain things Xandra had complete and total recall, rare for a woman and an ability she hid stingily from all.

For the next hour, Andries covered every detail of the mission they had to a planet in their galaxy. There was to be a summit meeting of sorts, and they had to stop along the way to pick up the ambassador that would be needed at the meet. He made it quick, not wanting to keep the men too long. They needed sleep. “That’s it, Major,” he said at the end as the orders were put in the safe as well as the star maps. “Ensure everyone is on board and accounted for in four days’ time at 05:00. The lady and I will be here the night before.” Because he wasn’t planning on getting out of bed early enough to travel to the port.

“Yes, sir,” Major Slater said as he bowed his head in salute to his commanding officer and then turned to Xandra to bow slightly deeper for her. “My lady, good evening to you both,” he told them and then, ordering the others out, followed them to complete the shift change.

Looking to Xandra as he shut the safe and spun the tumblers, Andries lifted a brow. “Bored yet?” he asked softly before he moved toward her. “I’m sorry. I didn’t think it would take as long as it did.”

“Don’t be. I enjoyed it.” She really had, actually, which was a surprise. “It was interesting, to learn the names of the stars I have watched for so many years in the skies.” Turning to face him, she stood and smiled. “I’m ready to go for dinner now, if you are hungry as well, that is?” A short flush colored her cheek as she reached out and touched his chest, only daring the move because she knew they were alone. The colored cheeks came from thinking of how he had fed from her, dined on her blood, and moon and stars help her, she wanted to feel it again.

Watching her, he touched her cheek lightly. “What is going through that head of yours, Xandra?” he asked, not really expecting an answer. “Did you want to tour the ship now or the night we come aboard for the trip?” he asked a moment later.

“If you wouldn’t mind, I would like one now.” Looking up at him, her eyes glittered with need. “I was thinking of how you drank from me, and for a moment I was hoping you would tell me you were hungry and bend to drink from me again. Pretty silly, I know.” But there it was.

He had no control over his brows as they shot up toward his hairline. Nor did he have any idea what to say to that proclamation. Blinking a few times, he got his voice back. “I see,” he murmured quietly. Pulling her closer to him, he bowed his head so that his lips hovered just over hers. “You like when I feed from you?” he asked softly.

“I liked it a great deal. I know that it’s something I shouldn’t, and while I admit it held pain, it was more the feeling of”—she didn’t know how to think to phrase it, so she finished with—“the feeling that I am giving you something that no one else could.” Anyone could give it to him, but that was beside the point. “However, if you prefer not to, I understand fully. I am not from your home planet, and I’m certain that I’m nowhere near what you could get from here.” She shrugged and leaned in, brushing her lips so very lightly over his that were so very close. “I won’t be offended by the bags, I promise,” she said when she pulled away.

Searching her eyes for a moment, Andries stroked his finger over her pulse. “You are much preferable to any bag or live source ever, Xandra. Your blood is rich, full of life, sweet, and slightly spicy,” he said quietly. “But if you are not comfortable with my taking from you, Xandra, I am more than able to survive with the bagged blood.” Now though, gods, now he wanted her on his tongue again, her taste, her scent, everything.

She snorted and shook her head, looking up at him with a smile. “I loved you taking from me, Andries. Didn’t you get the memo on just how much I loved that? It made my whole body come alive, every single nerve ending firing rapidly, knowing that I was giving you something that would help you survive.” She sighed and traced her fingers over his lips. “I loved it, Andries, and I would very much like you to do that anytime you are in need.” Like now, her body screamed.

Feeling her pulse jump under his fingers, he continued to stroke her neck lightly. With a gentle finger, he turned her head and lowered his own to her throat. Licking at her pulse gently, he nibbled at her skin. “I’m in need, Xandra,” he told her quietly. Letting his incisors slide out, he scraped them lightly over her skin and then, quickly and before he could rethink it, he sank his teeth in deep, wrapping his arms around her to hold her closer.

Her arms wrapped up and around him as she gasped for air. “Andries,” she whimpered softly in the quiet room as her body molded against his fully and completely. Her hands moved over his back, one anchored against the back of his head and the other the one doing the exploration before moving to his front and sliding down.

“I’m in need, too, Andries,” she confessed as he slowly drank from her. One of her hands found him and cupped his cock gently. “Please.”

Growling softly against her throat, Andries lifted her and took a step to the table where he sat her down. Moving between her legs, he slowed his feeding so he didn’t hurt her as he worked the skirt of her dress up her legs to find her underneath, his fingers teasing her wet flesh gently. All the command officers were off the ship, so there was no one that could get into the war room, which meant they had absolute privacy.

Bracing her hands on the flat of the table, she lifted slightly so the dress was fully bared and bit her lip as she moved the same hands back up and to the stays of his pants. “Please don’t stop, just…” She didn’t know how to ask for what she needed as she bared his flesh to her waiting hands finally. “Andries, please,” she begged as she began to stroke the heated shaft in her hands lovingly.

Rocking his hips into her hands, he slid two fingers deep into her tight pussy and gently stroked her. But it was her hands that were truly distracting him, his free arm tightening around her as he pulled her closer to the edge of the table. Shifting, he stroked his damp fingers over her thigh as he waited for her to guide his throbbing cock into her body, hoping she’d know what he wanted.

She seemed to move on instinct alone and pressed the bulbous head of his cock to her hot entrance and wrapped a leg around him to tug him in closer. Her head fell back and to the side, giving him far better access as she wrapped her other leg around his. Bracing her hands on the table, she pulled him in at the same time she lifted herself with her arms and met him halfway until he was fully buried in her pussy. “Andries,” she sobbed in pleasure.

Shifting his arms, he cupped her bottom to him as he began to move his cock in her pussy, feeding once again at her throat gently. Massaging her ass, he lifted her higher so she would wrap her arms around his shoulders, tipping her upright gently.

Her arms found their purchase around his shoulders, where she held on tightly and bit her lip as her legs tightened around him. There was no pain this time when he pushed into her body. It was perfect, felt amazing, and each time he moved his cock deeper into her body, she felt like screaming.

Rocking her on his cock, Andries pulled himself from her throat. He was taking too much, but the temptation was so strong. Clotting the wounds with slow swipes of his tongue, he licked over her flesh to her mouth and kissed her as he breathed her in, his eyes meeting hers.

Kissing him until she couldn’t see, she pulled back to watch him, watching her. Both of their bodies had stilled as he looked at her, watched her. Without even questioning it, she leaned forward and pulled him close. Her hands on his shoulders once more, she began to slowly move on his stiff cock, building the moment again until finally her head fell back, and in a moment of pure shock to her, she let out a yelp of passion as she came before him.

Andries held her as she took her own pleasure, and when she slowly came down, he began to move his cock inside of her. Pushing her back up through the need and desire, she felt him come hard, pulling her to him tight as he growled her name softly against her ear, his arms steel bands around her soft form.

She felt cherished as he held her close and closed her eyes as she lay her head on his shoulder. “That was very, very nice.” If she ever saw his war room again, she wouldn’t look at it in the same way. Her hands moved slowly over his back and she shivered as he squeezed her closer and closer.

Shifting his head slightly, he brushed his lips over her cheek. “Are you all right?” he asked softly. He’d behaved as an animal, just taking her with no concern for her or her care and welfare. It was not an acceptable decision on his part. He would have to do better by her from there on out. She deserved some civility, even married to a beast.

“Oh my goodness yes, I am all right.” She grinned happily at him and nodded. “I am very, very all right.” Looking up at him, she touched his cheek and asked the question that was burning. “I shouldn’t have started this. I’m sorry.” That wasn’t the question, but what came next was. “Will you forgive me for behaving as I did?”

Easing her down to sit on the table once more, he bent over her so their connection wasn’t lost. “How was it you behaved, Xandra?” he asked, confused and curious all at the same time. A common occurrence with this woman, his wife, he’d noticed in just the last two days of their marriage. So short a time and already he knew that they were going to have a full, if very interesting, life together.

“We are in your war room, yet I couldn’t keep my hands to myself.” She bit her lip and shook her head. “I can’t seem to keep my hands to myself or my thoughts as mine alone.” She did smile up at him. “But I look at you, you touch me, and I just lose myself. I need to feel you touching me, and now that I know how it can be between us physically”—again her cheeks colored—“I want it often. I want to feel you inside of me and you drinking from me, pulling me into you, for lack of a better description.” There was a pause. “Can you forgive me? I promise I will work on it, Andries. I will try to keep my hands to myself and not attack you the second we are alone.”

“There is nothing to forgive, Xandra,” he told her honestly as he rested his forehead to hers. “If I was not of a like mind, do you honestly believe that you could have done anything to get me to act as I just have?” he asked her as her eyes slowly rose to meet his. “When we are alone, Xandra, you do not ever have to suppress who you are. I know it is difficult for you, coming to a new world with different laws, rules, and ways of doing things. You are handling it all with amazing grace, and I know you will continue to. But I can bend laws on occasion as well as traditions to make you more comfortable.”

“Thank you, Andries. That means a great deal to me,” she told him simply and nodded. “I only do what I do because you are worth it, Andries. You are far more a blessing than my father could have ever imagined, and I’m sure if he knew just how much I cared for you already that he would likely come and shoot you for not being the monster that he seems to think your people are.” Her father was an ass. There were no two ways about it.

He could be a monster should the need be there and, should he ever meet her father, he’d ensure that the man knew that his judgment had been nowhere near close. “I do not know if ‘blessing’ is a word I wish to hear brandished about in regards to myself,” he commented dryly. “If you would not mind keeping that one to yourself, Xandra.” His men would likely die of shock.

“I will try.” She grinned cheekily up at him and nodded. “But you really are, Andries. You are charming, smart, but more than that.” She didn’t know how he would take this but said, “You keep me safe. You keep me happy, and together.” There was a small pause. “Together I think you and I will have a very, very good life.”

Another word that would have his crew running for cover, “charming.” Where did this female come up with these terms for him? Shaking his head slightly, he kissed her gently before he pulled from her. “We should do the tour and then feed you.” Maybe it was a low blood sugar or, more than likely, a lack of blood making her come up with these odd claims.

“Are you sure that’s wise?” The last time that she ate outside of their home with him, the first time she shared a meal with him, someone had tried to poison her. “I know I shouldn’t question your men, but you never found who tried to kill me on our wedding night,” she whispered, not in accusation, but reminder.

“You will not be harmed, Xandra,” he told her quietly as he finished buttoning his pants. Moving to her as he tugged the jacket back into place, he touched her cheek. “I will not allow anyone to harm you, Xandra. And I have two that could be the ones responsible under watch. Before we leave, I will know for sure who tried to cause you harm, I promise.”

Pressing her gown back down, she nodded and smiled. “I know you won’t let anyone hurt me, Andries.” Once she felt she was acceptable once more, she held her hands out. “All right, do I look all right, Andries? Am I back to normal and you can’t tell what we just did?” She didn’t realize that she carried the scent of their lovemaking heavily on her body.

His lips twitched slightly, but he nodded. “Perfectly acceptable, my lady,” he said, taking her hand and tucking it through his arm. “Come,” he told her and guided her out the door and through the halls. The few guards that were about for the night shift all twitched their noses as they passed but, thanks to their severe training, said not a word or made any other gesture that said they knew what had happened not that long ago. Over the next hour, he showed her through the many levels of the large vessel and made sure she knew where all the common areas, the mess hall, the exercise room, the entertainment area, as well as their rooms were.

She paused before a plaque on the wall with a map of the ship on it and frowned. Her fingers reached out and touched it as she shook her head. “This is wrong. Why is this backward?” she asked, pointing to two rooms. “These two rooms. They aren’t how I just saw with my eyes, why?” The armory and brig were switched.

Looking to the plaque, Andries lifted a brow. “We altered them when I first took command of the vessel. We needed a larger armory,” he explained. Seeing the next question, he spoke before she could voice it. “We didn’t bother changing the plaques because we all know where both are. But invaders will end up confused and disoriented should they manage to get on board, and we’ll be able to take them during their confusion.”

“It makes sense, and that’s actually a very good idea as well.” She grinned at him and nodded. “I would say that was actually a very strategic need and providence as well.” Leaning back against him, she closed her eyes and smiled. “Will you show me the quarters we will share while on the ship and then we can leave? Please?”

“Of course,” he said and guided her toward the lift. Taking it up several levels, he led her down the corridor and pressed his hand to the scanner at the door. “Before we leave, I’ll input your palm print into the system so that you don’t have to worry about being locked out,” he told her as he let her step into the room. Except for the commanding officers’ quarters, all other quarters were very barren and austere. But the commanding officers’ quarters were very lush and luxurious.

“This is very nice, Andries. I didn’t think that something on a spaceship would be so beautiful.” Even her father’s personal ship didn’t have rooms so nice. It was as if the furnishings from their bedroom and sitting room at their home had been transported to the ship. “I can see why traveling isn’t such a hardship for you, darling.”

“I rarely spend time in here when we’re traveling except to sleep,” he told her truthfully. “Although, with you on board I may end up in here more,” he commented, moving around. He’d honestly never noticed the luxuries. They were just expected for the command crew, something to show appreciation for all their hard work and long hours.

“I certainly hope that you will, because I don’t think your command staff would appreciate me being on the bridge with you as often as I would want to be. I need more than just when we sleep, Andries. I know I’m asking for a lot, and I apologize for that, but I really do.” She hoped he would understand, because she needed him. She needed him a lot more than he could possibly know.

“We’ll make it work, Xandra. Every relationship requires work. This is no different,” he said quietly to her as he moved closer. “It will take time to find our balance, but eventually we’ll figure it out. Now, we should go and find you food to eat,” he told her as he touched her back lightly. “Are you ready, my lady, or is there somewhere else you wish to see before we go?”

“No, going sounds good. Food sounds even better.” Her stomach growled in agreement as she spoke. “As you can hear, my stomach is in agreement on this.” Looking up at him, she smiled. She had thought they had made plans to go and go out to dinner. “Were we still going to go out for dinner, or would you rather we go home?”

Shaking his head, he stroked her back lightly. “We’re still going out,” he told her quietly. “I have a restaurant in mind, so if you are up for it, we will enjoy a night out. This way you can spend some time seeing our world.” The restaurant he had in mind had a good view of a lot of the city.

“I would like that. I want to go out. I want to get to know our world so that I have more of a sense of myself, if you don’t mind?” she asked with a grin, “and I even promise I won’t attack you over dessert.” It seemed she couldn’t keep her hands to herself, so that was something else she would need to work at, but if anyone could, she could.

“Might be a good idea, as it would get us arrested,” he told her, leading her back out of the large ship and then through the shipyards to their shuttle craft. Settling in, he told the computer where they were heading and then sat back with her as the computer engaged the engines and took off. “Just remember, in public you have to be much more restrained than when we are alone, Xandra. We need to ensure a more restrained public image for the peoples who remember or have heard of harder times and the disease that nearly ravaged our world

“I will keep that in mind.” she told him and leaned in close to him as they began the drive. “I like our alone time very much, Andries. However, I very much would like to also try to go out in public more with you as well. I want to make you proud.” Because he had given her every dream that she ever had. He gave her hope for their future, but more than that, he gave her a feeling of intense love.

“We shall be out more in public, Xandra. We will have parties and events to attend.” All of which he normally avoided like the proverbial plague. “You will have a great many invitations to look through and figure out which ones you wish to attend on a weekly basis.”

“Thank you, Andries. I should be able to decide which ones will be the best for us, with Aleina’s help of course.” Because Xan was still finding her way in this new life, still learning the ropes and what was the proper way to behave and react on so many things.

“We won’t concern ourselves with any for a time. Take the month we will be gone to immerse yourself in everything of this world, Xandra,” he advised softly. “There are lots of reading materials as well as visual aids for behavior per your station. Because of this station you hold, you have a greater amount of leniency than anyone of a station below yours. But there is a lot to know. I realize this, and I will help where I can.”

It was a good thing for the both of them that she learned quickly and anything she ever read stayed with her for all time. “Thank you. The month will be a very nice buffer to use. It is like an ancient Earth custom.” She smiled when he gave her that questioning look. “When a man and woman were married, they took time right after the wedding to just be together, to get to know each other’s role in the other person’s life. It was a ‘vacation’ of sorts called a honeymoon.”

“Seems a wise practice and good custom,” Andries said softly as he nodded his head slightly. What she said made sense about the “honeymoon.” “It would save a lot of confusion and frustration in many marriages, I’m sure,” he commented as he shifted in his seat to look out the view port to determine where they were.

“So we will call this our honeymoon.” She smiled at the old-fashioned word and how it felt on her tongue. “Our time to get to know each other’s roles in our lives.” Even if he would be working, he would still be in close proximity, and she could use the time to learn about the culture she married into. She watched him looking to see where they were and asked, “Are we there yet?”

“Another few minutes,” he told her, sitting back. Looking to her, he gently picked up one of her hands and laid it palm to palm on his. She had very small hands, just as the rest of her was quite petite, which was really very odd considering they fit together as though made just for each other. Frowning slightly, he noted small scars. No one would ever likely notice them but a Vampire with their superior sight, but it disturbed him to see even one mark on her soft skin.

Her heart was warmed even more toward him as he made the effort and took the time to touch her first. She really enjoyed it when he didn’t pull from her touch, but when he touched her, her universe took a shuddering breath of happiness. “All right, suddenly I’m in no hurry at all.”

Chapter Fifteen

Looking to her, he understood her meaning, the corner of his lips turning up in the barest hint of humor. “We will have more time later, my lady.” He paused as the shuttle slowed and moved into a berth. “For now though, we have arrived,” he said, standing and helping her to her feet. Tucking her hand through his arm, he led her from the shuttle and to the restaurant mere steps from where they had berthed. Entering, he had the attention of every employee in moments. It was rare to see him there, and when he did come, it was never with a companion.

As the hostess came up to him, Andries gave a short nod, and they were immediately led to a quiet corner in the back with a view of the city on one side and columns and curtains to give them privacy. Seating Xandra first, Andries took the seat that would ensure her safety by putting himself between her and all that would harm her. Ordering quietly in his language, Andries waited for the hostess to leave and drop the curtains that gave them absolute privacy with their unique sound-dampening fibers. Glancing to her, he wasn’t surprised to see her peering out the windows. “It is very unique at night, isn’t it?” he said softly near her ear.

She was taking in everything. The night was beautiful on his home world. It was glorious, the way that the lights danced and twinkled like stars moving across a backdrop of black silk. “Yes, your home world is beautiful, Andries,” she said with a smile and corrected herself easily. “Our home world is beautiful. I think that I prefer the night over the day, Andries,” she admitted and looked back at him. “I love our home world and I very much look forward to each and every discovery that we make together.”

Pausing as the waiter came with water and drinks for them both, Andries waited for him to leave. Lifting both her glasses, he inhaled slowly and took a small taste for those poisons that could only be found through the Vampire’s tongue. Satisfied that both were fine, he set them before her and tapped the smaller glass. “This is liquor, so be gentle with it,” he suggested. “Why do you like the night in preference to the day, Xandra?”

“It feels like the city sleeps in the day. However, at night”—she gestured toward the window and ignored the liquor—“it’s like the very world comes alive when the sun sets. I know that likely isn’t the case, but that is how it feels.”

“It actually is true, as most of my people are still night dwellers. It’s our natural time to be about. We can be up in the day as long as we’re older and are careful of the exposure. Thankfully, our sun is a bit farther out from us, thus the more moderate temperatures day and night and year round. It also is less likely to send us up in flames,” he commented softly to her.

She grinned and shook her head. “You prefer the night as well, don’t you?” She moved slightly to curve up closer to him and sighed as she did so. “This is nice.” Her head rested on his shoulder as she spoke. “To be here with you, just us and in such a comfortable place as well, it’s nice.”

“I’m glad that you like it, Xandra,” he said softly. “And yes, I do prefer the night, although in space there is no telling exactly what time it is, but my body always knows. As I said, we’re primarily nocturnal, so to be up during the daylight hours is a little more exhausting.”

“Is your body more on your home world’s time? Like if we were in space and the nearest planet had us at night, but your body felt it was day, how does that work?” She was curious and wanted to know so much. “Do you feel emotions as well, Andries?” What a stupid question, but one she couldn’t have stopped if her life depended on it. “Like love, hate, those kinds?”

“My body tends to stay on our world’s time,” he told her softly. “Even with long periods in space, I am always aware of the time of day it is here. It’s helped along by the rotations of shifts on the ship. We do this for a semblance of normalcy as well to keep us from getting ill upon return home.” Andries lightly stroked her hair back from her face and neck, careful to leave her ear covered since she was sensitive about it. “When we are born, we all feel emotions, but those of my species are warriors and go into military training at twelve summers. We are trained to suppress our emotions because we are naturally very violent as a species. If we did not learn to suppress and control the emotions, our world would be much like it was in the beginning, nothing but death and blood, the non-Vampires hiding from us always, and my species would die out. But they cannot be completely removed. They are always there, just under very tight reins.”

“I can understand why your people would want to naturally keep them suppressed then.” She looked up at him and smiled. “Tell me what you’re thinking. What goes through your mind when you look at me as you do?” She was about to go on, but he was saved by the server bringing in their food. She paused but didn’t pull from him, but waited for him to pull from her, and when he didn’t, she just leaned into him more. She watched as the food was laid out, and then when the server left, she smiled. “This is a lot of food. Are you sure we will eat it all?”

“It is doubtful we will, but I wanted you to have a few more foods to try and see what else you may like or not,” he told her quietly. “Our wedding meal was rather short. This is my way of making it up to you, Xandra.” And he knew from the smell of everything that it was all safe. Touching her cheek lightly, he looked into her eyes. “I see a lovely, elegant woman with a grace that has no comparison. You are magnificent, Xandra,” he told her honestly. Even though he was extremely uncomfortable with speaking of such things, he was trying to give her a bit of what she wanted and needed, as she was trying to give him what he wanted and needed.

She smiled and blushed. “Thank you, Andries.” Reaching up, she cupped his cheek with her hand, ever so gently touching him as she did so. “We are alone, aren’t we?” She knew they were, which was why he chose this restaurant, and she knew that now. “Will you kiss me again? Before we begin our substitute wedding feast?”

“As you wish, my lady,” he said softly before leaning in toward her. Gently, he kissed her, teasing her lips with his for long moments before he took it deeper, letting some of his need come through. Pulling back after a time, he stared down at her. “We should eat, my lady.” Before he did something that would not go over well with the restaurant management.

“Xan. Call me Xan, Andries.” She touched his lips, the moisture from her lips still clinging there. “We should eat.” But she didn’t want to. She wanted to kiss him again and again, to lose herself in him. “We should eat before I do something that really will make management very, very angry with me.”

“That would be most wise,” he murmured. Shifting slightly, he pulled the platter closer and held up a piece of her favorite cheese for her to take. “Since we did not get to truly enjoy our wedding feast, I’ve gotten a wide array of foods as well as quite a bit of the ones you had said you enjoyed.”

She took the offered cheese and chewed it slowly, a thoughtful look on her face. “Thank you for doing all of this for me.” She lifted a piece of fruit before his lips and offered. “For giving me the chance to be able to have a moment where I can eat in peace with you, enjoy a simple meal, and just have time alone with you. No eyes watching us, watching me for some sign of damage or slippage, but we can just be happy.”

Taking the fruit right from her fingers, he curled his tongue around her slim digits to catch all the juice and watched her face as he did it. Chewing, he sat back and picked up a piece of bread with a light coating of butter and thinly sliced meat on it, offering it to her. “I know this has been hard on you, Xandra, and believe me, I do not expect you to understand or even like anything of my world. But you are trying and you are showing amazing respect for a culture not your own, so an hour here or there where we can be alone and just have some time seems the very least I can do to help your transition.”

Giving him a bright smile, she shook her head. “This is to be my culture, Andries. I no longer have a home world, so I have decided to adopt yours.” She nodded happily as she took a bite of the bread. “Because believe me”—and then her face showed the pain she was feeling—“my home died when my father killed my mother. I never want to go back, Andries. Sure, I will miss the little things, but I will not miss him or anything to do with him, which seemed to be the whole world. I will find the little things here, with you.” She offered him a small sliver of meat on what appeared to be a cracker.

Taking it from her, he let his mind process what she’d told him and what had been revealed by her words. Swallowing, he drank some of his chilled water before he offered her some fruit. “This is new. You’ll have to tell me if you like it. It’s quite bland until you swallow and then, depending on the person, it will either be very sweet or quite tart.” As she took it, he wiped his fingers on the cloth napkin. “What sort of little things will you miss, Xandra?” he asked her softly.

“I will miss the little things like the countryside, riding on the horses, or walking through fields of flowers.” She shrugged and took the bite from him. She shivered as she licked her lips. “I like that a great deal, Andries.” Leaning in, she licked the juice from his fingers, her eyes on him the whole time.

“Is there anything else you’ll miss from your home?” he asked softly as he fed her another piece of the fruit, his eyes watching as her tongue darted out before vanishing. Before she could answer, he leaned in and kissed her, the taste of the fruit still on her tongue. He tasted it as he slid his over hers slowly.

Her hands fisted in his shirt and tugged him closer, kissing him back with all the desire and need that he was giving her. When they parted, she licked her lips and smiled. “Nothing else at all. I don’t miss anything else, Andries. I have everything that I could ever want and need right here in you.”

Pressing a kiss to her forehead, he leaned back from her and began to feed her again, letting her try some of the new foods that were based on her previous likes. Some she loved, others she liked, and at some she wrinkled her nose and told him “no thank you” ever so politely. Dinner was a long affair of touches, food, soft light, and low conversation. Over an hour after they had sat the last course, the palate cleanser came to them with silence as all the previous courses had, too. “This has little taste,” he told her, lifting some of the faintly green foam on the miniature paddle, “but it will clear your palate and ensure that your meal settles. It has herbs in it that are unique to our world and, if you finish any meal with this, you won’t ever have an upset stomach.”

She leaned in, her eyes on him as she moved in close to him. Taking a bite from the spoon he offered, she licked her lips and smiled up at him. “Delicious.” It wasn’t the offering. It was him. He had made the experience so much more than what she ever could have dreamed it would have been. She was in heaven with him. He was perfect for her, in every way. Leaning back, she watched him as he took the spoonful as well and with a shaky hand reached out, curled around his neck, and pulled him in for a deep kiss.

Going willingly, Andries kissed her, his hand moving up to cup her cheek, gently letting her guide the kiss. Her taste was just as intoxicating as ever, and he was not sure he would ever have enough. To go without was going to be hard. He was ever so grateful he’d decided she had to come with him on the mission. A month without her would be worse than years without blood.

When she pulled back, she smiled up at him and licked her lips, nodding. “Thank you for a wonderful meal.” She knew they had been there for a long while, but she hadn’t realized how many hours had actually passed. Moving closer to him, she laid her head on his shoulder and smiled. “I very much like these times with you, Andries, these perfect moments.”

“We will see about creating some more for you, Xandra, so that your life here with me will be all that you want and need,” he told her softly. Leaning his cheek to her hair, he wrapped his arm around her and held her close. They would only have a few more minutes alone as the restaurant was closing, but he wanted to have those moments with her.

She held onto him as well, and when they pulled apart, she smiled. “We need to leave, don’t we, Andries?” she asked softly as she heard the staff outside their curtained-off cubby cleaning the room. “I think that I’m ready if you are ready as well.” Looking up at him, she didn’t refuse her inner voice that leaned up and brushed her lips to his lightly before pulling back. “I needed that.”

“Yes,” he murmured softly. “We do need to go. Otherwise they may ignore my reputation and kick us out forcibly,” he said. Getting to his feet, he helped her from her chair and gently led her from their table. Stopping, he thanked the owner for the meal and ensured that he was well tipped as was the rest of his establishment. Leading her out into the night air, he had them into their shuttle quickly and on their way home in seconds.

She laid her head back against him and closed her eyes. “I’m exhausted,” she whispered in the darkness as her hand moved up to cover his heart. “Thank you for such a wonderful night, Andries. Thank you for giving me this time.” And for allowing her to love him.

“You are very welcome, Xandra. I am pleased that you enjoyed the meal and the time we had together,” he said quietly. “I wanted you to have a nice time, Xandra, and have a happy memory to look back on. I hope that I can give you more memories like tonight.” But they would not be very often.

“Every moment that you have given me so far, Andries, is perfect, happy.” And it was. Looking up at him with only the glow of the onboard computer to light her features, she spoke softly. “You have given me happiness, Andries. You have shown me something I never thought to have.” But that she would leave for later. For now she was more than content to simply be in his arms, where she was always meant to be.

“Then I am pleased, Xandra,” he told her quietly, shifting slightly to look at her. Lifting a hand, he touched her cheek. “I know that our future is uncertain to some degree. But I hope you know that if anything displeases you or you are upset in any way, you will be free to speak with me about it so we can resolve it between us.”

“I will, Andries. I will come to you if there is worry or upset.” She nodded. “And when we get home, we will talk more, but for now I just want to be here with you. I just want to be right here in your arms being held close to you.” She moved so that she could rub her cheek to his chest and sighed happily. “Later we will talk more.” Later, if she had her courage up, she would tell him how she felt, maybe.

Wrapping his arms around her, he held her close to him, rubbing his hand slowly up and down her back. The shuttle was near-silent, so there was no sound in the small capsule but for their breathing and heartbeats. Not too much later, the shuttle slowed and parked in their spot. “We’re home, Xandra,” he said softly, knowing she had been lightly dozing. As she lifted her head, he stood and helped her out of the shuttle before moving slowly with her to the building and up to their suite.

She was walking with him closely, side to side and arm to arm with her head on his shoulder. She was in peaceful, blissful happiness, and everything else around them simply seemed to fade into nothingness. It was with a smile on her lips when it happened. A woman stepped from the shadows and looked at the way that Xandra was all but draped over Andries. “Her father sends his best to you both,” she said only a moment before pulling a hand laser pistol and firing it straight for Xandra, hitting her in the upper right of her chest and laughing as she watched the woman fall.

Chapter Sixteen

Stunned, Andries didn’t react as he normally would have, but then he’d never had anyone he actually cared for harmed. Catching her as she started the tumble, Andries looked to the woman and, with a flash of hatred, swore he’d kill her when he found her, and he would. He had her scent and knew her face. She’d not live for much longer.

It all happened so fast that Xan barely had time to register that she had just had a hole blasted into her body before she dropped like lead. She was clinging to Andries, who had been on her left side, and felt her eyes trying to slide closed. She realized in those breaths she was going to die, and didn’t have the chance to tell him, “I love you.” It came out now. It was croaked and barely there, but it was there as she slid into the darkness, hearing his calls to someone to send them to medbay.

Cursing, Andries laid her out and pressed his hands to the wound to staunch the flow of the blood as people ran about. “You will not die, wife,” he told her softly as he leaned close, his ears tuned to her heartbeat that was sluggish but still a steady rhythm. If she lost much more blood it would be worse.

Knowing what had to be done, Andries turned his wrist up and, with a long sharp incisor, cut a thin line through the artery there. As the blood swelled, he let it drip into the wound, knowing that his blood, with the healing properties, would seal the wound and help it to heal even faster than anything medical could do. Once he was sure enough had coated the wound and the edges began to pull together, with a swipe of his tongue he sealed his own wound and shifted to cradle her in his lap. “You will not die, Xandra. You cannot. Hear me on this, wife,” he murmured to her as he watched her face, his fingers lightly resting on her pulse.

She hurt so badly that it was giving her trouble to simply breathe. She felt herself slipping and sliding from him, but his will alone, that indomitable and ironclad will of his, held her tight and fast to him. His blood sealed her wound, this was true, but it did more than that, and the fires that burned and battled in her bloodstream told the tale. Her fingers gripped him even as she felt herself being lifted and then flying away. She didn’t know where they were going but knew she wasn’t alone, and never again would she be alone. “I want to live. I want to live for us, Andries.” Her voice was thready, weak. Her blood loss was significant, but the battle that waged inside of her ensured that she would live another day.

Picking her up, Andries carried her toward their building and inside. He’d waited long enough for medical help to arrive, and obviously, they were not coming. Now he had a choice to make, and hopefully she would not hate him for it. In the lift, he looked to her. “Xandra, you need to listen for a moment. You are dying. What I did is merely a stopgap, wife. If you truly want to live, you will need to become what I am.” Gods, he hated having to say those words to her. “Are you prepared to live as I do, Xandra? Can you live as I do?” he asked her. “Be very sure, because it is not an easy battle you will have to wage, and there is still a lot of risk, especially with the loss of blood you already have suffered. Do you want to live and remain with me enough to become Vampire, Xandra?”

She had to fight for each heartbeat now. The blood was losing its battle, so she nodded her head as it lay on his shoulder. “I love you, Andries. I want to be with you. I don’t want to die, not now.” She had fat, hot tears falling as she spoke. “I want to be as you are, Andries, but only if you can live with me touching you, kissing you, loving you for the rest of whatever our lifespans will be.”

Pressing a kiss to her cheek, he swept from the lift and to their suites quickly, getting inside and shutting out the world. Carrying her to their bedroom, he laid her out and quickly stripped her down to nothing before collecting a wet cloth and cleaning her. Coming back to her side after she was cleansed and in a shirt that was his, he sat with her. The whole time he’d been taking care of her he’d also been preparing and now, now it was time. “I want you with me, Xandra,” he said softly, looking into her panicked eyes. “I do not have the words you need to hear, but in here”—he took her hand and pressed it to his heart—“is where you already reside.”

She nodded and felt her heart stuttering as she watched him. “Actions are better than words in this case, Andries.” Because she understood what he was telling her without the words.

Stroking back her hair, he moved closer. “I need to take almost all your blood, and then I will give you a lot of mine. Your body will burn, like a fever, and then you will sleep.” He left off the mention that it might be a sleep from which she never woke. Some things did not need to ever be mentioned. “When you wake in a few days’ time, we will be on my ship and I will be close. I swear this to you, wife of mine. For now, close your eyes and know that I will never let anything or anyone take you from me. You are mine.”

“And you are mine. Do as you need to, husband,” she whispered with her unsteady voice as she swept her eyes closed once more. “Know I love you,” was the last thing she whispered before she felt the bite of his teeth to her neck.

As gently as he could, he pressed his long incisors into her throat and drank, carefully taking all he could without actually stopping her heart. When it stuttered and fought, he lapped at the wounds and lifted his head. Without thought or a flinch, he sliced his wrist open with his teeth and pressed the wound to her mouth. “Drink, Xandra. Drink and live for us both and our future,” he whispered in her ear.

And she drank. She drank like a woman starved, and one determined to live. As his blood filled her veins, gave life to the tissue and organs in her body, it, also, fed the smallest of dividing cells hidden away from every eye, from every thought. The smallest of cells divided over and over again and took the blood, the power in the blood, and infused it into its very makeup, fundamentally changing her as it gave her new life, renewed life.

Taking his wrist from her mouth, Andries swiped his tongue across the line and then moved to lie at her side. Propping himself up on an elbow, he stared down at her as he lightly stroked her hair back.

Finally she felt the burn in her body, just under her skin, and bit back the cry but looked up and into his eyes. “Andries.” It was all she said, all she could say as she was consumed with the burning of what was to come.

He saw the first changes as they chased ghosts behind her eyes that stared so trustingly up at him. “I know,” he whispered softly, continuing to stroke her hair to help ground her. “Whatever happens, don’t fight it. Just let yourself relax as much as possible. If it gets to be too much, let me know.” If he had to, he could use one of the dark gifts and put her under, but only as a last resort. Her body would purge first. Everything it had as a human would leave in a rush. That he’d have to watch for because he’d need to get her to the bathing room quickly to deal with everything, but for now she needed to just survive the first of many changes.

“Talk to me?” she requested quietly. “Hearing your voice soothes me.” More than he knew. When she looked up again at him, she had clouds in her eyes only a moment before saying, “I’m going to be sick.” She felt her stomach rolling, felt ill in a way she never had before and wanted to throw up but really didn’t want to do it there on their bed, in his arms. “Bathroom, I need the bathroom now.”

Shifting, he had her up in his arms and in the bathing room moments later, helping her to a position that would allow her to expel all the food in her stomach. Andries’s arms held her gently as he held back her hair. “Let it all come up, Xandra. Unfortunately it’s part of the process. I’ll get you in the sonic shower in a while, but for now just remember to breathe.”

She continued to heave and finally slumped against him with tears streaming down her face. “And we just had that wonderful meal, too.” Which didn’t taste quite as lovely coming back up, not by a long shot. “Don’t think I have more left.” She was feeling strangely numb, as if her whole body had been submersed in ice water.

Looking at her, he nodded and gently lifted her into his arms once more and stepped into the sonic shower. Setting it to run for five minutes, he cradled her to him as it hummed softly, doing its job.

She was dropping off closer and closer to sleep. It seemed nothing wanted to move on her body as she lay there limp in his arms.

Stepping out of the shower minutes later, Andries carried her back to the bed and lay her down gently. Stepping away, he undressed, drew the shades, and slid into the bed with her. Carefully he pulled her close. “I’m sorry, Xandra,” he murmured quietly as he stroked her back. “I know this is not something you would have chosen of your own free will, and I do hate that it’s been forced on you because of your father.” Again that man was trying to cause her pain, but now it was all the more personal because she was his, and no one hurt what was his without dying a long and painful way.

“How do you know I wouldn’t have chosen this?” she asked in the darkness of the room. “Andries, I love you. I want to be with you for as long as I can, and I had resigned myself to that being only a hundred years, or whatever time was left of my lifespan.” She yawned and moved closer as if she was moving through lead. “Again my father thought he was hurting me, but he just brought me closer to you.” That was the last thing she said before the sleep of his people, her people, overtook her.

Waiting a moment, Andries listened to her breathing and let out a breath of his own, his filled with relief. “I love you, too, Xandra,” he whispered softly to the silent room and the woman asleep in his arms.

Chapter Seventeen

Three days later

Sitting at her side in their quarters on his ship, Andries looked down at her again, as he had been doing every few minutes. When they’d had to come on board, he’d been concerned about moving her, but he’d had no choice in the matter. She seemed to not have suffered any from it, but he really would not know until she woke…if she woke. Sighing, he rubbed at his face in exhaustion. Since she’d begun the turn he’d slept only a few minutes, ever afraid she’d slip away if he wasn’t watching.

Her eyes fluttered open slowly, the heaviness of them giving her a hard time simply opening them. Her hand moved slowly and reached for him. “Hello, Andries,” she whispered huskily as she looked into the eyes of the man she loved. “You look so tired, my love.”

His heart nearly stopped at her soft and slightly rough-sounding voice. Dropping the data pad he’d been attempting to do work on, he turned, leaning over her. “You’re awake,” he breathed out, closing his eyes and giving thanks to the gods he’d never before had any use for. Opening his eyes he looked into hers. “How do you feel?” he asked softly.

“Like I’m in lead,” she gave him and closed her eyes again, the effort just too much. “It’s as if I’m fighting my body to wake up.” Turning her head, she forced her eyes on him again. “Why don’t you curl up here beside me, hold me, and let both of us sleep for a little while longer? You look like you need it, Andries.” She was worried for him. She didn’t wake worried for herself, just him. “Did you catch the woman who did this?” was her next very quiet question.

“Yes,” he told her as he shifted to lie at her side, gently holding her closer. “She is being held until judgment, which means when we return you can face her. You will need to decide what you wish to say. It may or may not sway the Alliance’s judgment over her.” Stroking back her hair, he pressed a kiss to her cheek. “I was worried about you, Xandra. It is not a feeling I like, so let’s not have any repeats, if you please.” He wasn’t joking, either. He did not like to worry, especially about his wife. Closing his eyes as he rubbed his lips over her skin and breathed her in, he sighed softly. “It is day on our world. It’s why your body feels so heavy. Because you were just turned, you will be subject to the daylight, even when we are not there, for a great many years.”

“Okay, then let’s sleep, okay?” She didn’t know what she wanted to say to the assassin that had tried to kill her, and frankly she didn’t want to think on it either. “I love you, Andries. This is perfect, with you holding me, so please don’t let go?”

“I do not intend to, wife,” he told her softly, pulling her closer to him. “Close your eyes, Xandra. Your body is still in transition and you require a lot of rest now. When you wake, you will likely need to feed.” He’d given her more of his blood while she’d been asleep the last few days, her gag reflex automatically making her swallow and take it in.

Scrunching her nose, she shook her head. “Not sure if that will be happy times or not.” But her eyes closed and her body molded closer to him. “Thank you for saving me, Andries, for giving us a forever kind of life.”

“You are welcome, Xandra,” he murmured softly. “I have found that I like having you around and would not be nearly as pleased if you were not in my life.” Likely the closest he’d ever get to admitting his feelings for her. Or rather, while she was conscious to hear him say anything.

“That’s a very sweet admission on your part,” she whispered only moments before her body took away her ability to remain awake and fell into the slumber of their people.

* * * *

When she woke next, she felt decent. Not rock and roll and cartwheels good, but she felt decent. Her body ached and burned, but she felt good. “Andries? Andries, are you here?”

Walking in from the outer room, he nodded. “I’m here,” he said. He’d been feeding, knowing that, for her first time, something more intimate would likely be best. Moving to her, he sat at her side and caught her when she weaved slightly. “You’ve not fed properly yet, Xandra. You shouldn’t be trying to move just yet.”

“Right, that would have been nice to know before I decided to jump up and move.” She moved closer to him and laid her head on his shoulder, her hand on his thigh. “I had thought you were gone,” she whispered sadly. “I hate that I felt that way, but I thought that you had left me.”

“I would not do that, Xandra,” he said in gentle reprimand, kissing the top of her head lightly as he wrapped his arms around her. “I promised I would not and I did not, but I needed to feed and I thought it best to do so in the other room.” Rubbing her back with a light hand, he shifted so he could brush his lips over her cheek. “How are you feeling?”

“I feel”—she struggled to find the words to describe it to him—“I don’t feel as if I can run a marathon right now, but I feel good.” And she did. “My shoulder still aches like crazy. I can still feel the hole even if it was sealed, but other than that I am good.” She rubbed her cheek over his shoulder and then nuzzled against his neck. “And I feel hungry. How odd is that.” She also felt amorous. “I feel more though.” Her hand stroked over his chest and stomach. “I feel needy.”

He was, too, but one of them needed to keep their head on this and, unfortunately, it was him. Pressing a hand to hers before she went further, he waited for her to look up at him. “You’re Vampire now, Xandra. Primarily our species is sensual and enthralling. You will need to learn a whole new set of rules that govern our people alone, as well as the guidelines we have to keep the non-Vampires of our world safe.” Shifting slightly, he laid her down, following her and kissing her gently.

She wasn’t going to complain about this instruction. Her arms wrapped tightly around him even as her thighs parted to allow him an area in which to lie, and as she kissed, her legs found their way around his waist. When they parted, her eyes were fully dilated and her body was in overdrive that nearly had her coming off the bed. “I need you, Andries.” And in the end, he was all she had ever needed. “Later I will worry about rules. For now I just want and need you.”

As he slid a hand down her arm gently, she shivered, all her new senses awakening. Leaning in, he nipped at her chin lightly. “What do you want, Xandra?” he asked softly. “Tell me, wife, exactly what you want from me,” he murmured, brushing the flats of his incisors over her throat.

She shuddered and felt her mouth go dry. “You, Andries. I want and I need you.” She groaned and ran her leg up and down his thighs. “I want to feel you inside of me, making me yours. I want to feel your fangs buried deep into my throat.” She shuddered and moaned this time. “Teach me, Andries, teach me to make you feel these things for me.”

Shifting, he pushed his cock into her hard and fast as he struck with his teeth, sliding them through her flesh. Driving into her pussy over and over again, he growled softly, his hands moving over her body with a need he never let loose. But now, with her as one of his kind, he could finally let out the beast inside, if only a little.

She moved with him, her pussy accepting the brutal thrusts of his cock and giving him leave for more as she wrapped her arms and legs around him. She could still feel his restraint and scraped her nails along his back, demanding that he didn’t hold back and even saying, “I’m as you are now, Andries, harder. Give in to the beast you leash for me.”

Pulling his teeth from her throat, he slid his tongue over her flesh and watched how quickly the twin holes closed. Not nearly as fast as they would once she fed and regained her strength, but much faster than before. Turning his head, he kissed her hard. “If I do, then you won’t be able to feed, wife. That will be for later,” he promised on a breath.

“I don’t need to feed,” she grumbled and arched up from the bed slightly. “I need you.” Her heels dug into his butt, pulling him in deeper and harder with each thrust of his cock. “I need you to let go, and moon and stars, I need to feel the beast in you claiming me as much as you have claimed me.”

Slipping a hand free from her, he used a nail to scrape the skin over his jugular, knowing once she caught the scent her body and instinct would take over. Sliding his hand back under her shoulders, he buried his face in her neck so the faint scent of blood would hit her nostrils. “Are you sure you don’t want to feed, wife?” he whispered softly against her skin.

She could smell the blood, could taste it almost, and felt her own fangs slide down and out even as she moaned loudly. “I don’t know how,” she somehow managed to say around the teeth that were much larger now. “Andries.” She moved and wrapped her legs tightly around him and shuddered at her sudden release even as she cried out his name once more.

“Don’t think, Xandra,” he murmured as he fought his own orgasm, pushing into her harder and faster. “Let your instincts guide you. They are older than time,” he said against her ear. Nipping at her lobe gently, he licked along the shell of her ear. “Feed, Xandra, please,” he whispered softly.

And she did. She moved her lips over his neck and it was as if they found the sweet spot without any real guidance from her. Faster than lightning striking, she buried her fangs deep into his neck and gasped as the power hit her. The emotion. The raw animal desire. Her hands clutched his shoulders as she screamed inside her own mind and greedily drank of him as she spasmed on him.

As soon as she bit, he came hard, his body taut as a bow as he shuddered. The feeling of her feeding was intense. He’d never once felt anything like it before and knew that he’d never feel it again, except with his wife. Panting as he relaxed slightly, he cupped her head to him as he rolled so she was on top and stroked her hair gently.

She finally pulled back from him and licked the wounds even as they sealed. Moving to him, she kissed him as she moved and then clamped onto him as her orgasm finally rolled through her body. She pulled back and threw her head back and screamed as she gave in to her orgasm.

Replete and full, she collapsed onto his chest, gasping for air and closing her eyes. “I love you, Andries, but I think I do need more sleep,” she whispered only moments before her eyes floated closed once more.

Smiling faintly, he held her to him. “I think you do, too,” he murmured with a touch of humor as she breathed slowly in sleep. Stroking her back gently, he lay just holding her as she slept, and then, after a time, he fell asleep with his arms wrapped tightly around her.

Chapter Eighteen

“What do you mean that I shouldn’t eat a lot of solid food for a little while, Andries? And just how long is a ‘little while’ in terms that I can understand?” She wasn’t hungry, but craved the taste of food more than needed it.

“About a month,” he told her, which would be the whole of their trip. “Little snacks are all right. Beverages are great, especially water. It will help your body adjust to the foods you do eat. Stay away from sweets and heavy foods, no cheese for about two months,” he told her and knew that would be tough considering that one of her favorites was cheese.

“But my favorite so far is a cheese.” Her complaint sounded in the air. A long sigh escaped her lips followed by a nod. “All right, I will be good,” she grumbled and looked to the time on the wall. “You need to go though, Andries. You have a ship to command.” She leaned in and kissed his cheek. “Go. I will be fine with whoever you assign to watch over me. I want to walk around and get a feel for the life onboard.” There was a pause followed by, “Do they know that I am no longer what I was when we married?”

Nodding, he pulled her to him for a better kiss, his lips sliding over hers slowly, his tongue tasting her for a long, long time. Lifting his head, he licked his lips and looked to where her hands gripped his jacket. “They know you are one of us now,” he told her softly. “Liandun will be your guide. He is the pale-haired one outside the door. Wherever you wish to go he will take you. Just remember, wife, do not ignore your cravings.” He’d told her about the blood craving earlier and the signs to watch for and the results of ignoring them.

“I won’t,” she whispered softly and touched his cheek again, leaning in and kissing him again. “I will never get enough of you, Andries. We can outlive our sun and it will still not be long enough for me to tire of your kisses, your touches.” She did pull back and touched her fingers to his cheek. “I love you, husband. Now go. Your wife needs to get dressed so that she can go to medical and have a once-over.”

“You will let me know how it goes?” he asked, though his words sounded more like a demand. He was concerned about her, had been since the turn had been completed, and likely would for years to come. But having her checked over by a professional would ease his mind a little.

“Yes, my love, I will let you know. I will ask the medical staff to send you a com message so that it comes up the right chain of command, all right?” She smiled. “I’m trying to do the right things here, Andries. Is that right, to ask them to send the message to you?”

Growling softly at her, he sighed. “You could just tell me yourself, wife,” he pointed out. “That is also allowed, but if you would feel better having them tell me you have grown a tail, then I will look forward to their cold and clinical report.”

She laughed and shook her head. “Nope, I get to tell you the fun stuff like tails.” She loved the way that he now teased her, and she saw it as just that, teasing. “Now, off with you. I will call you later and tell you what’s going on. Deal?”

“Deal,” he said and stole one more kiss from her. Heading to the door, he paused just before he set off the sensor and looked to her. With a hint of a smile, he let his eyes move over her. “Xandra,” he said quietly to get her attention and knew she was going to hurt him for doing this and then running. “I love you, wife,” he said and then moved just enough to trigger the door.

When the door slid closed behind him, she simply looked at it and then screamed. “Andries!” She was going to kill him. There were no two ways about it. She heard his laughter outside and shook her head. “Silly man,” she grumbled but went about the room until there was the knock. Opening the door, she saw Liandun there and smiled up at him. “Hello, I’m ready to head to medical, if you don’t mind, Liandun.” She wasn’t inviting him in, not when she was ready to leave anyway. “Forgive me for not inviting you in, but I found that I would rather be out, walking.”

The man was stoically silent as they walked, so Xan stopped trying to engage him and instead asked the doctors endless questions as they ran their tests. When an information pad was pressed into the ranking medical officer’s hand, she frowned at his look. “Is something wrong?” She hadn’t done something right was her fear. “Something showed up on the tests, didn’t it?” She pressed a hand over her throat. “How bad is it?”

“Depends on what the lord colonel will say when you tell him you are with child and were before the attack as well,” the man said simply. At her look, he nodded. “Yes, my lady, you are with child. From what our scans on your blood show, you are likely two weeks gone.” He told her simply and then nodded. “I will transmit the information to the lord colonel if you would like?”

“No.” She stood from the medical bed. “No, I will tell him.” She was stunned. She was pregnant? It had to have happened the first night they came together for her to be that far along. She walked from medical and asked Liandun to take her to her husband. The Vampire guard frowned when he looked at her and assumed something was wrong, so he quickly ushered her through to the command deck.

When she looked up once more, she was on the command deck and looked around as if she didn’t know how she got there, but when she saw him, she sighed and she didn’t care who was watching, what they were noting. She was happy, so blissfully happy that she wouldn’t have stopped herself even if she wanted to.

She moved to him on fast and silent feet and threw her arms around him. Hugging him close, she whispered against his ear very, very quietly. “No tail, but you are going to be a father.”

Wrapping his arms around her automatically, he stood stunned at her words, frozen for a moment of time as his heart tripped. “What?” he whispered softly. When she repeated it, he squeezed her closer to him as he lifted her and closed his eyes. A moment later he set her on her feet and quickly moved off the command deck and into the war room. Sealing the door behind them, he pulled her close and kissed her hard and fast. Every emotion that had opened at her words he poured into the kiss. “I love you, wife,” he murmured when he pulled back. “This is…” He couldn’t even find words. “Are you all right? No concerns? Any problems? How long?” he asked next with a frown.

She had seen the shocked looks of his staff and smiled as he sealed the door closed. She kissed him back with all she had, and when he pressed her against the war room table, she bit her lip to hide her smile. “I love you, too, husband. This is amazing.” She finished for him. “Yes, I am all right. I have no idea about concerns or problems because I was too stunned to stay. I assume none or he would have stopped me.” And here was where the trick was. “Two weeks.” She would let him do the math on that one.

Stunned, he stared at her. “But that would mean…” She’d been pregnant when she’d been shot. His blood boiled at that thought, and he knew he’d have to pass that information along to the Alliance. The would-be assassin now would have a death sentence no matter what. Wrapping his arms around her, he pulled her close and just held her as he fought his emotions down, his hands gentle even as his inner beast roared for absolute vengeance.

She was silent for a long while before she pulled back and grinned up at him. “Are you happy, Andries?” There was a moment before saying, “Because I have to tell you I am happier than I could ever have dreamed I would be.” She cupped his cheeks in her hands as she grinned. “My father sent me off to a monster. He sent me off to be killed so that he could cry vengeance, and instead I was married off to the man of my dreams, the only man that I could ever love, and not only that”—she stroked her fingers over his cheeks—“he sent me the father of my child.”

Grunting at her words, he rolled his eyes. “I’m very pleased, Xandra,” he said, leaning his forehead to hers. “You are my wife. Everything about you pleases me. Except when you mention your father.” That just made him angry enough to kill. “Are you happy about the child?” he asked her quietly, his eyes searching hers.

She nodded happily and leaned in to kiss him once more. “I am beyond happy, Andries,” she admitted and rubbed her nose against his as they pressed their foreheads together. “I feel like dancing on clouds right now, Andries. I want to shout to the world that you have given me the greatest of gifts, but I know that I can’t. I know it’s not acceptable. So I ask you, husband.” She paused and drew him in closer to her and hugged him lightly. “How do we tell your crew that you will be a father?”

“I do not believe I will have to, Xandra.” He smiled faintly at her. “They will likely already either have deduced it from your behavior or they will have called down to medical and discovered the reason for my odd behavior.” Stroking a hand down her arm, he caught her hand and pulled it to his lips to kiss her fingers lightly. “Expect everyone to offer congratulations and little gifts. It’s tradition so, whatever is given thank them and then worry about what it is.”

“As long as they don’t offer me little booties made of blood and gore we will be wonderful.” Wiggling slightly, she smiled. “So why don’t you remind me about this wonderful table? Remind me just what it feels like to have you deep inside of me? Remind me how we made our son or daughter?” Her hands smoothed up and down his impeccable uniform shirt with a smile.

“They would never do that,” Andries said, offended on behalf of his crew. “Sometimes, wife, I really wonder just where you come up with such ideas.” He shook his head at her, moving even closer to her, and lifted her up to sit on the edge of the table. “You do realize, wife, that should I have to leave, I will,” he murmured, lowering his head to the temptation that was her mouth.

She met him halfway, her lips colliding with his hungrily as her legs wrapped around his waist. When he pulled back to trail his lips down her neck, she began to unfasten his uniform shirt. “I know, Andries. If you are needed, they will let you know, but for now this is our moment. It’s stolen and ours.” She pulled back and looked at him. “Celebrate with me, Andries. Celebrate the life we have created together.”

Catching her lips once more, he tasted her again and felt it, that new life, frail and weak but there all the same within her. Sliding a hand into her hair, he tipped her head back to kiss her deeper, his other hand sliding to sit protectively and gently over her belly where their child lay. “I love you, Xandra,” he murmured against her cheek as he took a moment and just held her, thanking the day that she’d walked into his world.

She wrapped her hands around his waist and simply held onto him. The bare skin she had uncovered was where her cheek rested and had her sighing happily. “I’m glad you do love me, Andries, because I don’t think our child should come into a world without parents who love not only him or her, but each other.” She pulled him back to her lips for another kiss as the very world around them seemed to pause. When she released him, she nodded and began to button his shirt. “You are a temptation, Andries.” And she was feeling the strangest needs, as if she was hungry, but nothing sounded appealing.

Watching her with mild amusement, he stroked her cheek gently with the backs of his fingers. “Are you all right, Xandra?” he asked softly, his lips faintly curved to show his humor at her sudden reversal in actions. But she looked as though she was confused or…he couldn’t think of another word that fit her odd little expression.

“I don’t know,” she grumbled simply. “I feel hungry, starving actually, and I wasn’t before. It wasn’t until I put my cheek on your bare chest that my stomach began to feel like it was grumbling.” Shrugging, she smiled. “I’m fine. I’m just all kinds of nervous because we will be parents.” She bit her lip. “We are going to have a baby.” And then she felt it again, the hunger pains, and frowned. “How do you know when you need blood?”

Leaning back slightly, he looked down at her and smiled slightly. “When your teeth seem dry or you feel a little hollow in your gut, just below where your belly aches when you are hungry for food. Or when you start eyeing someone and wondering their blood type and you feel your teeth shift. That is a really good sign as well, but if it comes to that, you are close to the edge and should not waste time.”

She bit her lip and nodded. “Then I think that I am hungry,” she admitted. “My stomach wants food, but nothing is appealing. My mouth is dry and the roof of my mouth itches.” And she still couldn’t stomach looking at bagged blood, and she tossed the contents of her stomach if she tried to drink it out of a cup. No, sadly there was only one way that she was able to feed. Her poor husband was the only one who could provide for her. “But you’re busy, Andries. I will be fine. I think a nice walk and then a nap.” She could survive until he came to her and she knew it.

“You are new to being a Vampire, Xandra. If you are in need, you know I will not refuse,” he said softly. Undoing his jacket again, he loosened the collar of his shirt and moved closer to her. “Do not ever let yourself go too long without if there is no need. I told you, all you need to do is ask and I will gladly supply you, wife.”

She nodded and smiled as she looked up. Her hands moved over his chest even as she leaned into him. “I’m trying not to.” And then a thought hit her. “It will be even more now, won’t it? The need to feed?” Because of the child growing inside of her. She knew somehow that she would need to increase her blood intake, dramatically. “I should learn how to use the bags or cups, Andries.” She didn’t want to. The thought of those things turned her stomach, but she didn’t want him to suffer because of her appetite.

“If you do not like the smell or the taste, mix a little of the heavy wine into it or some of the jitniter juice,” he suggested softly. “Both will keep it from tasting too much like blood,” he said, stroking her back gently. “Feed, wife. You cannot go hungry. It will make the cravings worse if you starve yourself.”

“I do so much better when you’re touching me,” she whispered and nuzzled over the vein in his chest, over his heart. “I love you, Andries.” And with those final four words she allowed her fangs to slip out and bit into his chest to feed not only for herself, but their child as well.

Cradling her head to him, Andries let his own head fall back on his neck and closed his eyes. “That’s it, my love,” he murmured softly as he brought his head up moments later and gently kissed the top of her head. Brushing his chin back and forth, he wrapped his arms around her.

Xan finally pulled back, sated and happy. Licking her lips, she watched as the wounds on his chest began to heal and smiled up at him. “I love you, husband. I promise I didn’t come here to feed and run from you, Andries.” She cupped his cheeks in her hands. “I love you, husband.”

Bowing his head, he kissed her lightly, the taste of him on her lips strangely appealing. “I know that, wife,” he said softly. “I should return to work and you should lay down for a while, my love. You have had a great shock today and you should gain what rest you can. Later in your pregnancy you will not be so lucky as to have opportunities to sleep as much as you will likely wish.”

She wanted to ask him why, but the discreet click of the com signaled that her time with her husband was up. “Thank you, Andries. Are you going to be able to make it back to our rooms tonight?”

Nodding, he kissed her lightly as he took her elbow. “I will be there, wife,” he said as he opened the door and eyed his second, who had a suspicious look of mirth on his face. “Rest well, Xandra,” Andries suggested with a carefully designed look to her so that only she would see the heat and suggestion in his eyes.

“Thank you, husband.” She looked to Andries’s second and smiled. “We are having a baby,” she proudly announced. “I plan on telling everyone, so if you would please let them know to at least feign surprise?” she asked and strode away, leaving the men to discuss the oddities of women.

“She is…” the major commented quietly as the lady left the command deck.

“Yes.” Andries nodded. “She definitely is,” he murmured. “Put out the word to the crew to accommodate the lady with her request to ‘feign surprise’ at her announcement.” The major nodded and headed off to do as his commander ordered. Shaking his head, Andries went to the communications station to pick up his data pad that he’d dropped there when she’d practically assaulted him before his men.

Chapter Nineteen

She slept for nearly an hour before she decided that the bed and she were not getting along. Moving to the bathing chambers, she set the sonic shower on low and stepped in. A smile shone on her face as her hands moved over her belly. “Hello, baby.” She stood there in the waves of the shower, restarting it over and over again, and simply spoke to their child.

Entering their chambers with a bottle of blood, Andries called to her. “Xandra, where are you, wife?” he asked as he moved to set the bottle down on the table. Clicking on his ear piece, he let the dining crew bring the meal they had prepared especially for his wife, after gaining permission. “Xandra, the crew is sending you their regards with a special dinner they made just for you, but you need to be awake for it.”

Xan’s head picked up and she smiled. “I’m awake. I’m in the bathroom.” She stepped from the shower and wrapped his robe around her belly. “That’s very sweet of them, to send us a dinner.” She had been true to her word. She told every single member of their crew that she was going to have Andries’s baby.

“I believe, and I may be partially incorrect here, but it is to ensure that you know that everyone has heard and that they are pleased with the news.” Eyeing her up and down a moment, he narrowed his eyes in the next. “Did you really go to every single crew member and tell them that you are pregnant?” Stepping to the door, he let in the crew members carrying the food and then locked it after they had set the dishes down and bowed to his wife.

She looked at the food and her mouth watered. Nodding, she picked up a roll. “I did. But they are more than your crew, Andries.” She took a bite and a seat even as she pulled a dome off of a plate. “They are our family.” She shrugged. “I didn’t think I would ever think of things like I am now, but there is something about almost dying and then surviving and becoming pregnant that makes a person realize they should be thankful for every moment they have.” She looked up. “And every single person in their life. The men on this ship have served you for years, and years, Andries. You know all of them by name just as they know you by name. They are your brothers in arms.” She shrugged. “You would die for them, and they you. Why wouldn’t I give them each the wonderful news personally?”

Besides the fact that the news had been out and over two thirds of the crew had known before she’d even reached the command deck to tell him. “You just wanted a chance to see them all,” he said, moving to join her at the table. Sitting down, he poured a glass of the blood and mixed it with a small amount of wine to keep the smell from bothering her. “I do not mind that you did so. They do not mind either, most wanting to get a look at you and not having any other way until you showed up to make the announcement. All in all you kept yourself from being stampeded by my men,” he told her with a shrug.

She took the first bite of her food and moaned in pleasure. “Oh this is so good.” She chewed, bit off another bite, and then continued. “I know I have likely broken a million and one decorum rules, Andries, and I’m sorry for that, but they are our family, and if I wanted to see them, why shouldn’t I? If I wanted to share our happiness with them, why not?” She smiled at him and in a somber voice said, “Before my marriage to you I avoided people at all costs. I didn’t have familial ties because I knew they would be used against me. I don’t have to hide with you and our men. I don’t have to pretend not to exist or that they don’t exist. I know that Aleina will have a heart attack when she learns of my behavior and I’m sure that the people who would love to take you down will have a field day with it, but I can’t seem to want to feel sorry for that.”

Reaching over, Andries lay his hand to hers. “I never meant it as a reprimand, Xandra,” he said softly. “I was, in my own inept manner, teasing you,” he admitted, stroking her skin lightly. “You are lady paramount in my life and on my vessel. You may do whatever feels right to you. This is my crew, our crew, my wife, so treat them as you wish and I believe they will forever be yours.” They’d toss him aside in a heartbeat for a glimpse of her smile, but he found that, strangely enough, he could live with that.

She turned her hand over and squeezed his. “If my behavior ever becomes an issue while we are here, with our family, our crew, you will tell me. Won’t you?” She watched him and knew that he would shield her as much as he could, not allow anything or anyone to upset her. “Tell me. Don’t hide it from me.”

Lifting her hand, he kissed her fingers lightly. “I will tell you, Xandra,” he promised softly. While he’d never allow her to harm herself, he would also not allow her actions to create an atmosphere that might bring harm to her or the crew. “You are fine, my wife. The crew adores you a little more every day. I’m quite afraid that if we should ever have a falling out, I will find myself thrown into a pod and scuttled into space in favor of you,” he teased with a slight smile for her.

She snorted and shook her head as she pulled her hand back to begin to eat. “I’m sure that’s not true, but thank you.” She finished her meal and looked at him. “I hadn’t expected you home so soon. I’m glad that you are, but I honestly expected you to still be on the command deck.”

“It was either come to see you or kill my crew,” he said in a dry, dry tone. His crew had all lost their ever-loving minds. Not a single one of them seemed capable of keeping at any task when they could instead drop interesting and pointed little comments about him and his sudden lack of control.

“And why would you want to kill them? They are all perfectly wonderful men.” She should know. She had met each and every one of them that day. “I’m sure that you were just tense.” She stood and moved around the table, dropping into his lap when he sat back. “I need you, husband.” And there it was. They both were too sexually wound up to be far from each other right now, and she seemed to know that, deep inside. “I don’t think I will ever have enough of you, Andries, and I know that it’s more than my hormones talking.”

“Are you sure, my lady?” he asked, rubbing his hand up and down her leg slowly, each movement pulling her skirt up higher. “After all, they do say that a female’s hormones at this time can be quite…explosive,” he whispered against her ear before he nipped lightly at the tender flesh.

Rubbing her cheek to his, she nodded. “Yes, I’m very sure, my love. I will always need you, Andries. Just because I am with child doesn’t mean that I will ever need you any less.” She did, however, nuzzle at his neck and moaned slightly. “I do know that being with child makes me need you for other reasons more.” She whispered against his neck as she felt her fangs slip free, “I hate that you have to be my donor completely. It leaves you weak and I don’t like it.” But she couldn’t help it. Bagged blood made her incredibly ill.

“Do not worry about it, Xandra. I have been drinking more and my body replenishes faster than yours will for a great long time. Take whatever you need for you and our child,” he said gently, tipping his head to the side to give her better access to his throat. “I will continue to drink what I need and you will feed from me as is the way it should be.” He was giving to her all he could and working on more. To feed her was an honor, and one day she would realize that.

She rubbed her lips to his neck and then bit into him without saying anything. She did, however, moan as she rubbed her body against his and slid her hand down his chest and to his cock, gripping him through his uniform even as she fed from him for herself, for their child.

“Xandra,” he breathed out as his body jerked against her touch. Growling softly, he pulled her closer to him, holding her tightly against his chest as he closed his eyes. The soft suction of her mouth to his skin and her hand in combination had fire racing through his blood.

When she pulled back from him, her eyes were glowing red. “I need you.” With those words she had him freed of his uniform and pulled up her skirt to straddle him before she took him into her body and slashed her mouth over his at the same time.

The fullness of him deep inside of her, the way that his hands fisted at her hips had her moving in fast and jerky motions, and as she pulled back, she tossed her head back to moan happily.

Watching her as she took him over and over again, Andries leaned in and pulled at the bodice of her dress, baring her breasts to his eyes and mouth. Leaning in, he captured a tight nipple and suckled at her, his long incisors on either side, the flats pushing against her.

“You know what I need,” she demanded and wrapped her hands in his hair, fisting them there and tugging as she rode him hard and fast. “Now, Andries, god, I need you to bite me again now.” She was shivering, shuddering. Her whole body was engorged with the need to climax, but it wasn’t coming. It wouldn’t come until he pushed her over that precipice.

Smiling faintly, Andries licked at her breast, tracing the pale blue of the vein under her flesh. “As you wish,” he murmured. Breathing over her skin lightly, he carefully pushed his teeth into her flesh and caught her as she jolted against him. Growling softly as he drank, Andries cupped her bottom and massaged the flesh as he encouraged her to keep moving.

Even though he was barely drawing blood from her, that didn’t matter. All that mattered was him and what he was doing to them. “Andries!” she shouted as her body rippled and roared. “Yes!” she screamed with the shuddering effect of her orgasm.

Hugging her tighter, he slammed her down onto his body and came hard, his whole frame shuddering as he poured into her body, the faint taste of her blood on his tongue. Everything about her was amazing and spicy. She gave so much and took so little. He only hoped that one day he could give her as much as she gave him. Slowly he lifted his head and licked at her skin lightly to help seal the wounds gently.

She was gasping for air as she moved to press her forehead to his and smiled. “That is how every meal should begin, Andries. I’m making that our new rule in fact.” She bit her lip as she climaxed a second and then third time just as he held her tightly, close.

Nuzzling her throat lightly, he smiled faintly. “As my lady wife commands,” he murmured softly against her flesh. “I aim to forever keep my wife happy, and if this will do so, who am I to argue?” he asked with a kiss to her throat.

She laughed happily as she hugged him close. “Then, my lord husband, I think you need to rise and walk us to our bed where you can continue to take my commands, Andries.”

“We should also remove all our clothing. It is rather bulky,” he murmured as he stood. Holding her to him, he walked to their sleeping quarters and eased out of her body. Setting her on her feet, he kissed the swell of her breasts. “I need you bare to my touch.”

She would always give him anything he needed. “And I need to make anything you wish to happen, happen.” Stepping back from him, she tugged at the dress and untied the stays before turning to him and smiling. “Too many clothes.” The dress dropped to her feet. “But so easy to get naked so nice and quickly.”

Smiling faintly, he pulled at his jacket and tossed it to the chair as he began to remove the rest of his uniform quickly, his eyes roaming freely over her body. “I do appreciate the fact that you never bother with the undergarments,” he told her as he straightened from removing his pants. Walking slowly toward her, he laid a hand over her belly, already beginning to curve just slightly. “You are perfect,” he murmured, lowering his head to kiss her.

“Why should I bother with undergarments when you shred them as soon as you see them on me?” Not that she particularly cared, truth be told. When he kissed her, she knew that everything would work out. Everything was going to be perfectly fine between the two of them, no, the three of them.

To that he just smiled faintly. He had no answer to it, and even if he did, she’d likely get upset with whatever he said or jump him again. He wanted just another few moments to talk.

She touched her belly once more and covered his hand with hers and a smile. “Tomorrow I go to medical and we get to see our child. Do you want come with me to see the holo image of our child?”

Nodding as he shifted his hand to capture her fingers, he looked into her eyes. “Let me know when you are going and I will foist my duties onto another for the time,” he promised her softly. “You are so unlike our women,” he murmured. “Not in a bad way, Xandra,” he said quickly at the look that came to her face. “You are magnificent and strong, but with our women, when it comes to pregnancy, they tend to be…” How did one put this diplomatically and yet honestly? Licking his lip, he shrugged. “Honestly they are vicious and can cause damage to their male.”

Snorting, she shook her head. “Why would I want to damage you when I want more than just this first child, Andries? I want you there. I need you there with me every single step of the way, my love.” She placed her hands on his cheeks and smiled. “I love you so very much, Andries. You are everything to me. Our child is everything to me. We are a family, and I demand that you are there with me for every single step of the way.”

“And so I shall, my lady,” he said softly, leaning closer to kiss her lightly. “For you I would do anything. You know that right?” he asked, brushing his lips across her cheek. “But right now I need you to do something for me, wife,” he murmured with a faint smile as he eyed her naked form. “You need to get into our bed so that I might have my wicked way with your delightful and sexy self.”

“Now see, all you had to do was simply say that, darling.” She moved back from him and tugged her hair up and twirled it up and knotted it at the nape of her neck, the damaged ear showing, but with him it didn’t bother her. “Come to me, my lord, come and show me what kind of stamina a Vampire has.”

He growled softly at her as she bared her neck, the mere thought of that driving him into need, but the act making him harder if that was possible. Backing her toward the bed, he waited until she climbed into their bed before following, knowing that he could harm her if he was not careful, something he was ever aware of with her. “I could show you a great many things, wife, but you would tire out and then the doctors would be having me blocked from our bed chambers,” he teased slightly, running a hand down her front before he slid his fingers between her legs to stroke her.

“They know better,” she said on a laugh and arced her body to meet his hands. “They wouldn’t dare ban you from my bed chambers because they all know darn good and well that I would tear through them one after another and another.” She placed her hand on his shoulder and moved slightly. “I love you, Andries,” she whispered.

“I love you as well, Xandra,” he murmured softly, his lips trailing lightly over her shoulder as he stroked her body into an inferno once more. Sliding his tongue over her breast, he teased her tight nipple gently with the tip slowly, his fingers sliding deep into her heat.

“Oh yes!” she shouted suddenly as his fingers moved into her waiting body. “Andries.” Her body arched up again as she leaned her head to the side. “Please.” He would know what she needed, wanted. She needed to feel him biting into her again, needed to feel his teeth buried into her neck as he entered her body.

He thoroughly enjoyed when she got so into their lovemaking. She did it with everything she was. His wife held nothing back and gave absolutely everything of herself. It was refreshing and unique. Nothing he had ever known before could compare. Shifting, he settled between her legs, his mouth moving to her throat. Whispering her name softly, he pressed his aching cock into her waiting pussy and slid his teeth into her throat gently.

Her arms and legs wrapped around him and held him tightly as he rocked his cock in and out of her pussy. Slipping his teeth free of her skin as he felt the change in her body movements, Andries swiped the twin drops of blood free of her skin and shifted his body so she could choose her place.

Nuzzling at his chest long enough to make his balls tighten, she bit in, hard and deep. Jolting at the shock of her bite, his hips moved in a jerky fashion, his entire body feeling like a live wire.

Bracing his hands to the mattress under her as he tried for a semblance of softness, Andries growled low in his chest. Pumping into her harder and faster, he knew he could hurt her and yet couldn’t make himself stop trying to forever claim her, mark her as his. It was instinctual, and in the midst of their loving, neither of them could fight instinct.

Xandra licked at the wounds she’d created on his chest and looked up at him. “Everything, Andries, you won’t hurt me, but please, take me. Claim me, whatever you need to do, but I need to release. Give me all you can.”

Lowering his head, he kissed her, tasting his essence and very being on her tongue, hers on his until he slid it over hers. He kissed her deeply as he let himself slip free of the careful shackles a little more, his cock driving into her as he felt his orgasm approaching with the force of a tidal wave.

Her hands tightened on him, one around his neck while the other held onto his back. She buried her face against his chest and screamed as she orgasmed.

Burying his cock deeper in her body, he let himself loose and shuddered as he came, his seed spilling deep inside of her body. Collapsing over her, Andries kept the majority of his weight off of her as he panted, trying to pull in air.

She smiled and closed her eyes. Both of their bodies were sweat slickened, but all she felt was the intense pleasure he had given them both. “I love you, my lord colonel.” Pressing a kiss to his neck, she sighed. “I’m ever so glad they cornered you into wedding me.” She ran her teeth lightly over his neck and smiled as he shivered. “So very happy.”

Sighing softly under her gentle touches, Andries rested his forehead to her shoulder, easing his weight to his elbows. The brush of her belly and breasts to his body as they both took in air was making him harden again already. The softest of touches from her did the same, and he never wished it to change. Pressing a kiss to her throat, he nipped lightly at her salty flesh. “I am grateful that they did, my lady, or we would both have missed out on something truly special.”

“This is truth, Andries.” She smiled. “I see I’m not the only one who is ready for more.” She pushed slightly at his shoulders. “I need you, my lord husband.” She leaned in and pressed her lips to his as helped her to settle over him. She began to move on him slowly and with definite purpose written on her face.

“I always need you, my lady wife,” he told her softly as he watched her riding his cock. As she was on top now, he let his hands glide over her curves, reveling in her new shape as it began to form. Rounder curves, fuller through the belly, and absolutely beautiful.

She grinned down at him and braced her hands on his chest. “I’m not a mind reader.” She leaned in so that her breasts rubbed against his chest. “You like me pregnant. You like how I feel. And you love the sex drive.”

“You are incorrect, lady wife,” he said and then smiled slightly at her look. “I love you pregnant. I love how you feel and I do indeed love the sex drive that comes with your pregnancy,” he said, pulling her to him for a kiss. “I love you, Xandra. This is just another step in our journey of life and our love. Nothing could mar it, most definitely not something as truly blessed as a child.”

She grinned and nodded. “I agree,” she said against his lips, her eyes open wide as she watched him watching her. “I love being pregnant with your child.” She stilled on him as she watched him. “I love being pregnant with your child, feeling it growing inside of me. Feeling its needs, hopes, and love.” She guided his hand to her belly. “Can you feel him?”

Shaking his head, Andries looked up to her. “No, Xandra, that is a bond only the mother and child share. A father must do it the old ways with guidance and care after the birth. You are blessed to have such a connection. Listen to our child. He or she will tell you when you need blood, not just that feeling in your belly, which you won’t notice by the midpoint of your pregnancy.”

“You have a son.” She grinned. “He talks, a lot.” Why she had stopped their lovemaking to talk about their son, she didn’t know, but she had. “Right now, however, I think that you need to kiss me, Andries. You need to kiss me and hold onto me so that we can come together again please.”

Pulling her down with a gentle hand at the base of her neck, he smiled faintly. “I was not the one to stop what we were doing, wife,” he murmured. Kissing her softly, he teased her tongue with his as he lifted his hips to drive his cock into her deeper and rekindle her ardor.

She whimpered and met him thrust for thrust suddenly and felt her fingers curl on his chest. “God, I love it when we come together hard like this.” She bit her lip, her fangs sliding out and piercing her lip. “So good. You always feel so good.”

Licking at her lip, he took the blood there and nipped at her chin. “You feel divine,” he told her softly. “I love you, Xandra. Anything we do together is marvelous,” he whispered softly against her skin. Kissing her throat gently, he leaned his head back and bared his throat to her. “Take from me, my wife, my love. Take what you and our child need.”

With that kind of invitation, she couldn’t and wouldn’t refuse. Leaning in to him, she ran her lips over his neck, licking him lightly before she moaned and bit deeply, feeding well from the blood that escaped his body and into her mouth. Her movements became jerky until she felt her hands curl into his chest and her orgasm take her away.

Her mouth suckling at him always had his brain sizzling into oblivion, and this time was no different. Clutching at her waist, he drove his cock up into her pussy over and over again. “Xandra,” he breathed out, his voice filled with pleasure and need which then, at the very end, became triumphant as he spilled his seed deep into her wet, hot core.

Xandra sobbed out and then very carefully licked his throat before collapsing on his chest as she panted for air. It was a time later before she spoke, and when she did it was with happiness in her voice. “I love you, husband mine.”

Hugging her in silent acceptance of her words, Andries nuzzled the top of her head. Rubbing her back gently, he felt himself drifting off to sleep and, while he tried to resist, he found he just couldn’t. He’d been awake too many hours since their arrival on the ship and his body was now demanding he give in. “Love you,” he breathed in a whisper as he slid into the dark sleep of his people.

There was a deep sigh from her and she felt the tugging of sleep, too. It was as if her body didn’t want to be awake or without her lover, so with one last kiss to his chest, Xandra followed the man she loved off into the sleep of his people, her people, their people.

Chapter Twenty

Sitting at the small desk he had in their quarters, Andries surreptitiously watched Xandra moving around the space. She’d gone into what the doctors termed “nesting mode,” which, to his way of thinking, meant, keep out of her way unless she was trying to do something the doctors had specifically told her not to do. They were almost halfway through the trip, the ambassador was on board and finishing preparing for his new home for the next year, and they’d had no trouble…so far. He wasn’t letting his guard down, especially with his pregnant wife aboard, and neither was the crew, for which he was eternally grateful. They were deep in their own space, but that wouldn’t stop a determined invader from trying to take them on, so they kept constant vigil and just did what they had to do.

She stood and placed her hand on her slightly rounded belly. “You know, I never dreamed that I would be showing like this at only five weeks, Andries.” She smiled over at him and shrugged. “But I like it. I love being able to touch and feel our child growing. To watch the way that your crew no longer watches me, but my belly.” She laughed and shook her head. “The little colonel will one day take over from his daddy. I think they are trying to figure out now how to deal with him in the future.”

She looked back at him and frowned. “You’re worried. Talk to me?”

The fact she realized he was concerned didn’t surprise him. She was very intuitive. “No more than normal, wife,” he said quietly as he lightly tapped the data pad to his knee. “I will be less concerned by everything once the ambassador is safely ensconced on his new world and we can return home to let you use this energy in preparing our country home for our child.” He knew she’d do that, too. One thing Andries knew about his lady wife was that she was a planner and likely had several plans in her mind for the room she’d create for their son. “You do know that your pregnancy will only be four months, yes?” he asked, curious about her first words.

She stopped and looked at him, eyes wide. “It will what?” she asked and swallowed hard. “Is that why I am showing so much now?” She felt her knees go a little weak and sat down hard. “We need to get home soon then, Andries, because if I only have another three months left…” She put a hand to her forehead. “Oh god.”

“You didn’t know.” He frowned as he watched her, carefully gauging if she was unwell or just startled by the news. “I would have thought the doctor would have given you the details of a Vampire pregnancy so you wouldn’t be…caught unaware,” he finished, choosing his words with caution.

She winced a little and admitted, “I have to admit that when he told me I was pregnant, everything else just kind of went into background noise. I couldn’t hear, couldn’t think, couldn’t see. I just needed to get to you, tell you.” She bit her lip. “He had said that we would talk today when he did the scan on our child and that likely was it.”

“Likely,” Andries agreed before he checked his timepiece. “We should go, actually, so that we are not late,” he told her as he shut his data pad down and set it aside. Getting to his feet, he moved around to her and held out his hand. “Shall we go, my love?” he asked softly as he traced her face with his eyes.

She slipped her hand into his and nodded. “Yes, let’s go and see our son, shall we?” she asked happily and moved to his side, placing her arm in his. “Hopefully we won’t run into the ambassador while we are on our way to medical.” The little man made her nervous, the way that he watched her. She didn’t care for it but couldn’t place why.

“Has he been bothering you, Xandra?” he asked quietly as he guided her from the room and into the hall where her day escorts were. Nodding to them as they fell in behind them, Andries shifted his arm to slide around her waist. “You know you can tell me anything, yes?” he asked in a lower tone so that the guards would ignore them.

She looked up at him and shook her head. “No, it’s not that he bothers me so much as…” She sighed. “He doesn’t physically touch me, never has, and in fact doesn’t spend time in the same space as I’m in, but there is something about the way that he watches me. It’s uncomfortable.”

“It may just be because his eyes are too close together,” Andries said softly, trying to give her something to blame the feeling on. Stepping into the lift with her he drew her toward the back, his larger frame protecting her even from the guards, as was his nature.

She laid a hand on his back and smiled up at him. She understood what he was doing and appreciated it very much. Her forehead pressed to his back and her fingers caressed his arm before sliding down to hold his hand. Unlike the Vampires, she was a very touchy-feely woman. She loved to be able to touch him, to feel him and be touched by him.

Stroking his thumb lightly over her fingers, Andries kept his eyes on the guards. He trusted them with her life, with his life, but he was Vampire and very possessive, which meant he was testy when she was too close to other males.

Stepping in a little closer, she leaned up on tiptoes and against his ear whispered, “And I love you, too, husband.” His touch was all she needed to give her that extra boost, the needed touch of a lover to help her over her small and petty fears.

Glancing to her, he smiled faintly as the door opened and, gently tugging on her hand, pulled her with him down the corridor. Once inside medical, he helped her onto the table and stood before her, his hands resting lightly on her thighs. “Why do you appear to be so nervous?” he asked as he lightly stroked one hand over her leg.

“Because I’m going to meet our son today, Andries. I’m nervous.” She bit her lip and leaned closer. “What if I’m not a good mother? What if I’m not what a little boy needs as a mom?” She had been downtrodden and abused as a child. She had nothing good to build on except the fact she knew she would never, ever hurt her children.

Leaning into her, he brushed his cheek to hers and moved his arms to loop loosely around her waist. “You will be a wonderful mother, Xandra. That I know for a fact. You are kind, caring, loving, giving, and understanding. You have a generosity of soul that is amazing to me,” he murmured softly. “When you smile, it is like the sun coming from behind a cloud and clearing away all shadows and doubts. You came from something terrible but you have not let it shape who you are. You were married to a man you knew nothing about, and yet you’ve made him all the better for your effort.”

That made her smile. “And he has allowed me to become the woman that I am. With his love and care I was able to come out of my shell somewhat and realize that not every action would cause me to be harmed.” She was going to say something more when the doctor came out.

“Hello, my lord, my lady.” He bowed respectfully at both of them. “Are you ready to meet your son, my lord?”

“I think my lady wife is more eager than even I, Doctor,” Andries said softly, his words teasing in nature for his wife but a statement of fact to the other man. “She also has a few questions I’m sure that she needs answered, and I have a feeling you might be better at answering them than I.”

The doctor grinned. “So you found out your pregnancy was only four months, correct?” He was laughing inside because he had a feeling she’d only heard part of what he’d been saying when he had told her that she was pregnant. “She was very distracted when she learned of the babe, my lord. I don’t doubt a great many things escaped her. However, I’m positive that you have kept her safe and happy, and the babe healthy.”

Gods, Andries hoped so. “I’ve definitely been challenged, but I have done my best, I believe,” he said quietly, moving slightly as the doctor began to get what equipment he’d need. Rubbing his hand at the small of her back, he looked to Xandra. “She appears happy and the babe is growing as he should, so I’m hoping she receives a clean bill of health.”

The doctor smiled. “Well, he’s certainly a big boy.” The look on Xandra’s face was priceless. “That is not a bad thing, my lady.” As he brought the scanner over to them, he kept up a steady stream of chatter even as he set the holo imager to bring out the image of the child. He stilled mid sentence, however, and his mouth fell open.

Xan didn’t even notice anything wrong, just laughed. “There are two of them.” She reached out and let her hand lightly touch over the large image of what was clearly a boy, and the far smaller image of a girl. “We are going to have twins,” she said, smiling, and then felt her fears kick her in the ass when she saw the look of the doctor. “What?”

“There are two.” The doctor said in an astounded tone. Vampires did not have twins, multiple births, ever. The child needed too much blood. It just didn’t happen. He looked at Andries. “My lord.” The doctor looked as shocked as Andries was beginning to feel.

Staring at the holo images of the twins, Andries felt all the blood leave his face, and he had to put a hand out to the table to keep himself upright. “I…It’s…Oh gods,” he breathed and lost the battle to remain conscious. His eyes rolled back in his head and his knees gave out to let him tumble to the floor with a solid thud.

She looked at where Andries dropped to and then at the doctor. “What is wrong?” she asked as she watched her son curl closer around her daughter, protecting her completely as they moved inside of her. “Doctor, what’s wrong?”

“My lady,” the doctor began, “my lady, multiple births have never once happened in the Vampire world. There has never once been a multiple birth. We normally have a very hard time conceiving and only conceive with those that have a soul tie. That is why birth control has never been brought into our world.” He swallowed. “I need to contact the Alliance, my lady. They will need to know about this.”

She shook her head. “Please, wait until Andries is awake. I need him to be awake so that he can handle the Alliance.”

Chapter Twenty-One

When Andries next opened his eyes, all he could see was the ceiling and had to wonder why he was sleeping in the medical bay. Then he remembered and sat up suddenly a second before he put a hand to his head and winced. “Xandra,” he said softly. He could smell her and feel her close, but he needed to know where she was.

Xan moved from the doctor to Andries and clasped his hand. “I’m here.” She stroked her fingers over his face and leaned close. “If you pass out when I give birth to your children, you will be banned from our bed until I am able to get over it.” She tried to tease, but there was fear in her eyes. “The doctor wants to contact the Alliance, Andries. I can’t…” She swallowed. “I don’t want to be poked and prodded and studied, and I very much don’t want our children to be. I asked him to wait until you were awake.” She felt the tears bubbling again. “They will try to take them, won’t they?”

Shifting on the bed he’d been stretched out on, he turned to her and pulled her into his arms, wrapping her close to protect her. “No one is going to poke or prod at you, Xandra, no one,” he told her softly, his tone laced with steel as he eyed the Doctor. “We will contact them when we are ready and not a moment sooner. I have allies in the Alliance, Xandra. I will feel them out first and from there we two will decide what to do.” He was still stunned at the fact they were going to have multiples, but his mind was giving him a ready answer. “You were not Vampire when you became pregnant, Xandra. Your body was human and more likely to have multiples than ours ever have been. It is easily explained, and they can’t do a damned thing about it if I tear out their hearts,” he murmured softly for her to help her understand that he would always, always protect her.

“My lord.” The doctor cut in and shook his head. “Vampires and humans have been pairing since our species found each other.” He swallowed. “There has never been one case of a multiple birth. Even when the mother remains human and the child Vampire, never a multiple.” He looked to Xandra. “Your children are the first, ever, my lord.”

He hadn’t answered her question about taking their children and she knew. “They are going to take our children, Andries.” Which made her cry harder. She refused to give up her children. She was attached to them and even now that she finally heard the very, very whisper-like sound of her daughter, she loved her. “He will never give up his sister and she him. He has been protecting her all this time, being the only one talking to me and showing up heartbeat-wise.” It wasn’t possible, she knew, but it felt right. “I won’t give them up, Andries.”

“You won’t have to, Xandra,” he told her. Leaning back, he moved to cup her cheeks and stared at her. “Do you honestly think I would let them touch our children, Xandra? Is that what you think of me? That I would let them take from us our blessings, our joy, our babies?” he whispered, the last an unbelievable pain cutting through his chest as he realized she did believe that he’d just let them hurt them both that way. Grinding his teeth, he slid off the table and walked from her as he fought the pain. “Doctor, you will not say a single thing. If I find out that this has been leaked, the one responsible will answer to me in blood.”

Turning to his wife, he gave her a bow. “No one will harm your children, my lady. You have my word and oath on that,” he said in a cold voice. “If you will excuse me, I have work to do, and I’m sure the lady still has questions she’d like answers to.” With that, he left the medical bay, ordering the guards to take her back to their rooms once she was done even as he headed there with the intent to collect his items and move to another set of quarters for the remainder of the mission. She’d hurt him badly with her assumptions, and when wounded, a Vampire turned within and kept everything tightly under layers of ice.

She watched him leave and had a look of confusion on her face. He didn’t tell her good-bye, he called her “my lady,” and he simply left. She didn’t understand what happened, but she was so emotionally fraught she didn’t put two and two together. She knew he wouldn’t let anyone take their children, but what if he didn’t have a choice? He was a High Lord of the Realm. He was also flesh and blood. What if they chose to remove him from the equation and take their children?

So many things swirled in her mind as she sat on the bed he had just vacated and listened to the doctor telling her what needed to be done. She looked again at the image that the doctor had saved on the work station and sighed. “They are perfect, aren’t they?” she whispered and raised a finger to lightly touch them. “Thank you, Doctor. I will take the supplements and ensure I am eating properly and exercising. Andries already takes care of my need for blood, but I thank you, sir.”

“Of course, my lady.” He had seen the look on the colonel’s face and was going to say something to her about the hurt feelings of a Vampire lord, but didn’t have a chance when she breezed out. Shaking his head, he sat at his desk and sighed. He had a duty to his government to tell about the babies, and while he was terrified of the colonel, he knew he had no choice. So before he could talk himself out of it, the doctor sent the message to the Alliance Highest Lords, including Andries’s father, as well as the holo images.

Sitting back, he steepled his fingers and let out a breath. This was going to be bad, and he knew it.

Chapter Twenty-Two

Xan didn’t go to their quarters right away. She walked through the decks, spoke to the people on board, and simply tried to work through in her mind that she was having twins, not an uncommon thing with her people, but it seemed it was a very, very uncommon thing for his.

Finally she was exhausted and hungry, so she made her way back to their rooms and when she entered she knew something was off. Not sure what it was, she walked to the bedroom and removed her clothes. Taking them to the closet, she opened the door and frowned. All of Andries’s clothes were gone.

Panic started to build as she looked in the wall unit. His clothes were gone from there as well. She turned around and looked into the room and saw that everything that was his was gone. She dropped to her knees there in the closet and wrapped her arms around herself. He left her. She didn’t know the reason he left, just that he was gone.

She sat there rocking herself for several long minutes until she pulled herself together enough to press the comms unit after standing. “Andries?” She knew that even if it didn’t go to him, he would get it relayed to him.

Gritting his teeth as her voice poured into his ear, Andries walked to the war room and inside before answering her. “Yes, my lady,” he said quietly. “Is there something you require?” he asked as he fought his instincts to just go to her even though that’s all he wanted to do.

“Why did you leave me?” she whispered. There was so much hurt and pain in her voice that she couldn’t hide it if she had tried. “What did I do, Andries?” Again it was “my lady” and not Xan or Xandra. What had she done that was so wrong to turn him from loving her to hating her?

“That is what you wanted of me, my lady,” he told her softly. “When you doubted my intentions and cut through my heart, it was what was necessary to be done. I know your customs and I will understand if that is how you wish things to be, Xandra.” He said her name. He shouldn’t have, but he had to say it. It was a craving in his blood.

“No, I never wanted you to leave me.” She placed a hand to her neck. “I was upset. I wasn’t doubting you, Andries, but simply realizing they would try to take our children. I know you would never allow them to do so.” She bit her lip and sat down hard. “Andries, I’m so sorry. I never, ever meant to hurt you.” She hadn’t. She actually hadn’t been thinking of much at all as she realized that their children were the first of their kind. “I need you, Andries. I will always need you, and not just because of our children, but because I, the woman, need you. Come home?”

“Are you sure that’s what you want, Xandra?” he asked, using her name again like the caress it was. “You need to be sure, wife, because I will not tolerate your doubt in me or my will again.” Looking down at his hands where he had them braced on the table, he sighed. “If you’d stabbed me with a silver blade, shoved it into my heart, and twisted it, it would not have hurt nearly as much as what your words did to me.”

“I’m sorry, Andries, yes, I’m sure. Come home to me.” She begged, “Come home to me and our children.” She smiled and added, “I promise I won’t even give you trouble for passing out when you found that you were going to be father to not one, but two children.” There was a small pause. “I need you husband. I need you to hold me, touch me. Come home?”

He shouldn’t. He knew she’d hurt him again and he knew it would be worse than the last, but he couldn’t say no to her. “I’m on my way, Xandra,” he said softly before he disconnected the communications and stared down at the table. He was a fool. He’d given her everything of himself and left himself open to pain, and she’d cut him down at the first sign of a problem. Shaking his head, he headed to her quarters. Even in his mind he was remaining distant. He had to protect what little he had left inside. Pressing the button, he waited for her to answer.

Opening the door to him, she wanted to just throw herself into his arms, but his aloof manner had her stopping. She stepped back and motioned him in, realizing that he came without clothes, without his things. She was hurting inside and asked, “What do I need to do, Andries? What do I need to do for you to forgive me for careless words spoken in a moment where my mind was reeling?”

“Is that what it was, Xandra?” he asked, looking down at her and hoping she wasn’t lying to him. Moving a little closer, he resisted pulling her to him. “Were you just speaking carelessly and without thought in the heat of the moment?” Gods, that sounded nasty. “Did you just react and not realize that the accusations you were throwing about were hurtful?”

“No.” She looked up horrified, the truth in her eyes. “I never have doubted you, Andries. I have trusted you from the moment that I saw you so ready to throw everything away just so that I could be free. No, I would never, could never hurt you like that.” She bit her lip. A single silent tear dropped. “I was just so upset. I didn’t realize how…big…our having twins was. I mean, I should have clued in when you fainted, but until the doctor was talking about tests and blood work, I didn’t.” She shook her head. “I know you would never allow our children to be harmed, Andries. I know you would take up arms and make them run you through first. It was just, I wasn’t thinking. I was more realizing that they would try to take our children than anything.”

That single tear broke him as nothing else could. He hated to see her cry. It cut him even deeper than her painful words and doubt could. Moving then, he cupped her cheek and brushed the tear away as he lowered his head to hers. “They can try all they want, Xandra, but no one, ever, will hurt what is mine. I’ve told you this over and over, but now you need to hear me, wife,” he said sharply. “You are mine and I will never let anyone hurt you. Our children will know only love, our love. The Alliance can try to do anything they want, and I will kill every single one of them to keep you and our son and daughter safe.”

She nodded. She completely believed him because she knew he was more than capable. “I know, Andries.” She cupped his cheeks and smiled. “You take care of us.” Xandra leaned in a little closer, her lips a hair’s breadth from his when she whispered, “And I will keep you safe. I love you, Andries. You are everything to me.” She needed to feel him with her again, needed him to believe in her and love her once more.

“As you are to me, Xan,” he murmured and then closed the small distance between them. He kissed her softly, keeping his need to reclaim her under wraps. He knew he had to be gentle for now, to show her that he could be gentle, that he could love her, would love her always, and did love her completely through actions alone. Shifting his arms, he picked her up gently and moved to set her on the table, his lips teasing over hers, his tongue probing deep and, now that they were free, his hands moving to stroke her body.

She shuddered and grinned. “I think that we have a table fixation, Andries.” She would always, always have wonderful memories of tables. “I firmly believe our children were conceived on your war room table, so if we ever have to leave this ship, it comes with us.” She had no idea what she was asking, but she wanted it. To her it only made sense. “I would like to conceive each of our children on that table.”

“I have no intention of giving up my ship anytime soon,” he told her softly, and then he had a thought. “Do you want me to leave the military, Xandra?” he asked hesitantly, unsure if that was what she’d meant by the comment and yet wary of jumping to any conclusions. He didn’t want to hurt her. He couldn’t hurt her, unlike what she’d done to him. Cupping her cheek he stroked her skin. “I will if you wish wife.”

“No.” She shook her head madly. “No, you are military through and through, Andries. I couldn’t ask you to leave the military any more than you could ask me to allow you to be left behind.” She knew he would argue and shook her head. “No, where you go, so, too, do I, Andries. We are in this together, my love.” She cocked her head to the side. “I just thought you got a new ship anytime they came out. I know that’s what my father did.” But she should have known that wouldn’t be what Andries did. He would be one of those that would keep what he had and simply ensure it always had the latest and greatest of everything.

“Why would I get a new ship?” he asked, his confusion obvious. “The one I have may have its problems, but they are known to me and my crew. I acquire new technology for it when it becomes available, but I could no more get rid of my vessel than I would want to let you go, Xandra.”

And that was the sweetest thing that he ever said to her. “That’s what I thought. Well, when I stopped long enough to think about it, that is.” She watched him and then with a grin said, “I’m glad that the men of your ship know me, because they all get to be here for our children, and then when I get pregnant again, and again.” At his confused look, she said, “I’m not leaving you, Andries. Ever. If you go on a mission, so do I.” Which had her smiling. “And we will just use that war room table to get pregnant time and time again.”

Snorting at her words, Andries shook his head. “And if it was not the table?” he asked her softly. “What if it was another place or another time we were together?” he inquired. He wasn’t quite so sure about that. By his calculations and the doctor’s, it had been the table more than likely.

“It was the table.” She had laughter in her eyes now. It replaced the pain from before. “You know it was, too. I see it in your eyes, Andries, and you are sitting there trying to decide just how many times you will let me into your war room, how many times you will let me become pregnant.”

“As many times as you wish, my lady wife,” he told her softly. He’d give her the world if he had it within his power to do so. “But we should wait until we have these two before you start planning the rest of our brood, love,” he suggested with a hint of a smile.

She touched her hand over his and nodded before moving their hands to her belly. “You do know I will never let you live down passing out when we found out we were having twins, right?” Her thumb moved over the back of his hand even as his thumb moved over her belly. “And it stands, Andries, if you pass out when I’m birthing your children, I really will likely hurt you.”

“I was shocked,” he told her honestly, needing her to understand. “Never, not once in the history of my people, have there been multiple births. I couldn’t believe that I would be responsible for not just one, but two young ones, Xandra. It was too much for me to process unfortunately, and I regret I passed out on you. I did not mean to. I tried to remain at your side, but it hit me hard.”

She smiled and nodded. “Thank you for explaining it to me.” It was so much nicer when he talked to her and did not walk out. “Your son got a kick out of it and your daughter was worried for you.” All the way until he left and then both children had been in an uproar. “He protects her. Even now he protects her.” Why the change in subject, she didn’t know. “He doesn’t allow anyone to be able to feel her, unless he wants them to.” Which was why the twin had been missed in her first visit to the doctor and medical bay.

It is the way of things for our people, my love,” he said softly, stroking her belly gently. “As a race, Vampire males always protect their women. He will be fiercely protective of her, likely even more so than I will be,” he teased gently with a slight smile for her.

She grinned and shook her head. “I don’t know if that is possible, Andries.” There was amusement in her eyes as she said, “I can see you being the daddy who will follow our little girl on a date and if even one touch is given to her that she doesn’t want.” Well, she felt for the boys that would date their daughter. “But he will be very, very close.”

“What is this ‘date’ you are referring to?” he asked as he went through the dictionary of human references in his mind, searching for the term. “And why would I follow her anywhere with a male?” Sometimes what she said was very confusing.

“It was an ancient custom and one that I saw in the village where I lived a lot,” she explained. “A date is when a boy likes a girl, and a girl likes a boy, they will get together and go out alone to find enjoyment. I say you will follow them because the dates usually happen in dark places where the boy and girl can, well, do almost anything,” she said with a grin.

Nodding slowly, he then froze and gave her a suspicious look. “Just what sort of anything might they be doing?” he asked her softly, his mind already leaping to highly dangerous thoughts. “What are you not telling me, Xandra, my wife?”

“Well, in the villages”—she swallowed—“many of the girls lost their virginity on these dates.” She rushed out on a breath. “But that’s not something we have to worry about for a little while yet, Andries. Right now we will just worry over ourselves, right?”

He couldn’t let it go, especially not now. “Are you saying that these boys would take the innocent out into the dark and just…” He couldn’t say it. It actually hit too close to home with what he’d done to her. “Our daughter will be supervised any time she should have one of these ‘dates.’ There will be no dark places for her.”

She smiled and petted him as she nodded. “I figured as much.” She leaned in close. “Now, however, why don’t you take me into the dark, husband? Your wife needs you while your children sleep.” She needed to feel him forgiving her, needed to feel him holding her close and loving her once more.

“Are they asleep?” he asked softly and she smiled and nodded. Shifting, he picked her up in his arms and carried her to their bed to lay her down. “One thing, Xandra,” he said as he stepped back and undressed, his eyes on her the whole time. “The next time I find you answering our door naked, we will be having very harsh words, my lady.”

“Right, naked and door don’t go together. I love you, Andries.” With that she wrapped him into her welcoming embrace, pulled him in and close to her heart.

Chapter Twenty-Three

Kissing her over her heart lightly, he licked and nibbled up to her throat where he teased her pulse. Sliding his hands over her and over their children, he shifted to lean over her. Looking down at her, he kissed her chin before drawing back. “I am sorry I caused you pain, Xandra. I never meant to, my love,” he said softly. Not too bad for his first apology ever, or so he thought.

She sniffed back the tears and shook her head. She couldn’t speak but instead grabbed his face in her hands and pulled him close, kissing him with everything that she had in her. She gave him her heart and soul in that kiss and the promise of hope. “I love you, Andries. If I say something stupid again, please don’t leave me but talk to me. I’m trying to learn the ways of our people, Andries. I’m trying to learn so that I don’t hurt you again, but I can’t learn if you walk away. So please, talk to me?”

Nodding slightly, he brushed his lips over hers again. “I will attempt to remember that, wife,” he murmured softly to her. Not that he ever forgot anything she told him, but he needed to give himself a buffer for some reason, one he couldn’t truly identify. Brushing his fingers lightly over her cheeks, he pressed a kiss to the corner of her eye where the tears she was holding back shimmered. “No tears, Xandra, please.”

“I just keep thinking that I nearly lost you.” Her heart ached. “Over a comment made in haste, over words that I never meant.” Leaning into his touch, she nodded. “Talk to me, Andries? Even when I’m being stupid.” She was rehashing things that didn’t need to be brought out again and she realized that. “Love me, Andries. While our children rest, I need you again.” She needed him to lay claim to her once more, to shore up that broken thread between them that she had so carelessly severed.

“You are never stupid, Xandra. You are just young,” he said softly, trailing his lips down her face. “It is not easy for me to talk,” Andries clarified. “We are trained to not feel, to not speak of anything outside the now and the need to know, and yet you are breaking through every barrier I have.” Sliding his hands over her body, he stroked her gently as he moved slightly, adjusting his position.

She nodded and smiled. “I can’t say that I’m sorry for tearing them down, Andries. I love the man that you are, that you were, and the man you will be when our children are born. For now though”—she leaned in and nuzzled lightly against his chest with a sigh of happiness—“I need you, husband. I need you to fuck me, hard.”

Cradling her head to him gently, he stroked her hair as he slid a hand down to stroke her cunt and found her wet and needy, her hips shifting at his touch. Moving his hand, he lifted her hips and slid his cock into her pussy with no warning and more force than he normally did. He needed to mark her as his. He needed her to know that he would be there and he needed her to stop doubting him at every turn.

A sob escaped her lips as she felt an orgasm with the first thrust of his cock in her pussy. Her body was desperate for his, her heart and soul for him as well. “Andries.” She never failed to whisper his name when they came together, never failed to give him all of her love. “I need your mark, we both do.” She bent her head to the side and bared her throat to him.

Moving his cock in her body, he murmured soft words of his oath to her in his language, ones he was sure she would not know. She had not learned them all yet, after all. Then, with a sudden move he struck, his teeth going deep as he drank and then, from within, let the liquid that was in his teeth, something only a few knew of, slide into the wounds. It would make his mark on her flesh permanent, not of the fangs, but of a genetic design all his own much like tattoos that their people got but less painful.

She cried out at his bite and wrapped her legs tighter around him to hold on. She screamed and lifted her hips again meeting him thrust for each of his hungry and desperate thrusts.

Pounding into her flesh in near desperation, Andries was hanging onto the beast by the thinnest and weakest of leashes, and it was slipping. Unable to hold on, he prayed he wouldn’t hurt her and just let loose, his body moving harder and faster than ever before. Lifting her hips higher, he drove into her as he found that one spot that made her squirm and gasp.

“No more blood, Andries.” He didn’t stop right away, so she did the only thing she could in her situation and bit into his shoulder deeply. She fed from him even as he fed from her.

Her bite brought him back from the edge of destruction and he pulled his teeth from her throat with a curse. Licking the wounds, he moved his mouth to her ear. “I love you,” he whispered, his word holding an apology for his loss of control. Still driving into her pussy over and over, he cradled her head to his shoulder until, in the next moment, he came in a flash of pure need.

Removing her fangs from his shoulder, she licked the wounds and turned her head to take his mouth with hers. Words weren’t exchanged, but the actions spoke as clearly as his words had.

Kissing her as he held her close to him, he shuddered at the feeling of her body accepting everything he was and not pushing him away. He couldn’t believe she would still accept him after what he’d nearly done to her and their children, and yet, she had just accepted it and done what was necessary to keep her and their babies safe. Lifting his head slightly, he brushed his lips over hers. “I love you, my lady wife,” he whispered.

“And I love you, my lord husband.” Her hands moved gently over his cheek. “I love you, Andries,” she repeated, using his name rather than his title. “You amaze me.” He did. He was her everything. She hoped that one day she would be able to give him as much as he gave to her on a daily basis.

“You amaze me as well, my lady wife.” He smiled for her, the slight turn of his lips showing her how much he truly loved her. “We should get up, Xandra. If I remember correctly, we are having a meal with the ambassador as it is his last night with us before we reach his new home,” he said softly even though he didn’t move. What he did do was lightly turn her head and then stroke his fingers over the faded blue of his house marks on her throat. Leaning in, he pressed a gentle kiss to the mark that showed her as his for all time, and gods help any that tried to tear them apart.

She shivered with the gentle kiss and felt her pussy clench his cock as it was still buried deep inside of her cunt. “Why did that feel so different from all the other kisses you have given me, Andries?” She knew something had changed, but was not sure what. “As for the ambassador, he will wait for us, darling.”

Lifting his head, he put his weight onto his elbows and stared down at her. “I marked you,” he murmured softly, not sure how she was going to feel when she saw the mark of his house, his bloodlines, forever in her flesh in the faded dark blue color of his house.

She smiled and nodded. “Possessive much? It’s not meant as a hurtful thing, Andries. Do you…” She paused and levered herself up close so that her breasts pressed close to his chest, her nipples rubbing slightly. “You have no idea how good it feels to be the woman possessed by Andries Mauricio. To know that every time anyone now will look at me they will see the mark of our house and know that I am in a loving and committed relationship.” Touching his face, she whispered to him, “Thank you, Andries.”

Understanding dawned. She had been teasing him and he smiled slightly. “You are welcome, my love,” he told her honestly. Kissing her softly, he lifted his head again. “We should go, my wife. The sooner this meal with the ambassador is done, the sooner we can return to our bed and rest.” The last was said with a hint of something more to it, for he didn’t plan on resting any time soon.

“I don’t want to rest until we have to, Andries,” she complained and then, catching his eyes, smiled. “Oooh.” Nodding her approval, she let him go with first her legs, and then her arms. “Then we should go and shower before dressing so that we don’t smell of sex.”

Slipping his relaxed cock free of her body, he stood and then helped her to her feet and guided her toward the bathing chamber. “We do need to shower, for what I do with my wife is for me alone and not another,” he said and didn’t give a damn if his tone was too possessive, as she’d accused him earlier. He was possessive of her, just as any male Vampire was of his mate and as any female Vampire was of hers. It was the nature of their inner beasts even though the male’s was always a lot closer to the surface than the female’s.

There was a low growl from her throat. “Yes, no one needs to know what you and I share behind closed doors. You are mine, Andries. No one gets to share the scent of our pleasure but us.”

Pulling her close to him, he kissed her hard before he moved once more and turned her to look in the mirror. Letting her go so she could examine the mark he’d given her, he set the sonic shower to a low setting and as long as it would allow given her condition. Moving up behind her, he wrapped his arms around her waist and rested his hands over her belly. “Does it meet your approval, my lady?” he asked softly.

She was touching the mark lightly and felt herself finally nod. “Yes,” she breathed. “Yes, this is perfect.” One hand covered his on her larger-than-normal belly and made her smile brightly as she watched him watching her. “Shower, we need to shower.” She was reminding herself, not him.

Kissing her neck lightly, he gently nudged her toward the stall, not removing his hands or pulling away but walking with her close to him. Pressing the button to start the shower, he stood with her, his arms around her and his head on her shoulder as he just enjoyed the quiet and peaceful moment.

Her arms wrapped around him and held him close for a long time before she said, “Tonight as we are having our meal, will you help remind me if I choose topics or say things I shouldn’t?”

Lifting his head, he looked into her eyes and smiled. “I will, my love, if that is your desire,” he told her softly before he put his head back to her shoulder. “If you offend the ambassador, I shan’t be upset. The man is a pest that will be gone soon enough, and frankly, I do not care what he thinks of us.”

“Neither do I, Andries, but how I speak, how I act, it all reflects on not only you and I, but our crew, too.” And she loved them all like her family. They all held places in her heart. “I refuse to cause our family any undue stress or upset with my poorly chosen topics.”

Nodding against her skin, he pressed a kiss to her pulse. “I will help you guard your choices of topics, my love. For now though, quit worrying so much. You will only make yourself ill from the stress. You and our children do not need the added stress of such concerns,” he murmured softly, hugging her a little tighter.

She grinned and nodded. “I’m going to be two somebodies’ mommy.” She danced about in the shower happily even as he hugged her close. “Tell me that you’re happy?” She wanted, no, needed, to hear the reassurance from him. “That we are having two at once. Are you?”

“Of course I am happy, my love,” he told her softly, lifting his head to look at her so she’d see the truth. “I was happy when you truly became mine. I was extremely pleased to find out you were to have my child and, despite my episode in medical, I am ecstatic about having twins, my love.”

She patted his shoulder as if congratulating a child on a job well done and smiled. “We won’t talk about that little episode.” She smiled up at him. “I don’t think that the men would ever let you live that one down.” Because they were all like brothers, and like brothers, they would tease him unmercifully.

“I would toss the lot of them out the airlock if they even dared to do such a thing,” he told her with a haughty look that, as a High Lord, he could get away with. “Tell them all you will. It will be a good test to see just who needs some reminding of who is in ultimate control here.”

Her laughter came so suddenly and so loudly that she hiccupped from it. “Well then, tonight at dinner I will let you tell them that you passed out at the image of our…” She paused. “Wait, the ambassador will be there.” Her laughter died. “Is it wrong of me to really dislike him for no reason other than he makes me feel uncomfortable?”

Shaking his head, Andries smiled at her. “No, love,” he said softly. “You have different and much stronger instincts now. Learn to listen to them and they will always protect you.”

She nodded and touched her hand to her belly. “Are you going to tell our family that we are having twins?” By “our family” she knew he would understand what she meant, who she meant. She loved the crew as if they were her blood relatives. She had taken to them all and it seemed they all had taken to her as well.

Ah, now there was a question. Sighing softly, he shrugged one shoulder. “I do not know if I should,” he murmured, only thinking about keeping her and the children safe. He would tell his second. The man needed to be aware so that he, too, could protect Andries’s wife, but the others…“I will think on it, but I have concerns that some may react as the doctor did,” he told her so she’d understand his thinking behind waiting. He was extremely concerned with the doctor’s attitude and knew the man had sent word to the Alliance, which just pissed him off.

“I hadn’t thought of that.” She never would believe that any of their crew, any of their family would ever turn against them like that, but it was their people. “I will trust your choice in the matter, Andries.” She sighed and ran a hand over her belly. “Although they will realize something is up because the Vampires have far better senses than a human would, and the further along in the pregnancy I get…” She trailed off. The further into her pregnancy, the louder their heartbeats would be, and it wouldn’t take a scientist to figure out there were two children, not one, inside of her.

“I know, love,” he said, softly stroking his knuckles over her cheek. “I will think on it and perhaps later, after a small time of the gossip mill working on board, I will have a better idea where everyone’s thoughts may lie. I will tell a few, those that will need to know like my second and a few others,” he told her quietly. “But other than that, I want to keep it quiet for a little longer.”

“We will hold our secret close to us for as long as we can,” she agreed with a smile. “I love you, husband. You know how important to me that you are, right?”

“I think I do, Xandra,” he murmured as the shower shut off the cycle. Glancing up, he sighed. “We should get dressed, my love. We have a dinner to survive.” He smiled faintly at his own words.

“The bright side to all of this.” She stepped from the sonic shower and moved toward the closet where she had her clothes hanging. “Since I’m pregnant, we can easily use that as an excuse to escape the hell of dinner with the ambassador.”

Snorting at that, he eyed her. “Let’s not use that as an excuse unless absolutely necessary, my love. We do not need to give the ambassador any reason to get too close to you and thereby ‘creep’ you out,” he said, using her word to emphasize his own dislike of the man that he, too, couldn’t completely describe or understand.

“Right, I won’t use our children as an excuse to get out of dinner with the odious man.” She was being unfair to the man and she knew it, but it was what it was. She pulled on one of the gowns that had been prepared for her before they left the planet and turned her back to him. “Will you do me up please, love?”

Moving up behind her, he began to tighten the laces, adjust the material so it wouldn’t chafe her as he did so. As he finished, he pressed a kiss to the nape of her neck and then moved to dress in his uniform, ensuring everything was in place so that the ambassador had no reason to criticize anything about his trip.

She moved to bend over and let out a gasp. “Okay, they need to be let out just a hair. It’s too tight around my belly. Will you loosen it a bit, please?”

Moving back to her, he adjusted the ties slightly and had her bend again before he let them out just a little more and finally she was comfortable. “See, it’s fine now, love,” he told her as she bent and bent again. At her look, he smiled slightly and told her, “All of your clothing will last until the last month and then you will more than likely invade my wardrobe.” He recalled several of his crew commenting on the fact that their wives would only wear their shirts during the last months of their pregnancy. “I would not worry overly much, Xandra. If we need to get you some pieces to better accommodate the twins, we will.”

“I would like that, being able to get away with just wearing your shirts for the end of our pregnancy.” The dress felt much better now and she was more able to breathe, which was good. “I’m ready now though if you are?”

Holding out his arm to her, he smiled softly. “As long as you are there, I will always be ready for anything, Xandra,” he told her honestly. Touching her hand as she slid it through his arm, he led her from the room and down a level to the commander’s dining hall.

Chapter Twenty-Four

Her head held high, she walked along at his side and smiled to the men as she passed them. She watched two of the men look at her belly in stunned silence, which made her step even closer to Andries. Not because she was afraid of them—they were two of his highest ranking officers. No, it was because of the way they looked at her, as if they knew.

Andries noted the men and then Xandra’s reaction and frowned slightly. “Are you all right, love?” he asked her softly as he continued walking but slowed their pace just a little so that they could talk.

“Yes, it’s just…” She frowned. “It was as if they looked at me and knew, that they knew that there was more than one, Andries.” She whispered in the darkness of the hall, “They can’t know, do they?”

Pulling her to a stop, he looked over his shoulder to the men and his frown deepened. “The ship is a tight-knit unit, Xandra. Anything that is said at one end eventually makes it to the other. It is possible that one of the medical unit spoke of what we discovered there and they now know.”

“Only the doctor knows though, Andries. He had cleared out the whole unit when we came in.” She bit her lip and shook her head. “I won’t worry about it though.” She nodded. “They are our family. They are your men yes, but they are family and they will keep the secret. I will trust them.”

Watching her, he nodded slowly. “If that is your wish, I will honor it,” he said quietly. Touching her cheek with his free hand, he looked into her eyes. “For you I would do anything, Xandra,” he murmured, trying to make her understand just how deep his feelings for her went.

“We have to trust them, Andries. They will eventually learn of it. We will neither confirm nor deny, however, until we are sure what our game plan will be.” She leaned into his touch. “I love you, Andries, but we need to go and have dinner with the ambassador.”

Growling softly at her, he nodded and, once more, led her down the corridors. As they passed a few other crew members, he noted the look she’d commented on earlier being passed her direction. The more he saw it, the more he knew that the doctor had spread the word to someone and that it was making its way through the ship. Pressing the release for the doors to the commander’s dining hall, Andries knew he’d have to have words with the crew and find out just what the hell they all knew.

Uncertainty shone clearly in her eyes when she asked, “Could it be because you marked me now?” Her fingers touched the lines of his house resting on her long, delicate neck. “Is it common to do that?” When the doors released and opened, however, she stood once more at his side, a mask of indifference on her face. Head high and shoulders back, she looked every inch the lady born to be with a Vampire warlord.

Andries didn’t get a chance to answer her. Some things were never discussed in front of others. Walking into the room with her, his face also a mask of indifference and pure High Lord reserve, he tipped his head to the ambassador and then led Xandra around the table to where she would sit at his right side while the ambassador would sit to his left.

The meal began as any other. Xan was still nervous about eating any food that Andries didn’t give to her. She was more than happy to sit back and let him choose the pieces for her. She knew eventually she would get over nearly being poisoned on her wedding day, eventually. When she saw the doctor shoot them a glance and then get up to leave, she frowned. “Andries?” It was as if the doctor was racing from the hall to almost hide from them, which just wasn’t right.

Touching her hand lightly, he nodded and got to his feet. “If you’ll excuse me for a moment,” he said to the ambassador and then left before the man could say anything. The doctor was well ahead of him and Andries had to rush to catch up, but when he did, the grip he placed just over the man’s elbow was anything but a suggestion. “We need to talk, Doctor,” he said in a low and very dangerous tone before leading the man to an empty meeting room before releasing him. “What the hell did you do?” he growled out, his beast too close to the surface to allow the man to survive this meeting.

“I did what I had to, my lord.” His lower jaw quivered in fear. “You have to see what a miracle they are. The Alliance had to know because if she somehow carries the key to solving our birth rate, she needs to be studied.” His hands were held up at his sides in surrender. “Please, my lord, they swore nothing would happen to her, but she needs to be tested. We need to know why it is that she is pregnant with twins.”

Andries lost it then and, picking the doctor up by his throat, Andries shoved him to the wall. “You asshole!” he growled, the beast in his voice, his eyes fully predator. “They will dissect her and then they will force every woman of the age to bear children to take shots to ensure that they never, ever have children. The so-called Alliance”—and he was referring to the non-Vampire half—“has been trying to kill my people off for centuries. Do you think they will let my wife or my children live with the possibility of my species actually having more than one child every century?” he snarled at him. “You are the world’s biggest idiot, and if so much as a hair is touched on her head, I will personally gut you while you lie there watching.”

The doctor was choking as Andries squeezed his throat and his legs kicked. “They swore they wouldn’t.” His eyes bulged as he spoke. “I did it for our people, my lord. It was the Vampire side of the Council I contacted.”

Squeezing even tighter until the man was gasping and his color started to turn blue, Andries let him drop suddenly. “And they will drain her of her life’s blood to pump into every female in the nation. They will want their armies to explode with men so that the non-Vampires are under their thumbs once more. Either way, my wife fucking dies!” He was in full anger, his eyes that of the mythical and feared Vampire High Lord in the grips of a rage so full that the beast actually melded with the host.

“Andries.” Her hand lay on his arm. She was shaking and the upset was clear in her eyes. “Andries, my lord, please look at me,” she whispered softly. Xandra had just had the worst experience and had come to find Andries. However, what she found was frightening, if she had been anyone other than who she was. “Please, Andries, everyone is watching.” And the cat was seriously out of the bag. It seemed as if all of his crew was there and listening to every word, listening to the anger, and waiting for Andries to tear him apart. Well, most of the crew at least. Three men had taken the ambassador to his rooms, escorted him there, to keep him under lock and key for touching her.

Letting out a growl that had no humanity to it, Andries stepped back. “Lock him up,” he ordered his crew as he forced the beast back into its place. Turning to Xandra, he pulled her into his arms and just held her close. The need to wrap around her was so intense that he didn’t resist. Looking to the doctor over her head, Andries let the beast rise for a moment. “You and I will be talking again soon, Doctor,” he promised. The underlying threat was that the doctor would not ever be leaving the brig…alive.

The doctor visibly gulped and was led away by two officers. Xandra looked up at Andries and touched his chin. “I love you, husband.” Now was not the time to tell him of the trouble she had with the ambassador. With the mood he was in currently, he would likely go to the man and rip his throat out.

Lifting a brow at her words, he leaned his head down to hers and rested their foreheads together. Then a thought occurred to him and he leaned back. “Why are you here instead of finishing your meal, my love?” he asked. The sudden shift of her eyes away told him that something had happened. “You might as well tell me, Xandra. Otherwise, I’ll just have to ask a guard, and they won’t sugarcoat it nearly as nicely as I’m sure you will,” he murmured softly to her.

“It would make me very upset if you killed him, Andries.” She grumbled, “Please keep in mind that he’s not Vampire, and he really doesn’t know how to hold his liquor, all right?” She watched the way his eyes shifted and the low, grumbled sound of “get on with it” in his voice. “He reached over and touched me, pulled me to your seat where he leaned in and decided to tell me in vivid detail just how nice I would look smashed between the two of you.”

The growl wasn’t something he could have stopped had he actually wanted to and had all the crew bolting for distant parts of the vessel as fast as they could move. “I will fillet the man slowly,” Andries said in a very soft, extremely and deceptively calm voice. He was beyond angry, beyond homicidal. He was in the last grips of the anger of the beast.

“You will not,” Xandra said as she shook her head. “I love you, Andries, and I am keeping you with me for a very long time, and I can’t do that if you kill someone like him and destroy your career and have the Council take your life.” She made him look at her. “I’m okay. He’s had too much to drink and said things he shouldn’t have. As much as I would enjoy letting you kill him, you can’t, my love. You know you can’t.”

He snorted at that as he forced his anger back. He could get away with a lot of things, after all…accidents happened. Looking to her, he knew that he couldn’t hurt her though, and if he was ever found out, it would hurt her. “Fine,” he muttered in a growl. “But only this time. The next one that does anything to you, gets it.”

“Thank you, Andries.” She shifted slightly closer to him and wrapped her arms around his middle and hugged him close. “Now, come and finish your meal, Andries.” There was a pause followed by, “He has given up our secret, hasn’t he?” She didn’t want to ask, but a slight fear had her doing just that.

Nodding, he took her hand in his and walked with her slowly. He needed the time to get himself under full control. “Yes, love, he’s already reported it to the Alliance as well,” he told her quietly, not sure where she’d walked into his emotional fit. “I would like to apologize.” He looked to her. “I shouldn’t have let myself get that worked up about it. If I’d remained in control, I might have learned more, but once I knew what he was doing and what he’d done, I just…” He’d lost it, was what he’d done.

“Your family was threatened. He took our secret and plastered it all over for the world to see.” She took the next turn before continuing. “You reacted as any father and husband would, Andries. There is nothing to apologize for.” There was a moment of silence before saying, “I experienced a moment where even I wanted to gut him, Andries. With the inability to hold to doctor-patient confidentiality, he has thrust our children into a place where I never want them to be.” She paused. “In harm’s way.”

Chapter Twenty-Five

Stopping before they moved another step, he backed her to the wall and, uncaring of who was around, he kissed her hard and fast. Nipping at her full lower lip, he made a rumbling sound. “I love you, my lady wife,” he told her softly, her words letting his mind settle better than anything else could have.

“And I you, my lord husband, I need you, Andries, here and now. I need you so badly that I’m ready to strip you bare. That can’t be normal, is it?” Her body trembled as she held him close, her hands running over his body as if seeking a way inside of his uniform.

“You are a pregnant female Vampire, my love. You are always going to feel needy at such a time,” he said to her softly. “If you don’t wish to continue your meal, we should return to our room so that you don’t have the urge to strip yourself bare before everyone.”

“We need to finish our meal. I’m hungry for you, yes. I will never deny that. I need to have more than just that though, more than just your blood alone, as well. We have babies cooking inside of me, and they need the essential building blocks that only can come from food, darling.”

“Then I recommend you stop mentioning stripping off your clothing,” he told her softly, looking at her so she’d see the effect those words had on him. Moving back slightly, he took her hand in his again and led her the rest of the way to the dining hall.

“As soon as our meal is over,” she agreed. “As soon as it’s over we will move to our bedroom as quickly as possible, and then I want you to take me against the wall again. Or we could take our meal in our quarters?”

“We will eat here, and then I will take you wherever you wish, my lady.” His words held a proper tone to them, quiet and discreet, but the look Andries raked over her held hot promise. Guiding her past the officers, he settled her into her chair before taking his once again. “Eat, love. You will need it,” he told her with a slight smile.

She was about to say something when she noted three of the men locking down the doors and then his second standing to approach them. Her mouth went dry and stomach felt ill as he inclined his head to them both.

“The crew knows everything, my lord.” He spoke with respect to Andries. “It has been discussed quietly and I am here to tell you something.” He dropped to a knee before Xandra and bowed his head. “You are our lord’s wife, and for that you deserve our respect.” There was complete silence in the dining hall as he continued. “However, your actions, the woman you are, and your acceptance of us all gives you more than our respect, my lady. You are our family.” His lips turned at the corners. “I believe that is what you told us when you told us you were pregnant. That we were family now.”

She could only nod as she listened to the words from the man that Andries trusted most on the ship.

“And we protect our family.” He rose and looked to Andries. “Word of the blessings that your lady is giving you will never leave this ship, my lord. They are ours to protect, all three of them. Lady Xandra and the twins she carries.” He paused a moment before saying, “Because what you said to the doctor is correct. They would drain her to try to force an army of Vampires.”

Andries nodded before looking to his wife and smiled faintly at the slightly stunned look on her face. But it was the glint of a tear in her eye that had him frowning and leaning closer. “Xandra, are you all right?” he asked gently, taking her hand in his to give it a light squeeze.

Xan could only nod dumbly as she watched the men all watching her intently. Tears fell which she brushed away with her hand. “We are family,” she acknowledged. She had a large family now. She had one finally when she came to Andries, but now, now she had one that was immense. “I am happy,” she whispered to her husband, “I can’t tell you how happy I really am.”

And yet she is crying, he thought as he sighed internally. Women…can’t live without them and can’t ever figure out how their minds work. Leaning in, he brushed a light kiss over her cheek, catching a tear with his tongue. “I am glad that this is about how happy you are and not because you are upset. There are too many crew members for even me,” he murmured in her ear in a tease.

She laughed and shook her head. “You are too funny.” She pulled back and looked at the men. “Thank you all. You all are my family. You are our family.” She laid her hand over Andries’s hand. “Our children will have the best of places to come to when they come here to the ship. They will always know love, and for that I can’t thank you all enough.”

The men all bowed their heads in respect and then went about their business as Andries shot them all looks to get lost. When the last had filtered out, he looked to his wife. “You have a devout following, my love,” he said softly and knew that he’d always be leading the way.

She had to smile at him and nodded. “We have a family.” She touched his cheek and nodded. “We have a family, and family will do anything for each other.” She moved from her seat and into his lap. “Now then, did you arrange for them all to leave?”

Shaking his head, he smiled for her. “No, love, but they got the point when I aimed a very pointed and nasty glare their way. They know me well and know I’m on the edge right now, ready to tumble either way,” he said softly as he stroked his hand down her arm lightly.

“Because of what happened with the doctor and the ambassador?” She leaned in and brushed her lips over his. “Tell me how I can help you feel better, Andries. I hate that you are so on edge and want to help you, love. Tell me how.”

“Just what you are doing, love,” he told her softly as he stared at her. “Being close and touching me helps me to ground me in you and our love. That will help, my sweet. Even if we do nothing more than sit close and touch, that will help.”

“And here I am in your lap, holding you close and tight.” She nuzzled against his neck and breathed him in. “I love you, Andries.” She closed her eyes and laid her head on his shoulder. “I will be here for you forever, Andries. You will never have to look far without seeing me.”

Pressing his nose to her neck, he closed his eyes to drown in her scent and just hold her. He stayed silent as he let her presence soothe him as nothing else could have. He’d been so angry, something he hadn’t truly felt in a great many years, that it had been startling. “I know,” he whispered softly to her last admission. “I will never be far from you either, love.”

With that, both their bodies seemed to simply relax into the other and, holding on to the other, found respite from all the stresses and demands of their day.

Chapter Twenty-Six

“We’re almost home,” he told her quietly, his whole body tense, much like the crew was. No one was sure of the reception they would be receiving with their return. He’d sent a message home to his staff and had the guards increase their rounds. They would be leaving the ship on a shuttle directly to his country home. He wanted to be on familiar lands where he could control everything…hopefully.

Xandra nodded and looked around at the men surrounding them. The crew that was his personal guard all but surrounded them and were heavily armed and wore full combat gear. Once more, she nervously swallowed and watched the looks on everyone’s faces. “Andries.” Her hand moved into his as he stood there looking more intense than she could ever recall him being. She offered him comfort with the touch of her hand into his, offered him a piece of herself in that small touch.

Lacing his fingers through hers, he stroked his thumb lightly over her skin. He didn’t change his expression. He just let her know that he wasn’t all gone. “I know, love,” he murmured softly to her. The major walked up to them and nodded. “They know we’re back,” Andries said softly.

“And they are ordering you to bring her to the Alliance chambers immediately,” he was told quietly. “I told them that you were already off the ship and that if they wished to consult with you in any manner, sir, they should contact you at your country home.”

Nodding, Andries looked to her. “Come, Xandra, we need to leave before they send men up to search the ship. We’ll see you later, Major,” he told the other man as he passed him his silent thanks and led her off the command deck with several of his men in tow.

She pulled up the hood of her cloak and wobbled more than walked. She was ten weeks along but looked more like she was two weeks overdue. Her belly was massive and her balance was completely gone. Most times she had to walk with someone because of the weight of the babes. “I just want to be home, Andries. I want to be home so that our babies can rest safely.” Their daughter as of late had become more active than in the beginning of the pregnancy, and their son, well, he was always there and protecting his sibling.

Taking her hand, he put the other at her back to hold her upright, which was good given she was having trouble with her balance, especially now that both twins were moving nearly constantly. “We’ll be there soon,” he promised as he led her into the lift and then put his body between hers and the other men. Moving his hand around, he rubbed over her belly.

She nodded and let him lead her, knowing that without his help she would fall over because of the level of activity. As soon as they stepped onto the shuttle, however, that changed. Both babies seemed to completely stop moving and she felt it as their son, who was larger, wrapped and curled around his sister. “Something’s wrong, Andries.” She didn’t like the way it felt, as if everything was about to change for them.

Stopping, he looked to her and then looked around the shuttle, motioning to one of his men to remove the pilot and copilot. He had men with him that could easily fly it, just as he could, but he wasn’t going to trust anyone but those he knew had pledged to Xandra. “I know, love.” He felt something as well, and it was eating at him that he couldn’t figure it out. Guiding her to a seat, he helped her lower herself into it and then sat at her side as the men adjusted on the fly and two slid up front. “Low and fast, get us below radar range as quickly as you can,” he ordered, that feeling at the back of his neck making him tense.

Their children moved only marginally as she whispered, “Our son’s curled around his sister again.” That had only happened one other time since they learned of her being pregnant with twins and that was when she took a fall off of the exercise pad. It was as if he was protecting the girl child, who was less than half his size.

Wrapping his arm around her, he drew her as close to him as he could, stroking his fingers lightly over her arm as he pressed his lips to her ear. “We’ll be fine, love. No one is going to hurt you or our children.” The words were a vow from a warrior to his woman and those under his protection. He would kill any that got too close to her. Gods help the bastard that laid a hand on his female.

She nodded and felt herself relaxing into his arms and closing her eyes. “I believe in you,” she whispered softly and sighed as she melted against him.

When the first jostle of the ship came, she clenched her hands on his. “Please tell me that we are just in rough space?”

“Atmosphere,” Andries ensured her softly, his eyes on the display at the front of the cabin. So far they were avoiding detection coming in as fast and steep as they were. “Hold on, love. This is going to be very rough,” he told her in a low tone.

And she did just that. She held onto his hand in a death grip that made his hands turn white. “Did I ever mention that I don’t like to fly?” It wasn’t the flying. She loved being on board his ship. It was the going to and from the planets that got her every single time.

“No, I do not believe that you did,” he said quietly, looking to their joined hands. “But I am getting that distinct impression,” he murmured with a small smile, lifting her hands to kiss the white knuckles gently. “We’re having to go in fast, my wife. Do not worry so. We’ll be on the ground very soon, and then we will be safe within our home where no one will harm you or our children.”

“It’s not the being in a big ship so much as the little ships going to and from the big ones.” Another jolt had her feeling like she was going to throw up. “I think I’m going to be sick,” she whispered.

“We’re just coming in for the landing, love,” he told her quietly. “We’ll be on the grounds within a minute. Just hold on and then you will be on solid ground again.” Pulling her closer to him, he stroked back her hair lightly. “Just hold on,” he murmured softly and then they felt the small bump of the landing. “We’re down.”

She gulped for air and still didn’t feel better. “Move.” She was fast. They would have to give her that. The door no more than slid open six inches than she was squeezing out and running for cover to throw up.

“Damn,” he muttered softly. Crouching at her side, Andries stroked back her hair and held it in his hand so it was out of her face. Passing her a water canteen, he helped hold it to her lips so she could rinse and spit to cleanse her mouth.

Once her stomach was emptied, she leaned back against him as he pulled her up to his chest. “Oh this really sucks,” she said with a smile and shook her head. “I thought that I wouldn’t have morning sickness, but that ride plus how icky my belly felt anyway just really was too much for me.”

Scooping her up in his arms, he carried her toward the house. “I know, my sweet. But now we are on the ground and you don’t need to take another ride for a very long time. We will settle you in bed and you can just relax for a while and let your stomach catch up with you.”

She nuzzled against him for only a moment before she said, “I need to be put down, Andries. I don’t want our new family to see me being carried in. I don’t want them to think that I’m an invalid.” Even if she was ungainly and looked as if she could roll away with a gentle shove.

Chapter Twenty-Seven

Rolling his eyes at that, he waited until they were right at the door before he put her on her feet. Opening the door for her, he kept his hand on her back and helped her inside to ensure she didn’t fall and hurt herself. “Welcome home, my lady wife,” he told her softly as they stepped into the foyer.

She looked around the open and spacious room and one word said it all. “Wow.” It wasn’t like her familial home, a dark and dank castle. No, this place was a castle, but it was more of a home. It was light and airy and perfect.

As she entered, she could smell the beeswax on the woodwork and smiled. “I love it, Andries.” Turning too quickly, she began to lose her balance and reached out for him even as he grabbed her, making her laugh. “Right, note to self, we aren’t all that balance friendly.”

“One would think you’d have realized that already, my love,” he told her as he pulled her close to him. Once she had her balance back, he loosened his hold a little. “Are you all right, my sweet?” he asked her gently.

“Right as rain.” Looking around, Xandra frowned. “Where is the staff, Andries? I had thought I would get to meet them when we came in. I know that at my father’s…” She swallowed. “Well, he would have had them all killed and be searching for new ones,” she told him honestly.

“They are likely attending to their jobs, but I am sure that we can find a few to introduce you to, my love,” he told her with a smile. “Why don’t we go through the house, and if we come across any, we will meet them, and later, when you are feeling more yourself, we can meet the rest.”

“That sounds like a good idea.” She felt the pain in her back and hated it. “I would like to find a way to take a nap before dinner, if you don’t mind,” she said with a smile. “My back hurts,” she admitted. She knew it was nowhere near close to time for their children to be born, so that wasn’t her concern. “I just need a nap I think.” And their children craved blood, their father’s blood.

“Then let us head up for a nap my love,” he told her quietly. Stroking his hand over her cheek, he turned her gently toward the stairs. “Come along, my love,” he suggested, his hand settling at her back and the other took one of hers to keep her balanced.

She moved with him toward the stairs and yawned. “I think the little run that I did from the shuttle to throw up in the bushes pulled something in my back. Can I get you to rub it for me?”

“You know you only have to ask,” he told her as he helped her to climb the stairs. “Nice and slow, my love,” he said gently as he took the brunt of her weight. “Your balance is not good at all, is it, love?” he asked in concern, knowing he’d have to make sure to be with her at all times while they were at home or have one of his men close at hand just in case.

“Nope, balance is shot like nothing else.” Once they reached the top of the stairs, she grinned. “I think it’s because there is so much of them and not enough of me to balance it all out.”

“You are rather petite,” Andries commented as he led her down the long hall and then pushed open the doors to their master rooms. “Here you are, my lady. I hope that you approve of the decor. If not, feel free to do as you wish,” he said quietly. But he didn’t lead her toward the bed. He took her toward an adjoining door and, with a half smile full of secrets, he opened the door to the nursery he’d had put in just for her.

When he opened the door to the nursery, she was about to say something, but as soon as that door was opened and she saw the twin cribs, she felt like falling, and not because of balance either. “Andries?” She walked forward, a hand touching first one crib, then the other. “They are connected.” She grinned, “How clever are you?” The cribs looked separate, but in reality were one large crib. “You know he won’t sleep without her close, don’t you? He’s watching over her now and he likely will for the rest of their lives.” Oh, that was going to be fun times. She could almost see it now.

Following after her, he kept his eyes on her face. “Then you approve?” he asked softly. “I should have asked you before I gave the instructions for the room, but I wanted it to be a surprise for you,” he revealed, feeling mildly uncomfortable.

She turned and looked at him before falling into his arms. “I love you, Andries. “You make me so happy.” She laughed and then looked up. “I love it, Andries. You made me so pleased with all of this.” She turned once more. “So they all know?” Obviously. “Is it going to be all right?”

Hugging her close, he released the breath he’d been holding and nodded. “Yes, love, they all know, and yes, it will be all right.” One way or another, Andries was going to ensure that the Alliance knew the folly of ever coming for his wife or children. And he’d make sure that they never, ever forgot that he was a Vampire warlord of the highest ranks for a very good reason. Kissing her cheek softly, he nipped at her skin. “Come, my love, you need to rest, Xandra. You can come and poke around later to ensure that I haven’t forgotten anything for our children.”

“Will you talk to them while I sleep?” she asked quietly, hearing their daughter’s soft request. “Your daughter wants to hear the next installment of…” She frowned and shook her head. “Are you telling our children a battle story?”

“Maybe,” he predicated as he guided her toward the bed. He’d need to discuss keeping such things from their mother. “I will talk to them though,” he promised as he undid the ties at her back so she could slip out of the gown she wore even as he moved to strip down.

Each movement seemed to be a reminder of just how tired she was, and she was soon curled in the middle of his massive bed, and lying on her side toward him, she smiled. “I love you, Andries.” She touched her belly. “And I love the two of you as well. Be good for Daddy,” she whispered as her eyes lowered and then breathing evened out.

Moving into the bed, he curled up with her, his head on his arm as he curled close to her belly. When he was sure that she was asleep, he first told his children to keep such things as the stories Daddy shared between them three, that such stories worried Mommy. Then, when he got a kick from one child, he started to continue with the story he’d been creating for them, his hand gently stroking over his wife’s belly.

Chapter Twenty-Eight

She was two long weeks from delivery and everyone around them was driving her nuts. She couldn’t move without there being someone right there at each side of her or behind her. Granted, she was fine when it was Andries, but this last week having anyone but him touch her put her into a temper faster than anything.

“Don’t touch me,” she growled with more than a little heat when one of the guards reached out to steady her and keep her from falling. She knew that he wasn’t going to hurt her, but the touch of another male especially sent her whole body into pain. “Where is he?” She couldn’t ingest real food, only his blood, and now, now this? She was going to likely kill her husband when she found him.

Following the man’s finger where he pointed, she ignored the smirk of laughter and took off marching. Well, marching would be too flowing a word for the waddle she effectively pulled off.

Stopping before Andries in the middle of the practice field, she shouted, hands on her hips, “What do you mean ‘she is to remain in bed’? Are you serious? You expect me to spend the next two weeks in bed on bed rest? Andries, I think you have lost your ever-loving mind!”

Signaling to the men he was working out with, Andries took the towel from one of them as he headed toward his wife, who appeared to be fuming. “You are in the last two weeks of your pregnancy, with twins, my love. All females take to bed for the last two weeks, and they only have single babies,” he said softly, his calm in direct contrast to her obvious anger. “You will not be able to eat, your blood intake will nearly triple, and you’ll be even more unsteady than you are now. You will need to conserve your energy for the birth, which will likely be early if having twins here is anything like on your world.”

She went to stomp her foot in frustration and lost her balance, a pair of hands reaching out to steady her, and she thanked the young man before shouting at Andries, “Don’t touch me! You did this. I can’t stand for anyone but you to touch me right now. It hurts. That’s your fault. It has to be.” And then she did the only other thing she seemed to be good for and began to cry.

Waving his men away, he stepped into her and wrapped his arms around her, gently rubbing at her back as she buried her face against his chest. “I know, love. It’s the sensitivity from the additional blood intake,” he told her gently as he rocked them back and forth slightly. “Wrap your arms around my neck and I will take you inside. We will have a bath with those bubbles of yours and then we will lie together and you can tell me what our children have been discussing this day.”

Which only made her cry harder. “They aren’t talking!” She wailed pitifully. Later she would likely look back on her behavior and want to smack herself, but right now all she could think of was how much it hurt, the silence of her too-talkative children, and how just everything hurt. People touching her, her own hands touching her, everything. “Talk to them first, Andries. Tell them their mommy’s worried because they won’t listen to me,” she grumbled.

“Wrap your arms around me, baby, and let’s get you comfortable,” he said softly, determined to get her to bed. He had a bad feeling that she was going into labor and he wanted her inside and safe before it began. “Come on, my love. Once you are lying down, I can talk to them and touch you at the same time. I can’t do that out here with all the men watching over us. Do you want them to see what we do behind closed doors?” he asked softly, playing on her current need to avoid the others’ touch and to stay away from what annoyed her.

“I don’t care who sees,” she shouted and wrapped her arms around his neck anyway. She missed the looks that several of his men cast to each other or the more telling one of the major, who ran for the house before them. “I just wanna go home, have bubbles, and you will make them talk to me again?” She had spent four months trying to curb the enthusiasm of her children as they spoke, and now that they were silent, she wanted them to be loud again.

Picking her up into his arms, he carried her toward the house slowly. “I will, love. I promise,” he said softly to her. Kissing her neck as she curled herself into him, he rubbed his cheek to her hair and nodded to the men who held the door open for him. Moving swiftly up the stairs, he carried her to their room and to the bathing chamber where her bath was already waiting for them.

“It’s just not fair,” she grumbled and complained. “It’s not fair, Andries. I don’t want them to be born yet, but I don’t want them to be quiet yet and I don’t…” She paused and frowned as a pain raced over her body and then felt her water break and felt it coating her thighs under her clothes. Panic set in and she shook her head. “No, no, no, no.” She backed away slightly. “No, Andries, it’s not time for our babies,” she whispered.

Catching her when she tilted, he wrapped his arm around her as he began to undo her dress. “It is time, my love,” he told her gently as he let her gown drop to the floor. Moving her toward the bath, he lifted her up and let her slide down before moving quickly to strip. Sliding into the water behind her, he wrapped his hands around her belly as he drew her back. “Just relax, love. We have a lot of time yet,” he told her softly, his lips to her neck.

“Two more weeks, we have two more weeks, Andries.” She argued, “You promised. You said that I got to carry them for four months. It’s not four full months yet.” She didn’t realize how annoying she was being, but panic and fear were beating her up at the thought of no longer being able to protect their children.

“And you are carrying twins, my love,” he said softly, determined to remain calm for her. She needed him to be her rock for this. Lifting a hand up under her hair, he gently twisted it and then pinned it in place with one of the odd ties she had lying all about. Dropping his hands, he put one to her neck and began to massage and the other moved to her belly. “It stands to reason that, just as it is with your world, you would deliver them a little ahead of schedule, my sweet.”

“No, you need to put your foot down, Andries,” she grumbled even as another pain swamped her. “Be a firm daddy and tell them that they aren’t allowed to be born yet,” she grumbled and bit her lip once more. “Oh god, it hurts.” This was followed by, “Why is it that making them feels so good, but this part hurts so bad?”

“I don’t think I’m going to answer that last one on the basis that we are much too close and much too naked at the moment for me to get away without damage,” he said to her as he nipped at her cheek gently. “They will be born when they want to be, as is with any child. They come on their schedule and to hell with the world.”

“These kids are so grounded,” she grumbled, followed by a scream that tore through the air as the true pain began.

Four hours later and after a very long litany of his faults, the basic problems with men in general, and a detailed listing of all his wife was going to reap upon his head, Andries was still holding Xandra as she came down from the latest of contractions. Picking up the cool cloth, he gently wiped at her brow, cheeks, and neck as he murmured softly to her. The midwife was there, her face filled with amusement as she listened to Xandra’s rather graphic telling of what she’d do to him if he ever thought to touch her again.

Xandra bit down as another contraction seemed to steamroll through her. Doing as the midwife said, she started to push. Holding his hands as she screamed through her pushing, she felt as if her insides were being torn out and handed to her on a silver platter.

One push down and who knew how many to go as she lay back and simply tried to stay conscious from the birthing.

Another contraction, pushing more. It seemed to go on forever, in her mind’s eye, until finally she felt a release inside and the whoosh of fluid as her son came into the world screaming.

Pressing a kiss to her cheek, Andries watched as the midwife lifted his son and, cleaning off his face, set him on his mother’s belly. “He’s perfect, Xandra,” he whispered in her ear with a smile as he hugged her gently, the female moving the babe to a blanket to keep him warm.

Xandra touched her son with a shaky hand and laughed. “Hello, little mister,” she whispered softly as she took in the perfection of her son, their son. “He looks just like his daddy.” She grinned and then laughed as the little boy scrunched up his face and let out a howl of outrage that shook the proverbial rafters. “Sounds like him too when he’s hungry.” She laughed and looked up at Andries proudly. “Take him and show him off, Andries.” She touched her husband’s cheek. “I have a feeling our daughter will be the shy one and take her time.”

Shaking his head, he kissed her fingers lightly as he hugged her gently. “I’m not leaving you,” he said softly. “I promised I would be with you the whole time, and so I shall, my love.” Andries nipped at her fingers lightly. “We will just nap until our daughter arrives, or you could feed our son so that he has no reason to be so upset.”

“Or I can nap and just let little man feed from me while I get ready for our daughter to make her début?” She was really far more tired than she would tell him. “Will you help me, Andries?” She was conserving as much energy as she could so that when it was time to birth their daughter, she would have the energy.

Kissing her cheek, Andries helped the midwife get their son into place up at her breast. The woman left to start a bit of the clean up and would return off and on for the next few minutes, tidying up, and then would only return when it was time for their daughter. Pushing at Xandra’s top, he placed the babe near her nipple and cradled him as she adjusted slightly.

Xan’s eyes closed as she felt their son greedily latch onto her breast and she smiled. “Kinda like his daddy.” Little fists kneaded her breast in demand as the child fed. “You have to share your playthings now, Andries.” She grinned over at her husband and watched the look of wonder on his face. “Amazing, isn’t he?”

Moving a hand, he carefully ran a light finger down his son’s cheek. “Yes,” he said softly as he frowned slightly. “He seems so fragile,” he murmured as he wondered how the hell he was going to do this. He was now a father, and yet he hadn’t a clue what to do with the little life that was in his hands. He’d barely figured out how to be a husband and he already had to change gears. “I’m not sure I should admit this, but he terrifies me,” he whispered to Xandra as he rested his chin to her shoulder, still watching his son feeding.

Their son opened his eyes and looked at Andries as if trying to determine friend or foe. “He’s searching for who’s in the room so that his sister can be born, how strange.” Xandra told them all quietly with a frown before she shook her head and switched topics. “Just be who you are, Andries. Teach him to be as you are, strong, honest, a leader. A lover. A husband and the most perfect father.”

“I’ll try,” he said, softly stroking his finger down his son’s cheek again. “But perfect is not what I am, but what I am aiming for.” Even though he knew he’d never get there. He’d had a lousy father, not exactly the best example of what to do when Andries had a son. Even his mother hadn’t been as Xandra was, caring and so very giving. “I just hope he doesn’t grow to hate me.” As Andries had his own father. He hadn’t meant to say those words, but they’d been pulled free from that part he normally kept closed off and buried deep inside of him.

“He could never hate you, Andries,” Xan said as she turned to face him. “Never, Andries. No matter what, our son will never hate you.” She would give their family the love they needed to stay unified as one, to remain as a family should be, and not something that either of their families ever was.

Smiling faintly, he shrugged slightly. “I hope not, love,” he whispered softly to her even as he still wondered. He was a product of his father. Would it not stand to reason his son would hate his father as much as Andries hated his own? “It matters not, love,” he said softly. “I did not mean to intrude on your time with our son. Perhaps I should leave you alone for a time,” he murmured as he shut his emotions back into the box where they didn’t seem to want to stay but where they caused the smallest amount of damage to those around him.

“Don’t you dare leave us,” she said with a low growl. “When you walk out of here, you’re gonna have your son, so stop it.” She grinned as their son raised a little fist and hit his father’s cheek lightly, followed by the grin around her nipple as he paused only a moment in his suckling.

Stunned by the small fist hitting him, Andries didn’t even notice her words. “Why did he do that?” he asked in surprise, unable to hold the question back. He knew nothing about babies, and it was all the more obvious with his question and the confusion held in it.

“Just his way of telling you that he loves you already, Andries.” Xan closed her eyes and shifted slightly. “He’s finished eating, darling. If you wanna take him and burp him, you can.” She nuzzled the dark hair of their child and grinned. “So perfect, just like your daddy.”

Andries barely kept the snort of derision at her words from escaping as he gently took his son. Placing him carefully at his shoulder, Andries rubbed at the baby’s back under Xandra’s watchful eye. “Have you thought of names for our children?” he asked as he continued to rub at his firstborn’s back.

She yawned and shook her head. “Nope, you get to name him.” She touched their son’s hand before letting her hand fall. “Our daughter I want to name Andria because that’s what she told me her name was.” She wondered how long it would be before Andries clued in that it was a play on his name that their daughter settled on. “This one, however, says it’s his father’s right to name him.”

Throwing her a small glare, he sighed as his son belched loudly in his ear. “I know nothing of naming a child, Xandra,” he told her honestly as he adjusted his son to cradle him in his arms. Looking down into the wide-eyed gaze, Andries shook his head. “I have no idea what to name you,” he whispered to the boy.

Xandra grinned and shook her head. “You know what you want to name him Andries. Even he knows what you want to name him,” she muttered sleepily as she ran a hand slowly over her belly, “Rest, Andria. You will come into the world soon, sweetheart, I promise.”

Staring down at his son, who just stared back with interest in his eyes, Andries sighed softly. “You could give me a hint,” he murmured to the little boy. Stroking his fingers down the soft cheek, he just sat for the longest time enjoying the quiet with his son. “Dalek,” he said suddenly into the silence. “For the brother I barely knew before he was gone,” he whispered to his son.

For a moment Andries went quiet as he thought of his brother. A younger man that had been born after Andries had gone through puberty, through the training that removed all traces of emotion from the males of the Vampire species. Dalek had been a young child, laughter still fell from his lips when he didn’t think his father was listening, a joy that spilled from the very core of the young man who hadn’t lived long enough to be sent into the rigorous training that all Vampire males went through. Once more Andries opened his eyes and looked down into the too-perfect face of his son. “Dalek is the perfect name for you my son.”

Xan grinned and continued to run her hand over her belly, and their daughter, who seemed perfectly content to finally stretch out alone inside of her belly. A yawn struck and then the small pains began. “I’m beginning to have pains again, Andries,” she whispered but kept her eyes closed. “I will wake when they are worse.” And that quickly she slipped off into sleep.

Looking to her for a moment, Andries reached over to gently brush her hair back, his fingers stroking lightly over her cheek. “She’s a good person,” he murmured softly. “She’s kind, generous, and so giving, much too good for the likes of me,” he said, looking back to his son. “She is the best woman you will ever meet and, I will say this only once, if you make her cry, we will be having words.”

The baby in his arms just bobbed his head and adjusted himself in his father’s arms, watching his mother and waiting for his sister to come along.

The midwife came back. “My lord, they are asking to see you and your son downstairs.”

Sighing, Andries nodded and stood, reaching over to stroke Xandra’s hair back. “Stay with her if you will,” he said quietly, lightly touching his wife’s lips. “She said that she was feeling the first of the birthing pains, but she told me they were very mild.” Looking to the woman, he eyed her carefully. “I will be right back,” he told her and then left the room to go down and show his son off to the throngs there.

Chapter Twenty-Nine

As soon as the lord was gone, the midwife pulled out a comms device. “She birthed the son, but the daughter is still there.” She listened and then said, “Yes, sir. I understand, sir.” She closed it off and looked down at the sleeping lady. “Soon, my lady.” She sneered. “Soon you will be able to free our world.”

Entering the grand room below, Andries waited as all that were there turned toward him. Introducing his son, he moved around the room for a short while and then, something causing the small hairs on the back of his neck to raise, he excused himself and headed back up the stairs. Pausing at the top of the stairs, he looked around and waved over two of his guards. Ordering them to follow, he had them outside of the master suite’s doors and told them that they were not to allow anyone in or out unless he told them otherwise. At their nods he went inside and, pausing at the cribs they’d brought into their rooms, he laid his son down. “How is she doing?” he asked the midwife as his boy slid into a light sleep.

“She still hasn’t stirred, my lord,” the woman said and dropped her gaze to the ground. Head bowed and hands pressed together before her, she waited. “Maybe we should go to the hospital, my lord. It could be the birth was simply too much for her?” She knew the lady wouldn’t wake for the second child to be born. She had seen to that. The second child would die, and its body would hopefully impart some of the keys to their future while the mother would give the rest.

“There is no need,” he told her quietly as he looked to her and knew that she was what was setting off his instincts. “Guards!” he called out and then looked to the men that came in. “If one of you would see the lady to a room and ensure that she does not leave or harm herself, and if the other could go downstairs to get the good Doctor Sheffer please.”

“He can’t help her,” the woman snarled and jerked at the hands holding her still. “No one can.” A triumphant smile formed on her lips. “You should have sent her to the Alliance Council when they asked you to, my lord.” She was beyond caring because she knew before accepting the assignment what her fate was.

Holding his hand up to the guard, Andries stalked to the woman and took her by her throat, pushing her back to the wall. “You should know,” he said in a low voice as he lifted her up to his eye level, “my gift is dark and deadly, my lady,” he leaned in closer. “You don’t have to say a word. Your blood will tell me all I need to know,” he said and then, wrenching up her arm, he sank his teeth into her vein as he tightened his hold around her throat and drank, letting the blood swirl around his mouth and down his throat as he pulled what he needed from her mind via the link to the blood. He drank until she was too weak to even keep kicking at him and let her fall, uncaring for the wounds still leaking blood or the bruises at her throat. “Take her,” he ordered as he picked through her pockets and found the counteragent to what Xandra had been given. “Where the hell’s the doctor?” he yelled, moving to his wife.

“Right here, my lord,” Doctor Sheffer said and frowned. “What’s wrong with the Lady Xandra?” he asked as he moved to her quickly and dropped to the bed beside her to check her vitals. “My lord, what has happened to her?” he asked as he looked up with fear in his eyes. “The babe is struggling.” He laid a hand over her belly and frowned. “My lord.” He wet his lips. “I need to pull the baby from your wife.” He didn’t know what was happening but knew he didn’t have time to find out. “My lord, I need to cut the child from her or neither of them will survive.” The doctor was more than a little nervous, and when the small boy began to scream his frustration, he frowned. It was almost as if he understood what the doctor was saying.

“That woman gave her something and this is the antidote according to her.” Andries held out the vial with writings that made no sense to him, but he wasn’t of the medical profession. “Do whatever you have to do, Doctor, but they had both better survive whatever it might be,” he warned softly. Turning, he picked up his son before returning to the bed and sitting at Xandra’s side. Lifting her hand, he kissed her fingers as he rocked Dalek and began to pray that she didn’t leave him. She couldn’t leave him. He would not survive it if she did.

There was no time for the doctor to make his choice, so he nodded and pulled off his outer coat. Cleaning his hands well, he snapped on gloves, and with a special silver blade, he opened the Lady Xandra’s stomach to pull the child free. Laying her on the bedside at her mother’s side, he cleaned her quickly before sealing the wound on the lady’s stomach. “The child didn’t receive the poison. Her body wouldn’t absorb it.” He took the vial and, still not even sparing a glance for the lord, poured it down Xandra’s throat and prayed she would wake.

“Your daughter needs you, my lord,” he whispered as he sat on the opposite side of Xandra, holding her hand and praying as only an ancient healer could. “We will know soon enough if your wife will survive.”

Taking Xandra’s hand with his, he stroked his fingers over his daughter’s cheek. “Hello, Andria,” he murmured softly to his daughter. “And yes, I know all about the twist on my name that your mother thinks you’ve pulled over on me, but we will let her think I don’t know. It shall be our little secret.”

The little girl in question smiled up adoringly at her father and kicked her legs. It wasn’t long lived, however, because she was soon wiggling and snorting as she looked for her mother, for the heat she offered, and for the food she would provide.

Xandra felt more than heard her child and whispered, “Andries?” God, she hurt. She hadn’t even had her daughter and her whole…“Andries, I can’t feel Andria in me.” Her voice was less than a whisper of sound even when she felt as if she were screaming.

Dr. Sheffer looked to Xandra. “Calm yourself, my lady. She is lying at your side between you and your husband and son.” He touched her forehead with the back of his hand. “I had to do what was once called a caesarean section by the ancient Earthlings. It was the only way to get your daughter out before the poison touched her.” He bowed. “She’s perfect, my lady.” He grinned. “And hungry, from the looks of her. I will leave you to your husband for the explanations.” With that, the wise old man bowed. “My lord, they are perfect. Treasure and protect them.”

“Always,” Andries said, looking to the man. “Thank you for all you did for both my wife and daughter. If there is anything that I can ever do to repay your help, please do not hesitate to ask.” When the man left, Andries laid Dalek down and picked up Andria to show her to her mother even as he shifted the sheets and her dressing gown to bare her breast. Settling the babe against her mother, he waited until Andria latched on and then, holding her up with one hand, he lightly touched his son.

Dalek watched Andria carefully, as if just his gaze would protect her. “Why do I hurt so badly, Andries?” Xandra whispered even as she forced her arm up and around their daughter as well, forced herself to touch their very tiny and perfect daughter. “She’s so very small,” she whispered.

“The doctor had to operate to save Andria before the poison the midwife gave to you could reach her and cause her harm. We gave you the cure but you are likely hurting because of that and the operation,” he said.

Andria was more than half the size of Dalek. She was far more petite than any child Xandra had ever seen born, and that worried her for her daughter, but when the girl brushed over Xan’s mind, she smiled. “Are all babies able to do that?” She knew that Andries had to have felt it, heard it. Their daughter had given them the reassurance in emotions more than words.

“What’s that, my love?” he asked her gently, leaning closer to her as he lifted Dalek into his arms once more. Sitting close to her, he brushed back her hair lightly and kissed her cheek. “What are all babies able to do, Xandra?” he asked in a low murmur.

“It was like when she was in the womb, only it wasn’t words so much as emotions, reassurance.” She frowned and shrugged it off. “Ignore me, Andries. I’m just so tired and hurt.” Once more she touched their perfect little girl’s cheek and smiled. “We did it, Andries. We brought to life two perfect little babies.” She looked up at her husband holding their son with all the love she felt for him in her eyes and barely contained.

“Yes, you did,” he said, giving her full credit because it had been all her. He’d donated to the cause, but she’d been the one to carry and birth them all the while in great danger. “I love you, my lady wife,” he told her with a kiss to her lips. “But I think you should get some sleep, Xandra. These two will be demanding later, I’m sure,” he reminded her with a hint of a smile before he kissed her once more.

She started to raise Andria but paused as the pain seared through her. “All right, no moving until I’m healed, I think.” She panted now through the pain. “Will you now take our daughter and burp her, Andries? She didn’t eat as much as her brother, but she did take some.” She yawned and smiled at her son. “Your sister is out in the big world now, my little warrior. You will have a tougher time watching over her now.”

Laying their son before his mother, Andries took Andria as he helped Xandra roll slightly. Rubbing his baby girl’s back gently, he breathed her in and smiled faintly. “Hello, baby,” he whispered to her. She was so much smaller than her brother, daintier, lighter, his little girl.

Xandra took in the sight and smiled. How could she not? It was her own little slice of heaven there in their bedroom. “She’s so tiny.” Xan’s hand lightly stroked their son’s head even as she watched Andries holding their daughter. “It’s hard to believe that she will survive this life being as small as she is.”

“She will survive and she will be strong, like her mother,” Andries said quietly while brushing his lips to his daughter’s cheek, the skin velvety soft. “She may look small, but sometimes the most amazing gifts appear in small packages, my love.”

Xandra smiled and kissed the top of their son’s head. “I think that I need sleep now though, Andries. I love you, darling, but I’m worn out.” She pulled their son closer, noticing how closely he was watching his father, and smiled. “I have a feeling she will always have someone watching over her shoulder, or am I incorrect?”

“She will be guarded as the treasure she is, just as you are, my love,” he said softly, reaching over to stroke her cheek. “Sleep, Xandra. I will be here with our children and we will have a short nap with you, too, if you would like,” he told her with a half grin.

“That sounds simply heavenly, Andries.” Another yawn. “I love you, my husband,” she whispered and looked over their child. “I love all three of you. My family.” She smiled softly and felt her eyes closing and sleep taking her over before she could fight it any more.

Andria let out a soft and very female burp. “And we love you, too, Xandra, my lady wife,” he said with a grin at his daughter. “You are much more polite than your brother,” he commented softly as he shifted around on the bed so he was sitting boxing in his son. Laying Andria down at his side, he watched as they turned to each other and touched hands. It had to be one of the most touching moments in his life. Settling down, he lay watching them as they both relaxed and slid into sleep. Shaking his head, he rested on his arm and let himself doze, needing to be alert enough to wake immediately if there was cause, but desperately requiring some sleep.

Chapter Thirty

During their rest, the twins shifted and moved closer to each other, Andria’s body surrounded and corralled close between her father’s and her brother’s bodies. As if protecting the girl as she slept, the boy was all but wrapped around her. When Xandra opened her eyes, she felt Andries watching her and smiled even as she turned. “No pain, well not as much,” she corrected as she felt the tug on her lower belly. “Soon it will be all gone.” Reaching out, she touched their children’s hair. “How are we going to keep them a secret? Keep them protected?” She whispered her fears to her husband.

“We won’t be able to keep them secret, Xandra,” he said softly, his hand resting lightly at his daughter’s back. “But we will keep them safe with the knowledge I have on the Alliance and their inner circle to keep them at bay. I know it is not the way you likely want to do this, but it is all I can think of for them. If I come up with something else to do, we will think on that,” he told her as he looked down to his daughter’s sleeping features.

“I don’t care how we do it, Andries, just that we do,” she admitted. “We just need to keep our children safe, my love. If we can do that, all else fades into the background.” As Xandra looked up at him, she smiled and added, “Even now that they are out in the world, Dalek protects Andria. It amazes me.”

“It is as it should be,” he told her softly, stroking a light finger to his baby’s face before looking to his wife. “It is as it always will be,” he added with a smile. “Do you wish for something to eat now that you are no longer cursing my name, wife?” he asked her with a hint of mischief.

At least having the decency to flush, she grinned. “Hey, I was hurting like madness and I had every right to scream and curse your name.” She moved her hand up and touched his cheek. “I love you, Andries. I have always loved you, and I’m so sorry that I cursed your name. I hate that I cursed your name when you gave me such beautiful babies, Andries. I’m sorry.”

Capturing her hand, he turned his head to kiss her palm. “There is no need to apologize, my lady wife. I know you did not mean all of it,” he said, leaving her a hair of doubt about what he might have believed. “You were in pain and people say a great many things when they are in large amounts of pain to distract themselves.”

“I did mean one part.” She looked up with all the honesty of her heart in her eyes. “No more, for at least ten years, Andries, no more children, please?” Xandra didn’t know about the trouble his people had in procreation. Where her people were quite fertile, which was obviously the knowledge she was working on, the Vampires were not. “I love our children and I want a dozen of them, but I want many years between them, please?”

“You’ll have them, love, I promise,” he told her. “We can only have children every century or so, if we are blessed,” he added with a sigh. “You have a lot of time to recover and forgive me for the pain I’ve given you just to bring these two delights into the world.”

She relaxed measurably and sighed. “I hate to make that demand, especially now that you have said that, but I wanted to make sure that you knew my wishes.” She smirked up at him and added, “And besides, if I recall, Vampires can never have more than one baby at once.” Her fingers touched their son’s head, “One,” and then their daughter’s, “Two.” Laughter danced in her eyes. “Two, strange don’t you think?”

Glaring at her slightly, he growled softly in his chest at her. “Not strange, special, unique, a gift from the gods,” he told her softly. “They are ours. They are to be treasured, and they will never want for anything,” he promised her with a hint of a smile. “You will likely have to be the voice of reason,” he warned her as he looked down to his daughter with a growing smile. “I have a feeling I may go overboard with these two.” And one in particular.

She understood all too well what he meant and nodded. “I will certainly try.” There was a moment of clear panic as she added, “Promise me that my father will never come near our children, Andries? I never want him to be around them, or try to play at being ‘grandfather.’ He is a horrible man, and no matter how much I would love for him to change and become a father, I know that he never will. Promise me?”

Reaching over, he cupped her cheek. “He will never set foot within a hundred miles of our children or you,” he told her softly with a steely undertone. “You have my word as a warrior and your husband in that, my love.” Andries let her see the truth and sincerity in his eyes.

“Thank you,” she whispered and turned to kiss the center of his palm. “Thank you for giving me your word, for reassuring me.” When she looked down, she watched their son watching her as if realizing the importance of the matter and smiled. “Our little protector. Even when he should be resting, he’s listening to know who to protect from.”

“It is the way of the males of our species, my love,” Andries said with a hint of a smile for his son. “He will grow strong and will have a protective streak even larger than my own, I do believe,” he told her with a twinkle to his eyes. Stroking his hand over her cheek, he slid his hand down her neck and to her arm, caressing her skin as he went.

“You know what your touch does to me?” She knew that he did and the play at the corners of his lips told her as much. “I love you so much, Andries, and yes, Dalek will be as protective as you are, more so because he was even protective in the womb and will forever have that tie to Andria that neither you nor I will have.” She grinned as she added, “Poor girl.” Would never be able to do much without her father or brother right there.

Frowning at her words, he eyed her. “Why do you say that, love, and in that tone?” he asked suspiciously. There had been a hint of something there that had his internal radar going off loud and clear in warning. Narrowing his eyes on her, he caught her hand and pulled her fingers to his lips where he nibbled on her skin lightly.

“I was just thinking that our daughter will never be able to do the things that even I missed out on as a girl child. She won’t be able to laugh and go out with her friends, make mistakes, and find male companionship.” Although that was a good part. “She will forever have her brother and father at her side, watching over and warning the young pups and scoundrels away.” Another good thing. “She will grumble and complain, but one day”—her fingers tightened on his—“one day she will thank you both because she will find her soul tie. She will find the man she is to be with for all time, and then she will be thankful that she would be able to go to them as innocent as I was to you.” Although there were times she wished she had more knowledge, more to draw upon.

“Are you trying, in your own wonderful way, to tell me that you think I will be too harsh with her? That I will stifle her?” he asked, slightly confused by her words and the counter of her face to the words. “I will protect her. If she wishes to have friends and wants time with them, I would not stop her. I will ensure she is happy, so if she wishes to try new things, I will step back and let her spread her wings. What I will not allow is any man or any person to take advantage of her.” That he would not ever compromise on.

And he had just confirmed everything. “No, I know that you won’t stifle her, Andries. I fully believe that you and Dalek”—she caressed her son’s cheek, who was watching the happenings intensely—“I believe that the both of you will do anything at all for Andria. You will both bend over backward to ensure she’s happy and safe all in the same token, and I fully believe she already has you both wrapped so tightly around one pinky finger that she will likely be able to do far more than what I was thinking she couldn’t, but she will not see that until she has found her soul tie, until she has found the man that will open her eyes.” She shrugged. “Don’t mind me. I don’t know half of what I am saying really.”

Squeezing her fingers lightly, he shook his head at her. “I would never do such a thing as overlooking you or your words, Xandra. You are important, as is anything that you have to say, love,” he said, kissing her fingers lightly. “You are my, wife. Anything that you say deserves all my attention, my full and loving attention.”

“How long do I need to recover before we can be together again, Andries?” She wouldn’t last long. They both knew that. “I miss you already and then you say things like that and it simply makes me need you all the more. Strange, don’t you think?”

“You will need a few days to recover, my love,” he told her softly as he stroked her fingers with his. “Depending on what the doctor says, you will likely have to wait at least three days. If there was more damage, you may be required to have bed rest for up to a week or more.” He shrugged slightly, feeling mildly depressed at the thought.

“It’s funny, the women of my world are confined after the birth for up to six weeks before they can come back together with their husbands, yet the thought of three days or a week is making me feel as if they are pressing an eternity in on us.”

“We will allow whatever time is necessary so that you are at your peak health, and then we will reinforce our commitment to one another at that time,” he told her. Shifting, he rolled Andria back onto her side so she wouldn’t snore so loudly. He did so with amusement. “She sounds just like you when you are over tired and sleep on your back,” he commented, glad the babies were between them.

She snorted and shook her head. “You are so silly.” But he was right. Their daughter did certainly snore, but she couldn’t take all the credit for it. “She’s sleeping soundly, and then you have our little boy, who is wide awake and checking everything out.” Much like the two of them. She could sleep soundly while she trusted Andries to keep her and their children safe. “Hopefully she won’t always have that little snore or she will never find a soul tie.”

Narrowing his eyes on her, Andries lifted a brow. “Of course she will,” he told her with utter confidence. “She will find the one male for her, and he will love her for the beauty she is, inside more than out. He will treasure her for all her unique traits and for all the little things she brings into his life. Just as I do you, my love,” he said softly.

“Ahh, but you see I was forced on you, Andries.” She moved her hand from their child to his face. “And I think that when I do finally meet your father, I will hug him for giving you no choice in the matter, my love.” Because if not for their fathers’ scheming and conniving, Andries and Xandra would never have been united.

Growling softly at her suggestion, he shook his head. “You keep your distance from him and I will be much happier,” he advised softly. “We will send him a gift basket instead,” he told her drolly, lifting a brow at her look. “Is this not a tradition amongst your people to express thanks?”

“You are something else, Andries.” Shaking her head, she smiled. “And yes, we express our thanks through a gift basket or something similar.” There was only a moment’s pause before she asked, “Why wouldn’t you want me around your father? He will want to see his grandchildren. You do realize that, don’t you?”

“He may want to. Whether he does or not will be something else entirely,” Andries said in a tight voice. “He was never in my life. He basically turned his back on me from the moment I came into this world. He had no contact with me until I graduated the Academy and even then it was with disapproval. I’ve seen him a handful of times and none of them ended well. If he wants to be a part of our children’s lives, he will have to make amends with me first.” His tone said that would likely be a cold day in hell.

Xandra couldn’t agree more. If his father didn’t want to have anything to do with Andries, then she certainly wasn’t going to allow him to have anything to do with their children. “Because if he wants to have a part in our children’s lives he must first prove that he is able to have a part in yours. It is only right.”

Startled, he looked to her. “You’re not going to fight me on that?” he asked in a cautious manner, unsure if this was one of her little feminine tricks, or if she meant it. “Because I will do anything and everything to keep him from them unless he changes his ways, Xandra. You need to understand that, love.”

“Of course I’m not fighting you on that, Andries. If he wants to be a part of our children’s lives, he first has to prove he can be a part of yours. I won’t have our children hurt by him, and you are the only one who can judge if he is truly ready to be a part of it or not.”

Looking at her, he reached over and then huffed out a breath. “Who had the bright idea to put our children between us?” he asked with a growl. “I can’t even reach you when I want to kiss you. This is not a good thing,” he said, softly stroking his thumb over her full lower lip.

“That would be you who put our babies between us.” She sucked his finger into her mouth and gave it a nibble and lick before releasing it. “You can kiss me once we have our babies in their bed, Andries. For now we are just taking in the family moment that we have, my love.”

Growling again at her, he tapped his finger to the end of her nose. “We will have words later, my love,” he told her softly. Pulling his hand back, he stroked his fingers lightly over Dalek’s hair and smiled faintly when the little boy looked his way. “Hello, my boy,” he murmured, gently stroking his soft hair.

Xandra smiled as she watched Andria move in closer to her brother and sighed happily. “He’s amazing, Andries. He’s completely perfect and his sister adores him as well.”

“We’ll see how long that lasts if he’s anything like I was as a child,” Andries said before he thought to censor his words. “Uh…” That wasn’t bright. “That didn’t quite come out as I meant, love.” He felt his cheeks warm in embarrassment.

Grinning, she looked up at him. “Tell me, Andries. You can’t simply say something like that and then leave it off at that. Come on, darling, tell me what were you like as a child?”

Clearing his throat, he shook his head. “Not exactly the perfect child.” And that was all he was saying on the topic. “It’s nothing,” he murmured, shifting uncomfortably. “I’m sure these two will be wonderful and good children,” he said softly.

“You are so bad.” Her fingers moved to his hair where she lightly stroked him. “I love you, Andries. Take our babies and put them into bed, my love. They both need a bit more sleep, and I need to have you holding me.”

Doing as she asked, Andries moved first Andria, dropping a kiss to her little cheek, and then Dalek, smiling down into the too aware eyes. Covering them both as they curled into one another, Andries stood for a long moment watching them as they settled back into sleep. Shaking his head, he walked back to Xandra, turning off the lights but for the small globes of light at the ends of the room, and climbed into bed with her.

“It’s amazing, isn’t it?” she whispered as she was finally pulled into her husband’s arms where she belonged. “The way that they seem to turn into each other, hold each other as if in comfort and protection, even at their just-born age.” Their children were simply amazing and she knew it.

Kissing her hair, he rubbed his hands up and down her back. “They are perfect, love,” he said softly. Pulling the covers up higher, he shifted so he could hold her closer without harming her. “They will be very close for all their lives, I think.”

Laying her head more comfortably on his shoulder, she smiled as she closed her eyes. “I like that idea. That they will always be close.” Xandra yawned and snuggled closer, rubbing her cheek to his chest. “I need a nap though, my love. I’m sorry.”

“Do not apologize, my little wife. You have worked very hard today,” he said and shifted down further into the bed. “You have brought both of our children into the world, not an easy thing to do at all, so sleep, little wife, sleep and rest easy. I will watch over you and our babies until you wake.”

Adjusting herself, she smiled and rubbed her cheek to his chest. “I love you, Andries. You watch over and protect us while your wife naps.” She was so tired she couldn’t stop her eyes from drooping and sliding closed there in the warmth of his embrace.

Pressing a kiss to her hair, he held her close and safe in his arms.

Chapter Thirty-One

Picking up his girl, Andries frowned as the nappy slid off again. “Xandra, what the hell am I doing wrong?” he asked in frustration as he laid her down once more. He’d swear his baby girl was laughing at him. Her eyes had a little twinkle to them that made him nervous.

Xandra had their son all nice and warm in a new nappy and grinned at Andries. Looking back at Dalek, she said, “Let’s go and save Daddy, shall we?” She moved to her husband’s side and laid Dalek on the changing table beside Andria and watched as they clasped hands. “Amazing.” It still amazed her how the two of them constantly reached for each other. She loved it. “All right, Daddy.” She adjusted the nappy. “You aren’t making it tight enough, my love. You won’t hurt her, I promise, sweetheart.”

“Says you,” he muttered softly. “She’s too damned small, Xandra. I’m terrified to even pick her up let alone put on one of these things.” He flipped the end of the nappy. “She had better gain some weight,” he complained, not for the first time.

“And she will, Andries.” She watched as brother and sister shared a look and then kicked legs as they giggled. “They are laughing at you, Andries. She will never be as large as you or her brother. She will be lucky if she makes my height, love. She is just going to be a petite little thing.” She tweaked her daughter’s nose. “Aren’t you, Andria?”

Huffing out a breath as he wrapped an arm around her, Andries shook his head. “If that’s the case, she will be learning a few tricks to keep whatever man she ends up with in line.” At his lady wife’s look Andries lifted a brow. “You didn’t think I’d leave her defenseless, did you, love?” he asked, shaking his head with a look of his own. “She’ll know just how to take care of herself and, if she ends up as petite as you claim, it’ll come as a very large shock to whoever crosses her.”

“I think that you’re right. That would be the wisest course of action.” She leaned in and pressed kisses to both their children’s bellies. “But I have a feeling she won’t need it. She will do just fine as herself and the woman she will grow into.”

“Never hurts to know how to put a man on his knees if he gets fresh with her,” Andries said, quietly stroking his hand up and down Xandra’s back. “So, love,” he changed topics, “what are the plans for this day?” he asked.

Leaning into him, Xandra looked up and shrugged. “Andries, my love, I honestly don’t know. We have our children, they are clean and hap…” She trailed off as she heard a commotion. “Who in the world?” she asked even as the maid entered the nursery.

Breathing heavily, she said only, “Your father is here.” But she did not say which father before she left.

Xan felt ill and felt herself going weak but refused to fall. “Oh God.” She touched their children, needing to assure herself they were there. “Which father?”

“You can’t go in there, my lord,” a guard said from outside the nursery before there was very clearly the sound of a body hitting a wall, hard.

Shifting, Andries put his body between the doorway and his wife and children as the door opened. Growling low in his throat, he eyed the bastard that walked into the room. “You know, it’s common practice for one to wait for their presence to be announced before just storming through a home, Father,” he said in a cold, deadly tone.

“Andries,” Xandra grumbled and then looked through his arm toward the imposing figure that was her father-in-law. “Well, crap.” He was huge, and looked seriously angry. She didn’t do well with large, angry men. She had learned at too young an age to duck and hide, but she couldn’t hide from this man. She had to show she was worth having his son in her life.

“Where are my grandchildren, Andries?” he asked as he looked at his son. “You have given me grandchildren yet don’t invite me to come and see them? Is this true? There are two of them?”

Crossing his arms over his chest, he stood firm. “You have no right to enter this home. You have not earned that right nor the right to meet my lady wife or our children. Until you earn that right you should leave, Father,” Andries said quietly.

Suddenly, Andries’s father looked far older than he was. He sighed and nodded. “I’ve made many mistakes in my life.” He looked up through bushy eyebrows. “One was with my son. I raised you in the manner that my father had raised me. I never should have done that, son, and for that I’m sorry.” He finished. “I’m sorry, son. For everything.” He bowed to Xandra and then Andries. “My blessings to you and yours.” With that he turned to leave as his son wanted.

Andries remained still, a rock as he watched his father walk away, Xandra’s small hand at his back giving him a gentle push he ignored. He was too used to seeing his father walk away from him to be moved with the apparent show of emotions, ones that would have been better served to him as a child.

“You can’t let him leave, Andries.” Xandra said from behind him. “He’s trying.” She tugged on his shirt. “He doesn’t have someone to love him and show him the emotions needed day-to-day like you have in me.” She beamed proudly. “Go, Andries, see if you can find a common ground.”

“He shouldn’t have come here to begin with. He knew better.” Andries was not budging. There was too much pain in his past to just let it go, even if it was his only love telling him to do it. Looking down at her, he let out a sigh and turned. “I can’t, Xandra. You have no idea what that man put me through. I just…” He shook his head. “I can’t, love.”

“I’m sorry you feel that way, Andries, but I respect it.” She touched his cheek and nodded. “I love you and I hate that you can’t see the man who’s hurting like I can. Two wrongs don’t make something right, and I hope that you will one day see that.”

Sighing, he leaned into her touch and, wrapping his arm around her, he pulled her close. “If you ever want to get into interrogation, love, I’ll support you all the way.” Kissing her, he shook his head. “Stay here with the children please. I need you to stay safe.”

“I will, Andries.” She grinned. “And I don’t want to be in interrogation, just our lives, our families. Go.”

Leaving her, he looked to the guards and got a direction as to where his father went. Jogging down the hall, he took the stairs two at a time. Even so, his father was on the lawn heading for his flyer by the time he caught up. “My lord,” he called as he came to a stop a few feet away from him, and now that he was there, he had no idea what to say.

His father turned and his age was clear and evident on his face when he looked to his son. “It’s no longer me who holds the title, but you, son. I am now simply Ebbert Mauricio.” He bowed his head respectfully. “Did you need me, my lord?”

Grinding his teeth, he watched the older man and knew this was a mistake. “Don’t pull that crap on me, Father. It won’t fly,” he said softly. “My lady wife has this idea that our children need to know at least one of their grandparents, and since I love her more than my own life and prefer to keep her eternally happy…” Andries shrugged, slightly unsure where to go with it.

Ebbert nodded. “She is a treasure. I met her once, before you were married. That’s the only reason I forced you into the marriage. Because she needed away from her father and you needed her. As for the title, you will find if you make a simple call that I am no longer in possession of the title. All it will take is a call.”

“She never mentioned meeting you,” Andries said, stilling completely as he stared at the man he didn’t know and fully acknowledged he didn’t understand. “I’ve never wanted the title and you damn well know that,” he added, his tone taking on a distinct bite. “It’s not who I am, who I will ever be, and I still don’t want it. If you want the title to go to someone, leave it for your grandson.”

“It’s your title, Andries, and always has been. You can give it to your son when he reaches his majority.” Ebbert nodded. “I won’t be around when that time comes, so it falls to you to ensure that he will have what he deserves.”

“What do you mean?” Andries asked softly, his father’s words sending a chill through his body, what he heard as the meaning not sitting well with him at all. “What are you intending to do, Father?” His voice was even softer on the second question.

“There is nothing I’m planning on doing. I wish I wasn’t ill and most probably dying, son, I really do, because I want to see those two as they grow up, but…” He shrugged. “Nothing for you to worry about. It’s nothing genetic that you can pass to your children. The Council is talking about forcing Xandra and the twins into their tender protective care. Don’t leave them, son. Never leave them unguarded because the Council will do everything they can to take her and we both know what would happen.”

Andries couldn’t form words let alone a coherent thought. His mind had stuck on the fact his father was sick. He felt as though he’d been stabbed through his gut. Each breath of air was harder to pull in than the last. Pressing a hand to his chest, he stared at the older man. “Why didn’t you ever tell me?” he whispered. “You can’t have just found out.” He was trying for some balance and failing harshly.

“I’ve tried to tell you for fifteen years, Andries. Each letter or communiqué I have sent you was returned unread,” he reminded. “I asked the chancellor to tell you as well. After you were wed he was to give you a recording from me. Did he not?”

“I’ve never had a letter from you or any recording,” Andries told him in a stunned voice. “I’ve never had any communications from you. I’ve been off world more than on because I thought you’d rather be as far from me as possible. This is the first time in forty years I’ve been on world for more than a week.”

Frowning, Ebbert shook his head. “I have them all, Andries. I’ve tried to talk to you for nearly seventy-five years and you have refused me. The last fifteen have been the hardest.” Rubbing at his forehead, he frowned. “I’ve been trying to make amends for too long. I’m tired. I wanted to try once more because of Xandra and the twins.” He sighed and looked even older in that moment if it was possible. “If you want, I will send you all of the letters and messages that have been returned to me unopened or untapped for the last three quarters of a century.”

Nodding slowly, Andries moved to sit on the edge of a retaining wall and raked a hand through his hair. “If you would,” he said, quietly staring down at the lawn under the soles of his boots. Looking up, Andries watched his father for a moment and then looked to the house. He sighed softly when he saw Xandra standing in the window of their room. “If you are still of a mind to meet your grandchildren, you may, my lord,” he said, looking to the older man with a shuttered expression.

Ebbert rubbed at the center of his chest. “Do you mean it?” he asked hopefully. “I would really like to meet them and see Lady Xandra again. It would be nice to see how she is handling all the changes in her life, especially now that she’s no longer under her father’s…” He sighed. “I sent an assassin to take care of him. However, the sneaky son of a bitch eluded him.” He wanted Xandra’s father dead with a passion, one that he hadn’t felt in far too long, and he knew it was because Xandra was his only child’s soul tie.

“Yes, I mean it,” he told him quietly. “Go and visit, Father.” Andries indicated the house. “I need to take care of something but let my lady wife know I will be up as soon as I can, if you would,” he requested, standing.

Chapter Thirty-Two

Once his father was headed inside with guards, Andries waved another over and in a low, biting voice gave very detail-specific instructions about what he wanted. When the man nodded and took off on his mission, Andries pushed a hand through his hair in frustration and took a few more minutes to center himself before heading back inside his home.

Xandra saw Ebbert coming and settled into the bed with the twins. She looked up when he entered and smiled. “I know you.” She didn’t mince words. “You came to visit my father and tried to buy me. He refused and then before I knew it I was being married off to Andries.”

“Yes.” He bowed his head but kept a respectful distance. “They are perfect.” He said with a smile, “The lad looks just like Andries when he was born.”

Xandra smiled and stroked Dalek’s cheek. “His name is Dalek.”

Ebbert grabbed the pole of the bed and breathed. “Really?” Tears tried to spring into his eyes but he refused them. “They are beyond compare. May I hold them?”

“Of course. You are their grandfather. Which would you like to hold first?”

“Dalek, please, my lady.”

Xandra pressed a kiss to Dalek’s head and went quiet before smiling. “He says that you can hold him, my lord, but he would rather you not hold his sister until his father is back.” Her smile grew. “He’s rather protective of his baby sister.”

“As well he should be.” He moved to Dalek’s side. “Good lad. Always protect the women you love, son, even when they seem as if they don’t need you. They always will.” He picked Dalek up and moved from the bed and to the chair by the window. “Hello, lad.”

Pausing in the shadows of the doorway, Andries was hit with a memory of his father doing the same with his brother when he’d been born. Swallowing hard, he pushed the memories that followed aside. It was neither the time nor place to have them coming back to life. Walking quietly into the room, he looked to Xandra with a hint of a sad smile as he paused at the end of the bed.

Xandra reached out and waited. When Andries came to her and took her hand in his, she smiled. “We are family. We will all watch over and protect each other.” She paused. “And the three adults will watch over and protect these children fervently, promise me?”

Ebbert didn’t pause or falter. “Always, Xandra. They will always be protected no matter what I have to do. They will remain safe.”

Looking to his wife, Andries nodded. “You know my heart, wife. You need not ever ask,” he murmured softly, squeezing her fingers lightly. Lifting her hand, he kissed her fingers gently before letting her hand go to pick up his daughter. Sitting down at Xandra’s side, he cradled Andria close to his heart and kept an eye on his father and his son.

Andria snuggled in close to her father as if seeking his affection, his love. She sighed as he snuggled her closer and allowed her to feel his thumb stroking her cheek. Ebbert looked up and smiled, the watery smile of a proud man. “That’s a perfect sight. This is the perfect day. Thank you for letting me in, if only this once, thank you.”

Andries shrugged slightly, not really looking to the man. He was just too uncomfortable with his father there especially after all he’d learned. Standing, he moved toward his father with Andria. “Would you care to hold your granddaughter?” he asked quietly.

“I would.” He looked down at Dalek again and let his large finger caress over his cheek. “Be good, little warrior. Take care of your mother and sister.” He leaned close and whispered, “And your father, too. He sometimes needs it, too.” With effort he gave up Dalek and took Andria and smiled down at her. “What’s her name?” The little girl just curled into him, a smile on her face, blue eyes shining bright with trust and affection even as she made a soft cooing sound.

“Andria,” Andries said quietly as he put his son to his shoulder and stepped back. Walking to the window, he stood looking out, his back to the room. He didn’t like the position, but he knew Dalek was keeping watch from where he lay against his shoulder, so he was trying to be accommodating to his son. Rubbing the little back, he let out a slow and tired breath, his mind churning relentlessly.

“A good and fitting name for the little beauty,” Ebbert said with a smile, his heart lost to the too-small female in his arms. “She’s too small. Are you sure that she is healthy? That she’s all right?” His concern was there and clear.

“She’s healthy,” Andries said without turning. “She’s small because she’s small. There is nothing wrong with her.” He nearly growled, just barely managing to keep his voice normal.

Xandra couldn’t stop the laugh. “Funny, I seem to recall someone else asking about her and how small she was. How hard it was to put her nappy on and grumbling all the while about her being too small.”

“That’s because the nappies are obviously not designed for such a petite frame,” Andries said, shooting her a look. He wasn’t sure if she could see his confusion or not, or the growing headache, but he begged her with his eyes to just drop it for now. He didn’t want to have her teasing him before his father. Especially not then, not with so many questions in the air. All Andries wanted was to lie down in a dark room and sleep.

Xandra nodded and yawned. “I’m sorry, gentlemen, but I think that myself and my little ones are ready for a nap. My lord, you and my husband can discuss when you can come back, but for now I think that, if you don’t mind please, it’s time for you to leave.”

Closing his eyes in a silent thanks to her, Andries rested his cheek to Dalek’s head as he turned. “Take your son, love,” he said to Xandra and handed his boy off. Moving to his father, he took Andria and held her close so her little head was against his heart. “If you’d like to return tomorrow, we’d be pleased to have you for lunch and the afternoon if that would work for you,” Andries offered cautiously, his nature telling him to take care, that he was missing something and not to trust his father.

Ebbert bowed his head. “I would appreciate and like that very much.” He reached out and stroked the little head of Andria and smiled. “Thank you for allowing me this moment.” He nodded and pulled back. “My thanks to you both. Lady Xandra”—he turned from his son and faced Xandra—“my thanks to you, my lady, for giving my son these beautiful treasures, and for giving an old man a reason to smile.” He walked to the door and looked at Andries. “The missives that we spoke of earlier will be sent back by courier as soon as I return home.”

Bowing his head slightly, Andries watched him. “Thank you, my lord,” he said softly and then watched his father leave, a guard escorting him out. Walking back to the window, he stared out and watched him cross the lawns to the flyer. When the flyer lifted off, he closed his eyes with a tired sigh.

Xandra moved up behind Andries and leaned her head on his shoulder. “Are you all right, Andries? What happened down there, love? And what missives was your dad talking about?”

“He supposedly has been sending me letters and messages over the last seventy-five years that I’ve never seen,” he murmured. “He’s sending them to me so I can see for myself that he was not lying.” The fact that Andries had sent a man to question the Alliance about why his mail had not been getting through was a sure sign that he actually did believe his father, to a degree.

“Oh honey.” She looked up. “He’s been trying to make amends for that long, or has it been for other reasons that he’s been trying to reach you?” She liked his father, but she loved her husband and she couldn’t allow anyone to harm him in any way at all.

“I don’t know,” he admitted even though it rubbed him wrong to do so. Turning, he looked to her. “I need to lay down for a while, love. I have a headache right now and this has just made it all the more painful.” Leaning down, he kissed her gently. “I love you, Xandra,” he said quietly against her lips.

“And I love you, too, Andries. Go ahead and lie down. I will take the twins downstairs and see if they are as much a hit as I know they will be.” Xandra shifted one child to take the second and adjusted herself. “They are a lot heavier out of the womb than they were in it.”

“Because they are no longer all compacted into one giant ball,” he pointed out. Pressing a kiss to Dalek’s head, he passed his son to her before leaning in to kiss Andria’s. “If they are too much, have a guard help, love. I don’t want you taking a stumble down the stairs.”

“I will have one help me anyway, because we both know that I’m not exactly the most graceful of people.” Well, at least while pregnant she hadn’t been the most graceful of people. “Have a nap, darling. Rest well, my love. We will be in your den when you wake up, all right?”

Nodding he touched her cheek. “Come and get me in two hours if I haven’t woken, will you please?” he requested softly. Kissing her again, he watched her leave the room with several men close to her. Moving the bed, he pulled off his jacket and boots before lying down on his back, placing his arm over his eyes. Letting out a few slow breaths, he relaxed and was asleep within moments.

Chapter Thirty-Three

Xandra was sitting on the floor with both children on the blanket she had spread before the fire when the runner came. She looked up when the guard asked entrance and accepted the package. “Thank you. Will you please go up and knock on our door so that Andries can come down? It’s been almost three hours.” She lost track of time while playing with the twins, watching them and talking to them.

“As you wish, my lady,” the guard said quietly before handing her the package and leaving the room.

“Enter,” Andries called out as he slowly sat up and rolled his head around to loosen his neck.

“My lord, the Lady Xandra requests you join her. The missives from your father have arrived,” the guard told him before leaving at his lord’s nod.

Dressing slowly, Andries made his way down the stairs, the nap partially having helped with his headache, but it wasn’t completely gone. Entering the study, he smiled at the sight there, Xandra on the floor with the twins on a fluffy blanket. Moving to them, he touched her hair. “Hello, my love,” he murmured down to her as she glanced up.

“Hello, husband. Did you rest well?” He still looked as if he hurt more than he should, and that worried her. “Do you need me to call the doctor, Andries? I don’t like to think that you are hurting or getting ill, sweetheart.” Her hand moved from their son’s belly and rose to touch his as he pet her hair.

Shifting, he crouched down at her side before he sat. “No, love, I’m okay,” he said softly. Pressing a kiss to her cheek, he rested his chin on her shoulder and wrapped an arm around her. “It’s been a long week, and after today I’m just a little stressed out. It will pass with a good night’s sleep, I am sure,” he told her honestly.

“The missives from your father are on your desk. There are a lot of them, Andries. I don’t think he would have had time to go home and fabricate them or get some of them to look as old as they look.” She nodded and stroked his arm around her middle. “I love you, Andries. Go ahead and do what you need. Our children and I will be just here.”

Looking over his shoulder to his desk, he stared at the pile on it. “I don’t know if I can, love,” he said softly. “What if he was telling the truth and I’ve been as big a bastard as he thinks I’ve been?” he murmured, his gut tight.

“Did you return them unopened or unread?” she asked simply, and when he shook his head and answered in the negative, she smiled. “Then you haven’t been in the wrong, Andries. Someone for some reason has been trying to keep you and your father apart. The question is what is the next step? If he had came to you seventy-five years ago trying to make amends, would you have accepted?”

“I don’t know,” he murmured honestly to her, turning to face her once more. Easing into her slightly, he held her closer. “I just don’t know, Xandra,” he whispered against her cheek. “I feel like I don’t know anything anymore. I’m so off balance and out of sorts I just don’t know what to do.”

“Read the letters, Andries. Find out and learn from it. When you need a break, your children and I will be here. They were just fed and clean nappies put on, so we are comfortable down here. Do what you know you need to do, Andries. Make peace with your past so that our future can be all it’s meant to be.”

Groaning softly, he kissed her gently. “Have I mentioned I hate when you are right?” he asked softly. Holding her a moment more, he got to his feet and moved to the desk with obvious reluctance. Swallowing hard, he sat down and picked up the oldest-looking pile. None of the missives had been opened. They’d just been returned, no markings, which meant they’d been sent by courier. Untying the first bundle, he picked up the bottom letter, figuring it was the first, and started to read.

Xandra watched him and then lay down on the floor to curl into her daughter and pulled her son close. The heat of the fire, the hours up and playing with them had their effect on her, and as she positioned the pillow under her head, she began to drift off, all right in her world as their son curled into his sister and sandwiched her protectively between them.

Rubbing at his eyes, Andries laid down yet another letter and stretched, his back cracking at the motion. Looking to the floor, he smiled at the scene and got up to walk to them. Crouching down, he touched Xandra’s hair lightly and smiled even more when Dalek opened his eyes to peer up at him. “Xandra, love, wake up, my love. You shouldn’t be sleeping on the floor. You’ll get cricks in your body and neck.”

Cracking her eye open to look at him, she frowned. “I’ll be all right, Andries. I’m not leaving you. I want to be close in case you need me.” She raised her hand from their son’s belly and reached out to touch Andries’s cheek. “Do you need me now?”

“I’m going cross-eyed, love. I was thinking we should get something to eat and then I’ll read a few more,” he told her softly. “Come on, my lady. Let’s go and eat and just relax with our family for a little while.” He needed time away from the letters. They were pulling him in all directions and he needed some space for a bit of perspective.

“All right.” She yawned and moved her hand back to their son. “Seems your son is already awake and ready.” She watched as he gave his father a toothless grin and kicked his feet, waiting to be picked up. “Why don’t you get your little man and I will get our little girl?”

Smiling, he helped her to her feet and then picked up his son. “Hello, my lad,” he murmured, holding him close to his shoulder, his little bottom in his hand. “You are looking very happy today, Dalek. What is going through that little head of yours?” he murmured out of curiosity.

Dalek began to move his mouth and blow spit bubbles and slobber all over Andries, but Xandra grinned. “I don’t think you want to know what’s going through his little head, Andries.” She picked Andria up and ran her hand over her little back. “Yes, I know, little love. You can nap a little later, sweeting.” She pressed a kiss to her daughter’s cheek. “And this one wants to see the man with the grumbly voice again,” she said before she could censor her words.

Andries stilled and looked to her. “We’ll see what we can do,” he said softly, lowering his head to press his cheek to Dalek’s head. “Tell me what he’s saying, love, please?” he asked, looking to her. “I really wish I could hear them like you do.”

Grinning, she said, “He’s thinking that he really needs to go poop.” She watched his face and then laughed when he pulled Dalek away from him and looked down at their son and laughed when Dalek laughed as well. “You asked, Andries.”

“All right, new rule,” he said, wrinkling his nose as he pulled Dalek back to him. “Anything to do with bodily functions need not be mentioned unless it’s something that can ruin any of my uniforms.”

Xandra laughed and shook her head. She watched as their son’s face scrunched up, and he started to turn red as he grunted more and more. “I think we will need to take a trip by the nursery so that he can be changed before we go and find food.”

“My son, you and I will be having words about this later and the fact that taking a poop in Daddy’s arms is a bad thing.” For Daddy, that is, he added silently. “I’ll take him up and change him. At least his nappy stays on”—he looked to Andria—“unlike someone who shall remain nameless because she’d likely just laugh at me again.”

But that didn’t deter Dalek in the least. He continued to grunt as he first passed gas and then began to wiggle more as he did more than pass gas.

“And that is my cue.” Andries wrinkled his nose again. “We will meet you in the kitchen, love,” he said, looking to Xandra. Turning, he headed out of the room and up to the master bedchamber, shaking his head. “Seriously, my boy, could we learn to do this while your mother is holding you?”

Dalek just laughed at his father, and even as his little head bobbed it was as if he were saying no to him. Spit bubbles were once more the word of the day even as Xandra’s laughter floated up toward them.

“The father gets seriously screwed in this deal,” Andries muttered, laying him down on the change table and collecting what he needed from below. “I think, once out of the womb, the least you children could do is let your father in on the secrets. Seems extremely one-sided to keep it all between you and your mother.”

Dalek’s hand touched Andries’s hand and a serious look crossed his face as his little mind reached out for his father. He opened up to him and let him into his thoughts, giving him what he and Andria gave to their mother without thought.

Andries nearly went to his knees as they turned to jelly under him and he stared in shock at his son. “Oh gods,” he breathed out, feeling very light-headed.

Dalek smiled and kicked his legs. His father had asked, so of course he would deliver. The smell of his diaper wafted up and tickled Andries’s nose, reminding him why they were up there.

Curling up his face, Andries fought his gag reflex. “How you can make such a stink already, my boy, I will not know,” he muttered as he removed the vile nappy and coughed. “Your mother knew you were going to do this. You told her, didn’t you? That’s why she suggested I pick you up. Not fair picking on your father like this, you know.” He was rambling but it kept his mind off the stench as he wiped off the little bottom and pulled out a clean nappy and began to get it on the boy.

The boy laughed and kicked his legs as his father changed him. He didn’t close the bridge between himself and his father, so his father was privy to the knowledge that his mother didn’t know he was going to do this and neither was he until his father picked him up.

Shaking his head, Andries re-dressed Dalek and then picked him up and, resting him to his shoulder, pressed a kiss to his cheek. “You are an evil little boy,” he murmured. “Daddy loves you though, baby.” Rubbing his son’s back, he just held him for a moment before he knew that he had to head down to meet up with Xandra.

Chapter Thirty-Four

Xandra looked up at Andries and Dalek as they came down and smiled. “Hello, you two.” She had been dancing around at the foot of the stairs with Andria in her arms. The little girl was laughing as her mother twirled her and hummed to her. “Andria and I were just dancing. Would you two like to join us?”

Andries and Dalek shared a look before looking at the women with very similar looks. “Food,” Andries said as he inched past the females. “We need food,” he clarified and kept on inching past them.

“Food sounds good to us, too. We were just waiting on you boys to come down and join us so that we could eat as a family.” Xan looked from Andries to Dalek and grinned. “So he let you in, did he?”

“I think he got tired of my whining,” he said softly with a shrug. “The fact of what he did give me left me a little peeved,” he added with a mutter. He’d be having a chat with his son later when he was either waiting for his turn to feed or after the fact.

Xandra snickered and nodded. “They are very”—she kissed her daughter’s cheek—“smelly at times, aren’t they?” The slightly pale look on her husband’s face told her that it had been a bad diaper, and it amused her to no end, to be honest.

“They are, some doing it on purpose, methinks,” he grumbled as he swallowed hard to keep his gorge down. Walking toward the kitchens, he shook his head. “Come, womenfolk. We men need food,” he called and then threw a look to his wife to get her moving, one filled with need and not-so-hidden desires.

Xandra followed behind Andries, and when he shot her that look, she melted inside. “Tonight, Andries, I do believe is the first night our little ones will find their way into the nursery.” Because she needed her husband. Desperately she needed to be with him in all ways and didn’t want to chance waking their children with her screams.

“Is that so?” he asked with a small smile for her as he settled on a chair in the kitchen, the staff all heading over to coo at the children. “Have we discussed this with your doctor?”

“Yes, and he is perfectly fine with it, Andries.”

Both Xandra and Andries stopped speaking when the nurse came over to say, “If you would like, I would be happy to take the little lord and lady.”

Xandra shook her head and aloud voiced what both she and Andries were thinking. “I believe that Andries and I will eat with them today. Thank you, however, very much.”

Smiling slightly at her, Andries pulled out a chair for her at his side and, hand on her elbow, ensured she was seated carefully. Leaning over, he kissed Andria’s cheek to gain her attention. He then smiled when she gave him a wide-eyed look.

“Now that was just unfair,” Xandra said with zero heat but filled with laughter as she watched Andria’s eyes follow her father and her face scrunch up when she could no longer see him. “She’s completely smitten with you and yet you walked out of her eyesight. That was bad form, Andries, very bad form.”

Shifting, Andries moved his chair so that his daughter could see him. “Is that better, baby girl?” he asked his daughter, leaning closer to her so she wouldn’t have to strain to see him.

But Andria looked down and kicked her legs when she couldn’t see Dalek and grinned. “I think she needs to see both the men in her life, Andries.” Xandra laughed and shook her head. “I have a feeling this one will rule simply because no one will ever want to see her upset.”

His lady wife was right about that, but Andries kept that to himself. Encouraging his baby girl so soon was a bad thing. Lifting up Dalek, Andries adjusted so that his baby girl could see them both and lifted a brow. “Are we happy now that everyone is here and accounted for?”

Andria simply kicked her feet, shook her little fists in the air, and blew spit bubbles as she gurgled in laughter. Xan shook her head and smiled. “Our life is going to be full of wonderful adventures, isn’t it, Andries?”

“It already is, my love,” he told her with a smile. “But now that we have two pairs of fresh eyes and two open little minds, I think that we will rediscover life. They will likely get into horrible trouble, and I have a feeling we will love and live in absolute horror, the whole time.”

She laughed and shook her head. “Somehow, I think that you’re right, Andries.” She looked up at him and grinned. “We have forever, Andries. Our little ones will grow, but they will always be our babies. They will find their own ways and loves, but we will always be their parents and they will always be our babies.”

Nodding, he looked to his daughter and knew she’d always have a particularly special place, just as his son would, but she would be the one he’d be watching over more than Dalek. He knew it was sexist, but his was a predatory race and he knew just what men thought. “I’m already living in fear of them growing up,” he admitted to her as the staff brought them food and made faces to the twins.

“Me, too.” She leaned back, however, and then smiled as the staff cooed, made faces, and laughed with their children. It was a happy place, a loving place, where they were now. It was a good place. “Now it’s time to eat.” Xandra was starving. Now that the twins were no longer a part of her she was ravenous, almost constantly. It was as if she were trying to fill the void they left.

“So eat, love,” he told her, shifting Dalek to one thigh to sit against him. “Give me Andria while you eat and then we will trade,” he said, holding out his hand for his little girl.

She hesitated and then gave her daughter a kiss on the top of her head and nuzzled her lightly. “I love you, little girl. Be good for your brother and daddy.” She shifted to place their daughter into his arms and smiled. “Now there is an image I want forever.” Seeing him so happy, their children flushed with health and happiness, it was perfect.

Smiling at her, Andries gently bounced the twins each on a leg as they chattered to one another. He loved watching them together. They had such an incredible bond to the other that it did his heart good. To see his children so happy and safe made him feel like he was being as a father should. But he couldn’t let his guard down. He knew that there would be more attempts, at least until the Council got his warning, that was.

Xandra finished eating and just leaned back, watching him with his children, and smiled. “You have taken to being a daddy beautifully, Andries. Who would have known the man I first met who didn’t want to even touch me would be so giving, so open and loving to his children?” And to her, but no one else, and she knew it as well as he did.

Leaning in to her, he kissed her cheek. “Darling, I very definitely wanted to touch you, but the ideas running through my head were likely criminal.” Giving her a slow, hot look, he smiled. “And they still are,” he purred in her ear softly.

“Then you can touch me tonight after we put our children down for sleep.” Pushing her plate away, she smiled. “How about you give me our babies so that you can eat, Andries?” She paused. “Because believe me when I tell you that you will need your energy from eating, Andries.”

Pressing a kiss to each chubby cheek, Andries passed his children over and then leaned in to kiss her. “I do not believe I have ever witnessed anyone eat so much in so little time. You practically devoured the dish in the process,” he teased with a smile.

“I was very, very hungry,” she admitted and shrugged her shoulders. “Plus I wanted these two.” She hugged her children a little closer and breathed them in simply. “Eat, Andries. Eat so that we can later go for our little walk.”

Shaking his head at her, he pulled the plates closer and began to eat, his eyes on her and the twins more often than not. Nodding to one of the kitchen help who brought him a glass of blood, he waited until they were all back where they should be before he returned his eyes to them.

“You see that, Dalek,” Xandra said and smiled as she looked over their son’s head, who was watching everything his father did intently. “That is how a man acts when his soul tie and children are close. He protects them at all times no matter what, don’t you, Daddy?” Later she would tell Andria how to protect her soul tie without him ever knowing it, but that would be a talk for Andria and Xandra alone. No need for Andries to know her tricks.

“Yes, he does, including when his soul tie is trying to pull the wool over his eyes with her big eyes, bright smile, and coy looks while she’s got her own agenda on the go,” he commented as he drank some of the blood.

Xan laughed and winked. “We just watch out for those that are ours.” She kissed the side of Dalek’s neck and then Andries and smiled as they laughed and then sighed when Dalek began to nuzzle hungrily against her breast. “I think that you’re not the only hungry one, Andries. Can you hold Andria so that I can feed Dalek?” She was sure that he could hold her and eat at the same time or she wouldn’t have asked.

Nodding, he took his daughter and, kissing her until she smiled at him, he settled her in his lap with one hand settled on her belly to keep her still. “Our boy is a hungry little thing, isn’t he?” he commented with a smile. He liked that his children were feeding as they were. It was a good sign of their potential growth.

“He is an eating machine,” Xandra admitted as she caressed his little head and adjusted her flowing shirt to cover his head and her breast while he fed. She smiled over at Andries and added, “Poor Andria doesn’t get to eat quite as much as this little guy, but she doesn’t seem to want to either, so it balances out.”

“She’s tiny, but I’m sure she will make up for it soon enough,” he told her as he cuddled his baby girl closer. Shifting her up, he kissed her cheek. “She will be a little eating machine in good time, I’m sure.”

“I’m sure she will make up for it one way or another.” Xandra grinned as she raised their son to her shoulder and began to gently rub his back to ease the gas bubbles there.

Finishing off his blood, he eased his chair back and adjusted Andria up so she had a better view of the room. He knew that they both liked to look around even though they were still gaining the eyesight that was part of their species. Nuzzling her cheek, he smiled when Dalek let out a loud belch of pure satisfaction, his chuckle soft, but he felt Andria react to it, wiggling a little even as she put a tiny hand to his cheek.

Xandra leaned back and readjusted Dalek so he, too, could take in the room and smiled. “I have a feeling that our lives are going to be filled with adventures just ensuring that these two are safe.” She watched as Andria laid her head on her father’s shoulder and watched her brother intently.

“It’s keeping the rest of the world safe from the trouble these two will likely cause that has me not sleeping at night,” he told her with a small grin. He was only partially kidding. He knew that his two little ones were going to be troublemakers if they even were partially like him.

Chapter Thirty-Five

Five years later

“I am taking the twins for a walk in the gardens, Andries.” Xandra spoke from the door of his den, a cookie-crusted hand in each of hers. “They need to walk off the cookies they somehow got ahold of from cook.” She grinned down at the cherubic faces and knew just how the cookies ended up in their little hands, not that she could blame cook in the least. “When you’re finished, come find us? We will be by the stream.”

Looking up, he smiled at the little cookie-crusted faces. “I will, love,” he told her softly. “Be good for your mother, you two,” he warned, returning the wave to his daughter, who wiggled her cookie-smeared fingers at him. “I shouldn’t be too long. Just one more call and I’ll be on my way, love.”

“Sounds good.” Xandra winked at her husband and turned the little five-year-olds toward the back door. She listened to their chatter and grinned as she walked and talked with them. Dalek was nearly twice Andria’s size. He was almost to Xandra’s waist at just five years old, and as they walked and talked, she once more took in the intelligence of her children and just how wonderful they were.

She stopped to allow Andria to pick a flower and had just turned her laughing face up to look once more for Andries when she felt a burning pinch in her side, then heard the shot fired. Gathering her children close, she tugged them in to protect them and heard another shot even as her vision swam and felt another pinching sting as she dropped to her knees.

Walking through the halls, Andries froze at the sound of the shot and then ran hard and fast for his wife and children, hearing the sounds of the guards hot on his heels. He watched as Xandra fell more or less on top of her children to protect them, listened even as Xan tried to comfort Andria who was screaming. Somewhere in the back of his mind he listened and saw the guards as they raced for the downed woman and children but his singular focus was on Xandra.

Pounding across the yard, Andries felt his beast clawing to come to the surface. Instead of letting it loose, he yelled at the guards to hunt down the shooter and bring whoever it was to him, alive. Reaching Xandra, he skidded to her on his knees and quickly rolled her over. Cursing, he pressed his hands to her wounds. “Xandra, look at me!” he ordered her sharply. She was too pale, her color slipping even more. “Damn it, Xandra,” he bit out and cut his wrist on a tooth to press it to her mouth as the guards surrounded them, two picking up the babies to soothe them. Andries couldn’t worry about them yet. Both were safe, if covered in their mother’s blood. He had to save her first. “Drink, baby.”

He watched as Xandra’s eyes opened first, blinked at him several times, and then finally took what he offered her. He forced her to drink until finally she said, “Enough, why do they keep shooting me? I want the bull’s-eye taken off me now please,” she whispered before she passed out once again as her body struggled to repair itself.

Breathing out a sigh of relief, he buried his face in her neck for a long moment as he held her close. Picking her up, he headed for the house, the guards close with his children.

Up in their room, he laid her down and turned to take the twins. “Thank you,” he told the guards as he cuddled them to him. “Shh, babies, it’s okay,” he murmured as they wound their pudgy little arms around his neck to hold him tightly. “Mommy’s just fine. She’s resting now to let her body heal,” he promised and sat at Xandra’s side so they could watch as she breathed slowly and evenly.

When her eyes opened, it was to two freshly scrubbed faces breathing on her cheeks, wide eyes looking intently at her in the darkened room. Smiling, she reached up and touched her children’s cheeks. “Hello, darlings.” Andria wrapped her arms around the hand that reached up to touch her face and Dalek wrapped his arms around her neck, both crying as they did so.

“Andries?” And then she saw him and smiled. He had obviously bathed with the children, his wet hair and the low-slung towel on his body making her momentarily forget her injuries. “Hello, my love,” she all but purred.

Sitting at her side, he leaned over her to kiss her gently. “Hello, my love,” he whispered against her lips. “You had me and the children scared, love,” he murmured, pulling back so she could see his face and the things he wasn’t saying, like the terror of seeing her bleeding, again, the horror of hearing his children’s screams, and how pale she’d been, his heart nearly stopping.

“I’m sorry, Andries.” She smiled and stroked her fingers over his lips when he leaned closer. “Did you remove the bull’s-eye that I seem to wear for those with guns and weapons?” She hated being shot, and now that made twice for her since she had met him. “Come on, darlings, let Mommy up and out of bed, please.”

“Not yet, love,” he told her quietly. “You need to feed more before you can move. Your wounds are sealed over but they need more blood to fully heal.” He was too scared to let her out of bed and knew the twins were picking up on it, thus why they were hanging onto her so tightly.

“Have you fed enough for the both of us then?” she asked and rubbed both her children’s backs when she pulled her hand back from him. “Because you know my stance on bags.” She shuddered. “Yeah, not gonna work for me, and you know that.”

“I always feed enough for us both, love,” he murmured against her lips, kissing her lightly before pulling back. “You know I would never make you do anything you dislike with such a passion. Besides”—he smiled faintly, the emotion came and went in the blink of an eye—“it’s much better this way for us both.”

“All right, little ones. Daddy and Mommy need a moment. Will you go out and ask your uncles Emeril and Nolan to take you down to have milk and cookies from cook?” It was easier to call the guards their uncles because, all in all, that was what they were. They were family, no questions about it. She watched their hesitation. “Daddy will be down shortly to bring you back up.” She wanted to have a moment alone with Andries to feed.

“Go on, you two,” he encouraged, shifting to ease them both off the bed one at a time. Kissing their cheeks, he watched them toddle to the door and knock on it to gain the guards’ attention. Once they were gone, he turned to his lady wife and pulled her gently to him to hug her. “I was terrified I’d lost you again, love,” he whispered, tears in his voice. His wife could take him to his knees with such ease, and the thought of losing her hurt him so much.

She nodded and wrapped herself close to him and held him tightly. “I know,” she whispered because she did. She knew that she had been too close. “I never want to be there again, Andries. I never want to be without you. I’m so scared, Andries. Why would someone shoot me? I don’t understand.”

“I don’t know, my love, but I intend to find out why and make sure that it never ever happens again.” His children’s screams for their mother still echoed in his ears and he knew that the nightmares and fear would be there for a lifetime. For that alone he would make whoever had done this and ordered it pay very dearly. “I thought I’d made it clear the last time, but obviously someone has forgotten what was pointed out. Never again, Xandra. I promise you this, never ever again.”

“Will you mind if our little ones sleep with us tonight? I’m worried because of…” Well, let’s see, the fact their mother was shot and fell on them, that their little bodies had been covered with their mother’s blood, yep, that would be it. “Well, you know.”

“Yes, love, I know,” he whispered, hugging her a little closer. “No, I do not mind in the least. I’d feel more at ease if they were close to us.” He was worried about the nightmares that were sure to come. “Feed, love,” he told her as he shifted his head to the side, giving her access to his throat. “You need to heal, my lady.”

She reached up and pulled him closer, her hands in his hair even as her lips found his neck. She kissed the side of his neck first and then allowed her teeth to slide free and sink deep into his throat hungrily.

Moaning in pleasure at the bite of her teeth, Andries cupped the back of her head in one hand, the other sliding slowly over her body, needing to feel and touch. It was his way of reassuring himself that she was safe and that she was there with him once again.

She fed deeply from him before finally sealing the wound with a lick of her tongue and smile on her face. “See, I will heal. I just now need sleep.” It was tugging at her. The way that the Vampires healed was through blood and sleep, and now that she had blood, she needed sleep. “I love you, Andries, so very much I love you.”

“I love you, too, Xandra,” he murmured as he held her to him. “Sleep, little one, and I will bring the children up to join us for dinner. We will spoil them this night and eat in bed with them and just keep them close.”

Chapter Thirty-Six

Ten years later

Tears welled in her eyes as she looked at their son, so adult-looking in his military uniform and the beast of manhood flaming in his eyes. She watched as he got onto the transport and turned her face into Andries and let the sobs take her. “I hate that our little boy is leaving us,” she whispered under the tears of anguish.

Wrapping his arm around her, he watched with pride for the man his son had become and sadness for the boy that was no more. “I know, love,” he murmured to her, softly stroking back her hair as he held her close. “But he’s an adult now, and it’s part of growing up.”

“I know, but it doesn’t make it any easier, Andries. It hurts that we are sending him off to be with the military during a time when he needs us most, knowing how they will train him and remove the emotions that he has. We are losing our laughing and mischievous son, and it hurts.”

“He will always pull his sister’s hair or put tadpoles in her shoes. It’s who he is, love,” Andries told her softly. “But he has to grow up and find himself as well, Xandra. It’s part of the process, and when he knows who he is and how to protect our world and his soul tie, the gods willing, he will return and drive you crazy with his pranks once more.”

“Promise, Andries?” Xandra asked as she looked up at him with red, swollen eyes from the tears she shed for the loss of their son and sighed. “It hurts, so badly it hurts, but I have to believe that you are right, Andries.”

“I am right, love,” he told her as he gently wiped at her face, drying her tears with the pad of his thumb. “He will always be our baby, and he will always have that side to him. It will only be tempered, my love. He’ll learn to control himself and to respect the female that will one day be his.”

Xandra nodded and sniffled again. “He will have a wonderful woman who will love him for who he is, and they will give us grandchildren, right?” She watched as Andria waited until the flier was gone before she ran off to her bedroom to begin to sob, covering her face as she did so.

“Lots of them, I am sure,” Andries said as he watched his daughter with a heavy heart. “I’ll go talk to her, love,” he murmured softly, knowing that Andria was feeling the beginning of the separation, something that had never happened before to the twins. They’d gone everywhere together, doing everything together, nearly inseparable. “Why don’t you go and lay down for a little while and rest. I’ll come and join you after I talk with her.”

Xandra nodded. She couldn’t agree more because she couldn’t deal with the pain in her heart, and seeing her daughter like that was hurting her even more. “I love you, Andries.” She felt the tears in her eyes. “This is something no Vampire ever faced before, separation anxiety.”

“I love you, too,” he said softly, kissing her gently before following after his little girl. Sighing, he knocked on her door and went in despite the watery “go away” from his child. Walking to her bed, he tugged on her hand until she sat and leaned into him to cry. Shifting her to his lap, he held her close as he rocked her back and forth. “It will be all right, baby,” he promised, though how, at that moment, he had no idea.

Andria restlessly turned in his arms and cried. “He’s so confused, Daddy.” She sobbed against his chest. “Dalek’s hurting and confused and won’t let me help. He won’t let me in, Daddy, and it’s just not fair that he gets to go away to school and I don’t get to go with him. You need to tell them they have to let me be there, too, Daddy.”

“Oh, baby.” Andries’s chest tightened in pain for his daughter. She and her mother both had the ability to drive him to his knees. “Honey, you know that he’s going in for military training, not a place for you to be. It’s necessary for the males, to help them learn to control the beast inside each of us so that we don’t hurt the ones we love. Give him a couple of days to settle and then try talking to him again. He’ll let you in, Andria, but it will be in his own time. He’s stubborn, little girl, just like his mother.” He said it without even flinching, knowing his wife would have smacked his ears for saying that before laughing.

“But who’s gonna teach me to get through all of the things that I seem to do wrong, Daddy?” Turning a tear-stained face up, she continued. “I can’t even drink blood from a cup.” And then fresh new tears and sobs as she brokenly said, “He was going to teach me how to drink blood from a cup and not get sick.”

“Baby girl, you know that your mother or I will gladly teach you,” he said softly as he stroked back her hair. “We are your parents and we will help you to learn anything you want. You just have to ask, little one. You never have to fear that we will be upset with you or disappointed. How could we ever be when we have the most perfect daughter in the world? You are a blessing, Andria, and we will always be here for you,” he murmured, still rocking her, knowing that her upset stemmed more from losing her other half, her twin, than from Dalek not being there to teach her things she didn’t want her parents to know of.

“But I don’t want you to teach me,” she wailed. “I want Dalek!” Again a fresh tirade of tears as she tossed herself back against her father, sobbing because she felt alone. For the first time ever she felt alone. “How do people do this, Daddy? How can they be born without a brother and feel okay with it?”

“I don’t know, baby girl,” he whispered, feeling his child’s pain as though it was his own. “But you have to remember, little one, you are the first to have a brother born at the same time. The rest of us, if we were blessed, didn’t have any siblings until a hundred years later.” His thoughts turned to his own brother as his chest tightened in memory.

“That’s just not fair.” Andria sobbed still and shook her head. “It’s not fair, Daddy. He was supposed to always be here for me and he’s gone.” The child was far too young to understand what was happening to her, or her brother for that matter.

“Andria, baby, Dalek will always be a part of your life, whether he is here or not. You and he can touch one another no matter the distance. He’s just frightened right now by all the sudden changes in his life. He’s keeping it all in as a male will do, as we are trained to do, and as he’s had to start to learn before his time. Do not hate him for going to learn the control that will one day keep our world safe and his soul tie protected.”

“It’s just not fair because he has to hide all his emotions and I have to keep mine.” Andria sobbed in her father’s arms for hours until finally, with hiccupping sighs, she fell asleep there in the safety of his arms and lap.

Shaking his head, Andries sighed as he settled his daughter into bed and lay at her side. He couldn’t leave her, not now. She was so distraught that he knew he’d have to stay for a time. Hopefully his lady wife would come looking for him so she’d know why he wasn’t with her as he should be.

Xandra had come looking for him and waited until he was settled until she entered and lay on the other side of their daughter, simply wrapping her arm around both their child and her husband. She smiled as she whispered, “I love you, Andries.” Because it was all she could say in that moment.

Turning his head, he looked at her and smiled slightly. “I love you, too, Xandra,” he murmured. Shifting his hold slightly, he rested a hand over hers where it rested against Andria. Rubbing his thumb back and forth gently, he settled down and knew that it would be a long night.

Xandra closed her eyes and sighed. “This is going to be a very long time, darling,” she whispered and then opened her eyes to look at Andries. “We will be all right, love. I know that we will, but I think it will take Andria a long time in order to be all right once more.”

“She’s so put out that Dalek had to go off to the Academy and demanded I make them take her, too,” he said to his wife as he shifted to see her with an ease that wouldn’t hurt his neck.

“Twins on my home world,” she began slowly, “when they are parted, it’s very hard on them. Twins are connected as closely as soul ties are,” she whispered. “And these two, their connection is so…” She sighed and shook her head. “Their connection is so very tight that it’s hurting her badly. I’m surprised that it’s not hurting Dalek enough to debilitate him.”

“It likely is,” Andries said as he finished moving to his back so he could hold both of his women close. Stroking Xandra’s hair back, he let out a sigh. “But he’s a little different, love. As a male, he wouldn’t admit it to anyone ever,” he murmured, kissing her forehead.

“I know, Andries. Believe me, darling, I know.” She could feel her son’s hurt. Even though he didn’t speak to her any longer in her mind, she was still emotionally connected to their son. “Andria still talks to me.” And did she ever. “Lots, and lots.” She rolled her eyes. “But Dalek, Dalek I can feel his hurt, his confusion and pain.”

“It will ease, love,” he promised softly. “He will find his balance. The Academy will help him to learn it. It will help him to learn to control the beast inside before it fully explodes and blossoms within him, before it can hurt him, his sister, or any other.”

“I know, Andries, but it doesn’t make it any easier in the right now.” And she knew that he would understand what she was saying. “We will have trouble with her for a while. She and Dalek are still very closely connected, and you know that, right?”

“Of course I know that and, as I pointed out to her, they always would be,” he murmured. “Once he is a little more settled and feeling less nervous and terrified by all that is happening, he will once more talk to her. It will just take a little time. She needs to be patient or, in lieu of that, since I know it is not her strong suit, we keep her so busy that she doesn’t have time to worry about it.”

Xandra smiled and nodded. “Well, my love, you’re right about that. She is most certainly not a patient child.” Before he could say anything, she said softly, “She gets that from you, of course.” She winked at him when he gave her that look and nodded. “Oh yes, I went there, darling.”

Growling softly at her, he pulled her up higher and nipped at her lip before kissing her. “You are a vicious woman,” he teased softly. “Sleep for a while, love. I have a feeling we won’t be going anywhere for a time.” Especially since their daughter was on his other arm and locked onto him tightly.

“I know, love. You should rest while you can as well, darling.” Xandra kissed him once more. “Rest while you can, Andries, because I have a feeling Andria has found a new male figure to latch onto for a while, love.”

“If the nails digging into my arm are any indication at all, I’m betting it’s me,” he murmured, stroking his fingers through his wife’s hair. “I hate to see her so upset. It hurts, Xandra,” he said as he closed his eyes with a sigh.

“I know, Andries. Be there for her, love. Be her rock and it will make it easier for her.” It was going to cause a connection between father and daughter that wouldn’t have been seen before in the Vampire world, but with Andria and Andries and even Dalek, it was as it should be.

“Will you be all right with that, love?” he asked, worried that she’d feel left out in the scheme of things. “I don’t want you feeling pushed aside by her. I love you, Xandra, and it worries me that you’ll not be happy.”

“Our children mean far more to me than anything else, Andries. In my life it is you, our children, and then me and everything else. As long as my children and my husband are content and safe, then I am as well.”

He smiled at that. “And yet it is my children and wife first and foremost for me,” he murmured with a chuckle. Yawning widely, he shifted a little more to become comfortable. “Sorry, love, sleep now,” he breathed out before he slid into sleep.

Xandra watched him and Andria for a long while until she, too, succumbed to the pull of sleep.

* * * *

“Daddy,” Andria whispered and nudged at Andries’s side a long time later. “Daddy, why are you and Mom sleeping with me?”

Waking quickly and alertly, he blinked and looked to her. “Hello, baby girl,” he murmured softly. “You wouldn’t let me go, love, so I stayed put. Your mother came looking for us and decided to stay since I wasn’t going anywhere while you had me in your grip.”

Andria smiled and laid her head back on his arm. “Dalek would come in when I had nightmares and stay with me, too, like this, Daddy,” she confessed and reached out to touch her mother’s beautiful hair. “Will I ever be as pretty as Mommy, Daddy? Will I ever find someone who loves me like you love her?”

Startled, Andries frowned as he turned his head to look at her. “Andria, baby, you are beautiful, little one,” he told her with complete and total honesty. “You may not have your mother’s looks in totality. Unfortunately you got some of your father’s ugly mug put in the mix, but you are a strikingly gorgeous young woman that will become even more so as you grow up. You already cause me problems, love. I see the way the boys look at you and my poor heart already cannot stand the thoughts I know those filthy little beasts are having for my baby girl.”

Andria shrugged and then sniffled as she spoke. “I’m too short. I do boy stuff,” she continued but this time she buried her face against her father’s chest. “I get lost walking outside or even in the house, and I snore. What boy will want to take me for his wife, Daddy?”

“A very special man,” he told her softly, trying to keep from getting choked up while talking to her. It was just too close to the surface. He really wasn’t ready for this kind of talk with his baby girl. She was his, damn it, and would be for years more, but he suddenly felt as though the years were whipping past.

“He will be your soul tie. He will love you for who you are and will do anything to keep you happy. You will never go a day without knowing you are loved and cared for,” Andries told her softly. “You will be his moon, stars, and the light that guides him through his life, and he will be that to you. No matter what faults you think you have, to him you will be perfect.”

Andria patted her father’s chest and sighed. “I hope that you’re right, Daddy, because I want what you and Mom have. I want that very much. I’m ready to get up now. Should we wake Mommy?”

Snorting, he looked to his daughter. “Who are you kidding?” he asked with a smile. “She’s been awake this whole time, waiting for me to stick my large foot in my mouth and dig myself a hole I can’t get out of.” Looking to his wife, he kissed the top of her head. “You might as well open your eyes, my love,” he murmured softly to her.

Xandra smiled. “I knew that you wouldn’t do that, love.” She reached out and cupped her daughter’s face as she smiled. “Your father is right, Andria. You are so very beautiful, darling, and one day you will find a man who loves you so very much and who will always put your happiness above any other.”

“Of course I’m right,” Andries said with an affronted tone. “As if there was any doubt,” he snorted, shaking his head. “And there is no need for anyone to comment,” he added quickly.

Xandra and Andria simply shared a look and shook their heads. “All right, my loves,” Xandra said as she moved from Andries’s arms and off the bed. “I’m ready to go and get some food. Will there be anyone joining me, my darlings?”

“I’m coming with you,” Andries said as he sat up and got off the bed. Stretching, he turned to his daughter to help her up. “Come on, little one. Let’s get you some food.”

Chapter Thirty-Seven

Thirty years later

“I’m worried about her, Andries,” Xandra said as she watched their daughter sleeping restlessly. “And I’m worried for Dalek as well. He’s on his third mission now. Is it normal for them to send the boys on so many missions?” Dalek had been out of the house and had graduated the academy years ago, and now her babies were no longer babies but almost a hundred years old. She knew that it was coming close to time for Andria to have her puberty week, and it was killing Xandra to know that their child would be hurt so much for a time.

Rubbing his hand slowly up and down her arm, he nodded slowly. “Yes, love, it’s all perfectly normal, Xandra,” he murmured. “I warned you about this when he graduated, and with the way things are heating up between us and the Syndicate, it was inevitable.”

She sighed and looked up at him. “I hate that my father is still out there. He’s going to cause our son issues, and I worry for when Dalek has to face his grandfather. What if he has to kill him?” It was actually worrisome that her father hadn’t given her and Andries trouble. It had been nearly a hundred years and he hadn’t given them so much as a peep of trouble.

Clearing his throat, Andries shifted and shook his head. “You never have to worry about Dalek ever running into your father or being in the position of having to kill him.” His words were said with certainty, and it was the truth. Andries had ensured the man would never ever be in his children’s lives.

“What did you do, Andries?” Xandra asked as she stopped completely in her tracks. She wouldn’t blame him if he had killed her father. Heck, she would likely thank him and kiss him, but she needed to know.

“It’s likely better you not know, love, but just know I took care of the situation personally,” he said in a low tone, knowing there were a lot of ears around the house. “It’s done and over with.” He was not the type of man to leave a threat to all he loved out there to one day come back and hurt his family. The blood of her father was on his hands but he would not be upset or saddened by that loss of life, not when the man was a horrible man to begin with.

“And you’re very sure he will never bother our children? Never come into our lives once more?” she asked softly, and when he just gave her a look, she moved to wrap herself in his arms and hugged him close. “Thank you, Andries.”

Kissing the top of her head, he hugged her close. “You are welcome, love,” he murmured softly. He only hoped that what he’d done wouldn’t ever be a cause for contention between them. He’d taken from her the only family she’d had off world, but he also knew it was for the better at the time. As long as it remained that way they would be fine, or so he hoped.

When she pulled back, she nodded and touched his cheek lightly. “I’m glad that you did it, because if I had to kill him”—she shrugged—“I would have, but I don’t think that I would ever be able to release that image if I had.”

“That’s one of the main reasons I took the choice from your hands, love,” he murmured. “I know I should have spoken with you about it, Xandra, and I’m sorry I didn’t, but I did not want that decision weighing on you for all of time. It’s my right to protect you to keep you and our children safe, so I made the choice alone.” Looking into her eyes, he tried to read her expression. “Are you upset with me for taking the choice from you?” he asked.

Xandra shook her head. “I should be upset with you. I know that I should, but I’m not, Andries.” She sighed and closed her eyes. “I hate that he brought you to that point, Andries. You don’t deserve to have his death on your hands, but you do, and for that I thank you.” She shrugged and added, “You did what you had to in order to keep our family safe. I can’t and I won’t fault you for that.”

“You are mine to protect as are our children Xandra, I will always do whatever is necessary to protect all of you,” he told her softly. “And, trust me on this, his death does not weigh heavily on me in the least. He was responsible for both attempts on your life, Xandra. Your father fully believed that had he killed you, he would be able to not only take your dowry from me, but also have a reason to instigate war against my House as well as the entire Vampire Nation.”

“I know, Andries.” Xandra sighed and just took the affection that was offered happily from him. “Thank you, Andries. Thank you for everything that we have had in our lives.”

* * * *

Five years later

“Andries,” Xandra said with a smile as she breezed into the library where her husband and son were working. She grinned at Dalek and nodded, kissing his cheek as she all but floated by and wrapped her arms around Andries’s middle.

“Hello, my love,” Andries said with a smile as he shifted to wrap his arms around her. “You are looking particularly radiant today,” he teased with a soft laugh, hugging her to him. “What is up, my darling love?”

When he chuckled, hugged her back, and asked her what was going on, she just grinned up at him and said, “I love you, Andries.” And she did, very much so. “But you need to increase your blood intake again.” And now she waited on her intelligent husband to put two and two together.

Blinking, he frowned for a moment and, at the same moment Dalek made a whooping sound, he really started to grin. “Really?” he asked softly, and at her nod bent to hook an arm under her bottom, lifting her up into his arms and holding her even closer. “I love you, Xandra,” he breathed before kissing her hard and fast.

Xandra laughed and nodded. “Yes, really. He just started to talk to me last night and you were gone before I woke.” She smiled and nodded. “But it was confirmed when I tried to take blood and was immediately sick.” Shaking her head, she added, “Seriously not how I wanted to start my morning, by the way.”

Nuzzling her cheek, he smiled. “I’m sorry, love,” he said sincerely, the effort ruined by the huge smile on his face. He was going to be a father again, and he was going to be able to watch his wife grow large with a new life, his favorite part of her being pregnant.

Xandra laughed and shook her head. “Darling, you are silly. It’s not your fault that I overslept, sweetheart.” She nodded and then added, “But now you need to feed us.” She looked to her son and smiled. “I love you, Dalek darling, and I will come and hug you when your father lets me down,” she teased her husband.

Chuckling, Dalek shook his head. “I can wait, Mother,” he said with a grin at his father’s possessive nature.

“He can wait his turn,” Andries said with a wink to his firstborn. Kissing his wife again, he breathed her in. “I love you, little one,” he murmured. Letting her down gently, he slid his hands up her body suggestively. “Hug your son and then kick his smiling self out so we can celebrate appropriately.”

Making a gagging sound, Dalek stood with another laugh. “Come here, Mother. Hug me so I can run for the hills. Some things a child never needs to know about their parents,” he teased when she turned to him.

Xandra hugged Dalek close and smiled. “I love you, son.” She kissed his cheek and rubbed her cheek against his. “When Andria and Alyssa are back, will you please make sure that Alyssa gets home safely?” she asked with a grin, wondering just how long that it was going to take her son to see that Alyssa was his.

Wrinkling his nose, Dalek nodded. “Yes, Mother,” he said, keeping his tone light even as he grumbled internally at being stuck playing escort once more to his sister’s pesky friend. Kissing her cheek, he smiled to his father. “Congratulations, you two, and now…” He headed for the door with a wave.

Chapter Thirty-Eight

Shaking his head at his son, Andries moved up behind his wife and wrapped his arms around her, his hands resting lightly over her belly. “He is a stubborn boy,” he murmured. “But it’s understandable. He gets it from his mother after all.”

Xandra laughed and nodded. “I will accept that, but the blindness is all yours, darling. Hopefully, however, he will see her as his soul tie before something terrible happens.” She shrugged and, seeing the look on his face, frowned. “Andries, darling, do you honestly think that I am that blind that I don’t see that child for who she is?”

“No,” he said the word slowly and winced at the elbow that found his gut. Rubbing at the small ache, he sighed. “I hope he figures it out before it’s too late for them,” he murmured, pulling her closer to him. Wrapping his arms around her, he rested his chin to her hair. “She needs him more than I can say, little one.”

“I know, Andries.” Xandra sighed and closed her eyes, simply breathing in her soul tie and loving every second of it. “Now, enough of that. I do believe that you and I need to go and see about feeding me and our new little family member trying to grow slightly.”

Pressing a kiss to the top of her head, he nodded as he leaned back, his hands coming up to cup her cheeks. Leaning in, he kissed her slowly. “It will be my greatest honor to feed you and our new child,” he murmured with a smile he just couldn’t contain.

“You have no idea how happy this makes me,” she whispered and leaned in close to him. “It makes me so happy to know that we will have another child, only…” She hesitated and then whispered her confession to him, “I love our kids. I love them so very much, but I very much hope that we have a single child this time, Andries.”

Peeking past her, he glanced back a second later and leaned closer. “I know it’s bad to say, but me as well,” he told her with a smile. “Double diaper duty was more than I could handle,” he chuckled. “One diaper at a time, one cry at a time, and one little mouth to feed at a time would be a nice change. A single will be more than enough for us, I think, the next time.” He shrugged and let his words hang for a moment before he added, “We’ll have double trouble once again.”

Xandra laughed and shook her head. “I don’t think so, my love.” She watched him and added, “But yes, yes, you and I should most certainly not say this, but I’m very happy to be able to have one, so I’m sure that’s what we will have, one.”

Picking her up in his arms again, he slowly spun her around as he grinned up at her. “I love you, Xandra.” He laughed gleefully, enjoying knowing they were going to have another child. Stopping so he didn’t make her nauseous, he began to head for the door. “We need to feed you and I need to have more blood.”

“Yes on both counts, Andries.” Xandra was laughing happily and kissed the side of his neck. “And I need my husband. I need to make love with you, now.” Her body was hurting and needy, aching with want and desire.

He stopped immediately and looked to her. “I thought you were hungry,” he murmured in a suggestive tone, and he really was not talking food anymore. Sliding his tongue over his teeth slowly, he smiled, and shifting, he headed up the stairs quickly, moving toward their room as fast as he dared.

She leaned in and licked at his neck. “I am hungry, Andries. I’m starving for my husband, darling. I need you. I’m aching for you right now, and later we will have food, but now I just need you.” She bit his neck, not piercing the skin but just biting him to mark him, swirling her tongue over the hurt to ease the ache.

He nearly stumbled, but he very definitely groaned with need and desire as both flared brightly to life. Barely making their room, he kicked the door shut, and pressing her back to the wall, he rubbed his erection against her. Just that fast, always amazing to him, she had him as needy and achy as an untried youth.

Hands moved between them quickly so that she could release his cock from his pants. Once she had him in her hands, she growled with hungry need. “Now, Andries, tug up my dress, because if you aren’t in me very quickly, I think that I’m going to explode.” She felt like a teenager, all horny and hot, and never seemed to be satisfied unless his cock was buried deep inside of her body.

Doing as she demanded, he pulled her skirts up to her waist and, trapping them there, lifted her high into his arms as he pushed his cock into her hot, slick pussy. Moving to the wall, he pressed her back as he drove his cock in all the way to the hilt. Pressing his lips to her cheek, he teased her skin. “Kiss me, Xandra,” he demanded.

She didn’t hesitate but instead pulled him close and kissed him hungrily. Her legs held him close, tight as she kissed him, and rode his cock hard. When she pulled back, she gasped, “Gods, I love you.” She panted and leaned close to him, licking her tongue up and down his neck. “Come for me, Andries. Gods, take us there, baby.” She growled desperately.

Growling back at her, more than a little of the beast in the sound, he caught her mouth for another kiss as he drove his aching cock into her again and again, each thrust a little more desperate than the last. A low rumble rolled from his chest as he slid deep into her pussy and stiffened, his seed spilling deep and hot into her body.

As soon as he released her lips, she moved her head once more to his neck and bit deeply. She fed from him as his seed exploded into her body. She came with a blinding rush that she never wanted to end, ever.

Cradling her to him, Andries rocked his cock in and out of her body, drawing out her orgasm with long practice. Groaning softly at the feel of her mouth on his flesh, he closed his eyes and prayed for the feeling to never end. He was thrilled she was pregnant once more. The last time, with the twins, had been an amazing time for them both.

Licking his neck gently, she moved her lips up to his ear and then back to his lips, kissing him deeply before moving back once more. “I love you, Andries.” She smiled because she had felt more than heard his happiness with their new pregnancy. “I’m so happy, Andries, and so happy that you are so happy, too.”

Stumbling towards the bed he tumbled them down onto it, lying over her heavily for a long moment. Rolling them to their sides he yanked up the covers and hugged her close to him, adjusting her leg up over his. “I am ecstatic about the babe, love. I happen to enjoy you when you are pregnant.” He smiled slowly, remembering how needy and sexual she’d been with the first.

Xandra laughed. “If I recall properly, you hid from me a time or two.” Simply because she was always needy. He could come close to her and she would become hot, needy, and it didn’t seem as if this babe was going to be any different. “However, I happen to really love being pregnant, too. Pregnancy doesn’t last long enough in my opinion.”

Bursting out in laughter at that, it took Andries a moment to get enough air for a reply. “I happen to recall some not-so-nice things being thrown my way about the pregnancy as a whole and what you’d do to me if I ever so much looked your way again while you were in labor the last time, my love.”

“If you will recall, the last time there were two children trying to be born.” She paused and then added, “If I have twins again, Andries, I think that I will likely beat you. I want this child and I want this pregnancy. However, I will bloody well beat you if I am pregnant with twins again.”

“You do know that with Vampires, it’s the female’s chemistry that decides the sex and number of babies, right?” he asked her with a smile. “In other words,” he teased with an evil glint, “that was not, never will be, and never can be blamed on me. Your body decided to have twins, so I’d be having a conversation with myself if I were you, love.”

“It’s you I’m having the talk to, Andries,” she said stubbornly. “I love Dalek and Andria so very much and wouldn’t change them for the world, but I want only one at a time from now on please.” Because she knew just as Andries did that if she had more than one again, it would be very, very hard to keep her and their children safe.

“Darling, you should not worry,” he said, softly cupping her cheeks. “I made them see before, and if we have a second set of twins, I will ensure that they leave them and you alone. There are other ways to keep you and ours safe. There always will be, Xandra. We will not live our lives in fear of the Alliance. They are not our keepers. They are our governing body.”

“There are times that it feels as if they are our keepers though, love, and you know it,” she said with a smile, “But you’re right. You will do what it will take in order to keep us all safe, and I know it.” Leaning against him, she bit her lip. “I’m just scared. I’m scared because of the lives our children will lead after and just, everything.”

“I know, my love,” he said, wrapping her close in an effort to make her feel protected. “But we cannot live our lives in fear of what may be. We have to live for the enjoyment of life itself. That you taught me, my love. All the worrying in the world will not prevent some things from occurring. But we can prepare and have plans in place in the event that something does come to fruition. That is all that we can do, for to second-guess ourselves and to act too hastily will surely see us into ruination of our own actions and leave us open for whatever they throw at us. Sometimes the best way to hunt, my love, is to make the hunted believe you are unaware and unconcerned.”

“I know, Andries. I know that is all that we can do, but it completely and totally sucks that we have to.” Xandra touched his cheek and smiled. “I’m glad that I could teach you something, Andries, because every day you teach me more and more, my love, every single day that we live.”

“You have taught me a lot, Xandra,” he said honestly, rubbing his hands up and down her back. “You’ve taught me to laugh, to love, and to live. You gave me back life. You give me so much love that at times I’ve felt nearly overwhelmed by the amount you are able to give. You made me open my eyes and see the world for what it is, and you’ve given me two beautiful children that any man could be proud of with another on the way.”

“I’m glad that we have found each other. That you were able to let me in.” She shivered when she thought about what could have happened. Her father would have killed her if she had been returned and instead, instead she had a life with an amazing man and her father was no more. “I’m happy that your father tricked you into seeing that I was what you needed, Andries.” Speaking of his father—“How is he, by the way? You went to see him yesterday, right? Is he over his illness yet? Is it still,”—Xandra blinked—“is it still killing him?”

“I did go and see him but…” Andries paused and tried to figure out how to explain his gut feeling. “I don’t think he’s ever going to get over this illness. He just seems to be getting worse. He looks fine, healthier, but I just know that something is wrong. I can’t explain it, love, but I feel as if he’s hiding his illness from me, from everyone. I’m almost, almost, tempted to take Andria with me on my next visit and see if she can tell me. But I know our daughter and she’ll do something that will have me fully gray in ten minutes flat.”

“She loves him deeply, and you’re right, if she could save him, she would.” Xandra chewed her lower lip. “Take her anyway, Andries. Take her and let her try to heal him if you like, darling, and from there”—she shrugged—“we will figure it out. No one reads illness like Andria though, so yes, take her, love.”

“I just don’t want her battling anything that is not within her ability, and I’m afraid that’s what it might be. She’ll blame herself if she can’t help him, love,” Andries pointed out softly. They both knew just how determined and stubborn their youngest child was, totally all Xandra’s genetics.

“This is true, Andries. She would fully give herself to save another, especially if it were someone she loved.” She sighed and shook her head. “I wish she had a soul tie, Andries. She needs someone to keep her safe even from herself. She needs someone who will love her completely and totally. She deserves that more than anyone alive, I do believe.”

“She’ll find him one day,” Andries said quietly, stroking his hand up and down her arm lightly. Leaning in, he kissed her. “Never doubt that, my love. Our baby girl will find her man and drive him to extremes. I am most positive.”

“No, Andries, you don’t understand. Alyssa and Andria went to a seer and the woman told Andria in no uncertain terms that she wouldn’t have a soul tie. That’s why she’s been so upset these last two days, love. She’s heartbroken because she will never have what we have.” And to be honest, Xan was more than a little upset as well.

Andries paused and looked down at her with a frown as he processed her words. “Was that what the seer said exactly?” he asked her. When she shook her head, his frown deepened. “What exactly did the seer tell Andria, love?” He needed to know, knowing full well that seers often said things that didn’t immediately become apparent.

“She said that Andria would not have a soul tie, that he had been lost to her before she was a woman and he wouldn’t ever come back.” Xandra shrugged. “She’s devastated, Andries. You know how much she wanted to belong, to be a part of another’s life the way that you and I are. I’m worried for her, Andries, very much.”

“Damn,” he muttered softly under his breath. “Will you trust me in something, love?” he asked and got a quick nod that had him smiling. “I believe, with every piece of my soul, that our daughter will find her soul tie. It won’t be in the usual manner. It will be quite unique, but I know that she will find him. I just don’t know when,” Andries said softly.

“I trust you in everything, Andries. You know that though,” she grumbled and then let her eyes widen. “Do you really think so, Andries? Do you really and truly think that she will one day find a love like what we have?” It was what she wanted for both her children, now all three of them, now that she knew this one was on the way.

“I know it, love,” he told her but couldn’t explain it even if she demanded he tell her. It was a gut feeling in relation to a young man he’d met a while back. Andries didn’t know if it was him specifically or if it was someone the young man knew or was related to. He just knew that his daughter would be near him at some point and happy.

“Then I will believe in you, Andries.” Touching his lips, she grinned. “Now then, husband mine, what do you say about us just being all naked and sweaty all day long? I have a mighty need to reenact how we got pregnant, many, many times.”

“Well, since we are here already, I have no issues with remaining as we are,” he said easily, folding to her will on this one demand. Like he was actually going to argue with her. “But we will need to pause in a little bit so I can go and get more blood. I don’t believe there are more than two bags up here in the cooling unit.”

“Yes, we know that you will need more of that, because if history repeats, you will need at least that every two hour mark.” She had been voracious in her need for blood when carrying the twins. She had needed his blood almost as much as she had needed him.

“I doubt it will be quite that often. You are likely only carrying one this time around. Last time, you were more needy because it was two. Hopefully you’ll have a little respite this time around, darling,” he murmured, stroking back her hair.

“I hope so, too, for your sake, Andries.” She loved when he touched her like he was, stroking his hands over her hair and just making her feel more and more comfortable with each time. “I love you, Andries.” He was her world, he and their children. Nothing else mattered.

Smiling at her, he kissed her nose lightly. “I love you, too, my little wife.” Turning his head, he yawned for a long moment before shaking his head. “I think you tired me out, Xandra,” he accused with amusement tingeing his voice.

“I hope that I did, Andries. It’s my goal to ensure that you are as worn out as I am most times.” Snuggling in closer, she wrapped her arms around him and held him close. “I say that you and I need to nap for a small time and then we will go shopping for things for the new baby, sound good?”

Wrinkling his nose at her, Andries let out a slow breath. “Fine, we’ll go shopping, but I do so under duress, my love,” he muttered. He was like most every male around. He hated shopping with a passion. The only reason he ever went with her was to keep her safe and to enjoy the pleasure she got from looking and touching everything around her.

“Thank you for doing it for me,” Xandra told him honestly and smiled. “Now, shopping, and while we are out, I will even let you take me to lunch and then frozen cream treats. How does that sound to you?” Because she had to admit it sounded wonderful to her.

“And it’s all for you, my lovely wife,” he said with a grin. “You know those treats make my teeth ache, woman. You just want two bowls of them, don’t you?” he asked with mock shock, pointing his finger to her in accusation. “You are using my personage to get double what they normally give out.”

“And what if I am? I’m pregnant, Andries. I’m allowed to have extra treats.” She took extra treats even when not pregnant. She loved the frozen treats and he knew it.

Shaking his head at her, he leaned closer and smiled faintly. “Yes you are, my love. You are allowed anything you wish,” he murmured. He’d willingly give her the world and the moons if she asked just to see the glow of happiness and pleasure in her eyes.

Chapter Thirty-Nine

A week later

Standing in the shower with her husband, Xandra rubbed her cheek against his back. She sighed. “I…” Xandra paused and frowned. Shaking it off, she stepped back. “Now, I think that we should get out and go see Andria. She’s here and depressed because Alyssa is off world ‘shopping’ again.” Xandra let out a frustrated breath because she knew just what Alyssa did when she went off world, and it killed her. Her unique makeup making her a woman whom the Council deemed a wonderful spy. No, it was not good what the child did off world, it worried Xan to death each time. “So let’s see about cheering her up, shall we?”

Turning, he looked down at her and pulled her close. “What were you going to say, love?” he asked her, softly stroking back her hair. Lowering his head, he kissed her lips gently. “Something is on your mind, Xandra, and it’s more than worry for our daughter or what Alyssa is really up to off world.”

“I don’t know,” Xandra replied honestly. “I just, for a half a second I almost felt fear, pain.” She turned to look up at Andries. “Dalek, can you contact Dalek and make sure he’s okay?” she asked, feeling fear for her son.

Nodding slowly, he frowned down at her as his mind raced through the information within for where their son was that week. “We won’t hear anything for about a day, love,” he said softly. “He’s off in sector 66-Y8 this week on a routine sensor run with the new equipment. But I will send off a pinpoint message and we should get a quick something back come tomorrow, if that’s all right with you?”

“Thank you, Andries. I know it’s likely silly that I’m worried, but I can’t help but to worry. I can feel something is wrong. I know something’s wrong, but I don’t know with which of our children it is. Andria should be all right, but Dalek I’m worried for.”

“It’s fine, love. You are his mother and you are allowed to worry,” he said softly stroking back her hair. Kissing her cheek lightly, he smiled. “We’ll send him a quick message and find out he stubbed his toe and the world will be right once more for my lusciously beautiful wife.”

“Thank you.” Xandra blushed and bit her lip. Nodding, she sighed. “I hope that it is a stubbed toe, although remember the last time that he stubbed his toe? Ended up that he broke his first three toes and had to walk with a cane for two weeks?” It had annoyed him to no end to walk with a cane.

Snickering at that, Andries nodded. “Well, it serves him right,” he said softly. “If he hadn’t been trying to sneak back into the house in the dead of night, then he wouldn’t have stubbed his foot. He should have just risked the noise and left his boots on. He’d have fared better.” The fact that Andria had moved the furniture around in his bedroom hadn’t helped the fact.

Xandra grinned and shook her head. “I swear those two argued as much as anything I’ve ever seen in my life. I still to this day can’t get over the fact that Andria did that to Dalek. That was just wrong on her part and she knows it.” But he had left and hadn’t allowed her to go with him. Andria had been hurt, and when her feelings were hurt, she fought back.

“Considering where he was going, love, I’d have beaten the boy bloody if he had taken our daughter along.” Andries had known just what their son had been about and, though it went against his nature, had sat back and let the boy do as he would.

“I know, but, Andries…” Xandra paused and grinned. “You are the one who raised our daughter to know that she can do anything that she wants. That she’s as powerful as he is.” Another wave of unease rolled through her. A slight dizziness washed over her. “Andries, something is very wrong.” Fear turned her face pale as she looked up at him.

Turning off the water, he lifted her up carefully and stepped out of the shower. Setting her on her feet on the rug, he grabbed up a towel to dry her. Moving quickly but with care, he froze as he was drying her leg. “Xandra,” he whispered looking up into her eyes, “you’re bleeding, love.”

Xandra didn’t hear him at first with the roaring in her ears and licked her lips. “What?” she asked and felt herself crumble slightly. “No, Andries, no.” She couldn’t be bleeding. No, she couldn’t. The fear was followed by a pain in her stomach that was so forceful she bent in the middle and cried out from it.

Scooping her back up in his arms, Andries hesitated as if indecisive for a moment. As more blood began to flow, he took her back into the shower and turned the water on again as he sat down with her in his lap. Rocking her gently, he stroked her back. “Talk to me, love. What’s wrong, Xandra?”

She couldn’t speak past the tears and the sobs of pain that were going through her. We are losing our child, Andries, her mind said in a broken speech inside of him. She tried to hold onto the little life that was winking out. She felt the death of the being inside of her as he slipped away, and that broke something inside of her.

“What?” he croaked out, softly hugging her even closer to him. “Xandra.”

Xandra was sobbing, trying to hold onto the little life inside of her that wanted to live, but she couldn’t. Sometime during her pain, during the intense grief, she heard Andria and shook her head. “No, Andries, tell her that she can’t try to heal this.” As much as she wanted her to, she couldn’t endanger their daughter like that for fear of it harming and or taking her from them, too.

Andria, don’t, Andries whispered privately to their daughter. It’s not meant to be, baby girl. When it’s our time, we’ll have another.

Daddy, I can help. Please. I can feel Mom’s pain. I can feel the pain and fear of the baby. Let me in, please? Andria all but begged her father as she stood at the base of the stairs with tears streaming down her face.

No, baby, please respect your mother’s wishes on this and let it be. After… After, you will need to help your mother, but for now, let nature take her course.

That’s not fair, Daddy. Andria sat on the bottom step and covered her face with her hands while she cried. She could feel her mother’s upset and knew. She knew when the child was lost to them for good and felt her mother’s overwhelming pain at the loss.

Life wasn’t fair, but Andries couldn’t say that to his daughter. It wasn’t her fault any more than it was Xandra’s that the babe was lost. The cold blade of blame fell on him. He should have taken more care with his wife. He hadn’t and it was his fault that they’d lost their baby. It was and always would be his fault.

Standing slowly with Xandra in his arms, he washed her body and then, still silent, got out with her, dried her, and took her to their bed. Laying her down, Andries tucked her in and asked Andria to come stay with her mother while he cleaned up the bathroom, not wanting Xandra to have to see any of what was in there.

When Andria tried to touch her Xandra shook her head. “No, darling. I know you too well. You will feel the injury, the hurt, and try to heal it, and I can’t let you. I can’t let you hurt yourself as much as this would likely hurt you, my love. I love you, daughter, but don’t.”

Andria’s heart was breaking, but pulling back, she nodded. “All right, Mother,” she whispered and simply sat at her side and watched her mother and waited for her father.

Walking out of the bathing chamber, Andries looked to his wife and daughter and let out a sigh. Padding toward them, he touched Andria’s face lightly and pulled her up into his arms. Hugging her close to him, he kissed the top of her head. “Will you go and let the staff know we won’t be dining tonight, sweets?” he asked gently.

Andria nodded and hugged her father back. “I’m sorry, Daddy, Mother.” She squeezed her mother’s hand and nodded. “I will let them know.” She would deliver the heartbreaking news to the staff, and it would take a part of her with it. Moving from her parents, she left them alone to deal with their grief.

Xandra looked up at Andries, her eyes red from tears. “Will you hold me, Andries?” She felt a failure. She had lost their babe. It was her fault their child died, and she was feeling the pain from that loss deeply.

Stripping down once Andria was gone, he slid into bed with her and pulled her in close. “It wasn’t your fault, love,” he whispered softly. “It wasn’t meant to be, Xandra.” He had to think that or he’d blame himself for what had happened. He’d taken her, not all that gently, and he knew he should have taken more care with her.

“You aren’t to blame for our losing our child if I’m not,” Xandra whispered with tears in her eyes as she watched him and hugged him close. “I love you, Andries, and if I’m not to blame, then neither are you.” It was that simple. “I love you, Andries.”

“I love you, too, my lady wife,” he whispered, leaning his forehead to hers as he rubbed at her back gently. “You are most definitely not to blame.” Which meant he would have to keep his own self blame to himself.

“We will work past this, won’t we, Andries?” Xandra asked quietly as she looked up at her soul tie. “If you tell me that we will get over this, if you tell me that we will work past this, I will believe you.”

“We will work past this, love,” he said softly, stroking her skin slowly and gently. “We will work past this and we will be able to live again. We won’t ever forget. We’re not that kind of people. We will never forget, but we will move forward and live.”

“We will, Andries, but only if we stay together, stay strong, and love each other all through it,” Xandra whispered softly. “I do love you, Andries. No matter what else, I love you always from now and beyond.”

“I love you, too, Xandra, always,” he murmured, hugging her tight. “I’m not going anywhere at all, my love. I will be right here with you for all time. You are mine and I need you in my life. You’re my heart.”

THE END

WWW.HONOR-JAMES.NET

ABOUT THE AUTHOR

Born in the mid-seventies, this thirty-something woman has only been writing for the last six years of her life, faithfully that is. Honor has always been scribbling a phrase, a curious word, or the oddest of thoughts down on anything she could find laying about. Now she piles them up before her and, if one catches her fancy, she further explores it to whatever its end might be.

A lover of books, her reading material spans from Shakespeare to mysteries and all the way to the erotic. Anything and everything she can lay her hands on she’ll read. Though, these days, she leans more toward the paranormal than anything else.

Poetry was her first love, lasting about three solid years. Don’t ask. She won’t show many of them to anyone. Then short stories became the focus, and finally she began to write for more than just writing what came to mind. She started to write for pleasure and to tell the story that begged to be told.

Life and family came next. Working full-time as a customer service representative and raising two children got in the way, and the writing that she so loved as a teenager seemed to be pushed off to the back burner of everything.

So several years passed and her children turned into more than the babies that demanded her attention and into young children and then teenagers with different demands, ones that allowed her to once more spread her imagination to the wind and ask for more, want more.

As with all great things, the door to her notebook-written word might have been closed and placed on hold, but where a door closes another one opens, and in this case it was with the advent of buying a computer.

Honor spends many a sleepless night pounding at the keyboards. She is a consummate professional in her daytime career. However, at night her visions swing to the fantastical and in those long hours after the children and husband are in bed, she weaves together words and blends up stories that not only bring a whole new meaning to romance, but sizzle the pages with a heat that will have the readers begging for more.

For all titles by Honor James, please visit
www.bookstrand.com/honor-james

Siren Publishing, Inc.

www.SirenPublishing.com

Table of Contents

- Title Page
- Copyright Page
- Dedication
- Prologue
- Chapter One
- Chapter Two
- Chapter Three
- Chapter Four
- Chapter Five
- Chapter Six
- Chapter Seven
- Chapter Eight
- Chapter Nine
- Chapter Ten
- Chapter Eleven
- Chapter Twelve
- Chapter Thirteen
- Chapter Fourteen
- Chapter Fifteen
- Chapter Sixteen
- Chapter Seventeen
- Chapter Eighteen
- Chapter Nineteen
- Chapter Twenty
- Chapter Twenty-One
- Chapter Twenty-Two
- Chapter Twenty-Three
- Chapter Twenty-Four
- Chapter Twenty-Five
- Chapter Twenty-Six
- Chapter Twenty-Seven
- Chapter Twenty-Eight
- Chapter Twenty-Nine
- Chapter Thirty
- Chapter Thirty-One
- Chapter Thirty-Two
- Chapter Thirty-Three
- Chapter Thirty-Four
- Chapter Thirty-Five
- Chapter Thirty-Six
- Chapter Thirty-Seven
- Chapter Thirty-Eight
- Chapter Thirty-Nine
- About the Author