Bonds of Blood [Lords of the Expanse] (Siren Publishing Classic) (27 page)

“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.

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.