2. Ledger
2
LEDGER
L edger attempted to roll over on the sumptuous mattress as words he’d spoken a year ago— ‘prove it’— rampaged through his mind, but his swollen belly prevented him from getting very far.
His eyes slitted open, looking at the empty spot beside him.
He reached out and felt the soft cotton, finding it cold.
Light peeked beneath the closed drapes.
“Thorn,” he yelled, moodily, struggling to shift himself into a sitting position.
Their babies immediately tap danced on his bladder and he groaned at the urgency that came with it.
Being the size of a house, and just as unwieldy, his body had long since stopped him from doing anything quickly.
The twins he was expecting any day made everything a mission.
One his husband should be there to help him with, seen as it was him that got him up the duff!
Prove it.
He shook his head at his own stupidity.
Thorn had done more than ‘prove it’.
He’d whisked him out of the café and…
“Why couldn’t I keep my dick in my pants? I’m never having sex again, I swear it!” Scowling when his cock perked up at exactly how Thorn had proved they were mates and not once had a protest come from his lips.
He’d damn well begged, hadn’t he!
It was embarrassing, even now, how he should feel , but didn’t, at allowing Thorn to take him against a wall down a dirty alleyway at the back of the café when they hadn’t even exchanged names.
It was…
Mind blowing.
He squeezed his dick when it plumped up at how desperate he remained for Thorn’s touch.
He’d discovered his cock had a mind of its own when it came to his glorious mate.
Thinking about the last time they’d touched, which had been weeks ago because of the two little terrors inside him, wasn’t at all helpful when all it did was make the need to pee increase exponentially.
Ledger rolled like a beached whale onto his side and wriggled to the edge to get his feet under him.
Long since having lost the ability to actually find them or his center of gravity, he huffed and puffed like he was carrying a ton of weight.
Which he was.
The curses were loud and plentiful as he made his way from the enormous fourposter bed to the bathroom.
Thorn’s part of the house had a traditional and modern feel to it.
His bedroom was decorated with decadent and sumptuous furnishing that made it look more like a boudoir in a brothel.
Ledger loved it.
Though the external aesthetic of the winery looked pretty much the same as it had done since Thorn and his brothers had built it a millennium ago, the inside was a mix of old and new.
The bathrooms were modern, navy marble glittered with flecks of silver.
Ledger rubbed at his aching back as he padded to the toilet at a snail's pace. More curses followed when he couldn’t stand to pee and had to sit, which made the girls protest and kick out at being scrunched up inside his body. Being five feet and carrying twins had become more difficult as the pregnancy progressed. He tried every day not to think about how his body was going to cope with getting the babies out. He most definitely wasn’t giving it any deep thought because when he did, the panic was very real and made him feel faint.
Not prone to that kind of behavior before pregnancy, it had become his new normal, and it was all Thorn’s fault. He was going to kick his ass as soon as he appeared. He choked back a sob at how he wanted Thorn right there with him, telling him everything would be fine.
The girls became super active, like they were picking up every one of his thoughts. His belly looked as if he had aliens inside it trying to escape. Naked, because he was always too hot these days, he rubbed circles over the prodding feet and fists.
“I know daddy’s being grumpy, I’m sorry. But you really need to stop with the fist fight you’re having with each other.” It seemed Calvert and Dacian in the womb had done the same thing as his girls did frequently—fight each other.
“Sweetling, are you talking to yourself again?” Thorn asked with way too much amusement as he strolled into the bathroom, dressed immaculately in his usual slacks and smart button-down, making Ledger’s grumpiness increase at how he had to wear a tent rather than the nice, fitted clothes he loved. And okay, he had a habit of talking to himself, wasn’t it the only way to get a sensible answer?
Head tilting, his eyes narrowed on the vampire that was all to blame for his current situation.
You did this.
No, I damn well didn’t, he argued with his animal, it was all you.
Of course it was.
Ledger sniffed indignantly, continuing to pee, which didn’t seem to bother Thorn. The vampire had no boundaries whatsoever and mostly Ledger had no issue with it. Except now, everything bothered him. His ungainly body looked awful to him, and he had breasts. Come on, why did he need to have that injustice too?
He needed an outlet for his worries, and the vampire in front of him was the perfect sized target.
“No, I’m talking to the girls because I’m having to apologize for my grumpy behavior because their father turned me into a whale! An ugly, unattractive whale, with breasts, who can't see his own feet anymore.” He sniffed, blinking back the tears that were never far away now his hormones were on speed dial. “And you do know I’m peeing here.”
A wicked light came and went as Thorn’s eyes roamed over his hugely swollen belly and breasts full of milk. The state of his body hadn’t put off the vampire. If anything, it increased his need. And yes, it was sexy to feel so wanted, but there was one exception.
Their babies were vampires and could communicate with Thorn, which was very off-putting. Both of them had gotten a shock when they had alerted Thorn to their presence inside Ledger’s womb. It didn’t matter how careful they’d been during his heat’s—that he could remember—he’d ended up pregnant within months of their mating. Thorn had gotten down on one knee in a very romantic gesture and proposed. They had been married weeks later in the winery grounds. A perfect setting, with the valley of vines full of fruit stretching as far as the eye could see.
It was all very romantic and Ledger was a sucker for romance, something his husband knew. He sighed, eyeing the vampire with his enticing blue gaze that danced with love. Thorn came and crouched down in front of him, uncaring he was kneeling on the cold marble floor.
“Sweetling, you are the most perfect creature alive”—his hands stroked over his protruding belly, instantly calming the fight the girls were having in there—“and filled with my babies, you look glorious.” He brushed a kiss over Ledger’s pouty lips, continuing to stroke the huge mound. “Now girls, come on, give daddy a break. You had him up most of the night.”
They had. No position was comfortable for very long anymore. “They can’t give daddy a break ‘cause there’s no damn room for them to move without jabbing at daddy’s bits,” he gripped, back to feeling emotional.
The blue of Thorn’s eyes deepened. “It won’t be for much longer, Sweetling.”
“You said that a month ago!” Ledger grappled under his belly to shake his dick, then reached out for the countertop next to the toilet to heft himself up. In a flash, Thorn was up off his knees, helping him.
His mood shifted again at the ease with which Thorn could move. He slapped at his hand. “I can do it.”
Thorn stepped back, giving him room, which only pissed off Ledger more when he really wanted Thorn to help him. He sniffed back a sob at how irrational he’d become.
Thorn’s hands fluttered at his sides, lines appearing over his usually smooth forehead. “Please let me help?” he begged in a voice that made Ledger feel like crap when it made him realize he’d unintentionally hurt Thorn’s feelings.
His vampire was much more sensitive that folks gave him credit for.