Chapter 14
ION
The rumors about the heart vein were not exaggerated. Tasting Lori there was like nothing I’ve ever felt or tasted before. This night was the greatest of my life.
I slept for nearly three hours, which is something I rarely need. Having her in my arms, her soft, steady breathing, and the even beat of her heart, were like a balm to my soul. Even now, watching her sleep with the sun peeking around the blinds, I’m filled with gratitude for what I’ve found.
A low moan, and she stretches her body long like a cat. Her blue eyes blink open, and she smiles at me. “Good morning.”
I brush her wild red hair out of her face. “Good morning.”
“Did you sleep or just watch me?” She cuddles against me.
“I slept, and I watched you.” Her skin is like silk, and touching her is a gift. “Will you marry me, Lori? Will you make me part of your family and join mine?”
Rising to her elbow, she stares into my eyes. “Are you sure about this?”
“I have never been more certain of anything in my life.” I roll to my other side and open the drawer of the nightstand.
Pulling out a velvet box that I’ve had for two weeks, I kneel on the floor next to the bed.
Opening the box, joy fills me as her eyes brighten at the sight of the ring with one large central diamond surrounded by small, round sapphires and diamonds.
Sitting up, naked save for the sheet tangled around her waist and hips, she reaches out and touches the ring. “This is beautiful.”
“This is a promise. You are beautiful.”
Meeting my gaze, she asks, “What are you promising?”
“I will love you for the rest of my life. Together, we will build a life of respect and dedication. I will be your friend and care for you throughout your life. I will love and help you raise Dorothy and Olivia. I will treat them as my own. I am extremely wealthy, and all that I have would be yours. When you leave this earth, I will transfer my wealth to our family and leave this world so that I might stay with you in the next life.” I don’t need to breathe much, but I hold my breath and wait.
Tears spill over her bottom lids. “I love you, Ion. I will love you for all my life. I can’t wait to be a family with you. Yes. I’ll marry you.”
Taking the ring from the box, I slide it onto her finger. Rising, I pull her into my arms. “This is the happiest day of my life.”
“Mine too.” She sniffs. “Do you mind if we get cleaned up and go tell the twins?”
“Nothing would make me happier.” I have a family. A real family. Coming to Harmony Glen changed my life in ways I never could have dreamed.
Ihave lived all over the world, including for a few hundred years in the United States, but this is my first Thanksgiving.
Tilda and Max are hosting at their very large house in the woods northeast of town.
It’s the perfect setting and size appropriate for my granddaughters’ mates, a giant and a Sasquatch.
The meal was served early, and now Sam and the twins are playing a video game in the other room.
Mari pours more wine and sits next to me while Max and Tilda wash dishes.
Lori sits with a sigh and fills her glass as well. “They refuse to let me help with the cleanup.”
At the sink, Tilda and Max laugh and speak in low tones. I make an effort not to eavesdrop. “I think they enjoy the process, my love. Don’t be offended.”
With a shrug, Lori sips her wine. “They are welcome to do the dishes at my house if they like it so much.”
Mari laughs. “That makes me wonder where the two of you are living?”
We spend every night together, but the question is interesting. “Currently, between the two houses, however, we have plans to build a new home.”
Leaning forward, Lori studies the overly large dining room and the high ceilings. “We do need a house that will be comfortable for the entire family. I might like to host holiday dinners, and neither of our current residences is suitable for Max and Sam.”
I sit forward, take her hand, and kiss her fingers. “My thoughts exactly.”
“That is very thoughtful, but no one expects you to build a house suited for a giant.” Mari looks from Lori to me.
With her fingers locked with mine, Lori cocks her head and meets Mari’s gaze.
“I never expected to have more family than my girls. I thought a life without love was my penance for the poor decisions I made in my youth. I could never have guessed that I would find love and become part of a wonderfully diverse family, any more than I would have dreamed that Seth would check himself into rehab. Yet all of that has come to pass. My daughters have aunts and uncles and a father.” She squeezes my hand.
“I really hope Seth gets his life together and can be part of their lives, but even if he goes back to his old behavior, they will always have Ion.”
“I hope that for them too.” Mari sighs. “It is wonderful to have children in our lives.” She caresses her very round belly. With two months to go, the giant growing inside her is already larger than a full-term human baby. The local doctor is monitoring her closely and says all is well.
Sam and the twins roar with laughter from the living room.
Watching the girls climb all over their giant uncle, Lori grins.
“Ion and I looked at a very nice property on the edge of town. We plan to make an offer. There’s plenty of room for a large house with high ceilings and big lower-floor rooms. Our plan is to have human-sized bedrooms on the second floor. ”
“You’ve really thought about this.” Mari’s voice is soft and filled with wonder.
My heart is so full, I can hardly bear it. “We’ve done more than that; we’ve had an architect draw up blueprints.”
Tilda sits on Lori’s other side. “You’re building a house?”
Max joins us in one of two larger chairs. “That’s a big step.”
“I can show you the plans, if you’re interested.”
“Yes,” Tilda and Mari say at once.
Laughing, Lori crosses to the door where she left her handbag. She digs out her tablet and returns. Calling up the plans, she hands them to Tilda.
With careful study and several slides of her finger across the screen, she looks up. Tears well in her pale blue eyes. “This is what you want.”
Taking Tilda’s hand, Lori nods. “We’re family. Ion and I will be married soon. We want the entire family to be comfortable in our home.”
While she hands the tablet to Max, Tilda pulls Lori into a hug.
“This is very kind and a fine-looking home.” Max passes the plans along to Mari.
I watch Mari’s face brighten, and say, “We also want your child to be comfortable when he visits. I suspect human-sized things will be a bit small for the little fellow. I’m very fond of your meditation tower. I may ask Sam to build one for me once the house is finished.
With two giggling little girls hanging from his arms, Sam steps into the dining room. “I’m happy to build you whatever you need, but I’m going to need some dessert and my cohorts said there was cake.”
“Mommy baked it.” Dorothy drops to the floor and hugs Lori.
Soon the conversation turns to chocolate cake and where she found a cake pan so large.
Sitting back, I can’t help admiring my happy family. The future will be filled with wonder as Mari and Sam’s child enters the world. One day, Dorothy and Olivia will marry and have children. We’re growing, and Harmony Glen has welcomed each of us in.
I close my eyes and listen to the din of joy all around me. There’s a new flutter I haven’t heard before. Focusing my senses, I see if I can hear it again.
There it is, coming from Lori’s direction.
Opening my eyes, I stare.
“What is it?” With a frown, she stares back.
I check the back windows and note that the sun has fully set. “Will you take a little walk with me, my love?”
After a flash of confusion, she nods and takes my hand.
The back of the house is wooded with a small pond off to the left. The moon and stars glow across the water. We walk in that direction, and Lori grips my arm. “What’s wrong?”
“Nothing. Everything is perfect, it’s only… I heard something.” Who knew such a thing would be hard to say?
“What did you hear? Please don’t tell me someone is ill.” She stops walking and tightens her hold.
Pulling her into my arms, I kiss the top of her head. “No. Though I think we should see a doctor on Monday.”
“Ion. Tell me what’s happening.” Panic rings in her voice.
I cup her cheeks and press my lips to hers before meeting her gaze. “I think you are pregnant, Lori. I heard the flutter of a baby growing inside you.”
She stumbles back. “I thought that was impossible.”
Steadying her, I shrug. “It should be.”
“I’ve only been with you.” Her eyes are wide as saucers.
“Of course. If it were anything other, I would have smelled that on you. I never thought you were seeking affection elsewhere.”
A nervous laugh escapes her. “Then how?” She presses both hands over her stomach.
“I don’t know, but I’m almost certain you have life growing in your womb.” My heart pounds twice. This feels like a gift, but also a dream. I don’t want to move too fast and wake myself.
“I thought… when I missed my period… I thought it was just all the excitement of our new life. What kind of baby will it be?” Her blood rushes through her veins, and her pulse throbs faster.
“We’ll have to wait and see. It’s not as if vampires have made babies before Mari, and now me.” The wonder in my voice hardly sounds like me. After all, I’d believed I’d seen everything.
“I never dreamed I’d have another baby.” Her voice is far away.
Not sure what to do to comfort her, I close the distance and wrap my arms around her. “You’re upset. Believe me, I had no idea this could happen. It must have something to do with being true mates.”
Pressing her cheek to my chest, she relaxes. “Not upset. Astounded and… excited.”
I pull back to see her face. “You’re not terrified or disappointed that our life is not the way we planned?”
She grins up at me. “How can I be unhappy about bringing our child into the world, Ion? Human or vampire, this baby will be ours, and we will raise him in Harmony Glen, where the community will accept him.”
It’s possible my heart may have grown beyond the confines of my chest in the last few minutes. I actually have to gulp down a breath, and I barely need to breathe. I’m not used to my heart beating so many times in a minute. “Him?”
With a shrug, she smiles. “Just a hunch.” Turning her back to me, she leans in and looks at the moon between the trees. “Should we go back inside and tell the others?”
Wrapping my arms around her, I let the soft scent of flowers and beeswax comfort any fears I may have about becoming a father to three children. “In a little while, my love. For now, let’s just be thankful and enjoy this moment.”
“It’s perfect.” She sighs.
As usual, my mate is right. Everything is perfect.