Fateful 2-Fractured (21 page)

She watched as Ethan, almost reverently
devoured the lunch of sushi, tea, chocolate cake and pizza.

Danielle could only stomach the tea and
cake.

“I know you can’t have the sushi right now,
but you need to eat better than that if our baby is going to
grow.”

“I’ve lost my appetite.” She looked around
the nicely furnished room, and her eyes landed on the door to the
private bathroom. Rising from the chair she was seated in, she made
for it.

Ethan, who was becoming a bit too
overprotective, asked, “Are you sick? Please tell me you’re
not.”

“I’m not,” she said over her shoulder, “I
just want to take the shower I couldn’t take this morning.”

Snatching up another slice of pizza Ethan
followed. “I’ll join you,” he said, his tone suddenly excited as he
nipped off the pointed end of the pizza slice first.

“While you eat?” she asked, stepping into
the bathroom and tugging off her boots.

“I’ll be done with this before you’re
naked.” He then chomped off three more bites and kicked off his
shoes.

Ethan had finished before she’d gotten her
panties off, and then joined her under the spray of hot water.
Snuggling against his slick chest, she frowned. “How will your
being turned affect this part of our married life?”

“We can still be close like this.” He looked
down at her with his gaze shifting to his hand while he touched her
hair as it became saturated with water. “Still make love … just not
at night when the curse surrounds me.” Worried blue eyes returned
to hers.

She groaned. “I hate mornings.”

“Dusk?”

“I don’t want to feel rushed…” The
sting of tears returned.
These darn
hormones!

Ethan pushed the tears away with wet thumbs.
“I have to do this. How else can I keep my wife and baby safe?”
Ethan stroked one hand over her still flat stomach. When he spoke
this tenderly about their child, it lulled her worries about being
pregnant so soon in their marriage.

Ethan kissed her cheek and continued, “Beon
was right about that. I’m too weak as a mortal.”

“Do you regret it?” She still wondered about
this, even though he continued to deny it. Giving up such amazing
strength had to have been difficult for any man.

“We’ve been over this. We couldn’t have ever
conceived this baby if I were still a vampire. And food … I can
still taste that pizza. Pure heaven. I don’t miss what I gave
up.”

“Nothing?”

His cheeks flushed. “Well, mostly. The
superhero thing was nice...”

“You do miss it! Is that why you volunteered
to go back so quickly?”

“Danielle,” a slight reprimand was now
tainting his gentle tone. “Beon gave us no choice. Protecting you
and our child is more important to me than anything else. If I
could have kept you safe without going back I would have done it.
But, as with the others, I see no other way around it. This is
dangerous. The other vampires have threatened a war. If you weren’t
pregnant, I would have let Beon turn you, or done it myself.”

“What?”

He forced her closer when she tried to pull
away. “Think about it, Max was right. With your defensive skills,
you would be highly dangerous as a vampire.”

Danielle frowned, dropped her gaze to his
slick chest and then imagined herself performing some Lara Croft
moves and realized he was right. “I see your point,” she mumbled
while trailing one finger over the rivulets of moisture running
down his torso.

“Good girl, now kiss me,” he said with the
edge of his hand coming up under her chin to tip her face toward
his.

When he pressed her back against the shower
wall, she gasped at the sensation of having the cold tile touching
her back and his warm flesh touching her front.

She moaned into his mouth when he pressed
his parted lips to hers. He swallowed the sound and then made his
own, which she felt vibrating in his chest and against her lips.
She could feel his heart thumping against hers, and his hands,
those strong hands, were everywhere.

Danielle knew what he wanted, and she wanted
and needed the same. But…. “What if Sophia walks in? You know how
she is.”

“Let her. It would serve her right.”

His lips roved as much as his hands. Her
eyes slid shut and she rocked her head back against the wall. Ethan
let a breath slip inside her mouth. It was still so delectable to
her, even with the garlic and tomato flavors from the pizza. What
will this be like when he’s a vampire again? His breath had been so
much more powerful and magical then. Would she be able to withstand
it without fainting every time especially now that she was
pregnant?

Chapter 13

No Longer a Prince

It seemed that Sophia knew better than
to disturb them today. She and Ethan had spent hours together,
uninterrupted. While it wasn’t
their
home, the accommodations were nice. But it
was nearing dinnertime now, and they both knew Sophia would need to
bring food soon.

Right on cue, as usual, there was a soft
knock at the door. It was Sophia and Nadia, both carrying trays
filled with more of Ethan’s favorite foods: steamed salmon, mashed
potatoes, filet mignon, shrimp, and of course, curry. Not to
mention pumpkin pie, and sticky toffee pudding, and some more
chocolate cake.

“You’re going to be so sick.”

“It’s absolutely worth it. Tomorrow
I’ll be wishing I
could
feel
painfully full.”

“And you’re sure there isn’t any other way
around this?”

“I think they would have come to us if
they’d figured out something new. And
I,
for one,
have not been thinking about
that
…”

Danielle couldn’t help but blush with that
comment made right in front of Nadia and Sophia. Who appeared to
not notice as they took a seat on either side of Danielle on the
slip-covered sofa in this large bedroom suite. “How do you feel?
Have you had morning sickness?” Nadia asked.

“Yes, a few days of that, but I’ve been okay
for the most part.”

“May I?” Sophia asked, as she leaned over
Danielle’s stomach to listen.

“But the baby is only about so big…” She
held her thumb and forefinger a little under an inch apart. “You
won’t be able to hear anything yet.”

Sophia’s ear was already against Danielle’s
belly, and she had her eyes closed. “Shh, darling, I can hear just
fine.”

“You can?” she asked and then glanced at
Ethan, who’d just shoveled a spoonful of curry into his mouth.

When he gave her a knowing look, it clicked.
Of course the vampire could hear already, even during the day when
the curse was at its weakest. “Oh.”

Sophia listened for a while, after which,
she sat upright, tugged Danielle into a hug and then kissed her on
the cheek. “I’m so happy for you both.”

“Thank you.”

“Are you frightened?” Nadia asked.

Yes, terrified.
“A little bit.” She slanted a glance toward Ethan catching
the look in his eye that said he knew that wasn’t true.

While the idea of a baby did appeal to her,
it was the pregnancy itself that conjured up fears in her heart,
mainly because it also meant a guaranteed hospital stay and
multiple doctors’ visits. Though she could concede, even despite
herself, there were many worse things to worry about.

“You’d better eat before Ethan manages to
scarf it all down,” Sophia said, eyeing him with a bit of shock at
his lack of manners.

Ethan tried to look innocent while holding a
half eaten slice of cheesecake.

“And…” Sophia continued, as she motioned to
a covered dish. “We brought something special, just for you.”

“Really?” Her eyes widened as Nadia lifted
the dish from the table, set it on her lap, and removed the lid.
“Oh! How did you know?”

“Ethan mentioned you’d been craving
them.”

“Yes. Thank you,” she said to her husband,
then addressed Sophia. “And this is the worst time of year to be
craving chocolate dipped strawberries. Where did you get them?”
Danielle asked as she lifted one by the leafy stem and bit into the
chocolate-smothered end.

“We special ordered them this morning, right
after that … meeting.” Frowning deeply, Sophia and Nadia didn’t
appear pleased with the turn of events.

“Nadia, I’m sorry. This must be so upsetting
for you—”

“Stop it. Did you not see how excited Max is
to go back?”

“I noticed,” she said looking at Ethan. “But
now you’re mortal and he’s not, or rather, won’t be in a couple
hours.”

“We’re together in this, you and I,” said
Nadia.

“I feel so bad. Aren’t you in danger now
too?”

“Just by association, yes. But it’s easier
for them if we stick together. Both Max and I will be going with
you two to Glenwood Springs. We can plan for this baby together.
Decorate the nursery and shop…. It should be so much fun!”

“Wouldn’t you prefer getting your own
place?”

“We did purchase something in Colorado. And
we had a flat in the city too. But, not only is it easier if we’re
kept together, it’s safer too.”

“I see.” Danielle bit again into the berry
and savored the way the chocolate and fruit mixed inside her
mouth.

“May I have one?” Nadia asked, her fingers
hovering over one of the strawberries.

“Of course.”

Nadia snatched the covered berry and took
several minutes savoring it. Watching her enjoy food was almost as
much fun as watching Ethan eat. The former vampire’s emerald eyes
rolled back with pure content as she moved the flavor and textures
around in her mouth. When she’d finished everything but the stem,
though it looked like she’d considered eating that too, Danielle
couldn’t help but offer her another while she took one for
herself.

Despair settled around her, however, when
she then noticed the sun was setting as they’d finished with dinner
and Ethan was groaning happily while he held his full stomach.

The door opened soon after that, and Max,
Beon, Cedric and Seth entered, all of them wearing grim faces. It
felt to her like jailers had come to take Ethan away permanently.
The sentence decided and about to be carried out. There was no way
to protest this, and her saddened gaze slid to him. She knew he’d
given up many things to become mortal, now he had to give up the
things of mortality that he’d embraced so fully, and so
happily.

Ethan rose from his seat, brushed the crumbs
from his lap and tugged Danielle into his arms. “I’m sorry about
this. But it’s the only way. Please, forgive me?” he whispered
against the flesh just below her earlobe. “I love you so much, you
must know that. And I’ll do anything it takes to keep both of you
from harm.”

The tender words weakened the fear
threatening to strangle her at that moment. And the comforting
warmth of it rendered her speechless, though there was so much she
wanted to say. “I love you too,” she barely managed on a trembling
breath.

He kissed her then, and it was the kind of
searing kiss that would have embarrassed her in front of this
crowd, but not this time. “Can’t I come?” she asked when he pulled
away, and wondered where the words came from because she wasn’t
certain she had the nerve to witness that.

“I’ll come back in the morning. Don’t wait
up for me.” He turned to Sophia. “Would you please bring her some
bedtime tea?”

Sophia glanced once at Danielle and then
nodded curtly.

She then felt Nadia wrap her arms
around her in a hug that felt strangely like a restraint. “Let’s
play cards. I’m in the mood for a game.” She then wondered if Nadia
was really attempting to restrain
herself
from desperately grasping onto
Max.

The men left, and she was almost surprised
they hadn’t bothered to force Ethan, or even needed to. He went
willingly and she didn’t like how that made her feel.

* * * * *

Danielle stared at her hand of cards without
being able to really see them. She felt numb and worried about how
things were going to be from this point on. How would this affect
their relationship? Would they be able to defeat so many vampires
rising against them? Would moving to Colorado help? Or would that
just drag out the inevitable? Would Ethan be willing to go back
after this? Or would she be stuck raising a child with a vampire
for a father? What sort of fairytale was she living where the
prince turned back into a frog?

Nadia’s sweet voice cutting into her
thoughts made her jump reflexively. “It’s your turn, Danielle.”

“Hm? Oh…” Her gazed dropped to the cards,
the cards she still couldn’t see, and she lowered them to the
table. “Sorry, my heart just isn’t in this game.” And she felt
really tired. So sleepy, in fact, that she wondered if Sophia had
spiked her tea, or was it just being pregnant that was sapping her
strength so quickly? Regardless of the reason, she was grateful for
it, wanting to sleep and forget her worries, or at least be
unconscious, so they couldn’t keep plaguing her mind.

Danielle watched through her heavy lashes as
Nadia yawned, and then said, “I’m completely wasted, let’s go to
sleep.”

She agreed mutely with a lethargic nod.

They both climbed into the large bed because
it was the closest one available.

Seconds later, she felt her body melt into
the mattress as nothingness surrounded her in its comforting
blanket of zero thought.

* * * * *

Her brain was still drunk with drowsiness
when she stirred, and she couldn’t remember where she was.

But she knew she wasn’t alone. She pushed
her heavy eyelids up. “Ethan?” she slurred, and then when her
vision focused, she blinked at the sight of two big green eyes
staring back at her.