She just laid there in silence and let him rant and rave at her, those blue eyes closed off from him. Until he was done. And then she opened them, settled on him gently and talked softly. "If I didn't want you, we wouldn't be in this mess." He frowned. "And if I wanted to take them from you, you would never have found us."
His eyes darkened and he scowled down at her hard. The hell he wouldn't find her. He wouldn't have stopped until he found them.
She looked like she was about to say something more, but their daughter shifted against her. Heartfire leaned in and fussed over her quietly, so damn tender it made his heart ache. That was his baby she was lovin' on like that. She really liked her? She liked them?
"I just needed to protect them."
He ducked his head and watched from where he was, his anger washed out and replaced with anxiety, his brows raised and pulled together. All he had was Atrani, and now all of a sudden he had Zoe and Defy and Briella. And now these two. Honestly, he would've questioned if they were his had his first baby not been a precious redhead too. Alright, fine. And because Heartfire had likely been too busy to sleep with someone else. It took him fucking years to get anything from her.
She nuzzled at his little boy too, all cuddled in with them, but baby girl with her momma's blue gaze was looking at him. Goddamn, Heartfire. She was doing it on purpose so he couldn't be fucking pissed anymore and it was working. He was a damn puddle of blurry-eyed pathetic, watching that tiny girl test out the sound of daddy and beaming up at him like he wasn't the damn devil himself.
He sniffed and raised his eyes to his Dagger, observing her reaction, needing the confirmation that it was okay for her to call him that. Zoe still didn't know she was his and maybe Heartfire didn't want that either. It didn't seem to matter that it was their momma that told her to call him that, he still needed to be sure.
There was only love and softness on her face though, and she definitely had no idea how gorgeous she was when she looked like that or she'd wear that expression a hell of a lot more. He wasn't even sorry for the little spark of heat in his eyes as he stared back like some kinda wild animal, mouth drying and craving more.
"Come meet them, Dovev. Lay with us."
Well, he'd probably never hear those words from her again and he wasn't about to pass up on them now. He joined them, curling up so that their babies were tucked in between them, black eyes so soft like shadow on their little faces. God, and his boy had wings. Another one. That was just insane. And look at his girl's eyes lookin' like her sexy momma. Fuck, they were perfect. It ached so damn deeply that they were red like Atrani, so completely precious. It made him so damn vulnerable and he hoped Heartfire hadn't looked that far back into his memories. Or remembered.
"What are their names?" he whispered, meeting a teeny nose with a soft touch as the boy sniffed at him curiously, sticking close to his momma's side. The girl had his attention next and he breathed over her little neck, lipped at the curve of muscle with a face as dumb and soft as Heartfire's had been. He hoped Briella would like them. He should call for her soon.
we're slaves to any semblance of touch
Lord, we should quit but we love it too much
