Page 10 of The Monster’s Obsession (A Monstrous World #5)
Chapter Ten
Vivie
T he next couple of days pass in a blur.
So much sex.
Amazing sex.
Life-changing fucking.
I’m not sure how I’m supposed to let Saber go after this, but we haven’t had the opportunity to talk about where we stand.
I’m grateful I won’t have to go back to my apartment, at least not completely alone.
Laz and I bonded.
That means either he’ll be moving into my apartment, or I’ll be moving in with him…
I just wish I knew where Saber’s head was at. There’s no way to be sure who fertilized the eggs, but Laz’s kraken is sure one of them was successful.
It’s exciting and stressful all at once.
I’m going to get a few baby books and sit down with Emerson to ask if she has any tips for a first-time mom. And even if it’s a little scary, it really does fill my heart with joy to imagine little mini kraken slithering around the house.
We might need to look for a bigger place.
What are you going to do if one pops out looking distinctly Saber-like?
Fuck.
I have no idea, and it’s starting to make me nervous that he hasn’t brought it up.
Early the next morning, Laz kisses my forehead, nuzzling his nose to mine. “You feel much cooler this morning.”
My eyes pop open, and he grins.
“Morning,” I mumble, sleepy and out of it.
“I don’t know about you, but I’m starving. I’m going to run down and see if the smells I’m catching whiffs of are Samson cooking.”
“Okay,” I agree, snuggling back against Saber’s warm chest.
“I just didn’t want you to wake up and find me missing.” He pecks a kiss on my lips and crawls off the mattress.
Closing my eyes, I try to shut my mind off to fall back to sleep. It doesn’t work, and all the hazy worries I’ve had over the last few days come back even stronger.
I pathetically wished for my quickening to never end so I didn’t have to deal with the reality of all of us going back to our own lives.
Saber said some things that made me think maybe he wants more, but he was also balls deep, and men lie when their euphoria is high.
At least my magic is fully satiated for the first time in a very long time. For whatever reason, sex with Laz and Saber together filled me up in a way that’s hard to achieve.
Or maybe my body is content knowing it’s growing three eggs?
Laz has told me before that full-blooded kraken are often born in monster form.
They’ll come out with a mouth of razor-sharp teeth, knowing how to swim and capable of eating small fish.
I’m just not sure if, with my DNA in the mix, they could be born siren.
In the supernatural world, children most often take after their father’s genetics, but I took after my mother.
There really is no way to tell, so I’m not sure why I’m even worrying about it.
If I was only incubating the eggs, they would all come out male kraken, but some of the babies could be girls, and they could take after any of the three of us.
Boys are one thing.
Daughters are another completely.
You have to be vigilant about protecting all children. Female siren are just at a much greater risk of being abused because our powers can manifest in late adolescence. Just because a siren’s powers manifest, it does not mean they’re an adult.
It doesn’t matter.
I will protect my offspring in a way my mother never did for me.
“Morning, Mama,” Saber says next to my ear. His voice is low and gravelly, lined with sleep. “How’s my baby?”
“Your baby?”
“Yup,” he agrees, nuzzling his cheek to mine from behind. “At least one of those babies you’re carrying is mine. Possibly two, based on how strongly your scent changed yesterday.”
My eyes widen, and I choke out, “What?”
He chuckles, low and throaty. “Don’t worry, at least one belongs to Laz.
I guess we’ll see who has the superior sperm, but I was hardcore focusing on getting at least one of my swimmers to hit the egg.
” More of that sexy laughing that makes his warm breath fan over my throat.
“To be fair, even in my wildest dreams, I never expected the egg I was fertilizing to be Laz’s, but I’m ignoring that mindfuck for the time being.
” His calloused palm slides over my lower stomach.
“I know you mentioned you won’t get the cramps that normally come after the quickening winds down.
Does that mean you’re back to feeling like yourself? ”
I raise my hand, wiggling it from side to side. “I’m mostly back to normal. There may be a few mild waves, but I think yesterday was the last real day.”
He grabs my shoulder, turning me to face him. He has to make room for me to lie on my back, and once I’m settled, he studies my face.
“I know you can’t scent it, but when I touch you, you can feel it.” He cradles my cheek in his giant hand as his light gray eyes glow. “Can’t you?”
A warmth radiates in my chest the same way it does when Laz touches me, and I nod. “I do.”
“My sphinx never would have let me fuck you partially shifted if you weren’t my mate.” He quirks an eyebrow. “You get that. Don’t you, beautiful?”
My jaw falls.
To be fair, I’ve been out of it.
The quickening is filled with waves of being incoherent, followed by periods of lucidity, and when I was mentally clear, he and Laz took turns making me eat, drink, use the bathroom, and occasionally shower.
My eyes narrow as I remember. “You watched me while I peed!”
He grins unrepentantly and shrugs. “You didn’t seem to have a problem with it at the time.”
“Because you threatened to spank me if I didn’t use the bathroom and take a shower.”
“Mmm, the shower was enjoyable…” He snickers, and my heart beats funny.
I’ve always been able to tell how handsome Saber is, but seeing him smiling and happy is enough to steal the air from my lungs. “You truly think we’re mates?”
“Sorry, Mama. I know we are. You aren’t getting rid of me.” He dips his mouth to mine for a slow, tantalizing kiss that makes me squirm under him.
Okay, maybe the quickening hasn’t completely come to an end. Feeling his warm chest press against my nude breasts as he devours me whole sends a needy ache through my entire body.
“Ah-hem,” Laz says from somewhere nearby.
Saber doesn’t let Laz distract him, continuing to ravage my mouth with his tongue.
He pulls back from the kiss all too soon and growls, “What?”
“Samson has breakfast on the table,” Laz says. “And Vivie needs to eat regularly. She missed a lot of calories while we were all hazy, but she went from eating for one to eating for four.”
Holy shit.
Saber nods, not taking his eyes off mine. “Eat a full breakfast, and Laz and I will thoroughly reward you for your good behavior.”
A shiver runs down my spine, and I find myself nodding.
Damn, I love this version of Saber.
Breakfast includes a solid variety of options I can actually eat, and I love the way Laz makes a point of feeding me by hand.
Once we’re done, Saber cleans off the table, piling it in the sink or on the counter nearby.
Does he have a housekeeper on top of a chef?
With a place like this, I wouldn’t want to be responsible for all the cleaning necessary to manage its upkeep, either.
He comes back to the table, wiping his palms off on his sweats. Sliding onto the chair next to Laz, he glances between us. “Okay, so how long until your leases are up?”
My head tilts.
“Mine won’t renew for three or four months,” Laz says.
Saber looks at me.
I shrug. “I have no idea. I think mine is in summer.”
Man, I suck at being an adult. I never pay attention to that kind of stuff. I just wait for the renewal letter to show up in my mailbox and let the owner know I plan to stick around for another year.
“Well, I’m not sure how long kraken eggs incubate for, but I would like to get the two of you moved in before the babies are born.” Saber looks at Laz. “Preferably before then.”
“Yeah, so…” Laz chuckles. “I can give you an estimate, but the eggs don’t really work like a normal human or shifter pregnancy.
A lot of it depends on how many eggs are implanted.
My mom gestated almost an entire year for solo births.
Six months with twins, so I think we’re looking at four or five months.
But her body will signal to the eggs when it’s safe to grow, so if Vivie takes a little extra time to emotionally adapt to the idea of motherhood, it could be longer. ”
“What?” I croak. “So I could house these eggs for months before they even start to develop?”
Laz grimaces. “Sorry, precious. That part is all up to you.”
Okay, so how do I tell the eggs that I’m ready for them to start growing?