Page 60 of Thorns That Bloom (Venusverse #3)

Sam

I lazily roll onto my side, face sinking into the warm, soft pillow. Letting out a deep exhale, I enjoy the sense of calm from a good night’s sleep. Birds chirp somewhere in the distance; a tender, cheerful melody. Otherwise, the world is peaceful. Quiet.

Wait. Peaceful…and quiet?!

My eyes snap open. I jerk my head up, reaching for the bassinet only to find it empty. I sit and look around, breathless panic surging through me until I see Theo standing in the kitchen, Melody peacefully in his arms, drinking from a bottle he’s holding for her.

I’ve never been happier for the open-plan layout, because it feels like another second of not seeing her would’ve given me a heart attack. My god. Why do I always feel like this?

Theo gives me a confused glance as I put my hand over my chest and plop back down with a sigh.

“I’m sorry for startling you,” he says, mild amusement shining through his words.

“You were sleeping so soundly, and she was hungry. I managed to get up and make a bottle before she started bawling.” He sounds proud of himself.

I no longer feel the prickling sensation of near-heart attack underneath my skin, so I slowly sit again, pulling myself against the headboard. I don’t know how I slept through them moving about. Usually, my eyes snap wide open the second she so much as whimpers in her cot.

I guess I was tired enough.

“Thank you,” I say with a smile once Theo walks up to the bed.

The bottle is nearly finished and Melody’s sucking happily, balled fists bobbing up and down.

I take a moment to admire the whole picture—the sight of Theo wearing nothing but his boxers, his honey-blond hair all ruffled.

I never would’ve thought that just seeing those muscular arms carrying a tiny, helpless baby would be such an incredible turn-on. And not just in a sexual way.

Every time Theo holds Melody with that intentional care of his, or when he looks at her like she’s the most precious thing in the world, I want to smash my head against the wall with how unable I am to deal with the intense, overwhelming, completely deranged bliss I experience.

How can one body contain so much feeling? It can’t.

“Of course. I couldn’t really help lately, since I’ve been working nights,” he says, all smiley. It’s good that at least one of us is an early bird. “I burned my wrist a little when testing the milk, but don’t worry, I made sure it was good before I gave it to her.”

I snort in response to his dumb grin. “You idiot.”

“It was a-okay, wasn’t it?” he coos at her in his baby voice once the bottle is empty and Melody stops sucking.

“Yes, it was!” Turning on his heel, Theo goes to put the bottle in the kitchen and comes back to bed, already gently patting her back to burp her.

Once he sits on the edge of the bed, I move in to give him a kiss.

“So, bad news… I don’t think I have any clean shirts left here.”

I glance around. Washing. Need to do the washing. Crap.

“You should be able to fit into my old pregnancy ones,” I note. Theo nods happily, even though he looks more focused on burping Melody.

As I watch him be the best dad and just completely, disgustingly perfect, something shifts inside me. “You might as well move in at this point,” I blurt out. Theo immediately stops all his movements and turns his head to me, eyes wide. “I mean, you…pretty much live here already.”

He realizes I’m serious, and his entire face lights up.

That damn smile. I adore it.

“Really?”

“Really,” I say. “Where else would I get a free, twenty-four-seven babysitter?”

Theo shoots me a playful glare, snorting over my joke.

I’ve never asked anyone I dated in the past to move in.

It never went that far. I used to find my independence so important, but what’s the point of independence when I want to share my life with somebody?

Two hearts beating in one rhythm, as Theo likes to call us, shouldn’t be separated by tenancy agreements or ZIP codes, should they?

Melody has burped enough for about a week, so Theo puts her back into a cradling position and just stares at her lovingly while holding her little hand and humming one of the many lullabies in his repertoire.

She coos, wriggles a little, and then stills before letting out a groan, a little sniffle, followed by a full-blown cry.

“Oh, no. No, no, no, it’s okay,” Theo mutters, shoulders tensing, and rocks her to the best of his ability, desperation marking his face. “Everything’s okay, Melon. Shhh…”

Unfortunately, nothing helps. It never does. I watch him with furrowed brows, as I always do, my heart breaking at his attempts to soothe her until he eventually gives up and hands her to me with that defeated expression.

“Don’t,” I warn sternly, not wanting him to torture himself again, but it’s too late. With his bottom lip held up like he’s going to join the baby in her wailing, he hunches next to me.

“You’re right that I might as well be living here, because I do. I’m with her all the time, and every time I hold her, she ends up crying.” The genuine anguish in his voice makes my chest tighten.

Melody is already babbling peacefully in my arms, her dewy pink cheeks and the few leftover tears glistening on her skin the only evidence of her outburst left.

“It’s not every time.”

“Pretty much. I…I don’t know what I’m doing wrong. The moment food stops being involved, she just freaks out. I don’t think she likes me. What if she doesn’t like me because she can sense that—”

“Hey!” I snap my finger in front of his face, making him blink and hopefully wake up from the gloomy prison he’s locking himself into.

“Don’t be ridiculous. She’s a baby. Babies are stupid, Theo.

You read all those child development books, didn’t you?

You know she doesn’t even realize that she’s a separate being from me.

She thinks I’m an extension of her. That’s all it is.

She loves you because you love her. Don’t you dare suggest otherwise. ”

Like a dog with its ears down, Theo lowers his chin, a smile slowly growing on his lips. Finally, he sighs. “I suppose you’re right.”

“Of course I’m right.”

I move aside for him to sit next to me. He rests his head against mine so we can feed off the adorable sight of Melody together.

It’s like a drug I never knew I needed. That and her smell.

Ah, that comforting, heavenly, new-baby smell.

It’s already fading from her soft brown hair, but it is imprinted in my mind forever.

“We need a little more time for our brain to develop to appreciate Papa, don’t we?” I say, puffing out my cheeks and exaggerating my expression at her as I play with her tiny, kicking feet.

Theo leans in, tickling her belly.

He flinches when a high-pitched screech comes out of her. Or rather, her attempt at a giggle. Melody smiles widely, her eyes wrinkling and tongue lapping around in her little mouth.

We share a pleased glance. “See?” I peck his cheek. “Told you. She loves you.”

He plays with her while Melody smiles, but when her eyes start to do that thing they do when she’s tired, we ease up on the fussing, and I rock her in my arms until she’s sound asleep.

Theo is already halfway done with breakfast pancakes by the time I finally get up and walk into the kitchen. Still only wearing his boxers… I almost get caught shamelessly checking out his ass when he turns around at me.

“Can you make coffee?”

“Sure.”

Once we’ve established that not only do I not enjoy cooking, but I’m also not very good at it, Theo happily accepted his position as chef, and my job became making coffee. I like that arrangement very much.

I watch the sunrise through the kitchen windows while the coffee brews. The warm colors paint the sky with stunning pinks and golds. When I check the time, it’s six thirty. I accept it; time no longer means anything since coming home with Melody.

It hasn’t been as bad as I expected, though… Exhausting and bordering on torture at points, but bearable. Mostly thanks to how perfect she is when not crying at various hours of the day.

Or perhaps thanks to the most incredible person in the world helping me through it.

I zone out a little, and by the time I come back to Earth, we’re sitting at the table together, the scent of coffee mixing in with the deliciousness of the pancakes with whipped cream and berries Theo serves us.

“Mhmm… I didn’t know we had cream.”

“I got some last night, on the way from work,” Theo says, looking at me with a satisfied smile from across the table, a cup of coffee in hand.

“Oh!” I blurt out, a thought popping up abruptly. My brain’s finally warming up enough to function properly. “I forgot to tell you yesterday. Gail called me.”

Theo’s face takes on a more serious expression. “I thought we said it would be better to wait a few more months before pursuing the—”

“Wasn’t about that,” I say calmly. It’s sweet how protective he gets of me right away. Relaxing his shoulders, Theo nods. “Remember the email I found among the ones I received from all my old coworkers? The one from the girl who confided in me that she experienced something similar as well?”

His eyes flicker with pained sympathy. “Yeah. Did she take you up on the offer to join in and start working with Gail and the others?”

“Yeah. Gail said they’re in contact. That it could be big.

Once everyone’s ready to get it going. There must be more victims, so they’re still looking.

There could be criminal charges. And Magnolia really thinks this could be a part of their larger push to rework or completely dismantle the ROPID laws those alphas hide behind.

It will take some time, but hopefully, it’s going to…

have a good outcome. Help a lot of people.

Anyway, that’s…not really why she called.

Gail was asking me if I’d like to be a part of a social media campaign they’re going to run.

Interviewing survivors and spreading awareness. ”