#Chapter 415-Awake Ella
I’m up very early the next morning, my mind instantly on poor Sarah, poor Jessica, somewhere in the palace, probably worried about what on earth is coming next.
I slowly pull my body from its warm place at Sinclair’s side, grimacing as I try not to disturb him as much as I can – he’s so cute, my big tough Alpha, all vulnerable and sleeping and
“Just go, Ella,” he murmurs, his eyes still shut. I laugh a little, softly –
Because of course he felt me go every sense is attuned to me, to my safety. his
“All right, Dominic,” I murmur, leaning in to press a very soft kiss to his mouth. “But you stay asleep.”
“Noo problem,” he whispers, and then turns over as I roll to my side of the bed and quickly stand up. I give him a little glance over my shoulder – admiring the tanned muscles of his back for just a second – before leaning down to pick up my little baby.
Rafe is, as he usually is, awake and quiet, waiting for me to come and get him as I always do.
“Lovely little baby,” I murmur to him, nudging him with my nose as I take him over to his changing table to get him started for his day. “How did I get so lucky as to have such a good boy? Not even crying in the morning, so his mama can rest.”
Rafe gives a happy little squeal that makes me laugh, but it also makes me glance over my shoulder at my mate- because I don’t want to wake him. But Sinclair stays still, his shoulders moving gently with his soft breathing. Good – I want him to get his rest.
I change Rafe as quickly as I can and then take him into our gigantic closet to feed him while I pick out my clothes for the day. When Rafe’s finished eating I’m about to put him into his car seat so that I can take a shower, but a dark shadow falls over me.
“Give him here,” Sinclair murmurs, and I turn to smile at him as I hand the baby over.
“How did you know?” I ask, curious.
“Baby told me,” Sinclair says, smirking down at Rafe.
“What!?”
“Down the bond,” Sinclair clarifies, leaning close to give me a kiss on the cheek. “He didn’t want to go in the car seat. He called for me.”
“Clever baby,” I say, a little awed as I peer at my son, who burbles happily up at his dad. “That’s amazing.”
“He just wants to be held,” Sinclair says, giving a little shrug. “When you go to put him down, he calls for me instead of crying, like a human baby would. Not that amazing – just a… different way of letting his parents know what he wants and needs.” Then he heads back to the bed with the baby, probably to check his phone and relax, while I take my shower and get dressed. When I come out, Sinclair passes Rafe back to me and then gets ready himself and I dress the baby.
The result of this early morning is that we’re the first ones in the sunny breakfast room in which we’ll be meeting Sarah and Jessica. I tab my fingers on the table, staring at the door, before Sinclair places a passive hand on mine, making me stop.
“You’re not going to hurry them by worrying about it,” he murmurs, looking down at his phone, where he’s fielding about a thousand messages from the hundreds of ventures he’s started working on since our return from the bunker.
I scowl, knowing that he’s right, but hating it anyway. So rather than sit still, I take Rafe from the table to a small living area on the far side of the room and spread out a little blanket for us so that we can have a little play time before everyone else arrives.
I laugh for nearly half an hour straight as I play with my little boy, marveling at him. He’s just…already gotten so big, I can’t believe it. And he’s so bright, and sweet, and cheerful – god, I can barely believe that he’s mine. He’s fulfilled every wish I ever had about a mom – and beyond that, has allowed me to access a level of love and joy that I honestly didn’t know I was capable of.
“Sweet baby prince,” I murmur to him, leaning over to blow a raspberry on his little belly. “Do you know how cute you are!? And how much we love you!?”
Rafe gives a little squeal of affirmation and I feel a pulse down our bond – a little happy joy from his heart to mine.
“Oh my goodness,” I murmur, laying down on the floor next to him, bringing my face close to his and letting him reach out his little pudgy hands to touch my cheeks and my nose. As he does, I smile so hard it hurts. “Little baby Rafe,” I murmur, kissing his hands. “You are everything to me.”
“I don’t know about this,” a voice above me says, and I jump a little and then laugh when I see Sinclair standing above us, his arms crossed over his chest in mock anger. “I don’t know if I like the idea of this little guy stealing my best girl’s heart.”
I laugh harder, sitting up.
“Seriously,” Sinclair says, leaning over and pretending to talk to Rafe alone now, who just giggles up at him. ” You’d better knock it off, kid – it used to be me she talked to that way -”
“Don’t be jealous,” I sigh, taking Sinclair’s hand and tugging him down so that he sits on the floor next to us. “I can love you both.”
“Yeah well,” he murmurs, bringing his face close to mine and then dropping his head slightly so that he can run his lips over the skin of my neck. “Just make sure you always keep me at the top of your list of men you love, all right?”
“Oh, sure,” I say, rolling my eyes. And we’ll see how well you do at that once you have a daughter to steal your heart.”
“I’ll just pretend she’s a boy.”
I laugh now, both at his words and the soft tickly feeling of his lips on my skin. “Oh sure,” I say, sarcastic, “you’d just love that. A little girl trapsing around with Rafe and Cora’s son, getting into all the messes that boys do? There’s no part of you that would overreact to her being in any kind of danger as she played boys’ sports, participated in boys’ activities, learning how to fight and be an Alpha.”
“If she’s your daughter? She can handle it.”
“No, Dominic,” I say, soft now, pulling my head back a little to look into his face. “Your daughter would be strong enough to handle that, to handle anything. You’d make her strong, like you do me and Rafe.”
I see the way he melts a little then, the way his eyes go soft as he looks at me, truly hears my words. “Trouble,” he growls, lifting hand to my cheek and resting his forehead against mine, ” you’re the heart of everything. There is no strength without you.”
And then my mate presses his lips to mine, and our little baby gives a happy giggle, and I swear that my heart…will probably explode with happiness at any moment.
But before it can, we both hear the door open.
“Is…anyone here?” It’s Cora’s voice.
“Here!” I call after I break our kiss and take a second to clear my choked throat. I raise a hand and waive it so that Cora can see me.
Sinclair takes the opportunity to kiss me again, just briefly, as Cora, Roger, and Henry come over to us at the far side of the room. And then we both smile up at our family as they come into view.
“Why am I not surprised that you’re doing something bizarre?” Roger asks, frowning at us a little and putting his hands on his hips.
“What?” I ask, confused.
“You have an entire mahogany table with velvet-lined chairs,” Cora explains, waiving at the room, “as well as a full breakfast buffet set out. And yet the two of you are over here, sitting on the floor and making out?”
I laugh and roll my eyes at my sister, getting to my knees and then lifting Rafe into my arms. “You have no sense of fun, Cora,” I chide. Sinclair stands and puts out a hand to me, helping me to my feet.
“I have plenty of sense of fun -” she protests, crossing her arms. “I just like a cup of coffee first.”
“Well,” I say, gesturing towards the full pot of coffee waiting hot on the buffet, “help yourself, sister mine!”
“Um,” a sound comes from the door, and we all turn towards it. Sarah and Jessica are standing there, hand-in- hand, a guard in black standing behind them. “I’m so sorry – are we… interrupting?”
I blush a little – god, I’m supposed to be a queen, and this is the picture we’re presenting? Laying on the floor and bickering over who is more fun, the queen or the duchess?
“Please,” I say, hurrying across the room to stand in front of Sarah and Jessica, who I note are clean, and wearing fresh new clothes, and looking rested and happy. Or at least, happier than they did yesterday. “Won’t you come in and have some breakfast? We’re so excited to see you.”
I give them my best smile as they accept my invitation into the room, but as they move to fill their plates with some breakfast something in my stomach sinks a little. Because I’ve been having what is frankly a wonderful morning…but I know that things are about to get very, very dark.
