Page 46 of Sandro

“It’s more than that, Leo. And if that’s what you think is the reason, then I’ve done poorly in showing you how important you are to me.”

“I wouldn’t say that, Sandro. I know how important I am to you. And not because you can only drink from me. I only meant that as part of the reason, and if you deny that, you’d be lying. You love me, and I know that. You genuinely care about my well-being.”

“All you mentioned was true, but you are so much more than that to me. You are my everything. You give me a reason to wake up in the mornings, to smile again, to feel happiness. You are silly at times, and it’s adorable when you scrunch your nose when you’re concentrating too hard on something. You think I don’t realize how worried you are about your grandfather, but I do. I promise, he’s going to have to go through an entire vampire coven to get to you and our baby.”

“What will happen to that family if he doesn’t have someone to take over? Shouldn’t he already have a second or whatever?”

“He does. He would rather it stay in the family though, so he’s hoping to get to you. It’s never going to happen though, so don’t worry about it.” Sandro cupped the side of my face, and I leaned into the touch. “Are you ready to go for that walk now?”

Was I? I thought about it for all of a second before I shook my head. “Actually, can we go inside? I think I’d rather get something to drink and then maybe see if I could convince you to cuddle with me on the sofa.” Of course, the real reason for that was to convince him to fuck me. I would never outright say that out loud where someone else could hear, but the sudden need to be with my mate was hitting me hard. I knew that once we were in our suite, he’d not deny me, but it was just convincing him to go there instead of walking around the gardens that could be a challenge.

“Are you feeling well?” Sandro asked, suddenly concerned and in full doctor mode. I loved it, I truly did, but I hated that he automatically went there instead of thinking that maybe I just didn’t want to walk around the gardens.

“I’m good,” I told him. I looked around and saw one of the men over by the hedge that was along the perimeter, and although he was probably too far away to hear, I wasn’t taking any chances.

“I’m pregnant, Sandro. I’m about halfway through my pregnancy. I’ve been away from you for a couple of hours now. I want to get naked. You know…those whole pregnancy hormones?”

Sandro’s expression changed in an instant as realization hit. Just as expected, he wasn’t going to deny me. I found myself swept up into his arms, and I laughed as he took off toward the house. I would never be able to keep up with a vampire when they used their vampiric speed, and I didn’t know how any of them could do it while carrying another, but he could and did. We were in the house and at the door to our suite in seconds, and I absolutely wasn’t going to complain about that. Why would I?

Chapter 19

Sandro

Leo stretched beside me, and I grinned. I didn’t think that having a beloved would be like this, but I had very few complaints, and none of them had anything to do with my sweet beloved. No, those were all me, but I was trying to do better by Leo because he and our baby deserved it.

“You have a meeting with Marcello later this morning, right?” Leo asked.

I turned my head and smiled at him. He was still naked, as he should always be when we were in bed. Then again, I rather preferred him to be naked. It was just easier to get to all of his body when he was. And such a gorgeous body it was. Add in the growing bump where our baby was, and I couldn’t get enough of my beloved.

“I do. But not for a few more hours yet. Is there something that you want to do?”

“I was thinking. I know Rio is still gone and doing whatever it is that Master Vincent sent him to do, but you could do an ultrasound too? We could see our baby together?”

I felt a surge of warmth in my chest at his suggestion. “If that’s what you’d like to do, then I can certainly do an ultrasound. Are you sure though? Rio is doing all of your care.”

Leo glared at me. “Really? So it’s Rio that’s here taking care of me and cleaning me up when I throw up from pregnancy sickness?”

“Point made. I will correct my comment,” I said as I reached out and cupped the side of his face. “Rio does most of your care, and I thought you wanted one of those magical ultrasounds after the way Mazzi and Abel made them sound.”

“I do, but can’t you do one too? We could peek in on the baby and see how things are going?” Leo placed his hand against mine and held it there for a moment. We lay in the bed, staring at each other, and I didn’t know how or why he was my gift, but he was, and I was so very grateful for him. Yes, Abel and Mazzi saved me, but Leo did as well.

“We can do that,” I said quietly. “But you have to get dressed because I don’t have the ultrasound machine here in our suite, and I don’t want anyone else seeing you naked.” I knew it would probably happen eventually. I wasn’t raised around a bunch of shifters. I was a vampire, and I’d grown up in a coven, and I still belonged to one.

Leo sighed dramatically. “I’ll get dressed. But you were just thinking how you liked me being naked.”

I chuckled as he rolled away and toward the other side of the bed. “Very true. But I don’t want the others seeing you running around the villa naked.”

Leo looked over his shoulder at me. “It’s going to happen when I can shift again, Sandro. Unless Master Vincent is going to install large doors that I can pass through when I’m in my feline form, I won’t be able to leave the villa. And that means I’ll have to either walk outside naked or get undressed out there.”

“I understand that. I’m still a bit overly protective of you, and no vampire likes for others to see their beloved naked.” I was certain there were some that enjoyed it as a part of their foreplay; that wasn’t me though.

Leo walked around the bed and then disappeared into the closet. He needed to buy more clothes, but I wasn’t going to push. He would when he was ready. I smiled when he came out of the closet a moment later in a pair of pull-on lounge-type pants and one of my button-down shirts. It was a little too big for him in the shoulders, and it hung on him in ways that you could certainly tell it wasn’t his, but I did not care. He looked amazing in my clothing, and I never knew until this moment that was a thing for me.

“All right, I’m ready,” Leo said. My smile grew. I looked down at his bare feet, and he huffed. “Are you really going to be a stickler about me being barefoot in the villa?”

I slowly shook my head. “Not even a little,” I told him. He wasn’t the only one who went barefoot in the villa. “Are you ready, then?”

Leo finally smiled at me. “I am. I want to see our baby.”