Page 32 of Their Domme

“Nic,” Vas warned, but Emmerich had no such boundaries.

“Oh thank god.”

“That’s Blake’s nickname.”

“For fuck’s sake!” Emmerich bitched as Nicholette chuckled, a grin tugging at her lips. I just shook my head, trying to dislodge that from my brain, as Blake burst out laughing in the other room. Vas and Rhodes let out matching sighs of fond exasperation that showed just how unfazed they were by Nic’s particular brand of humor. Wulfric and Robin shared a look, both amused by what was happening, though their expressions iced over when they noticed my attention. They weren’t ever going to like me, but I could live with that. I was living with much worse things than being hated by them.

“You asked,” Nic mumbled, yawning.

“We aren’t leaving tomorrow until you talk to us more, Nic,” Rhodes told her, keeping his distance.

“I’ve shared information with you all, but none of you have shared anything with me,” Nicholette countered without any heat, not moving from where she was snuggled into Vas’ chest. “So you all have plenty to talk about tomorrow. Did you open the envelope I gave you?”

“No.”

“You should,” Nic mumbled, going from awake to sleeping in just a breath. She was exhausted, her body pushed beyond its limits. My arms ached, wishing she was with me, but I knew there was no way that was going to happen now. Her men were here for her.

I was back to being excluded, dismissed, something that was ever-present in our interactions together. That just made me think of earlier today and Nic’s revelation of me calling her on the anniversary of Iris’ death. I hadn’t even realized it was that time every year, though maybe I should have. I loved my wife even though she had been gone for almost twenty years now. Parts of her lingered in me, whispering to pieces of my soul I knew I’d never fully put back together again. Losing her had broken me and helped shape me into the twisted and cold man I was today. There was no going back to who I could have been.

Nicholette made me feel alive again. She didn’t meet my gaze with fear or run away when I approached. No, Liebling met me head on, always ready to challenge me in and out of the bedroom. Nicholette had never balked at what I did for a living; she always had questions about it, wanting details most would never want to know or dare ask. There were other men around, vying for her attention, but I wasn’t as bothered by that as I would have expected.

“This?” Rhodes’ question broke through my thoughts, and I glanced over in time to see the envelope the doctor had given her just this morning.Oh, you certainly don’t do things by half, do you, Nic?When he saw that she was asleep, he sighed and ripped the envelope open. The ultrasound picture fluttered to the floor, and Rhodes grayed, his hand shaking when he bent over to pick it up.

“Rhodes?” Maksim asked, uncharacteristic concern in his voice as he stepped toward his uncle.

Sacha came in and immediately noticed the tension. “What’s going on?”

“She—” Rhodes cleared his throat, but the shaking only seemed to get worse before he simply surrendered the paper to Sacha.

Sacha took it with a concerned look, and Maksim stalked over to look over his shoulder. Both men stared at it with shocked expressions, then they switched to looking at Nic and Vas.

“Someone better tell me what the fuck is on it,” Vas growled. The front door opened, and Bodhi and Alexei walked in, though both men stopped in their tracks the second they got a glimpse of the others.

“What’s going on?” Alexei asked, his face carefully blank. “Maksim?”

“Twins.” Sacha’s voice cracked slightly. “Nic’s pregnant withtwins.”

Emmerich whistled loudly before heading out of the room. “Remind me to thank Blake for setting me up with Cosimo. At least I don’t need to worry about that.”

“You’re welcome!” Blake shouted, and I couldn’t help but shake my head at their antics.They are impossible, both of them. I guess that means they’re my children.

Alexei took the paper, though Bodhi stood still, an odd look on his face. “Oliver walked off, and I can’t find him. I think he just needs some time to cool down.”

Sacha ran a hand through his hair. “It won’t be good when he gets back.”

“Good thing you have a lot of rooms,” Vas drawled as he looked in my direction. “We aren’t going anywhere.”

“I presumed,” I deadpanned, amused by the challenge in his gaze. “Take whatever guest rooms you want.” Rhodes was still standing in the middle of the room, his skin practically gray, while the others started to talk around him. Alexei walked over to Maksim, speaking to him quietly, then they both walked out the front after saying they would look out for the doctor. I took a step closer to my friend, drawing Rhodes’ attention, and inclined my head toward the back of the house where the pool was. He followed me, accepting the unspoken invitation.

We didn’t say anything at first. Both of us settled into seats at one of the tables, and he lit a cigarette after a few shaky attempts to make the lighter work. He inhaled deeply, the lines of his face deep as he desperately sought out some nicotine to help calm his swirling thoughts.

Rhodes and I had been friends since childhood, both of us having vastly different yet similar violent upbringings. There were only a few people that I actually counted as real friends, and Rhodes was one of them. We knew things about each other that most people would never be privy to, secrets both personal and business related, including the fact that Rhodes had almost been married once. After she died unexpectedly, he never talked about her again, which was no real surprise. His grief had spilled over at the funeral, completely consuming him until he lost it. When he was done, he had been hollow.

Not many had known about Lia at all, much less the baby she had been pregnant with. Complications from the pregnancy had killed both mother and child, leaving Rhodes alone with no outlet for his rage. I was with him through it all, unable to imagine the pain of his loss because I had lost my wife, but I still had Blake and Emmerich… even if they hated me.

“You went with her to the doctor?”

“Dragged her there this morning,” I said slowly, aware he was listening to everything I said and didn’t. “She had gotten her IUD out, but that’s it before now. I took her to the Family doctor. No questions asked and the best care possible.”

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