Page 33 of Their Domme

“Tell me everything.” Rhodes didn’t look at me as he deeply inhaled, the burning end of his cigarette bright in the dark.

“He took some blood for tests, like normal checks. Everything that came back while we were there was normal,” I replied, staring out into the night. “After a few measurements, he estimated she’s about eleven weeks along, almost out of the first trimester. He also did an ultrasound, and that’s when he saw the two sacs. Fraternal twins.”

Rhodes didn’t say anything right away. He kept taking long drags of his cigarette, lost in thought, until he suddenly spoke again. “I knew she was pregnant. Bodhi found the test when we were trying to figure out what had happened.”

“That’s different than facing the reality of it,” I commented.

“It is.”

“Nicholette isn’t Lia. She’s strong.”

Rhodes shot me an angry look. “She just passed out, Ansel!”

“After running around all day, being highly stressed, and seeing all of you again, which hasn’t been exactly smooth sailing,” I listed, arching an eyebrow. “It won’t be easy. Hell, a pregnancy with one child isn’t easy, but twins… I bet it’s something else. But you aren’t alone. The others are there to help bully her into taking care of herself. As much as she will allow you to, anyway.”

A broken laugh escaped him at that, then he shook his head. “And you? You’ll be there.”

“Nic and I are just friends,” I told him, dodging the question.

A hand clamped on my shoulder, tightly squeezing where I had been shot, making me hiss. Rhodes glared at me. “That’s not what I meant, and you know it.”

“I’m not with Nicholette,” I told him, rolling my shoulder to get him to release me. He did, but he gave me an expectant look that said he wanted me to keep talking. “Nicholette and I are friends, and that’s it. We’ve had sex, sure, but it’s never been more than that.”

“True, but you aren’t going to leave her alone, are you? From the sounds of that kiss, you both are avoiding talking about it even though it seems like it could be more.”

“It was a kiss,” I insisted with a shrug and a sigh. I leaned back when he shot me an annoyed look. If it were anyone other than Rhodes, I would have stuck to my guns, but I wasn’t some unfeeling monster. My friend was hurting, and he was scared. I could give him this truth if he needed some small distraction that badly. “Fine, am I interested in her? Yes. But that doesn’t mean anything is going to happen. She has plenty of people on her plate, and there isn’t room for anyone else.”

“As Nic would say if she were awake right now, you can’t tell her what she can and can’t do with her life. Body, heart, or otherwise.” Rhodes grinned before it fell away. “You two need to figure it out because I could feel the tension between the two of you even in the little time that I’ve been here, so I’ll ask you again. You aren’t going to leave her alone, are you?”

“No,” I said with a chilling tone, staring at my oldest friend. “No, I’m not. She makes me feel something beyond the mind-numbing coldness that took over when my wife died.”

“I swear it’s like she’s trying to collect people on fucking purpose,” a new voice complained from the doorway. Sacha stood there with a fierce expression on his face, though I wouldn’t quite call it angry. He seemed more determined, focused, though I wasn’t sure of the decision he’d come to. “The doctor is here.”

“Are the others back?” Rhodes asked, putting out his cigarette before standing up.

“Yes, even Oliver. The doctor said she could only have two of us in the room, but Nic said she didn't want anyone in there with her after Vas woke her up.” He clicked his tongue, showing his annoyance at her decision.

“So you’re all loitering outside for updates?” I asked, amused.

“Where else would they be?” Rhodes huffed as I joined them. All of us headed inside because that was just the effect Nic had on people.

“The others aren’t going to be happy with this.” Sacha gestured at me. “But that hasn’t stopped Nic before.”

Rhodes laughed, but the sound turned into a cough as we approached the group of men waiting outside of the guest room Nicholette had claimed. Bodhi and Maksim studied me curiously, while everyone else shot me hostile glares. But if they thought I was going anywhere, they had another thing coming. I had no idea what I was doing when it came to Nicholette or what she was thinking, but I wouldn’t figure that out if I didn’t stick around.

Unknown

Monday

Maeve Cabott.I grabbed a nearby glass and threw it at the wall with a roar of pure rage.

MyNicholette,mywoman, had kissed her in the parking garage after escaping those idiot men at the police station. The fact that Nicholette had gotten into the car with Maeve had set my blood boiling, but when she had voluntarily kissed her ex… I was beyond pissed off. Her willingly leaning into that viper’s grasp… The longing expression on the old cunt’s face when my woman had strode away without looking back… It had taken every ounce of self control to not attack her right there.

And there was also Ansel F?rstner.

She had been all over him too.

Her other men were killers, but not like him. Das Gespenst, a brutal assassin known for being so thorough there was no body to find when he was done. Ansel was so unassuming, so normal looking, that most people had no idea of the devil lurking behind his charismatic smile and stone cold gray eyes.

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