Page 111 of Their Domme

“Do you still want that DNA test?” the doctor asked.

I nodded in confirmation, and they assured me they had saved part of the umbilical cord for that purpose. The others had already gone down to the lab to get blood drawn. Well, everyone but Ansel, who was sitting in the corner, and Rhodes, who hadn’t left my bedside since I was admitted. The others had rotated being near me since Rhodes was constantly by my side, needing to know the babies and I were okay.

“Go get the blood draw, Rhodes. I’ll be here when you get back,” I told him gently but firmly.

He seemed hesitant until Ansel stood up and assured him that he would stay with me. Finally, he left the room. I looked down at the babies in my arms then up at Ansel when he ran a hand through my hair.

“What the hell do I do now?” I asked him, exhausted beyond belief.

Ansel smiled. “You do better than your parents before you. At least that was my goal. Sadly, that’s all that I managed.”

“Ansel—”

“I’m not perfect, Liebling, far from it. Trust me, I’m well aware of that fact. Luckily, you’re not alone, nor do you have only me beside you. There are plenty of us to help you and each other out.”

“They aren’t yours by blood, but that doesn’t make them any less yours in the ways that matter,” I told him. “You’re a part of this even though I warned you against it.” He laughed lightly, but some of the tension I had seen in him started to loosen. “This is another chance to do it right. Hell, it’s a two-for-one special. Though please don’t let one of them grow up with Em’s attitude. We’ll never make it.”

Ansel’s smile reached his eyes this time, their steely gray warming up as he looked at the little ones in my arms. They were perfect, absolutely perfect.

“Can I come in?”

Thomas was hovering in the doorway, an unsure frown on his face. Ansel kissed my forehead as I told Thomas to come right in, then he stepped away so Thomas and I could be semi-alone for a minute. My brother came over and looked down at the babies, an unreadable look in his eyes.

“You did good, sis,” he told him softly.

I blinked back tears and smiled at him. “Thanks.”

We hadn’t done the DNA test that would either confirm or disprove Joe’s claim, and I wasn’t sure I ever would. Thomas and I had talked about it, and he was more comfortable sticking with sis or sister for me, which I was fine with. Maybe one day we’d open that can of worms, but right now wasn’t the time. We were figuring out a new start together, and so far we were doing well.

“How long will it take to get results?”

“Blake got someone on the inside to expedite it, so we should know by the end of the day,” Ansel answered as he scrolled through his phone.

“Get ready for a lot of shit talking when those results get shared,” I warned my brother, which just made him laugh.

* * *

By late evening,I had been moved into a large recovery room, with all of my men squeezing into the space. It didn’t help that we’d been visited by Emmerich, Blake, and their guys. The whole family was here to stay, and part of me wished Maeve was here to see this.

Sacha currently had the girl cradled to his chest, fast asleep in his arms, while Rhodes held our sleeping boy, both babies nestled in close to the men holding them. Bodhi and Oli had taken turns holding them, but neither had cuddled them for too long. Maksim had looked on while Alexei held them, which wasn’t a surprise. Like any of his other connections, I knew Maks would need time to build it. He might not ever be the warm, fuzzy dad who offered cuddles or physical comfort, but he would protect these babies with his life and every ounce of viciousness inside him. For me, that was most important.

None of us had agreed on names yet. Until the battle of names began, I hadn’t realized just how many options had been ruined by past associations, and with so many people involved, we had a lot of history to avoid. Needless to say, it didn’t leave us many choices to pick from. We eventually decided that when we got the paternity results, the dad and I would make the final call on what our babies would be called.

Two brisk knocks came before the doctor opened the door, only to stop short at the sheer number of people in the room. “Only family is supposed to be here.”

“We are family,” Emmerich shot back. With an arched eyebrow, he pulled at his jacket to show off his gun.

“Oh my god, Em!” I quietly reprimanded as the doctor stepped back. “It’s bad enough Vas almost got kicked out because of that earlier today.”

“I did not!”

“You did! All because you thought the nurse wasn’t moving fast enough—”

“You were in pain!”

I rolled my eyes. “I was having a baby!Twoof them! We weren’t on a time crunch.” The dramatics of the delivery room wouldn’t be forgotten anytime soon.

“Are those the results?” Bodhi asked, cutting through the arguments.

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