Gigi squeezed Canary’s sides, another piece of the same candy shot out his tiny mouth, landing in Drum’s. The Maat Warrior’s eyes widening instantly, blood rushing into his cheeks, sweat breaking out across his brow.
“He’s not going to throw up, is he?” Helen was reaching for a bowl.
“No. Well, he shouldn’t. Just give it a few more seconds.” Gigi crossed her fingers, praying she’d done the right thing.
Drum abruptly pushing away Nico, straightening his stance. “Whoa, that thing is like taking a kick to the head.” He noticed Gigi wince at his response. “Which is exactly what I needed, thanks.” Bending over Nell, pushing damp hair away from her forehead. “How you doing, Doc? Do you need anything?”
“I’d really… “ She paused and then thought about it, flinching slightly as a contraction shot through her. “I should be saying ow, but that felt kind of distant and someone else’s problem. I am loving this lollipop. We need to look into how to use them going forward for pain management, so many of ourmagical kind don’t respond well to traditional pain management methods. I’ll set up a study—”
“Nell.” Devon squeezed her ankle. “It’s time to push.” She was a little worried that Nell was so relaxed and a little loopy that she wouldn’t cooperate, but her friend, yes, friend, shot her a tired look but nodded in agreement.
“Okay-dokay. You just tell me when, you’re in charge of this delivery.”
Rivers and Lakes! Devon agreed with Nell, they should totally explore more uses for those lollipops if it made patients happy, took a little edge off the pain and made them cooperative. “Next contraction. Drum, put your leg up behind Nell, have her lean back into you. And remember, breathe.”
“Ow.”
“And push.”
“I’ve got you, Doc.”
“Argh.”
Nico knew he shouldn’t look, but it was like an eclipse, a messy, bloody, gory eclipse. By The Saints.
“I’ve got you.” Gigi slipped around the bed, cupping Nico by the elbow, he was the one now swaying on the spot. “Here.” It only seemed appropriate to pop the piece of candy she still had in her hand into his mouth.
“Mierda.” Nico’s eyes widened and watered, his sinuses promptly cleared and it felt like he’d just guzzled sixteen shots of espresso without the jitter factor, wow, he felt awake, fresh, and ready to take on any damn thing, except.
“Don’t look.” Gigi advised.
“I can’t seem to stop.”
Grabbing Nico’s arm Gigi dragged him over to the entrance doors. “Here, help me keep any nosey relatives at bay. As soon as they get wind they’ll try anything to circumnavigate theEnforcers on guard duty wanting to know exactly when the baby is born. The betting books will be running red hot right now.”
Behind them a lot of panting, pushing and more panting took place.
“We could just leave.”
Gigi shook her head. “Darcy was the one who gave us our orders, until she formally relieves us we need to stick to Nell and the baby.”
Trying to block all the seriously unpleasant sounds going on behind him, Nico stared down at Gigi, who was looking nothing but relaxed in her blue hospital gown, and booties covering her sandals. “You know, I didn’t picture today ending like this.”
“Oh?”
“Well, I was kind of hoping to have Qetesh in a head lock and be in a position to smack her around a little for a few hours.”
“I’m sorry you didn’t get that chance. But don’t worry, Darcy will get that curse lifted one way or another as soon as she can. You okay with that? The curse still in effect for a while longer?”
Nico found himself shrugging. There was no place else he’d rather be than within ten feet of Gigi DeWitt, the active curse just meant he had a good excuse to remain there. “I know it’s for a good cause.” They needed Qetesh to spill everything she knew about her mother’s involvement in the deity Cabal plot. “What about you, you okay with things going on as they are for a little longer?” It was the closest he was prepared to get to asking if Gigi would remain his lover for the foreseeable future. Though his whole body was tense, waiting for her response.
“What’s a few more days in the big scheme of saving the planet? For simplicity sake we just keep up the status quo, act normal, let the family hound Elijah and Darcy for details, we just need to act like innocent bystanders in all this.”
Not quite the answer he was looking for but he’d take it. This certainly wasn’t the time or place to start exploring whetherGigi might be up for them making their faux public relationship into a private arrangement, with a view to. With a view to what? Melding? Marriage? Something more permanent? Saint Medard, what was he thinking?
This entire thing going on between them was nothing but smoke and mirrors. Only starting because of Gigi’s over developed sense of duty to her family. To protect them. He’d just been lucky enough that in the crossfire they’d seemed to develop a foxhole mentality with a side order of sex.
It felt dangerous to question their arrangement out loud, as if any moment the whole deal was about to dissipate and they’d be going their separate ways, back to their busy, busy lives.
