“Don't drip on our daddy!” Dominic shouted.
“Thanks, boys!” Az called after them.
“Az,” I chided.
“What?” he grinned at me. “That was some impressive flying. Did you see how they pulled up at the last second?”
“As if they haven't been dive-bombing people since they first took to the air,” Viper grumbled as he rubbed his head. “You're gonna pay for that, you little brats!”
“Come and get us, Uncle Viper!” Sebastian taunted.
“Oh, that one is a devil, I swear,” Viper said.
I smiled affectionately up at my boys. “He gets it from me.” Then, because my mommy conscious kicked in, I shouted, “We do not attack family!”
“Yes, Mommy,” the twins called in unison, even as they grinned at each other.
So maybe they weren't out of the terrible phase yet.
Chapter Two
Later that night, I put the children to bed with the help of their fathers, going in order from youngest to oldest. The twins were worn out from all their acrobatic flying and went into their big boy beds without a fuss. My heart melted to see them lying on their sides, facing each other, just as Rian and Brevyn do when they go to sleep. But Sebastian and Dominic had the adorable addition of black wings—one tucked in against their backs and the other laying over them like a feathered blanket. Their lips pursed as if waiting to be kissed, and they snuggled into their pillows when I tucked their blankets over them. I kissed their foreheads.
Agh! Too adorable. Must resist. Do not climb into bed with Dominic!
I resisted the cuteness and left Azrael to finish tucking them in. Next in kine for me was Vero, whose room was stacked above the twins' bedroom, as Lesya's was stacked above his. Most of my children took after their fathers, even the girls, but Vero went beyond a similarity. He was an exact copy of Trevor. The older he got, the more evident that became. He even slept like Trevor—flat on his back, head tilted to one side. I'd always thought Trevor did that because it angled his head toward me, but it looked as if it were embedded in his DNA. And he'd passed it on to our son.
“Goodnight, Son.” Trevor kissed our boy on the forehead.
“Goodnight, Dad.”
I swept in and pulled Vero's Iron Man sheet up higher. “Goodnight, sweetheart.”
Vero loved Iron Man. It fascinated him that a normal man could become a superhero through the power of his intellect and not magic.
“Goodnight, Mommy,” Vero said.
I left Trevor to sit with Vero as he fell asleep and went to the final bedroom just above. There, Lesya was tucked into her princess bed, ruffled sheets under her arms. Her long, raven-black hair was in braids—two, instead of the single braid her father rocked to bed.
“You've come just in time,” Kirill said as he looked up from the book he was holding. “Ve've just gotten to part vhere Cinderella meets Prince.”
“That's the best part!” I squealed and jumped into bed on the other side of Lesya.
She giggled when I climbed under the blankets with her. I turned on my side and snuggled her close as Kirill returned to reading. Listening to Kirill describe dancing, glass slippers, and the clock striking twelve with his rich voice and sexy Russian accent was enough to send me to sleep along with Lesya. When he set the book aside, my eyelids had grown heavy.
“Did she pass out again?” Trevor asked as he poked his head into the room.
“Da,” Kirill said.
“Nyet,” I whispered and slipped away from Lesya. “I was just resting my eyes.”
“Ah, so then you're ready to put us to bed, Mommy?” Trevor's grin turned wolfish.
I perked up instantly. “Oh, my. Do I have a big bad wolf ready to gobble me up?”
“You're supposed to comment on the size of my . . . teeth.” He grinned wider.
I chuckled softly. “What big teeth you have.”
