Ronan
Opal and Ruby.
I was having twin girls, and I already knew their names. That last part was a little trippy, I had to admit, but so far that lined up with just about everything else to do with my new life, dragons being at the top of thefreak me the fuck outlist. Not having to get ready for work was going to take some getting used to. I might look like a glamour doll, but I’d paid for every stitch of clothing, makeup palette, and pair of shoes in my closet because it felt good to spoil myself.
Now I was going to have two adorable ladybugs to spoil, and I knew nothing about baby clothes or what they’d need when they hatched. Shit. I didn’t even know how big they would be.
Okay, sizes I could figure out later. First I needed to put together a list of the kinds of outfits they’d need and do a bit ofresearch on just how many wardrobe changes were common in a day.
Fortunately, I was an expert in the art of google-fu, having used it for more makeup tutorials and styling tips than I could count, so I quickly got to work gathering information, my list growing with every website I browsed.
Quit trying to cram yourself into those tight ass pants, Ronan.
Now that comment hadn’t been necessary, even if he did have a point. I liked my tight ass pants and they’d better fucking fit again after I popped the eggs out or my dragon mate was going to have a few things to answer for!
My ass did not look good in loose fitting jeans, or any outfits that left me looking like a shapeless lump, so I’d need to find maternity clothes that would still let me feel like myself.
Oh, wait…joggers.
Soft, colorful, and roomie, now those I could do. I put a dozen pairs in my cart, and fuzzy socks to roam around the house in, since I wouldn’t be getting use out of my shoe collection for a while. I was halfway through readingWhat to Expect When You’re Expectingand there had already been several mentions of weight and balance shifting the further into a pregnancy you got. Since the dreaded High Priestess claimed that I had, at most, seven more weeks of this pregnancy to go, I was going to assume egg growth would happen fast, which meant my heels would have to wait until the eggs were out.
And just where would I be going afterward to wear them?
I did not need the grumpy voice in the back of my head to remind me that everything in my life had shifted, and that designer shoes, and being seen out with them on a Saturday night, were going to be a thing of the past.
Damnit, I hadn’t even danced in all of them yet.
While I knew I wasn’t going to miss club culture, I was going to miss dressing up and hitting the dance floor. Music had a way of making everything better, even if everything else in the day had been a royal shitshow. Running into Odem at one of the clubs in Dragon City had always resulted in a sweaty night, both on the floor and off. There was no denying that he had moves and when we moved together it was so fluid that I’d started looking for him the moment I stepped through the door.
And always been just a little disappointed on the nights when I hadn’t spotted him in the crowd.
In the weeks before I’d hunted him down for knocking me up, I’d started to see less and less of him, which in hindsight, had added to how pissed off I’d felt when I’d learned I was pregnant. I’d assumed he’d grown bored and moved on to someone else. Now, with the whole mate thing, and his claim that there would never be anyone else for him, I didn’t know what to think. All I knew was that I’d started to miss him and that wasn’t something I’d ever felt about anyone else before.
Except my brother.
Tears welled up and made my eyes prickle and itch, the first spilling over before I could stop it, the second I’d barely wiped away before Odem burst into the room, looking around like he was ready to go to battle with someone.
“What upset you?” he demanded, shocking me with how growly his voice was as flames danced in his eyes.
“No one, it was just a memory,” I declared, nose wrinkling as I held back a sniffle.
These hormones were seriously going to start pissing me off. I hated crying. The way it felt, how red it left my eyes and the way it made my mascara and eyeliner run. Waterproof my ass. Thinking about how much money I’d spent on cosmetics that weren’t supposed to wipe off, were supposedly smudge proof, or claimed not run when they got wet was enough to push the oldmemories away. They got harder to chase away when I dwelled on them, so I was better off not to poke at those old feelings and have them spoil the rest of my night.
“It made you sad,” he declared.
Huffing, I crossed my arms and narrowed my eyes at him. “Haven’t I repeatedly told you to stay out of my head?”
“I wasn’t in your head,” he shot back. “Or I’d know what you were thinking about. It was your emotions I picked up on. Hate to break it to you but that isn’t something that can be blocked out. It’s just the way it is between mates.”
“Always?” I asked.
“It will only grow stronger the longer we’re together,” he said.
“So, you really wouldn’t be able to just up and leave?” I blurted.
“It would kill me to do so,” he explained. “Mates are not meant to be apart. When you were in town at the diner, I felt the ache of your absence and wanted you back here with me, and when I was tracking you, I grew more ecstatic the closer I was to having you back in my arms.”
Puffing up I stared him dead in the eyes. “Then why were you avoiding me?”
