Page 26 of Bred By The King

“I’m happy, Mo. Like, really happy. I didn’t think I could be this happy. I thought I was signing up for a life of duty and sacrifice. Instead I got… this. Him. Us.”

I squeeze her hand. “You deserve it, babe. You deserve all of it.”

“I know.” She smiles, and it’s the brightest smile I’ve ever seen. “I really do.”

Soren comes back an hour later, finds us both asleep on the bed, tangled in blankets and gossip magazines I brought from MeliTar. He doesn’t wake us. He just covers us with another blanket, presses a kiss to Layla’s temple, and whispers something in Old Norse that sounds a lot like a prayer.

I pretend to be asleep. But I hear him.

And I think: yeah. This is it. This is what love looks like.

Gross. Beautiful. Perfect.

Twenty Two

LAYLA

I’m seven months pregnant and I feel like a beached whale. A very horny, very emotional beached whale.

Soren is currently kneeling in front of me, tying my shoes. Because I can’t reach my own feet anymore. Because my belly is the size of a small country.

“You don’t have to do that,” I say, though I’m not stopping him.

“I want to.” He finishes the laces and looks up at me, his blue eyes soft. “I want to take care of you.”

“You take care of me constantly. You feed me. You bathe me. You rub my feet for an hour every night.”

“And I still feel like it’s not enough.”

I cup his face in my hands, feeling the scratch of his stubble. “It’s more than enough. You’re more than enough.”

He kisses my palm. Then he presses his ear to my belly.

“Hey, sweetheart. It’s your daddy. Your mama says I’m doing a good job. But I think I can do better. So I’m going to keep trying. Every day. Until you’re here, safe and sound, and I can hold you in my arms.”

I feel it then. A kick. Strong and sharp, right where his ear is pressed.

Soren’s eyes go wide. He looks up at me, his face a mix of shock and wonder.

“Did you feel that?” he whispers.

“I felt it.”

“She kicked me.” His voice cracks. “She actually kicked me.”

He presses both hands to my belly, his face filled with awe. “Hey, little warrior. It’s daddy. I felt that. I felt you. And I want you to know that I love you. I love you so much already. And I’m going to protect you. And your mama. Forever.”

Another kick. Right into his palm.

Soren laughs, a real, genuine, delighted laugh that makes my heart swell to bursting. He kisses my belly, over and over, murmuring love and promises to our daughter.

“She likes you,” I say softly.

“She knows me.” He looks up at me, and there are tears in his eyes. “She knows her daddy.”

I start crying. The hormones, the love, the overwhelming everything, it all hits me at once.

“Don’t cry, wife,” he murmurs, standing and pulling me into his arms. “I can’t handle it when you cry.”