Bound by Night (29 page)

Authors: Amanda Ashley

BOOK: Bound by Night

6.56Mb size Format: txt, pdf, ePub

True to his word, Drake took Elena to a doctor in Brasov the next evening. There were several people in the waiting room, but after Drake spoke to the receptionist, Elena was immediately taken into an examination room and handed a white plastic cup.

“For a urine sample,” the nurse explained, and directed her to the nearest restroom.

When Elena returned to the room, the nurse instructed her to undress and put on a paper gown.

A short time later a middle-aged woman with curly brown hair and kind blue eyes entered the room. She introduced herself as Doctor Mary Arcos. She listened to Elena’s heartbeat, took her temperature and her blood pressure, checked her eyes, ears, nose, and throat, drew some blood, and, lastly, did a pelvic exam that Elena found embarrassing and uncomfortable.

“You can sit up now.” The doctor removed her glove and tossed it into the wastepaper can.

“So, is everything all right?”

“You’re very healthy,” the doctor said, smiling. “And very pregnant.”

Elena blinked at the physician. “Excuse me?”

“Pregnant. About twelve weeks.”

“But . . .” Elena shook her head. “That’s impossible.”

“Are you telling me this is a virgin birth?” the doctor asked with a wry grin.

“No, of course not, but . . . that’s . . . Are you sure?”

“Very sure. I hope it’s good news.”

“Oh, yes,” Elena murmured. “The very best news. Thank you so much.”

“You may want to thank your young man,” the doctor said, chuckling. “You may get dressed now. Be sure to start taking prenatal vitamins right away. Get plenty of rest. Try not to do any heavy lifting. And come and see me again in four weeks.”

“Yes, I will. Thank you.”

Smiling, the doctor left the room, closing the door behind her.

Pregnant, Elena thought, removing the paper gown. She placed her hands over her stomach. How could she be pregnant? She recalled Katiya telling her that one of the vampires had impregnated a human and that both the mother and child had died. She shook the thought aside. Just because it had happened to someone else didn’t mean it would happen to her.

She dressed quickly and stepped into her shoes. What would Drake think when she told him?
Please,
she prayed,
please let him be as happy as I am
.

Drake was pacing the floor of the waiting room when she entered. He went to her immediately, his dark eyes searching her face. “Are you all right?”

She couldn’t stop smiling. “I’m fine. Let’s go.”

“What did the doctor say?”

“I’ll tell you outside.” Her cheeks were starting to hurt from smiling so much.

Taking her by the hand, he hurried her out the door and around the corner of the building. “All right, what did she say?”

“She said I’m going to have a baby.”

“This is no time for jokes, Elena.”

“I’m not joking. I’m pregnant.”

He stared at her.

Elena’s smile faded. “Say something.”

But he didn’t speak. Instead, he placed his hand over her womb, his expression intense. “It is a girl.”

“What?”

“The baby,” he said, his voice filled with awe. “It is a girl.” He shook his head. “If I hadn’t been so involved with events at the Fortress, I wouldn’t have missed the echo of your heartbeat.”

“You can hear the baby’s heartbeat?”

He nodded.

“How do you know it’s a girl?”

“I know.”

“You don’t look very happy.”

He drew her into his arms. “Of course I am.”

“But?”

“I did not think it was possible. I know it has happened occasionally in the past, but so rarely that I put the thought out of my mind.” His arms tightened around her. “I love you, wife.”

Lowering his head, he kissed her, hoping to avoid any more conversation, at least for the moment. And all the while, in the back of his mind, he was remembering Stefan and how devastated his brother had been when the mortal woman he loved had died in childbirth.

When they returned to the Fortress, Drake sent Elena to their apartment, then called a meeting of the Council. He also bid Andrei and Katiya to attend, as well as his brother Stefan.

“I am leaving the Fortress,” Drake announced when those who had been summoned were seated. “Andrei will be in charge while I am away. His word is to be obeyed as my own. Stefan, you will be second-in-command.”

“Where are you going?” Andrei asked.

“Back to Wolfram with Elena. She is with child. I do not want her here.”

“She is pregnant?” Katiya exclaimed. “Oh, but that is wonderful.”

Drake nodded, aware that Stefan was watching him closely. “Let us hope so.”

Chapter 31

“Leaving?” Elena stared at Drake. “Where are we going?”

“Back to Wolfram.”

“But . . . why?”

“Would you rather stay here?”

She bit down on the corner of her lip. Did she want to stay at the Fortress? She had few friends back home. She loved Wolfram, but she knew she would miss Andrei and Katiya, Northa, Marta, and Elnora. And Stefan. But Wolfram was home, and it would be nice to be alone with Drake.

“No,” she said. “I guess not. Is it all right for you to leave?”

“I am the Master of the Coven,” he said. “I can do whatever I choose. And I choose to leave. Are you ready to go?”

She grinned. Sometimes she forgot that her husband didn’t need mortal transportation, that he could simply will himself wherever he wished to be. “I’m ready,” she said, then frowned. “It won’t hurt the baby?”

“No. Is there anything you want to take with you?”

Elena shook her head. There was really nothing here that belonged to her. Except Drake.

He folded her in his embrace, kissed the top of her head, and once again, she felt herself being carried away through time and space.

When the world righted itself, they were in the living room at Wolfram.

“You look tired,” Drake said, brushing a lock of hair from her cheek. “You should go to bed.”

“Only if you come with me.”

He smiled, a real smile for the first time since he had been appointed Master of the Coven.

“Always my pleasure,” he murmured.

“I think I’d like a bath before we go to bed. Which reminds me. Do you think we could install a bathroom upstairs? A real bathroom, with a tub and a shower and a sink and a toilet.”

“Is tomorrow soon enough?”

She made a face at him. “I guess so, if you can’t do it tonight.”

He swatted her on the rump. “Go, take your bath. I will be back soon.”

Elena nodded. He was going out to feed. She would have to get used to that, now that there were no sheep to satisfy his hunger.

Elena had bathed and changed into her nightgown by the time Drake returned. She tried not to think of where he had been, or wonder who he had fed on, or what it tasted like, but the questions flooded her mind. She would always be curious about that part of his life, always wonder what it was like.

“You could come with me next time,” he remarked, sitting beside her on the sofa.

“I don’t think so. Hey! I thought you weren’t going to read my mind anymore.”

“Sometimes I cannot help it.”

“Hmm.” She canted her head to the side. “Is feeding on a stranger different than drinking from me?”

“Very much so.”

“Why? Blood is blood.”

“With you, it is more than easing my hunger. Though I do not expect you to understand, it is a way of making love.”

“Do vampires drink from each other?”

He nodded. “It is a pleasurable experience.”

“Better than drinking from humans?”

“It depends on who is drinking from whom.” He trailed his fingertips along the side of her neck. “Nothing equals what I feel when I taste you.”

“Are you hinting for a taste now?”

“Would you mind?”

“No. I like it when you do it.”

Smiling, he took her by the hand. “I think we should continue this conversation in bed.”

Excitement fluttered in the pit of Elena’s stomach as they walked up the stairs. There had been times in their relationship when she had been afraid that Drake was lost to her, that she would have to spend the rest of her life without him. But those days were behind them now. They were back in Wolfram where they belonged, with a baby on the way.

She put all thoughts of the past behind her when Drake drew her gently into his arms. Whispering that he loved her, he kissed her as he backed her toward the bed, then slowly lowered her onto the mattress.

They undressed each other with impatient hands.

She closed her eyes and gave herself into his keeping, sighing as he rained kisses on her cheeks, her brow, the length of her neck. She moaned when his fangs pricked her skin, sighed as their bodies came together, fell asleep with the sound of his voice whispering that he loved her more than life itself.

The next day, Elena couldn’t think of anything but the baby. A girl, Drake had said. After breakfast, she went down the hall to the bedroom next to their own. This would be the nursery. Standing in the middle of the floor, she imagined how she would decorate it. Yellow for the walls, she thought. White furniture. The crib near the window where her daughter would be able to see the sun and the sky. A rocking chair in that corner. New carpeting for the floor, new curtains for the windows. Perhaps a mural on one wall. Maybe a country scene, with baby animals frolicking in a green pasture, or perhaps scenes depicting the Disney princesses. After all, her daughter lived in a castle and would be viewed as a princess in her own right by those in the Fortress.

They would definitely need a bathroom now, Elena thought as she returned to her own bedroom. There was no way she was going to bathe a new baby in that wooden tub!

Anxious to begin remodeling the nursery, she dressed quickly in a sweater and a pair of jeans, grabbed the keys to the Porsche, and drove into the city.

She wandered through the furniture store, looking at cribs and high chairs and bassinets. There were so many styles to choose from, how was she ever to decide?

She had better luck in the paint store. She found exactly the shade of yellow she wanted, bought two gallons of Summer Sunlight paint, a quart of white for the door, brushes, masking tape, paint thinner and a roller, and headed for home.

Drake was waiting for her in the main hall when she arrived.

She smiled when she saw him. “Hi, I’ve been—”

“I know where you have been.”

She frowned, puzzled by his harsh tone. “I’m sorry I didn’t tell you I was leaving. I didn’t want to disturb you.”

He crossed the room, his movement so quick it was little more than a blur. “Elena, you must be careful.”

The warning in his tone made her heart skip a beat. “Why? Is something wrong?”

“No.” His hand smoothed her hair. “Forgive me. I am overreacting.”

“I’m sorry,” she said, confused by his attitude. “I didn’t mean to worry you, but why are you so upset?”

He smiled at her. “Worrying too much,” he said lightly. “I have never been this close to being a father before. I cannot help feeling anxious when you are away. So, what did you buy in the city?”

“Paint, for the nursery. I left it in the car.”

“I will get it later.” He ran his hands up and down her arms, as if to assure himself that she was all right. “I spoke to a contractor on the phone today. He and his men will be here tomorrow to install the bathroom.”

“That’s great!”

“I have requested they install the bathroom between our room and the one next to it so it will be accessible from both rooms. They are also adding a closet in the nursery.”

“Sounds wonderful.”

“Is there anything else you want?”

“A kiss?”

A slow smile spread across his face as he drew her into his arms. “I do not need a contractor for that,” he replied, and lowered his head to hers.

Elena had never truly appreciated the benefits of being wealthy until she saw how quickly money could get things done. She had seen some evidence of it when the castle was wired for electricity. Due to the age and size of the castle, it had taken a considerable amount of time. But that was then and this was now. She had expected it to take many weeks, perhaps several months, to build a bathroom and a closet where none had existed before. But money could buy miracles and manpower, and the renovations were accomplished in less than a month.

Elena stood in the middle of the floor, turning slowly as she admired her new bathroom. The floor was gold-veined white marble. There was a white oval tub with a Jacuzzi, a square shower big enough for two, a toilet that flushed automatically, recessed lighting, and two sinks set in a granite countertop. She had not yet decided on a color for the walls.

Since the rooms were so large, the contractor had suggested adding a walk-in closet for the master bedroom. It was, Elena thought, big enough to be a room of its own. Drake moved their old wardrobe into one of the other bedrooms.

The new bathroom, walk-in closet, and smaller closet in the baby’s room made the nursery a little smaller, but Elena had assured Drake that wouldn’t be a problem. When their daughter grew older, she could simply move into one of the other, larger bedrooms.

Elena thought of little else besides the baby. How strange, to think that she carried a living being inside her. She could hardly wait to hold her daughter in her arms. What would their child look like? Would she have her father’s blue eyes or her mother’s brown ones?

Drake drove her into the city the evening after the renovations were complete. He agreed with her choice of the white crib and the rest of the furniture and arranged to have it delivered at the end of the week.

“You’re going to spoil me, you know,” Elena remarked on the drive home.

“That has always been my intention,” he replied, squeezing her hand. “Whatever you want, whatever you need, you have only to ask.”

Elena spent the next day painting the nursery and thinking she had never been happier than she was now. The man she loved slept in the next room. They were having a baby. A girl, she thought, smiling. Life was good. No, it was better than good. It was perfect.

She had just finished painting the window seat when Drake appeared in the doorway.

“You have been busy,” he remarked, glancing around the room.

“Do you like it?”

He nodded. “Yes, but should you be painting in your condition?”

“I’m pregnant, silly, not sick. Besides, it’s nice to have something to do to pass the time while you rest. I was thinking of painting the bathroom the same shade of yellow as the nursery,” she mused aloud. “Or maybe a light blue. What do you think?”

“Whatever you decide is fine with me.”

“I think, in deference to your masculinity, I’ll paint it blue.”

“Thank you,” he said, chuckling. “What would you say to a walk down by the lake?”

“The same thing I always say,” she replied with a saucy grin. “Yes!”

The lake was beautiful, as always. Stars winked on the black blanket of the sky like the twinkling lights on a Christmas tree.

Kneeling on the shore, Elena dipped her hand into the water, and quickly jerked it out. “I was hoping to go for a swim, but it’s too cold.”

“Is it?”

“Feel for yourself.”

He shook his head. “I believe you, but if you want to swim, then swim we shall.”

Elena heaved a sigh as he quickly undressed. Being a vampire, she supposed he was immune to the cold.

“Are you coming, wife?”

“No. It’s like melted ice in there.”

“Will you not trust me, my sweet?”

With a sigh, Elena pulled her sweater over her head, stepped out of her shoes, socks, and jeans, removed her underwear, walked into the lake. And shrieked when the chilly water swirled around her ankles. When she would have retreated, Drake captured her hand in his and gently tugged her toward him.

Surprisingly, as she waded out closer toward him, the water grew warmer. “Why is it warmer out here?” she asked suspiciously. “You didn’t pee in the pool, did you?”

Drake threw back his head and laughed. “No, my love. I merely infused a little preternatural power into the water to warm it for you.”

Elena sighed with amazement. Truly, there was nothing this man couldn’t do.

Holding her against his side, he carried her out to deeper water. Once, she had been frightened to be out so deep, but no more. Nothing could happen to her while Drake was there. Leaning against him, she gazed up at the stars.

“What shall we name our daughter?” she asked after a while.

“I have not given it any thought, but I think you have.”

“I was thinking about naming her after my mother, if it’s all right with you. Unless you’d rather name her after your mother.”

“No. What was your mother’s name?”

“Kaitlyn.”

“A fine old-fashioned name,” Drake said. “I like it.”

“I looked it up. It means ‘pure.’” She smiled up at Drake. “Are you as happy as I am?”