![\"\"](\"http:\/\/www.chloeneill.com\/wordpress\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/04\/9780451488671-199x300.jpg\")
My belly was enormous.<\/p>\nMy belly was enormous.<\/p>\n
That wasn\u2019t insecurity or ego or exaggeration. It was plain and simple fact.<\/p>\n
I was thirty-seven weeks\u2014or about eight months\u2014into my pregnancy with the world\u2019s first vampire baby. I was lucky to be expecting and excited to see my daughter. But I was sick of being pregnant.<\/p>\n
I missed seeing my feet. Drinking caffeine. Sleeping on my back. Fitting into my leather jacket. Snacking by choice, not necessity. And I was tired of having Baby Sullivan, the watermelon of attitude we called \u201cPeanut,\u201d constantly kicking my bladder.<\/p>\n
In just a few weeks\u2014assuming a vampire gestation lasted as long as the human variety\u2014we\u2019ll get to meet her.<\/p>\n
I really couldn\u2019t complain. We were both healthy and, so far, growing a vampire had followed the typical stages of growing a human. Given we\u2019d have had to guess how to fix any problems, I was doubly grateful there hadn\u2019t been any.<\/p>\n
I waddled my way through the main hall of Chicago\u2019s Cadogan House, preparing for one of the routines I\u2019d created for myself over the last few weeks. Those included an obscenely large breakfast, a nightly walk around Hyde Park, and a brief workout with my katana so I didn\u2019t completely lose my skills\u2014although swinging a sword with a bun in the metaphorical oven wasn\u2019t exactly poetry in motion.<\/p>\n
It was walk time, so I\u2019d paired a stretchy black shirt with leggings, a light jacket with a pocket for my phone, and tennis shoes. I\u2019d pulled my long dark hair in a ponytail to keep it out of my way. It was my exercise uniform.<\/p>\n
I reached an open office door and looked inside.<\/p>\n
He stood in the middle of the room, suit jacket and tie discarded, white button-down fitted over every bit of hard flesh and muscle. His hair, golden to his shoulders, was tucked behind his ears, his green eyes narrowed as he frowned at the papers he held.<\/p>\n
Ethan Sullivan was the Master of Cadogan House, the vampire who\u2019d made me, and the Liege to whom I owed my allegiance. And for nearly a year, my husband.<\/p>\n
\u201cProblem?\u201d I asked, walking toward him.<\/p>\n
His head lifted, the furrow between his brows relaxing as he smiled at me. Ethan\u2019s skills with a katana were deadly, and his gorgeous face was nearly as powerful. His nose was straight, his cheekbones honed, his mouth full and skilled, much to my delight. And like an exclamation, his wide emerald eyes were topped by sharp and decisive brows that signaled his mood better than nearly anything else.<\/p>\n
\u201cHello,\u201d he said when I reached him, then dropped his gaze my belly. \u201cAnd how\u2019s my girl today?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cI\u2019m fine. Thanks for asking.\u201d My tone was dry since I was well aware he wasn\u2019t talking to me. Lately, Ethan had nearly as many conversations with my abdomen as he did with me.<\/p>\n
\u201cYour mother appears to be in a mood,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n
\u201cHer mother\u2019s face is up here.\u201d<\/p>\n
Ethan lifted his gaze. \u201cI was talking to her face.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cI realize that. What were you frowning about?\u201d<\/p>\n
He tapped the documents with a finger. \u201cThe first draft from the mayor for the proposed agreement with the city.\u201d<\/p>\n
I looked at the papers distastefully. Cadogan vampires had saved Chicago several times over, but those efforts hadn\u2019t always been damage-free. The scratches and dents weren\u2019t our fault\u2014we didn\u2019t manifest the dragon that nearly knocked over the Water Tower\u2014but we were more involved than most of Chicago\u2019s other supernaturals, so when the mayor wanted funds to repair the destruction, she looked to us. Given the most recent harm had been done by a millionaire whose estate had plenty of money for repairs, we had trouble feeling sympathetic. But we were good citizens, so we\u2019d agreed to negotiate.<\/p>\n
The final deal was probably going to involve our staying out of future adventures, which wasn\u2019t proving to be a problem lately. Chicago had been mostly battle-free in the post-dragon era. I hadn\u2019t taken the katana out of the training room in weeks, partly because I was taking early maternity leave as Cadogan\u2019s Sentinel and partly because there hadn\u2019t been a need for it. And while I was glad Chicago had found peace, it was weird to shift from monster fighting to diaper-brand debating.<\/p>\n
\u201cJonah\u2019s coming over to discuss?\u201d I asked.<\/p>\n
\u201cHe is.\u201d<\/p>\n
Jonah was the captain of the Grey House guards, one of the other two vampire Houses in Chicago. Navarre was the third. Neither Grey nor Navarre would sign the contract with the city, but since the terms could potentially affect all three Houses, Scott Grey, Master of his eponymous House, had requested an opportunity to discuss them before the documents were executed. Jonah would review on Scott\u2019s behalf.<\/p>\n
\u201cWhile I engage in the torture that is municipal negotiations, you\u2019re going for your nightly constitutional?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cI am,\u201d I said.<\/p>\n
\u201cYou have your phone?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cI do. Not that I need it. The only exciting thing that\u2019s going to happen on this little walk is a little more gossip from Mrs. Plum.\u201d<\/p>\n
Many of the House\u2019s human neighbors had become friendlier after vampires had saved the city from the dragon and the evil sorceress who\u2019d manifested it. That included the Plums and their matriarchal grandmother. She walked her dog or watered her prized flower beds every night, and I was pretty sure she timed both so she could gossip with me on the sidewalk. Which was fine by me. The Newtons, who lived across the street, were debating whether to adopt a corgi or a doodle of unknown variety, and I needed a pupdate.<\/p>\n
It was only mildly disappointing that the puppy debate was the most interesting thing that had happened in Hyde Park in months.<\/p>\n
\u201cYou\u2019re a brave soldier,\u201d Ethan said, leaning forward to press a kiss to my forehead.<\/p>\n
That\u2019s when I saw the box on the conference table. It was wrapped in glossy paper of robin\u2019s egg blue, and tied with a gleaming silver ribbon.<\/p>\n
\u201cWhat\u2019s that?\u201d I asked, and Ethan glanced back.<\/p>\n
\u201cA gift from your parents. It was messengered earlier this evening.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cThey\u2019re in Palm Springs,\u201d I said. Neither my mother nor my sister-in-law, Elizabeth, had made it to the family baby shower. My parents had other priorities. My sister-in-law had my brother, who incorrectly believed Cadogan\u2019s meddling had ruined his business opportunities. At least my sister had managed to make it.<\/p>\n
\u201cThe wrapping is lovely,\u201d Ethan said.<\/p>\n
\u201cIt\u2019s probably from Trudeau\u2019s.\u201d The luxury department store was one of my mother\u2019s favorites. Partly because they hand-delivered gifts.<\/p>\n
I appreciated the gift. But the fact that my parents had left the city for three months while I was pregnant\u2014historically pregnant\u2014didn\u2019t make me feel better about our already rocky relationship.<\/p>\n
\u201cI\u2019ll deal with it later,\u201d I said, and turned away. \u201cI don\u2019t need the stress.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cWe\u2019ll open it tonight together,\u201d Ethan said. \u201cAnd if we don\u2019t like it, we\u2019ll donate it.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cMy mother would hate that,\u201d I said with the grin he\u2019d undoubtedly intended. \u201cLet\u2019s call it a plan.\u201d<\/p>\n
# # #<\/p>\n
Spring weather was unpredictable in the Midwest. Any given night could be too hot, too cold, or too windy to keep even the most adventurous Chicagoans indoors. But tonight was absolutely beautiful. Clear and warm, with just enough breeze to put the scent of lilacs in the air.<\/p>\n
I took the sidewalk across the stately House\u2019s front lawn to the gate, waved at the security guards who let me through. Chicago might have been peaceful, but we\u2019d learned our lesson where security was concerned, and we\u2019d bumped up the House\u2019s protections.<\/p>\n
I turned right out of habit, waved at the few paparazzi stationed outside with cameras, and kept my gaze ahead as I took the sidewalk to the corner.<\/p>\n
As I walked the next block, I was disappointed to find Mrs. Plum wasn\u2019t waiting at her gate, and the family\u2019s Queen Anne-style house was dark. I checked the time, realized it was nearly one in the morning. Little wonder a human family was asleep at this time of night.<\/p>\n
I didn\u2019t mind getting my exercise while humans were asleep. Chicago wasn\u2019t a quiet city, but the early hours of the morning were quieter than most. Hyde Park had houses in a dozen different architectural styles, and I liked strolling among them. It was like a catalog of houses, from a giant gothic mansion with a tower and a turret, to a low and horizontal building that Frank Lloyd Wright might have designed.<\/p>\n
I heard a vehicle behind me, and since I\u2019d promised to take care, glanced back. A human in a red baseball cap climbed out of a small dark car with a red pyramidal pizza light affixed to the roof, then pulled out an insulated red bag that appeared to be stuffed with boxes.<\/p>\n
My stomach growled audibly, and Peanut moved around.<\/p>\n
\u201cNo,\u201d I said quietly. \u201cYou already ate.\u201d<\/p>\n
In response, she kicked my bladder. It probably wasn\u2019t supposed to be a personal attack, but since she was the only person who\u2019d fought me from the inside, it felt that way.<\/p>\n
The delivery guy walked toward the house, but his toe caught a dip in the concrete. Tripped by the divot, he lurched forward, boxes flying through the air before landing with a hop and sliding across the concrete like shuffleboard pucks.<\/p>\n
He hit the ground on his hands and knees, grimaced in pain before turning to look morosely at the pizza boxes\u2014and probably imagining the money he\u2019d just lost by dropping them.<\/p>\n
Hand on my belly, I walked back. \u201cHey, are you okay? That was a pretty tough fall.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cI\u2019m fine,\u201d he said, checking his palms before climbing to his feet, then wiping his hands on his pants. \u201cBut the pies are probably a total loss. That\u2019s like fifty bucks worth of pizza. Clive is going to kill me.\u201d<\/p>\n
Resigned, he took a step forward, but wobbled on his ankle and nearly pitched forward again. I instinctively reached out to steady him, putting a hand at his elbow to keep him upright.<\/p>\n
And was surprised when he rotated his arm to dig narrow fingers into my wrist.<\/p>\n
Instinctively, I looked back at his face. I couldn\u2019t see his eyes beneath the bill of his cap, but I could see his fangs clearly enough. He wasn\u2019t a human, but a vampire.<\/p>\n
How had I missed that?<\/p>\n
Because, I belatedly realized, there was no magic around him. No intangible buzz of power that differentiated us from humans.<\/p>\n
He must have understood I\u2019d seen the fangs, because his grip tightened, nails nearly piercing my skin. And that made my heart hammer harder.<\/p>\n
\u201cDon\u2019t feel bad if you didn\u2019t get it right away,\u201d he said. \u201cI\u2019m a Very Strong Psych. Whether or not you know what I am is entirely within my control.\u201d<\/p>\n
Vampire strength was evaluated in three categories: psych, strength, and strategy. I guess genetics had put his eggs in the latter basket. Still, I\u2019d never seen this kind of power before. If I\u2019d known it was possible, I might have been more suspicious.<\/p>\n
Because I hadn\u2019t known or looked, this unfamiliar vampire had a fierce grip on my arm.<\/p>\n
I might have been physically awkward. But I was a vampire and a mother-to-be, and I wasn\u2019t letting myself or the baby get hurt.<\/p>\n
\u201cIf you want to keep that hand,\u201d I said, \u201cyou\u2019ll let go of me.\u201d<\/p>\n
There was something dark in his smile. A cruelty that lifted the hairs on my back of my neck and had me reaching for the katana I wasn\u2019t wearing.<\/p>\n
\u201cExactly,\u201d he said. \u201cYou have no weapon, and you\u2019re several blocks from home.\u201d He reached behind him, pulled a gun from his waistband, pointed it at my belly.<\/p>\n
I also hadn\u2019t sensed the gun, and should have been able to. Any regret I might have felt was dwarfed by the rush of rage that heated my blood as my own eyes silvered\u2014and the fear that was a vice around my throat.<\/p>\n
I put my free hand on my belly, offering what protection I could, and tried to think over the drumming of my heart. I wasn\u2019t without defenses. I was a skilled fighter, fast, and immortal, but he had the muzzle pressed against my abdomen. I wanted to reach for the gun, twist it, and switch our positions. We\u2019d see how he liked it. But I couldn\u2019t risk that. Not yet. I needed a distraction. And in the meantime, I\u2019d have to bluff.<\/p>\n
I worked up an expression of fear, let my voice shake a little. \u201cWhat do you want?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cWell, that\u2019s an open-ended question, isn\u2019t it? What do any of us want? Fame? Fortune? Peace of mind? I\u2019d like all three, actually, to start. But for the moment\u00a0.\u00a0.\u00a0.\u201d His head shifted toward my engagement ring. \u201cI\u2019ll take that for starters.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cYou need money?\u201d I asked. \u201cI can get you money. My husband\u2014he\u2019s wealthy.\u201d I watched his eyes, saw the burst of excitement that followed my offer.<\/p>\n
So this was about money? Or Ethan\u2019s money in particular?<\/p>\n
\u201cOh, I\u2019m well aware. I know you who are, Merit. And I look forward to talking to your Liege.\u201d He said the word with disdain. \u201cAnd, like I said, the ring makes a good start. But I\u2019m going to need a little more than that.\u201d<\/p>\n
His head turned back to my belly, and fury burned through my veins like fire.<\/p>\n
\u201cYou see, Merit, I have a plan. And that plan involves you, your kiddo, and a very large ransom.\u201d He offered up malevolent smile again. \u201cUnfortunately, I owe some money to some very dangerous people. You\u2019re going to help me out by making sure my pockets are full.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cWhy me?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cBecause you\u2019re a hot property. And you\u2019re alone, away from home, without your weapon\u201d\u2014he leaned in and whispered\u2014\u201cand very, very predictable. You made this almost too easy.\u201d He lifted a shoulder casually. \u201cNo one in your fancy House is going to miss the money. You\u2019re the one percent, Merit, and I\u2019m just going to skim a little off the top.\u201d<\/p>\n
A dog barked in the distance, and his fingers tightened around my wrist. \u201cLet\u2019s go,\u201d he said, and turned toward the car.<\/p>\n
Time for the distraction. \u201cBut what about the pizza?\u201d I asked, with as much sincerity as I could muster.<\/p>\n
\u201cThe\u2014what?\u201d He looked back at me, bafflement in his face. He clearly hadn\u2019t expected me to ask about food, which meant he didn\u2019t know me nearly as well as he thought.<\/p>\n
His brief moment of confusion was all I needed.<\/p>\n
I rotated the arm he held and jerked free, then used my other hand to strike upward against the wrist that held the gun.<\/p>\n
Grunting, he kept his grip on it, but the strike had been enough to shift him. I grabbed his wrist, then pivoted so his weapon arm was between us and the muzzle was pointed away from the baby.<\/p>\n
\u201cI am pregnant, you asshole.\u201d<\/p>\n
He tried to pull away; he was strong, nearly pulling me over. But I\u2019d gotten used to my new center of gravity, and I wasn\u2019t going anywhere. I dropped one hand from the gun and slammed the flat of my hand into his back, just above his kidney. He jerked, and I wrenched the weapon away, stepped back and pointed it at him.<\/p>\n
\u201cRich bitch,\u201d he muttered, and with vampire quickspeed, shoved me backward to run past.<\/p>\n
I stumbled, world spinning above me as I fell backward. When I reached out a hand to stop my fall, the gun popped away and skittered toward the bushes at the edge of the sidewalk.<\/p>\n
Before I could lever myself back to my feet, his car was zooming away.<\/p>\n
<\/p>\n
Ready for more Merit? Order SLAYING IT from your favorite retailer:<\/strong><\/p>\n <\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":" My belly was enormous. That wasn\u2019t insecurity or ego or exaggeration. It was plain and simple fact. I was thirty-seven weeks\u2014or about eight months\u2014into my pregnancy with the world\u2019s first vampire baby. I was lucky to be expecting and excited to see my daughter. But I was sick of being pregnant. I missed seeing my[…]<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"parent":7857,"menu_order":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","template":"template-fullwidth.php","meta":{"footnotes":""},"class_list":["post-7905","page","type-page","status-publish","hentry"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"http:\/\/www.chloeneill.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/pages\/7905","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"http:\/\/www.chloeneill.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/pages"}],"about":[{"href":"http:\/\/www.chloeneill.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/page"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/www.chloeneill.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/www.chloeneill.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=7905"}],"version-history":[{"count":2,"href":"http:\/\/www.chloeneill.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/pages\/7905\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":7939,"href":"http:\/\/www.chloeneill.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/pages\/7905\/revisions\/7939"}],"up":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/www.chloeneill.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/pages\/7857"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"http:\/\/www.chloeneill.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=7905"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}![\"\"](\"http:\/\/www.chloeneill.com\/wordpress\/wp-content\/uploads\/2014\/10\/amazon1.jpg\")
<\/a>![\"\"](\"http:\/\/www.chloeneill.com\/wordpress\/wp-content\/uploads\/2015\/02\/kobo3.jpg\")
<\/a>![\"\"](\"http:\/\/www.chloeneill.com\/wordpress\/wp-content\/uploads\/2014\/10\/ibooks.jpg\")
<\/a> ![\"\"](\"http:\/\/www.chloeneill.com\/wordpress\/wp-content\/uploads\/2014\/10\/bn1.jpg\")
<\/a><\/p>\nNote: \u00a0I am an Amazon affiliate and may earn a commission if you\u00a0buy goods\u00a0at\u00a0Amazon through\u00a0one of my links.<\/em><\/h6>\n