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19.

A KSEL

When I heard the doorbell ring, I glanced that way and then slid the pan aside that I was using to cook Stassi’s breakfast so it didn’t burn. I threw the door open and was shocked to find Kiera, the young woman I’d helped rescue.

“Hello!”

“Hi,” she said shyly. “Is it okay for me to come over?”

“Of course it is.”

“I heard what you said to Blair last week, and I thought . . . I’ve been wondering . . . I guess I just . . .”

“Have you had breakfast?” I interrupted.

“No, I was too nervous to eat.”

“There’s no need to be nervous around me, sweetheart. I’m sure Blair told you all about me and Stassi when you had your talk a few days ago.”

“She said that you guys wanted me to live here with you.”

“We do,” I assured her as I stepped aside to let her in. Once she’d walked past me, I shut the door and then motioned toward the kitchen. “Do you like pancakes?”

“Yes.”

“Good because, even though I’ve been making them for centuries, I still can’t guess how much batter to make and always end up with way too many.”

“When I’m a vampire, will I still be able to eat pancakes?”

“Are you planning to become a vampire?” I asked as I pulled out a barstool for her.

“Won’t I have to if I’m your kid?”

“You don’t have to be anything but yourself, Kiera.”

“I’m not sure what that is,” she mumbled sadly.

“Well, I’ve only known you for a short while, but I can tell you what I’ve seen so far.” When she looked at me in question, I smiled and said, “You’re bright and cheerful, funny, witty, smart, and very loving toward the smaller children.”

“I liked taking care of them when we were there because they were the only ones I had to talk to other than the women, who weren’t always around.”

“I understand that Stassi and Blair took you to tour the school.”

“They did.”

“I would guess that when you start school, you’ll have plenty of people around to talk to, but even then, you’ll always have me and Stassi. Of course, Blair will also remain a part of your life. And then there’s Clarisse, Maribel, and Vivienne - they’ll be your great aunts, and Nicholas will be your uncle.”

“That would mean Natalia and Nathan are my cousins, right?”

“Exactly. Jana and Emorett will be your siblings.”

“You really want to adopt us?”

“We really do.”

“Why?”

“I had children before I was turned, but they all passed on.” I left out the details of how that happened because I didn’t want to make Kiera sad or sympathetic. I wanted her to understand that I had the ability to be a parent, even though I was a vampire. “I think about them often even all these years later.”

“Cas found out that Agmund had my parents killed,” Kiera said sadly. “I don’t remember them, so I don't know if they were good or bad parents.”

“Well, I guess that means that both of us should appreciate the opportunity for a second chance.”

Kiera looked around, and I wondered what she thought of my home. Since Stassi had met with Blair over a week ago and gotten the adoption process started, we’d made quite a few changes to my . . . our . . . house.

When Stassi mentioned going back to Washington to pack her things, I insisted that she let me hire movers to do that and transport her vehicle and belongings to us rather than have her go back after the recent trauma she’s been through. I had to admit that I wasn’t ready to go anywhere near the state again and wouldn’t be for quite a while, and I had a feeling that Stassi felt the same way.

Since money got results, I negotiated with the movers and got them to act immediately. Four days ago, they delivered all of Stassi’s belongings to us. I enjoyed watching her go through them and explain what the important things meant to her while we decided where to put them in our home.

The small, breakable things that I’d collected over the years were on higher shelves now while the lower shelves were filled with toys and books for the toddlers. The fireplace mantle didn’t have an array of pictures anymore, but now had a large television for us to enjoy as a family as well as a game system that Blair had recommended we buy.

The small cafe table that I chose for my dining room when I redecorated a few years ago had been replaced by a long table with plenty of seats for what would soon become our large family as well as a high chair for Emorett and a booster seat for Jana. When Stassi and I chose the table, we made sure that there would be enough room for us to entertain guests - not just friends, but the extended family that she had now.

Nicholas had been over with his children in tow many times now, and I was getting to know him alongside Stassi, who was over the moon with joy at the thought of having not just a sibling, but a niece and nephew that she could watch grow up beside the two small children that would be part of our family.

“Your house is pretty.”

“Thank you. We’ve been doing a lot of work to get ready for you to join us here.”

“You have?”

I smiled and asked, “Would you like to see your bedroom?”

Kiera’s eyes lit up, and she nodded before she asked, “I’ll have a room of my own?”

“Of course. You’re of an age where you need your own space, so we made sure that it’s comfortable and happy, just like we want you to be.”

“I’m really excited!”

“I’m sure you’ll want to make it your own, but Stassi found a few things that she thought you might like.”

Kiera hopped off the barstool and smiled before she asked, “Can we go look at it now?”

“Of course,” I said as I walked past her toward the stairs. “Follow me, princess. Let’s go look at your new bedroom and get an idea of what we need to do to make it fit your style.”

Once we were at the top of the stairs, I pushed open a door and motioned for Kiera to go in ahead of me. Rather than step into the room, she stood in the doorway and gasped before she covered her mouth with her hands and started sobbing.

“What’s wrong? Is it . . .”

“It’s beautiful,” she whispered as she took a few steps into the room.

Stassi had worked harder on Kiera’s room than she did for the others because she knew they were too young to care about fashion and style and she would have to redecorate as they got older and learned what they liked. However, she thought she knew at least one way to make Kiera feel at home and had searched every shop in Springblood and then more than a few in Colorado Springs before she found something she thought might work.

Kiera took a deep breath and walked over to the window. I thought that she was going to look out at the view, but instead, she ran her hand over one of the white flowers on the dark pink material of the curtain and sobbed again.

“It’s almost exactly like the one I remember,” Kiera whispered just before I heard a sniffle behind me. I turned around and found a sleep-tousled Stassi standing there with tears streaming down her cheeks as she watched Kiera take in her new bedroom. “I remember how much I loved my room, but that’s all. I don’t know . . . I can’t remember . . . I just . . .”

I interrupted her sob-filled stammering by walking over and pulling her into my chest for a hug before I whispered, “Now you can make more memories.”

“I love it.”

“Stassi, come get in on this, sweetheart.”

Stassi walked over, and I lifted an arm to draw her in, but Kiera had a different idea and let go of me to throw her arms around Stassi. They cried together as they talked over one another, and within a few minutes, the tears were gone as they discussed shelving, bed linens, and rugs for the hardwood floor.

Kiera might not remember her life before she was taken by Agmund, but I knew in my heart that she would never forget this day or the woman who had made her feel so special.

Just like I never would.

◆◆◆

STASSI

“I thought you were going to wake me up when it was my turn,” I whispered when I walked into the nursery and found Aksel in the rocking chair with Emorett in his arms.

“You forget that my kind are nocturnal by nature, sweetheart.”

“I’m partially your kind,” I reminded him.

“But the bear in you does love to sleep.”

“You’re right, but it’s only fair that . . .”

“Do you find it odd that in all my years walking this earth I’ve done and seen some atrocious things, but I can’t change a diaper without getting woozy?”

“Sometimes Kiera and I make sure we’re unavailable when Emorett has a blowout just so we can watch you try.”

“That’s just mean.”

“I know,” I said as I tried to suppress a giggle. “But it’s hilarious.” I couldn’t hold back the laughter anymore and put my hand over my mouth so I didn’t wake the baby when I choked out, “I thought you were going to pass out yesterday.”

“I got it on my hand, Stassi,” Aksel reminded me in outrage. He lifted up his hand and looked at it in horror before he hissed, “It was all over my hand.”

“Weren’t you a Viking back in the day?”

“I’ll have you know that we were cleaner than the majority of the world’s population back then,” Aksel said with an air of authority that had secretly always turned me on. “We bathed at least once a week, had strict grooming regimens, and were very proud of our appearance.”

I braced myself for his reaction because I knew what I was about to say would throw him into a rage, which was exactly why I was about to say it. “That’s not how they look on the show . . .”

He glared at me and interrupted, “That show is an insult to my culture and the memory of my family and friends.”

“They might look filthy, but they’re so freaking hot,” I whispered as I closed my eyes and let my head fall back with a moan, a look and sound he was very familiar with since he was usually the one that caused them.

I felt a breeze tickle my face just before Aksel’s hand went around the back of my neck and he pulled me into his chest. In a sexy growl, he said, “There’s no need for you to wax poetic about the fake Vikings on the screen when you have one at home.”

“But you’re not dirty and gruff like . . .”

Aksel ran his hand up my neck until it tangled in my hair and then yanked it back so he could stare down into my eyes. “I can be dirty.”

“Prove it.”

With one last glance at Emorett, who was sleeping soundly in his crib, Aksel bent forward at the waist and picked me up over his shoulder. When I started to protest he smacked my ass so hard it made me yelp, and then I couldn’t stop the growl that came out when he shushed me.

We had just crossed the threshold into our bedroom when Aksel stopped suddenly and let me slide down his body.

“Jana thinks she saw a monster, and when she couldn’t find you in here, she came to my room.”

I slowly turned around and found Kiera and Jana in our bed beneath the covers, and when I looked up at Aksel he had his eyes squeezed shut as he frantically whispered something under his breath. I started to walk toward the bed but he yanked me back so that I was standing in front of him before he hissed, “Give me a second to calm down.”

“It’s almost dawn, so there’s no sense trying to get them back to sleep,” I told him without turning around. “Go downstairs and get something started for the girls to eat while I round them up and get them ready for the day.”

“Thank you,” Aksel grumbled before I felt him move away to leave the room.

“You owe me, Viking,” I warned as I turned around to watch him go.

“Of course, fair maiden, and I never leave a debt unpaid.”

“You better not,” I grumbled as I turned around.

“Oh! Vikings! Can we watch Thor while we eat breakfast! I love him!”

I heard Aksel growl and had to bite my lip to hold in my laughter but nodded my approval because I knew it would make him absolutely crazy to have to watch that show again.

“Welcome to parenthood, Aksel. I’m glad you’re on this journey with me,” I called out over my shoulder. When he didn’t answer, I turned around to see if he’d heard me and found him glaring at me from the end of the hall. “Love you!”

The look on his face reminded me of all the times I’d taunted him over the years - although this time would end with us sitting with our children and watching a movie he hated for at least the fifth time this week rather than getting naked somewhere we might get caught. When I winked at him and gave him a saucy grin, he spun around and walked away, and I laughed again.

“Aksel is cranky in the mornings, isn’t he?” Kiera asked.

“Only sometimes, sweetheart, but I’ll try very hard to make sure he’s in a good mood from now on.”

“Damn right, you will!” Aksel called out from the kitchen.

“Well, I would have, but now I can’t,” I said with a shrug. “You know how I am about taking orders.”

“You two are so funny.”

“I’m glad you think so,” I said as I crawled into bed with the girls, snuggling Jana who was laying in the middle of the bed. “Maybe it wouldn’t hurt to just lay here for a few minutes. What do you think?”

“Not tired,” Jana said before she let out a big yawn. “Wanna get up.”

“In a minute, sweetheart,” I said as I let my eyes close. “We’ll get up in just a minute.”

◆◆◆

“Honestly, I think you might be harder to motivate than the children.”

“Don't start with me this early in the morning, Aksel,” I warned as I pulled the brush through Jana’s tangled hair. “What’s my rule?”

“No talkie before coffee!” Jana cheered.

Aksel ignored her warning along with the look on my face and continued his rant as he walked past me. “I can’t even leave the three of you alone for five minutes before you’re all back to sleep somewhere. For the first few weeks after they moved in, I thought it was just an adjustment period thing, but now I realize it’s more of a habit.”

There was a loud thump and then muttered cursing, and I grinned because I knew exactly what had happened without turning around.

“If you’d watch where you’re going, you wouldn’t . . .”

“If you’d shut the cabinet doors, I wouldn’t have to,” Aksel interrupted before he slammed Jana’s lunchbox down on the bar. “One of these days, I’m going to really injure myself and then you’ll be sorry.”

“You’re immortal, Aksel. Get over yourself.”

“After I take them to daycare, I’m going to get over something,” Aksel mumbled as he walked over to the refrigerator and opened the door to gather the things he’d need to make Jana’s lunch. “You’re not going to know what hit you.”

“I have to be at work in less than an hour,” I reminded him. “I thought I’d just drop the little ones off on my way in.”

“I’m going to be late!” Kiera yelled as she thundered down the stairs. “I’ll see you after school! Love you!”

“What is she wearing?” Aksel asked as he watched Kiera jog down the driveway. “Is that even appropriate for a girl her age?”

“It’s her cheerleading uniform, old man.”

“But . . . Why couldn’t she be in band? Or the chess club? They don’t dress like that in the chess club.”

“That’s a perfectly appropriate cheerleading uniform, Aksel,” I said as I picked Jana up from her chair. I gave her a kiss on the cheek before I set her on her feet and nudged her shoulder to get her moving, “Get your school bag, sweetheart. We need to go.”

As Jana ran up the stairs, Aksel said, “Well, I don’t like it. And I’m not very fond of the new director at the daycare either. You know how I feel when someone’s thoughts are blocked from me. What if she’s planning something nefarious?”

“What? Do you think she is going to form an army of toddlers and stage a coup?”

I heard Aksel sigh, so when he stepped up next to me, I bumped my shoulder into his arm. “How’s that parenting thing working out for ya, buddy?”

“I looked online to find out why Jana keeps crawling into bed with us and found a million different reasons and so many solutions that sounded appalling. I just ended up even more confused.”

“Time and consistency, sweetheart. That’s what we need.”

“I need you,” Askel muttered grumpily. “What time is your lunch break? I’m going to rent a hotel room where we can’t be interrupted and . . .”

“Since when do we need a hotel? I’ve got a perfectly good desk in my office.”

“Reason number 511 why I love you.”

“I tried to compile a list, but the reasons I love you were too filthy for me to write down.”

“Reason number 512,” Aksel murmured as he pulled me into his arms.

“I love you too.”

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