I nodded. He put his head down. He knew what that meant--I'd heard every word he and the good doctor had said. I faced the wall again. Pallo moved up and touched my shoulder. I jerked away from him. I didn't want to be touched right now. I just wanted to be alone. He bent down, kissed me and left the room.

Chapter 30.

"Come on Gwen, get up," James said as he sat next to me on the bed with his hand on my thigh.

"Why did Pallo send you in here? I told him and I'll tell you ... leave me alone!"

"You can't lie 'round forever, besides you're getting a bit gamy." He nudged me slightly. I put my knee up and pushed him off the bed.

"Hey!"

"Hey, h.e.l.l! I'm not getting up. End of discussion."

James stood up and gave me a dirty look before storming out of the room.

The door slammed shut behind him. That was fine by me. I didn't want anyone near me. I was perfectly happy to lie in bed and feel sorry for myself. I didn't need a support system right now. No, now I just needed a Do Not Disturb sign on the door.The door opened again. "Go away."

"No, I am afraid we cannot do that," Pallo said.

I looked up to see him standing in the entrance way with Caradoc and James. They looked like they could be male strippers--Vampire Chippendales. Caradoc had on dark black jeans and a white loose silk shirt. James was wearing his signature all black ensemble and his hair was back to normal, well, if you consider bleached blond and spiked normal, then yeah it was back. Pallo caught my eye. He was wearing a dark brown tight shirt with a scoop neck and a pair of light tan pants. I'd never seen him look that way. The shades of browns were amazing on him.

They pulled out the highlights in his brown hair and his eyes, leaving me breathless. A knowing grin spread over all three of their faces.

"What's so funny?"

"You are getting cleaned up and going out with us tonight, like it or not."

They all swept around me. Caradoc picked me up. James held the door and Pallo waved at me. I tried to kick him. He dodged out of the way and laughed. Caradoc carried me down the hall to the bathroom. James opened the door and I saw that they had drawn a bath for me. I waited for Caradoc to set me down, he didn't. He walked me right up to the bathtub.

I looked up into his slender face and checked his green eyes for signs that he was about to dump me into the tub fully clothed. He was unreadable, as usual. "You wouldn't?"

He nodded and smiled. "I would."

Taking on three hardheaded vampires was stupid. I gave up. "You win. Put me down, I'll get cleaned up."

Caradoc set me down and walked towards the door. I called out to him.

"Hey, tell Pallo that he's gonna get it when I get a hold of him."

Caradoc's gaze went to my stomach, which was now huge. Two days had pa.s.sed since Dr. Gideon had come by, but my body looked like I was in the final month. I'd refused to go and get an ultrasound done. What was thepoint? I wasn't going to survive the birth, and even if I did, I wasn't even sure what I was giving birth to. Would it help me to have an image to go off of? No, I didn't need to see what kinds of demonic powers were alive in me--I could feel them.

Shutting the door behind him, Caradoc left me to get cleaned up. I pulled off my clothes and climbed in the tub the warm bath water. I slid under and wet my hair down. Pallo had been kind enough to make sure my shamp oo and conditioner were within arm's reach for me. That saved his life, a little, with me. I put a small dollop of lavender scented shampoo in my hand and worked it through my hair.

When I was all done in the tub I stood slowly and stepped out. I heard the door crack open. Pallo poked his head in. "Is it safe?"

"If you're wondering if I still want to kill you, then the answer is no.

If you want to know if I'm upset with you, then the answer is yes." I tried unsuccessfully to wrap the towel around me. I needed at least two towels to make it around my stomach now.

How embarra.s.sing.

I looked down at myself. The only things on my body that had changed wer e my b.r.e.a.s.t.s and my stomach. My b.r.e.a.s.t.s were large to begin with, now they were downright obscene. My stomach was campaigning for second place in that department as well.

"I think you look lovely."

"I look like a beached whale. I'm going to have to wrap a sheet around me to go out in public."

Pallo smiled and stepped back out into the hall. I brushed my hair and teeth. The door opened again and Pallo stepped in carrying bags. I looked down at the logos. He'd been maternity clothes shopping!

"Not me, James and Caradoc," he said. I was used to his ability to read my thoughts, it no longer creeped me out.

There was a ton of bags. "Good heavens, how much did they buy?""I think they got one of everything. I am not a hundred percent sure, though."

"Pallo, I'll be dead before I can wear all that."

He stepped past the bags and grabbed my shoulders. "That is not funny, Gwyneth."

"I wasn't joking."

We both knew the hard truth. I would not survive the delivery. There was no use pretending like everything was fine, it wasn't. I'd gotten pregnant with the a.s.sistance of fertility drugs that I thought were birth control, chanting crazy monk guys, and a dead guy in demon form.

Yeah, I was screwed.

I bent down, grabbed some undergarments, which looked to be industrial strength, and a pair of jeans. I put them on and frowned.

"I'm wearing jeans that have an elastic panel built into them."

"I can see that."

I growled at him and he laughed. He bent down and pulled out a navy blue long-sleeved acrylic sweater. He handed it to me and smiled. "I am guessing James picked this out. It matches your eyes."

I took it from him, a bit puzzled. "Why do you think James picked it?"

"Oh, my naive little faerie, I do love you."

I tried to hide my excitement, but I don't think I did a very good job.

He'd said that he loved me. Was I reading too much into his comment?

"Why do you always refuse to ask what is on your mind?"

I rolled my eyes and took the top from him. "Maybe because I know you'll save me the time and just pluck the thoughts out of my head."

"Do you wish for me to address your concern?"Address my concern? Oh, that was just the way I wanted him to handle our situation. Men!

"Gwyneth, you may be even more stubborn than me."

"Don't make me hurt you," I said, laughing slightly.

"Your concerns are unnecessary. I said what I meant, Gwyneth. I am not a man who casually offers his love. I have only loved two women in over two hundred years."

Hearing that he'd loved someone else hurt. The guy had been alive a h.e.l.l of a long time to only have feelings for one person, I was being ridiculous again. Must have been the non-pregnancy, pregnancy hormones.

His laugh was warm as it ran over me. "Fata mia, do you not see that you are both women I have loved. I understand you are you, yet you are different. It is wrong to lump you into one ent.i.ty."

d.a.m.n, when the h.e.l.l did he become Casanova? Perhaps it was in his genes--his very, very s.e.xy genes.

Neither one of us commented further. Besides, what was I supposed to say?

Thanks for loving the two of me? Yeah, see my dilemma.

I headed toward the door. Pallo stopped me and handed me a pair of black slip-on shoes. I took them, but had to hand them back to him to help me get them on. Humiliation in the form of footwear, always fun.

Pallo stood and wrapped his arms around me tight. "What if I were to ask you to marry me instead?"

"Why, you looking for a short-term commitment? I'll be dead in a few days."

"Gwen," he said, his voice stern.

I pulled back and looked at his face. He was serious. "Pallo, vampires don't get married. They don't do the commitment thing ... James told me that....""James?" Pallo looked disgusted.

I put my hand on his cheek. "Stop! I asked him about it once and he told me. Don't go getting all p.i.s.sy with him about it."

"You asked him about vampires making commitments? Why?"

"Now who's being naive?"

His face softened. He leaned in and kissed me. I didn't push him away.

"So, what is your answer?"

My eyebrows went up. "What was the question?" He looked angry. Then it hit me, the marriage thing. "Well, you didn't come right out and ask me and I don't think it's in your nature, as a vampire, to settle down with one woman for all eternity. You seem to enjoy letting me in for brief moments and then shutting me out."

I turned to head out of the bathroom. Pallo's hands shot up and pushed the door closed. He pinned me back against it. He wasn't hurting me so I didn't make a big deal about it.

"Do not presume to know my nature, Gwyneth. You have no idea how many years my heart ached to have you back. I did horrible things to try to forget you ... to forget the pain. Gwyneth, I do not think you should be so quick to a.s.sume that I would not want to be with you forever, when in fact I have spent forever wanting you."

I didn't know what to say. Of course I would commit to him. I'd wanted him to ask me since the moment I'd walked into Necro's Magik World two months ago and first laid eyes on him. If I'd felt this way in my last life about him then I could see why I would leave two immortals to be by his human side.

I searched for the right words for the moment and came up empty handed.

The best I could do was cry tears of joy and triumph that my dreams of being loved by him were coming true--even if only for a few short days.

I touched Pallo's cheek. He turned his face into my palm and closed his eyes. He kissed my thumb and brought his hand to mine. He leaned into meand our mouths found one another and we savored every second of the other's touch.

Someone knocked on the door. I jumped and banged heads with Pallo.

"Sorry," I said reaching up to rub my head.

He smiled down at me and looked at the closed door. "What is it Caradoc?"

"Excuse me, Master, but Gwen has an important call. I attempted to take a message but they wished only to speak to her."

Pallo stepped back and I opened the door. We headed down the hall to my room. I picked up the phone.

"Gwen?"

I didn't recognize the voice on the other end. "Yes?"

"Gwen, this is Mark." I sat down on the bed and instantly felt like I was going to throw up. The only Mark I'd ever heard of was Caleb's partner.

If he was calling me then something was wrong with Caleb. "I work with Caleb."

"I know who you are, Mark, what's wrong. Is Caleb...?"

He cleared his throat. "Caleb and I were hot on the trail of our latest bounty, and we lost contact with each other, and ... well ... that was three days ago. I haven't spoke to him since then and ... well ... we kind of made a promise to each other that if anything should ever go wrong, we'd contact the other one's family ... and ... well...."

"And, you're calling me because you promised him you would." As I said it, my throat went dry.

"Yes."

"Mark, I'm going to give the phone to a close friend of mine. Tell him everything that happened the last time you saw Caleb. No, come to think of it, tell him everything you know about this case."

"I'm sorry but I can't discuss this with...."I cut him off. "Mark, I'm sure you're a great guy. Caleb trusts you, so I should as well, but know this, I am 'just' like Caleb, I posses the same gifts he does and you know what gifts I'm talking about. Do not make me come after you."

"Is that a threat, lady? I hunt evil s.h.i.t down for a living, babes."

"No, Mark, that's a promise. And, as far as you hunting 'evil s.h.i.t down for a living' ... ha ... honey, I was born to rule the Dark Realm. 'Evil s.h.i.t' gets nervous when I'm around. I will hunt you down and peel the skin from your body inch by inch, keeping you alive so I can enjoy every moment of it. Don't think for one minute that I'm joking. I don't joke when it comes to people I love and if you give me enough time I will think of a more creative punishment for you. I'm surrounded by men who have had hundreds of years worth of practice. Now, are you willing to talk to my friend or not?"

"Yes," he said, his voice small.

I handed the phone to Caradoc and ran to the bathroom. Pallo came rushing in behind me. I sat on the closed toilet seat, with my head bent down, splashing water on my neck from the sink.

"I'm being punished," I said, still looking at the floor.

"For what?"

I touched my stomach and looked up at Pallo. "This."

"Be honest with yourself. There has been outside, mystical interference."