Mending the Rift (5 page)

From the warm shelter of Marcus’s arms, Luca saw his dad shudder. “Father won’t let anything happen to dad.” He added, “Right?”

“No one is taking your dad from me, runt, no one. But I’m considering chaining him to me, so I know what he’s up to at any time of the day,” Greg growled.

Nicholas peered up at Greg and wiped at some of the tears from his face. “I
had
to do something, Greg.”

“Yeah, and since this ploy already worked once, you decided it would work a second time too.” Greg smiled wryly, before dropping a tender kiss on Nicholas’s nose.

“What do you mean?” Luca asked.

“Ever wonder how your dad and I became a couple?”

“I KNOW
you were working for grandfather and that Dad trailed you everywhere, like a lovesick puppy. It didn’t take long for both of you to fall in love,” Luca answered, slightly confused.

Greg’s mouth curved upward as he pulled Nicholas even closer into his chest. Nicholas scrubbed his face with a tissue, then leaned into the offered embrace.

“Let’s say your dad sped up the process of us becoming a couple and getting married right away, even though I insisted we do it the correct way. I was already on the reproductive list, since I was the right age and I had a successful history with the military and politics. It was also clear I’d become vice president of the Confederacy within a few years. But your dad panicked, claiming the Confederacy wouldn’t allow him to wait, that he’d have to carry someone else’s child before, and—”

Nicholas cut him off, scowling. “You know I was right! They’d have made me pregnant by someone else, and I’d have had to marry the guy, and breeders aren’t allowed to file for divorce. All these regulations are—”

This time his father interrupted the tirade. “Nicky, stop changing the subject. We’ve changed some laws already. Luca was able to say no to a lot of men on the list, something that wouldn’t have happened thirty years ago. Anyway—” Greg slid a hand into Nicholas’s hair and tucked his head on his shoulder. “—like I said, your dad panicked and somehow convinced someone who we still don’t know to help him become pregnant with your oldest sister, Julietta.”

“But… who helped him keep it a secret? He must’ve been in pain after the fertilization,” Marcus chimed in.

“I found him passed out from the pain when the nidation process had already been successful. We didn’t know what was going on right away, but your grandmother quickly realized he was pregnant. After that, we were married within a week, in a small ceremony. The government didn’t want a scandal, so they pretended to be deliriously happy about our spontaneous marriage,” Greg replied.

A spasm surged through Luca’s body. He shifted to his side to get more comfortable. Marcus accommodated him by sliding lower in the bed, helping Luca to lie on his firm chest.

Through gritted teeth, Luca said, “How did you go through all that pain without painkillers?”

“I didn’t—I passed out,” Nicholas retorted.

“Yeah, but you got through hours all alone. How did you do that? I’m still sweating from the pain, and I know you’ve dosed me up good.” Luca sucked in a breath when another spasm forced him to curl up into a small ball.

Marcus rubbed a hand over his tense back in firm strokes. At any other time, this gesture would’ve been deeply sexual and thrown Luca into a state of frenzied arousal. Right now, it provided comfort and a sense of belonging. They’d need time to talk when the nidation process was over. As much as Luca welcomed the fact he carried Marcus’s baby, they’d both been pitched into a political mess. What if Marcus didn’t feel the same way Luca did?

Luca whimpered and squeezed his eyes shut when his inner organs seemed to rip apart inside.

Marcus stopped rubbing and, instead, encompassed Luca’s curled-up frame, brushing his lips against Luca’s moist cheek. “Don’t worry about anything right now, kitten. We’ll figure everything out as we go along. I’ll make sure you’re safe, you know I will.”

“That’s part of the job description, isn’t it?” Luca wheezed out.

Marcus gave Luca’s ear a sharp nip. “You’re not my job, not anymore.”

A warm glow settled inside Luca, melting him. He’d gotten his answer about Marcus’s feelings. He breathed in deeply before he said, “Thank you. I needed to hear that.”

“I figured as much.”

“Arrogant much?”

Marcus pressed a firm kiss on his temple. “Not usually.” After a moment’s hesitation, he said, in an almost brusque tone, “I thought you’d like to know how I feel about you. That it might help with the pain if you knew.”

“So far, I only know I’m more than a job to you,” Luca replied.

“You’re not going to make this easy for me, are you?”

Luca stared up into Marcus’s light gray eyes and shook his head. “I told you I want you and that… that I’m in love with you. You haven’t said it back so far. Um, that probably sounded rather childish, right?”

“It’s fine. We’ll just blame it on the pregnancy hormones.”

“That explanation will come in handy,” Luca quipped.

Snorting, Marcus pushed a stray strand behind Luca’s ear. For a while they just gazed in each other’s eyes without either of them talking. Marcus broke the silence and whispered, “I do love you. I tried to fight it the whole year we’ve known each other, but this time I have to accept defeat.”

Luca grinned as he tentatively uncurled, waiting for another spasm to take possession of him. “I’m so glad you’re such a reasonable guy who knows when to give up a fight.”

Soft footsteps fell when Greg and Nicholas walked up to the bed, Nicholas’s hand securely held in Greg’s firm grip. Nicholas smiled at them, though his eyes still showed concern. “Sweetheart, we’ll be downstairs. The required hours for a successful nidation have been reached, so you’re in no danger anymore. Congrats on your first pregnancy! The best thing you can do is to sleep now.”

“I’ll make sure he rests,” Marcus said in his normal, no-nonsense voice.

Greg gave a curt nod. “Keith will be stationed in front of the door. You don’t need to concern yourself with any security for the next few hours. We’ll talk when the nidation process is finalized. We have to make sure no one gets wind of the pregnancy before you can claim the baby.”

“How are we going to explain in nine weeks that we didn’t inform the program chief of Luca’s condition?” Marcus asked.

“We’ll have nine weeks to rack our brains for that,” Greg replied. “But before that, we have a scan that’ll show us everything’s fine with the pregnancy.”

NICHOLAS USHERED
Luca into a private cabin, set up the ultrasound machine, and gestured for Luca to hop onto the padded examination table. Marcus took a seat at Luca’s feet, his eyes already glued to the screen. Luca smiled at the eager look on Marcus’s face. He was in no better condition. At nine weeks, they should be able to see the baby in its distinct baby form and not as a gray blob on the screen anymore.

“Dad, could you stop looking so worried? It drives me crazy! I already told you a hundred times, I’m not mad at you, okay?”

Nicholas huffed as he punched some buttons on the machine. “I should’ve talked to you beforehand. I can’t believe I basically took possession of your body—the very same thing I’ve been fighting against for decades, and I’ve done it to my own child.”

“Get over yourself and stop the pity party,” Marcus growled.

Luca stared at Marcus as Nicholas’s touch faltered over the scanner. Luca cleared his throat several times. “Marcus….”

“No, Luca, I’m done with your dad’s whining. He’s an adult, and he knew what he was doing was dangerous—for himself
and
for you. What if I hadn’t found you when I did? You’d have gone through the nidation process on your own, and who knows if you would have survived it. A few pangs of remorse won’t hurt him.” Marcus slipped a hand inside Luca’s right jeans leg and idly stroked his thumb along his shin.

“I apologized, I don’t know how often, and I explained to both of you I intended to tell Luca right after breakfast, so I could keep him under observation. How was I to know he’d run away? Believe me, I was worried sick about him!”

“Not worried enough to tell your husband about it,” Marcus shot back. “If he’d known, he’d have sent more people out to search for Luca, and we would’ve found him earlier.”

“That’s what you’re so mad about?” Nicholas asked. “It didn’t even occur to me Greg would send out a bigger search party. Please, Marcus, I’m not making this up to appease you. It just never crossed my mind.”

“Right,” Marcus scoffed.

“Marcus, stop it. I believe Dad. You know how he is—brilliant with genetics and anything regarding human biology but anything else? You’d think he grew up on a different planet.” Luca jiggled his leg, hoping Marcus would look at him. Lately, Marcus had become ill-tempered and short with everyone. What the hell was going on? Did Marcus regret agreeing to claim their baby?

An uncomfortable silence stretched out in the small room. Nicholas heeled a stool close and sat down. “I’m fairly good at raising kids too. I’ve had a lot of practice.”

Luca laughed and Marcus snorted. He gave Luca’s leg a squeeze before he said in a nonconfrontational tone, “You did a good job with your kids. Everyone likes them.”

“That’s good. Let’s have a look at your baby.”

Marcus’s grip on Luca’s leg tightened while Nicholas pushed up Luca’s sweater. Before his dad could get any ideas, he popped the top button and shimmied down his jeans until his abdomen was completely exposed. Curling one arm under his head to cushion it, he rubbed a circle around his belly button. Although he was only at week nine, his stomach wasn’t as flat as it used to be.

A very light swelling could be seen already, which wasn’t unusual since male pregnancies accelerated at an advanced rate. While females still carried their babies roughly forty weeks, males only carried them around thirty-four to thirty-six weeks at maximum. Due to the altered genetics, babies conceived by a man developed faster in the beginning. And since they had to give birth via C-section, the pregnancies were considerably shorter.

“Marcus, I think you’re cutting off my circulation.”

“Oh, I’m sorry, kitten. I guess I’m nervous.”

Luca winced when Nicholas smeared a dollop of cool gel on his stomach. “Why?” he asked through gritted teeth.

“Why? Luca, today’s the day that shows whether everything’s all right with the baby. It’s the day I officially claim our baby and you. This is making me the tiniest bit nervous. Especially considering Smith is about to land this evening and finalize your marriage with him.” Marcus threw him an outraged look.

Luca’s insides turned to ice. His question came out in a squeak. “He’s coming today?”

Nicholas slathered a huge amount of gel onto the ultrasound stick. “He was supposed to go on another mission for about two weeks, but he refused. I tried everything I could think of to delay him further, but he wasn’t having any of it. Maybe he got suspicious after all.”

“You think so?” Marcus drawled. “After you somehow arranged for him to take care of one catastrophe after the other for the last nine weeks?”

“I didn’t hear you come up with a different tactic to delay him,” Nicholas shot back. “Anyway, it worked for as long as we needed it to. We only need to confirm everything’s well with the baby, and then we’ll head straight to the Confederacy’s Breeding Office, you’ll put in your claim, and the rest should be history.”

“I doubt it’s going to be that easy,” Marcus murmured.

“Could you spread a little less negativity? Thank you so much,” Luca drawled. “You’re not… not regretting anything, are you?”

Marcus’s gray eyes darkened. “Why the hell would you think that?”

Luca shrugged. “You’re acting weird. You’re snapping and snarling at everyone. Or is it because we’re cooped up in my room?”

“I’m not snapping, and I really don’t mind living with you in your room.”

“That’s good to know, but I still beg to differ. You’re definitely snarling at people. You’re starting to hiss at people when they get too close to me. One of the cleaning ladies was crying this morning because she bumped into me, and you read her the riot act. I had to sweet-talk her into staying. I also promised her you wouldn’t be mean to her again.”

“She barreled right into you!”

“With a load of clean towels in her arms. How hurtful can that be, hmm?”

Marcus pinched the bridge of his nose. “You cried out in pain.”

Luca’s eyes widened, but no words tumbled over his lips. Nicholas slapped a hand over his mouth to keep the snicker at bay. After sending an irritated glare toward his dad, Luca said, “I cried out because I was surprised. I didn’t see her coming because I was concentrating on my sketchbook.”

“She didn’t hurt you?”

“No! Even if she had, I’m not made of sugar,” Luca shot back.

“You’re pregnant,” Marcus replied.

Luca squeezed his eyes shut and counted to ten. Nicholas burst out laughing and patted his hip. “Welcome to the club, sweetheart. All soon-to-be fathers go crazy and become overprotective. You’ll live through a lot of very embarrassing moments in the next few months.”

Opening his eyes, Luca looked into his dad’s twinkling, dark blue eyes. “How bad was Father during your pregnancies?”

“Terrible and scary. Really scary.”

“I’m neither terrible nor scary. I was just… reasonably concerned about your well-being,” Marcus protested. Despite his best effort at holding a self-deprecating smile back, he failed. A grin spread out on his face, and he held up his hands in surrender. “All right, I might’ve overreacted. This is my first time becoming a father. I can’t help feeling very focused on your safety.”

“Focused on my safety,” Luca repeated, chuckling. “You saved me from the terrible stack of towels.”

Marcus smoothed a hand over his mouth but didn’t rise to the bait. Instead, he concentrated on the screen of the ultrasound machine. Nicholas’s laughter ceased as he brought down the stick on Luca’s belly. Moments later, the picture on the screen morphed into a tiny human being doing somersaults.