Total pages in book: 75
Estimated words: 68691 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 343(@200wpm)___ 275(@250wpm)___ 229(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 68691 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 343(@200wpm)___ 275(@250wpm)___ 229(@300wpm)
And the small woman nodded, eyes wide, slipping to the door.
“Miss Tina, you take as long as you need,” she said in broken English before disappearing, the door clicking shut behind her.
And I sat back down, letting out a small sigh of relief. Because I’m swollen with pregnancy, my belly huge at this point, and it’s tough to stand sometimes, my ankles are sore, my feet ballooned to the point where they look like they belong to a Cabbage Patch kid.
So I took a sip of water, letting the cool liquid trickle down my throat before turning to the men.
“What brings you here?” I asked civilly. My eyes scanned their stunned expressions, the way Karl’s pulse throbbed at his throat, how Kato reflexively clenched his fists over and over again, Kristian’s ominous frown.
“You’re working too hard,” growled Kato immediately. “How many hours a day are you putting in? Twelve? Thirteen? You’re pregnant, you shouldn’t be on your feet.”
“This place isn’t safe,” added Karl. “This a third world country, our baby can’t be born in Cambodia. We’ll take you back immediately, I’ll call the chopper.”
And Kristian was last.
“What the fuck, Tina,” he growled. “What the fuck,” was all he managed.
And I could see the rage, the shocked surprise, all mixed with a dose of elation on their faces, that they were going to be fathers.
“What, is this a surprise?” I said archly. “You know that we never used protection, ever. And we were going at it all the time, day in and day out, you’re virile men, I’m a fertile woman, this is an expected outcome.”
And the trio had nothing to say because it was true. Furthermore, I suspected that they’d wanted this all along, wanted me pregnant, to see me bloom with a child within, the fruit of their seed, their desire, their unquenched lust for me. And I threw a curveball next, something they never anticipated.
“I’ve gone to the doctor for a couple ultrasounds already,” I added, “and we know it’s two girls. Isn’t that wonderful? Twins again, just like I thought might happen.”
And now the three men were really surprised, the looks on their faces astounded, taken for a loop. Because although it’s not proven, it’s likely that twinship is a genetic trait, passed on through the generations. So yeah, Kato or Karl’s sperm could have caused the zygote to divide. Or even Kristian, as the brother of twins, could have spurted the semen that made the little girls, his sweet cream taking hold inside of me.
“Please,” growled out Kato, dropping to my side on one knee. “Come home with us Tina. Stet. Pronto. Like yesterday.”
And Kristian was just as vehement as he took the chair across my desk.
“The sooner the better,” he growled out, “Now,” he commanded.
And Karl just nodded, his eyes fixed to my belly, its hugeness somewhat explained by the fact of two babies within. “Twins,” he whispered to himself. “Fuck me.”
And that brought me back to the present because it was the fucking that had gotten us here in the first place. My seduction so long ago by the twins at the Old Dog, then meeting Kristian at a cocktail party. If they’d kept their penises in their pants, my kitty off those dongs, we wouldn’t be here today. And so I wasn’t so sympathetic, I had my piece to say and was going to say it.
“I can’t leave,” I said firmly. “I have clients here, I’m doing good work, making a difference. I won’t leave, and besides Cambodia has been welcoming and warm, I love the people, the food, the culture. I’m all settled into my apartment and I’m scheduled for delivery at the expat hospital in six weeks, it’s going to be fine.”
But the men shook their heads.
“We want our babies to be Venetian,” said Kristian, his brows lowered. “The Venetian blood runs through our veins … and theirs.”
And at that, I almost blew my top, lost it.
“I’d think that your last thought would be St. Venetia,” I said tightly, “given everything that’s happened to you, everything that’s gone down. Why are you still loyal to them? To this city-state that’s caused you so much pain, so much hardship? Don’t tell me it’s because of the ‘blood royal’ and all that bullshit,” I said.
And the men were silent for a moment.
“Baby, it’s not the blood royal,” said Karl gently. “After all, Kato and I were bastards all our lives, you know we’ve never been formally recognized.”
I snorted. The Venetian royal house was in turmoil right now with their Crown Prince forfeiting his succession rights and rumors of a total shake-up imminent. Further, Queen Agatha, Kristian’s so-called mother, had gone into hiding and hadn’t been publicly seen for months now, the speculation rampant, gossip mags going crazy as to what would happen to the family.