Bonnie stood in front of her bedroom mirror, examining her slight frame for some sign that she would become the mother of not one, but two infants in a matter of months. Exhaling slowly, she closed her eyes and placed her hand on her belly button. The skin beneath her hand felt soft and unusually warm. She quickly pulled it away as if she'd been shocked by an electrical current. She tugged her top back down.
She hadn't felt nauseous yet, but she knew it was coming judging by her recent sensitivity to every scent in the house, no matter how faint. Kai mercifully avoided certain spices when he cooked their meals, but the lack of flavor did nothing for his own palate.
Eight weeks had passed since Elizabeth's visit to the Salvatore mansion. There had been no Heretic attacks. Lily was nowhere to be seen. It was quiet.
Too quiet.
Bonnie and Kai returned to her grandmother's house, casting a boundary spell along the property's boarders to keep out uninvited guests. Their plan was to eventually move to a safe house outside of Mystic Falls; a place no human or supernatural creature would know about. She needed place where she could progress through her pregnancy in peace.
Peace.
Bonnie had forgotten what "peace" looked like over the past few years. Peace meant nothing ever since the Salvatore Brothers decided to return to her hometown, bringing with them their drama and their enemies. Since their arrival, she'd lost so much yet fate handed her a new chance to rebuild her family and her life.
She wouldn't lose it all without a fight.
Bonnie soon focused her efforts on calling other witches to Mystic Falls for the inevitable battle with Elizabeth, Lily and the Heretics. Her enemies had a mysterious plan involving her unborn children, but she didn't know what it was or even how to stop them. Contacting the other witches and bringing the covens together would hopefully help her to figure out how to stop them.
The summoning spell required ingredients that were difficult to procure in small town Virginia, so Bonnie enlisted her cousin Lucy's help in retrieving some of them. Lucy had quickly become the sister Bonnie always wanted while growing up. The two practiced spells scrawled within the binders of the Bennett grimoires at least once per week. It was a chance for Bonnie to be around another Bennett witch, to learn from their history and to find a way to chronicle her own expanding Bennett line.
Kai sat in on their sessions in the beginning, but soon realized that it was the equivalent of Bonnie having her weekly "girl time" with Lucy, so he quickly stepped aside. He knew she needed a break from his frequent hovering over her.
She understood his concern. She shared it, yet the reality of their situation surrounded her without ever fully sinking into her soul.
Bonnie stroked her stomach again in disbelief. While there was no bump there, she could sense them somehow. While Kai could hear their tiny heartbeats after four weeks, her awareness of them was much more complicated. She felt their presence in her womb. She knew their genders as well: both boys.
She started thinking of names for them as a smile slowly spread across her face. She chuckled as she thought of the conversations she'd had with Kai over the past several weeks. He kept suggesting funny rather than appropriate names for their children.
Their most recent debate happened after breakfast that morning.
"How about Simon and Garfunkel?" Kai asked.
"No!" Bonnie answered.
"Laurel and Hardy," he offered.
"Don't think so," she responded.
"No," Bonnie laughed, "Enough with the dynamic duo names."
"Starsky and Hutch?" Kai added.
"Stop it!"
"I've got it. These are winners," Kai said with a mouthful of toast in his mouth.
"This better be good," she responded.
"James and Dean," he offered.
"That's actually not that bad, but no," she insisted, still, she made a mental note of that suggestion for later.
He smiled at her, then walked around the table to rub her back and whisper in her ear.
"What about Nicholas and Simon," he says quietly.
Bonnie's heart fluttered when she heard him say it. Actually, the flutter was somewhere in her womb, but it radiated up her midsection and to her heart. She refused to believe that the babies actually heard Kai's suggestion and were responding to it.
"I actually kind of like those," she told him, "Who are they?"
Kai was quiet for longer than was comfortable before answering. He looked away from her.
"They were the – um – the names of two of my -," he started to choke on the words, so she stopped him. She already knew what he was trying to say.
The hurt spread across his handsome face.
"I'm gonna take a quick walk. I'll be back in a little while, Beautiful," he told her.
He kissed her cheek and headed outside, disappearing into the trees that lined the backyard.
Their baby naming conversation took place three hours before her millionth visit to the mirror, and he hadn't returned.
She wanted to worry about him, but she knew he could take care of himself and that he would return soon.
Bonnie kept staring downward at her stomach trying to picture what her expanding belly would look like one month, two months or five months into the future. She rubbed her skin below the navel and muttered a silent chant, a blessing.
She was so consumed with her thoughts that she didn't notice Kai standing in the doorway watching her until she looked back up to the mirror and saw him leaning against the doorjamb watching her.
"It's not like you to spy, Mr. Parker," Bonnie joked, "I figured you'd prefer making a grand entrance."
Kai looked her up and down before he spoke.
"Technically, I'm not spying. I'm staring," he told her, pushing away from the door and walking up behind her. He looked at the two of them in the mirror, wrapping his arms around her and rubbing her stomach.
"You okay?" she asked.
"Yep," he quickly answered. She didn't bother asking him to elaborate. Instead, she changed the subject.
"You still hear them, right?" she asked.
"Yeah," he said, "Everything's fine. What? Am I going to be your 24 hour baby monitor from now on?"
"No, I just – I just wish I could hear them too, that's all," she responded, turning to face him.
"You'll get to hear them when we go to the doctor. I compelled us an appointment in a couple of weeks," Kai said.
"You compelled an appointment? You do realize that most people just call up a doctor's office and ask nicely?" she asked.
"I could, but then it wouldn't have been nearly as fun," he answered, kissing the top of her head.
When she pulled away, she noticed the vampire veins showing on his face. He was hungry.
Bonnie held out her wrist for him to feed from her. She couldn't remember the last time he had – eaten. So much had happened over the past several weeks, that she didn't consider Kai's blood diet as a priority.
Rather than take her offer, he frowned at her suggestion.
"I'm not feeding on you!" he said, his expression one of surprise that she would even make the suggestion.
"Why not?" Bonnie asked.
"I'm not making you my human blood bag, Bon. Besides, I don't know what that would do to you or them. I'm not risking it," he insisted.
"I see," she said, suddenly feeling flirty, "So you don't like taking risks?"
Bonnie started opening her top one button at a time. She looked up into his eyes, batted her eyelashes and pouted.
Kai bit his lip and turned his face away from her, but Bonnie knew his restraint would break soon. His breathing had picked up. It always did when she tried to seduce him. While she was no expert at flirtation, she fully understood what it took to turn on her favorite bad boy. It was only a matter of time before he caved in and she enjoyed being the one to chase him.
Once all the buttons were undone, she tossed the top aside. She walked closer to him – as close as she could get without touching him. She wanted him to feel the heat, their heat. She wanted to wrap herself up in it and take Kai with her.
"Why are you misbehaving?" he said as he failed to hold back a smile.
"Are you telling me you're not going to touch me for the next six months?" she asked.
Kai ran the back of his hand along her silken black bra. He then traced the outline of her breasts with his fingertips. The sensual heat he always generated in her returned, more potent than ever.
"Oh, I'm going to touch you plenty, but …" he started.
"But what?"
"I don't want to hurt you," he insisted.
"I'm tougher than I look," she added, "You should know that by now."
"I know just how tough you are," he asserted, "I'm still going to be extra careful."
"Suit yourself," she teased, removing her bra and tossing it at his head.
Kai chuckled, briefly allowing the worried look on his face to fade. She slinked back to the doorway, leaning against it. She traced her finger down her cleavage and watched as his gaze followed her movements.
Bonnie kicked off her white canvas shoes and shimmied out of her gray cotton leggings. She stood there in only a pair of black panties, pouting at him as an invitation for him to misbehave a little too.
Kai bit his lip as he watched her, removing his black coat and shoes, then shedding himself of his t-shirt and jeans.
Clad only in dark blue boxer briefs, he walked over to her and snaked an arm around her waist pulling him to her.
"You're so naughty, Mrs. Parker," he said.
He scooped her up and walked her to their bedroom, placing her on the bed with care. He stared down at her as if he was trying to figure out whether to let his heart or his libido take over.
Kai apparently opted for the heart. He positioned himself on the bed next to her, stroking her skin from her neck down to her thighs. She moaned. He was being too gentle again and it was driving her insane. She wanted him to rip off her panties and have is way with her. She arched into his touch, prodding him on, but he didn't relent.
His talented fingers skimmed over her panties, but he didn't dip inside them to touch the emerging wetness there.
"You're being bad," she moaned.
"Nope," Kai whispered, "Just taking my time to explore and admire the view, and it is such a perfect view."
Kai leaned in and kissed her lips softly. He teased her tongue with his, while his hand right hand made slow deliberate movements around each nipple, allowing his magic to make her skin tingle.
As her nipples hummed, he moved his lips down to her neck. She turned her head to give him more access for a bite, but he didn't take the bait. He moved down to her chest, lightly sucking at one nipple then moving to the other. He then licked a path between her breasts and down to her navel.
Kai blew a hot breath on the outside of her panties. She lifted herself off the bed.
"Please!" she begged.
Kai, being merciful, removed her panties, slowly dragging them from her legs as he kissed down the invisible path made by the fabric.
Her eyes were closed, but she managed to find the top of his head, grabbing it with both hands and pulling him up to kiss her lips again.
She wanted to look in his eyes when she made her next request.
"Kai, don't make me wait for it. I swear I'm gonna explode and take you with me," she pleaded.
He chuckled softly, giving her another quick peck on the lips before shedding his own boxers, allowing his rock hard length to spring free.
"I am such a good husband," he joked, nibbling at her ear while teasing her with his rigid tip.
She moaned back at him. She usually liked the foreplay just as much as the main event, but she'd grown impatient with his patience lately.
After all, there are times when a woman just wants to be fucked like the end of the world is coming, so she deserves to come first.
Kai kissed her lips as he rolled them over, slowly sliding her on top of his cock and making them both groan so loudly that the walls shook. Bonnie had resolved herself to the fact that sex with Kai would always be epic, but it still didn't diminish the delicious shock of pleasure that coursed through her each time they made love.
He stilled his movements, allowing her to adjust to him at her own pace. Bonnie then began to ride him, teasing them both although she knew the teasing wouldn't last long. Her thrusts quickly become more precise as she picked up speed. He started to rise up to meet her thrusts, but she held him down gently, showing him she wanted to do all of the work.
She could tell he was fighting to stay still. He tossed his head from side to side and gritted his teeth as the pleasure began to overwhelm him just as it did her.
Kai reached up to caress her nipples, allowing the sharp buds to tickle his palms as they both hovered closer and closer to their release.
Bonnie grabbed his hands and let them knead the pliable flesh of her breasts. The closer she came to orgasm, the more she wanted to dominate him. She grabbed his hands and pinned him down to the bed. The sudden movement shocked him, but he didn't fight against it. It appeared to turn him on even more, if that were possible.
Bonnie claimed his mouth with hers as she rode him harder, making small semi-circles with her hips. The new movement was driving them both insane.
Her speed picked up ever so slightly and she soon became aware that both of them were close to getting what they needed. Still, she wanted to give Kai something more.
She tore herself away from his lips long enough to whisper in his ear.
"Bite me when you come," she begged him in her sexiest voice, "Please."
She pulled away and she could see the vampire veins showing around his eyes again. His hips lifted off the bed to meet her thrusts, and his legs began to stiffen.
He was close. His fangs descended and he slowly sunk them into her neck while thrusting into her one last time. He came. She came. He sucked on her neck while she shook through intensity of her orgasm.
Kai pulled away from her, laying her gently on the mattress next to him. He stroked her hair gently as guilt swam through his blue/grey eyes.
She knew his concern for her well-being was justified. His adjustment to the heretic lifestyle had been a rocky one. There were nights he couldn't sleep because vampire hunger overpowered his witch nature. It was stronger and more volatile than he'd expected. As a result, he did his best to feed when she wasn't around. Animal blood was never enough, so he amassed a collection of blood bags from various hospitals up and down the East Coast. He didn't steal too much from one facility so his efforts at satisfying the hunger would remain undetected.
Bonnie could hear him pacing at night. The floorboards creaked beneath his heavy boots as he tried to calm himself down. He was desperate to keep his promise to never hurt her again, but in order to do so, he needed to rein in his own demons – ones he'd fought all his life.
Kai's kiss on her forehead jarred Bonnie from her worries about her new husband. He turned her head to see the mark he'd made on her neck.
"I'm sorry," he said, quietly.
Kai bit into his wrist as he watched Bonnie's neck bleed. He held out his arm for her to drink from him, when he stopped moving, and then he stopped breathing.
"Kai?"
He didn't answer. His expression of guilt turned immediately to shock.
Kai looked from her neck and into her eyes, then back to her neck again.
"Kai, you're officially scaring me," she said as she sat up.
"Bon," Kai started cautiously, "You're healing on your own."
Bonnie clutched her throat, feeling only smooth, warm skin underneath her palm.