Author's note: Ready for some sexy times? Because there are some here. Also some sweet moments.

Happy reading!

Chapter Seven

"I heard a noise out the window." Ivanna sobbed as Eddie pulled the blanket over her shoulders.

"The window? Honey, we're on the very top floor. No one will be able to get in your room. I promise. You're fine. You're safe. I won't let anything happen to you." Eddie assured her.

She looked up at him, her eyes huge in the darkness of her room.

"And it's day time. No one bad can get you in the day time, especially here."

"Promise?"

"Pinkie promise." He held out his little finger.

She hooked her pinkie around his with a smile. Then she threw her arms around his shoulders and announced, "I love you, Eddie."

"I love you too, Ivanna." He said, cradling her to his chest. He kissed her temple. "Time to sleep, honey." She got back under the blanket and Eddie kissed her forehead. "Sleep tight."

He sat beside her for a few more minutes until he was sure she was asleep. He got up and walked back into his bedroom, scratching his head. Jill rolled over as he slipped into bed with her.

"Is she okay?"

"Fine." He wrapped his arms around her. "Jill, she told me she loves me."

She smiled and stroked his face with her fingertips. "Of course she loves you. Anyone that doesn't love you is crazy. Or a completely straight man. But even that's debatable. I think Christian and Adrian both have man crushes on you."

He chuckled and brushed his lips over hers. "When was the last time he woke up?"

"It's been a while. He could wake up any minute." She got a mischievous gleam in her eye and pushed him onto his back. "But it's been quite a while since we did anything. And I can lose just a few more minutes of sleep to help you out." She kissed him softly, but it quickly became more urgent. She slipped her hand down his chest and under the band of his sweat pants.

He gave a surprised sound and held her face gently close to his own as she worked her hand over him. He grew harder under her expert touch.

She broke the kiss and looked down at him. She bit her lip and then renewed the kiss. She nipped at his skin as she moved her mouth across his jaw and down his neck. She whispered, "Let's play a game." She kissed his chest. "You have to be as quiet as possible." She kissed him lower. "And if you're too loud, I stop." She kissed him still lower. "And also, if you're too loud, you'll wake Ivanna."

He laughed and smoothed his hand over her hair. "I accept your terms. But it would be best if the door was closed. Another barrier against our little girl."

She got out of bed with a swift grace he always admired and shut the door. She even flipped the lock.

"What about him, do you think?" Eddie asked as she turned back around.

"He's just a baby." Jill picked up an extra blanket off the end of the bed and draped it over the side of the crib. "Just in case."

Her husband chuckled again as she climbed into bed with her and quickly disappeared under the blanket.

"Remember, as quiet as you can be." She said as she lowered his pants and boxers.

He lifted the blanket and looked at her. "And what about you?"

"What about me?" She stuck her tongue out and licked him base to tip.

He moaned appreciatively. "How will I return the favor?"

"You know just how you can return the favor." She closed her mouth over his tip and said nothing else. She lowered her head a fraction before lifting it again. With each subsequent downward movement, she took more of him in until he touched the back of her throat.

He sighed and dropped the blanket. He leaned back against the headboard. His hands moved under the blanket and rested a one on the back of her head, threading her fingers through her hair. The other stroked her shoulder.

She scraped her teeth lightly over him and he could feel the groan bubbling up. He clamped his teeth shut and a sound resembling a whine escaped instead. He tightened his grip on her head and she started moving slightly faster.

The pressure built and the urge to speak was excruciating. He allowed a moan to escape. Then there it was. Any moment. Right on the brink.

And then there was a knock on the door and a small voice called, "Eddie?"

"Just a minute." He managed to say and clamped his teeth down to hide the inevitable sound of his climax. He collapsed against the headboard as Jill reappeared from under the blanket, swiping the back of her hand over her mouth.

"I'll get her." She assured him and headed for the door. "Hey there, my little ladybug."

"Ladybug?" Ivanna asked.

"Ladybugs are a sign of good luck. And you're my good luck, Ivanna."

"I like ladybugs." She said with a smile.

"Good." She kissed the little girl's forehead. "I thought you were asleep."

"There was a noise." She pointed to the window.

"A noise, huh?" Jill sat her down on the bed and walked to the window. She looked outside to see a group of dhampir boys running around, kicking a ball. The sound of their game filtered up through the glass. She opened it up and yelled down. "People are trying to sleep up here."

They paused and looked up. They looked as though they were about to tell her off. And then they seemed to think better of it and simply waved apologetically and hurried off in different directions.

"That should help, I think. Don't know what they're doing out there in the middle of the day." She mumbled as she closed the window and put the curtain back in place. She turned back to the little girl who still smiled. "Now, we still have a few hours until we have to get up, Ladybug. Do you think you'll be okay now?"

She nodded.

Jill tucked her back into bed. "And tomorrow I have to go into the big studio and look at the patterns and mock ups. Do you remember what those are?"

She nodded.

"Would you like to come with me?"

Her smile grew, if it was possible. "Yes."

"Good. But you have to stay in bed the rest of the day. Can you do that?"

"I think so."

"I love you, Ladybug." She whispered, pressing a kiss to her forehead.

"I love you, Jill." She said in a small voice.

"Now, back to sleep." She said, smoothing a hand over her hair.

Eddie pressed a kiss to Jill's lips as he handed Nikolai off to her. He kissed the back of the baby's head.

Ivanna looked up at him with her large eyes expectantly. "You are coming back?"

He smiled and picked her up. He kissed her cheek. "I've come back every day for the last week. I'll come back tonight, honey, I promise." He kissed her again and sat her down in her chair. "Finish your breakfast so you can go with Jill."

"Can I see Reggie?" She asked.

"That's up to Jill." He patted her head and gave his wife one more kiss. "I love you."

"I love you." She patted his chest. "Maybe we'll stop by so she can see what you do."

"I think I'd like that." He picked up a messenger bag beside the door and headed out.

Jill looked to the little girl. "Finish your breakfast. I'm going to change your brother. We have to go soon."

"Okay." She said softly.

Jill talked to Nikolai about their plans for the day as she changed him into a new outfit. She strapped him into the stroller and pushed him into the kitchen. "Are you done, Ladybug?"

She smiled at the new nickname and nodded.

"Go brush your teeth and then bring me your shoes."

Ivanna scooted out of the chair and ran out of the room. She came back in just as Jill finish cleaning the dishes.

"I'm ready." She announced.

"You put your shoes on already?" Jill asked proudly. "Good job. But they're on the wrong feet."

Her face dropped.

"It's okay." Jill said, lifting her onto a chair and kneeling in front of her. "I used to put my shoes on the wrong feet all the time when I was a little girl."

"You did?"

She nodded. "Yep. But I learned. See how it curves a little more here? That part goes on the inside of your foot."

"I'll remember next time."

"It's okay if you forget. I'll remind you." She stood. "Do you want to walk or ride?"

"Walk." She scooted off the chair and hurried for the door.

Jill laughed as she gathered her things by the door.

They made their way slowly down the road toward the studio where a small team was working hard to bring her designs to life. Ivanna was dancing with excitement as they walked farther.

"Are we almost there, Jill?" She asked, looking up at the buildings they passed.

"The next door, Ladybug." She said.

The girl stopped and looked up. "This one?"

"Yes." She pointed to the words on the door. "Jillian Castile Designs."

"Like Eddie." Ivanna remembered when Jill had explained that in her professional life she was Castile, but for her personal life she was still Dragomir. It had been a hard fight to convince Eddie that it was a good decision.

She was sure the girl didn't fully grasp the concept, but she was sharp when it came to names. She pushed open the door and Ivanna stepped inside.

There were dress forms scattered about the medium-sized room and tables covered in fabric and paper and copies of the sketches Jill did. The little girl looked around in wide-eyed wonder. Jill smoothed a hand over her hair and then led her forward. She introduced the little girl to the two workers present. The others tended not to come in until much later. They got their work done, though.

"How are things going?" She asked Amy, the head tailor.

"We're having a little trouble with one of the dresses. The one for the queen. We can't get it to drape right." She explained. She leaned over the stroller and smiled at the baby. "Aren't you handsome?"

Jill smiled proudly. "He is, isn't he?" She tickled his cheek.

She looked up to se Ivanna talking to Noah as he pinned some fabric together on one of the dress forms. He was explaining what he was doing and she was asking "why?" to everything he said. He smiled and patiently answered in all the different ways he possibly could.

"Ivanna, let's leave Noah to his work." She called as she walked over and examined it. "Is this the one you were having trouble with?"

"Yeah. No matter how we do it, it doesn't look much like your sketch."

She chewed her lip as she walked around it. "I think you're just going to have to do it in the silk. This is just a little too stiff. I'll do it, actually. This one's for the queen, I need it to be perfect." She walked to the back of the studio and picked up a bolt of shiny fabric in a deep purple. She winked at Ivanna as she rolled it out on one of the tables. She picked up a pair of scissors and cut several yards off the bolt.

Noah and Amy watched as she walked over to one of the other forms and started draping. She pinned the fabric to the form, sculpting the perfect dress. Ivanna walked over and drunk in her every movement in wonder. When Nikolai started crying, Noah quickly picked the baby up out of the stroller so that Jill could continue working.

"More pins." She mumbled, looking around with her hand holding up a bit of fabric.

"Here." Ivanna said, holding up a cushion.

"Thanks, Ladybug." She smiled and took the cushion from her, taking several of the pins and sticking a few in her mouth as she went back to work.

She stepped back after another hour of fabric manipulation and examined the dress she'd created. "Sew that." She said. "That's what I want."

"Ooh, pick me." Noah said, walking forward and handing over the baby. "I love working with silk.

"Better you than me." Amy said, turning to a table and looking over the pattern she was drafting and comparing it to one of Jill's sketches.

Jill walked around the room and looked at the other works in progress. Ivanna followed in her wake. She made a few notes on a pad that she carried around with her and handed it to Amy. "They look great. But don't let Bridget do anything else to that one." She pointed to a form in the middle of the room. "I can see her handiwork. She puts too many embellishments on the stuff that I prefer to be simple. That mock up is exactly how that dress needs to be. Anything else she wants to fiddle with, tell her to make sure it can be removed if I don't like it."

"Will do." She took the notes and headed toward the computer in the front corner of the room. "Anything else?"

"Nope. I'll be back in a few days to check on progress."

"Me too?" Ivanna pleaded.

Jill chuckled. "We'll just have to see, Ladybug." She placed Nikolai back in the stroller and looked around. "Tell everyone when they get in that I thank them for their hard work. And a very big thank you to both of you for coming in early and staying late as often as you do."

"I live for this, Jill." Amy said wistfully.

The designer smiled. "I know you do. Get your portfolio finished and bring it by my house on Friday. I want to get a look at it. Ivanna will probably want a look at it too, if you don't mind. She's got a pretty good eye, I think." She smiled affectionately at the little girl and then back to the other woman. "We'll be back here Wednesday."

"Wednesday." She agreed. She kneeled down in front of the girl. "It was lovely meeting you, Ivanna."

"You too, Amy." She held out her hand and the woman shook it kindly.