I Know You're Still Just A Dream - Chapter 5 (Early Access) (Patreon)

Lucia POV

22 Weeks

The halfway mark had just passed her, and Lucia was already tired of being tired. Insomnia had been stealing her sleep in chunks over the last month, and she was starting to suspect it was causing paranoia. Flashes of green eyes seemed to follow her everywhere. Long black hair and a gangly, thin body becoming the latest trend with the clan members who occasionally passed through the Bonnet mansion’s grounds.

Except that wasn’t possible. Vampires couldn’t change their bodies. Or grow their hair. And Lucia couldn’t remember seeing a single Alyssa look-alike prior to her pregnancy.

She tried not to seem too spooked, because it only encouraged Elijah to assign more and more bodyguards to her. She had started off with four clan members following her at a distance if she wasn’t in the presence of a Bonnet. Now she had two that kept their distance and maintained a wide perimeter around her, two that hovered around a few metres away, and one that had been ordered to be ‘arm’s-reach’. She was a senior staff member, tried and trusted. And she was expected to be within touching distance of Lucia at all times. It was infuriating, because the woman wasn’t even any fun to hang out with.

The only time she was free from the claustrophobic cage of bodyguards was with Elijah, Sariyah or Eden. No one else had clearance to be alone with Lucia any more.

Her favourite time of day was when Elijah returned to their suite from his office, officially signalling the end of his work day. At which point Lucia could unceremoniously dismiss her clingers.

“How was your day, my love?” she asked once the rabble had vacated their quarters. She was draped lazily over one corner of their bed. Not in an attempt to look sexy, she just didn’t like to move from a location once she had become comfortable. Getting comfortable was more and more difficult the bigger she became.

“As boring as always,” he answered wearily. “Filled with paperwork and note-taking.” He sighed.

“Oh dear,” she said, exaggerating the word ‘dear’.

He gave her a small smile in return for her dramatics. “It’s not too bad,” he admitted. “The dull and mundane tasks give me plenty of time to think about things.”

“Such as?”

“Baby names.” He whispered the words like they were taboo and Lucia grinned. She sat up a little to give him her full attention.

“Tell me what you’ve thought of,” she demanded.

He tossed his tie aside and climbed onto the bed beside her. “Well,” he began, with excited eyes. “For a girl, I was thinking that I like your middle name - Adrienne - or names similar to it like Adelaide or Ariana.”

Lucia liked all three options. She hummed thoughtfully and asked, “What about if it’s a boy?”

“With boys’ names I was kind of fixated on ones that had…” He trailed off slightly awkwardly.

“That had what?” She laughed quietly at his apprehension. “You can tell me, love.”

He glanced away from her and back again with a nervous smile. “Latin… roots,” he said finally.

A grin pulled her face open. “Oh, I need to hear what names fall into this category,” she cackled.

“Don’t laugh!” If vampires could flush, Elijah would be pink tinted all over. “I thought it would be nice to give him a name that matched his heritage.”

“Come on, spill the names.”

He hesitated for a few moments and she gave him a playful nudge. He smiled awkwardly and said, “I considered Emilio and Hugo. But my favourite was Leonardo, because we could shorten it to Leo when he’s young and then he can be Leonardo when he’s a man.”

“I’m pretty sure Leonardo is Italian and Leo is Mexican,” Lucia advised gently.

“Well, what’s a typical Dominican boy’s name then?”

“Alex or Joseph?” She snorted. “Maybe Jose… Actually, I have a cousin called Leandro so maybe Leonardo isn’t too far off.”

“What about you?” Elijah asked as he began to unbutton his crisp white shirt. “Have you thought of any names?”

Lucia flopped onto her back again and stared at the ceiling while she voiced her thoughts. “If it’s a girl I think it would be nice to pay tribute to her godmother.”

“Her godmother?”

“Sariyah.”

“Oh, I didn’t know you were Catholic.”

“Most Dominicans are.” Her way of explaining that her family were, without mentioning her family out loud. “I don’t believe in god, but I’d still follow the tradition of naming back-up parents and I think we can agree that Sariyah is our number one choice.”

“Of course.”

“So, I was thinking something like Sara or Zara, or maybe Sadie? But they are all such short names…”

“I like Zara,” Elijah offered.

“I like Leonardo,” Lucia replied with a smile.

“Did you have any boy names you had thought of?”

“Funnily enough, I followed a similar line of thought as you did about my middle name. Adrien is the boy’s version of Adrienne but I figured they were a tad too similar, so I took the ‘r’ out and moved the ‘i’ and now I’m a little bit in love with the name ‘Aiden’.”

“Aiden,” Elijah tested the name. “Not bad, but I do still like Leo best.”

Lucia laughed. “There’s plenty of time yet.”

“Plenty of time before we find out the sex, or plenty of time for you persuade me to get what you want?”

Lucia pulled a teasing face at him but didn’t answer. She hadn’t decided herself yet.

Elijah slipped his shirt off and she wolf whistled at him.

He shook his head and quickly changed the subject. “How’re you finding your new security detail?”

Lucia groaned.

“Do you at least feel safer, if slightly inconvenienced?”

“Slightly? They follow me everywhere trying to wedge themselves between my butt cheeks! For a species with super speed, it makes no sense for them to be glued to me like they are.”

Elijah pressed his lips together and raised his brows. It made him look stern in a strangely sexy way. She shook her head, this was a serious conversation. No getting sidetracked by her gorgeous husband.

She sighed. “I still feel like I can see her round corners, just out of my line of sight,” she admitted.

Elijah’s face appeared above her. His lips were pressed and his eyes concerned.

“But I feel safe overall,” she added, partly to placate him. “I just need more sleep to take the edge off my nerves.”

“I think you’re mixing two expression there, my love,” he said softly. “But I agree with you getting more sleep!” His arms shovelled under her body and swung her up into the air as though she were a doll. Lucia laughed and clung to him, although she didn’t think for a moment that he would drop her. He flipped the covers back with one hand and pretended to toss her onto the sheets with the other. Lucia giggled in her pillow crater while Elijah hopped out of his trousers. With a cape made of their bedding, he dove in with her.