Chapter 57

Aaron took a deep breath as he walked up the drive to his therapist’s office. It had been months since Ice had been rescued and now Aaron was going to see him. It was the opinion of Dr. Walters that they not see each other until after Ice had had some time to adjust to his freedom. Aaron wondered what it would be like to finally see him again. He knew that Ice was pregnant with his captor’s child. It had taken him awhile to digest that piece of information.

As he stepped into the office he saw Ice sitting on the couch. “Hey, you.”

“Hey yourself,” Ice stood up.

“Wow, you really are pregnant.”

Ice rested his hands on his protruding stomach. “Yes, I really am. I’m told it’s triplets.”

Aaron dropped open his mouth. “Really? Are you keeping them all or giving them up for adoption?”

“The thing is there are three potential fathers. I had consensual sex with two of them. So, I want to keep them.”

“You slept with two people while you were gone?” Aaron was hurt at Ice’s betrayal.

“Aaron, I was a prisoner for a long time. They were kind to me. I didn’t mean to have feelings for them, it just happened. One of them is dead because of his complicity in my abduction. My rapist is dead as well. The other one has been granted a reprieve because he’s pregnant. It might be my child.”

Aaron dropped bonelessly onto the couch. “This is a lot for me to take in. Do you really care for this man?”

Ice sat beside him and pulled him into his embrace. “Yes, I care for him. It isn’t the same way I care for you, but we’ve gotten even closer of the past few months,” Ice paused, “I’m sleeping with him.”

Aaron buried his face in his hands. Ice, his beloved Ice, had cheated on him, was still cheating on him. A wave of guilt reminded Aaron that he wasn’t exactly innocent. “Ice, I had sex with Onyx while you were gone. It was just one time and I was drunk, but I still was unfaithful.”

“I know. Tory says that the four of us need to work out an arrangement. He wants us to stay here until after the babies are born. I’m planning on adopting Blade’s children if things go bad.”

“What do you mean ‘if things go bad’?” Aaron looked up at him.

“At the end of the year, Blade’s case will be reviewed, if the Council finds him guilty, he’ll be executed like the others.”

“I’m sorry. You are a better man than I if you can take in his children.”

Ice took a deep breath. “I was also thinking about taking in the other children. The ones I bore to my rapist. When all is said and done, they are my children and should be made to pay for their father’s sins. Tory has been helping work through my issues regarding them.”

Aaron contemplated that. “Exactly how many children are we talking about?”

“Altogether, with the older ones and the ones Blade and I carrying, there are twelve children.”

“Oh.” Twelve children under the age of seven. That was a lot of children. That would triple the number of children in the house. “I can’t agree to that.” Ice opened his mouth to protest. “You’re talking about twelve children. I need to think about that. I think Onyx should be part of that decision. After all, he’s probably going to be the one doing a lot of the work.”

Ice nodded. “I know it’s a lot to take in which is why I’m telling you now before the babies are born. You have time to think about it and I have time to make other arrangements if necessary. Krys is willing to raise the older children and Blade’s unborn children if it comes to that.” His voice gentled, “I have missed you, Aaron. I thought about you nearly every day. Sometimes I think it was the only thing that kept me sane. I had someone to come back. I had to hold on for you.”

“You did better than me.” Aaron looked away embarrassed, “I have a drinking problem. I’m getting help. In fact, it’s why I started coming to see Dr. Walters in the first place. He was the one who contacted the investigator. He also told me all about vampires.”

Ice flushed, his fair skin betraying is discomfort with the topic. “I’m sorry, I should have told you, but I hate being a vampire. It’s brought me nothing but grief. I never meant to fall in love with you or make you fall in love with me. I’ve been working with Krys to control my vampiric abilities. Apparently Snow should have taught me a great many things. I’m glad she’s already dead, otherwise I might be tempted to kill her.”

“You’re not a murderer, Ice.”

“I’m a vampire. I have killed. I’ve fed from humans until they died.”

“You lost control. That’s different from premeditated murder.”

“Tell that to my victims.”