Ashes (Dark in You 3)

Unable to deal with him right then, Harper held up her hand. “You are not here. You’re just not.”

Sharon chuckled. “Ignore him, honey, I do it all the time.”

Harper did exactly that, concentrating on pushing and breathing while Knox whispered encouragements in her ear and told her he loved her. And when Rodgers announced that one more push would do it, Harper’s heart skipped a beat. Still, she pushed. Hard. With what even she could admit was a bloodcurdling scream, the baby’s head was out. It took just one more push for the rest of the baby to come out. And there it was.

Rodgers grinned. “You have a baby boy, congratulations.”

Awe and wonder crept over Harper, and her throat seemed to close over. Still, she somehow managed to ask, “Why isn’t he crying?”

“Oh, he will,” said Sharon. “Don’t doubt it.”

After the cord was cut, Rodgers took the baby aside, checked him over and then, yep, the baby started bawling.

As Sharon covered Harper up, Rodgers gently rested the baby on her chest with a little blanket and said, “He’s fine. Ten fingers, ten toes, and he has a big set of lungs on him. Good luck with that.”

Harper’s heart stuttered and her chest clenched. To others, he probably looked like a prune. To her, he was the most beautiful, perfect thing she’d ever seen. She spoke in a low, soothing voice. “Hey there. You’re here,” she marveled. “And you’re a boy.” He was familiar in the strangest way. She smiled at Knox. “Can you believe we made this little person?”

Knox gently pressed a kiss on the baby’s head, and then pressed another on Harper’s temple. Looking at them, an overwhelming sense of pride flooded him. There was also a deep sense of relief. Harper was fine. The baby was fine. “You’re both amazing,” he said a little gruffly.

“You okay?”

Okay? He was… overwhelmed. Had no words. It all seemed to have happened so fast that it was surreal for Knox. It was hard to absorb the reality that the baby was finally here. But he didn’t need to tell her that; she knew him well enough to understand and gave him a knowing smile.

“I get it,” said Harper. The way she was feeling right then… it was hard to describe, hard to even process. She had a lot of emotional chaos going on in her mind. Even her demon was a little off-balance, though it was also proud as punch. Gently, she shifted the baby towards him. “Have a hold.”

Knox tensed. Very few things had ever made him feel nervous. But holding a baby? Yeah, that did it.

She smiled. “You’re a badass. You can manage.” She wasn’t the least bit surprised that Knox scooped up and cradled the baby as effortlessly as he did everything else – no awkwardness or fiddling. He was the most competent person she’d ever known. The baby immediately stopping fussing, to her amusement, and looked up at Knox, seeming fascinated by him… which meant she and the baby already had something in common. Awesome.

“He’s so small,” said Knox. Tiny. Vulnerable. His demon settled inside him, content now that the only people that it considered important to it were fine.

“He is small,” Harper agreed. “Like a little doll.” The baby’s tiny fingers clasped one of his, and every line in Knox’s face smoothed out… and Harper was pretty sure she’d just watched Knox Thorne fall instantly in love.

CHAPTER TWENTY-ONE

Harper woke up the next morning to see Knox in the rocking chair that had been placed beside their bed, gently rubbing the back of the swaddled sleeping baby resting on his chest. And her heart just melted. Yep, right into a puddle of goo.

Eyes of dark velvet met hers, and Knox smiled. There was pride, contentment, and… peace there. “Morning, baby,” he said quietly. “How are you feeling?”

She sat up as she took stock of herself. “Good, all things considered.” A little sore, but she knew that wouldn’t last long, since demons healed fast. “Tell me I didn’t sleep through him waking up for a feed.”

Knox shook his head. “You’ve both been asleep for a long while.”

Which was no doubt why she no longer felt drained, she thought. Demons didn’t need much sleep, after all.

“You literally dropped to sleep like you’d been dealt a blow to the jaw,” Knox told her, unable to hide the amusement from his voice. He hadn’t initially found it amusing, though. “I was worried at first, but then I figured it wasn’t such a surprise, given that you’d not only been through labor but were probably psychically exhausted after using your gifts.”

Harper nodded. “Psychic burnout is never fun.” She’d fed the baby shortly after he was born – though it had taken a little work since he’d simply refused to cooperate and suckle – and no sooner had Knox taken him to have another hold than Harper lost the battle she’d been fighting against the need for sleep.

Standing, Knox said, “Shuffle over.”

Once she did so, he slid onto the bed beside her, careful not to jostle the baby. Unable to get rid of the silly grin on her face, Harper shifted his little hat slightly just to press a quick kiss to his downy head. His hair was as dark and silky as Knox’s was, to her utter delight. She inhaled deeply, taking in his baby fresh, sweet scent. Few things smelled better than a newborn baby, she thought. It made her want to gobble him up.

“Where’s mine?” Knox asked, mouth curved.

“Right here,” whispered Harper before giving him a soft, lingering kiss that he quickly took over – deepening it, yet keeping it gentle and almost… reverent.

Pulling back, Knox curled her hair behind her ear and stroked his thumb over her cheekbone. “I needed that.” Moving the baby from his shoulder to his chest so that she could see his little face, Knox said, “You do realize that we still haven’t settled on a name for him yet, don’t you?”

“There was only one name we agreed on, remember. That name still good for you?”

“Yeah.” Knox looked down at their son. “He looks like an ‘Asher’.”

Harper nodded. “Then Asher Knox Thorne it is. Damn, he’s just you with a lot less hair.”

The resemblance was clear to see, Knox thought. And that only fed the pride he felt each time he looked at Asher. “I still hope he has your eyes.”

“Then you’re an idiot.”

Knox shot her a mock glare. “Your eyes are unique and beautiful.”

“They’re a pain in my ass – that’s what they are.” She stilled as Asher shifted, but he didn’t wake.

Knox sighed. “He keeps pulling his knees up and trying to curl into a ball.”

“Like he’s still in the womb.” Harper stretched, yawning. “I really need coffee. And food.”

“I told Meg that you’re awake. She’ll bring us breakfast soon and formula for Asher, since it’s likely he’ll wake up soon too. While we wait, you can tell me what happened yesterday.”

Her stomach plummeted. “Do we have to talk about it?”

He breezed his thumb along her jaw. “I need to know, baby. I can understand why you wouldn’t want to talk about it, but —”

“Not knowing is driving you crazy, I get it.”

“I know a little from McCauley.” He quickly relayed the child’s version of events to her. “I need to hear the rest.”

“Okay.” So, she told him how Nora had taken her, and how Linda had then stayed inside the circle with her while the incantors chanted, infecting her with magick and inducing labor. “Nora wasn’t working with the other Horsemen. She said they wanted to lie low for a while. Unfortunately, that was all she said about them. I got the feeling she didn’t want the attention being taken from her.” Harper cocked her head. “How did you get to me?”

“Thatcher reopened the portal.”

She blinked. “Thatcher?”

“I didn’t like accepting his help. For all I knew, he was stalling for Nora. That was why I had Levi contact his incantor-friend. She said that Thatcher was doing exactly what she would have done, only he was doing it faster, so I didn’t interfere and just hoped to God he wasn’t playing me.” It was the fear in her telepathic voice that had made Knox take the chance. He hadn’t been able to bear it.