The babies, now officially five months old, were a handful, especially since it was September. Or so it seemed. Those perfect handfuls, though, brought me immense joy. It had been a long time since I'd been this happy, and nothing could stop me. Not even Number One. He was literally nothing to me, and I realized I had grown, learning to let go. Maybe, as he said, sometimes, if I were in the mood, but for now, Dickweed was nothing.
For Mariella, things weren't so simple. She was enjoying herself upstairs, though it had been a little weird at first. Once, we had been baking, and Adam had come in, asking Mariella in a neutral voice to come to a storage room for her opinion. Thirty minutes later, when Mariella returned, she smelled of Adam, no panties, flushed.
I teased her, and she blushed, saying, "I now get it. Oh my God, when damn Hautpman just takes you... I mean, the first time with Charles, bending over, it was intense, but wow. And I feel like I smell like Adam, and you know, I realize I want to smell him on my skin. He is one of my husbands, and oh my god, he knows how to make me squeal."
I smiled and said, "Well, I'm not sure if you noticed, I took a few days off when I didn't remember one tiny almost promise that Damon had given to me a long time ago, about actions and what comes out of them."
She said, "Well, since the Charles thing, I was downstairs and Damon was pretty possessive, so no, I wasn't here. What happened?"
I rolled my eyes and said, "Well, it pays to remember what happens when you seduce Number Two. I was making rice porridge, and he walked in. Of course, he started to take over, and then you and Charles happened. Well, after you had been... well, I was feeling a little naughty, so I started to do my thing. I have been freezing my breast milk, with powers, and I took one of them, starting to lick it innocently, but... You know me. Let's just say my milk was still potent, my behavior needed some correction in the bedroom, and it took us five days. Well, I must admit, every Salvatore who is with me has now declared a fuck debt with me, and oh boy, do they want to pay it. So let's say I rarely have night shifts with the babies, but it's more like with my husbands."
"Good for you," she giggled, "Really good."
"Well, for me," she continued, "Damon scrubbed me like five times, and then he took all of my skin off with a spell."
I nodded, remembering the excruciating pain of when he had done it to me once. We continued our baking. I was making cake bases while most of the men were occupied elsewhere. The Salvatores were chopping wood, and the babies were having their hour-long naps. It was exhausting sometimes, but I loved it. As we chatted about men, Mariella was whipping her meringue, planning a pavlova.
I thought, "Hell, why not teach her a few lessons?"
I said to Wulfe, who was now on laundry duty. He loved to make desserts and was getting quite good. He always wanted to bake and make all kinds of treats, and with me, he was sweet, never pushing me away, and always doing his part, unlike the Salvatores.
"Wulfe, my love, what are you doing?" I asked him through our bond.
"Almost done with the laundry, why do you ask, my love?" he replied.
"Nothing much. Mariella and I are baking. She's doing pavlova, and I was just wondering if you have a preference for which fruit to use?"
"Oh, I'm about to come up, so I'll see to it," he said softly.
I smiled slightly to myself; it was perfect. But, as always, he wasn't alone. He, too, had learned the art of sharing. As the smell of old books wafted to my nose, it was followed by the sharpest scent of passionfruit and apple. Oh, great, Number Ten and Charles had arrived too.
Wulfe walked right behind Mariella, blew in her ear, and said, "I do like peaches, fresh, ripe, juicy."
He then licked her neck, making Mariella shudder and blush, as Wulfe knew his way with females.
Mariella gulped, her voice a little hesitant, "I was planning on using dragonfruit, as it is so wonderfully pink, and since Mimi made those cakes for the babies..."
I rolled my eyes.
Soon, Number Ten was next to me, his voice asking, "Show me, what cakes?"
He was leaning towards the counter, looking at me, his eyes calm and cool like an arctic breeze, but not emotionless; they were pretty damn dominant. Oh, my feline side woke right up; fine.
I reached for a small dish holding a simple cake I had baked for the babies, made with nut flour, dragon fruit, sugar, and eggs.
I asked my husband sweetly, "Please, taste it and chop it into suitable portions. I think we can freeze most of it and give them some now and then."
Mariella chimed in, her voice equally sweet, "Oh, please make sure I can get a few pieces for my girls too. That's so wonderfully pink!"
Number Ten grunted softly and took the tray, walking to an island to start working.
I kept my expression neutral, and Charles approached me. "Oh, you have so many cake bases. What are you planning, honey?"
He took inventory, prompting Number Ten to say, "Freeze them. I have cake in the fridge for today, so no need for more, missy."
Charles began collecting my bases and carried them to another counter where we had supplies for wrapping and freezing. I hummed to myself as Charles put most of my bases in the freezer. Number Ten was busy with my cake, his brow furrowing with irritation because I was doing something new. Mariella's pavlova bases were also in front of Charles, as Wulfe had needed his mistress, and he was wrapping them for freezing.
I had to admit, I liked to play my little games. One of my egg clocks alerted me that my little treat was done. I went to our big baking oven, which was still hot. There was a load of pork cooking, but there was also a bigger tray of cupcakes or muffins.
I pulled them out and lifted them onto a cooling counter, and proceeded with my topping. These would be triple mocha treats, "triple" meaning they contained freeze-dried coffee, full of strong caffeine. Each cupcake had a hidden nugget of dark chocolate laced with a special coffee blend that had melted perfectly.
For the topping, I had crushed coffee beans soaked in another coffee, white chocolate, passion fruit puree, and raspberries. I had my coffee beans on the coffee simmer, and it was almost done. I shut the burner under it and let it cool slightly.
I walked to our baking supplies cupboard and took a few big chunks of white chocolate, a stack of gelatin sheets, and a few flavorings. I would thicken my topping with gelatin, and it would be pretty damn perfect.
Since these were pretty damn fine to me, I could nibble on them a lot. They were loaded with calories, caffeine, sugar, and not too many carbs. And they were a novelty. Oh, my life could be so damn perfect.
I was congratulating myself as I softened the gelatin sheets in cold water when a hard, hot body and the sharp scent of pear enveloped me.
Adam murmured in my ear, "Oh baby, you do know that your smugness is catnip to me. But what we're doing here... novelty, I see. Naughty girl."
A soft voice asked, "Did you say novelty? Hmm, it seems my wife is once more being sly." Number Five stepped next to me, saying, "Baby, come on, tell me, and right fucking now, or else we'll give you a lesson with Adam. You recall what I did to you with those frozen rolls in the past?"
I swallowed, my pussy already responding to the thought. Oh my God, these damn seducers were all over me.
"Dessert for me," I began, "caffeine-laden. And since this is my first draft, it might not be perfect, but I'm aiming to keep caffeine in our dessert, so no crisis for children will come. It's basically a coffee-based cupcake with a coffee-chocolate heart. I top it off with more coffee and white chocolate topping, which I thicken with gelatin, and I put raspberries and passionfruit in there too."
Number Five said, "Fine, baby, go. The babies are waking up. We get these done, right, Hauptman?"
Adam grunted as he peered over my shoulder. Again, I could have pushed both of them away, but I knew how to play this.
Twisting the situation, I said to them, "So, taste them and start to think about how we can make them perfect. Remember Apollo, and how he failed to thrive, so to speak, as he needed caffeine for his telepathy? Since these five have powers too, I mean, try to come up with a baby-friendly version."
Number Five grunted, and Adam looked at me sharply. I kept my expression neutral, and instead of pushing me away from my enjoyment, I flipped the script, making them perfect my idea, as if it had been my plan all along. Adam knew me well enough, but Number Five was focused on making them perfect, not on power plays here.
As I walked to the nursery, I heard cooing and giggling. My five children were awake, and it was truly amazing to watch them grow. Each had their own personality, which I guessed was partly due to their powers. I stopped at the door, and a pang hit my heart.
*Damn him*, he was missing so much. And I was fine. I wasn't supposed to care about him choosing Mariella and denying his paternity, but it hurt. It hurt me deeply, a personal pain that I wouldn't yield to this time. I took a breath, tamped down the pain, or rather, I dumped it into my well of rage, a place where it churned, making my anger boil even more.
*Fuck him*, he was nothing but a dickweed.
I went and opened the curtains. It was autumn. The babies were born in April and were now five months old, meaning it was September. The light was still pleasant, even though the days were getting shorter and leaves were falling from the trees.
I went to Sadie first; she was usually the one who'd scream if she felt ignored. After changing her, I put her in her rocker. Next, I took care of Dash, who was like Damon – so impatient, and yet he knew just how to make everyone love him. I put him in the rocker as well. Just as I was about to get to the twins, May and Emmylee walked in.
"What do you need?" I asked.
"Take the twins, I'll take care of Darien." He was my special little guy.
He was the most cuddly and I felt he was most like me. The twins had this connection, and sometimes they made sure they pooped and peed at exactly the same time, crying their eyes out, trying to get me to react more. I had helpers, but somehow I knew these two would give me gray hairs for years to come.
But Darien, my special guy, was a creature of love, most patient, didn't cry easily even if he was soiled, and he was such a happy little guy. However, he was the most grabby and made the biggest mess during meal time, throwing food all over himself, so the kitchen always needed cleaning after meals.
"Oh, you are dirty again, my boy, aren't you?" I crooned to him as I opened his soiled diaper and started to clean him.
After placing a cloth nappy on him to prevent him from peeing on me, I remarked, "You have grown again. Mommy needs to get you slightly bigger clothes, but let's clean you right up."
I hummed under my breath, Ken Rogers' "Lady" as I cleaned him. He kicked and squirmed, giggling like crazy, and yes, made quite a big mess as my little mustard machine went wild. But I knew to expect it and cleaned him as he pooped some more.
"Do you know, my love, that is not exactly a children's song?" Number three asked at the door.
I replied, "He is too young to understand it. Besides, I was just humming."
Number three came next to me, kissed me, and made Emmylee comment, "Oh my god, Dad, get a room, or better let Mom change the baby before seducing her."
My girls were as cunning as I, as they called the Salvatores "Daddy" to prevent them from being harassed too much. But then again, they were suitable targets for Wulfe, Adam, Charles, Lepard, and Demon. So let's just say the girls, especially the older ones, were not living life as nuns in a pack full of lustful creatures. No matter how cunningly they tried to be.
Number three said to me, "Our little boy needs bigger clothes. Well, Daddy's gonna get some for you. Want to come choose them yourself?"
He wrapped Darien in a blanket since he was naked and had just emptied himself. He picked him up, and they walked to the dresser to select a larger set of clothes.
He said, "Yeah, take these, and Daddy's gonna dress you right up."
He crooned softly to Darien, who had his tiny grabby hands free and found his daddy's ear, pulling it and causing number three to grimace. He had his hands full, so it took a little time for him to get the clothes on the nearest surface and remove Darien's hand from his ear, which was slightly red.
I smiled and said, "Fine, I'll go put the activity mats ready."
Number three said, "Don't bother. The girls and I are taking them out so you can have some breather."
I nodded, my mind racing ahead as once again, an old memory came to my mind, and I knew it was soon time to start a project that I needed to do in secret, at least for starters. But it would be just fine. I mean, what could go wrong as long as I kept my secrets?