Sumi gave him a puzzled stare at the way he’d said that. “Maris approved?”
Ture nodded. “In spite of the sophisticated palate he claims to have, my baby has the taste buds of a five-year-old. And just because they’re picky doesn’t mean it can’t be healthy. Do you want sweet or savory or both?”
“Um… both, I guess.”
“All right. You two stay here and I’ll be right back with food for you.”
Dancer stood as Kiara came over with a very happy Zarina, and offered her his chair.
She smiled gratefully as she accepted it and balanced Zarina on her lap. “I hope the two of you don’t mind, but I took the liberty of inviting my favorite local kids’ store to the house with things for Kalea. They should be here in about an hour.”
Sumi blushed. “That was extremely kind of you, but can we cancel it?”
“Why?”
She felt her face turn even hotter. “I’m sure Kyr’s locked all my accounts. I don’t have credits without them.”
Dancer knelt beside her and took her hand in his. “Mia, you have all you need and more. There’s nothing I would deny you or Kalea. Buy whatever it is she desires.” He winked at Kiara. “Can you please call them back and say that Kalea wants to look like a fairy princess? They should bring things to make Her Fae Highness deliriously happy.”
Sumi’s lips trembled at his kindness. She still couldn’t believe the male she’d been lucky enough to find. “You are too good to be true.”
He snorted in denial. “Says the woman who has to fight a battle for me while wounded. Really don’t think I’m that big of a prize.”
She squeezed his hand. “You would be very wrong.”
Hauk smiled, even though he cringed inside. But then, her last boyfriend had tried to kill her and Kalea. Compared to that, he was a definite step up. Sad, when he thought about it.
Kissing her hand, he rose. “I’ll be right back.” He motioned discreetly for Kiara to follow him.
Once they were alone, he leaned down to speak so that no one could overhear him. “Do you know anyone who could bring clothes for Sumi also?”
Adjusting Zarina on her shoulder, she smiled. “Way ahead of you, big guy. They’ll be coming in two hours.”
“Thank you, Kiara.”
She patted his arm. “Anytime.”
He started to leave then thought of something else. “Did you request more conservative clothes for Sumi? I’m not sure I want her in typical Andarion fashions, and she’s thankfully more modest in her tastes.”
She smiled. “Don’t worry. That, too, is already done. Notice my hoo-has are never hanging out. No need in getting someone killed needlessly by a jealous assassin husband.”
Hauk laughed. “Again, thank you.”
“Is something wrong?” Nykyrian asked as he joined them.
Hauk gave him a dry stare. “We were just planning our afternoon tryst. Want to join us?”
Nyk let out a harumph. “Sarcasm like that could get you gutted.”
“And I’m sure that when I die, it will be the result of just such a comment, at just such a time.”
Kiara sighed at them both as she handed Zarina off to Nyk. “All is well. We were talking baby clothes and women’s fashions.” She pulled out her link and headed for a secluded corner.
Nyk raked a less-than-flattering stare over Hauk as he turned Zarina around to hold her back against his chest. “Women’s fashions? So you really do wear frilly pink underwear, huh?”
Hauk groaned at something that had been a long-running joke between Nyk and Darling, that Darling had only recently told him about. It’d started back when they’d first become friends. Darling had been riddled with severe panic attacks, and to get him past them, Nyk would tell him that Hauk wore women’s underpants. “I hate you.”
Taking it in stride, Nykyrian pinned one of those stares on him that saw all the way to his soul. “Seriously, are you all right? You seem really distracted.”
Yes and no. He was distracted, only in that he was hyperalert, waiting for Kyr or someone else to try and steal his happiness. “It’s…” He let his voice trail off. “I’m fine.”
Nyk studied him for a minute. “No, you’re terrified. Though I’ve never seen that look on you before, unless explosives were involved.”
“Shut up, asshole.” He glanced down at Zarina, who was bouncing and laughing happily as she drooled all over Nykyrian’s hand. “By the way, that frilly-dressed, drooling baby girl in your arms takes the badass right out of you.”
Rolling his eyes, Nyk held his daughter tighter. “Seriously, I know what you’re going through, Hauk. One minute, you’re alone in your hole. Having a pretty good life. Content with things, for the most part. Lonely at times, but you’re so accustomed to that, you don’t really think about it anymore. You only have yourself to worry over, and whatever bullshit trouble your friends get into. Then out of the blue, this amazing woman blindsides you. She adds something to your life you didn’t even know was missing. Next thing you know, she’s got her bras hanging in your bathroom, you’re eating dinner at a table in your house where you used to store parts, with silverware you didn’t even know you had, and she’s taken over your world completely. Worse, she has become your entire existence and you’re now civilized in a way you never thought you could be. And instead of alcohol-induced brawls, you live just to see the way her eyes light up when you enter her line of sight. And the fear that she’s going to be taken away is so consuming that you can’t stop thinking about it. You see enemies everywhere. Every shadow. Every whisper of wind. And if that’s not unnerving enough, you find out you have a kid who’s even more dependent on you and who means every bit as much to you.”
Nyk cradled Zarina against him. “Now, you stay with your gut in a knot, and you want to tether them to you to make sure no one can touch them, because you know exactly what your enemies would do if they ever laid hands on them.”
Hauk hated just how true every bit of that was. “How do you cope?”
“That’s the question, drey. When you find an answer, please let me know.”
He shook his head.
“Honestly,” Nyk continued. “The only thing that keeps me going is the memory of what it was like without them.” He kissed the top of Zarina’s head. “There are days when I feel like I’m barely hanging on to my sanity. When I wonder if I did the right thing by bringing them into my hostile world. Then I feel like a selfish asshole for it.” He looked down at his daughter and smiled at her. “But truthfully, I can’t imagine going back.” He held Zarina up to Hauk’s eye level. “If I have to lose sleep, I can’t think of a better reason than this little face.”
He gave Zarina a lopsided grin. “She is a cutie, even if she does keep springing leaks all over.” And right now, she was going to town on Nykyrian’s thumb.
Pain hit him so hard as he tried to think about what might happen to Sumi and Kalea. “I don’t know if I can let her step into that ring tomorrow, Nyk. Dariana’s a nasty bitch, and highly trained.”
“From what I saw, Sumi’s no slacker. Anyone who can take the chunk out of Kyr that she did is more than equal to the challenge. Kyr might be psychotic, but he’s never been weak or unskilled.” Nyk clapped him on the shoulder. “You know we won’t let anything happen to your family. Not after everything you’ve done for ours. Breathe, Hauk. Have faith.”
Ironic, coming from a male who’d been a devout atheist until Kiara had entered his life. She had changed so much about Nyk, and not in a bad way. She’d taken a savage beast and tamed him. Taught him humanity. While Nyk had always been loyal to his friends, he hadn’t been long on compassion, and a discussion like this one would never have happened ten years ago.