The last few days had been absolutely incredible. Aisling was sure she had never smiled so much in her life as she was that week. She just couldn't help it, she couldn't convince the corners of her lips to not be perked in delight. No matter how much she tried, she just couldn't seem to get the silly grin to leave her. Of course, she wasn't trying all that hard. It felt good to smile for once, without having to worry about the dream ending.

Every morning, she awoke late, like normal. Malice was already up and doing work and she would simply lay in bed, wondering at how amazing it was that she had this warm bed that smelled like her warlord prince that she could lounge in. She would go and bathe, relishing in the comfort that the massive bathroom offered her. The first two days after telling Malice she was pregnant, she had gone to visit him before eating breakfast which she learned was a sure fire way to distract him from work. But that was the last thing she wanted. Aisling did not want her Malice to go away because he had to take care of business.

So she would eat breakfast, in their rooms before she would head off to say good morning to her love. She was working very hard to not interrupt him through out the day. Aisling would see him at lunch and then when he finished. She always made sure that there was something wonderful for him to eat and made sure that everything in the house was running smoothly. She wasn't going to let Malice down. She would take some of his stress off of him.

That day though, Aisling was really missing Malice. Her thoughts continually kept going back to how safe she felt with his arms wrapped around him or how special his smiles made her feel. She was dreaming about their future and the life they would give their child. She was ready for it all but the house was far from ready. There was so much to do. She had tried to distract herself by going into town to begin finding things for the baby's nursery but to no avail. Without any idea of what the furniture would look like, she couldn't begin picking out out things.

Of course Aisling knew that there was plenty of time before everything needed to be ready but she wanted to use that time wisely. The less stress she was under during the last few months, the better it would be for baby. So she broke the rule she had made to herself to not go and see Malice more often then she had scheduled. She told herself this wouldn't take long at all. No longer then was absolutely necessary.

When she knocked on the door and walked in though, all desire to stay with Malice took over. She smiled at him and walked over to stand behind his seat, placing her hands on his shoulders. She knew Malice was stressed and that his poor shoulders were taking the brunt of that stress and she was going to try and make that go away. She began massaging his shoulders as she spoke. "I just thought I would let you know that we made it back from town and you'll also be pleased to know that we did not do any damage to your accounts." Her voice was light and joking as she spoke. "I hope you have had a more successful day."

Work had been so busy lately. Between paperwork and arranging things Malice had little room to think let alone spend time with Aisling. Even as he thought about it in that second as he pushed through more paperwork he couldn’t help but groan. She was with his child and he hadn’t much time to spend with her other than saying hello or kissing her good night. With the wine business booming and his own personal business going as planned he had next to no time to spend with her. He was tired in the mornings which he never showed and then when his head hit the pillow Malice fell asleep. It was unfair to Aisling and the only days he found spending with her was the ones where she poked her head in to see him. He could never deny those times.

Looking at his paperwork for the day Malice decided to get rid of the nitty gritty stuff first as his darling Queen was away shopping. He missed her greatly, feeling his skin crawl for hers to be near. He hated even her going shopping without him, but he knew that it had to be done. He couldn’t be around all the time as he wished. He sighed to himself while he worked through the paperwork even as his thoughts were drifting towards other things. Would he have a son or a daughter? Even as the question plagued his mind Malice found it hard to swallow as he thought about having another son. He closed his eyes to try and forget the pain that swelled within as he thought about.

How long he had thought about it he didn’t know, but when he felt the small hands against his shoulders every inch of Malice warmed. His. He thought to himself as his breathing became easier and clearer. The affect Aisling had on the Warlord Prince was uncanny. Shivers caressed his skin in a good way as he welcomed the massage she gave him. He listened to her words, but they were nothing compared to the desire he felt for her.

Reaching up Malice patted her arm before he took her wrist and drew her into his lap. He smiled at her,"I don’t think you could ever do damage to my accounts love. “ Malice then leaned in and kissed Aisling passionately. When he pulled away his smile only grew, “I missed you and my lovely child growing within you.” Looking down to Aisling’s stomach Malice drew his hand to rest on top of it. He was so excited for their child that even he wondered if Aisling knew just how excited he was.

“Mine.” He whispered to the babe and to the woman he loved before he looked up at her. “My day has be irritating beyond belief. I’m glad you saved me from it.” He smiled at her. “Now how about I carry you up to our bed where I can get some lunch into you, hold you and you can tell me about your day.” Leaning in Malice kissed Aisling again. He really didn’t need her to say yes as his arms wrapped around her to do so anyways.

Malice's shoulders were so tight under Aisling's hand. She had always known that he carried far too much stress and that he needed to relax a little. There were so many knots underhand that she really was very worried about him. She was sure that she was sent into Malice's life just to make sure that he was taken care of and loved. As his hand came to her arm, she kissed the top of his head warmly before being pulled into his lap.

She knew this wasn't the most effective way to get rid of the knots in his shoulders but as far as relieving stress, she couldn't deny him. Her delicate fingers wrapped around his neck before he kissed her. They always had steamy kisses but this was one of those kisses that simply took her breath away. When the kiss ended, Aisling took a moment before her eyes fluttered open, a silly smile the only thing left. She didn't know how Malice did things like that but, to be honest, she didn't want to know. She just wanted him to keep doing it.

"We missed you too." She said before he claimed the baby in her belly. The complete sweetness of that made Aisling's eyes fill a little with happy tears. She was his and their child was his. She didn't know why it made her feel so happy but it did. She nuzzled into his shoulder, trying to hide the tears that she was trying to keep in her eyes. She nodded her head at his suggestions for the day and smiled at him, her arms wrapping tighter around his neck. "I think that sounds like a perfect idea."

As Malice carried her, Aisling couldn't help herself as she kissed his neck. "Malice, you're amazing." She told him.

One thing that Malice liked to hear was the words Aisling spoke about her and his child growing within her tiny stomach. Sometimes it was amazing just to Malice to even think about a child growing within the tiny woman within his arms and how much she would be showing considering the size difference between them. The more he thought about it the more he smiled. A swollen belly on his cute little Queen was exactly something that he wanted. He wanted to run his hands over it and feel the life that they both had created kick because they wanted to escape. He couldn’t wait, he thought, while his hands remained gliding over her stomach. He really couldn’t wait.

Looking up at Aisling, Malice noticed the tears which concerned him at first until he saw the glow of her smile that accompanied them. Another thing that came with large belly was the excess hormones that he was still waiting to get a real experience from. Even remembering Sarian when she was pregnant Malice remembered the times where he was the last person that woman wanted to see. She threw things at him when he didn’t something with no importance wrong and cursed at him when he did exactly what she wanted. It was quite the battle sometimes, which made him wonder if Aisling would find herself down the same path with him. Malice knew that hormones would change her a bit, but that would never make him love her less.

When she agreed to the new criteria for both of their days Malice with no effort picked Aisling up and carried her out of his office and up to his room. When temptation and sweetness came at once Malice pulled away to look at Aisling as they reached his room, “I know darling, though you really need to stop flattering me.” He liked to hear compliments, but sometimes he didn’t need to hear it from Aisling. The cocky, attractive Warlord Prince who liked things like that had somehow melted into a new form when he was around Aisling. All Malice ever wanted to do around her was surround himself with her. It changed him.

Settling on his bed Malice took a few moments to unbutton a few buttons on his collar and rolled up his sleeves before he settled in behind her while wrapping his arms around her. Pushing the hair away from her neck he then began to leave small, gentle kisses and nibbles along it and purring gently into her ear. “So tell me about your day darling while breakfast is being prepared.” As his lips found her skin again Malice sent a private message to the cooks to cook them up a feast. Malice hadn’t been kidding when he said he would make sure Aisling ate lots for both her and his child.

Aisling loved being wrapped in Malice's arms. It was safe and comfortable. It was where the healer queen belonged. Where ever Malice's arms were would be home for Aisling. She smiled up at him as he said he didn't need the compliments as her thumbs moved through the hair just above his neck. "I know I don't have to. I just like doing it. I want you to know how important you are to me." Had Aisling heard the words that were coming out of her mouth just a few months ago, she would have been disgusted. Now that she understood them though, well, it still sounded corny but that wouldn't stop her from saying them.

As Malice undid the buttons on his shirt, Aisling removed the light sweater she had been wearing over her blue dress. She knew that Malice would keep her warm and if she kept it on, she would be too warm. If they wanted to make it through breakfast, her taking her sweater off mid meal would not help the situation any.

Then Malice was back where Aisling felt he belonged. His lips against the skin of her neck felt amazing. She had missed her morning kiss dreadfully and now she realized just how much that had been. Her hands ran up and down his legs in a slow pattern as she leaned back into him, her eyes closing and fluttering open for a few moments.

What did she do that day? She honestly didn't remember as his lips distracted her. She hmmed to herself as she tried to remember although not wanting to focus on anything but what Malice was doing. "We went poking around a few stores, trying to find some inspiration for the nursery but there wasn't any. Everything was boring and typical and I know that whatever you make will be so full of love that it will far surpass the things in the store." Her hand went up to cradle his jaw. "But if you keep this up, breakfast will be much more difficult to eat." She said as she turned a little in his arms.

Her thumb ran over his lips as she smiled at him. Her Malice. Her Love. "Have you thought about the cradle any? Maybe that will give me inspiration?"