there on the floor, but not wanting to stand there naked while she waited for him to wake up either. Spotting his dress shirt on the floor beside the bed, she walked over and scooped it up to put on. It smelled like him, and she paused to inhale the heady scent before doing up the buttons.
Turning back toward the dresser then, Allie stopped when she saw herself. His shirt was big on her, the tails reaching almost to her knees. Despite that, she didn’t think she looked too bad. Kind of sexy, really, she decided with a grin, and then moved back to Magnus. Settling on the floor with her back to the dresser, she lifted his head and then slid to the side until her thigh was under it and then she let it lower to rest on her leg.
As she waited for him to wake up, Allie examined this man that was now her husband. It was still an alien thought to her. Husband. She’d never thought she’d marry, and suspected that if her life hadn’t taken this path, she never would have. She certainly couldn’t imagine doing the things she had with Magnus with any other man. Actually, she was surprised she had with him. That hadn’t been part of her plan when she’d agreed to marry him. But things rarely went to plan in life. That was one thing Allie had definitely learned the last four years as she’d run from Abaddon and his crew. She’d also learned it was often easier if you didn’t make plans for the future, because you never knew when a vampire might pop up to ruin them. It was just easier to roll with the punches and work with what you had. Now she had a son and a husband. A family.
She’d have to work with that, Allie told herself. She could do it. She’d be open to him until he gave her reason not to be, and hope for the best.
“That is a serious expression. What are you thinking?”
Allie glanced down at Magnus’s face to see that his eyes were open and focused on her. She managed a smile, but rather than answer his question asked, “Why do you speak so . . .” She hesitated, unsure of the proper term, and finally said, “You don’t use contractions.”
“Alodia taught me English and she spoke most properly and without contractions. Most old immortals do,” he said, and then sat up and got to his feet.
“Lucian talked like you,” Allie murmured, getting up as well. “But you said Victor was old, and his speech is more modern.”
“You can thank Stephanie for that. She has spent years working on getting him, DJ, Harper, and Drina to use contractions. She claimed their speech made them sound old.”
“It does,” Allie said with amusement. “It kind of makes it obvious that you’re somehow different too.”
Magnus’s eyes widened at that claim, and then he frowned and said, “Then I shall endeavor to change my speech pattern.”
“I’ll help if you like,” she offered.
“I like,” Magnus said with a smile, and then bent to press a kiss to her forehead. Straightening again, he asked, “Are you hungry?”
“I could eat,” Allie admitted, and then grimaced. “And since you’re smelling like steak again, I probably need more than just food.”
“Of course. I should have . . .” Shaking his head, Magnus left her by the dresser and strode around the bed to the cooler next to it. He bent to open it, and then slammed it closed and snatched up his dress pants.
“We are out of blood. But we can get that along with the food,” Magnus announced as he pulled on his pants. He did them up quickly, and then moved back around the bed and caught her hand in passing on the way to the door.
The upper hall was dark and silent, but the lights were on downstairs and enough of it reached the stairwell that descending the stairs was no problem. Victor was in the dining room, peering out the front window. He glanced around at their arrival and smiled faintly, but then turned his gaze out the window again. Allie was relieved. She knew Magnus’s shirt covered her decently, but still felt uncomfortable wandering around in it.
“There’s plenty of food in the fridge if you want it,” Victor said, still looking out the window.
“That is what I was hoping,” Magnus admitted as he led Allie around the counter into the kitchen area. Releasing her then,