"Hush before you wake her..."

I smiled at the little girl, hearing her coo in my head as she interacted with the Dream Mother. Slowly, I looked over my shoulder at Nova.

"You smell the same...but you're not the same. How's that bite, Azrael?"

I smiled and turned to face him. We were just about chest to chest and my hand still rested on the crib as I met his eyes.

"I wouldn't have harmed the child, Nova, just calmed her before she woke up."

Another coo but this time, both of us looked in the crib as the little girl rolled over, her blanket falling away and her thumb now stuck in her mouth. I ignored his threat and reached back in the crib, covering her back up and gently pulling her thumb from her mouth.

"Now, now, that would be a bad habit for such a beautiful girl to create."

Nova moved closer and I felt his heat on my back, I turned and had to use both hands on the crib just to keep from touching him. Not that it mattered since we were just about chest to chest and that fire never calmed down.

"Back off."

I fought back the urge to snarl...just because we were so close to his child.