Bound by Night(115)

“Well,” she said, after the door closed, “that wasn’t how I imagined this would go down.”
“I’m pretty sure Myne has a disorder that makes him completely oblivious to social etiquette.”
“Hmm.” Nicole smiled wryly. “I noticed that when we first met. I didn’t think it was polite of him to kill Mr. Altrough after knowing him just sixty seconds.”
Riker nearly groaned. This conversation wasn’t going well. At all. “Ah, yeah. There are some things in both our pasts we should probably move beyond.”
“I agree.” Nicole glanced at the bedroom door.
“But if you’re not ready to let go of everything, I can leave—”
“No!” He cut her off, unwilling to let her go now that she was here. Screw it, he wasn’t going to waste another minute while he waited for her to come around.
Letting her go was a stupid mistake, and he was going to rectify it. He wanted to grab her. Haul her against him and never let her go.
“You really mean that?”
He grabbed her. Hauled her against him. Wasn’t going to let her go until she forced him to. “God, Nicole,” he murmured into her hair, “I’ve been wanting to see you for days. I haven’t eaten. Haven’t slept.”
He inhaled deeply, taking comfort in her scent, which seemed stronger, spicier than before. The imprint, maybe? Whatever it was, as her feminine fragrance penetrated his lungs, a warm sense of calm came over him, like everything was right in the world.
Arms tight around him, she buried her face in his chest. “I’m sorry, Riker. I’m so sorry.”
“For what?”
The tremor in her voice broke his heart. “For not believing you.”
He pulled back to look her in the eye. “What are you saying?”
“I’m saying I believe you love me, and I don’t want to be apart anymore.” She cleared her throat.
“And it only took twenty shots of kool-Aid flavors that should never be mixed, imaginary chest pain, and girl talk with a female vampire and a male vampire who plays Go Fish when everyone else is playing Five-Card Stud.”
“I don’t understand any of that, but if it got you here, that’s all that matters.” He slid one hand around to the back of her neck to caress the warm, satin skin there, only to freeze as something she’d said rang in his ears. “And wait . . . chest pain?”
“Imaginary,” she muttered. “But it did feel real.”
“When did it go away?”
She shrugged. “A few minutes ago, I guess. Why?”
He wasn’t ready to share his theory yet, so he took a page from his favorite tactics manual and went for a distract-and-evade maneuver.
Framing her face in his hands, he kissed her deeply. It took a whopping two seconds for his body to harden and heat, and with a low growl, he swept her up and carried her to the bedroom.
In his arms, she tensed. “Are you really okay with this?” she whispered.
“You belong here. You belong in my bed and in my life. Every aspect of it.” He placed her gently on the mattress. “But I have a confession.”
She smiled shyly. “So do I.”
He sank down onto the bed with her and carefully
laid her on her back. “You first.”
He tucked a pillow under her head and stretched
out beside her. What he really wanted to do was stretch
out on top of her, but they were at a critical junction in their relationship, and he didn’t want to mess it up by moving too fast.
Anxiety all but bled from her pores, and he got real fucking nervous, real fast. “Nicole? What is it?”
“I’m pregnant,” she blurted.
Every muscle in Riker’s body vapor-locked.
“You’re . . .” He swallowed. Cleared his throat. Remembered to breathe. Couldn’t think. “When?”
“At ShadowSpawn.”
ShadowSpawn? Darkness closed in around him, and he started to pant. Nicole . . . oh, Jesus . . .
She shoved herself up on one elbow. “No, oh, Riker,” she rasped. “It’s not what you’re thinking.
No one touched me. I swear.” Reaching for him, she cupped his cheek in her warm palm. “It was the night I went to your cell. kars made me take the fertility drug. Apparently, it works.”
“We’re having a baby?” His heart went crazy, tapping spastically against his rib cage. Excitement and fear sucked the air out of his lungs. There was nothing he wanted more than a family, but childbirth was extremely dangerous, and with no midwife to help, he could lose both Nicole and the baby.
“I can feel your fear.” She kissed him lightly on the lips. “But please don’t worry. When I researched the fertility treatment, I found that Daedalus hadn’t lost a single female or child during birth. I believe fertility and childbirth are related. I have nine months to get it figured out. It’s not the ideal timing, but—” He crushed her in a bear hug. “Okay, okay,” she said on a laugh. “What’s your confession?”