“I didn’t mean to ruin our evening,” he said, rubbing the back of his neck.
“You didn’t ruin our evening,” I said, sitting beside him and draping my arm around his back. “I’d much rather be alone with you anyway. Besides, we’ve got a few days here, right? We’ll have plenty of time to get this potion out of our systems, and then we can do everything else.”
He turned his head to look at me. “You’re incredible, you know that?”
My heart fluttered. “I learned from watching you,” I said, nudging him playfully.
“Come here,” he said, pulling me over to straddle his lap.
He tucked stray strands of hair behind my ear, his hand lingering on my cheek for a moment before he slid his palm around to cup the back of my neck. Gaze locked on mine, he slowly pulled my mouth down to his, and the instant our lips touched, I was awash in sensations.
I clutched fistfuls of his hair as I bore down on him, kissing him like my life depended on it. Heat erupted inside of me, and my body seemed to move of its own volition, writhing in an effort to get closer to Trent, though that was impossible—I was as close to him as I could possibly get at the moment.
“My God.” He groaned. “I want you, Chloe,” he said, his voice a sexy rasp. “I’m always going to want you.”
“You have me,” I murmured, not allowing myself to move too far from his hungry kisses.
With a dangerous snarl, he spun me around so I was flat on my back on the couch. He went straight for my neck, nipping and sucking. I frantically tugged at his sweater until he finally tore it off over his head.
He scraped his teeth down the column of my neck, and I trembled beneath him. My heart pounded hard and loud, my pulse punching against his mouth with each kiss he planted on my heated flesh. There was a small pinch, almost like he started to bite me, then stopped.
He’d never just bitten me before. He always asked permission first, but there was clearly something vastly different about this moment. Every touch and kiss was primal and animalistic, like he was trying to control himself but couldn’t.
“It’s okay.” I tilted my head and held his face near my neck. “You can bite me.”
He muttered a string of curses, and then he was suddenly standing across the room. I sat up and blinked, confused. He paced in front of the fireplace and dragged his hand through his hair.
“Trent?” I asked, swallowing the lump of fear that had formed in the back of my throat. “What’s wrong?”
“Please don’t give me permission to bite you,” he said, still pacing. “Not until this potion wears off, okay?”
“Uh, okay,” I said slowly. “Why?”
“Because…” He sighed and turned to face me. “I’ve been in a constant state of bloodlust since I drank that potion.” His expression was tormented. “Which explains why I’m acting the way I am. I didn’t realize it until just now, but it makes sense.” He shook his head.
I stood and cautiously approached him. “It’s okay,” I said.
“No, it’s not. I’ve never been in bloodlust this long before, and if this continues for the next couple of days…” He gripped my upper arms and peered into my eyes. “I don’t want to hurt you.”
“You won’t,” I said, surprised by how steady and assured my voice sounded. “But biting is off the table, okay? I won’t mention it again. Promise.”
He rested his forehead to mine. “Thank you.”
CHAPTER FORTY-ONE:
An Old Acquaintance
I AWOKE WITH A JOLT, HEART in my throat. Sweat beaded on my brow, and I inhaled several times, but I couldn’t catch my breath. I’d been having a nightmare, though now that I was wide awake, I couldn’t remember a single thing about my dream.
I swiped my hand across my forehead and pulled the covers tighter around my body. Then I snuggled next to Trent, who was sound asleep. We’d exhausted ourselves making love last night.
Trent draped his arm around me and pulled me closer. His eyes were still closed, though, so I assumed he was moving with instinct rather than awareness. His lips brushed across my forehead, and I sighed with contentment as I slid my arm across his stomach.
I hadn’t really had a chance to just… be since the wedding, so I allowed myself to bask in this moment, to savor the quiet time with my thoughts. I lifted my hand and stared at my wedding rings. It still blew my mind that I was married now, that I was, for eternity, Mrs. Chloe Halstead.
And soon, hopefully, I’d be Mom, too. God knew we were making the most of Ivy’s potion. If I wasn’t pregnant by now, I never would be. I placed my hand on my stomach. Was it possible I was already pregnant? The thought made me smile.
But what if I wasn’t? What if, for some reason unknown to me, I couldn’t get pregnant? Everything we’d done to get here would have been for nothing. Tears pricked the back of my eyes, and I blew out a shaky breath.
“What’s wrong?” Trent asked, his voice heavy with sleep.
“Nothing,” I whispered.
“I can hear your heart thumping erratically, and I can smell your fear,” he said, dragging his fingertips up my arm. “What’s wrong?”
I sighed, hating how he always knew what I was feeling, even when I didn’t want him to. “What if I can’t get pregnant?”
“What?”
I shifted away from him and propped myself up on my elbow. “What if there’s something wrong with me, and I can’t get pregnant? What if we did all of this for nothing?”
“Oh, baby.” He rolled onto his side and caressed my cheek, his hand lingering.
I closed my eyes and leaned into his palm. I wanted nothing more than to be a mom, to make Trent
