Chapter 17

Isnipped at Rio's hair. "Shorter?"

I stopped clipping as he examined himself in my bathroom mirror. I was cutting his hair because he was meeting a guy for a drink in Bluebeard's Cove. Earlier, he'd redyed his hair a mix of pink, purple and blue, then decided he wanted a trim, too.

"Just along the sides," he said. "So you can see my ears."

"You got it." I started snipping again.

At least Rio was happy. In the two weeks since Talon had found me, Rio had settled into castle life like he'd been born on the island.

As for me, I was marking time until my restrictions were lifted so I could get back to normal. Things with Talon had reached a shaky equilibrium, with neither of us doing anything to tip the balance. Each night Talon either got me himself or sent for me to come to his suite. We had sex and then he walked me back to my suite.

I suppressed a sigh. Yeah, we talked, but only about the baby and whether I was eating and sleeping enough. The distance between us was as large as it had ever been.

But what about that "mine" stuff?

He'd stopped demanding I say it back, but sometimes he pressed the word into my skin with his lips or growled it in my ear. That, I couldn't figure out. Gods, men were confusing.

At least Nathan and Jasper were talking to me again. Word had gotten out about how I'd spoken up for dhampirs at that meeting with Brien and Twilight, and they'd each made a point of thanking me. Jasper had even offered to babysit, "you know, when he's out of diapers and stuff. So he has a dhampir he can talk to about those things."

"Now the other side." Rio pointed to his right ear, drawing my attention back to him.

I snipped off more hair. "Someone's gonna get lucky," I said in a sing-song voice.

Rio hunched his shoulders under the towel I'd placed around them to catch the hair. "Shut up."

I hummed the wedding march. I'd always wanted a little brother to tease.

A flush touched his cheekbones. "See, that's why I'm not telling you his name. We're just having a fucking beer, all right?"

"Sorry." I made an apologetic face in the mirror at him. "I'm just happy for you, is all. Let me know how it goes, okay?"

He gave a very-Talon-like grunt.

I lifted a brow. "How much time have you been spending with Talon, anyway?"

"An hour here and there—why?"

"I don't know. I thought you didn't like him."

That earned me an eye-roll. "He's my boss, Eden. He's been showing me around, having me run errands for him. Stuff like that."

"So you like him now?"

Rio lifted a shoulder in a shrug. "He's okay when you get to know him. Dude can be a hard-ass, but he's a vampire, right? And if you're straight with him, he treats you right. Know what I mean?"

I nodded slowly. "Yeah. I do."

The now-familiar shame constricted my lungs. Talon had always been straight with me, too. I was the one who'd snuck around behind his back. God, I wished I could go back in time and do things differently. Tell Eugene to fuck off when he first came to me, or better yet, report him to Talon.

Rio shifted on the stool. "We done here?"

I swallowed the shame because what was done was done. I could only keep moving forward, doing my best to prove to Talon that I was trustworthy.

"Yep." I stepped back, eyeing my handiwork. "You look beyoootiful."

"Thanks." Removing the towel around his shoulders, Rio shook the colorful strands into the wastebasket, then got a broom and swept up the rest of his hair before carrying the stool back to the kitchenette.

He'd brought a clean shirt to change into. He pulled it on and struck a pose for me. "What d'you think? Pretty sick, right? I bought it right before we left New York."

"Cool." I admired the vintage Wu-Tang Clan 1992 T-shirt and its yellow bat-shape. "Wish I would've seen it first."

"Thanks." He hesitated. "What about you? You gonna be all right?"

"Yes." I made a shooing motion with my hands. "Get going already. Talon will be sending for me any minute now."

"If you're sure…" He grabbed his jacket and left.

I put on a little makeup, then changed into a cashmere sweater and the tight black maternity pants because Talon really loved my ass in them. He still hadn't come, so I made myself a mug of hot chocolate and, pulling on my puffer jacket, took it outside, where I sat on a cast-iron bench next to a koi pond, sipping the thick, sweet liquid and taking in the night sky.

Gradually, the clouds blotted out the stars. A light snow began to fall, the flakes sparkling like bits of magic under the garden's tiny lights.

Talon should've been here by now. I glanced toward the French door—again.

That's when it hit me that maybe I wasn't going to see him that night, that he was with another thrall. A jealous pang screwed its way beneath my ribcage. My stomach muscles clenched.

Stop it. Just stop it right there.

Before leaving, I hadn't seen Talon every night either. Why expect things to be different now because I was blood-bonded to him? Bottom line, I was still a thrall.

But the gold cuff on my wrist felt as cold and heavy as the boulder that had taken up residence my chest.

Who was he with? Pinky? Hanna? Lesa?

Or maybe one of the other thralls.

Yeah, back in New York, Talon had semi-promised not to fuck another thrall if I accepted his blood bond. But he hadn't actually promised, had he? He'd been too smart to do that.

And he was a vampire, his drive for blood and sex intertwined—that's why they kept thralls.

My eyes stung. I put my mug on the bench and swiped at them.

"Stupid hormones," I muttered, pretending to myself that's all it was. That I wasn't lonely and feeling fat and unattractive and…

A sob broke from me. Then another. And then I was ugly-crying, tears streaming down my face, my whole body shuddering.

I cried because it was Friday night and I was all alone. I cried because I was ashamed of what I'd done. I cried because I missed my family. But most of all I cried to relieve the grinding hurt of loving a man who didn't love me back.

Gradually, my sobs stopped. A flurry of icy snowflakes pelted me, and I was startled to see I was covered in snow, my chocolate was cold. I released a breath, emptied out but calmer.

With that calmness came clarity. This was my life now. Time to woman-up and accept it. Maybe Talon didn't love me, but that didn't mean I had to mope around like a lovesick fourteen-year-old, waiting for him to pay me some attention.

I brushed off the snow, finished the chocolate and strode back inside. I blew my nose and washed my face, then went to the walk-in closet to work on my current project, a pair of tiny overalls with matching booties that I was making from an old pair of jeans. Rio had gotten a sewing machine from Kerry and we'd set it up in a corner of the closet. I'd never sewed something so small and complicated before, and since I was working without a pattern, I made mistakes. When I did, I ripped out the stitches and started over.

The hours flew by. When the overalls were finished except for hemming the legs, I shut off the sewing machine and arched my back, yawning, hands massaging my sacrum. Then I folded the overalls and put them on a shelf along with my sewing box.

This was my dream—to give used clothes a second life. It was why I'd become a thrall in the first place, to get enough the cash to open my own vintage clothing business. When Brooklyn Vintage Exchange had hired me, I couldn't believe my luck. I'd worked hard, volunteered for whatever was needed and asked questions. Not sure if or when I'd be able to open my own store, but wanting to be ready if the chance ever came.

I grabbed a sleepshirt and went into the bathroom to get ready for bed. While I was washing up, I stopped and stared at myself in the mirror.

Who said I had to give up that dream? After things settled down, I could open a shop on the island, couldn't I? Or sell clothes online?

I'd have to clear it with Talon, of course—which chafed a little—but why would he care? He didn't require me more than an hour or two a night anyway.

I finished in the bathroom and kicked back on the living room couch to watch Demon Slayer. I was in the mood for a tough-ass female demon.

Then I remembered I hadn't brushed my teeth. I heaved myself back to my feet and padded back into the bathroom.

When I came back out, Talon stood in the bedroom doorway, his hands resting above his head on the door jamb, his hard body clad in dark wash jeans and a blue rayon shirt. He'd fed—and recently. I don't know how I knew except he appeared…satisfied. Satisfied and energized, his mouth a little redder than usual, his dark eyes outlined in vampire-blue.

My heart leaped inside my ribcage like an unruly puppy. Because if Talon had come to me so soon after feeding, then that meant he hadn't fucked the thrall he'd drunk from.

His gaze tracked lazily down my body, lingering on my bare legs. "You're awake."

I lifted my chin, because even though my heart was still leaping around inside my chest, I'd waited for this man. Cried when he hadn't shown up.

"Yeah, but I was just going to bed," I lied.

He lifted a skeptical brow. "No, you weren't."

"Well, as soon as I watched an episode of Demon Slayer."

"C'mere." He indicated the spot in front of him with his chin.

I crossed to him, and he released the doorjamb, pulling me into his arms. His mouth covered mine, his tongue sliding hotly over my mouth. When I stiffened and pressed my lips together, he slapped my butt.

"That's for lying. Now open for me."

My chest heaved, but why try to pretend I didn't want this? Why pretend I wasn't happy he'd come to me for sex like he'd promised?

I complied, sliding my hands up to his shoulders and kissing him back. When he lifted his head, I leaned into him, nuzzling his sexy, bristly jaw. "Hey, there."

He rumbled deep in his throat, a low, hungry sound that made my inner thighs tighten. "Hello."

He framed my face with his hands, his gaze on my mouth. My lids lowered and I swayed into him, waiting for him to kiss me again. Instead, he frowned and tilted his head.

"You've been crying."

How could he know that? I instinctively shook my head. "No, I wasn't."

He nipped my lower lip. "You're lying again."

My mouth firmed. "I don't have to tell you my every thought."

"When you're unhappy, you do."

I pushed against his chest. "Let me go."

He released my face, but stayed close, his hands settling on my shoulders. "I'm staying right here until you tell me what's wrong."

My instinct was to curl up like an armadillo to protect my soft spots. It's what I would've done last summer. What I'd been planning to do even a couple of hours earlier.

But how well had that worked for me? He was reaching out to me, asking what was wrong—why not meet him halfway? Maybe if I opened up, he would too.

"First," I said, "tell me how you know."

"That you were crying?"

"Yeah."

"I'm not sure." He dragged a hand over his head, mussing the dark, curly hair on top. "I've been picking up things about you. More than I used to."

"Do you think it's the blood bond?"

He frowned. "I don't know. Maybe."

So maybe the blood bond had created some kind of connection between us? I kind of liked that idea. "I didn't think blood bonds did that."

He shrugged, clearly done talking about it. "Now it's your turn. Why were you crying?"

"I missed you, okay?"

"Eden." He winced. "You know I—"

My stomach dropped. So much for opening up to him. I cut him off. "That's okay. You don't have to explain. I know how it is, all right?" I sighed. "But it's not just that. Rio's on a date, so I didn't have anyone to hang out with tonight and I miss my mom and dad. Except for that one time at Olivia's, I haven't seen them for so long and…I miss them, all right?"

There went the stupid tears again. I blinked them away, but a few spilled down my cheeks. I was officially a girl who cried. Damn freaking hormones.

"Anyhow," I said around the spiky rock in my throat, "that's why I was crying."

I tried to sidle past him, but that ended with my back against the bedroom wall. "Hey," he murmured. "It's okay."

"It's not okay," I said, bristling. "I don't have a way to get a message to them since you took my phone. I can't even tell my mom that the baby's kicking all the time now and…" I shook my head, squeezing my eyes shut.

"Shh." I felt his "shush" against my lips, soft and warm. His thumbs came to my cheeks, brushing away the saltwater tracks. "Don't cry."

That brought my chin up. "I'll cry if I want to. I'm pregnant and I want to see my mom."

I'd officially regressed to the age of a five-year-old, but I was too raw from my earlier breakdown to filter myself. Plus, it was the truth and he'd ordered me not to lie.

"Okay, cry, then." He pulled me into his chest, his arms wrapped around me. No promises, just the comfort of his body. "But I hate it when you're sad," he added under his breath like he didn't want to admit it even to himself.

I leaned into him, soaking in his earthy, Talon scent.

I needed. Lord, I needed.

His big hand stroked my back, and my muscles loosened, my eyes drifting shut. I should've been in bed an hour ago. I took a jagged breath, exhausted both physically and emotionally, and offered him a wobbly smile. "Sorry. I'm not usually so…"

"You're tired. I shouldn't have come."

"No. I'm glad you did. But I am tired."

I pushed at his chest and this time, he released me. I sat on the edge of the bed.

Instead of leaving, Talon lowered himself to the mattress next to me. "You fucked with us, Eden. I can't just let that go—

I cut him off. "It's okay. I accept that this is part of my punishment. You don't have to explain."

I was so damn tired of his walls. Of pretending that I was okay with the fact that he didn't love me.

"Yeah, well." He rubbed his cheek. "I guess I'll go. Have a good night."

I snagged his wrist before he could stand up. I blame my sleepy brain because keeping him here wouldn't change things or make this into something it wasn't.

"Don't go. Please?" When he just looked at me, I added, "Just stay until I fall asleep. I don't want to be alone. It's…wearing me down."

He rolled his lips in. "Okay. But just for a few minutes."

"In bed with me," I added, in case he hadn't understood.

He stripped down to his boxer briefs and lifted the comforter for me. I climbed into bed, laying my head on the pillow, and he followed, his long body spooning mine, his arm slung over my hips.

My breath sighed out. I adjusted his arm so it was where I liked it, right below my breasts, and shut my eyes. He brushed his fingertips over the gold cuff, then twined his fingers in mine.

My heart fisted in my chest. The kisses, the affectionate position, the entangled fingers—all of that felt like love. But he didn't love me, and it hurt. He hadn't even offered to cuddle me. I'd had to ask.

And I was a masochist for asking him to stay. For making myself vulnerable to him.

I wanted so badly to believe he had feelings me. That he'd finally realized he loved me.

But that was my heart talking, because sooner or later, Talon would recall that he was a vampire while I was a disgraced thrall.

And oh yeah, the incubator of his child. No, his spawn.

When my heart curled into that armadillo shape again, I welcomed it. Because if I didn't protect myself, he'd only break my heart—again. And this time, the damage might be permanent.

I shifted, putting an inch between our bodies, but he drew me back.

"Hey," he said against my ear. "Stop thinking. Relax."

I heaved a breath, but he was right. I was so tired of thinking. Worn out from my seesawing emotions, I closed my eyes.

When I opened them again, we'd changed positions, with Talon on his back and me snuggled into his chest. I wasn't sure of the time, but at least a couple of hours had passed. I breathed him in, basking in the fact that he'd stayed.

I slipped out of the four-poster bed to use the washroom, triggering a couple of lights to come on at knee level, casting a soft glow over the bedroom. When I returned, Talon was propped on a forearm, his eyes shining in the shadows beneath the canopy.

"Thanks for staying," I said as I crawled back under the comforter, "but don't you have something to do?" He was a vampire. This was his workday.

He pulled me back into the spooning position. He'd taken off his boxer-briefs, and was thick and hard against my lower back.

His teeth scraped over my nape. "I have something to do. You."

So that's why he'd stayed. I smiled to myself even as my chest squeezed. I reminded myself that this was what I'd signed up for. Well, fifty percent of it anyway since he wasn't going to be drinking from me until after the baby was born.

Not that I was being a martyr. Just hearing him say he wanted to "do" me in that gravelly tone had me going soft and wet between my legs.

He smoothed a big hand down my front, shaping my breasts beneath the sleepshirt and sending a delicious shiver over my body.

"Stop thinking." Without warning, he pinched my nipple, making me cry out and press back against him. Then he gave the other a hard tug.

I writhed against him, my ass rubbing against his cock. His hand slid down my body to cup my mound through the sleepshirt.

"You're not wearing panties under this, are you?" His voice vibrated sensually against my ear. "Is that for me? Were you hoping I'd fuck you tonight?

I moved a shoulder.

He knocked my knee open and slapped the cotton fabric over my pussy. "Answer me."

The erotic shock jolted me clear to my toes. "Yes!" I hurried to say. "I left my panties in the bathroom."

"Because—?" Another spank to my mound.

I released a small, tortured whine, but obediently added, "Because I wanted you to fuck me."

His fingers slid lower, rubbing my clit through the soft cotton. "Are you wet for me, baby? And I want only honest answers or I'll stop right now."

"Yes. You know I am."

"Good girl. Now take this off," he said, tugging at the hem of my sleepshirt. "I want you naked.

Before I could respond, he was pulling the sleepshirt over my head, my hips and arms automatically lifting to help him. "That's better," he said with satisfaction before settling me into the curve of his body again.

One big hand slid up my ribcage, fondling my breasts. Teasing, toying, squeezing. A languid warmth spread through me, loosening my limbs. He tugged at my nipple and I moaned and arched my back, my bottom pressed erotically against his hairy thighs, coarse against my tender skin.

"You're so hot for me," he said. "So ready."

"Mm." I put my hand on his, moving it lower until it reached the juncture between my legs.

"Is this what you want?" He smoothed his fingers over the thatch of hair, delving deeper, then pulling back out.

I nodded eagerly, widening my legs to give him greater access. He draped my top leg over his thighs so that I was open to his exploring fingers. I was slick and ready for him. He hummed with satisfaction and scraped his teeth down the side of my neck.

His fingers plunged into my wet opening with a roughness I craved. My core clenched and hot tingles traveled down my spine.

He drew my juices over and around my clit. "Did you miss this? Was your pussy begging for my cock?"

God, I loved when he talked dirty. But some imp made me say, "No."

"That's a lie," he crooned, scraping his fangs over the hollow beneath my ear. He licked the small wound, and I gasped as the aphrodisiac entered my bloodstream.

"Nobody says I have to feed your ego," I managed to say.

"I'll give you that one," he said, a dark smile in his voice, "but lie again and I'll smack your pretty ass." For emphasis, he rolled me further onto my stomach and rained several stinging blows on my exposed cheeks.

I squirmed on the mattress. "What was that for?"

"Because I wanted to." He drew me back into my original position with my leg over his thigh. "And you like it."

He was right. The heat from his smacks was already moving to my sex. His hand slipped between my inner thighs again and I rocked up to meet his touch.

His teeth came to my nape, holding me still. No fangs, more like a wolf claiming its mate. His fingers spread my folds, possessing me, caressing me.

"I was with a thrall," he said.

I tensed, a cold lump of hurt settling into my stomach. Talk about a buzzkill—and why was he telling me this? "I know."

"I hadn't fed since New York, and I was hungry. But I didn't fuck her."

"Oh." I blinked rapidly. Even though I'd guessed it myself, I hadn't expected him to bring it up.

"Ask me why not." His middle finger dipped into my wetness, drew slow circles on my clit.

"Why…not?" My mind ping-ponged between his question and the erotic touches.

"Because I only want you."

The hurt lump dissolved. "Yeah?"

"I can't stay away from you." He sounded perplexed, like he couldn't understand it himself.

I turned my head so I could kiss the side of his mouth. "Then don't."

"Mm." His hand was still between my legs. He drew my slickness up and around my clit.

"More." I pressed my ass back against him, a low, inelegant sound escaping my lips.

Talon seemed to like it, though, because he brushed his fingers over me a second time. "Play with your nipples," he said against the back of my neck.

When I obeyed, he said, "Pinch them. Make them hurt a little."

I obeyed, then gasped, my inner walls constricting.

"Again. Harder." He waited until I complied before sliding into me from behind. "Good girl," he said, his mouth an inch from my ear. "I'm going to fuck you so hard because that's what you deserve. Isn't it?"

"Yes." So much yes.

He began to move, slow and easy. We were in our own shadowy world beneath the four-poster's gauzy canopy, the only sounds the creaking bed and my moans and Talon's rough encouragement.

His rhythm changed. He moved faster now. Deeper and so good.

Between my thighs, he touched me in just the right spot. Sparks of excitement lit up my veins like a freaking firecracker had exploded.

My eyes closed. My mouth opened, sucking in breaths.

The darkness was edged with heat; it swirled and burned in me.

I was so close. So. Very. Close.

I pushed against him, frenzied with want. I'd released my breasts, but now I touched them again. Pinching my nipples. Increasing the burn.

"That's it," he rasped. "Take what you want."

I drew in a breath, saying, "Yes," and "Please," and then all I said was his name, over and over, as the fiery darkness exploded behind my closed lids, my sex clenching rhythmically around him.

"Fuck, baby," he said harshly. "You're so tight."

He pushed deep. Then again. And again and again and again.

I gave a small scream, still climaxing, caught in a sensual haze of heat and light and pleasure. He clamped a hand on my hip and thrust, hard and fast, until he stilled, pulsing deep inside me as he came with a drawn-out groan.

His breath scraped in. Then he kissed me between the shoulders and relaxed, his head on the pillow behind mine, his arm resting on my hip. Gradually, his breathing slowed to half my rate, but somehow, we were in sync, me drawing two breaths for every one of his.

My eyelids drifted shut. I was almost asleep when he smoothed his palm down my rounded belly.

"I should leave. You need your rest."

I put my hand over his. "Stay."

The baby twisted and turned beneath our joined hands. Talon chuckled, his fingers spread over my lower abdomen. "He's busy tonight, our son."

Our son.

It was the first time he'd claimed the baby in both our names, the first time he'd called him his "son" instead of "spawn" or "the child."

I was still smiling when he rolled me onto my back so he could kiss me, long and sweet. When he lifted his head, he nuzzled my ear.

"It's almost dawn—I have to leave. But you sleep in. I'll tell them not to bother you in the morning."

"Mm-kay." I snuggled into the comforter, dimly aware of him dressing and leaving.

In the morning, there was a new phone on my nightstand.

What the—?

I snatched it up, almost afraid to find I was dreaming. But it scanned my face and opened. A text message popped up.

TALON: This is for you. Fyi, I'm monitoring your calls and texts but use it whenever you want.

I sat up and scooted back against the headboard, then scrolled to the contacts, where I found four phone numbers: Talon's, my mom's, my dad's, and Freya's.

I grinned and pressed the phone to my chest. It was the best gift Talon could've given me, proof that he was softening toward me. Plus, it had to mean he was starting to trust me again, didn't it?

I texted Talon a thank you! so he'd see it as soon as he came out of his day sleep, then touched the phone icon next to Mom.

It rang a couple of times before she picked up. "Hello? Who is this?"

"Mom?" I dragged in a breath. "It's me, Eden."