Total pages in book: 46
Estimated words: 42128 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 211(@200wpm)___ 169(@250wpm)___ 140(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 42128 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 211(@200wpm)___ 169(@250wpm)___ 140(@300wpm)
Soren stayed buried inside me long after, breathing hard against my neck, his arms locked around me like he’d never let go.
We lay tangled together in the quiet afterglow, Soren’s body still covering mine as our breathing slowly evened out. His fingers traced lazy patterns along my spine while I rested my cheek against his chest. For a few precious moments, everything felt peaceful.
Then he growled, “What was that about? I haven’t worn a condom or pulled out any of the times I’ve taken you before.”
I tensed in his arms. The peaceful bubble popped, and reality rushed back in. I knew I couldn’t avoid this any longer.
“I…I don’t want to get pregnant,” I whispered against his chest. “Not right now. Maybe not ever.”
Soren stayed quiet, waiting for me to continue. His hand kept stroking my back, steady and patient.
“The world feels too dangerous.” My voice cracked as I held back tears. “I barely escaped that monster. I still wake up sometimes thinking I’m back in that room. And your life is full of threats I don’t even fully understand yet. How could I bring a baby into something like that? I couldn’t even protect myself, let alone a child.”
“Angel,” he rasped.
I lifted my head to meet his gaze, needing him to understand. “I’m not rejecting you, Soren. I swear I’m not. I’m falling so hard for you, it scares me. But the idea of having kids in this world…I just can’t see it. Not after everything that’s happened.”
He brushed a strand of hair from my face with surprising gentleness. “I hear what you’re saying, and I won’t push you to talk about it more. You’ve been through so damn much, angel. But I need you to know that any children we might have would be fiercely protected. They’d be loved. Not just by you and me, but also by this whole damn club. Blood and chosen family. And we’d make sure they knew how to defend themselves. No one would ever touch them.”
His unwavering confidence planted the smallest seed of possibility in my heart. But I wasn’t ready to believe it yet. The fear still sat too deep.
Soren pulled me tighter against his chest, wrapping me completely in his arms. I cuddled into him, my heart full of conflicting emotions. I was falling harder for him every single day, but the future he spoke about still felt impossible.
For now, I let myself stay right here, safe in his arms, even as my fears whispered that I might never be brave enough to give him everything he deserved.
13
REV
The vibration of my phone against the nightstand dragged me awake before dawn fully broke across the compound. For a second, I stayed still, my arm locked around Delaney’s waist while her warm body remained tucked against mine beneath the blankets. Her hair spilled across my shoulder and pillow in tangled strawberry-blond waves.
She made a quiet sound in her sleep and pressed closer, almost making me ignore the call entirely.
But the name glowing on the screen killed that thought fast. It was Apex. Calling this early meant he must have found something.
I exhaled slowly through my nose before carefully reaching for the phone without waking her. My body protested the movement immediately because Delaney’s bare thigh was hooked over mine, warm skin sliding against me in a way that had my cock thickening.
Shit.
I answered quietly, trying to focus on the call rather than what I wanted to do to the woman lying in my arms. “Yeah.”
“Need you in Jax’s office,” Apex requested without preamble, his voice alert despite the early hour. “Now.”
That woke me up fully, and I glanced down at Delaney again while she slept peacefully against me. Last night’s conversation lingered heavily in my head, her confession that she was terrified of bringing innocent life into a dangerous world.
And the fucked-up thing was…I understood her fear about having kids after what she’d been through.
Didn’t mean I’d stopped imagining her round with my baby for even a second or convincing her to let go of her fear and trust that we would keep our kids safe. But the best way to do that was to remove the cause of her fear.
My gaze drifted over the smooth curve of her shoulder peeking out from beneath the blankets. Heat rolled through me hard enough that I had to physically stop myself from sliding my hand between her thighs and waking her up properly.
Later, asshole. Let the woman rest.
I’d taken her rough last night. Multiple times. She was bound to be a little sore.
Besides, right now, Magnus came first.
I leaned down and brushed my mouth softly across her temple before carefully untangling myself from her body. Delaney stirred faintly but didn’t wake as I slid out of bed and dragged on jeans, boots, a black T-shirt, and my cut.