“Do you think you’ll talk to my dad anytime soon?” I ask Julian as I tear a bite off my slice of toast.
“What constitutes soon for you?”
I point to my stomach. “Before this thing pops out?”
“That’s not how it works,” Julian says. “Do you know how birth works?”
“I do. I say a lot of things I don’t mean in a literal sense. And I can be rather sarcastic from time to time.” I take another small bite of toast and look at my coffee pot. Getting up and drinking coffee has been part of my routine for years. One cup won’t hurt, will it?
I pick up my phone with the intent of looking up a list of things I shouldn’t consume now that I’m pregnant. I know the obvious ones, like alcohol, soft cheese, and sushi.
I have a text from Kristy I haven’t yet answered, which reminds me I need to invite everyone to dinner. I want Abby to come, but the last time I invited her over, things didn’t quite go as planned.
And there’s a very good chance we’ll get attacked here again.
Taking one more small bite of toast, I get up and go to the office. Lucas isn’t on the phone anymore and looks up, smiling, when I come in.
“Good morning,” he says and gets up, speeding over to me. His arms fasten around my waist, pulling me against him. Heat flashes through me as I hook my hands around his neck, and I stand on my toes to kiss his lips. “How are you feeling today?”
“Not quite so tired,” I reply. “But a little queasy.”
“Are you craving anything? I can make you whatever you want.”
“I’m working on a yummy piece of toast with butter.” Lucas moves my hair to the side and kisses my neck. I can feel his fangs grazing over my skin, turning me on even more. “Are you hungry?”
He suddenly takes his mouth off me and shakes his head. “You’ve been getting dizzy and weak after I’ve fed from you. I did some research last night, and while there is nothing published on feeding from your pregnant wife, I did come across articles stating pregnant women shouldn’t donate blood.”
His words shock me, even though it’s obvious at the same time. “But you need to eat.”
“I will. Just not from you until after the baby is born. It’s advised to wait at least six weeks after birth before donating blood as well.”
“That’s like a year almost. You can’t survive that long without feeding.”
“I could,” he says. “Not that I’d want to, and I’d be very weak.” He cups my face in his hands. “I won’t feed off another human. Bagged blood will work.”
I’ve liked our arrangement where Lucas only drinks my blood, which is only possible because of what I am. A regular person couldn’t lose as much blood as I do on a regular basis and be okay.
“If you just take a little bit every once in a while, I think I’ll be fine,” I tell him. “There’s something hot about knowing my blood is flowing in your veins.”
He lets out a growl and picks me up, kissing me hard. He spins us around and sets me on the desk. I lean back, wrapping my legs around him. It’s so easy to get instantly carried away, totally overcome with desire for him.
But then I remember Julian is in the kitchen and there isn’t a door to close in the office.
“I came in here to ask,” I say between kisses. “Can we…we have dinner at your…Chicago house tonight?”
“You can do whatever you fucking want.” Lucas moves his mouth to my neck, fangs pressing into my skin just hard enough to cause a little bit of pain without breaking through the surface.
I toss my head back, eyes fluttering shut as desire courses through me. But then something else does, too, and I break away, bringing my hand to my mouth.
“Feeling sick?” Lucas gently combs his fingers through my hair.
“Yeah. I should try and finish the toast and see if it helps. This is so weird. I’m hungry but feel sick at the same time.”
He rests his forehead against mine and puts a hand over my stomach. “It’s so fucking hot knowing I knocked you up.”
“It is,” I agree, but the hotness is lost on me as I feel chunks rising in my throat. I move off the desk, thinking I might puke. After a few seconds of standing perfectly still, I know I’m not going to puke all over Lucas’s shoes.
“I’m going to try and finish my toast,” I tell him. “And then I want to get my Halloween decorations out.” I held off decorating before since we thought we were going to be in Florida for most of the month. “And we should probably cancel our vacation plans.”