The Evolution of Fae and Gods (Chronicles of the Stone Veil 3)

He doesn’t give me a chance to respond, slipping out of the door and leaving me to my breakfast.

I wolf it down in record time, then don Carrick’s t-shirt again. After a quick search, I still can’t find my panties, but I’m not even sure when I had them on last. Nabbing my coffee from the tray, I head back to my bedroom.

My shower is warm and luxuriating, but I hate that I’m washing Carrick’s scent off me.

From inside me.

My hand stills with the washcloth between my legs as I consider something horrific. Can Carrick get me pregnant?

I immediately dismiss transmission of diseases as he’s immortal and I know he can’t carry them. At least I’m fairly sure he can’t. I’ll have to ask, but can an immortal and a mortal have children? They could in Greek literature.

I think.

Shit.

I finish my shower quickly, towel dry my hair, brush my teeth, throw on a pair of sweatpants and a t-shirt, and practically fly down the spiral staircase to the library.

Carrick is sitting at the library table, books spread out before him. He’s dressed casually in jeans and a long-sleeved Henley, looking perfect and edible and—

Stop it, Finley.

I practically skid to a stop as I take the last two steps of the stairs in a jump, causing Carrick’s head to lift and his eyes to slide lazily over to me.

“Can you get me pregnant?” I blurt out.

Movement behind Carrick catches my attention, and Maddox pops his head out from behind a bookshelf, his eyebrows raised and a grin on his face.

My entire body flushes hot with embarrassment.

Without even needing to look over his shoulder at his brother, Carrick says, “Maddox… you mind giving us a moment alone?”

“I’d really rather stay and listen to this,” Maddox quips.

Carrick twists in his seat toward his brother. While I can’t see his expression, it’s sufficient enough to get Maddox moving. He stops at the table and drops two books there before heading straight toward the stairs, which has him walking right past me.

He bends his head to the side and murmurs as he passes, “You are positively glowing this morning, Finley. I take it you had a particularly good night?”

I decide not to let him get to me, lifting my chin and smiling sweetly. “Didn’t get much sleep, but yeah… a very good night.”

Maddox tips his head back and roars with laughter before moving up the staircase and out of sight. My attention swings back to Carrick, waiting for the answer that will bring my heart rate back to normal.

“No,” he says with a shake of his head. “I can’t get you pregnant. It can’t happen between an immortal and a mortal.”

“Oh,” I reply, mostly in relief but damn it… a little bit sad. Stan had predicted me in a cliffside house with a man and children. It clearly wouldn’t be Carrick.

Not that we’d have time to reach that goal anyway when the prophecy was surely going to play out long before I could have kids.

So that either meant that Stan was very wrong that I’d live long enough to find love and have children, or he’s correct, but Carrick isn’t the man I’ll spend my life with.

That right there feels soul-crushing, but I can’t figure out why.

I barely know the man.

He’s annoying, frustrating, and domineering.

Yes, I respect him.

Yes, there’s some connection to him that is unexplainable.

But no… this is never going to be more than sex and Zaid is right… I can’t let that distract me from our goals.

Carrick’s long leg pushes the chair out from under the table opposite of him as he nods toward it. “Sit. We need to talk.”

Glumly, I move the chair and plop down, taking the initiative to discuss what needs to be said. “I know, I know. What we had yesterday and last night is only sex—nothing more—and we can’t let it distract us.”

Narrowing his eyes, Carrick tips his head. “That’s what you think?”

“Isn’t it what you think?” I counter.

“No, it’s not what I think. I think it’s more, and if you’ll be honest, you do, too. Although now that you’ve got me thinking about sex, I’m quite confident this table is sturdy enough to handle the things I’d like to do to you right now.”

I suck in a lungful of air. So shocked am I by his words and the blatant lust written on his face that I actually cause myself to choke.

Carrick chuckles and waves a hand. “But you’re right… we can’t get distracted, and, right now, we really do need to have a serious talk. Although I reserve the right to revisit the table idea after.”

Damn it… his words make me squirm in my seat, and Carrick is savvy enough to notice his words have an impact.

His eyes sparkle just briefly before the smirk slides off his face and his expression becomes serious. “We need to talk about your recklessness.”