She gaped at me on the brink of tears. “You think the passion will fade?”

  I inwardly groaned especially when I caught sight of her parents out the corner of my eye. Damien was stifling a grin; probably because he knew Gaby’s current emotional state was due to the baby that Persephone still knew nothing about. I wished we didn’t have an audience even though they were doing their best to give us privacy. They could have been across the restaurant and still would hear our conversation. “Of course not. Even in a hundred years I will never get my fill of you. We will always find ways of keeping our passion alive.”

  “Promise?”

  I couldn’t help but chuckle. I had distracted her from her guilt only by making her aware of a fear she didn’t realize she had. “I promise.” Even in front of her parents, I leaned in placing a chaste kiss on her lips.

  When we returned to our apartment, Gaby was exhausted. I helped her to bed before tending to undress her. When I removed her bra, her breath hitched. I watched her bite her lip when I dropped to my knees to remove her panties. I loved how she reacted to me. Gaby wasn’t like any other woman I had ever met. When we were together, she gave herself over to her pleasure and held nothing back. Even now over a mundane task like getting her ready for bed, I knew she was aroused from just the barest touch from me. I inhaled deeply smelling the sweet scent of her lust for me. I preferred her to sleep in the nude so I made no move to get her nighttime attire as I threw the covers back and watched her crawl into bed.

  “You know I can do this myself,” she feigned annoyance, but grinned.

  “Well tough,” I replied as I began stripping out of my clothes next. Her eyes watched every move I made. They tracked every inch of fabric as it exposed my body for her viewing pleasure. I wasn’t doing anything to intentionally make my undressing erotic, but the way her gaze trailed over me; I knew it was doing something for her. “You’re doing all the hard work of growing our child. If helping you undress and caring for you is all I get to do, then I’ll gladly do it.”

  The way she bit her lip as I crawled into bed told me more than words. “Gaby,” I groaned. I always wanted her, but I knew she was tired. “You need sleep.”

  “I need you more,” she whispered curling into my side. I couldn’t help but groan over her words. Her hand grazed down my chest until it encircled around my ready erection causing me to hiss. I grabbed her hand trying to stop her. “I see you want me too.”

  “I always want you, but you’re tired.”

  Realizing that I wasn’t giving in, she pushed the covers over her head and tried sliding under them. I grabbed her chin stopping her before her mouth could replace her hand. When my eyes locked with her blue ones, I saw the need in them. I was lost and powerless against her. Giving myself over, I crashed my lips against hers. My tongue invaded her mouth when she gasped over my forcefulness before I slid my body on top of hers. I’d give her what she wanted, but I’d do it my way.

  Waking before dawn had me gazing over at the sleeping form of the woman I loved. I let out a heavy breath when I felt my body react to her. I hadn’t had my fill of her last night. After her orgasm, she drifted off to sleep before we could enjoy round two. I knew she was tired so I only took her the once. It wasn’t the norm for us. I was used to having her several times, but that was before our dry spell.

  I kissed her shoulder, but she didn’t stir. As much as I wanted to rouse her for a continuance of what we started the previous night, I refused to wake her. She needed her rest. I didn’t know a lot about pregnancy, but I had noticed a difference in her the past few weeks. I crawled out of bed. I was all too familiar with being stealthy, since I woke before Gaby most mornings. I snuck into the bathroom to complete my morning routine. Once I was done, I moved to our closet and slipped into some sweats and running shoes. I figured after a run, that I’d be forced to complete at a human pace, I’d return and make her breakfast. I just needed to relieve some tension in my body and even a human pace run would help.

  Gaby

  The morning sun was warm and bright beating against my naked skin. My eyes cracked into slits and I could see the curtains were open allowing the light to fill the room. My hand instinctively reached for Grayson but found emptiness. Sitting up, clutching the bedding to my chest, I scanned the room for him, but he was nowhere. Closing my eyes, I reached out for him through our mating bond, but he was not in the apartment. Doing another scan to see if I could figure out where he’d gone, I noticed his iPod was missing off his nightstand. Smiling, I realized he must have gone for a run. It was something he had began doing after the Clive incident. It helped clear his head and the gym wasn’t an option unless we went to the nest.

  Slipping on my robe, I padded my way into the kitchen. Choosing a dark roast k-cup, I loaded it into the coffee maker. Setting it to strong, I waited for it to brew. As I was pouring in more creamer than what was deemed appropriate, I heard the front door open. A drenched in sweat Grayson walked in tugging a smile from me. He didn’t smile back. Popping his ear buds out he approached me in the kitchen.

  “What are you doing?” he asked curiously.

  “Making coffee,” I spoke stirring in my creamer. “Did you want some?”

  He closed the distance between us. Placing his hand on mine, he halted my motions. “I meant, why are you drinking coffee?”

  My brow knitted in confusion. “It’s morning. I enjoy the caffeine boost it gives me because drugs are wrong.”

  He rolled his eyes at my smart assery before pulling my cup away. “You’re pregnant, Gaby. Don’t you think the coffee is bad for you?”

  “Don’t you thing it’s bad for you to come between a pregnant woman and her one vice?” I wanted to get angry at the removal of my coffee, but instead I acknowledged his concern. “I’m carrying a supernatural baby. I’m sure coffee is the least of our problems.” I tugged my cup away from him before taking a much needed sip.

  He sighed realizing he lost the battle. “I just want to keep you and the baby safe,” he spoke while rubbing his thumb over the barely noticeable, but growing bump.

  “I know you do and we are safe.”

  “For now.”

  “You’re not thinking about what Damien said, are you? About sending me away?” I could feel my heart racing. The idea of being away from him after everything we’d been through was unbearable.

  “We’re not there, Gaby. At least not yet.” He strolled out of the kitchen. A few moments later I heard the shower start. His words bothered me, but after everything we’d been through, after everyone who’d tried to kill us, the notion that he might be right worried me. Leaving was always a possibility. It wasn’t just my life I was playing with, but that of our child’s as well. I just hoped it didn’t come to it. I couldn’t do what my parents did. They were apart for over two decades for me. Even though I knew we’d both do anything to keep our child safe, I prayed it didn’t come to us being apart for years or ever.

  Lost in thought, I didn’t feel the hand snake around my waist until I smelled the familiar scent of Grayson freshly showered.

  “Stop worrying. It’s bad for your health,” he mumbled against my neck before nipping at my ear.

  “I’m not,” I gasped, my lashes fluttering closed. He turned me so he could look me in the eye. The way they narrowed it was obvious he didn’t believe me. “I’ll try not to,” I conceded.

  He nodded seeming satisfied. “Come. I’ve got something to show you.”

  He led me into his office before tugging me behind the desk. Grabbing a folder, he handed it to me.

  “What’s this?”

  “Just open it.” He was trying his best not to grin and failing.

  I did as he asked. Scanning over the documents, I was confused. I understood what I was seeing. Grayson’s company, Alexander Holdings Incorporated, had purchased another company. What I didn’t understand was why he was showing it to me. Seeing my confusion, he answered, “It’s yours.”

  “What?” I scanned over the documents again to see what it was he bought. The name Social Productions took me a moment to recognize. “You bought me my own party planning company?” I stared at him wide-eyed.

  “It’s a good investment.” He wrapped his arms around me pulling me close. I willingly went to him. Cupping my chin, he tilted my head until my eyes met his. “You’re an amazing event planner or party coordinator, whatever the proper title is. I’ve experienced your work and you have a knack for it. Social Productions had been growing, but they’ve been stagnate the past year. I think you can change that. I’ve looked over the numbers and I think we can turn it around.”

  “We?”

  He shrugged. “Or just you. However you want it. I believe you can do this. Although I can’t officially give you the company until we’re married.”

  “There’s always a catch,” I teased.

  “I wanna marry you,” Grayson said seriously pulling me tighter. His fingers grazed up and down between my shoulders.

  “I swear I must be having déjà vu.” I eyed the ring he slid on my finger months ago. “Nope, I’m pretty sure we’ve had this actual conversation already.”

  He kissed me, nipping at my lips, causing me to giggle and bury my face in his chest. “Smart ass.” His tone shifted and he was serious once more. “I don’t just want to plan on getting around to it. I want to be married to you. I want you to be my wife, Gabriella. I have for a while, but now I want to claim you as mine before the baby’s born. I wanna elope.”

  I lifted my head off his chest to look him in the face. “Elope? And the business is a bribe?”

  “A gift.” Grayson sighed, running his fingers through his hair. I had been teasing about the company being an incentive, but he looked bothered by it. “I don’t need a big wedding Gaby, but if it’s something you want, I’ll give it to you. I’d give you the world if I could, but I want you as my wife, today if I could.”

  I placed a finger against his lips, silencing him. “I don’t need anything other than you.”

  “What are you saying?” He asked with a smirk threatening to tug at his lips.

  I grinned. “Let’s elope.”

  I had given Shawn plenty of space since the night he walked out of my apartment. I kept my calling to a minimum; only sent out one text a week. Now I was done. He had avoided me, but I refused to let our friendship end like this.

  Hearing The Prophecy had frightened Grayson, even though he hadn’t admitted it. And if I was being honest, it scared me too. He wouldn’t hear of me heading over to Shawn’s alone. Almost two months without my best friend was long enough. Grayson had John drive us. It was still strange having him back as our driver even though he’d been with Grayson longer than I had, but so much had changed since I first met the balding driver. As I climbed in the backseat, John smiled at me through the rearview mirror.

  “I understand congratulations are in order, Miss Carmichael,” his gaze shifted briefly to my abdomen then back to my face. His cinnamon colored eyes wrinkled in the corners as he smiled. “Or is it Mrs. Alexander yet?” This time he shifted his gaze to Grayson.

  I held back a giggle threatening to escape. John knew we weren’t married and never one to overstep his bounds, he was silently telling Grayson to make an honest woman out of me. Grayson shifted nervously under his old friend’s glare with a knowing smile. “Not yet, John,” I eyed Grayson with humor lingering in them.

  John raised a single eyebrow to Grayson. This time I had to use my hand to cover the giggle.

  “I’m working on it, John,” Grayson replied with a sinful grin and a twinkle in his eye. We were keeping our impending nuptials a secret this time. If Grayson hadn’t gone missing we would be married now. If for some reason our eloping fell through, we didn’t want to see the sympathy in people’s eyes. Not again.

  When John pulled up in front of Shawn’s apartment, I was busy trying to find the words to ask Grayson to stay behind. I didn’t want to upset Shawn with his presence, but I also didn’t want to remind Grayson why Shawn might not be happy to see him. I moved to the door then turned to Grayson. He placed his palm gently on my knee and gave it a slight squeeze.

  “I’ll wait here. I’ve got some calls to make. Call if you need me.”

  I smirked at him. “Thank you.” I knew work was an excuse, but I was grateful for the pretense.

  The one thing I hated about Shawn’s apartment was it had no elevator, but had cameras in the stairwell. It meant that I was taking everything at a normal human speed.

  Nervous energy surged through me as I reached Shawn’s fourth floor apartment. Leaning against the wall for a moment I took deep breaths trying to ease my anxiety. I wasn’t sure how Shawn would act upon seeing me. He hadn’t laid eyes on me since right after Clive’s body was removed from my apartment. I wondered if he’d associate my presence to that night. Expelling one final, deep breath, I knocked.

  “God damn it, Chris! I said go the fuck away!” Shawn screamed as he opened the door. His anger melted into shock then turned into grief. His eyes quickly darted around me no doubt looking for Grayson. “This isn’t a good time, Gaby.” He tried shutting the door.

  “Well, tough.” I put my hand against it and shoved with enough strength to open it. “I have gone almost two months without seeing or talking to you. You don’t reply to my texts. You just vanished. If it wasn’t for Chris letting me know you were okay, I’d have reported you to the police by now as a missing person.”

  “And yet you still didn’t take the hint. I don’t want to be around you or talk to you.”

  His words stung. My newfound hormones made it almost impossible to push past the hurt. “Is it because of Grayson?” My voice cracked as I spoke.

  Shawn’s eyes softened. “It’s because of me. I don’t want to put you in danger again.”

  “Clive wasn’t your fault.”

  Shawn winced at the sound of his former boyfriend’s name. “It’s not just that, Gabs. It’s—”

  “What?” I demanded. He looked like he wanted to say more, but didn’t. “I’ve needed my best friend. After that night and everything that happened, everyone shut me out. You, Grayson—” I left off Sebastian. He kept his distance for a different reason. “It wasn’t until I told Grayson that I was pregnant did he start coming back to me again.”

  Shawn’s eyes lit up with surprise. “Pregnant?” I nodded trying to hold back the tears I felt brewing. I had missed him. “Wow. I guess I shouldn’t be surprised. I figured you were. How’d the men in your life take it?”

  I giggled not bothering to correct him. Only Shawn could say something like that and I’d find it amusing. “One’s pretty ecstatic; both are in super protective mode. Grayson tried stealing my coffee the other day.”

  “The audacity.” We both chuckled. “And Sebastian?”

  My smile fell away. I shrugged. “He’s taking it pretty well, considering.”

  “Considering it’s not his and he wishes it was?”

  I nodded. “He caught me out alone a few weeks back, said it wasn’t safe. He stayed with me until I was ready to go home. He even urged me to tell Grayson.”

  “Wait? Hold the phone. Sebastian knew you were pregnant before Grayson?” I could see the hint of accusation in his face.

  I nodded again. “He’s the one who told me.”

  “WTF, Gabs? Is that some kind of weird ass angel power?”

  “I think it was actually the mention of The Prophecy.” I hated feeling the tension between us, but I didn’t know how else to be delicate. I wanted to avoid any mention of the night Clive died. The night Grayson killed him and the night I lost my best friend.

  “I guess that explains how Clive distracted Sebastian,” Shawn looked away trying to mask the sadness in his eyes. “He must have known.”

  I felt my stomach churn and knew it wasn’t from my hormones. Talking about that night reminded me of something I hadn’t mentioned to anyone. “I kissed Sebastian that night,” I announced. My eyes focused on the ground not wanting to see the shock or judgment in my best friend’s eyes. “I haven’t told Grayson.”

  “You shouldn’t,” he stated calmly and without judgment. He showed more emotion over designer shoes than me kissing another man. “No need to upset him if it was just one little kiss—”

  “It wasn’t,” I tried swallowing but my throat remained dry. This was privileged information that I hadn’t planned on sharing with anyone. Yet there I stood in front of my best friend spilling my deepest secret.

  “What was it then?”

  I gazed up at him and saw only genuine curiosity. I saw no condemnation in his eyes. “It was a thank you for saving my life kiss, a good bye kiss, and a this can never happen again kiss.”

  “So a make out session.”

  “Pretty much,” I replied feeling my face flame.

  “Not to make an ass out of myself, but why didn’t you tell him?” Shawn asked. “Of course I still don’t think you should, but I’m just wondering why?”

  How could I tell my best friend that it was a moment between Sebastian and me? That part of me didn’t even want to be confessing to him because I worried it would taint it. It wasn’t that Grayson wouldn’t understand, or worrying over whether he’d forgive me that prevented me, at least not entirely. It wasn’t just a kiss. It was a time I shared with Sebastian, when magnitudes of raw emotions were exchanged. Where I told him how I felt without words and let him know that, even though I had feelings for him, they weren’t enough for us to be together.