city of dragons 03 - fire magic by val st crowe Page B

me.”
    “We don’t know what that would do to the baby.”
    “I think it would be okay. When you do it, you seem to be able to sense how much to take, right? So, if it’s going to be a bad thing, I think we’d both sense it right when you bit me, don’t you?”
    “Maybe,” he said. “I guess I was pretty good at stopping after we were bonded. But… I don’t know, it makes me nervous.”
    I held out my wrist to him. “Just try.”
    “Right now?” he said. “Aren’t you, uh, making appetizers?”
    I stripped off my plastic gloves and crossed the room to him. “Right now. Just do it.”
    He licked his lips. He took my hand and traced his finger over the inside of my palm. And then he used my hand to pull my body right up against his. His mouth went to my neck.
    I felt the tickle of his lips there, and a quiver went through me. I gasped.
    He suddenly tightened his grip on me, crushing our bodies close. He kissed my jaw.
    I reached up to wind my hand around his neck, turning my face to meet his lips with mine.
    And we were kissing. Fierce, hard kisses, like he was the wind, and he was rushing into me.
    I held on tight, opening my mouth to him, swept away. My whole body felt awake and ready, every inch of me more sensitive than usual.
    He pulled back, sucking in audible breath, his teeth against his lips.
    I could see his fangs.
    His face was full of some kind of wild desire for me, but somehow there was softness there.
    And my heart felt like it was going to burst. This was what I had wanted all along, I realized. I had just wanted him, wanted his arms around me, wanted to lose myself with him, but I’d been afraid to ask him for it, and I had wasted time, so much time…
    He closed his eyes, resting his forehead against mine. His breathing was harsh.
    I shut my eyes too.
    His fingers brushed my neck.
    Thrills of pleasure burst through my body.
    And then he bit me.
    We were caught up in a hurricane, hot gusts of wind blowing around both of us. The wind tore us apart, put us back together, we were a mixture of each other’s parts, scattered but whole, interconnected. Everything was intense and bright and strong.
    And in the center of the whipping wind was…
    The baby?
    A tiny spark of something aware and awake. No language, just emotions like color… blue relief to be away from the cold place, yellow comfort snug inside me, pink love reaching for me with tiny hands.
    Lachlan pulled away. “What the fuck?”
    I staggered on my feet.
    He steadied me.
    I looked into his eyes. “Did you feel it?”
    He nodded. “I did.”
    “The baby. It’s okay,” I said. “It’s alive. It’s aware . It feels.”
    He turned away from me. He picked up his drink. His hands were shaking.
    I sank down on the couch, my hands on my stomach in wonder.
    “You should still see a doctor,” he said in a choked voice. “Is that… is that even normal?”
    “Are you all right?” I asked him.
    “Fine.” He knocked back the rest of the drink.
    I furrowed my brow. He seemed really freaked out. “I have regular doctor’s appointments anyway.”
    “Oh,” he said. “Well… well, good.”
    * * *
    “Look, I am just saying that at this stage in development, the baby doesn’t even have a placenta, so it should not be so advanced as to… communicate with us,” Lachlan was muttering into his coffee. It was the next morning, and we were at the Flamingo for breakfast. Apparently, Lachlan had stayed up all night searching online about fetal development.
    “Okay,” I said.
    “Alastair had weird… dragon-sacrifice power, and—”
    “Nothing’s wrong with the baby,” I said, feeling shocked that he’d even suggest that.
    “No, I’m not saying…” He took a slug of coffee. “Just maybe you could ask your friend about it.”
    “Who?” I said.
    “The mage that runs this place? Ophelia? She’s the one who knew about our blood bond, right?”
    “Yeah, I guess so. But she doesn’t even know I’m pregnant,” I